2004-2005 University IT Initiatives Resulting from Miami's IT Strategic Plan

As a consequence of our university-wide IT Strategic Plan, major university IT initiatives are beginning to take shape for the upcoming fiscal year 2004-5. The tactical goals for the upcoming year are in the process of being specifically defined in April and May, with commencement of work following thereafter. However, before spring semester ends, I want to share with the university community what the general expectations are for the upcoming year. Let me present these ordered by the IT strategic goals in the plan we have adopted:

Strategic Goal 1 – Empower and Enhance Learning & Research

1. A significantly upgraded classroom support unit will be established and appropriate roles and responsibilities for this unit will be defined. A classroom technology faculty advisory group will be established on each campus. Additionally, tiers of classroom technology configurations will be defined and a continuing upgrade to classrooms will begin during the year.
2. A research support service unit will be established by creating Unix/Linux workstation support positions and research application programming positions. Also, a faculty advisory group for research computing will be established.
3. A project to improve the stability and production-worthiness of our online course management system (Blackboard) will be undertaken.
4. Targeted, voluntary web-based course projects will be undertaken to demonstrate an improved process for supporting faculty in course redesign to incorporate effective use of technology in these courses.

Strategic Goal 2 – Build and Expand Reliable, Robust, Secure Access to Information

5. The university will be deploying wireless network access (802.11 WiFi) where it’s needed on all campuses. The expectation is that approximately 85% of key locations will be accessible by the end of next fiscal year.
6. A pilot project will occur to test the feasibility of providing off-campus “wireless cable modem” service for students, faculty and staff in the Oxford area.
7. Major campus network backbone improvements (conveyance and electronics) will occur, taking advantage of the current university high voltage electrical upgrade project. This will provide a more robust, redundant, fault-tolerant network for our university, as well as facilitate the planned future growth of the network and accommodate the university Facilities Master Plan.
8. Residence hall network connections will be upgraded to switched Ethernet and segmentation from the rest of campus, improving service for students living in these halls and enhancing network security for the university as a whole. These upgrades will include institutionally provided wireless (802.11 WiFi) in residence halls.
9. The new Ohio Third Frontier Network will go live as the institutional OARNet and Internet transport, providing capability for much more total bandwidth capacity to the university.
10. An alternative campus-wide server and storage strategy will begin development. This will include determining needs, acquiring equipment and staff, socializing the concept and “marketing” the service to the campus.
11. A study of our “next generation” e-mail and calendaring system and recommendation will be completed.
12. Protecting the university’s mission critical network assets will be enhanced by establishing a university Information Security Office, adding certified staff to support this function, and developing both strategic and tactical plans for information security.
13. A pilot project to provide proactive workstation management will occur. This will include possible features like “pushing” virus protection, applying operating system patches and quarantining infected machines from the rest of the network.
14. Common software licensing and how this can benefit the institution will be studied and feasible solutions will occur.

Strategic Goal 3 - Promote Customer-Centered IT Support and Services

15. A pilot project will occur to demonstrate an alternative end-user support model scenario.
16. A customer service model study will be conducted to review how to improve communications between information technology consumers and providers. This will include initial definition of service levels and assessment criteria.
17. Creation of a client advocate role in the IT Services unit will occur.

Strategic Goal 4 – Ensure Continuous Innovation

18. Discussion will occur and a proposal will be developed regarding the establishment of a program to foster innovative uses of technology on our campuses.

Strategic Goal 5 - Support University Administration and Management

19. Useful access to institutional information will be enhanced by commencing a Decision Support System project. This will include definition of a charter, scope and outcome measures, allocation of staff resources to support the project, development of a project plan, and limited deployment of a prototype solution.
20. To simplify access to operational information for both students and faculty, assessment will occur of a portal solution to replace MyMiami. A study will be conducted and work will begin on a general web site content management solution.
21. Banner improvements will be identified by developing a plan, prioritizing potential targeted improvements and begin implementation of these. Possible targets might include commencement of the implementation of automated purchasing/requisitioning, tearing down perceived functional barriers, reducing local modifications to Banner, cleaning up “loose ends” remaining from the 1999 implementation, making the application more user-friendly, and preparing for Banner Release 7, which has significant changes forthcoming.

Strategic Goal 6 - Plan and Manage Information Technology

22. A study will be performed and a recommendation made regarding how the university might best address continuous “technology refresh” funding requirements. This will include review of possible technology fee recommendations to help alleviate this inadequacy and ensure that our students have access to current technology and related services to accomplish their learning outcome objectives.
23. This large number of IT projects requires that an IT Project Office be established. This service has been started by consultant contractors over the past year, but resource commitments will be made to oversee the portfolio of projects.
24. Resources will be committed to guarantee continuation of effective IT planning and governance articulation.
25. Systems will be implemented to assist the vice president for information technology in more effective management of institutional IT, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
26. Resources will be allocated to address understaffing and “pent-up demand” that have adversely affected quality of service to the university over the past several years.
27. Data will be collected and analyzed to assess adequacy of IT staff compensation relative to the existing market.

I hope you share my enthusiasm about the university’s support for these undertakings. There is still a significant amount of planning and campus interaction required before many of these projects can commence. Let me express my appreciation to the entire university community for all of the effort and valuable time that you have invested in helping us identify both the strategic goals and, more specifically, these critical tactical targets for next year. I look forward to continued engagement with you as we begin making Miami University an even better place to learn, teach and live.

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