BGSU went paperless on Monday.

The University’s campus administrators, secretaries, deans and directors now use a new system, PeopleSoft, that works with administrative properties. PeopleSoft is an organization that connects the different systems used in a business operation. These include a financial system, human resource system and a student system for the University.

One of the main reasons the University is moving to this new system is to improve efficiency, according to Bruce Petryshak, the University’s chief information officer for Information Technology Services.

The old system, known as American Management Systems, was more expensive to use and also less flexible than the new system will be, he said.

ITS Communications Coordinator Cindy Fuller said the current system was started in 2003.

The system that began back in 2003 and will extend into 2009 will involve three separate systems – finances, human resources and a student system.

This change won’t be cheap for the University.

It will cost the University $7 million to $16 million by the time it’s implemented, according to Linda Dobb, executive vice president of the University.

And more than 700 faculty and staff members have already been trained to use the system, she said.

Petryshak said the new system will make things easier for them once they’ve learned to use it because all the pieces will be able to work together.

The University can even use the new system to make purchases, he said.

Toby Singer, executive director of the ITS, said the new system will make the process of accessing information faster and more efficient.

So what does this mean for students?

Well, if you have ever been denied access to the University Web site then the new system is just what you are looking for.

In 2009, students will be able to access all portions of the BGSU Web site after the 9 p.m. deadline they currently face in admissions, financial aid, registration and bursar.

The first students affected by the transition will be those employed by the University. Eventually all BGSU students will go into the database as well.

The University will not hire anyone to run the system full-time although there were some temporary hires to help get the system started. Rather, the new system will be run by current BGSU employees, Dobb said.