We Got MIS

The Board approved the MIS (Management Information System) by Sungard/ Banner as recommended by the MIS committee. They agreed to the $8,000,000 price tag for the software and the 5 year agreement. They also agreed to buy new hardware (servers) to run the new MIS system. The only point that shocked them was a budgeted $400,000 over 2 years for a project manager. This person/consultant would work for Rio Hondo and coordinate with the Banner project manager. Once they realized that this person is a consultant and the $400,000 is just the budgeted amount, they accepted it.
The tentative timeline given by Banner was everything should be up and running by Summer 2009. This timeline can be delayed if they have to bend the software to accommodate our business practices. So the more changes required due to inflexibility of staff the longer the implementation process.
"Backfill" can be another reason for delay. Last night John hinted at it but did not ask for backfill for classified (mainly IT staff). Backfill is the additional temporary staff required to pick up the extra work.
The projected completion date is Summer of 2009 but some trustees were talking of pushing it back to the intersession of that year. So by Summer 2009 (or intersession) we will be able to download our rosters, add/drop, and submit grades online.
Due to budget constraints some components were not bought. Outside of the boardroom, I heard the Banner salesperson say they will help us to fund some of these components by applying for grants.
I was happy as I walked down to my car. I got in and drove a little and realized that my car has a flat tire. I hope this is not a sign of things to come!