  
Concordia Administrative Information System
CAIS Charter
29 January 2003
Identity
Organization
Participation
Terms and Conditions
CAIS Council
CAIS Services
Current
Participant List
Definitions
Documents
The name of this organization is Concordia Administrative Information System
[CAIS]. Participating organizations are referred to as Participants.
This Charter does not include the Office of Information Systems (LCMS
national office).
AIS: Administrative Information System, referring to the SCT
software and all of the computing equipment and services required to make it
functional.
CAIS Council: The group of representatives that oversees
operational management of CAIS.
CAIS Service Center: The primary service center and
operational headquarters for CAIS.
Common Services: Services provided by the CAIS Service
Center that are common to all Participants.
Fee Schedule: The list of CAIS Service Center charges for
services.
Participant: An organization participating in CAIS.
Presidential Policy Board: The twelve BHE/CUS campus
presidents and the Executive Director/ President of the BHE/CUS, functioning as
a governance board.
SCT contract: The contract (in all of its parts, and any
subsequent amendments) with SCT Corporation and associated vendors that provides
Banner2000 and associated products to CAIS.
Service Level Agreement [SLA]: An annual contract for
services that describes how the Participant will provide needed AIS services.
The SLA shall also list the fee for common services and estimated usage of
special services, based on the annual Fee Schedule.
Special Services: Services provided on an as-needed basis to
specific Participants and charged on a usage basis.
CAIS uses five basic documents:
- Presidential Policy Manual, the governing document for the BHE/CUS
presidents as they function as a governance board.
- CAIS Charter, this master relationship document.
- CAIS Policy Manual, policies that govern operational matters.
- Service Level Agreement, an annual contract for CAIS Service Center
services.
- Fee Schedule, an annually revised list of fee rates that establishes the
charges for CAIS Service Center services.
Purpose
and Strategies
Scope
Duration
Governance
Purpose and Strategies
The Concordia Administrative Information System is a consortium of LCMS
higher education campuses and associated organizations for the operation of a
common administrative information system.
- CAIS achieves its goals through a collaborative network of personnel and
coordinated administrative computing activities.
- CAIS delivers a strong return on investment by relying heavily upon
cooperation and communication among campus personnel and through a shared
knowledge base.
CAIS is a joint venture of the Participants. As such, the Participants have
rights and obligations as clarified below. In the event that CAIS should
dissolve or an organization cease participation in CAIS, it shall be the task of
the Presidential Board (LCMS campus presidents) to decide upon an equitable
resolution of assets.
CAIS relates to the Participants in an administratively appropriate manner by
relating through the assigned officers (Presidential Board representative
[president] and CAIS Council representative).
The duration of CAIS is perpetual. The duration of Participants' commitments
to participate in CAIS shall be for the duration of the ten year maintenance
agreement with SCT Corporation.
The campus presidents of the BHE/CUS serve as a governing board, according to
policies detailed in a separate document. Representatives of Participants serve
as a management group (CAIS Council), as detailed below.
Participants other than the BHE/CUS campuses share in management through the
CAIS Council but do not participate in the Presidential Board.
Any amendment to this Charter must be approved by the Presidential Board.
Participation Terms and Conditions
Commitments
Purchase
Resale of
Services
Service Level
Agreement and Fee Schedule
Staff and Mutual
Aid
All organizations listed on the "Institutions" page of the SCT
contract (other than LCMS national office) are eligible to participate.
Organizations become signatories to this charter by communicating their
commitment to the BHE/CUS Office.
Organizations participating in CAIS but choosing to waive their privilege of
attending the CAIS Council may do so with a corresponding elimination of the
fees for that activity. An organization choosing to waive Council attendance
must declare that intention on the annual Service Level Agreement, and that
decision is binding for the duration of that year's SLA.
Participants agree to pay the charges for common and special services as
outlined in an annual Service Level Agreement form. Participants purchase access
to all modules, because the SCT contract is an enterprise-wide contract for all
modules.
Participants are granted a license to run the software included in the SCT
contract and this license constitutes a fiscal asset. The sole terms of the
license are those established by SCT Corporation and any other vendors included
in the contract.
The SCT contract requires that SCT give prior approval before SCT software is
used to service any entity not named on the "Institutions" page of the
SCT contract. Any campus considering a resale of software services must present
the proposal to the CAIS Council and the Presidential Board (as information) and
to SCT (for approval) before making such commitments.
If a campus receives permission from SCT to serve new customers, such
customers relate to CAIS through the campus and do not become Participants.
Future customers at the CAIS Service Center become Participants.
Service Level Agreement (SLA) and Fee Schedule
Each Participant shall annually sign a Service Level Agreement [SLA]. The SLA
is a contract that lists all of the hardware, software, and support
required to operate the AIS and indicates how these items are to be provided.
This document indicates the actual and estimated charges that will be payable to
the CAIS Service Center.
The Fee Schedule (price list) is maintained by the CAIS Council.
Staff and Mutual Aid
Because committed and skilled staff are the most precious resource in this
enterprise, each Participant pledges to:
- Provide adequate staff to manage the local AIS.
- Provide adequate measures for staff development and retention,
particularly educational and skill-building opportunities.
- Allow staff to serve as consultants to other Participants, when local
conditions permit. Sharing special competencies in lieu of hiring outside
consultants is a distinctive strategy of the CAIS enterprise. Consultation
among the staffs of Participants might be provided:
- Gratis on an occasional and informal basis, or
- For compensation as mutually agreed upon, or
- With an agreement for mutual exchange of consultation.
Voting
Officers
Meetings
The CAIS Council provides oversight regarding the operating policies and
practices of the AIS, and guides implementation of Presidential Board vision and
policies.
The CAIS Council maintains a Policy Manual that presents operational policies
and procedures. This document is subject to periodic review by the Presidential
Board.
There is one voting seat on the CAIS Council for each of the Participants.
Each representative is appointed by the executive officer of the organization as
the person best able to present high-level AIS management issues and implement
CAIS decisions locally.
Advisory participants are:
- Any non-Participant BHE/CUS schools (at their own expense)
- The Director of the CAIS Service Center and other BHE/CUS staff as needed
- Consultants and other guests when appropriate
All decisions of the Council that relate to operational policies and
practices shall clearly indicate whether they are Advisory or Binding.
- Advisory decisions shall serve as recommendations for
optimal functioning of the AIS.
- Binding decisions shall be implemented by all
Participants for the sake of maintaining coordination and interoperability.
When contemplating such significant decisions the Council strives diligently
to reach consensus and act in the best interest of all parties.
Whenever possible, a Binding decision is preceded by an Advisory decision as
a step towards full implementation.
- The CAIS Council annually elects a chair and vice chair. At the time of an
election, the vice chair becomes the chair and a new vice chair is elected
(becoming the chair-elect).
- These officers perform the customary functions associated with their
positions. The customary functions of a secretary are performed by staff,
and the resulting minutes and reports are to be approved by the Chair before
publication.
- All minutes and reports are to be distributed to the members of the
Presidential Board.
- The term of service shall be one year. To ensure continuity during the
period of SCT implementation, the initial term of service shall be the
period of SCT implementation.
The CAIS Council meets no less than twice annually in person and communicates
at least once per month electronically.
All meeting expenses are funded by the CAIS budget, including travel and
lodging.
Service
Centers
Provision for
Services
The primary service center is the CAIS Service Center. This entity manages
the relationship with SCT Corporation and other AIS system vendors, organizes
system-wide support activity, and is responsible for implementation and upgrades
of the software included in the SCT contract.
Secondary service centers exist on campuses that operate their own data
processing and help desk.
The CAIS operation is accountable to the BHE/CUS Board through the Executive
Director/President of the BHE/CUS and the Presidential Board (BHE/CUS campus
presidents). The CAIS Service Center is operated under the administration of the
BHE/CUS Office. The facility and its support services are leased/purchased from
vendors.
The CAIS Service Center maintains adequate staffing under the leadership of a
Director, who reports to the Executive Director/President of the BHE/CUS. Other
CAIS Service Center employees are accountable to the BHE/CUS Office through the
Director.
Annually the CAIS Service Center drafts a Fee Schedule and an operating
budget for approval by the CAIS Council. The budget is also approved by the
Presidential Board.
Common Services
All participants utilize these Common Services:
- AIS contract(s) and vendor relationships
- CAIS Service Center Administration (core staff, basic budget, facility)
- CAIS meeting expenses
Participating campuses are charged equal shares for Service Center
Administration and CAIS meeting expenses.
Participating campuses are charged on the basis of FTE (percentage of total
FTE of participating schools) for AIS software maintenance fees owed to vendors.
Special Services
All participants may utilize, as needed, these Special Services:
- helpdesk
- database operation
- servers
- database administration
- AIS software administration
- project management
- technical consulting.
Participating campuses are charged on the basis of FTE (percentage of total
FTE of participating schools) for Help Desk services.
All other Special Services are charged on an actual usage basis.
Current Participant List
| Austin |
David Kluth |
| Bronxville |
Robert Meier |
| Irvine |
Hal Whelply |
| Mequon |
Tom Phillip |
| Portland |
Denny Stoecklin |
| River Forest |
Denny Witte |
| St. Paul |
Eric LaMott |
| Seward |
Don Sylwester |
| Fort Wayne sem |
Robert Roethemeyer |
| St. Louis sem |
Ed Dollase |
| 
