Francis Marion University seeks to sole source the procurement of application subscription services programs that include eDeposits, uStores, uPay, Admissions Pros, & Handshake.
Francis Marion University utilizes the Ellucian Colleague Enterprise Requirements Planning Software, including use of Payment Client Software through Ellucian. The expectation for the term of use of the Ellucian Colleague ERP system is indefinite; there is no anticipated time in the foreseeable future in which we would be moving from this ERP system to another system.
eDeposits, Marketplace uStores, & Marketplace uPay - The University seeks to continue to utilize Ellucian for as much of its needs as possible including accepting payments from students. TouchNet provides a “student marketplace,” which allows students to conduct eCommerce with the University 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Touchnet’s Application Subscription Services Program will allow for an electronic student marketplace and provides for encryption to current and new hardware devices for the security of the student and the University. The PCI requirements and certification practices for TouchNet provide the only viable compatible option for a payment system to work in tandem with our ERP software.
Admissions Pros - Francis Marion University utilizes the Touchnet payment system for students campus wide and was purchased via State Contract from Heartland Campus Solutions. This system works for many forms of payment, including but not limited to individual payments unrelated to student fees. The University handles several services for which payments from students or other entities is required, one of which is Admissions Pro (a customer-relationship management software). Francis Marion University completed RFP 2333 – Provide CRM for Office of Admissions in 2020 with Admissions Pro as the winning/awarded vendor. Updated software support and assurance is a priority for the University to continue to utilize the automated photo submission system without having issues related to out of date software. Furthermore, purchasing various service-oriented payment systems would not be productive or conducive for the University, its faculty/staff, and students alike as it would require maintenance and training on several different payment systems.
Handshake - The University handles several services for which payments from students or other entities is required, one of which is Handshake (career services software). Updated software support and assurance is a priority for the University to continue to utilize the automated photo submission system without having issues related to out of date software, and further, purchasing various service oriented payment systems would not be productive for the University as it would have to maintain several different payment systems.
As the TouchNet system already exists at the University and is both compatible and integrated with the University’s ERP system, TouchNet is the sole source for the University’s Payment Center needs through the various subscriptions detailed above.