NEW ROCHELLE, NY –The College of New Rochelle (CNR) has been selected to receive the 2015 Innovation Award for Resource Enhancement from the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) for the development of a unique shared services model for technological advancement in collaboration with Marist College.
The NACUBO Innovation Award honors higher education institutions that incorporate cutting edge solutions to significant institutional challenges applicable to all colleges and universities. The College of New Rochelle received the award for a Resource Enhancement model that recognizes higher education institutions that have successfully reduced costs, increased revenues or improved productivity in response to a campus need.
“We are so pleased to be recognized by NACUBO with this prestigious honor,” said Judith Huntington, President of The College of New Rochelle. “This shared-services partnership with Marist College demonstrates an innovative approach to what has become a ubiquitous challenge in higher education—how to address the affordability and timeliness of onboarding new technology that optimizes both the academic enterprise and business environment. A sound technology strategy is one that not only responds to the opportunities of today, but also builds capacity for growth. We hope that this approach will serve as a model for other higher education institutions.”
“This unique collaboration has greatly accelerated The College of New Rochelle’s strategic objectives in technology,” said Huntington. “Through this model, both institutions benefit. We are able to leverage Marist’s technology proficiency – proficiency that would take CNR many years and significant funds to replicate, while Marist continues to advance their technology leadership role in higher education.”
Dennis Murray, President of Marist College commented, “The use of a shared-services model allows us to advance technology in higher education for students in a cost-effective way. It doesn’t make sense for every college to invest in high-tech resources, when colleges like Marist, who have it as a core competency, are in a position to share their expertise.”
This collaboration has thus far resulted in the CNR’s new website (www.cnr.edu), which was launched in December 2014. The website is a critical communications vehicle to articulate the College’s mission and identity and to fully support recruitment for its four schools. The new website is hosted on Marist’s server in an environment that applies the highest industry standards for data storage, security, backup, and recovery.
The second phase of this collaboration launched on July 1 as CNR transitioned its finance operations to the Banner enterprise resource planning system, using funds from a $10 million Title III grant the College received in 2014 to support technology infrastructure and Marist’s expertise to accelerate the project timeline. Integrating all student-related functions, including registration, financial aid, and academic advisement on the Banner system will be the next phase in this endeavor. This consolidation of systems into a single platform will allow The College of New Rochelle to enhance data integrity, improve efficiency, provide consistent and timely service for CNR’s constituents, and save valuable resources.
As a NACUBO award recipient, CNR has joined a group of innovative academic institutions from across the United States. Last year’s recipients alone included The California Institute of Technology, John Brown University, the University of Colorado System, the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and Yavapai College. “At a pivotal time in higher education, these outstanding individuals and institutions have set the tone for excellence across the sector,” said NACUBO president and CEO John Walda. “We are proud to honor these worthy recipients as models of professionalism and innovation in campus management and finance.”
Dr. Betty Roberts, Vice President for Finance and Administration, who has steered the technology implementation at CNR, will accept the Innovation Award at the National Association of College and University Business Officers’ annual conference held in Nashville, Tennessee, July 18-21, 2015.