Executive Overview January 2014 Revision

Transcription

1 Revised January 2014

2 Executive Overview January 2014 Revision It is my pleasure to present the revised and expanded Kent State University s Information Technology strategic plan. This document extends the existing IS Strategic Plan through The IT Strategic Plan remains directly connected to the University s plan. As such, it identifies specific, measurable objectives and milestones that will ensure the greatest return on the university s investment in this critical asset. The executive overview focuses on three key elements of our strategy; Alignment, An Inclusive Process and IT Infrastructure Enhancement. The complete strategic plan can be found at: Alignment With University Goals: University Strategic Goals Information Services Strategic Goals I. Ensuring Student Success 1: Enable Student Success II. Enhancing Academic Excellence and Innovation 2: Empower Teaching and Improve Learning III. Expanding Breakthrough Research and Creative Endeavors IV. Engaging with the World Beyond Our Campuses V. Securing Our Financial Future 3: Ensure Reliable, Secure and Accessible Systems 4: Manage Costs; Improve Service Management and Business Processes VI. Developing and Recognizing Our People 5: Plan and Manage Information Services With Academic Affairs: This revision maintains our commitment to supporting the project needs of the other university divisions. We have mapped our IS projects to the Academic Affairs Our Voices, Our Vision Strategy. High Level Mapping AA Strategic Plan Goal Information Services Strategic Plan Projects Implement : 1. Ensuring Student Success 1. the Degree Works system, 2. the Advising Scheduling System, 3. Automated Advisor Assignment, 4. Course Signals, and 5. expanded Dynamic Student Checklists, To enable students and advisors to review degree progress and plan coursework Revised January

3 with a goal of graduation. Implementing CurricuNET to improve efficiencies within curriculum development. 2. Enhancing Academic Excellence and Innovation Implement FPDC Productivity Database to monitor and evaluate FPDC productivity indicators. Provide integration between Distance Learning s selected vendor support organization s computer applications and Kent State s internal applications. 4. Engaging the World Beyond Our Campuses Maintain / enhance the fsaatlas system to support streamlined processing of international students. 5. Securing Our Financial Future Maintain / enhance the Banner Faculty Load and Compensation Module to provide an integrated, efficient process for determining faculty assignments and workload. Maintain / enhance the Electronic Data Warehouse (EDW) contains historical trending information to allow for flexible analysis and timely decision making about course enrollments. An Inclusive Process The process used to create this plan included four important elements: 1. DATA GATHERING: Current State Assessment. This phase started with seeking answers to the questions, Where are we now? Where do we want to be? How big is the gap? What will it take to get where we want to be? To that end, we surveyed university stakeholders to determine their perspectives of the services we offer, as well as to gather feedback and direction on strategic imperatives and university needs. University Council on Technology (UCT) Faculty Audit. More than 300 faculty members participated in a technology audit. Lead by the UCT, this audit provided clarity and direction around the critical area of Learning Management Tools and Systems. 2. EXTERNAL INPUT: We reviewed the information technology strategy and tactical plans of approximately 10 institutions, as well as technology-related higher education resources such as Gartner, EDUCAUSE and Campus Computing Surveys. These documents provided additional insights and perspectives as to current trends, issues and concerns relative to technology and higher education. Additionally, the CIOs from five major universities conducted a series of onsite interviews and discussions with major university stakeholders to review and evaluate the plan, processes and organization. The full report of their findings and recommendations is available at Revised January

4 IT Infrastructure Enhancements The plan also includes a renewed focus on strengthening the University s IT Infrastructure. This renewed infrastructure focus includes: Moving Administrative Applications to a single virtualized server environment (Banner off Sun) Implementing Unified Communications including an upgrading of all network components to ensure high quality of service Improving Data Management which includes automating adherence to retention policies, implementing a new distributed storage architecture, eliminating older storage methods (tape), provided increased storage capacity. Improving IS Disaster Recovery simplifying the process and reducing the recovery time. This will be accomplished by replacing tape backup with more modern disk replication techniques. By documenting the recover process in detail and training our vendor on these processes we will reduce the dependency on Kent State s IS staff during disaster recovery. Implement a single IS Operations Control Center that utilizes enterprise management software to combine the monitoring and management of the application, server and storage infrastructure with the network infrastructure. Evaluate and pilot the use of cloud based computing to support application and storage needs of the university. Services that might be early adopters of cloud based computing include infrastructure applications ( and calendaring), web applications and storage. Thank you. My address is emahon@kent.edu; I welcome your reaction and ideas. Ed Mahon Vice President for Information Services and Chief Information Officer Revised January

5 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW JANUARY 2014 REVISION... 2 I. UNIVERSITY MISSION STATEMENT... 6 II. INFORMATION SERVICES MISSION, VALUES AND STRATEGIC GOALS... 7 Strategic Goal #1: Enable Student Success... 8 Strategic Goal #2: Empower Teaching and Improve Learning Strategic Goal #3: Ensure Reliable, Secure and Accessible Systems Strategic Goal #4: Manage Costs; Improve Business Processes and Service Management Strategic Goal #5: Plan and Manage Information Services III. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS TRENDS IN HIGHER EDUCATION A. EDUCAUSE Top 10 IT Issues, B. The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, C. Gartner Group, Agenda Overview for Higher Education, D. Campus Computing Project: The 2012 Campus Computing Survey IV. INTERNAL ASSESSMENT (2010) ORGANIZATION PROFILE SURVEY RESULTS UCT FACULTY AUDIT SUMMARY LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND TOOLS SUNGARD BANNER ERP IMPLEMENTATION ASSESSMENT EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT CIO ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATION V. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (2010) VI. MAPPING IS PROJECTS TO ACADEMIC AFFAIRS STRATEGY (2013) Revised January

6 I. University Mission Statement Kent State University Mission Statement The mission of Kent State University is to discover, create, apply and share knowledge, as well as to foster ethical and humanitarian values in the service of Ohio and the global community. As an eight-campus educational system, Kent State offers a broad array of academic programs to engage students in diverse learning environments that educate them to think critically and to expand their intellectual horizons while attaining the knowledge and skills necessary for responsible citizenship and productive careers. Kent State University Vision Kent State University will change lives by encouraging outstanding teaching and innovative learning opportunities, by cultivating excellence in all we do, and by seeking greater access and affordability for our students. Kent State shall expand its dynamic leadership through recognized scholarship and path-breaking research, through increased levels of external support leading to new discoveries and economic development, and through partnerships with other institutions and organizations in the pursuit of academic excellence. To further these common goals, faculty, staff and students, as well as our alumni and community supporters, shall serve as collaborative partners in advancing Kent State s status as a model for 21st-century public higher education. Kent State University Strategic Goals: I. Ensuring Student Success II. Enhancing Academic Excellence and Innovation III. Expanding Breakthrough Research and Creative Endeavors IV. Engaging with the World Beyond Our Campuses V. Securing Our Financial Future VI. Developing and Recognizing Our People Kent State University Strategy Map In the fall of 2009, KSU President Lefton outlined a new vision and clear directive for the university. Capturing the critical imperatives and core mission and values, a detailed university strategy map was developed. Likewise each cabinet member was charged with creating a strategy map for their division. Imperative to the development of the IS strategic plan was ensuring alignment with the university mission and strategy. These maps provided input and clarity and ensured this alignment. The university s six strategic goals as well as individual division goals and key initiatives were transformed into Information Technology goals and objectives that are necessary for the realization of the university s objectives. The resulting five strategic goals outline what Kent State University wants information services to accomplish during the next three to five years. Revised January

7 II. Information Services Mission, Values and Strategic Goals The following mission and value statement represents the division s purpose and guiding principles in support of the university s vision and strategic imperatives. IS Mission: The Division of Information Services provides the university community with technology solutions that enhance the learning and business environment, support excellence in teaching, enable innovation in research and provide opportunities for collaboration within and beyond our campuses. Values: We are committed to excellence We are strategic partners We act with integrity and accountability We are fiscally responsible We value diversity in people and ideas Strategic Goal #1: Enable Student Success Enable student success by creating and supporting technology services that increase information availability and improve customer service. Strategic Goal #2: Empower Teaching and Improve Learning Empower teaching and improve learning through technology. Strategic Goal #3: Ensure Reliable, Secure and Accessible Systems Provide and maintain systems that are reliable, secure and accessible anytime, anywhere; thereby providing an information technology infrastructure that enhances productivity and enables global access. Strategic Goal #4: Manage Costs; Improve Service Management and Business Processes Significant focus must be placed on cost of service, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), and improving administrative and organizational efficiencies (resulting in reduced cost) through process improvement and organizational alignment. Strategic Goal #5: Plan and Manage Information Services Critical to the efficient execution of the university IS mission are the organization, its people and processes. We must have fully engaged and visionary teams in order to facilitate university wide information technology strategies, priorities and decisions. Equally, we must deploy processes and disciplines that enhance organizational efficiency, as well as reliable systems and environments. The next few pages outline in detail the initiatives that are fundamental to the success of our strategic goals. They are high value projects that should be recognized across our organization as critical imperatives. Revised January

8 Strategic Goal #1: Enable Student Success Enable student success by creating and supporting technology services that increase information availability and improve customer service. Three references or points help to frame this strategic goal; (1) Critical to the university s success, of course is the success of its students, as determined by graduation rates, retention and the caliber of first-year students. (2) The Year of the Yes, an underlying university theme for 2010, stresses the importance of providing customer service and removing obstacles to helping students accomplish their educational goals. (3) The profile of current students as highlighted in ECAR and EDUCAUSE studies shows they are more technologically aware than ever before and they demand access, immediacy and information. Following outline several technology initiatives in support of these university goals Graduation Planning System (GPS). Implement a graduation planning system that will provide a universal tracking method for students to easily understand and navigate their educational requirements through to graduation. The benefits of this system include: Keeping students on a graduation path Providing timely advising for student success in a major Improving retention rates Creating program requirements by semester Tracking degree progress Components to support this vision include Web sites, roadmaps, planning, tracking, advising and career counseling. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Develop and fully deploy GPS timetabling Completed Dec Develop and fully deploy GPS tracking Complete initial implementation of GPS tracking Dec Continue with system enhancements as needed by the GPS initiative. 1. Deploy GPS timetabling based on course schedule demand. 2. Develop and fully deploy GPS tracking with system enhancements defined by the GPS initiative. Implement by Oct Implement by Dec Business Intelligence and Reporting. Define and implement a business intelligence strategy and solution that facilitates presidential dashboards, quality scorecards, matriculation and graduation studies and predictive enrollment management in support of student recruitment, retention, diversity and other institutional metrics. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Implement Electronic Data Warehouse (EDW) for admissions and enrollment. Completed implementation of the EDW for admissions and enrollment management Enhance FlashLine Dashboards Add measures to current reports and create new reports prioritized by EMSA and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Continuing enhancements through academic year Revised January

9 1.3. Improve the Web Presence and Processes for Incoming Students. Enhance the Destination Kent State online processes to improve registration, scheduling, and advising for incoming freshmen. Provide a robust technology solution to increase the usability and Kent State branding for the suite of Websites (including Admissions, Financial Aid, Residence Services and other student services) directed at incoming students and prospects. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Online graduation Process Implemented the online graduation application process, Web Presence/Destination Kent Migrated the freshman suite of websites to the new design and navigation, Enhanced Destination Kent processes for use with the summer 2010 program. 3. Appointment Scheduling Provided enhanced advisor appointment scheduling for use in Destination Kent Enrollment Management Support enrollment management through improved integration of prospects and recruiting with the Banner system. (2011) 5. Improve infrastructure facilitating redesign and improvements of divisional webs. Completed infrastructure improvements to (2010) 6. Implement Google Search Appliance Replace Google Basic Search with the Google Search Appliance (2011) 7. Develop Kent State's mobile presence Implement BlackBoard's mobile solution (2011) Provide user-specific features (2012) 1. Identify a new CMS Replace Commonspot with new CMS and migrate all websites to new CMS by summer Improve Search Experience on Implement advanced features of the Google Search Appliance to offer both simple and advanced search options to all users 3. Continue to enhance KSU Mobile for advanced student, employee, and staff functionality. Provide parking information, bus routes, student events (what's up KSU), textbook lookup, and housing information. Revised January

10 1.4. Streamline and Improve University Processes. Continue to deploy and enhance an environment in which systems, individuals, and communities interact seamlessly for learning, teaching, administration and achievement. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Provide a change of program workflow for undergraduate students. 2. Provide a timetabling workflow to track schedule change requests after the class schedule has been created in Banner. 3. Implement digital imaging for payroll documents. 4. Implement HR improvements including self service for sick leave to vacation conversion, automated vacation cutback, new talent/performance management system and workflow for FMLA reporting. 5. Simplify and improve university time keeping system(s) Completed the change of program workflow (2012). Developed and implemented the timetabling workflow (2011) Completed imaging of historical payroll documents (2010) Developed and implemented HR improvements (2012) Implemented an online process to convert sick leave to vacation and an automated process to cut-back vacation time. Worked with Benefits and Records to implement the use of the Banner delivered FMLA INB form to process and track FMLA usage. We did not implement a new talent/performance mgmt. system but did see a demo of Ellucian s Talent Mgmt Suite (partnered with Corner Stone). HR elected not to pursue. Developed, and implemented university time keeping system improvements (2012) 1. Implement Banner Transfer Articulation to provide timely and accurate processing of transfer student admissions Complete the Banner TA Project in 2013 Revised January

11 1.5. Enhanced End User Services. End User Services consists of three distinct areas including the technical Helpdesk primarily utilized by students and faculty, desktop support services for staff, and TechSpot the computer care center for home computers. With the recent partnership established for providing Helpdesk services we not only reduce our cost structure but are able to provide enhanced support services including live chat, Web ticketing and click-to-call (ability to schedule a Helpdesk call). This goal is aimed at the continuous enhancement of support services offered to the university constituents. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Finalize efficient and effective processes, policies and procedures associated with the continued improvement of the Kent State Helpdesk. Completed Develop a comprehensive knowledge management process that utilizes change control, the auditing of escalated tickets and Tier II review, to keep the knowledge base current. 3. Expand the services of Tech Spot to meet the changing needs of PC users across campus. Review / replace current helpdesk operations Completed 2011 Completed 2010 Complete review / replacement by March 2014 Revised January

12 Strategic Goal #2: Empower Teaching and Improve Learning Empower teaching and improve learning through technology. As noted within recent Gartner articles IT leaders must offer vision for investment in technology as well as management to both physical and virtual campuses. The Ohio Board of Regents (March 2009 Report), concluded that Ohio (universities) must increase its use of technology, aggressively grow E-Learning and promote greater student interface with technology as strategies to increase success and improve efficiencies within administrative and academic functions. As such Kent State University must continue to develop and deploy educational technologies that include multiple forms of online and blended learning. Outlined below are key initiatives that support this goal. 2.1 Course Management System and Related Applications Based on the strategy, goals and requirements articulated by the Provost s Office for technology enhanced learning and with collaborative input from the University Council on Technology; select, implement and support an integrated suite of Educational Technology (ET) software applications to develop and deliver online and blended courses for Kent State University. This software will support course capture, synchronous learning, asynchronous learning, assessments and course management. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Select, implement, maintain and support an Educational Technology (ET) Software suite (course management, synchronous learning, and course capture) that provides efficient and effective support for developing and offering online and blended courses. 1. Implement Course Signals and Cognos Reporting in Blackboard Completed implementation of new ET software suite by the end of Complete implementation of Course Signals, including integration with Cognos by the end of Implement Blackboard Effort integration with Course Signals Complete implementation of Blackboard Effort integration with Course Signals by the end of Implement Blackboard Learn Community Complete implementation by Implement Blackboard Collaborate Complete implementation by 2015 Revised January

13 2.2 Classroom Technology Management Install and maintain technology enhanced classrooms; provide support for the Kent Campus renovation project by ensuring that classroom technology solutions meet the university s future needs for advanced flexible learning spaces. In addition, provide ongoing support to the faculty through individualized training, user instruction manuals and responding to classroom technology issues as they arise. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Support annual classroom upgrade project 2. Install centralized classroom equipment monitoring system to improve maintenance and support for classroom technology 3. Plan, design and install the classroom technology for new and renovated spaces related to proposed $200,000,000 bond to replace / renovate buildings across campus. 1. Plan, design and install the classroom technology for Foundations of Excellence campus expansion and renovation. Completed (annually) Implement system to remotely manage classroom technology by December 2010 in Progress Ensure classroom technology is installed in time for the reopening of the building and / or the use of the new / renovated classrooms for courses. 2. Support annual classroom upgrade project Install new technology in classrooms annually Revised January

14 Strategic Goal #3: Ensure Reliable, Secure and Accessible Systems Provide and maintain systems that are reliable, secure and accessible anytime, anywhere; thereby providing an information technology infrastructure that enhances productivity and enables global access. IT security continues to be a top strategic issue facing institutions of higher education and is ranked as one of the top three issues of CIOs in higher education for the last three years. The prevalence of critical information available online makes securing and protecting information resources paramount. Like all universities, we view this as a critical issue and have dedicated strategic resources, processes and tools to this area. Following are key initiatives in support of this goal Identity and Access Management (IAM) System A comprehensive solution for identity and access management, designed to solve the core challenge the university has with the management of thousands of accounts across multiple applications. The goal of this effort is to improve the student and faculty experience and reduce the risks, cost, and complexity of ongoing identity management. In addition, the University endeavors to build a common IAM infrastructure framework for the deployment of new systems and applications. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Define and implement an Identity Management Solution fully integrated with Banner environment to provide improved account provisioning and de-provisioning, timely access to systems by those who need it, and password management. 1. Upgrade network access control systems including wireless authentication and wired authentication 2. Upgrade campus vpn and ssl-vpn technology First phase infrastructure systems integrated and deployed Completed FY11. Consolidate and streamline self-service password system. Reduce help desk calls regarding ID and Password reset by 10%. Provide seamless authentication to network resources with KSU authentication (FY15) Remove legacy IP based security requirements and enable user authenticated network identification for access" Enhance performance of the Kent State VPN (FY 14) Provide split tunneling capabilities to alleviate hairpin issues" 3. Upgrade datacenter firewall technology Enable integration of firewall management into single pane of glass management software to speed up delivery of services in the datacenter (FY 14) Revised January

15 3.2. Unified Communications Replace the university s messaging systems ( , instant messaging), telephone PBX and network infrastructure to provide anytime, anywhere connectivity that is highly available and reliable and provides flexibility and functionality in meeting end user needs. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Develop and implement new WAN design improving flexibility, bandwidth, redundancy, and efficiency. 2. Provide advanced, integrated and mobile communication services: unified communications. (voic system, replace PBX). 1. Provide detailed monitoring and delegated management systems for the new Cisco Unified Communications solution Implement new design by December completed In progress - replace existing telephone system and voic by June 2014 Implement Cisco Prime Collaboration suite for provisioning, monitoring, and reporting (FY 14) 2. Upgrade campus backbone equipment Replace aging network backbone equipment (FY 15) Upgrade capabilities to 10 Gb or higher Reduce re-convergence delays with active/active node configurations Document and resolve fiber bottlenecks on campus 3. Upgrade datacenter network fabric Replace aging datacenter network devices (FY 15) Enable fabric based computing for centralized management and speed up delivery of services in the datacenter 3.3. Wireless Complete implementation of the wireless network throughout the remainder of campus buildings and residence halls to provide anywhere, anytime accessibility to students, faculty and staff. Key Initiatives 1. Complete implementation in remaining academic and administrative buildings. 2. Develop implementation and costing model to allow wireless installation in the remaining Residence Halls. % of academic buildings with wireless goal 100% - Complete % of administrative buildings with wireless goal 100% - Complete Increase number of concurrent wireless users - Complete % of Residence Halls with complete wireless goal 100% Revised January

16 3.4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity. Continue to enhance and strengthen our ability to provide continuous service and long term stability of core infrastructure environment. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Develop a disaster recovery discipline and processes in order to respond to major disasters affecting technology service and availability. 2. Enhance and update DR solution focusing on reduced recovery time and recovery points for Tier 1 services including emergency web site, and other core applications. 3. Maintain stability of the technology infrastructure by purchase of best of breed software and regular upgrades and maintenance of hardware. Develop a model for the availability of consistent up-to-date technology. 1. Enhance the DR solution by obtaining managed recovery services, which will reduce/eliminate dependence on KSU resources for recovery activities. 2. Continue to improve the DR plan, focusing on reduced recovery time and recovery points for Tier 1 services and emergency web site. Completed 2011 Completed 2012 Ongoing Execute an agreement with our DR provider (IBM) to provide managed recovery services by 2Q Yearly improvements and testing of the DR plan for Tier 1 applications. Revised January

17 3.5. Security. Continue to secure the environment through awareness, development standards and external evaluation and assessment. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Integrate effective application security designs into the application development and deployment methodology. 2. Complete External Security Audit and Assessment 3. Establish on-going Pen Test and Vulnerability assessment process with 3 rd party organization 4. Review, update and publish on an ongoing basis Security Policies. Promote awareness amongst university constituents. Completed training 2010 Complete 2011 Initial test completed 2011 Deployed Security Awareness training module Implement the Security Access Workflow. Implement the Security Access Workflow in Conduct a privileged system audit on IT systems and document processes to maintain access records 3. Conduct a sweep of university systems to identify personally identifiable information and remediate any issues Interview system owners and document roles and access rights Document access approval processes per system Identify where management of access permissions and approval processes can be automated (FY 14) Identify and procure a PII scanning utility to discover sensitive university information Identify and scan campus systems in scope Remediate gaps and secure systems with PII requirements Establish an ongoing process to monitor and remediate gaps (FY 14) Revised January

18 Strategic Goal #4: Manage Costs; Improve Business Processes and Service Management As noted in the Campus Computing Project 2009 survey, CIOs are struggling with the rising demand for IT resources and services in the midst of significant budget cuts. Kent State is not exempt from these issues. Significant focus must be placed on cost of service, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), and improving administrative and organizational efficiencies (resulting in reduced cost) through process improvement and organizational alignment. Following outline the imperatives for reaching this goal Financial Controls Establish a financial framework that permits us to present the financial impact of our decisions with greater clarity. Separate budget funds into three distinct categories, including capital, projects and operating providing for improved planning and control of cost. A Responsibility Center Management (RCM) methodology is used in support of university goals to define service categories for the division and document the cost of the services identified. This allows us to aggregate costs by the services we provide, which may be more meaningful to the clients we serve. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Develop a sustainable financial model. Analyze and define our current funding structure and recommend improvements. Created sustainable three-part annual budget with funds allocate to the operating budget, capital refresh and discretionary projects. (2011) 2. Implementation of IS department costing model for all Information Services departments. Develop detail cost of service model tied to service catalog entries Implement ongoing budget increases based on online registrations and total network user count High level model created (2010) Complete by 2014 Complete by 2013 Revised January

19 4.2. Post ERP Implementation/Optimization. Continue to enhance and integrate processes and functionality within administrative offices. Optimize utilization and functionality of Banner ERP Solution. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Continue to improve and streamline processes by taking full advantage of core Banner functionality 2. Ensure reliability, consistency, supportability of Banner environment 3. Reduce the number of mods (KSU home grown) applications Upgraded to V8 in February 2010 Upgraded to V8.5 in May 2012 Refresh hardware by end of FY11 on strategic platforms Complete projects to reduce Banner mods by Continue to improve and streamline processes by taking full advantage of core Banner functionality 2. Ensure reliability, consistency, supportability of Banner environment 3. Manage data growth in key systems in compliance with University records retention schedules Introduce Banner XE modules into production (Course Catalog and Class Schedule) by end of FY14 Refresh database hardware by end of 2014 on strategic x86 platforms Complete key milestones in Data Management project by end of Further leverage Ellucian Products. Implement BRM, Course Signals, and SRP in 2013 Revised January

20 4.3. Storage Optimization. Anticipate the university s increasing demands for additional storage by implementing proactive storage allocation and capacity management, creating a new funding and chargeback model and replacing old equipment to increase overall capacity. Control and manage storage growth Key Initiatives 1. Backup Storage Tier Based Retention Architect Reduced current 434 Tivoli Management classes (retention policies) by 34% (2012) 2. Implement chargeback model for storage (including , Personal File Storage and Application Storage) 3. Complete deployment of SAN Storage with Tiered storage environment 1. Utilize the University Records retention rules to shrink the Banner footprint. In Progress In Progress Implement Banner delivered purge process to comply with the records retention schedule by summer Reduce dependency on tape for backup data storage. 3. Reduce our storage footprint by employing deduplication and compression technologies. 4. Implement a cost effective storage solution for onsite and off-site disk backup to migrate away from legacy tape systems. 5. Implement a cost effective storage array for tier 2 file share systems 6. Implement chargeback model for storage (including Personal File Storage and Application Storage) 7. Integrate cloud storage options for personal and departmental storage Eliminate tape for all or most backup data storage A reduction of physical storage by a ratio of 5:1 to logical storage for backup data. Provide low performance, high density storage Decommission tape backup systems Provide mirrored offsite storage for emergency recovery of data (FY14) Provide low performance, high density storage Provide seamless management of dissimilar types of storage infrastructure, including low performance, high density disk Quickly respond to incremental demand with minimal capital expenditure (FY 14) Establish consistent cost for tiered storage using a consumption cost model for price per GB allocated. (FY 14) Provide a secure method for management of university information in the cloud. Lower the requirements of on premise storage hardware (FY 15) Revised January

21 4.4. Kent State Unified Desktop. Implement a single suite of desktop management tools and directory services for use across the entire university. Continue to allow local control of desktops while moving the university to a unified set of tools and procedures for managing the desktop environment. 1. Manage both Windows and Macintosh personal computers. 2. Bind to Kent Active Directory, with IS providing servers at each campus for redundancy. 3. Provide single authentication and similar user experience across all eight campuses, resulting in higher user satisfaction than multiple logons per campus. 4. Use Active Directory to enable settings management, automatic shared drive and printer assignment, and auditable security. 5. Encrypt university owned machines with full disk encryption software (Windows and Mac) 6. Use Altiris for inventory, security updates, and flexible software distribution Completed Key Initiatives 1. Provide full disk encryption for all faculty and staff personal computers (Windows and Macs) Completed for windows machines Bind all faculty and staff personal computers to Kent State s active directory Completed for windows machines Install a common software management application (Altiris) on all faculty and staff personal computers 4. Expand encryption, active directory and software management to all campus PC s as appropriate.(i.e. encryption may not be required on Lab PC s) 1. Provide full disk encryption for all faculty and staff personal computers (Macs) Completed for windows machines 2011 Determined not appropriate - cancelled Complete by Bind all faculty and staff personal computers to Kent State s active directory (Macs) Complete by Install a common software management application on all faculty and staff personal computers (Macs) Complete by 2014 Revised January

22 4.5. Data Center Optimization and Efficiencies Improve operating and environmental efficiencies within data center. Implement server and storage optimization strategy; virtualize and consolidate. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Continue to refine and focus resources to increase efficient resolution of problems and ongoing maintenance and support of systems. 2. Optimize structure of computer room for more efficient cooling and power usage, as well as expansion of servers and machinery as required. Documented DC resource requirements and update job descriptions and roles to reflect those requirements 2Q 2010 Documented current DC cost structure by 3Q Continue to deliver efficiencies in DC operations such as, but not limited to remote monitoring, shift eliminations, and green operations 4. Develop and implement server optimization strategy utilizing blade and virtualization technology. Virtualize and consolidate servers where feasible. 1. Implement an Enterprise Monitoring Solution to provide a single pane of glass for system and service status monitoring. 2. Enhance compute and storage solutions by providing cloud brokering as an extension of the datacenter Complete initial evaluations and make recommendations for efficiency improvements by 3Q2010 Implement quarterly tracking of servers Server chargeback model by FY11 Document monitoring requirements for KSU critical systems and processes Implement monitoring requirement processes Upgrade centralized monitoring tools providing enterprise capabilities Reduce disparate monitoring systems Train personal on maintenance and development of product monitoring agents Develop dashboards to accurately report the state of the KSU environment (FY 14) Establish policy for cloud service usage Consolidate cloud services to maximize cost savings Leverage available cloud capacity to speed up the time to deliver on request Enable auto scaling of services to meet bursting load demands Provide a seamless DR model for virtual services (FY 14) Decommission on premise services for SharePoint 3. Migrate on premise SharePoint to the hosted Office (FY 13) 365 service 4.6. Service Management: Improve client understanding of access to, and usability of IT Services. 1. Create detailed IT Service Catalog that defines service, who is eligible for service and method to access service. 2. Perform usability studies on select IT Services and Applications Complete by 2014 Complete by 2015 Revised January

23 Strategic Goal #5: Plan and Manage Information Services Critical to the efficient execution of the IS mission are the organization, people and processes. We must have fully engaged and visionary teams in order to facilitate university wide information technology strategies, priorities and decisions. Equally, we must deploy processes and disciplines that enhance organizational efficiency, and reliable systems and environments. Following outline the critical projects that are fundamental to our strategic success IS Leadership. Develop and recognize our people Completed Key Initiatives 1. Promote leadership skills of IS management staff through group professional development sessions 2. Encourage a culture of diversity and inclusion in which all employees can contribute fully Implemented Ongoing - conduct management professional development programs at least twice annually. Implemented Ongoing - ensure all employees attend at least two diversity related training programs or events each year 3. Implement a Training Reporting Application to consolidate staff training information 4. Support and promote the certification and continuing education of staff 1. Promote leadership skills of IS management staff through group professional development sessions 2. Encourage a culture of diversity and inclusion in which all employees can contribute fully 3. Promote technical and leadership skills of individual contributors through group professional development sessions 4. Support and promote the certification and continuing education of staff Cancelled Implemented Ongoing - ensure support education and certification of IS staff Ongoing - conduct management professional development programs at least twice annually. Ongoing - ensure all employees attend at least two diversity related training programs or events each year Implement by 2013 maintain ongoing Ongoing - ensure support education and certification of IS staff Revised January

24 5.2. Strategic Planning. Develop and implement a university wide information technology strategic plan with means for continuous improvement. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Establish and implement an ongoing information technology planning process that continually assesses and evaluates information technology at KSU Strategic plan process; published and delivered by FY10 revised Develop quantitative measures and KPIs that will assess the accomplishments and drive continuous improvement within the division Quality Metrics developed for Helpdesk Services (2010) and time tracking implemented for projects (2012), additional metrics in progress 1. Develop new Strategic plan by 2016 Complete by Develop quantitative measures and KPIs that will assess the accomplishments and drive continuous improvement within the division Complete by Project Management and Prioritization. Strengthen advisory, governance and communication structure, providing coordination and prioritization process. Completed Key Initiatives 1. Review all current advisory structures and design for an interdependent function i.e. IT steering committee. 2. Clarify IT priority setting process 3. Determine how to increase communication and engagement with key stakeholders Key stakeholders determined existing process should continue to be followed (2010) PM for Infrastructure and Operations FY10 4. Further expand the PMO and disciplines to IS centered projects. Implement Project Management methodology and discipline including templates, reporting and time tracking by FY11 1. Further expand the PMO and disciplines to Service Management and Educational Technology projects. Currently in progress (helpdesk project) implement for all major projects by 2015 Revised January

25 5.4. Communication and Collaboration: Improve communication and capitalize on collaboration opportunities within IS organization and across university divisions Completed Key Initiatives 1. Ensure effective communication through regular division wide meetings 2. Implement center of excellence by moving optimum/maximum number of IS resources into one facility 3. Develop and implement ongoing coordinated information services communications and feedback mechanisms for students faculty and staff 4. Hire communication person for division, develop more effective IS communication program within division and across university 5. Encourage participation in appropriate national, regional and statewide collaborative efforts to maintain competitive advantage, maximize economies of scale and capitalize on best practices. Implemented in FY10 Completed by 2011 Monthly insight publications and board book contributions completed 2010 In Progress - Person hired but moved to University Communications need replacement Ongoing 1. Ensure effective communication through regular division wide meetings 3. Develop and implement ongoing coordinated information services communications and feedback mechanisms for students faculty and staff 4. Hire communication person for division, develop more effective IS communication program within division and across university 5. Encourage participation in appropriate national, regional and statewide collaborative efforts to maintain competitive advantage, maximize economies of scale and capitalize on best practices. Ongoing Ongoing Complete in 2013 Ongoing Revised January

26 III. External Environmental Analysis Trends in Higher Education The information technology strategy and tactical plans of approximately 10 institutions were reviewed as well as technology related higher education resources. These documents provided additional insights and perspectives as to current trends, issues and concerns relative to technology and higher education. Excerpts from the various sources are included below. A. EDUCAUSE Top 10 IT Issues, 2012 Since 2000, EDUCAUSE (nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology) has conducted its Current Issues Survey to identify what campus information technology leaders see as their most critical IT challenges. General conclusions 1. Updating IT professionals' skills and roles to accommodate emerging technologies and changing IT management and service delivery models 2. Supporting the trends toward IT consumerization and bring-your-own device 3. Developing an institution-wide cloud strategy 4. Improving the institution's operational efficiency through information technology 5. Integrating information technology into institutional decision-making 6. Using analytics to support critical institutional outcomes 7. Funding information technology strategically 8. Transforming the institution's business with information technology 9. Supporting the research mission through high-performance computing, large data, and analytics 10. Establishing and implementing IT governance throughout the institution As noted previously, the KSU IS plan incorporates and attacks most of these critical issues. Revised January

27 B. The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2012 Revised January

28 C. Gartner Group, Agenda Overview for Higher Education, 2013 Table 1. Priorities for Higher Education Key Initiative IT Governance IT Strategic Planning Innovation Management Enterprise Application Suites and ERP Cloud Computing Innovation Vendor Management Focus IT governance is the set of processes that ensure the effective and efficient use of IT in enabling an organization to achieve its goals. Strategic planning is the process of translating the enterprise's vision and mission into how resources, including IT's capabilities, are deployed to generate maximum value for stakeholders. Successful innovation must combine creativity with process to transform novel ideas into business value. Innovation management requires a clear strategy, a business focus and a defined process model. Enterprise application suites and ERP improve business processes and information usage by integrating functions such as finance, order management and purchasing into a set of interconnected modules. Cloud computing is a style of computing where scalable and elastic IT-related capabilities are provided as a service to customers, using Internet technologies. Vendor management is the discipline of managing, administering and guiding vendors in an organized way to drive the right behaviors (product or service elements) to IT or business outcomes. Revised January

29 D. Campus Computing Project: The 2012 Campus Computing Survey The 2012 survey also confirms big gains in the proportion of institutions that are activating mobile apps and services for their students. Additionally, the 2012 data document the continuing decline in the number of campuses that continue to experience IT budget cuts as a consequence of the economic downturn that began in Assessing the Effectiveness of Campus IT Investments The 2012 Campus Computing Survey reveals that senior campus IT officials offer a very mixed assessment about the effectiveness of various institutional investments in information technology. For example, threefifths view the institutional investment in IT for library resources and for administrative information systems to be very effective, while just over half (55.2 percent) cite the investment in IT for on-campus instruction as very effective. In contrast, less than a fourth (22.7 percent) view the IT investment in data analysis and managerial analytics as very effective. Among CIOs at research institutions, only a two-fifths (41.7 percent) at public universities and a third (32.6 percent) in private universities assess current IT investments to support research and scholarship as very effective. More Colleges Go Mobile Across all sectors of higher education, the 2012 survey documents another year of big gains in the proportion of colleges and universities that have activated mobile apps. Three-fifths (60.2 percent) of the campuses participating in this year s survey have activated mobile apps as of fall 2012 or will do so in the coming academic year, compared to two-fifths (41.5 percent) in fall 2011 and 23.1 percent in fall Across sectors, public universities lead the move to mobile: more than three-fourths (77.8 percent) report active or impending mobile apps for fall 2012, compared to 67.5 percent for private universities, and a range of percent for public and private four-year colleges and also for community colleges. Fewer Campuses Experience Budget Cuts The 2012 data indicate that just over a fourth (27.0 percent) of the surveyed institutions experienced cuts affecting the current (A/Y ) budget for central IT resources and services, down from more than a third (35.8 percent) in fall 2011, 41.6 percent in 2010, and fully half (50.0 percent) in fall Small Gains in Cloud Computing Despite the continuing discussion in both the campus and the corporate sectors about the operational and financial benefits of Cloud Computing, the 2012 survey data show only small gains in the movement of mission-critical campus operations to the Cloud. Just 5.9 percent of the survey participants report that their campus has moved or is converting to Cloud Computing for ERP (administrative system) services, up from 4.4 percent in 2011 (range: from 10.2 percent for private universities to 2.1 percent for private four-year colleges).similarly, just 9.8 percent have moved to Cloud Computing for storage, archiving, or business continuity services as of fall 2012, compared to 6.5 percent last year. And although Cloud Computing should offer significant benefits for research and high performance computing (HPC) activities, just 8.3 of public universities have migrated these activities to the Cloud as of this fall, compared to 6.6 percent in 2011; among private universities, 7.0 percent report cloud-based HPC activities, compared to 1.1 percent last year. Continuing Shifts in the LMS Market The 2012 data also document an increasing competitive campus market for Learning Management Systems (LMS). The proportion of survey participants reporting that their institution uses various versions of Blackboard (including Angel and WebCT) as the campus-standard LMS fell to 44.8 percent in fall 2012, down from 50.6 percent in 2011, 57.1 percent 2010, and 71.0 percent in fall Concurrently, Blackboard s major LMS competitors Desire2Learn (11.1 percent in fall 2012), Moodle (20.1 percent), and Sakai (6.1 percent) - have all gained share during this period. Additionally, Canvas by Instructure has emerged as an aggressive new competitor: 4.6 percent of the 2012 survey participants report that their institution has selected Canvas as the campus-standard LMS application, up from zero percent just three years ago. Revised January

30 IV. Internal Assessment (2010) Organization Profile The division of Information Services is composed of approximately 150 persons from a diverse background of experiences and skill sets. The organization currently consisting of six organizational units, is aligned across traditional IS boundaries including Infrastructure and Operations, Applications Development and Support and End- User Services. In addition the Educational Technology team services the academic community providing end-user support, course management software and tools and classroom technology support. In September 2008 a Project Management Office (PMO) with seasoned managers and business analyst was established. Finally in the fall of 2009 the end user university help desk was outsourced to a 3 rd party organization. Several members of the organization have taken additional training and education and achieved the following certifications. KSU IS Personnel Certifications CPA CFP PMP CISCO Certifications Microsoft Certifications Dell Warranty Apple Warranty ITL Certifications Oracle Red Hat Linux Sun Solaris VM Ware Certifications AMX Programming and Design Video Bridge Operations Dell EMC Storage CNA Microsoft Windows/IIS/AD Linux In addition, the SWOT analysis as framed by the IS management team, highlights areas of strengths and opportunities to leverage and weaknesses and threats to address and mitigate. Strengths Weaknesses Talented dedicated staff Communication Reliable Services Lean Staff Strong Problem Resolution Need to improve/streamline processes Relationship with administrative and staff Relationship with faculty Opportunities Threats Collaboration with other universities Financial constraints/budget New Technology Resource burnout Communicate more with groups outside of IS Improve Relationships Poor morale Need to work more with Faculty Revised January

31 Survey Results University constituents were surveyed to assess current state and perspectives of services offered as well as gather feedback and direction as to strategic imperatives and university needs. Over one thousand (1060) persons student, faculty and staff responded to a detailed online survey. The first section of the survey allowed respondents to rate specific services and tools (Help Desk, Desk Top Support, Multimedia and Course Development, Training, Internet and Wireless Services, etc) on a scale from 1 to 5. Results from the Campus Wide Survey indicate that most students and staff are very satisfied with the technology services provided. Over 58% of respondents rated the Helpdesk and End-User Servers Above Average. Figure 1: Campus Wide Survey Results This is closely coupled with the Desktop Support and Services provided by the LAN Administrators and Federated Team receiving 61% Above Average. Course Management Tools and Support received high-marks with over 56% of the respondents rating the services Above Average. While the Internet and Wireless Services received a rating of 54% Above Average, numerous comments about service in residence halls were embedded within the comments sections. Of note also were the high marks received per the environment (73% Above Average) and the Computer Labs and Workstations (61% Above Average). Revised January