In 1996 Fresno State University joined three other California State University campuses in piloting the student administration portion of Peoplesoft ?” the same web-based application set to unseat Casperweb and to change the face of student information at Sacramento State in waves, beginning August 2006.

In order to streamline software and increase campus communication, the Chancellor’s Office contracted the software vendor Peoplesoft owned by Oracle ?” the worldwide database giant ?” to begin a CSUwide Common Management System initiative overhaul in 1998, which prompted schools to use the basic financial, human resource and student systems by a 2008 deadline.

Most CSUs, including Sac State, are now using the Peoplesoft human resource and financial applications, while only 10 universities ?” including Chico State, San Jose State, Sonoma State University and Cal State Northridge ?” now have the student administration portion up and running.

The student administration system is set to improve accessibility, increase degree audit capabilities, better faculty advising and streamline admissions, according to Sac State’s management systems Web site.

Rafael Solis, professor of information systems and director of the MBA program at Fresno State, headed the student administration application of the project three years ago.

Solis said although the transition from Fresno State’s old wire-connected program to Peoplesoft’s 24-hour Internet software met barriers along the way ?” like a bumpy transition, criticism from faculty and an expensive price tag of $5.4 million ?” he said the transition outweighed the setbacks because the system has allowed for students, faculty and staff to work in a centralized environment.

“It empowers everyone in some sense,” Solis said.

Solis praised the student portals ?” the self-service access capability of the system ?” that allow Fresno students to login to the system and browse their grades, e-mail account and class schedule from any place in the world at any time of day. The portal component is an optional add-on that Sac State will also implement, said Jeanette Norton, management systems project director at Sac State.

“With the portals, students see everything ?” it’s like the front end in between the students and all other resources.” Solis said.

Although the management initiative has received praise, the project was scrutinized by California media after a report was published by the California Bureau of State Audits in March 2003, which criticized the Peoplesoft implementation for using nearly $220 million more than planned ($662 million total), overlooking conflicts of interest and having security glitches, according to Eduventures, an educational markets service company.

Because more people can access the system, Solis said the only security concerns at Fresno State stem from lost passwords. Solis likened it to the risk of leaving an ATM pin number out ?” the database system is very secure, and the only way to crack the system is to gain access.

Solis said criticism was expected for such a large undertaking, and that the audit found no money misuse ?” the money overuse was because of operating expenditures and not because of start-up expenditures.

“Always people are reluctant to change, but after three years it [Peoplesoft] is welcomed,” Solis said.

Sac State Faculty Senate Chair Cristy Jensen said that local and statewide faculty have expressed criticism of the Peoplesoft implementation because of worries that the costs associated may affect the instructional budget.

“There are faculty who think the entire CMS project is unnecessary and wasteful,” Jensen said. “I think the concern is more about the cost versus benefits of the system and the expense at a time when student fees are rising, and class sizes are growing.”

Rafael Fornillos, a junior at San Jose State University, has been using the student administration aspect of the web-based software for some semesters now. While Fornillos agrees that the 24-hours a day accessibility is a perk of the program, he also points to several downfalls of the software system.

“Every now and then the system has a problem, four out of 10 times I have had trouble with login,” Fornillos said.

Admissions and Advisement Lead for the student system at Sonoma State Leo Alvillar said one great perk of the student application is that it replaced different disconnected systems with one cohesive one.

Sonoma State student and history major Willie Martin said the ability to check his GPA and schedule at a moment’s notice is what he likes about the student web-based system.

“I like it ?” I have no beef with Peoplesoft,” Martin said. “It’s really fast, the minute I choose my class, they show up on my schedule. It’s very quick and very painless.”

John Tarjan, CSU, Bakersfield business management and marketing professor, said the student administration program implementation has been the most controversial Peoplesoft conversion so far. Like Sac State, CSUB is in the middle of implementing the student administration component.

“The major cost of implementing is not licensing the program, but rather inputting the data, running systems, hiring consultants, and training people,” Tarjan said.

Sac State’s move to Peoplesoft will be mainly evident in the look and feel of the Web site’s portal, Norton said.

The student administration portion of Peoplesoft will be implemented at Sac State through stages in accordance with the academic calendar, beginning in August 2006, with the course catalog; class schedule and admissions will follow in October 2006; financial aid in March 2007; registration in May 2007; student financial aid in June 2007; and finally academic advising in October 2007.

Jessica Weidling can be reached at [email protected]