About ctcLink
The ctcLink project is the implementation of a centralized system to give faculty, students, and staff access to modern functionality and a more efficient way to conduct business. The PeopleSoft Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system will provide an integrated software experience that will streamline many of our business processes on a standardized platform at all 34 community and technical colleges in Washington State.
Information for students Information for employees
In ctcLink implementation, conversion and validation refer to the process of loading data from the existing legacy systems to PeopleSoft. The conversion process involves identifying the data that must be brought to the new system, mapping the data to PeopleSoft fields, translating old codes into PeopleSoft codes, and finally loading the clean, compatible data into PeopleSoft.
This project is being led by SBCTC's project team and they have been working hard to configure the system to work across all the colleges.
The various ERP modules will cover our core processes like registration, course management, payroll, human resources, financial aid, financial services, and reporting. Once implemented, all students and employees will use this new system.
Progress So Far:
Three pilot colleges (Spokane Community College, Spokane Falls Community College, and Tacoma Community College) went live with ctcLink in August 2015. After a rocky start, ctcLink has gone through multiple rounds of improvement and upgrade.
Wenatchee Valley College is on track to go-live with our ctcLink configuration on February 8, 2021 (for employees) and February 22, 2021 (for students).
Our current administrative systems (SMS, FMS, and PPMS) are outdated. Washington State Community and Technical Colleges implemented the existing system in 1979. After over 40 years, these systems present a serious failure risk. The database and reporting tools in use are no longer supported. Considerable effort is needed to keep this antiquated system operational and this effort continues to grow and become more expensive every day. There is no ability to improve or upgrade this system.
- ID Numbers - Students and staff will have a single, electronic record with one ID number, available to all 34 colleges.
- Admissions Application - Future students will have one admission application process regardless of where or when they decide to attend.
- Financial Aid Process - New and returning students will have a single financial aid application process.
- Student Monitoring Tools - Students will be able to monitor their ‘time to degree’ and advisors can audit the process.
- Course Catalog - Students will have access to a centralized catalog of courses.
- Single Electronic Record - Faculty and staff will have a single electronic record with one ID number.
- Mobility - Access to information from any device (smartphone, tablet, or computer) anytime or anywhere.
- Modern Online Tools - Designed with an intuitive and customizable user experience across the entire platform.
- Standardization - Common processes to provide an efficient and effective experience.
Financial Aid System (FAS/FAM): The Financial Aid System that currently administers and manages financial aid services. This will transition to PeopleSoft Campus Solutions (CS).
Financial Management System (FMS): The Financial Management System that currently administers and manages financial and accounting services. This will transition to PeopleSoft Financial Management (FIN).
Payroll/Personnel Management System (PPMS): The Payroll/Personnel Management System that currently manages the human resources and payroll processing services. This will transition to PeopleSoft Human Capital Management (HCM).
Student Management System (SMS): The Student Management System that currently administers and manages all student and curriculum related business functions. This will also transition to PeopleSoft Campus Solutions (CS).
Some 3rd party softwares or homegrown applications that use the data from these back-end systems will also be replaced in the process. These include, but are not limited to, Degree Audit, Instructor Briefcase and TLR (time and leave reporting).
The reporting tools (DataExpress/By Request) will be replaced by PeopleSoft reporting tools. Each college will identify and train a core group of subject matter experts (SMEs) to work with the SBCTC and other colleges to develop the required reports. Staff and faculty will have access to run reports as required by their assigned duties.
Because the ctcLink implementation will only convert a small window of data, access to the legacy data will be provided. Details of how this will work are not available at this time.
The ctcLink implementation plan is to convert all enrollment data for any active student within a six-year (prior to October 2019) period. Personnel and payroll data will only be converted for the previous two years.
The legacy system will be put into read-only mode and will be available through the legacy software for a time that is yet to be determined. While staff will have access to the data after Go Live, they will be unable to alter it in any way. When all colleges have been migrated (targeted for 2022) and the new system is stabilized, the legacy system will be sun-setted. The legacy data will be available, however, through as yet to be determined methods for reporting purposes.
It depends on your role at the college – if you use the current Legacy system (such as FMS, SMS, PPMS or FAM), you will learn an entirely new system and process for inputting and accessing information online. Those who don’t use the current system on a daily basis will see changes too, such as the addition of online workflows for certain tasks and, for everyone, the added benefit of new, online tools to access and manage personal records.