98-08-07:  PROJECT WILL INTEGRATE UNIVERSITY-WIDE ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
SYSTEMS



By Rebecca Arrington



To eliminate a 10-cent balance on a grant account requires six separate
steps on the computer, a process that obviously costs more than the
dime saved.

Bill Randolph, director of U.Va.'s currently named Integrated Systems
Project since July 1, cites this as one example of why the University
has undertaken the daunting job of overhauling its administrative
information systems.

No one's to blame for the cumbersome processes, he said. "We're all
victims of antiquated technology that prohibits a better flow of
information."

Expected to take several years to fully implement, the project will
bring state-of the-art electronic administrative systems and improved
business processes to U.Va. It will involve all areas of the
University, including finance, human resources, purchasing and student
systems.

"I'm told we have 27 separate computer systems, most of which are so
old you can't even purchase a maintenance contract anymore," he said.

"U.Va.'s central missions are teaching, research and [public] service,
not payroll, purchasing, admissions or facilities management," said
Randolph, who reports to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer Leonard W. Sandridge. The latter group are support services,
but they need to be as effective as possible to strengthen U.Va.šs
three main objectives, Randolph said.

The goal is to make simple, high-volume, day-to-day transactions
quicker, better and less expensive.

Two steps are needed to achieve the project's goal. One is to buy new
hardware and software to automate and integrate all of these support
services. The other is to begin "process re-engineering," or "changing
the way we work," he said.

Processes will have fewer steps and fewer approval levels. "We will
employ the concept of 'do it right the first time,'" Randolph said.
Employee training will be a major focus.

Departments should be able to configure the new system to suit
individual needs, which may eliminate many of the duplicate or "shadow"
files they now maintain, Randolph said.

U.Va. is currently seeking a software vendor and an implementation
partner to provide a suite of integrated data software and the most
effective methods for using it. In recent weeks, three potential
vendors visited and gave demonstrations of their products to U.Va.
employees as part of the selection process. (See related story below.)

"We want something that has an intuitive look and feel to it," he
said.

Many colleges and universities are in the midst of similar projects,
according to Randolph. "One of my goals is for people to come to U.Va.
when we're done and use us as a model."

For details on U.Va.'s Integrated Systems Project, go to
http://minerva.acc.Virginia.EDU/~iscat/





QUOTE FROM BILL RANDOLPH, INTEGRATED SYSTEMS DIRECTOR


The goal is to make simple, high-volume, day-to-day transactions
quicker, better and less expensive.