Project LINK will bring UNM's 20-year-old information systems into the 21st century.
The job is in the hands of a team of UNM employees, many of whom have been pulled from their regular jobs to be a part of a multi-year endeavor called Linking Information Networks and Knowledge. Plans for the University-wide enterprise began in August 2002. It will re-engineer and redesign the technology behind major business processes at UNM.
SCT Banner software purchased by the University is replacing the "old paper-intensive, bureaucratic systems of yesteryear," said Fred Youberg, Project LINK coordinator.
Over the summer, the LINK team faced an initial test, the implementation of the first phase of the system - finance.
On June 1, the purchasing department became the first UNM department to use the production version of the Banner Finance software. Remaining departments and core accounting offices continued using test and training environments until July 1 when it was implemented across campus.
Because the Banner software is different from the old systems, faculty and staff must take two mandatory courses to learn the ins and outs of the new system, said Debbie Howard, finance training consultant for Project LINK.
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The software changes how basic financial functions such as purchase orders, general ledgers, research accounting and accounts payable are performed. Youberg said it will reduce transaction-processing turnaround time and make data more consistent, more accurate and less redundant.
Training began in April with basic information sessions designed to make the change as smooth as possible, Howard said. At the end of May, the mandatory courses were made available to employees online.
"Overall, we have reached about 2,100 - 2,200 employees through classes in the computer lab, online or through a combination of both," Howard said. "It doesn't matter if you have an administration position or a director position. If you make purchases and have to pay bills, you will use this system."
Program Manager April Davidson said she was uncertain about the change at first, but is happy with the results.
"I don't have to use the typewriter anymore and the approval process has sped up considerably," she said. "What used to take sometimes two weeks in the past can now be approved and paid within a few days. And direct deposit for reimbursements to UNM employees is fantastic."
Youberg said that while his finance team is still "ironing out some wrinkles almost every day," the installation of the new Banner software went well, and business is moving along as usual.
"Procurements are being processed, vendors are being paid, employees are being reimbursed and general accounting transactions are occurring," he said. "Not all transactions are happening as quickly as they will in the future, but every day that goes by, things become a bit more familiar and routine."
Project LINK will streamline student and academic processes, starting with registration and admissions functions in October 2005.
