Abstract
Potsdam College of the State University of New York was faced with the challenge of changing outdated administrative computing systems containing redundant and inaccurate data that could not be accessed by modern desktop query tools. The College opted to engage the user community to perform much of the work involved in converting to new commercial software accessing a relational database. The empowerment of these users was the critical variable that enabled the project to succeed when lack of resources prevented hiring additional computer center staff for the conversion.