City University of New York Selects Oracle(r) to Transform Data Systems

Oracle today announced that the City University of New York (CUNY) has selected an end-to-end higher education solution set from Oracle - comprised of Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management, Human Capital Management and Campus Solutions applications, as well as Oracle Database and Oracle Fusion Middleware technology, for its CUNY FIRST (Fully Integrated Resources and Services Tool) project. The project aims to replace CUNY’s current financial, human resources and student administration systems with an integrated and flexible state-of-the-art solution. Oracle will also provide consulting and hosting services.

This “all-in-one” approach will help reduce the risk in meeting the business needs of the 23 institutions that comprise CUNY - the nation’s largest urban public university. CUNY will leverage Oracle applications and infrastructure software to integrate data across the university system, improve constituent service and create a single, integrated student information system that still allows each campus to operate under its own business rules. This approach is designed to help lower total cost of ownership and improve flexibility by leveraging Oracle Consulting’s ability to help CUNY meet the highly complex needs of the 23 diverse institutions.

“We chose Oracle to provide the highest quality service and advanced solutions to accommodate our institutions’ various sizes and non-traditional programs,” said Brian Cohen, CUNY’s chief information officer and co-project leader for CUNY FIRST. “We chose Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions 9.0 for the new capabilities this version offered and look forward to leveraging it to transform our student information system.”

CUNY selected Oracle due to the functionality and scalability of its applications - vital factors considering CUNY’s unique composition of senior and community colleges and other programs and institutions - and the number of PeopleSoft implementations within higher education institutions in the U.S. Oracle’s application solutions and database will enable CUNY to implement a single database instance for the entire university in a true multi-institution configuration.

Ron Spalter, deputy chief operating officer and co-project Leader for CUNY FIRST stated, “It was significant to us that Oracle offered CUNY the Oracle Insight program, which we refined to focus on a high profile area for CUNY students - financial aid. We are working with Oracle to frame, analyze and resolve a number of outstanding opportunities in this area.”

Integrating Systems for Enhanced Functionality and Efficiency
CUNY selected Oracle’s applications to replace legacy systems - some as many as 25-years old, which were restrictive and difficult to maintain - with an integrated application suite running on a single database to help the university optimize its resources. CUNY will implement Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions 9.0 to streamline student information processes and improve service to more than 430,000 students. In addition, the university expects to standardize administrative processes and improve decision-making using PeopleSoft Enterprise Human Capital Management and PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management.

CUNY will integrate PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions 9.0 user-specific launch points. These solutions will enable CUNY to simplify navigation and provide each user with a clear view of timely information, such as financial data, degree requirements, exam schedules and/or student rosters. In addition, the university will leverage the PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Aid module, which helps institutions automate financial aid packaging to reduce the time necessary to deliver offers.

The implementation will also include PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management, PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal, PeopleSoft Enterprise Learning Management and Oracle User Productivity Kit. CUNY will host the PeopleSoft applications through Oracle On Demand - an approach that relieves CUNY’s IT team of maintenance and upkeep for the solutions.

“CUNY’s selection of Oracle for this extensive implementation is a testament to Oracle’s long-standing commitment to providing higher education customers with the tools they need to succeed in the competitive education environment,” said Keith Block, executive vice president, North America, Oracle.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university. CUNY comprises 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, the Graduate School and University Center, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, the CUNY School of Law at Queens College, the CUNY School of Professional Studies and the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education. The University serves more than 231,000 degree-credit students and 230,000 adult, continuing, and professional education students. College Now, the University’s academic enrichment program for 32,500 high school students, is offered at CUNY campuses and more than 300 high schools throughout the five boroughs of the City of New York. The University has launched an online baccalaureate degree through the School of Professional Studies, and a new Teacher Academy offering free tuition for highly motivated mathematics and science majors who seek teaching careers in the city.