Marion Technical College builds a Modern ERP Foundation with Ellucian Colleague

The Challenge

Marion Technical College originally engaged SIGto support a comprehensive Ellucian Colleague implementation and modernization initiative.

The engagement extended across critical institutional functions, including student records, registration, financial aid, student accounts, finance, data conversion, reporting, integrations, and the broader technical environment.

Rather than simply recreating existing processes in a new environment, the project was structured around recommended practices, common business process models, and standardized data practices.

The goal: Establish a more sustainable ERP foundation while preparing Marion Technical College’s teams to operate and support the environment as institutional needs evolved in the future.

The Approach

SIG worked alongside Marion Technical College’s functional and technical teams through a structured implementation approach that emphasized both technology and institutional readiness.

The engagement incorporated:

• Prescriptive training and business capability guidance
• Configuration and technical services
• Business process simulations and testing
• Data conversion
• Reporting and analytics
• Ellucian integrations
• Knowledge transfer
• Project management and governance

A train-the-trainer methodology was incorporated into the project to build institutional knowledge within Marion Technical College’s teams and prepare staff to support the environment beyond implementation.

The project management methodology provided structure across Initiation, Planning, Execution, Transition & Close, with ongoing monitoring and control supporting governance throughout the project lifecycle.

Modernizing Core Student and Administrative Operations

A major component of the engagement focused on establishing a strong Colleague foundation across Marion Technical College’s student and administrative operations.

Student and Academic Operations

The implementation addressed critical student processes, ranging from student and demographic records to curriculum and course scheduling to end-of-term processing.

Financial Aid

The engagement also addressed a broad range of financial aid operations, including verification, cost of attendance, Satisfactory Academic Progress, award management, and federal aid packaging, to name a few.

Student Accounts

Finally, the project incorporated student accounts and receivables processes including billing, cash receipting, registration billing, refunds, and general ledger processing.

Rather than focusing solely on system configuration, prescriptive training and business process simulations helped Marion Technical College’s teams understand how institutional processes would operate within Colleague.

Creating a Stronger Data Foundation

Modern ERP environments depend on reliable, well-structured institutional data.

As part of the Colleague implementation, SIG supported Marion Technical College’s data conversion effort with mapping specifications, conversion programs, technical training, and iterative testing.

The conversion scope included key institutional information such as:

• Student and faculty demographic data
• Current and historical course information
• Student programs and roles
• Academic history and transfer credits
• Admissions records
• Student background information
• Financial aid award history
• Accounts receivable balances
• Finance summary data

Knowledge transfer was built into the conversion process so Marion Technical College’s team could execute Colleague conversion imports during iterative testing.

The approach helped make data conversion an institutional capability rather than simply a technical migration exercise.

Connecting the Ellucian Ecosystem

The engagement extended beyond the core ERP to help Marion Technical College establish a more connected Ellucian technology environment.

From integrating Ellucian Ethos with the Colleague ERP environment, to setup and configuration support for Ellucian Experience, to incorporating reporting and analytics services into the broader implementation, Marion Technical College was able to both modernize its ERP and improve access to institutional information.

Supporting Student Success

Marion Technical College’s modernization initiative also extended into the technology supporting student retention.

As part of the broader engagement, SIG provided implementation support for Colleague Retention Alert.

The work began with Marion Technical College’s existing strategic enrollment management approach and retention practices. The team reviewed retention policies and procedures, interviewed stakeholders, identified advisor hierarchies, defined critical information needs, and reviewed reporting requirements.

Those findings informed subsequent technical and functional work around case management, business rules, advisor hierarchies, communication tracks, permissions, and testing.

By beginning with institutional strategy and processes rather than technology configuration alone, the approach helped connect the solution more directly to Marion Technical College’s student success priorities.

Building Knowledge Alongside Technology

One of the most important elements of the engagement was knowledge transfer.

Marion Technical College’s subject matter experts and technical staff were active participants throughout the implementation.

Prescriptive training, business capability guides, simulations, testing, and a train-the-trainer methodology were designed to help teams develop the knowledge necessary to operate and support their Colleague environment.

This approach reflects a core principle of successful ERP modernization: technology is only one part of the transformation.

The Impact

As a result of our work together, Marion Technical College has benefited from:

• A successful transition of core Colleague functionality
• Improvements to student, financial aid, finance, and registration processes
• Reduction in manual and redundant processes
• Enhancements in data quality, consistency, and accessibility
• Improvements in reporting and institutional decision-making
• Increased staff knowledge and confidence  

A Foundation for What’s Next

By bringing together business processes, institutional data, integrations, reporting, student services, and staff knowledge, the project was designed to establish a more modern and sustainable enterprise foundation for Marion Technical College.

SIG’s approach combined implementation expertise with training, simulation, data conversion, technical services, integrations, and project governance, helping Marion Technical College address both the technology itself and the institutional capabilities required to support it.