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YSU Says 'YES' to Computer Systems Upgrade
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Youngstown State University officials have started implementation of a comprehensive, three-year plan to improve the institution's computer systems. "When prospective students or faculty visit YSU or any university -- whether in person or over the Internet -- the computing capabilities of the institution are increasingly an important factor in the decision to choose YSU or go elsewhere," said Donna Esterly, interim chief technology officer. "That's why YSU, over the past several months, has aggressively moved forward on many levels to ensure that this institution remains competitive with its computer technology."The plan has been dubbed YES -- YSU Enterprise Resource Planning Solution. "There may be no more important process at YSU over the next three years as the upgrading of our campus-wide computing systems," said YSU President David C. Sweet. "While it may not be as visible as some of the other exciting things that we do, improving our computing capabilities -- both academically and administratively -- is vital to maintaining high quality instruction and services across campus for students, faculty and staff."The YES plan has been under development for more than a year. Earlier this year, the YSU Board of Trustees endorsed a 54-page Information Technology Master Plan aimed at transforming the university's computing services over the next several years. A major component of that plan is the purchase of enterprise resource planning software, which will boost the university's administrative computing capabilities in human resources, financial aid, finance, student records and alumni/development.In the spring, YSU signed a contract with SunGard SCT to provide, implement and maintain the enterprise software. The company provides similar services to 25 colleges and universities in Ohio, Esterly said.Implementation of the software will occur over the next three years under the YES plan. Project managers Eileen Greaf and Dona Madacsi and an 11-member committee are leading the implementation effort. In all, more than 100 students, faculty, staff and administrators are involved in the process, and that number will grow as the project spreads across campus, Esterly said.The draft budget over the next three years contains approximately $7 million in one-time costs for hardware, software and implementation services and approximately $5 million in ongoing costs for maintenance, training and staffing for the three-year implementation period. The cost is similar -- if not lower -- than what other Sungard SCT universities are projecting, Esterly said.The hardware required to support the SCT software has been purchased and installed. The new technology will increase YSU's ability to process data by 200 percent, increase tape storage capacity, and dramatically increase electronic data storage from 840 billion bytes to 4.2 trillion bytes. To keep university employees and the community updated on the YES plan, the university recently released the first edition of a YES newsletter and has developed a new YES web site at www.yeswebpage.com.Visit Youngstown State University: www.ysu.edu"