UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN OSHKOSH STRATEGIC PLAN FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 1997-2002
MAY 21, 1997
In October 1996, the Information Technology (IT) Strategic Planning Group was charged to develop an Information Technology Strategic Plan for the University. The Planning Group included IT unit managers, governance group representatives, a Deans' Group representative, and senior administrators. Planning Group members were:
John Berens, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Information Technology (Chair)
Marilyn Anderson, Coordinator, Office Systems
Mark Haslanger, Director, Koehn Institute
Doug Jirovetz, Coordinator, Data Management
Ken Penniston, Director, Academic Computing
Ron Reid, Associate Director, Media Services
Ken Splittgerber, Acting Director, Telecommunications & Technical Services
Diane Urch, Assistant Director, Library Technical Services and Acting Manager, Administrative Computing
Patrick Wilkinson, Assistant Director, Library Public Services
Susan Cramer, Faculty Senate Representative
Laura Knaapen, Senate of Academic Staff Representative
Andrew Weisensel, Oshkosh Student Association Representative
Donald Mocker, Deans' Group Representative
Joel Edson, Executive Director, Administrative Services
Jill Endries, Director of Admissions
Elliott Garb, Assistant Chancellor, Student Affairs
Tom Grogan, Special Assistant to the Chancellor and Director, University Relations and Services
Developing a strategic plan for the next five years is similar to looking into a crystal ball. The IT Strategic Planning Group realizes that there is no way to predict the future in detail. The Planning Group also realizes that external agents (the Governor, Legislature, UW System) and currently-underway campus projects (such as OWLSIS) will provide both opportunities and limits for addressing specific portions of this Plan. Therefore, this Strategic Plan is presented in such a manner that it remains flexible and able to address the inevitable changes in our operating environment. The vehicle for revisiting the Strategic Plan and fine tuning it as needed will be the annual IT planning cycle established by UW System.
A draft of this Strategic Plan was reviewed by numerous stakeholder groups, including the governance groups, Administrative Staff, Deans' Group, Academic Computing Users Group, and Classroom Modernization Users Group. The Planning Group was grateful to have fresh eyes look at the Plan and suggest modifications. Our thanks to all who participated in this process.
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The Current Context for Information Technology Planning
As our society continues its transformation from an industrial to an information-based society, we begin to get some glimpses of the future. Two central conditions have clearly emerged:
- The pervasiveness of a global information network (the Internet or its successor) will create a new economic value model based on the ability to obtain, analyze and act on information.
- The integration of text, data, graphics and music, video, voice and process engines will provide powerful new representations of knowledge.
In this future state, those organizations unable or unwilling to integrate these advances into their core structures will face extreme difficulty and run the very real risk of becoming extinct.
In the educational arena, the hallmarks of successful educational institutions will be the possession and use of myriad forms of educational tools to provide virtually universal access to their services. This leveraging of new technologies will be fueled by technologically literate students who will overwhelm peers, mentors and faculty who do not keep pace.
On the level of the individual, information accessing and information publishing skills will be almost universal, at least in the advanced nations, and workers will continue their geographical dispersion from their employers. In many ways, the emerging conditions in the Information Age seem likely to lead to an integrated global community of knowledge explorers and collaborators.
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II. Information Technology and the Evolving University
By word and deed, our University has shown its interest in expanding its use of information technology to accomplish its goals and mission. These needs and goals -- rather than the available technology -- will define the scope of the Information Technology (IT) Division's services. For this reason, the IT staff must increase its understanding of the University's goals and needs and its skill in relating to them.The University's Information Technology Division represents a merger of units contained in the former Information Systems & Technologies and Libraries & Learning Resources units: Academic Computing, Administrative Computing, Data Management, the Koehn Institute, Library Public Services, Library Technical Services, Media Services, Office Systems, and Telecommunications & Technical Services.
The University will require a strong technology infrastructure, universal access and the ability to easily reference information stored within the library and elsewhere. Expectations will continually increase as incoming students and staff demand tools commensurate with their experiences.Our rapid expansion of stored knowledge and technology infrastructure will be paralleled by growing customer demand for technical support and skills training. To keep pace, the Division will need to increase its investment (both time and money) in continual education of its staff.
These increasing complexities require that the Division also invests in coherent technology planning. This planning function will need to provide vision and long-term goals to ensure our full utilization of information and technology in support of the University's strategic plans; it will need to address policies, standards and long-term goals for enterprise-wide management of information; it will need to be honest and balanced so that we decrease the gap between project promises and delivered results.
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A major strength of the Division lies in its staff members. Experienced, highly qualified IT staff members in many areas are balanced by qualified new staff members bringing fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the unit. IT staff members have direct contacts with many non-IT users and have established solid, cooperative working relationships with them. Flexible, adaptive IT staff members respond to technological change and strive to improve the Division with its use.
A second major strength of the Division is technology and the infrastructure supporting it. Faculty and staff are generally well-equipped to use the Internet, local campus network, and related technologies with the campus wiring and cabling system linked to desktop computing resources. A new campus TV network can be used in all buildings on campus for a variety of applications. The telephone system, which provides for individual phones and increasing functionality such as voice mail, serves the University well. Mainframe application systems continue to support University functions, even as their replacement is being considered.
Polk Library provides electronic resources to find, organize, and make available information in many formats from traditional library materials to a variety of networked databases. The Media Services unit provides a complete array of instructional and institutional support services. The public service role of the library has helped the university community integrate technology into its functions. Similarly, the Koehn Institute has provided technology direction and application support for the university and for its network of partners in the business community.The Division working with and within the University organization serves as a third pillar of strength. The merger of the old Information Systems & Technologies and Libraries & Learning Resources units can lead to synergy, cohesion, and cooperation in technology efforts. Strategic planning conducted cooperatively with campus governance groups and technology steering committees will provide direction for campus units and help them meet their goals. Budget funds continue to be carefully allocated, providing for optimum use with limited resources. Training programs, focused on high priority needs, support developments such as distance learning activities.
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The University needs to improve the usability and reliability of the current services from e-mail to library catalogs to replacement of outdated equipment, and we need to provide our users training to leverage what is already in place. To accomplish this, we need to upgrade our staff and our staffing model.The University also needs to better position itself to take advantage of emerging technologies and the opportunities that come with them. Part of this means finding ways to disengage from some older technology yet continuing these critical functions.
The Division needs to reorganize itself to focus on the customer, to provide value-added support and to be a positive force of change in the application of technology.
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Faculty, staff, and student end users will increasingly demand technological support and service. A centralized Help Desk, using expert system and problem tracking software, would provide a method to help them in obtaining service. IT could collaborate with other campus units on PC and Macintosh support and maintenance. Strategies such as providing off-campus (SLIP-type) computer access, 24 hour computer labs, and expanding access to computers from residence halls should be explored.End users need to be trained in many technological topics. The IDEA Lab provides a facility for training and a way for IT and other faculty/staff to work together and express needs and means in a more effective manner. Distance education capabilities could be enhanced with the development of a second distance education classroom.
The University is well positioned to use World Wide Web technology for expanded outreach efforts and for instructional and administrative applications. All classrooms have data jacks installed; campus cable TV will be installed in general purpose classrooms. Phase III of the University's Cable project will make fiber optic connections that will allow expanded access to the network. Opportunities exist with the establishment of a fiber optic network connecting the University with PK-12 schools. Usage demands require a second satellite antennae with multichannel signal reception capability and acquisition of digital satellite reception capability. Television resources, campus channel 20 coupled with Titan TV 12, are unmatched resources that can be used for both education and distribution of information.
Client-server technology will change the way people view and use computing technology. Improved processes incorporated with software changes will have a synergistic effect. Digitized formats for traditional library materials make information available at a touch of the finger.
The University's administration, including the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor/Provost, continue to demonstrate their support of IT and are receptive to change. The strategic planning process and upcoming and recent staff retirements provide an opportunity to reorganize and improve the organization. Expanded CQI efforts to improve quality and use team activities will empower the employee.
Current funding may be reallocated to build more technological capacity for the benefit of the University as a whole. The legislature may provide additional funds for initiatives such as distance education. Pursuit of external grant opportunities and also partnerships and collaborative arrangements with other organizations must be encouraged.
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D. Other Conditions Warranting Special Attention.
The current environment poses many unique challenges. Concisely, there is the need to cope with the press of current conditions while also planning for an expensive and uncertain future in an age of fiscal restraint.Technological innovations are taking place while resources are scarce. This condition is further compounded by the combination of the speed of change and the significant cost factors associated with new hardware and software. The combination of University demands and external factors creates considerable uncertainty about the availability of campus resources and may result in a need to reallocate existing resources to address these needs.
Beyond funding capacity, the ability of the Division to coordinate technological changes is made more difficult both by the distributed nature of technology (which allows competing local solutions) and the near certainty of various imposed mandates from UW System and agencies of state government. In this environment, Division staff members have insufficient time to respond to work demands and little time for continuing education and professional development. As the environment continues to change, additional progress will only be possible when the staff has the time and the availability to tackle these new initiatives.
If the university community does not have consensus on the value of technology in support of the overall university mission and the mission of IT, the resulting confusion may decrease valuable cross-collaboration. In the interim, until a clear vision is established, the Division may expend resources on conflicting or competing efforts.
The inherent complexity of these issues further increases the difficulty of successfully moving forward. As technological capacity is increased, we also become more dependent on both the infrastructure and the skills of the people responsible for supporting that infrastructure. We risk overloading what we have in place if there is additional expansion of technological base without adequate capacity planning and expansion.
Resistance to change may diminish or thwart our progress in effectively using information. Conflicting suggestions and unrealistic expectations from outside the division may cloud our ability to stay focused on our goals. Institutional reward structures may redirect the energies of faculty and staff who are well positioned to leverage and innovate with technology.
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This planning process reveals the University's strengths and opportunities for successful incorporation of technology in support of its mission and goals. This effort will help the campus understand technological forces affecting both the current condition and opportunities for future growth. Shared understanding of these conditions will encourage a sense of commitment and ownership that will lead to a sense of responsibility to ensure the success of these efforts.
Information Technology Division
The Information Technology Division ensures access to information and provides technological support for the advancement of the University's mission and goals by assisting student learning; facilitating effective teaching, scholarship, and service; and encouraging efficient administrative practices. Through these efforts, the Information Technology Division creates a community of knowledge experts and collaborators.
Core Services
Information Technology Division
The Information Technology Division delivers a basic array of core services to the campus. These services include:
These core services will continue during the period covered by this Strategic Plan. In many ways the following strategic goals and planning objectives are refinements, enhancements, or extensions of the IT Division's core services.
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Strategic Goals and Planning Objectives
For each strategic goal, planning objectives are divided into two categories: Major Planning Objectives and Additional Planning Objectives. Major Planning Objectives are anticipated to require significant human and/or fiscal resources for achievement. These strategic goals and planning objectives are not presented in priority order, other than the proposed chronological sequence.
An overriding theme of the strategic goals and planning objectives is to improve user knowledge and skill in available IT tools, thus reducing reliance on problem resolution and maximizing IT human and fiscal resources.
Goal #1: The Information Technology Division will provide and maintain an infrastructure that supports the institution's academic programs, student learning, administrative and outreach services.
Major Planning Objectives:1.1 Develop a plan to provide all faculty, staff, and students with on-campus access to the World Wide Web. 1999-2000.
1.2 Propose a plan for development and implementation of an Intranet (Internet technology limited to the University for internal use). July 1, 1999. This objective is closely linked to acquisition and installation of a new Student Information System.
1.3 Participate with Facilities Management in the development of a classroom-focused Capital Project. This should include planning for appropriate levels of technology in classrooms and learning spaces and an appropriate number of distance learning classrooms. Ongoing.
1.4 Provide leadership, technical resources, and support to address campus requirements related to the Year 2000 challenge. Ongoing.
1.5 Provide an appropriate library physical environment, technical facilities, and client-centered services to facilitate efficient and effective use of library resources and services.Ongoing.
Additional Planning Objectives:
1.6 Formalize plans to achieve and maintain the desired student-to-computer target (450 PC's in the general access labs). July 1, 2000.
1.7 Undertake capacity planning to maintain the availability of adequate network response and sufficient server storage. Publish an initial planning document by January 1, 1998.
1.8 Propose comprehensive hardware, software, and e-mail standards for the campus. 1997- 1998. Review and revise these standards on an annual basis.
1.9 Propose expansion of the IDEA Lab. 1997-1998.
1.10 Develop a plan for expanded and integrated video services to classrooms, including satellite, cable television, and other video sources. This includes providing a video jack in all general classrooms and learning spaces. 1997-1998.
Goal #2: The Information Technology Division will provide broad access to academic and institutional data for academic programs, student learning, support services, and community outreach.
Major Planning Objectives:2.1 Provide the human and financial resources necessary to address the IT portion of a new Student Information System (SIS). Ongoing. This is the single highest priority planning objective and also the most costly in terms of human and fiscal resources.
2.2 Participate in review of the campus Web Policy, and recommend appropriate modifications to facilitate faculty, staff, and student Web pages and to clarify IT's role in campus Web development and support. 1997-1998 and ongoing.
2.3 Develop and propose multi-year plans for placement/replacement/upgrading of computers in the general access labs and on faculty/academic staff/classified staff desktops. 1998-1999.
Additional Planning Objectives:
2.4 Include all library holdings, with the exception of government documents, in the library online catalog. July 1, 1999.
2.5 Provide an electronic library reserve form for faculty/academic staff use, 1997-1998, and provide electronic library reserve services to faculty, academic staff and students, 1998-1999.
2.6 Continuously gather data and conduct use studies of library materials in all formats to guide selection and deselection of print and electronic resources. Ongoing.
2.7 Migrate to the next generation of library management systems in accordance with UW System initiatives prior to 2000.
2.8 Review current library policies regarding CD-ROM technology and adopt revised policies aiming to provide expanded use of this technology. 1997-1998.
2.9 Review new library full-text products and add appropriate products. This will entail corresponding non-renewal of other print or electronic products. Determine which full-text products currently funded by UW System will continue with institutional funds. 1997-1998.
2.10 Develop and implement process integrating traditional interlibrary loan with commercial document delivery services. 1997-1998.
2.11 Study printing capabilities for library Web-based and electronic resources. 1997-1998.
2.12 Implement library instruction teaching lab. Develop a process for faculty and academic staff use of this lab when not needed for library instruction. Fall 1997-1998.
2.13 Provide library users a common GUI (graphical user interface) to electronic resources. 1997-1998.
2.14 By 1998-1999, develop and implement one electronic version of a current hard-copy IT publication or report.
2.15 Synchronize software in general access labs so that versions of software are consistent from lab to lab. Ongoing.
2.16 Provide campus leadership for development of a University-wide disaster recovery plan. 1998-1999.
2.17 Prepare a position paper on SLIP/PPP. 1997-1998.
2.18 Support recommendations of the ResNet 2 CQI Team on Residence Hall student access to software provided on general access lab servers. 1997-1998.
2.19 Consider developing and implementing a student information tracking system as a data warehouse. 1998-1999. This planning objective will be reviewed in light of acquisition of a new Student Information System.
Goal #3: The Information Technology Division will assist all IT personnel to reach their full potential through professional development, continuing education, and training opportunities.
Major Planning Objectives:3.1 Review current IT travel, continuing education, and professional development resources to ensure equitable opportunities for IT staff. 1997-1998.
3.2 Develop a multi-year plan for CQI training for IT staff. 1998-1999 and ongoing.
Additional Planning Objectives:
3.3 Develop a strategy for increased self-sufficiency within IT to manage one's own PC and file server resources. 1997-1998 and ongoing.
3.4 Study development of a division-wide and unit-specific orientation programs for new IT staff. 1998-1999.
3.5 Encourage academic staff to apply for Faculty Development Board funds. Ongoing.
Goal #4: The Information Technology Division will ensure that all faculty, staff, and students are knowledgeable in the use of current information and instructional technologies as applied in teaching, student learning, research, professional development, and job performance.
Major Planning Objectives:4.1 Support the recommendations of the Help Desk Team, thereby implementing an IT Help Desk. 1997-1998.
4.2 Conduct annual surveys of faculty, staff, and students on technology use and technology training needs. 1997-1998 and then annually.
4.3 Review current IT training provided to students, including training provided by the IT Division and training provided by academic departments and other support units. Based on this review and on information gathered from student surveys (4.2), consider appropriate additions and/or modifications to IT training for students. Ongoing.
Additional Planning Objectives:
4.4 Each semester, develop and publicize an IT training schedule for faculty and staff. This should be a division-wide schedule including the library and distance education. Fall 1997 and ongoing.
4.5 Promote increased self-sufficiency across campus in management of PC's, file services, and Web resources. Ongoing.
4.6 Explore supplements to face-to-face training, including videotapes, networked courses, Internet courses, etc. Subscribe to at least one pilot during 1997-1998.
4.7 Designate one IT staff member as "IT training coordinator." Assign planning, marketing, and assessment duties. 1997-1998.
Goal #5: The Information Technology Division will develop an organizational structure that is responsive to its expanded university role and mission.
Major Planning Objectives:5.1 Plan for and implement by January 1, 1999 a division-wide reorganization based on emerging technologies, customer support, and institutional needs.
5.2 Review the mission and role of the Koehn Institute and recommend appropriate revisions or restructuring in support of the University's academic mission and programs (including experiential learning) and outreach mission. 1997-1998.
5.3 Participate in planning for an Office of Institutional Research. Ongoing.
5.4 Develop an IT staffing plan, identifying internal reallocation of FTE and additional FTE needed. 1997-1998.
Additional Planning Objectives:
5.5 Review organizational structures of other University of Wisconsin IT divisions.1997-1998.
5.6 Review networking responsibilities within IT and adopt appropriate organizational restructuring to enhance network services. 1997-1998.
5.7 Review current formal and informal relations with MIO and jointly explore enhanced collaboration. 1998-1999.
Goal 6: The Information Technology Division will foster collaborative agreements, partnerships, and programs with external agencies and institutions.
Major Planning Objectives:6.1 Develop a division policy providing guidance and direction for establishing collaborative agreements, partnerships, and programs with external agencies and institutions. 1997-1998.
6.2 Participate in planning for development of regional distributed learning networks including Eastwing, KSCADE, and Fox Consortium. Ongoing.
Additional Planning Objectives:
6.3 Collaborate with state and regional libraries to provide mutual access to electronic databases in order to obtain favorable licensing/purchasing agreements. Ongoing.
6.4 Seek opportunities to participate in pilot projects and beta testing. Ongoing.
6.5 Enhance existing collaborative agreements with library networks such as WILS, OCLC, and FVLC to expand library resource sharing.
Goal #7: The Information Technology Division will establish a continuous planning process to address the achievement of its mission and goals.
Major Planning Objectives:7.1 Develop a systematic approach for upgrading IT staff hardware and software prior to budget preparation. 1997-1998 and then annually.
7.2 Conduct a user satisfaction and needs assessment survey concerning IT division services to faculty and staff. 1998-1999 and then annually.
Additional Planning Objectives:
7.3 Establish an annual timeline and process for review and revision of the IT Strategic Plan. 1997-1998.
7.4 Form collaborative teams within IT to address compelling needs. Ongoing.
7.5 Review chargebacks assessed within the IT Division and adopt appropriate responses to maximize divisional resource. 1998-1999.
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Last updated May 23, 1997