IT Manager Deployed as Campus Agent of Change
BY PAMELA MCLAREN
From Dateline (September 16, 2004)
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Amir Dabirian, project director for the campus
implementation of the Common Management System, takes notes
for a future meeting on his tablet PC. CMS is an integrated
software
application system being implemented on all 23 California State
University campuses and
the Chancellor’s Office to manage data and communications
for human resources, finance
and student records. Completion of the implementation throughout
the CSU is expected in 2008.
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This spring, Cal State Fullerton embarked
on a systemic change in the fundamental way it operates beyond the
classroom.
In that respect, Fullerton has joined its sister
California State University campuses in a effort to institute one
standard system for the common business practices – record
keeping, enrollment, human resources and finances – all the
universities perform. All 23 CSU campuses and the Chancellor’s
Office, are making, or have made, the switch to CSU’s Common
Management System using PeopleSoft applications.
The CMS project began in 1998 with the mission of
providing an efficient, effective, high-quality service to students,
faculty and staff.
“Several of the campuses were faced with a
decision: what to do with their aging computer application software
involved with financial and student records. In addition, campuses
were recognizing the need for sophisticated human resources systems,”
said Amir Dabirian of Information Technology, who is Fullerton’s
CSM project director. “In a world of changing information
technology, these systems were on the verge of obsolescence; they
were cumbersome, monolithic, expensive to maintain and unable to
keep up with the growing demands and complexities of information
management.”
Hence, a multiyear effort to bring a common interface
system to all the campuses. Completion of systemwide implementation
is expected in 2008.
In his role as Fullerton’s project director,
Dabirian is responsible for overseeing the project plan and keeping
it moving. Overall, he stresses, the project is collaborative and
involves people from throughout the campus. Here, Dabirian explains
what CMS will do for Cal State Fullerton.
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