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What to Do When Your SIS or ERP Has Reached Its End of Life
What to Do When Your SIS or ERP Has Reached Its End of Life
Facing an end-of-life student information system (SIS) is daunting. As products like PowerCampus approach their final chapters, and as institutions determine that legacy homegrown systems no longer deliver the functionality, scalability, or security needed to support modern operations, more and more colleges and universities are facing the need to make critical decisions about the future of their SIS and ERP. Acting decisively and strategically is essential to ensure your institution’s continued success.
Here’s a five-step action plan to help mitigate the impact and transition to a new solution seamlessly:
1. Assess the Current State and Risks
Start by taking stock of your current system and understanding the risks of end-of-life products. This comprehensive assessment will help you understand the full scope of the challenge and prioritize actions effectively.
- Understand timelines: Confirm the exact date when vendor support will end.
- Evaluate system dependencies: Identify all functions and departments reliant on the software, such as admissions, enrollment, and grading.
- Define and prioritize product, integration, and support/service requirements: Consult academic and administrative stakeholders to capture their specific needs and concerns.
- Document risks: Assess potential impacts, including operational disruptions, compliance risks, and data security vulnerabilities.
Pro tip: Ensure consensus on the documented requirements and their prioritization. This will help maintain focus when evaluating new systems, especially when flashy but non-essential features are presented.
2. Communicate with Stakeholders
Clear and proactive communication is vital to building trust and maintaining confidence during the transition.
- Keep leadership informed: Brief the institution’s leadership and governing bodies about the announcement and its implications.
- Engage users: Hold town halls or meetings with faculty, staff, and students to provide updates and gather feedback.
- Establish a task force: Form a cross-functional team with representatives from IT, academics, administration, and other key areas to oversee the transition.
- Create an open dialogue to ensure that everyone’s needs are considered and foster collaboration across departments.
Pro tip: Create a webpage or blog with up-to-date project information. Having one accessible source of information often helps build buy-in and support.
3. Evaluate Replacement Options
With the end of your current system in sight, it’s time to explore alternatives that meet your institution’s needs:
- Short-term fixes: Check if the vendor offers extended support or a temporary solution to buy time.
- Long-term solutions: Research replacement SIS or ERP options that align with your institution’s strategic goals, budget, and operational requirements.
- Vendor demonstrations: Schedule demos from potential vendors to evaluate functionality, user experience, product support, and implementation and integration services.
- Focus on solutions that can support your institution’s growth and technological needs for years to come.
Pro tip: Look beyond features and functionality to the company’s ability to provide robust product support and flexibility for customization and systems integration. Ensure they can partner with you to tailor the solution to your institution’s unique needs and offer responsive assistance when challenges arise.
4. Plan the Transition
By planning ahead, you can avoid common pitfalls and set your institution up for long-term success as a well-thought-out transition plan minimizes disruptions and ensures a smooth implementation process:
- Implementation timeline: Create a realistic timeline for procuring, customizing, testing, and deploying the new system.
- Data migration strategy: Develop a secure plan to migrate data, including backups, validation, and testing to ensure accuracy.
- Training and onboarding: Provide robust training for staff and faculty to facilitate adoption and address potential challenges.
Pro tip: Lean on your selected SIS and ERP provider to fill technical or functional expertise gaps and take on tasks your team may struggle to complete. Think of them as an extension of your team, leveraging their expertise to handle complex migration and customization efforts so your institution can focus on core priorities.
5. Mitigate Risks During the Transition
The transition period is critical. Take steps to maintain operational stability and compliance:
- Maintain functionality: Ensure key operations like registration, grading, and financial aid processing remain uninterrupted.
- Establish interim support: Arrange for temporary IT support—whether internal or external—to handle issues during the transition.
- Monitor compliance: To avoid legal risks, confirm that the new system adheres to regulatory requirements such as FERPA or GDPR.
Pro Tip: To minimize risks during the transition, consider running parallel systems for a brief period. This allows you to compare the performance of the old and new systems in real-time, ensuring critical operations continue without disruption. It also provides a safety net to identify and address issues before fully switching over.
Positioning Your Institution for Success
While an end-of-life announcement may feel like a setback, it can also be an opportunity. Transitioning to a modern, efficient SIS or ERP can help streamline operations, improve user experiences, and align with your institution’s long-term goals.
By following this five-step plan, your institution can minimize disruptions, mitigate risks, and emerge stronger with a solution designed to meet the needs of today’s students, faculty, and staff. Whether you’re exploring cloud-based systems, hybrid solutions, or on-premises hosting, strategic planning will ensure your institution’s brighter future.
About Collēgix
Aptron Corporation’s Collēgix platform is a modern, flexible student information system (SIS) designed to adapt to your institution, streamline your operations, and empower your personnel. Designed to optimize the business of educating learners, Collēgix offers colleges and universities the agility, flexibility, and high-touch support to effectively and quickly automate and adapt your unique processes to fit your budget, as proven by 40 years of success.
