QUASR Project Kicks Off With Team Launch Event

After receiving final approval from the Board of Trustees last month, Queen's University Administrative Systems Replacement kicked into full gear January 9th with an event to launch the implementation phase of the project.

About 40 project team members working in Student, Human Resources, Finance, Research, and Information Services joined together in the Ban Righ Fireside Room to build out the vision for the project and explore ways to serve the University effectively as an integrated team. They were welcomed by QUASR Program Director Jim Carse, Queen's Chief Information Officer Sean Reynolds, and University Registrar Jo-Anne Brady.

"This project is about enabling the University to change how it does business," said Reynolds. "The senior leadership at Queen's and the Board have demonstrated their support and confidence that the QUASR project is part of the solution. Now it is time to deliver: the pace of the project will pick up considerably."

Brady spoke to the importance of the project to system owners and users across the Queen's community. "We must remember that this is not a project about technology," she said. "Technology is a tool we're using to achieve the project's overall objectives, which are to enable support for the University's mission and improve the academic experience at Queen's."

Over the next three years, the administrative systems replacement initiative will prepare the way to steadily improve service delivery, reduce operational and financial risks, and bring the University's currently antiquated systems up to leading standards. The transition will be phased in over three years, with the first major milestones being implementations in the Finance and Research Admin systems over the next year, followed by modules for Human Resources, Research and Student Administration in 2010 and 2011.

System integration consultants from Deloitte were also on hand, describing Queen's as the "crown jewel" of higher education and the project implementation as one of their global priorities.

The kick-off event marks an acceleration of project team activity. In addition to the launch of the implementation phase, team members are participating in project-related professional development workshops and Oracle PeopleSoft training, and beginning the technical work outlined in the detailed project plan.

Queries and comments are welcome at quasr@queensu.ca.

Photos from kick-off.