Max Brough, director of information technology for the University of Utah, said his institution has 6 million lines of administrative code to repair. Revamping information systems can be much more difficult in the educational world than in other areas, Maynard said. Typical office systems work as loosely integrated but separate modules, but the overlapping data needs in higher education are more complex. Human resources, financial and student administration systems optimally would share data. Unlike many government offices, in which an employee's departure would close his record, schools maintain records of students long after they graduate.
Many schools solicit alumni for donations and recruit their children as students.
Coming and going Higher education is also faced with changing trends. Maynard said about half of entering freshmen graduate in four years. It is common for students to leave and return or for working adults to take classes part time. Either way, student administration is a prolonged process with many open and closed records. Colleges and universities must also support functions not typically found in administrative systems, such as housing, classroom scheduling and maintenance.