Current Initiatives

Application Rationalization

Project Manager: Kristen Ness
Business Lead: David Dittaro

The Application Rationalization initiative builds on the University of Alberta’s application inventory to reduce the number of systems in use by decommissioning redundant and deprecated applications and identifying opportunities for consolidation. It aims to lower cost and complexity, improve integration and data quality and strengthen the sustainability of the institution’s application ecosystem.

Budget, Forecasting and Planning System

Project Manager: Kristen Ness
Business Lead: Bill Bedard 

The Budget, Forecasting and Planning System (UPlan) Replacement project modernizes the University of Alberta’s core financial planning platform by replacing the existing budgeting tool with a more integrated, flexible and scalable solution. It is intended to enhance forecasting accuracy, streamline budget development processes and improve institutional decision-making through better data integration, reporting and long-term financial planning capability.

Budget Model Review

Project Manager: Kristen Ness
Business Lead: Darrell Dancause

The Budget Model Review initiative will assess the university's current budget model to ensure it supports institutional priorities, financial sustainability and informed decision-making. The project will identify opportunities to improve transparency, accountability and alignment between funding, strategic priorities and long-term planning.

Curriculum and Calendar Management Modernization

Project Manager: Maria Oti
Business Lead: Patricia Manns 

The project modernizes the university’s curriculum and calendar processes by replacing largely manual, decentralized workflows with an integrated digital system. It is intended to improve efficiency, transparency and data consistency across program and course approvals, while ensuring the academic calendar — the U of A’s official source of program and course requirements — is accurate, timely and easier to manage.

Digital Content and Web Transformation

Project Manager: Darren Baden
Business Lead: Shane Riczu

The Digital Content and Web Transformation program will establish enterprise digital content governance, implement a faculty and staff intranet and modernize the University of Alberta’s public website to improve how information is managed and accessed across the institution.

Together, these changes will strengthen the university’s digital presence, support recruitment and engagement, reduce risk associated with outdated or inconsistent information and improve operational efficiency through better access to trusted information.

Enhancing Advising

Project Manager: Kelly Park
Business Lead: Melissa Padfield

The Enhancing Advising initiative is focused on creating a more connected and consistent advising experience for students. By improving advising processes, technology and access to information, the project will help students navigate their academic journey more effectively while enabling advisors to deliver more coordinated, timely and personalized support.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Modernization

Program Manager: Corey Arntson 

The ERP Modernization initiative renews the University of Alberta’s core enterprise systems (e.g., finance, human resources and student information system) by upgrading or replacing aging platforms and reducing reliance on extensive customizations. It is intended to improve system integration, data quality and user experience while strengthening the University’s ability to deliver efficient, scalable and sustainable administrative and academic services.

Enterprise Service Management Governance

Project Manager: Darren Baden
Business Lead: David Dittaro

The Enterprise Service Management Governance initiative will establish a consistent governance model for enterprise service management across the university. By defining decision-making, standards and ownership, the project will improve service quality, support continuous improvement and ensure technology-enabled services are delivered in a coordinated and sustainable way.

Forms and Workflow Modernization

Project Manager(s): Kelly Park (student) and Ami Dykstra (staff and research) 

The Institutional Forms and Workflow Optimization initiative reviews and rationalizes forms and associated processes across the University of Alberta for students, staff and researchers. It aims to reduce duplication, eliminate unnecessary forms and automate workflows to improve user experience, operational efficiency and data quality.

Institutional Service Directory

Project Manager: Kelly Park

The Institutional Service Directory initiative focuses on improving how University of Alberta services are organized, discovered and accessed by students, faculty and staff. It aims to consolidate fragmented service information into a centralized, user-friendly directory, enhancing visibility, navigation and consistency across institutional services while supporting more efficient service delivery and self-service access.

Graduate Awards

Project Manager: Bill Burtnik
Business Lead: Tracy Ravio 

The Graduate Awards System replaces the legacy Tribal platform with Blackbaud to modernize the administration of graduate scholarships and awards at the University of Alberta. It is intended to streamline application, adjudication and funding workflows while improving data integrity, transparency and the overall experience for students, faculty and administrators.

Research Administration Modernization

Project Manager: Ami Dykstra
Business Lead: Ian Winship  

The Research Administration Modernization Project (RAMP) aims to improve the researcher experience by clearly mapping support available via research administration services, processes and roles across the U of A’s distributed research ecosystem. As part of this work, RAMP will also synthesize university community feedback into a report on today's research administration experience and opportunities for future improvement.

Utilities Asset Management

Project Manager: Nakotey Okai
Business Lead: Jas Dhadly, Laurel Roblin

The Utilities Asset Management initiative will establish a comprehensive approach to managing the university's critical utility infrastructure and assets. By improving asset information, lifecycle planning and investment decisions, the project will support reliable campus services, reduce risk and enable more effective long-term capital planning.