PeopleSoft transition
to begin Sept. 1
PeopleSoft: The
University will launch the initial leg of the brand-new PeopleSoft software
system in Fall 2001.
Brandon Moeller
Daily Cougar Staff
The UH System will implement the first
of six phases of the PeopleSoft software package Sept. 1, when the general
ledger, accounts payable and purchasing features are scheduled to go online.
The Future Administrative Systems Team,
the group of professionals which oversees the system's transition, has
been testing and fine-tuning the software for months, said FAST Project
Director Robert Shortle.
He is confident his team will be able to
solve any problems that may occur during the first release of the $41.8-million
project.
"Change always brings problems," Shortle
said. "We have a lot of people brought along to help the transition."
The ultimate goal of the new PeopleSoft
system, when the remaining phases are completed in Sept. 2003, is to enable
the entire UH system to merge financial, human resources and student information.
In 1998, the UH Board of Regents approved
the funds to provide the four-campus system with a PeopleSoft package that
will help consolidate the University's information needs.
The deal was for the PeopleSoft 7.5 and
7.6 versions of the ERP software. The student records, admissions, student
financial records, academic advisement and financial aid applications will
be updated to PeopleSoft 8.0 in the fourth release, according to the FAST
Web site.
In the first phase of the project, employees
will be able to check their W-2 information, get their own payroll from
the last month and update their personal information without as much hassle,
Shortle said.
"Employee self-service is one of our targets,"
he said. "We want to make it easier and faster for the University to do
their work."
UH-Clear Lake students will be able to
access their scholastic information as early as May, with similar options
available to UH students by December 2003, Shortle said.
The Web-based platform students use will
be in the same vein of "student friendliness" the administration has been
emphasizing. The information will be protected when it moves to the new
Web-based system, Shortle said.
"All servers are and will still be secure,"
he said. "We're just changing the client-server system to that of one with
a Web screen."
If everything goes as scheduled, UH students
will be able to enjoy the mobility and time-saving aspects of being able
to register for classes online next fall.
According to Shortle, Vice President for
Student Affairs Dr. Elwyn C. Lee could not wait for the scheduled launch
of PeopleSoft, which would have provided such a service in 2003. That is
why the online registration project is under the helm of another department.
Lee wrote a letter to The Daily Cougar
in response to a Nov. 8 student letter that criticized the University for
not having such options already available. In Lee's rebuttal, he said he
expects online registration to be available for the Fall 2001 semester.
FAST has conducted many tests on the new
software and will continue to do so until the release dates have passed,
Shortle said. One of the tests they will run prior to the first launch
will make sure the old system and PeopleSoft return the same numbers and
information.
Shortle says future users will have around
a month to test the new program prior to its release.
After the final implementation is completed,
the FAST team will remain for maintenance and to examine new products that
are released to the market, Shortle said.
