Client Success Story - University of Colorado at Boulder

Robert Dixon, Director of IT for Housing and Dining Services at CU, oversees the many CBORD solutions in use at the school.

“Because we are such a large university, we need solutions that cover as many applications as possible,” says Dixon. “We have worked with many vendors over the years, but we have repeatedly selected CBORD solutions because the products are stable and the support is excellent. Dealing with one vendor that has it all together has been of great benefit.”

CBORD solutions are in use in virtually every corner of CU's campus and even in the surrounding community. Here is a look at how the systems improve operations in many areas.

Dining Services

Foodservice Suite was the first CBORD solution implemented at CU. The school uses the software to automate back-of-house practices such as menu and recipe management, inventory control, ordering, and nutritional analysis.

“Foodservice Suite has really improved the way we track inventory and handle purchasing,” says Merelene Stanley, IT Coordinator for Dining Services at CU. “Previously, we used a homegrown system and handled these things manually. Foodservice Suite helped us automate the processes, making everything much faster.”

EventMaster PLUS! , a catering and event management solution, is also used by CU in conjunction with Foodservice Suite to handle planning, invoicing, billing, and more for its many catered affairs. According to Stanley:

“EventMaster PLUS!  has been very beneficial for us, particularly with our athletic catered events. From invoicing to A/V equipment, the system helps us plan and track our events for a seamless experience from start to finish.”

Card Office

The Buff One Card office converted its campus card system to Odyssey PCS in 2006. Larry Drees, Director of the Campus Card Program at CU, sees ease of integration as Odyssey PCS's greatest strength. Whether it is integration with student discount memberships or the campus printing program, Odyssey PCS easily communicates with other solutions, minimizing duplicate labor in many areas of operation.

“Our main focus is to maintain a true one-card program,” says Drees. “The Buff One Card is used for meal plans, access control, banking, library privileges, student discounts, and more. The integration factor that makes all of this possible is a major reason we have continued to expand our use of CBORD systems.”

Housing

CU uses Odyssey HMS from CBORD to manage its housing processes. Eric DenBraber, CU Database Administrator, sees particular value in the Odyssey HMS WebStudent online application. The solution makes many processes available to students online, such as housing applications, roommate searches, and room selection. “Conservatively, we freed up over 3,000 person hours with the WebStudent application,” says DenBraber. “At $8.50/hour, that's an annual savings of $25,500.”

Judicial Affairs

Odyssey HMS Judicial helps CU facilitate its student judicial processes and comply with Clery Act reporting. The system tracks incidents, violations, and sanctions, and lets users define series of events that must take place with corresponding due dates.

“Odyssey HMS Judicial has made a big difference in our judicial awareness,” says DenBraber. “The ability to capture data and conduct real analysis has helped us cut down on our judicial incidents. Now we know better what is happening and where we need to focus more attention.”

Off Campus

CU's technological services are not limited by campus borders—the surrounding community is an important aspect of the university's culture. To that end, CU partners with Student Advantage to extend services for student discount programs.

With the Student Advantage discount program, CU students can present their Buff One Cards, complete with Student Advantage logos, for exclusive discounts at local, national, and online merchants. Not only does this partnership improve CU's town/gown relationships, but it also reinforces the Buff One Card as an integral tool in students' everyday lives.

“Any time we can offer our students more convenience or another opportunity to take advantage of services we offer, that is a plus,” says Dixon. “This off-campus program is a great way to do just that.”

Bringing It All Together

CBORD solutions work together across CU's campus and beyond for ease of management and up-to-the-minute data integrity across systems. According to Dixon, however, one of the most important factors in the school's success with these programs is the reliability of support.

“Our experience with CBORD has been extremely positive, and the greatest reason for that is the quality of support,” says Dixon. “We have found the solutions to be robust and well integrated with strong support backing them up, and that, more than anything with these systems, is what keeps me sleeping well at night.”