UMPI’s Business Program gets $500,000 worth of software

    PRESQUE ISLE — Students in the business program at the University of Maine at Presque Isle have about $500,000 worth of new software at their fingertips thanks to a donation by Oracle Corporation.
    JoAnne Wallingford, associate professor of business/MIS, said that Oracle’s donation will help business students learn in two ways. The company is supporting several classes a semester over the Web so students can learn how to use the enterprise software, and it has also given the university the real software so students can do in-class installation work.    The students in the Management Information Systems (MIS) program – which trains students in managing computerized transaction and reporting systems – received the gift this fall to support its experimental lab.
    This is the second large software donation the university has received. About four years ago, business professors established the MIS lab and garnered a grant for $2.8 million in software from PeopleSoft. That company since has been bought out by Oracle, which has a software suite that competes with the PeopleSoft software. Oracle is working to create a product that combines the best of both suites. The company is issuing upgrades as it moves toward that goal.
    That’s why Wallingford received in the mail recently several boxes stamped with the Oracle logo. The company donated the latest version of the software as a continuation of the grant. She said the new upgrade software is a huge boost for the MIS program.
    “We’re no longer using the four-year-old software,” Wallingford said. “We’ll get access to the newest software all the time without having to reinstall. And we’re going to be using software in marketing and management classes that a lot of companies don’t have yet because they haven’t upgraded to the next level.”
    Wallingford’s colleague, Robert Murray, is conducting two classes where students learn how to use the software as if it were already installed.
    Oracle will host the work they do on their company servers. Wallingford, meanwhile, will work with students on the software installation, giving them the ability to bring the software up on the university servers and troubleshoot any problems along the way. Wallingford said having both options means students “installing” the software won’t interfere with students “using” the software.
    Business professors believe the donation is more than just a wonderful gift, it’s also a career booster for students.
    “One of the goals we’re committed to is to have students tech-savvy in their field,” Wallingford said. “The more we can give them access to the technology tools in their field, the more they gain experience and confidence so when they start working for a company and they get access to software, they’ll be ready.”