News Release

Oracle’s PeopleSoft chosen
for student ERP applications

CHAPEL HILL – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has selected Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise student applications as the software foundation for the first phase of its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project, which will replace the aging administrative software systems serving students.

During the next two to three years an implementation team, now being formed, will configure the PeopleSoft applications to support admissions, records and registration, financial aid and student accounts activities.         

PeopleSoft was chosen based on a detailed review of the product’s capability to meet the university’s requirements and campus feedback gleaned from four days of product demonstrations on how the software could support key processes related to student services, officials said. The team also considered the vendor’s future direction, technology platforms, its ability to provide support and enhancements to ensure long-term product viability, and the terms and conditions under which Oracle was willing to license the applications

A diverse group, organized in a two-tiered team structure with lead representatives for each major area – student, finance, human resources and payroll, and technical – evaluated vendor responses to a Sept. 21, 2006, request for information (RFI). The process aimed to ensure campus-wide collaboration and a voice for all affected campus groups in the software’s evaluation and selection.

“The PeopleSoft product will provide a much richer environment than our current system,” said Robyn East, associate vice chancellor and deputy chief information officer for information technology services. “Its implementation will allow schools and departments to review and, in many cases, eliminate their dependence on supplemental systems currently used to track student progress and to provide student services. The selection of PeopleSoft is a key milestone in the ERP process.”

Said Mark Armstrong, Oracle’s vice president of higher education product development, “Oracle is committed to supporting the University of North Carolina in its ERP transformation. By offering more flexible tools for managing complex processes, UNC will be able to offer students, faculty and staff more cost-effective and streamlined services.”

The campus license fee for student administrative software and first-year associated technical support is about $1.8 million.

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Weblink: http://its.unc.edu/erp/

Information Technology Services contact: Beth Millbank, (919) 843-9201, beth_millbank@unc.edu   
News Services contact: Mike McFarland, (919) 962-8593, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu
Oracle contact: Katie Barron, (703) 364-2488, katie.barron@oracle.com