UNISA prepares open platform for mega distance learning university

UNISA, SA`s 100-year-old distance learning university and one of the world`s 11 mega-universities, has embarked on an upgrade of its systems as part of its long-term strategy to provide an open systems platform for a future - larger - distance learning university.

The university, which 10 years ago became the first South African user of Oracle Financials, has continued its pioneering use of Oracle technology by being the first organisation in the country to upgrade to the Oracle 11i E-Business Suite using its own implementation team.

UNISA is also implementing the latest Oracle Human Resources Management System to obtain better management information and realise its HR self-service goals for its 3 500 staff.

"For the first time since moving to an open-platform environment six years ago, we are undertaking the upgrade ourselves. It`s a complex project, but we`re treating is as a learning process, so there`s no deadline pressure," says Vic Stipinovitch, director, Department of Computer Services, UNISA.

The upgrade started a few months ago and is now in a testing phase. While it might have been quicker to use outside resources to effect the upgrade, Stipinovitch believes the benefits of doing it in-house have been invaluable.

The new HRMS replaces a 15-year-old HR system developed using Visual Basic running on an SQL database. Its payroll system was on a different system, making consolidated information from which to generate reports and base HR decisions very difficult to effect.

"It`s always dangerous to try to extract MIS information from two different systems. You are always going to get discrepancies. These will now be replaced with Oracle though, in this instance, implementation is being done in conjunction with the HR expertise of consultants KMPG," says Stipinovitch.

UNISA has a policy of executing minimum software customisation when implementing solutions such as its new HRMS, which is scheduled to go live by the end of the year.

"By being self-sufficient, we have learnt a lot. Our people saw it as a challenge, and have taken pride in what they are doing. There has been a tremendous sense of achievement and has given us control over the whole project and built up our in-house expertise extensively," he adds.

The move to OracleE-Business Suite will provide UNISA with increased functionality, operational efficiencies and improved decision-making with better information as well as ensure it maximises the value of its investment in Oracle software.

Although UNISA`s administration is in a state of change currently with the proposed incorporation of Technikon SA and Vista University into a new facility servicing more than 250 000 students, the three distance learning organisations have been co-operating to identify future technology needs.

"It`s not really an issue as we have an open systems strategy and as an organisation we are not allowed to be database- or vendor-dependent," says Stipinovich. "Also, the merger is likely to take more than five years to implement fully.

"Our ultimate aim is to have as single application platform and be in a position to benefit from a single source of data. In the meantime, we`ve been asked to implement an integrated HR system that will provide us with more management information as well as self-service functionality," he says.