Independent College Enterprise Consortium

1
Independent College EnterpriseConsortium

• Kevin Brassard
• Vice President for Information Services
• February 2, 2008

2
OVERVIEW

• About Nichols College
• What is ICE?
• Why did Nichols go with ICE?
• Management/Oversight of ICE
• Roles/Responsibilities
• Benefits
• Challenges
• Lessons Learned

3
About Nichols College

• Located in Dudley, MA
• 21 Undergraduate Degree Programs
• 4 Graduate Degree Programs
• Business-oriented Curriculum
• Enrollment of just over 1,000 full-time day
  students
• Evening and Online Programs

4
What Is ICE?

• Consortium formed in 1997 in West Virginia
• Started with five schools
• Currently at seven schools
• Currently focused on student information system
  and advancement applications
• In the future

5
Why Did Nichols Go With ICE?

• First decision selected Colleague
• Second decision - ICE
• Cost savings
• Support from above
• Belief in sharing resources to achieve economies
  of scale
• Opportunity for customized training

6
Management/Oversight Of ICE

• Board of Directors
• Strategic Advisory Committee
• User Groups
• Central Support Staff
• Distribution Lists

7
Roles/Responsibilities

• ICE
• Servers
• Patches/Upgrades
• Customizations
• 2nd line User Support
• Interface with Datatel on Support Issues
• Identify Collaboration Opportunities

• Member Schools I.T.
• Local Client Software
• First-line User Support
• Communication to User Community
• Prioritize Open Issues

8
Benefits

• Reduced Operational Costs
• Specialized Support Staff
• Vendor Support
• Shared Resources/Best Practices
• Collaborative Environment
• Focus on Mission Support
• Backups for Key Staff

9
Challenges

• Seven schools working together
• Normalizing operations across seven schools
• Sharing support resources
• Limited ability to customize applications
• Continuity as administrations change
• Geography is NOT a challenge

10
Lessons Learned

• Presidential Leadership is Required
• Communication is key
• Relationships make a difference
• Mutual Sacrifice
• Every school has a stake in the consortium
• Need to be an active participant

11
Nichols College and ICE

• QUESTIONS?