As we continue our journey through the Ellucian SaaS implementation, significant momentum is building across planning, training, and early technical preparation. Below is a consolidated view of what’s been accomplished, what’s ahead, and key considerations for the team and campus community.
The Kick-Off Call for the project occurred on February 13. Over 40 Catawba personnel were in attendance and actively engaged in the meeting. During the conversation that took place, SaaS Implementation Team members learned of expectations, timelines, and the goals of the project. These include:
- Increasing efficiencies in processes to give employees more time for strategic activities
- Saying farewell to products and services whose work can be accomplished through Ellucian SaaS
- Updating our ERP in an intentional manner, focusing on baseline processes, limiting customizations, and updating our own processes to find efficiencies
- Documenting the process for every action we complete in the system to ensure the College has a robust database of knowledge for how and why we accomplish activities in the system
The first Academic Calendar Workshop is complete, and the second session is scheduled for March 11, at 9 AM EST. These Academic Calendar Workshops are part of the broader Strategic Alignment Workshop series and will continue throughout the coming months. We have already seen significant involvement from Catawba’s full Ellucian SaaS Implementation team
We are preparing for the first migration of our current data at the beginning of next month. Documentation is currently underway and the IT AIS team is on standby for needed work from the Catawba side. Ethos Access Request routing is confirmed; SSO configuration review is in progress. The goal through this process is to get as close to baseline Ellucian as possible. This means that those involved in the project will be spending significant time validating this data.
Catawba uses the ARCI model (commonly known as RACI) for our assignments on projects. Anyone interested in knowing who is on the Team and in what capacity can visit the Transformative Technology site and click on “The Team” under this project.
This project is not without risks that we will need to continue monitor and update these as the project continues. At this time, Integrations and reporting remain high‑risk areas. While these were on our watch list as top concerns, Ellucian has also stated that this is where some Colleges struggle due to personnel capacity. We already begun early planning in an attempt to mitigate this risk. In an effort to ensure the Implementation Team has time to work on these projects, we have asked that they dedicate Wednesday mornings to either SaaS meetings with Ellucian or active work on the project.
Momentum is strong, and each week brings us closer to a fully aligned and well‑orchestrated SaaS transition. Thank you to everyone who has leaned into the process so far—your engagement truly matters. Our goal is to keep communication open as we approach critical milestones.
Stay tuned for next week’s update!
Steffanie West
IT Director, Operations
