Project Exploring Shared ERP Services Model for Private Colleges and Universities

A new initiative out of the Higher Education Systems and Services (HESS) Consortium is researching whether a shared ERP services model is attainable and sustainable for private, nonprofit colleges and universities. The HESS Consortium Higher Education Technology Collective project, or HESS Collective, brings together 29 institutions to address "crucial foundational issues around ERP and cloud technology operations," according to a news announcement.  

With the overall goal of helping institutions get through operational and financial challenges, the group will explore the feasibility of four main areas:

  • Adopting a single "cloud-native" ERP platform;
  • Negotiating pricing, terms and conditions as a group;
  • Creating a shared staffing and support model; and
  • Ensuring a 10-year return-on-investment.

The collective expects to select a common ERP platform and develop a shared organizational and data governance model by early 2021, with the first institutions moving to the new platform by mid-2021.

"This has been a concept for our member institutions since the HESS Consortium was founded," noted Keith Fowlkes, co-founder and executive director for the HESS Consortium, in a statement. "Private colleges and universities know that they must innovate to survive the coming decade and this group is leading the charge to change the paradigm of traditional ERP operations."

"Small institutions across the country should be engaging in discussions around how to partner with other institutions for shared systems and services," said Trey Arrington, vice president for operations at Spartanburg Methodist College and HESS Board member. "This includes ERP, CRM, financial and fundraising systems, just to name a few. When you look at other industries, such as healthcare and the reform that it has gone through, partnerships in private higher education are necessary for the survival and continuation of our institutions."

For more information, visit the HESS Consortium site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • glowing brain, connected circuits, and abstract representations of a book and graduation cap on a light gray gradient background

    Snowflake Launches Program to Upskill 100,000 People in Data and AI

    Cloud data platform Snowflake is embarking on an effort to train and certify more than 100,000 users on its AI Data Cloud by 2027. The One Million Minds + One Platform program will provide Snowflake-delivered courses, training materials, and free access to Snowflake software, at no cost to learners.

  • two abstract humanoid figures made of interconnected lines and polygons, glowing slightly against a dark gradient background

    Microsoft Introduces Copilot Chat Agents for Education

    Microsoft recently announced Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, a new pay-as-you-go offering that adds AI agents to its existing free chat tool for Microsoft 365 education customers.

  • hand touching glowing connected dots

    Registration Now Open for Tech Tactics in Education: Thriving in the Age of AI

    Tech Tactics in Education has officially opened registration for its May 7 virtual conference on "Thriving in the Age of AI." The annual event, brought to you by the producers of Campus Technology and THE Journal, offers hands-on learning and interactive discussions on the most critical technology issues and practices across K–12 and higher education.

  • Three cubes of noticeably increasing sizes are arranged in a straight row on a subtle abstract background

    A Sense of Scale

    Gardner Campbell explores the notion of scale in education and shares some of his own experience "playing with scale" — scaling up and/or scaling down — in an English course at VCU.