BOULDER -- The University of Colorado is still struggling to issue employees proper paychecks and benefits, months after installing a new $33 million, four-campus software system.

"It's tremendous stress, a tremendous amount of work," said Lynn Walloch, who helps administer the payroll for 525 employees of CU's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. "Every month, I wonder about who's not going to get paid, and probably every month we have a problem with somebody's paycheck."

Installation of the PeopleSoft Inc. accounting and payroll system began in 1999 and was completed in July.

Kevin Horigan, general manager of the education and government divisions at PeopleSoft, said problems during CU's transition had nothing to do with the software. A PeopleSoft manual says it could take months or years to install or test new programs.

Horigan said part of the problem may be that CU initially chose an outside consultant over PeopleSoft, based in Pleasanton, Calif., to help implement the system.

Other schools also have had problems with Peoplesoft. Glitches in software used by Cleveland State University have delayed financial aid for thousands of students.

In 1999, the University of Minnesota had a monthlong delay in financial-aid payments, and last year it experienced registration flaws. CU does not use the programs for student services.

John Bliss, CU's vice president for budget and finance, said the system will nevertheless be better than the 20-year-old system it replaced.

"This has been a major, major implementation for the university, and I think, clearly, when you change as many systems as we did, there's a huge challenge," Bliss said.

February 26, 2001

Rocky Mountain News

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2001