UT officials say Oracle 'DASH' implementation is operational but still being tuned
Loading...
Summary
System leaders reported that the DASH Oracle Cloud implementation is live with 26 modules in production; staff described ongoing "day‑two" work to resolve configuration issues, payroll fixes and a projected monthly labor savings.
University of Tennessee system officials described the status of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) and human capital management implementation known as DASH, saying the Oracle Cloud system is in production but still undergoing tuning and fixes.
David Miller, who led the DASH update, said the system went live on Jan. 6 and that all 26 modules are operational. "The build out and implementation of DASH is a success," he said, while cautioning that staff continue to encounter configuration issues and occasional functionality gaps that require fixes from internal teams or Oracle and its contractors.
Miller said many reported issues are associated with workflow configuration and recreating long‑standing business rules from legacy systems. He described a range of issue severities—from simple fixes (for example, cell format validation) to issues requiring reprogramming—and called testing a necessary but imperfect step because production introduces real‑world cases that did not appear in controlled tests.
Systems staff estimate productivity gains from DASH. Miller said the project is saving an estimated 3,200 staff hours a month systemwide through automation and workflow improvements, with specific estimated monthly savings in sponsored programs, payroll and journal entry workflows. However, Miller and other speakers acknowledged that payroll processing required careful attention; the team has processed multiple payroll runs since go‑live that triggered manual corrections.
The Oracle build involved scaled support from Accenture during implementation and a transition to Oracle's day‑two services for ongoing support. Miller credited state funding and inter‑institution cooperation for enabling a single system across multiple higher education institutions, and he recognized Tammy Lehi as the project's on‑the‑ground manager.
Committee members praised staff efforts while noting that the work will continue in coming months as the system is optimized and additional student and financial aid modules are implemented.
