IT Strategic Planning Moves into its Developmental Stage

As many of you are aware, our Information Technology Strategic Planning process has been underway since August. Up until this time, we have been involved in an extensive input gathering phase that began in September, 2003, with eighteen “think tank” sessions held with 125 technologically savvy students, faculty and staff across the university. Information gathered in those sessions formed the basis for a campus-wide web survey for students, faculty, staff, and focus groups. The web survey was conducted October 6-24, 2003, and a total of 792 responses were received. Most of these responses were excellent sources of input regarding information technology needs of our institution. Our consultants from Cornelius and Associates, Inc. are currently compiling the results. In addition, a web survey directed primarily at technology support representatives was distributed on October 17, 2003. To date, 48 responses have been received.

We continued to seek input through 35 focus groups and targeted group sessions that were being held with students, faculty and staff from October 20 through November 14 on the Oxford, Hamilton and Middletown campuses. As the collected information is classified and organized, we shall be presenting some preliminary concepts to the president, vice presidents, deans and senate groups. At the same time this internal assessment was occurring, we have also been collecting information about the higher education community’s current issues in information technology and looking at IT strategic plans for several peer institutions.

The IT Strategic Planning Core Team will hold planning sessions on December 2nd and 4th to discuss the report prepared by Cornelius and Associates based upon all gathered input. The core team will begin drafting the plan, with a target publication date for university review by mid-January 2004. The current project plan calls for a campus-wide distribution of the proposed draft plan document, followed by solicitation of written questions, suggested revision and additional comments from the various components making up our university. Once we have received these comments, we plan that public forum sessions will be held throughout the university to interact with those providing comments. Finally, the Core Team will address the written comments, and forward its recommend plan for adoption by the university.

After the general plan is adopted, further work will continue through April, 2004, to more carefully identify action items or tactical plans for the upcoming fiscal year 2004-2005. This action plan will state specific major projects, as well as “quick win” smaller projects to be undertaken to move the university toward its strategic information technology direction during the upcoming year.

For regularly updated information about the IT Strategic Planning process, please visit the IT Strategic Planning web site at http://www.muohio.edu/ITStrategicPlan. Please let me know if I can answer any questions about this planning process. I appreciate all of the effort that has been invested in this planning process to date and I am looking forward to working with the community to make things happen as the plan unfolds.

J. Reid Christenberry
Vice President for Information Technology
306 Hoyt Hall
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056
E-mail: vp-it@muohio.edu