Enterprise Resource Planning

Southwest Wisconsin Tech Moves to Web-Based ERP System

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 02/02/10

Southwest Wisconsin Technical College in Fennimore is replacing its previous enterprise resource planning system with a Web-based application from Three Rivers Systems. The college said it was moving to Comprehensive Academic Management System (CAMS) Enterprise because the legacy system had become too expensive to maintain and update.

"Our incumbent PeopleSoft solution was difficult for new employees to use," said Jaime Klein, director of IT. "It also locked us into expensive upgrades for the system, requiring a great deal of time on the part of the users for testing. Additionally, it was very costly to maintain the system, even though we were a member of a consortium. With CAMS, we now have a fully integrated Web-based system with wide-ranging functionality that meets our current and future needs--all using well-understood and accessible Microsoft programs."

The CAMS application can be configured with modules that address the entire student management lifecycle, including admissions, registration, financial aid, student billing, student placement, course management, and development and fundraising.

"After nine years of investing time, money, and resources into our PeopleSoft system it was a difficult decision to move," Klein said. "However, considering the functionality, costs, and control over our own processes and data, we decided we had to find a new system."

Other academic customers for CAMS software include Villa Maria College in Buffalo, NY; Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs; and Louisburg College in North Carolina.