University System Consolidates 50+ Databases
The Challenge
A large state university system comprising 12 campuses and serving 180,000 students was struggling with severe data fragmentation that impacted student services, administrative efficiency, and regulatory compliance. Over 15 years of decentralized IT decision-making had resulted in 50+ disparate databases across student information systems, learning management platforms, financial aid, housing, library systems, and departmental applications. Each campus operated independently with incompatible student ID systems, making it impossible to track students who transferred between campuses or took courses at multiple locations within the system. The fragmentation created devastating consequences: students transferring between campuses had to re-submit transcripts and re-apply for financial aid because systems couldn't communicate. Administrative staff manually reconciled data from multiple systems for reporting to state agencies and accreditation bodies, a process taking 40+ person-hours per report. The system had no unified view of student enrollment, graduation rates, or financial metrics, hampering strategic planning. Failed state audit cited data inconsistencies and inability to verify financial aid distributions. The Board of Regents mandated complete database consolidation within 18 months to restore operational efficiency, ensure compliance, and improve student experience across the university system.
The Strategy
- 1 Conduct comprehensive database assessment and data quality audit across all 50+ systems
- 2 Design unified data model supporting all academic and administrative processes
- 3 Execute phased migration minimizing disruption to academic calendar and student services
- 4 Implement master data management ensuring single source of truth for student records
🔍 Database Assessment & Data Quality Audit
The Problem We Found
Initial assessment revealed catastrophic data quality issues: student records existed in 8 different ID formats across campuses, 15% of financial aid records had discrepancies between systems, no data governance policies existed, and each campus used different academic calendar structures making term-to-term comparisons impossible.
Our Approach
- Cataloged all 52 databases across 12 campuses, documenting schemas, data volumes, and dependencies
- Conducted comprehensive data profiling identifying quality issues, duplicates, and orphaned records
- Mapped 850+ tables and 12,000+ columns to unified canonical data model
- Analyzed data lineage to understand how information flowed between systems
- Assessed 45+ applications relying on databases to plan migration impact and testing
- Created data quality scorecard quantifying cleanliness, completeness, and consistency
The Result
Comprehensive inventory of 52 databases containing 18TB of data with documented quality issues. Identified 2.3M duplicate student records requiring deduplication. Mapped dependencies for 45 applications requiring updates. Data quality assessment revealed 23% of records needed remediation before migration.
Metrics
🏗️ Unified Data Model & Master Data Management
The Problem We Found
No standardized data model existed across the system. Each campus defined 'student,' 'course,' and 'enrollment' differently. Student IDs weren't portable between campuses. No canonical source existed for critical reference data like course catalogs, degree programs, or campus locations.
Our Approach
- Designed unified SQL Server data model based on higher education best practices (IPEDS standards)
- Created master data management (MDM) hub for students, courses, faculty, and organizational hierarchy
- Implemented universal student identifier allowing seamless tracking across campus transfers
- Built data governance framework with stewardship roles and data quality rules
- Established reference data management for courses, programs, and administrative structures
- Created comprehensive data dictionary documenting business definitions and technical specifications
The Result
Unified data model now supports all academic and administrative processes across 12 campuses. MDM hub established single source of truth for 180,000 student records with universal identifiers. Reference data management eliminated duplicate course catalogs and inconsistent program definitions. Data governance framework ensures ongoing data quality through automated rules and stewardship accountability.
Metrics
🔄 Phased Migration & System Integration
The Problem We Found
Migration couldn't disrupt academic operations or student services. Financial aid disbursements, registration, and grading had to continue without interruption. 45 applications relied on legacy databases and required updates or replacement. No automated testing framework existed for validating complex business rules.
Our Approach
- Designed phased migration strategy aligned with academic calendar, executing during summer/winter breaks
- Built Azure-hosted SQL Server Always On availability groups for high availability and disaster recovery
- Created comprehensive ETL pipelines using SSIS extracting, transforming, and loading data from 52 sources
- Implemented data cleansing and deduplication logic resolving quality issues during migration
- Developed extensive test suite with 3,500+ test cases validating academic business rules
- Established parallel operation period where both legacy and new systems ran simultaneously for validation
- Migrated applications in waves: non-critical systems first, student-facing systems last
The Result
Successfully consolidated 52 databases into unified SQL Server platform with zero data loss. Migrated 18TB of data including 180,000 student records, 15 years of academic history, and 8.5M course enrollments. All 45 dependent applications successfully updated or replaced. Parallel operation validated data accuracy with 99.97% match rate. Executed final cutover during 3-day window with no disruption to students or academic operations.
Metrics
Impact & Results
The database consolidation transformed the university system's operational capabilities and student experience. Students now seamlessly transfer between campuses with automatic credit recognition and financial aid portability - what previously took weeks now happens instantly through unified systems. Administrative reporting time decreased 85%, from 40 person-hours to 6 hours per report, enabling rapid response to state agency requests and accreditation requirements. The system passed its state audit with zero findings, a complete reversal from the previous failed audit. Unified student records provide accurate enrollment and graduation metrics enabling data-driven strategic planning for the first time. IT operational costs decreased 45% through database consolidation, eliminating 52 separate systems requiring maintenance, backup, and monitoring. The unified platform now enables system-wide initiatives like cross-campus course registration, shared library resources, and collaborative research programs that were previously impossible with fragmented infrastructure. Most importantly, the 180,000 students across 12 campuses now experience consistent, high-quality services regardless of which campus they attend.
"Zatsys executed a database consolidation project that seemed impossible given our complexity and constraints. They consolidated 52 databases across 12 campuses without disrupting a single day of classes or student services. Our students can now seamlessly move between campuses, and our administrative teams have the unified data they need to serve students effectively. We went from a failed state audit to zero findings - that alone justified the investment."
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