ArcGIS Background Processing error

If a tool returns a Background Processing error then you should try running the tool with background processing turned off.

To turn off background processing select Geoprocessing Options... from the Geoprocessing menu and, in the dialog, uncheck the Enable Background Processing checkbox.

Disabling background processing means that you cannot work in ArcGIS until tools have finished working. A minor issue compared to the tool not working at all. If this does not fix the problem then report it to the KU IT Helpdesk and the module leader.