Industry Consolidation and User Demand May Lead Districts to Conduct Administrative System Assessments
School Advisor, 2006 Issue No. 3
When was the last time you took a good look at your administrative system? If you’re like most school districts, it’s been awhile, as day-to-day district operations take precedence over these “less pressing” concerns. However, industry consolidation coupled with increasing user demands for both functionality and reporting may push some districts to assess their administrative systems.
Traditionally, there have been a number of companies that provide administrative software to school districts, including Pearson, Chancery, MUNIS, Sungard Bi-Tech, PowerSchool, Skyward, SDS, and Sungard Pentamation. Recently, however, Pearson acquired Chancery and Apple’s PowerSchool software; in conjunction with the fact that Pearson also owns SASI, Centerpoint, and CIMS, this gives Pearson a strong position in the marketplace. Pearson also stated in their press release that PowerSchool will be the future platform of choice for student management systems. So what does that mean for CIMS, SASI, Chancery, and Centerpoint users?
Pearson has indicated that it will be business as usual for the time being. Oftentimes with consolidations such as these, however, the quality of service, user support, and new product releases may slow; very simply, the company focuses its efforts on the acquisitions, at least in the short term.
Further complicating matters are the end users of all administrative systems: teachers, parents, and students have become accustomed to certain technological conveniences. Parents expect to be able to access their kids’ schedules, grades, discipline reports, etc. from home. Teachers and other employees expect web-based self-service—the ability to easily and quickly manage benefit information or change an address. In addition, web-based instruction, integration of attendance and grade reporting, and the ability to access pertinent information quickly and reliably are growing expectations, and there’s no going back.
With this in mind, many districts are beginning to consider conducting an assessment of their administration systems. Assessments typically consist of three steps:
- Discovery. Key users and technology support personnel are interviewed in order to determine their satisfaction with the current software and vendor. Any functional gaps or concerns are noted.
- Gap Analysis. A gap analysis is performed between the current state of the system and the desired state. Gaps are analyzed along seven major areas: finance, human resources, student management applications, report writing capability, internal/external support, training (internal and external), and support staff complement.
- Options Analysis. Three options are typically analyzed: continue as is, implement a new system in-house, or implement a new system through an application service provider (either a commercial vendor or an intermediate school district). The pros and cons of each option are documented, including up-front capital and annual-recurring costs. The result is a series of recommendations that districts can consider going forward.
The climate in the school administration software industry is changing. That, coupled with user demand, is forcing many districts to evaluate their options. For more information on conducting an administration system assessment, please call Judy Wright at 248.223.3304 or Silvio Vano at 248.223.3337.
IRS Announces an Extension for 403(b) Plan Compliance
The Internal Revenue Service announced sweeping changes to 403(b) plan requirements in proposed regulations published in 2004. The proposed regulations are not currently effective. Final regulations and additional guidance was expected this summer; however, they have been delayed, perhaps until early in 2007. The IRS recently announced that the final regulations, including the requirement to maintain a plan document, will not be effective earlier than January 1, 2008.
