Collegiate Project Services
Higher education isn’t our business…it’s our passion.
Latest posts by Collegiate Project Services (see all)
- Is Your Project In Trouble? A Checklist - May 10, 2016
- 5 Ingredients for Project Success - April 14, 2016
- 4 Common Barriers to Systems Change - February 9, 2016
Many institutions are considering if the time is right to migrate to a new enterprise administrative system, based on the many challenges schools are facing today. (See previous post: 6 Key Challenges Influencing Enterprise Decisions)
Making a decision to consider a new solution is complex enough. There are some common barriers we see at schools blocking the ability to make the decision and, ultimately the transition, successfully. Do any of these sound familiar?
Common Barriers to Systems Change
COST/BENEFIT IS NOT ARTICULATED
Often times the costs and benefits of changing systems are not properly articulated. Executives need a clear business case to justify re-investing in administrative systems. A clear tie needs to be made to the value that the institution will gain from the significant investment that will be required. Not to be confused with an ROI study, which can be particularly difficult to measure in higher education.
“WAIT AND SEE” APPROACH
Many schools are waiting for their peers to take risks and for vendors to prove out the technology before making the leap themselves. This approach definitely makes sense with the rapid changes and developments in the higher education technology marketplace right now. But, if this is standing in the way of an institution making a needed decision, there are ways to get better educated about currently available solutions and planned functionality.
INEFFICIENCIES
Plagued by current inefficiencies, many schools have been burdened with heavily customized systems that have been modified to meet business process. Over time, these schools have modified their systems instead of adapting processes to meet delivered functionally. Logically, campus leadership fears moving to a new solution will simply be recreating the same environment with existing processes.
ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS
How ready is your institution to take on a system change? There’s no question that new enterprise administrative systems bring about a significant change to an institution. And planning for the various types of change is essential. Taking into account both a school’s capacity for and capability to implement change is a huge concern for campus leaders.
What other barriers to changing systems exist on campus? How do we overcome these barriers?
