Syracuse University’s replacement for S.C.O.R.E., the MySlice registration system, will go online today. But the company behind the software, PeopleSoft Inc., has run into legal trouble over a similar deal with Cleveland State University.

CSU sued PeopleSoft Inc. for $510 million in damages in an Ohio court this January, alleging that PeopleSoft and Kaludis Consulting Group Inc. defrauded the university and breached contracts during the implementation of its student administration software.

SU has been using PeopleSoft programming to manage its faculty administration since the mid-’90s, and the project to create the student-centered MySlice version has been in the works for 18 months. More than 140 university employees have participated in the development process.

In its complaint, CSU alleges that PeopleSoft failed to provide the ‘fully functional integrated software system’ it promised, which the university said caused and continues to cause ‘extensive and substantial damages to CSU.’

CSU purchased the software in 1996 and began implementation in 1997, according to court documents. The university filed a similar suit against the company in 2002, but dropped it in 2003.

Kaludis filed a counterclaim against the Cleveland Stater, CSU’s student newspaper, March 11, 2004, for two articles that Kaludis claims were defamatory to the company. One story was a news report about the suit; the other was an examination of how the alleged failures of PeopleSoft negatively affected student life at CSU. The university denies that either of these articles was false or defamatory.

SU and CSU spokespersons declined to comment on the pending litigation.

‘It was a good idea, but the system just never worked,’ said Cole Whaley, a senior at Cleveland State.

Published on September 28, 2004 at 12:00 pm