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Independent College Enterprise Consortium - Datatel.com Success Profile
5 Private colleges agree to share computer system - Charleston Gazette Article
Independent College Enterprise Consortium Chooses Datatel - Datatel Press Release
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© 2001 Charleston Newspapers
The Sunday Gazette Mail
January 14, 2001, Sunday
5 private colleges agree to share computer system
Tara Tuckwiller
tara@wvgazette.com
University of Charleston President Ed Welch calls it a "mini-revolution."
Four private colleges in West Virginia and one in Virginia have agreed to share
some very expensive computer equipment - and give up some of their self-reliance
at the same time.
UC, Alderson-Broaddus, Davis & Elkins, West Virginia Wesleyan and Emory &
Henry College in southwestern Virginia have agreed to scrap their own computer
systems, which they use to run day-to-day operations like paychecks and student
applications.
Instead, they'll share a $ 3.2 million computer system that should be up and
running by September.
"These institutions will have the best software technology available in the
world," Welch said. "It creates a base of cooperation for further endeavors."
Welch hopes that within three years or so, 16 to 18 colleges will join the
consortium, which the colleges are calling the Independent College Enterprise.
For now, they're just sharing a mainframe.
"In the future ... we may ask, 'Should we go together to acquire electricity
or gas?'" Welch said. "It will result in academic sharing."
ICE was born over dinner. Welch had gone to visit Wesleyan President William
Haden in the fall of 1997.
"I said, 'Bill, we ought to be doing something together. And if I had my
druthers, it'd be in computing. It's going to kill us financially,'" Welch said.
Students and parents expect colleges to have state-of-the-art technology, but
that means replacing hardware and software every three years or so. That can be
murder on small colleges, Welch said.
By going together to buy the best computer system, the five colleges will
save $ 4.8 million over what they'd have spent if they'd tried to do it
themselves.
"Students will be able to go online 24 hours a day and look at their
financial aid package, check their transcripts ... the honor society can have
its own chat group, or across schools," Welch said. "They can sign up for
classes, apply to the institution ... build an electronic portfolio and e-mail
it to an employer.
"That's sophisticated. I don't know anybody in West Virginia that has it."
Half of the $ 3.2 million will come from the five schools. The other half
comes from grants from the Teagle Foundation in New York, the Claude Worthington
Benedum Foundation in Pittsburgh and the Foundation for Independent Higher
Education in Washington, D.C.
Each of the five schools is expected to save $ 100,000 annually in operating
costs under the new system.
© 2001 PR Newswire Association, Inc.
PR Newswire
May 10, 2001, Thursday
Independent College Enterprise Consortium Chooses Datatel's
Industry-Leading Integrated Information Management Solution;
Colleague Software and CampusCruiser Portal Technology Empower Multi-State ICE
Consortium to Enhance Critical Administrative Processes
FAIRFAX, Va., May 10 - Datatel, Inc. announced today that the Independent College Enterprise, Inc.
(ICE), a consortium of five colleges in West Virginia and Virginia, has licensed
Colleague, Datatel's industry- leading integrated information management
solution for higher education. ICE has also licensed Datatel's WebAdvisor
software and Timecruiser Computing Corporation's CampusCruiser portal
technology, enabling the multi-state higher education consortium to provide
Web-based support to Clients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"To remain competitive in today's higher education marketplace, small
colleges need to adopt the latest technology to optimally manage administrative
workloads and deliver the services most demanded by students," said William R.
Haden, President, West Virginia Wesleyan College. "In joining together to meet
such challenges, ICE collectively strove to partner with a company equally
committed to our service goals. Datatel has a proven record in delivering
advanced administrative solutions to colleges and universities."
Colleague's flexibility and Datatel's highly successful implementation
record working with highly complex environments were especially important to the
ICE consortium. Datatel's commitment to top-notch support will also help ensure
the delivery of a reliable solution that consistently meets ICE's need for
timeliness and cost-effectiveness. "We are confident the new system will give
students, faculty and staff the tools they need to maintain reliable data and
gain access to critical information through the Web," said President Haden.
"Datatel's solutions and the goals of ICE consortium are a perfect match,"
said H. Russell Griffith, Datatel President and CEO. "This system will enable
every ICE institution to shift substantial effort from labor-intensive
administrative processes to the enhancement of distinct programs, ultimately
supporting their long-term growth."
By pooling the resources of individual institutions, ICE members are able to
adopt a single administrative solution that meets specific institutional needs.
The colleges making up ICE include Alderson-Broaddus College, Davis & Elkins
College, West Virginia Wesleyan College, the University of Charleston, and Emory
& Henry College in Emory, Va. The project's central location will be on the
campus of the University of Charleston, a founding member of the consortium and
a Datatel Client since 1987.
About Datatel, Inc.
Headquartered in Fairfax, Va., Datatel has been a leading provider of higher
education information solutions since 1968. Today, the company has nearly 600
Client institutions in the United States, Canada, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
Datatel's sole focus is higher education, putting the company in an ideal
position to deliver robust integrated information management solutions that help
make its Clients' learning environments "smarter." By enabling Clients to spend
less time on the administration of their IT environments, Datatel solutions
allow users to spend more time concentrating on their own customers, promoting
higher levels of customer service. For more information, please visit
http://www.datatel.com .
About the Independent College Enterprise, Inc. (ICE)
The Independent College Enterprise, Inc. (ICE) is comprised of The
University of Charleston, West Virginia Weslyan College, Davis & Elkins College,
Alderson-Broaddus College, all in West Virginia, and Emory & Henry College
located in Virginia. This innovative group of institutions decided to pool
their resources so that all members can benefit from a state-of-the-art
administrative solution. The result is a single enterprise computing center,
headquarted at The University of Charleston, that satisfies the operational and
administrative goals common to all five institutions while allowing each of them
to maintain their own individual and unique cultures.
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