BU cuts losses with U.S. firm

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This article was published 28/02/2024 (634 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — Brandon University has nixed a four-year, multimillion-dollar contract with a Florida firm after the company failed to deliver a new computer system for its academic and administrative records.

The contract, which involved the replacement of a system created in 1978, was awarded to Campus Management of Orlando, which was later named Anthology, in 2020. Work started just as the COVID-19 pandemic began.

After spending $6 million on local staff salaries and fees to Anthology, Scott Lamont, BU’s vice-president (administration and finance), said it became clear in late 2023 that Anthology wouldn’t complete the project.

“At a certain point we have to say we’re just not going to get there,” said Lamont, who has also been the executive project lead. “It’s an unfortunate outcome… Anthology is not happy about the situation.”

The board of governors made the decision at a special in-camera meeting Feb. 24.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re going to stop the project overall. We still have a legacy system — the old homegrown system that we’ve got that is reliable, just lacks capability compared to most modern systems.

“So we’re in the process of making sure that it’s going to be stable and able to operate as long as necessary, in order for us to go out and find another ERP supplier that will hopefully better meet our needs this time.”

David Huberdeau-Reid resigned from the board of governors last week. In a letter to Advanced Education Minister Renee Cable, he cited the university’s handling of the contract as one of his reasons, as well as the lack of growth in enrolment.

Huberdeau-Reid told the Brandon Sun it was revealed to the board of governors in January that Anthology had yet to provide any results and that three alternatives were pitched: continue with Anthology, continue with a reduced scope, or cancel the project and work on it in-house.

Additionally, he said administration and the rest of his colleagues on the board were unwilling to accept his recommendation that the project be reviewed by a third party.

“How I understand it is, the chair of the board brought up the status… of the project and I think it forced administration to come up with a response,” Huberdeau-Reid said.

He questioned whether any of the fees paid to Anthology could be recouped, and whether the university would even consider court action.

Lamont said the money spent on the project with Anthology is part of the discussion as the university deals with “ending the relationship.”

“We need to find a way to end the relationship that is fair and reasonable to both parties,” Lamont said.

Huberdeau-Reid asserted that costs snowballed because of a lack of oversight. Due to the structure of the board, he said, it has been unable to assess the situation in a timely manner.

“I think they rubber-stamp what the administration does and I don’t see a way that I can effectively change it.”

His resignation, he said, was an attempt to get the provincial government to understand the severity of the situation.

Lamont said it was an unfair statement for Huberdeau-Reid to suggest there was financial mismanagement, either by the company or university staff and administration.

“You keep working your way through, toward the goals you had, and you try to hold people accountable. You have to recognize that the product is what it is… We did adjustments that we could make as we went forward.”

The university had expected the project to cost “roughly” $4-5-million. Had it finished as expected in 2022, it would not have cost as much, Lamont said.

“It’s a ballpark number for the implementation costs,” Lamont said. “It includes everything from our own staff costs, consultants, what’s been paid to Anthology.”

Board of governors chair Julee Galvin declined to comment:

The minister said the government is reviewing the issue.

The Sun was unable to reach a representative from Anthology.

—Brandon Sun