TAFE NSW backs Oracle in core transformation

TAFE NSW has reinforced its commitment to an Oracle-based student management system replacement, despite fielding an unsolicited bid from a rival technology company to step in with its own solution.

The vocational training institute is progressing a modernisation of its student platform, which it kicked off back in 2017.

The intent is to swap out its existing Tribal EBS student management system with one based on Oracle software. Oracle was picked by the NSW educator back in 2017.

While the project has experienced some delays - which saw accountability for the last part brought back in-house - guidance by the project team in mid-last year was that it would be completed in September 2023.

A TAFE NSW spokeswoman told iTnews it is “still on track for a September release”.

In addition, the spokeswoman confirmed that TAFE NSW is still backing the Oracle technology and had no plans to change it.

The prospect of a change was flagged last week when TechnologyOne offered to step in with an unsolicited bid to upgrade the system using its own software.

“We can all see this long outstanding issue for TAFE and its students urgently needs to be resolved, and as the leading provider of this solution in the education sector, we had no choice but to help,” TechnologyOne’s chief operating officer Stuart MacDonald said in a statement.

But TAFE NSW's spokeswoman told iTnews that it “has no plans for changing the platform from Oracle”.