Users of Three Rivers Systems' CAMS Enterprise ERP Named to Forbes List of Top-College Values in U.S

Online, August 24, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Three Rivers Systems Inc.'s client roster now includes several higher education institutions using the company's flagship product CAMS Enterprise that were recently named to the prestigious Forbes America's Top Colleges List. They include the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.; College of the Atlantic, in Bar Harbor, Maine; University of the Ozarks, in Clarksville, Ark.; and Wilmington University, in New Castle, Del.

CAMS Enterprise is a seamless academic ERP - enterprise resource planning - system written with pure Microsoft technology from the ground up to be a single solution for higher education management. With a client-validated rapid-implementation process, institutions quickly transition to the new system and enjoy greater accessibility, better automation, improved communication and deeper business intelligence.

Forbes rankings are prepared by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, a Washington, D.C. think tank founded by Ohio University economist Richard Vedder. In addition to quality of teaching, the rankings are based on bread-and-butter issues like "great career prospects, graduation rates and low levels of debt."

With a ranking of No. 158, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy fares better than other iconic institutions like Sarah Lawrence College, Fordham University and USC.

The U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps was established in 1936 when Congress passed the landmark Merchant Marine Act. Construction of the academy began in 1942, and it was dedicated the next year by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who said "the academy serves the Merchant Marine as West Point serves the Army and Annapolis the Navy."

CAMS Community-member College of the Atlantic, already in the 2012 edition of the "Fiske Guide to Colleges," and recently named to the Huffington Post's list of most-interesting colleges, is ranked No. 178, placing it ahead of Penn State, University of Texas, Austin, and NYU on the Forbes list.

College of the Atlantic was founded in 1969 on the premise that education should go beyond understanding the world as it is, to enabling students to shape its future. Intentionally small, COA is a leader in environmental stewardship and experiential education. Its distinctive inter-disciplinary approach to learning, which it calls "human ecology," aims to develop the kinds of creative thinkers and doers who can lead all sectors of society to promote sustainable ecosystems while meeting compelling and growing human needs.

Three Rivers Systems Inc.'s client roster also boasts the highest-rated community college in New York State and 32 other higher-education institutions coast-to-coast listed in the Washington Monthly 2010 College Guide and Rankings. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is also on this list.

CAMS Enterprise user North Country Community College, a unit of the State University of New York with a main campus in Saranac Lake, is the state's top-rated community college and number 22 overall among America's 50 best in the Washington Monthly rankings.

In ranking its top 50, Washington Monthly surveyed 650 community colleges nationwide. Its list is compiled with benchmarking data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement. Ranking categories include learning, student effort, academic challenge, student-faculty interaction, support for learning and graduation rates.

Amir Tajkarimi, company president and founder of Three Rivers Systems Inc., praised the institutions for the recognition and expressed pride in their achievements. "We provide them with automated management tools that result in outstanding productivity and returns on investment that allow them to focus on positive student outcomes," he said. "It's always gratifying to know that these schools and our entire CAMS Community of users deliver real value to their students and the nation at time when doing so has never been more important."

About CAMS Enterprise
Developed from the ground up with Microsoft Internet technologies, CAMS Enterprise, is a highly scalable, comprehensive academic management system that is quick to implement and easy to use. CAMS Enterprise consolidates multiple stand-alone systems including admissions, student information, financial aid, student services, fiscal management with HR and payroll, fund-raising, alumni relations, document management, learning management, a full suite of portals, and more, into one solution that ensures administrators, staff, faculty and students all work with the most recent and most accurate information. CAMS Enterprise is a totally Web-native, completely integrated solution for managing the entire student life cycle at higher education institutions.