Over a year ago, the systems renewal project at Athabasca University looked to be in dire straits; however, the latest report from Alberta’s auditor general, released on July 8, says the project has turned a corner.
Since 2011, the university has been working on its Administrative Systems Renewal Project (ASRP) to upgrade and modernize its computer systems for finance, human resources and payroll, along with student service systems.
A 2013 auditor general’s report criticized the project, stating the university needed to improve and formalize its business change management planning and its project management controls.
“We looked into what it was doing, and we had quite a negative assessment of how well this (project) was being controlled,” said auditor general Merwan Saher.
“A year later, we can report to you that the university took our findings seriously, and now this renewal project is under control,” Saher said.
According to the July 2014 report, the university has improved its monitoring of the changes to the systems so as to reduce the disruption of operations and has hired a new project manager and a chief information officer to make the process run more smoothly.
“We’re very pleased that the auditor general has recognized the hard work the university has done over the past year to comply with his office’s recommendations,” said AU spokesperson John O’Brien. “The ASRP is very critical for the university, and we plan on continuing to exercise a vigorous set of strategies and project controls to manage it to a successful conclusion.”
The finance systems portion of the renewal went online as of April 1. The HR and payroll system phases are expected to be live by Dec. 31, 2014, and the student systems are to be active by March 1, 2015.
“We’re confident that they have the structures in place to execute those (phases) successfully,” Saher said.
