   
CISAC Minutes
Concordia River Forest
9/10/98
Attendance:
Brian Heinemann, Ann Arbor
David Kluth, Austin
Robert Meier, Bronxville
Hal Whelply, Irvine
Tom Phillip, Mequon
Dennis Stoecklin, Portland
Dennis Witte, River Forest
Eric LaMott, St. Paul
Don Sylwester, Seward
Robert Roethemeyer, Fort Wayne
Ed Dollase, St. Louis
Alan Meyer, OIS, chairman
Alan Borcherding, BHE/CUS
Scott Hermansen, CUIS
John Driessner, Core Team
George Horensky, LCMS accounting
Opening
Alan Meyer served as chairman, and Alan Borcherding served as secretary.
Opening Prayer was offered by David Kluth.
Minutes of the April meeting were approved. It was noted that the names of
Eric LaMott and Don Sylwester were missing and there are several misspellings.
Vendor Ranking
Alan Meyer provided a brief review of activity since April. He also reminded
the group that at this point we are not making public statements regarding the
ranking of vendors. Alan Meyer also reviewed the ranking process, as it has
moved through a series of evaluation activities, and provided a brief summary of
the Tech Team's findings.
The Core and Tech teams recommend that the CISAC consider PeopleSoft and SCT
as the two top ranked vendors.
Tom Phillip presented a more detailed review of the Tech Team and Core Team's
review process. This included:
- RFI and gathering specifications
- Followup of technical issues with vendors
- User reactions from demonstrations at Mequon and River Forest
- Visits and interviews with schools using the various vendor products
- Visits to the corporation headquarters of each vendor
- Compilation of the data and formulation of a recommendation on August 27
Don Sylwester presented a summary of the reactions of the campus users at the
vendor demonstrations. Most users showed thoughtful analysis of the products and
good insights into the needs of campuses. The majority of observations were
quite consistent with the other inputs (technical, corporate, other schools),
and clearly agreed with the Tech Team's recommendations.
Dennis Witte presented a summary of strengths and concerns arising from the
visits to corporate headquarters.
Eric LaMott presented the evaluations as structured by the six criteria
suggested by the Gartner Group. These evaluations were compiled by the Tech
Team. Ratings of the vendors on the basis of numerous specific requirements were
averaged and weighted according to standards established at the April CISAC
meeting.
Alan Borcherding described the anticipated process and results of the
upcoming Presidents' Meeting. The CISAC in this meeting is taking a two part
approach to guiding the presidents. (1.) This group will present a clear set of
recommendations to the presidents, acting in unison in order to invite the
presidents to act in unison. (2.) The results of this meeting will be provided
to the CISAC members in advance of the Presidents' Meeting so that each can
privately brief his president.
The following was adopted unanimously.
Resolved, that the CISAC endorses the report of vendor
evaluations and the ranking as presented and recommends endorsement by the
campus presidents.
The following was adopted unanimously.
Resolved, that the CISAC recommends that the presidents endorse
proceeding with negotiations with the top two vendors.
The following was adopted unanimously.
Resolved, that the CISAC recommends that the presidents empower
a negotiating team to conclude a contract under the leadership of the Executive
Director/ President of the BHE/CUS.
Program Issues
The documents on governance, a service center, and implementation were
revised. They are attached to these minutes. It was agreed that the governance
and service center documents are being prepared for adoption by the presidents
as policy, whereas the implementation document is a work in progress that will
be revised as relationships with vendors become clearer.
Scott Hermansen and other members of the Tech Team presented a first draft of
a spreadsheet that will help campuses decide how to organize the ways it will
provide AIS services, and also help to prepare budgets. This will be shared as
it undergoes further clarification.
The following was adopted unanimously.
Resolved, that the CISAC endorses the documents on governance,
service center, and implementation as presented and amended, and recommends
endorsement of these documents by the Presidents.
In response to the issue of whether voting on the CAIS Council would be
weighted, the sense of the group was that this would not be a helpful approach.
Therefore, the group declined to propose any methods for establishing
proportional voting.
Future Planning
OIS
Alan Meyer reported that the OIS "scope of vision" plan states that
it is committed to collaboration across a broad spectrum. He also stated that it
is helpful to maintain strong relationships among information technology
entities, particularly in the LCMS, to improve coordination of resources. OIS
seeks to maintain an advisory and consultative relationship with this group.
Team changes
Responding to changing needs for leadership as this project moves into new
phases, the group decided to merge the Core and Tech teams into a new role as a
team to participate in contract preparation.
The following was adopted unanimously.
Resolved, that the CISAC recommends to the Presidents that
during the purchase process the current Core and Technical Teams be merged into
the CAIS Negotiating Team. This will include the LCMS Executive Director of
Accounting.
The following was adopted unanimously.
Resolved, that the CISAC recommends that after the purchase a
national implementation team be established, representing each of the twelve
campuses.
Transition to CAIS structure
Recognizing the need to transition our identity and operation from CISAC to a
new approach to participation, the group agreed to adopt a new name and
implement the new governance model. This transition will occur during the
remainder of this fiscal year, after which time OIS will no longer fund meetings
of this group.
The following was adopted unanimously.
Resolved, that the name CISAC be changed to Concordia
Administrative Information System [CAIS], and that after the Presidents' Meeting
(September) the new governance structure be implemented.
During discussion of the preceding motion the group asked that a clearer
definition of CAIS be prepared. The definition is as follows:
The Concordia Administrative Information System [CAIS] is a
consortium of LCMS campuses and clients for the operation of a common
administrative information system. CAIS refers to the collaborative network of
personnel and administrative computing activity as overseen by a CAIS Council
(participatory management) and a CAIS Board (policy-based governance). The CAIS
Council is the successor to CISAC.
The following was adopted unanimously.
Resolved, that the date of the next CAIS meeting be contingent
upon need.
Confidentiality
By common consent it was agreed that the detailed analysis and the ranking of
the vendors will remain confidential to the CISAC Voting group. This is of
significance as we proceed into contract negotiations.
Closing Prayer was offered by Hal Whelply.
Respectfully submitted,
Alan W. Borcherding
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