Updated: Sunday, Mar. 11, 2001 at 23:12 CST

Galveston College regrouping after software fallout

By The Associated Press

GALVESTON, Texas -- Professors and staff at a southeast Texas community college can expect smaller pay raises in the next several years because $1.6 million has been wasted on high-tech software that didn't work, the school's comptroller said.

Three years ago Galveston College spent $1 million on software that officials expected would meet the 2,500-student school's computer needs for at least 10 years.

But after siphoning another $600,000 from the college's $11 million budget in vain attempts to make the software work, officials have decided to scrap it and start over. Last month officials approved spending $1.8 million for software from another vendor.

"Last time we bought a Cadillac when we only needed a Buick," Phyllis Moore, chairwoman of the college's board of regents, told the Galveston County Daily News in Sunday's editions. "This time we bought the Buick." Moore blamed the glitch on Pleasanton, Calif.-based PeopleSoft USA, which supplied the original software. She said the company misled college officials about the software's capabilities and cost. But Nancy Raca, director of education and government at PeopleSoft, said a lack of executive leadership at the college -- not the software -- caused the problem. She said PeopleSoft offered solutions for additional fees, and "the college rejected all of them."

Regardless of where the blame lies, Comptroller Jim Mayfield said the college's budget will feel the pinch. He said the money spent on the PeopleSoft products and the $1.8 million earmarked last month for software and support from Wayne, Pa.-based SunGard Inc. eats 20 percent of cash reserves.

That means pay raises for employees will be limited to cost of living increases for several years, he said. "It will be extremely difficult for us to keep pace with the market," Mayfield said. The college's board of regents decided to buy the PeopleSoft software in 1998 even though officials had heard the previous year that Houston Community College had problems getting it up and running. The college needed new software to run its financial, human resources and student administration offices. But by May last year, Mayfield told former Galveston College President C.B. Rathburn that he was concerned that the software wasn't performing as expected. By October, the college started looking for another supplier.

Star Telegram

-- Anonymous, March 12, 2001

Answers

Isn't it odd how the folks of peoplesoft have the same answer for everyone?

I think an nice lawsuit on behalf of the students and taxpayers would do just fine.

-- Anonymous, March 12, 2001

Isn't nice that the reporter was able
to write this without ever using 'Y2K'.
They would not have spent so much money
if they were not Y2K desperate.

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001