CLOVIS, N.M. (KAMR/KCIT) — Clovis Community College (CCC) announced it is forming an alliance with four other New Mexico public colleges to implement a shared enterprise technology system. The partnership is known as the Collaborative Higher Education Shared Services (CHESS) system, and it is striving to revitalize campus operations and the student experience.

This system will manage student information, finances, human resources and other campus records and services. The other institutions in the alliance are Central New Mexico Community College, Northern New Mexico College, San Juan College, Santa Fe Community College, CCC officials said.

“Bringing together five diverse colleges from five unique communities to reimagine and implement a life-changing college experience for our students is the most important action we can undertake to improve the education and quality of life for New Mexicans,” noted Becky Rowley, president of Santa Fe Community College, in a statement. “With a student-focused perspective, together we will transform what higher education can offer so that all students may reach their potential more quickly, more fully, more affordably and with personalized cross-college support.”

According to a press release, benefits of the collaborative effort will include eliminating the need for multiple applications for student admission and registration, reducing duplication of student and employee records, streamlining the student transfer process and increasing interaction with prospective and current students, community members and business partners.

“This landmark effort is going to make so many processes outside of the classroom much simpler for students by reducing the barriers and time that’s typically required to enter college, stay in college and transfer between colleges,” said Tracy Hartzler, president of Central New Mexico Community College. “This will help more students successfully enroll and progress to graduation and jobs. The new shared technology will also allow our colleges to be more efficient, more effective and more collaborative than ever before. Our colleges will be able to share expertise to a much greater extent since we’ll all be using the same systems and processes. It’s going to be a game-changer for how colleges collaborate to improve the effectiveness of higher education across the state.”

The colleges will share data and processes, decision-making, and are currently forming a nonprofit organization to guide the initiative, CCC officials said. Proposal requests are in development to select an in-depth resource planning solution that will ultimately be a shared data repository for all five colleges. The project is supported by New Mexico Independent Community Colleges and the New Mexico Higher Education Department.