CARY, N.C., Sept. 19, 2005 -- North Carolina Central University (NCCU), the nation's first public liberal arts college founded for African-Americans and located in Durham, N.C., has selected SAS(R) Enterprise BI Server and SAS(R) ETL Server software. The solutions will enhance its data warehouse, and will also equip university leaders - the chancellor, provost, deans, administrators and department chairs - to rapidly retrieve and convert operational and institutional data into useful reports for quick and accurate decision making. SAS, the world's largest privately held software company, is the leader in business intelligence.

"As NCCU rapidly grows in size and stature, the number of time-consuming, ad hoc requests for information has increased dramatically, and we needed to find a way to quickly and accurately retrieve, analyze and transform data via the Web so our university leaders who depend on this information can make decisions with confidence," said Shawn Stewart, director, Office of Research, Evaluating and Planning at NCCU. "We found the clear answer to these challenges in SAS, which is already enabling us to build and access new reports through a simple point-and-click interface."

The initial implementation at NCCU will first focus on student data; subsequent phases will integrate and report on personnel and financial aid information.

"SAS has enjoyed working with NCCU for a number of years, and we believe that the university's most recent work to implement solutions that turn existing institutional data into true intelligence is an excellent example of how leading universities are using information more strategically," said Mark Milliron, vice president of the SAS Education Practice. "The university's work to combine data from across the institution and deliver it with accuracy and speed to the fingertips of decision makers is critical. We are pleased to collaborate with the university to support its rich tradition and continued commitment to academic excellence."

SAS Enterprise BI Server, a major component of the SAS(R)9 Intelligence Platform, is an integrated enterprise architecture that empowers users at all skill levels with targeted interfaces to support their individual needs and skills. SAS Enterprise BI Server provides a suite of enterprise wide ad hoc query and reporting capabilities, applying the power of SAS analytics and data management to create an easy-to-use platform that's unique to the BI marketplace.

About SAS

SAS is the market leader in providing a new generation of business intelligence software and services that create true enterprise intelligence. SAS solutions are used at nearly 40,000 sites - including 96 of the top 100 companies on the FORTUNE Global 500(R) - to develop more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; to enable better, more accurate and informed decisions; and to drive organizations forward. SAS is the only vendor that completely integrates leading data warehousing, analytics and traditional BI applications to create intelligence from massive amounts of data. For nearly three decades, SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know(R). Visit us at www.sas.com.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. (R) indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright (C) 2005 SAS Institute Inc. Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved.

SAS Institute
Brock Pierce, 919-531-1142
Brock.Pierce@sas.com