This greater understanding and participation translates into a greater willingness to work within the process, rather than to merely complain about the outcome. Surplus sharing has long been sought by the individual units. Implementation of the plan to allow units to retain their surplus signals a willingness by the senior administration to support the units in rationalizing their own spending. Because the University lacks a comprehensive, integrated data source, planning is hindered by difficulties in obtaining reliable and consistent data. While there is no dearth of data, data are collected from multiple sources, leading to questions about their reliability and usefulness.
Every effort is made to reconcile data, but it is a time-consuming process.
Some levels of analysis are not done because they are either impossible or too time-consuming. While these data problems have not significantly hindered centralized planning, they do lead to the results of some analyses being questioned. The lack of ready access to certain data also makes local planning more difficult. When TRG was unsuccessful in acquiring sufficient capital to continue and so failed, these individuals were disillusioned and the University was left without the software it needed. In spring 1997, the University signed an agreement to purchase PeopleSoft, an integrated software program for colleges and universities.