ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEMS: A STUDY OF THE
USAGE AND CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING ERP SOFTWARE
INTO UNIVERSITY CURRICULUMS

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Purpose of the Research
The purpose of this research is to investigate which ERP applications are implemented and taught as part of university business curricula and what challenges are faced throughout such implementation.

Introduction
The integration of information technologies into the business school curricula in the past concentrated on imparting IT skills to students and/or using it as a technology-based aid for improving the teaching and learning effectiveness and efficiencies (Seethamraju, 2007).
The academic literature discusses that using ERP systems to teach cross-functional integration is well founded. Additionally, the importance of ERP education has been recognized by many researchers, including Watson and Schneider (1999), Joseph and George (2002), and Selen (2001). The methodology to teach ERP to undergraduate students has also been investigated by researchers, such as Becerra-Fernandez, Murphy, and Simon (2000) and Guthrie and Guthrie (2000).
This paper will address which ERP software is used for teaching concepts of business process integration, which applications are most frequently taught, and which issues were most challenging for the instructors teaching these classes.

ERP Software Taught in Universities
The trend towards ERP systems in large and mid-sized businesses has a significant impact on Information Systems career paths. Consequently, more and more universities are beginning to implement some type of ERP software into specific business degree plans. Two of the main ERP software vendors, SAP R/3 and Oracle, have developed university alliance programs to help universities incorporate ERP software into their curricula (Rosemann and Watson, 2002). Within the last few years, Oracle has acquired PeopleSoft and JD Edwards, two other major ERP vendors (Forrester Research, 2005).
According to a 2006 study by Gartner Dataquest, Oracle was ranked the #1 database program, having 47.1% market share, with $7.5 billion in revenues (2006). Because of statistics like these, many universities have decided to integrate Oracle training and certification into certain business degree plans.
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Oracle has developed a program that helps prepare students for IT careers while providing instructors with world-class training and professional development opportunities. Oracle Academy (also known as the Oracle Academic Initiative) grants colleges and universities with software, curriculum, and certification resources needed in order to complete the Oracle certification (Academy.Oracle.com, 2006).
SAP is the world’s largest business software company and the world’s third-largest independent software provider over all (SAP: The World’s Largest Business Software Company, 2007).

In order to train future employees who may work for businesses which have implemented SAP, the company created the SAP University Alliance Program. This program provides faculty members with the tools and resources necessary to teach students how technology can enable integrated business processes and strategic thinking (SAP.com, 2007). According to a recent publication, universities that form these alliances are establishing “knowledge links, a form of strategic alliance that gives organizations access to the skills and capabilities of a partner and opportunity to create new capabilities together” (Badaracco, 1991). To date, about 400 universities worldwide have incorporated SAP in their business curriculum (Hawking et. al., 2004).

Which ERP Applications Are Taught
Because most university curriculums, especially in the College of Business, are designed according to the needs of local employers, research should be conducted within the local community to determine which ERP applications should be taught. The results of a research project conducted in the summer of 2006 indicated that the petrochemical industry in Southeast Texas, the largest employer, used an extensive number of ERP applications. These applications are listed in Table 1 below (Barnes and Bandyopadhyay, 2007).