Dive Brief:

• The 10-year-old open-source software project that grew into the Kuali Foundation now has 74 member institutions and more than 24 colleges use its middleware product to support business applications.
• Its most mature product, a financial system software package, is used by 21 colleges, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
• Kuali also has a research-administration system used by 10 colleges, a library-management system that two colleges will start using this summer, and academic planning and curriculum management modules adopted by four colleges.

Dive Insight:

The financial system software is an enterprise resource planning system, and Kuali is developing two other ERP systems: for student information and human resources. Those are the three core ERP systems used by colleges, and Kuali could gather steam once it has all three in place. While the cost savings of using the open-source software can be substantial, it isn’t free—Kuali institutions pay dues and contribute staff for development. Colorado State University, for example, dedicates a full-time staffer to Kuali software development in lieu of paying $125,000 annually. Still, buying ERP systems from for-profit software providers, like Oracle, can cost tens of millions of dollars. About 90 staffers from Kuali member institutions are helping develop the student information management system.