UCLA and Oracle have settled a dispute over the university's troubled Ascend ERP project, according to documents obtained by The Register. The settlement, approved by the University of California Board of Regents, sees UCLA pay $350,000 of the $1.66 million in outstanding invoices, with Oracle waiving the remaining $1.31 million and granting $3.1 million in credits against future Oracle fees. The credits expire at the end of May 2028.
The dispute stems from UCLA's decision to stop paying its Oracle subscription in September 2024. The university alleged that the ERP Cloud Services "did not perform as warranted" and lacked sufficient functionality to meet its requirements, causing costs and delays. The Ascend project, originally budgeted at $120 million and later revised to $98.9 million, was paused in mid-2024 after the main Oracle Financials go-live was halted in August 2024.
The settlement agreement includes confidentiality terms, though both parties acknowledged UCLA's obligations under the California Public Records Act. Neither party admitted liability, and both agreed to make no further claims related to the contract dispute. Oracle has not commented on the settlement. An independent Oracle cost consultant suggested the credits indicate UCLA may continue with Oracle in some form, noting that Oracle likely discounted its software to retain the university as a customer in the competitive higher education market.