The Status of ERP Integration in Business School Curricula: Results of a Survey of Business Schools

Abstract

Although a growing number of business graduates are involved in the selection, implementation,and use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, many schools are slow in adopting andintegrating these systems into their business curricula. Anecdotal evidence suggests that manyschools perceive the integration of ERP software into curricula to be too complex, and theresulting costs to outweigh the benefits derived. Other schools question the relevance of ERPskills and knowledge to students. However, an increasing number of schools are joining ERPvendor alliance programs, offering ERP tracks in various departments or even building theirbusiness programs around ERP software.The apparent divergence of opinions regarding incorporating ERP into business curricula lendsitself to a fruitful area of inquiry. The current study presents the results of a survey administeredto information systems faculty at 94 colleges and universities that examines the current status ofERP integration in the classroom. All but three of these schools are in the US. Topics addressedin the survey include extent of ERP use in the classroom, reasons why schools did not adoptERP for teaching purposes, implementation issues, and pedagogical uses. In addition, based onthe authors’ recent experiences in implementing ERP for classroom use, benefits and challengesof ERP integration into curricula are discussed.The study’s results are informative to those schools wanting to benchmark their efforts againstother schools, as well as to non-adopting schools that are considering undertaking this initiative.