The headquarters of Sacramento State?s Common Management Systems division sits on the second floor of Sacramento Hall, where implementation of CMS goes on even as controversy continues to swirl around the program.

“Just as with any other new system, we?re going to have some growing pains,” said Edward Del Biaggio, Chair of the CMS Steering Committee at CSUS.

CMS is a computer network upgrade used for handling administrative duties, including student services, human resource activities and financial services. The program has been championed by CSU Chancellor Charles Reed and criticized by legislators and faculty unions.

An audit of CMS prepared last month by the California State Auditor?s office cast an unfavorable light on the program, and led to a contentious April 3 hearing of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, where committee member Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) charged that CSU was “blissfully unaware” of its own “culture of corruption.”

CSUS successfully launched the first phase of its CMS implementation on April 1 when they “went live” with their PeopleSoft Human Resources and Financials software. CSU planned to have CMS fully implemented at all campuses by 2007, but that could be hampered by budget cuts or scheduling slowdowns.

“Cutbacks are a very definite possibility at this point,” said JLAC committee chair Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn (D-Saratoga). “Everything is still on the table.”

Del Biaggio says the CMS Steering Committee at CSUS has already decided to defer $600,000 from their 2003-04 budget. “Nothing is being held sacrosanct in terms of budget reductions,” Del Biaggio said.

Prior to the CMS upgrade, CSUS had no human resources computer module, so most of that work was done manually. Del Biaggio believes the new software well reap benefits for the institution that are difficult to calculate in the short-term.”In the long run, I think we?ll look back on CMS and say that this was the right thing to do,” said Del Biaggio.

Still, some critics have questioned whether Sacramento State, which is expected to spend nearly $20 million on implementing CMS, needed the expensive upgrade.

“We already had a lot of these administrative services being performed by CASPER,” said James Chopyak, President of the CSUS chapter of the California Faculty Association, the CSU faculty union and a long-time opponent of CMS. “I don?t think you can underestimate the enormity of this issue.”

CMS has been in the works in various forms since 1993, but the plan to unify all 23 CSU campuses on one common system with one brand of software did not solidify until 1999. However, the state?s audit found that CSU could not back up their claim that most of its campuses were already planning to replace their old systems.

CSU originally anticipated CMS would result in significant cost savings, but the state audit found that CSU failed to prove that the PeopleSoft deal would be a “worthwhile expenditure of resources.”

The audit projected that CMS will ultimately cost the CSU system $662 million, nearly $300 million higher than the university?s original estimates.

Sacramento State University spent over $2.2 million on CMS through the 2002 fiscal year. The total projected costs that will be absorbed by CSUS through 2007 are expected to exceed $19 million.

Del Biaggio believes it is too early in the program?s implementation to assess whether the benefits of CMS outweigh the costs, saying it may take 10 years to realize its potential.

The California Faculty Association called for a spending freeze on CMS after the audit?s findings, which charged CSU with bad business sense and possible conflicts of interest, were made public.

“A lot of these problems coming out are the same things that faculty and staff have talked about for many years,” Chopyak said.

Chopyak said cuts in CMS need to come quickly with the state budget cutbacks looming for the CSU system. He also questions the quality and efficiency of the PeopleSoft programs.

“This is an expensive system that doesn?t appear to be very good,” said Chopyak, who claims CMS is more cumbersome and takes a longer time to operate than the older systems.

“The quality of the program is an aspect that hasn?t come out yet,” said Chopyak, who has heard complaints that PeopleSoft?s software necessitates navigating four to five times as before, and doesn?t even calculate sales tax on purchase orders.

Del Biaggio said it is common to experience frustrations with a new software system, but remains confident that CMS will enhance and improve campus computer services at CSUS.

“We?re going through the initial phases of implementation, and there?s going to be a learning curve to deal with,” Del Biaggio said, who compared the $662 million upgrade to a flashy new pair of shoes that need to be broken in.

PeopleSoft has been no stranger to college-related complaints in recent years. The plaintiffs in a 2000 class-action lawsuit against PeopleSoft included such universities as Boise State, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Louisville and Cleveland State, which complained that their 1998 People Soft implementation had “been plagued with bugs.”

Del Biaggio answered affirmatively when asked if the audit?s findings taint the CMS program, but added that the CMS Steering Committee and the CSU have been working to meet the audit?s recommendations.

“We need to be serious about taking action,” Del Biaggio said. “We have a responsibility to respond to the State Auditor, and there are things in there that need to be modified.”

Cohn said that the CMS program is not irreparably scarred by scandal, but that CSU?s procurement process is “definitely tainted.”

“Their biggest mistake was that they didn?t recognize their own arrogance,” Cohn said. “Their second biggest mistake was that they didn?t follow their own rules.” Cohn promises more legislative oversight over CSU?s procurement actions in the future.

Last week?s scheduled second CMS-related hearing of the JLAC was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts, but Cohn hopes to reschedule for the first week in May.

“The university is supposed to give us a status report and determine where roll-outs could be suspended,” Cohn said.

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