Information ServicesInformation Systems

2006-07 Accomplishments


Information Services

Overview:

Information technology is a t hread in the tapestry of learning and is needed to achieve all of the goals of the Strategic Plan for University of Puget Sound. All goals in the university's strategic plan require reliable and highly available technology.


The Office of Information Services (OIS) has worked to provide thoughtful, quality, innovative, reliable, and integrated technology resources and solutions to support the mission and goals of the university. During the past year, the OIS directors played an integral role in leading their teams to accomplish many goals, and to foster collaboration, garner synergies, and improve services. We will continue to focus on the goals throughout our strategic planning processes.


The following shows our progress relative to the goals we set for the year just ended:

Goal: Build and develop strong partnerships with our customers, campus constituent groups and internal teams.

Results:

  • OIS staff met regularly with campus technology constituent groups: Administrative Computing Group (ACG), Library, Media and Information Services (LMIS), and Student Advisory Technology Board (STAB).
  • OIS staff met with each division's designated technology liaison(s) to ensure that their technology needs were understood and were considered when developing a prioritized budget request, which was reviewed by the TPG prior to presentation to the Budget Task Force.
  • ACG meetings are now scheduled monthly, agendas are distributed in advance, and minutes sent out following. The ACG project list is online with accurate status and schedule represented. OIS staff presented the ACG's recommended priorities to the President's Cabinet and received endorsement.
  • OIS continued its collaboration with the STAB on student technology issues and concerns.
  • OIS continued its collaboration with the LMIS group to seek the feedback and interests of the faculty and Library staff regarding technological and pedagogical needs. OIS staff worked collaboratively with a subcommittee of LMIS to identify and begin testing Leaning Management Systems.
  • OIS continued to work and meet regularly with the Web Technical Advisory Group (WTAG) to discuss many of the technical issues surrounding the management of the university's Web site, and the ongoing implementation of the new Web site design and supporting Content Management System (CMS).
  • OIS continued its collaboration with Business Services, Facilities Services, and other departments to plan for power outages, emergencies and disasters, and network infrastructure upgrades as buildings are built and remodeled.
  • OIS successfully partnered with the Bookstore to provide discounted desktop software to departments, faculty, students and staff.
  • ResNet and Student Development continued their partnership to ensure that they are working cooperatively to provide support services to residential students; and to train and educate the Resident Assistants and Directors on file sharing, basic troubleshooting and support issues.

Goal: Fill key vacancies with excellent candidates and orient and train them well.

Results:

There were many vacancies within OIS over the past year. Many of the vacancies have been filled and we are providing ongoing training and coaching to staff to ensure their effectiveness in supporting campus members. See the OIS Fall 2007 Newsletter for an update on the CTO search. Once the CTO is on board, the search for a Director of Instructional Technology will commence. In the meantime, we have supplemented and supported the team through the use of temporary staff and external consultants.


Goal: Lead process to develop strategies and tactics, priorities, timing, and assignments to ensure successful implementation of the technology strategic plan. Communicate it well and build support for the vision.

Results:

OIS has taken the lead to provide assistance to the campus community with their technology requests through the technology planning and budgeting procedure established by the TPG. The procedure will provide an opportunity for OIS to facilitate communication and collaboration about information technology with designated technology liaisons throughout the university.

The OIS directors have engaged in strategic planning among themselves and with their teams to ensure that the department's goals and objectives align with support of the mission of the university and the technology strategic plan.

  • During the past year, OIS staff participated in an internal organizational assessment to continuously improve our support of the campus community.
  • The OIS directors attended a strategic planning retreat with Sherry Mondou, Vice President of Finance and Administration, to review and discuss the strategic planning initiatives at the institutional level and within the technology planning group. The retreat provided the impetus for OIS staff to ensure that their planning and day-to-day work aligns with mission and strategic plans, and to identify ways to better collaborate and serve the campus community.
  • The OIS directors obtained the services of a technology consultant, Dr. John Bucher (CTO, Oberlin College) to help the team approach their own strategic planning processes and leadership development.
  • The OIS directors have undergone several strategic planning sessions. Our goals for 2007-08 have been identified. We will continue to work to refine our vision and strategic plan.
  • OIS provided ongoing updates to campus constituent groups concerning the progress of the department during the interim leadership period. Additional progress will be made when we have our new CTO on board. The CTO will help guide, shape, share, and implement a vision for information and communication technologies.

Goal: Engage proactively with faculty to create best strategies for supporting teaching and learning. Provide top notch services in our electronic classrooms, teaching spaces and computer labs.

Results:

This past year we worked towards creating more technology-aided classrooms; evaluated effective courseware solutions; supported faculty in their innovations in teaching and our staff in their innovations in supporting faculty; and evaluated technology-based tools for collaboration and communication in teaching and learning. We are continually communicating with faculty to assess their needs and how we can support teaching and learning. This process will continue and grow, particularly when we fill the positions for CTO and then Director of Instructional Technology.

Some noteworthy accomplishments in instructional technology:

  • Two new electronic classrooms (McIntyre 202 and 212) were installed during the spring break.
  • Continued support of Blackboard while also collaborating with a subcommittee of LMIS to determine the best option for a new Learning Management System that best meets faculty needs.
  • Continued collaboration with Facilities Services on electronic classrooms in Thompson Hall
  • Revamped lab model image and redistributed over winter break.
  • Hired a temporary staff member to provide support during the Director vacancy.

Goal: Develop and communicate (in 2006 and subsequent years) a draft plan for deployment of programming resources for next two years; ensure understanding of needs, alignment of needs with resources, and alignment with the university's strategic plan and the technology strategic plan.

Results:

Completed and presented to Cabinet a two year project plan for deployment of Database Services resources. The approved plan was distributed to ACG and LMIS for comments. The Database Services Team Web site has been updated to present the plan. A new system is in place to monitor plan and project status and communicate changes in a timely and automated fashion. A Web page with current project status, schedule and scope is available to the campus community.

Noteworthy ACG projects:

  • Board of Trustees Website
  • Admission Email Communications and High School Visit Communication Enhancements
  • Student Electronic Billing
  • Automated Housing Assignments for Incoming Students
  • Online Math Placement Exam
  • Community Music System Support
  • Cascade integration with our Website (Public pages being served from our Cascade data)

Goal: Complete the web project.

Results:

OIS worked with the Office of Communications to investigate expediting conversion of Web content from the static Web site at http://www2.ups.edu to the CMS -mediated web site. We are still working on this initiative.

Goal: Ensure that our university desktops and networks are safe and secure.

Results:

OIS engaged an outside firm to perform a security audit during July and September. It included both external and internal network vulnerability assessments, as well as a physical penetration study. Final results of the study were given to OIS in early October and addressed appropriately.

In our efforts to automate the management and update the integrity of our desktops, OIS planned, developed and implemented software deployment initiatives and evaluations.

  • Developed the Desktop Security Initiative. The goal of this initiative to improve the security and productivity of university-owned PC workstations and involves three key components. These areas include upgrading the current McAfee VirusScan software to version 8.5 on Macintosh and PC systems, adding active Anti-Spyware protection to university PCs, and adding automated management of Windows security updates. This initiative will better protect desktops against viruses and malware, while allowing OIS to maintain these products centrally. After testing the upgrades with approximately 40 campus users, we will deploy the upgrades during summer and fall 2007.
  • Continued to effectively administer anti-virus software to desktop machines.
  • Continued ongoing evaluations for new software products to protect against spyware (McAfee Anti-Spyware enterprise solution will be deployed in late spring); and to provide automated management of Windows updates (Windows Server Update Services) for deployment later this year.

Additional Accomplishments:

  • OIS planned and implemented the transition of printing and job submissions from an outdated centralized structure to one that is controlled locally by campus departments.
  • Continued ubiquitous access initiatives for faculty, students and staff to effectively and efficiently use technology on campus. Though discretionary funds provided by President Ron Thomas, OIS continued deploying wireless to academic buildings (Harned, Music, McIntyre, and Howarth) and administrative buildings (Jones Hall and Wheelock).
  • Facilitated the effective dissemination of computing information by continuously updating and developing self-help resources and documentation through Web access and printed publications. The HelpDesk and ResNet continue to develop quality self-help printed and Web resources and documentation in an ongoing manner.
  • Continued to provide ongoing computer training classes to faculty and staff on desktop security, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Office. Classes were offered throughout the year and during Professional Development Week. We have partnered with a training vendor, New Horizons, in Bellevue.
  • Continued ongoing collaboration with regional and national technology organizations, and colleagues at peer universities and colleges around the country. OIS staff routinely collaborated with our peers at colleges and universities, and regional and national organizations including Educause, NWACC, Independent Colleges of Washington (ICW), Association of Computing Machinery's (ACM) Special Interest Group on University and College Computing Services (SIGUCCS), and ResNet Symposium.
  • A major accomplishment for OIS was a presentation about Puget Sound's migration to Microsoft Exchange to the ACM's SIGUCCS Conference. Theresa Duhart and Heidi Wasem wrote and presented the paper at the SIGUCCS Conference in Edmonton (Alberta) Canada in November 2006.