Information ServicesInformation Systems

Top OIS Goals for 2007-08

Leadership

1. Vice President for Finance and Administration Sherry Mondou will hire and orient a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and support the CTO's ongoing conversations and planning with Cabinet, campus technology groups, and user groups served. She and the new CTO will support the Information Services team to successfully accomplish objectives, including, but not limited to:

a. Develop a highly collaborative, communicative, and constituent-oriented Information Services team that consistently focuses their work around mission and strategic objectives and that meets constituent expectations commensurate with resources allocated.

b. Determine best long-term technology and organizational framework to support mission and strategic objectives. 

Instructional Technology

  1. Hire a Director of Instructional Technology and determine how best to support teaching and learning.
  2. Complete evaluation of Learning Management Systems and collaboratively develop recommendation.
  3. Continue to evaluate and implement the use of Web 2.0 technologies in support of teaching.
  4. Evaluate usability and efficiency of older classroom installations and seek to improve and streamline interfaces across campus.
  5. Continue to improve process, collaboration and communication between Facilities Services, Information Services, and faculty during building renovations and new classroom installations.
  6. Work to clarify and refine process for lab imaging and policies for software installation on lab images.
  7. Assess digital assets management needs, funding and resources.

Database Services Team

  1. Communicate strategies, goals, objectives, decision and projects with the campus community in a consistent, timely and comprehensive manner.
    1. Solicit constituent input, needs and priorities
    2. Clarify policies, procedures and processes
    3. Support rollout of the TPG and BTF planning processes
  1. Continue to develop and deploy a Project and Software Development Methodology to ensure efficient execution of projects that deliver expected results and support management of the growing complexity of our systems. This will include Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) procedures (and other industry standards) where appropriate.
  1. Continue to develop the technical and non-technical skills within the database services team.
  1. Focus on improving central database and application security, stability, reliability and availability.
  1. Upgrade Cascade systems to be consistent with vendor supported versions.
  1. Continue to integrate data among centralized applications, focusing on core person data to ensure timely, accurate and comprehensive person information. Build a technical framework to support future needs for additional data sets.

  1. Continue to execute and fine tune the ACG two-year plan for Administrative Application development to support institutional goals with a particular focus this year on forging lifelong relationships, among others. Planned projects include:
  • Partner with Admission and Communications staff to implement CRM communications management
  • Partner with Career and Employment Services, Alumni and Parent Relations, and Academic Advising staff to review and enhance our Alumni Sharing Knowledge program
  • Partner with Associate Dean's Office and other campus event planners to implement event planning and management system
  • Partner with the Associate Dean's office to add faculty development and sabbatical information to database
  • Partner with Student Financial Services to automate federal student loan processing, implement electronic payment capabilities for students, and to implement interactive Web functionality for students to respond to loan and workstudy awards.
  • Partner with Institutional Research to create student retention database and to add assessment data to Cascade Web
  • Partner with Accounting and Budget Services and Treasury staff to implementation a purchasing card system to facilitate campus-wide purchasing
  • Partner with Human Resources to enhance tools for staff position descriptions and applicant tracking
  • Partner with Student Affairs to develop co-curricular portfolio for students
  • Partner with Dining & Conference Services and Payroll to implement integrated timekeeping (time clock) system
  • Partner with Student Affairs to implement campus ticketing software
  • Partner with Institutional Research to develop survey tool
  • Continue to integrate data among centralized applications, focusing first on core person data
  • Partner with Student Alert Group, comprised of numerous support offices, to enhance tools that facilitate their support of students.
  • Implement address validation software to support our engagement of alumni, while reducing costs.

  1. Develop Single Sign-On capabilities to support ease of use and security within centralized applications.
  1. Deploy a technical framework for Portal and transition Cascade Web into this comprehensive portal framework for existing Cascade supported constituent groups (Faculty, Staff and Students).
  1. Develop a software evaluation, RFI and acquisition guidelines and templates to assist the campus in software selection and purchase of technology solutions as well as streamline the evaluation and selection. 

Network & Server Systems Group

  1. Improve the reliability of services
  2. Upgrade the climate control of Mc007 to a reliable system.
  3. Improve network security
  4. Improve e-mail service
    • Investigate and implement an e-mail solution that students/alumni can keep long term.
    • Implement Exchange 2007 for the improved web interface. Since many of our community use Webmail very heavily or exclusively, it is important that our Webmail services be as full-featured as possible. Exchange 2007 provides an improved web interface. 
  5. Investigate the feasibility of SharePoint implementation
    • SharePoint could serve as a replacement for our current file servers, and provide the ability do some new things. Some of the features of SharePoint are 
      • File Versioning 
      • All content is web-accessible 
      • Direct integration with MS Office (2007). Content can be published or accessed directly from any Office application (including Outlook). 
      • A variety of pre-made modules for special purposes are available, such as 
        • Wiki 
        • Blog 
        • Helpdesk 
        • Team sites 
  6. Work with Facilities Services to improve the fiber plant 
  7. Improve our disaster stance
  8. Improve the internal functioning of the group to better serve the campus.

Technical Support Services Team

  1. Continue to build a strong service culture and improve technical support services received by constituents. Ensure that staff maintain currency.
  2. Plan and implement the Desktop Security initiative to keep systems secure, and provide automated software distribution and patch management to distribute anti-virus, Office and Windows software updates and patches to users' computers with minimum disruption.
  3. Replace Clientele with a new and effective help desk CRM package for use by OIS staff and the campus community to submit and track requests.
  4. Develop a plan to test, deploy, and support Windows Vista & Office 2007. Develop technology training on Vista and Office 2007 to occur after these applications are deployed.
  5. Plan for the adoption of a new Mac operating system OS 10.5 (Leopard) on faculty and staff Apple computers.
  6. Review, refine and develop software and hardware processes and policies.
  7. Evaluate and test remote technical support tools to allow the HelpDesk and other OIS staff to solve certain computer issues without making a visit to the user's site.
  8. Communicate effectively and proactively, and establish strong partnerships throughout our campus community.