Campus Management Systems as Administrative Software Systems

Abstract

Caused by a politically initiated break in German speaking European countries - the so-called Bologna Process - we observe a huge demand for new information systems supporting the academic processes of teaching and research. The software qualitatively demanded is not available on the market. Some systems are large projects of pilot-systems in pioneer universities. Because universities - in contrast to enterprises - have little experience in implementing and operating such systems, it seems to be worth while to examine the essentials of organizational information systems basic- ally. After Lehman’s definition of embedded systems 35 years ago, we look at very complex systems, embedded into large organizations. The complexity of such system’s software stems from its database, created and maintained by the the organization’s users. We argue, from our basic view at original data, which functions are part of the core of a campus management system (CaMS) and which are not. E. g. E-learning or library do not belong to this core, but need secure and efficient interfaces to it. Because CaMS are large and expensive they should be implemented into an organization evolutionary.

Thomas Grechenig

Ao.Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn.

• Mail: thomas.grechenig@tuwien.ac.at
• Phone: +43 1 58801 183400