Butler County Community College trustees approved a three-year cloud software agreement Wednesday, July 31, that will allow student information — such as transcripts and academic and financial data — to be backed up continually.

The previous five-year contract with Ellucian expired June 30, said James Hrabosky, vice president for administration and finance.

He said the college has been negotiating with the company for four months. Ellucian has continued to back up data without a contract during the interim 30 days, “recognizing the fact that they did not submit a proposal to us in a timely manner,” Hrabosky said Thursday in an email.

The annual amount paid under the new contract will be about 35% higher, according to Hrabosky. From 2024-25, the fee is $231,864. The following year the fee rises to $232,889. During the 2026-27 year, the college will pay Ellucian $233,208.

“We did anticipate at least a 25% increase due to the fact that Microsoft has increased pricing related to cloud storage significantly over the past two years,” he said. “Part of the services we receive from Ellucian are tied to Microsoft.”

He added the approved agreement is a proactive step in ensuring data security.

“Cloud backup services allow BC3 to store copies of their data on remote servers,” Hrabosky said. “These services typically provide automated backup, data encryption for security and easy restoration processes. They are accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, ensuring data protection against local hardware failures, theft or natural disasters.

“We recognized the importance of this service about seven years ago as part of our IT security plan, and this agreement will ensure critical systems and data remain available during and after any future security incidents.”

Last summer, the college was among other institutions named in a cybersecurity incident involving National Student Clearinghouse in which files were breached. Although BC3 was affected, an investigation found no BC3 student information was compromised. The college’s servers and infrastructure also were not compromised.