Mt. San Antonio College. Information Technology Report Card. EDUCAUSE: 2013 Top 10 IT Issues

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1 Mt. San Antonio College Information Technology Report Card EDUCAUSE: 2013 Top 10

2 EDUCAUSE releases an annual list of the top 10 issues affecting higher education institutions. The 2013 list emphasizes the connections between Information Technology departments, technology consumers (faculty, staff, students, and the community), data, processes, and systems. All are moving towards greater interdependence and breaking down the silo functionality that is common in higher education institutions. Below is Mt. SAC s Information Technology department report card status for each of the issues and the action plan from the Technology Master Plan. ( EDUCAUSE 2013 Top Leveraging the wireless and device explosion on campus. Mt. SAC s wireless infrastructure is frequently saturated with connected devices. The most recent statistics show more than 4,000 wifi connected devices at a single point in time. Our students, faculty, and staff routinely bring more than one wifi enabled device to campus and they automatically connect to the campus network. IT recently upgraded the wireless infrastructure in the Library and Learning Technology Center and the Student Services buildings. As construction continues with the Measure RR bond, IT adds robust wireless infrastructure to all new and remodeled buildings. Upgrade to the next enhanced version of MountieAPP to include Facility Services Continue to expand and upgrade the wireless network infrastructure The sheer number of devices, different device models, and software versions creates a challenging technical support environment. IT practices a best effort model and attempts to troubleshoot and support almost all mobile devices. 2. Improving student outcomes through an approach that To leverage wireless and mobile device technology, IT developed a mobile application, called MountieAPP for both iphones and Droids. The MountieAPP includes valuable information for campus visitors like the campus map with GPS navigation, college directory, and event listing; information for students like their class schedule, financial aid status, grades, and holds; and information for faculty like their class roster including student pictures. Mt. SAC is one of the few CA community colleges with a custom mobile application that interfaces with our enterprise application system, Banner. IT, in partnership with the various campus support services, implemented an early alert system with the goal of improving student outcomes and student success. The early alert system allows faculty to notify their students via Direct, regular, ongoing, involvement & communication with 9/18/2013 Page 2

3 leverages technology. 3. Developing an institution wide cloud strategy to help the institution select the right sourcing and solution strategies. 4. Developing a staffing and organizational model to accommodate the changing IT environment and to facilitate openness and agility. 5. Facilitating a better understanding of information security and finding appropriate balance between infrastructure openness and that they have been referred for tutoring or support services. The system also provides reports so faculty can monitor their students usage of these services. There are a number of outcomes related projects that may include technology components that IT is not aware of. This is an issue IT needs to research. The College has explored several cloud strategies as part of strategic initiatives to reduce cost and expand services. IT and the Business Division tested and implemented virtual desktop computing which enables sophisticated software to be available to students on any computer without needing a special dedicated lab environment. Other cloud services include PeopleAdmin for job applications, Moodlerooms course management system, and DropBox for secure file transfer. All cloud initiatives are reviewed by IT to ensure the solution includes adequate security measures and that ownership of data remains with the College. IT s organization model is designed as a centralized resource model with subject matter experts imbedded in each academic division to provide specialized technical support. IT staff strive to build relationships and collaborate with their user communities to find the right solution for a given need. IT is focused on training our own staff as well as the campus community. In , IT offered more than 130 training classes to the campus community. Mt. SAC is one of the few CA community colleges to have a dedicated Manager, Data & Network Security position. Mt. SAC is considered a high risk target due to the nature of the data and openness of the campus. The campus network is scanned daily by entities in Russia and China. IT s number one priority is to ensure system and data security in an environment that retains functionality and usability for end users. IT uses every opportunity to inform users about information security concerns such as spam including propagation of malware payloads and preventing data leaks of personal identifiable information Instructional Leaders and use of feedback from meetings as part of IT on going evaluation & assessment process Provide consulting services to college for acquisition of technology, involvement with Institutional leadership and ongoing evaluations and assessments Move student to Google services Enhance Banner staff skills by supplying internal and external training opportunities Recruit and retain quality technical staff to maximize limited staffing budgets IT security maintained by using Best Practices, standards, auditing, use of a Disaster Recovery Plan and ongoing awareness programs offered to campus staff and faculty 9/18/2013 Page 3

4 security. 6. Funding information technology strategically. 7. Determining the role of online learning and developing a sustainable strategy for that role. such as SSN s. The College s computing procedure, AP 3720, was updated in the last year to include additional security precautions. IT and campus leadership tend to view technology spending as an investment. The College regularly invests in campus wide software and hardware to fulfill a strategic initiative. Each Measure R and RR project includes a budget for technology which has allowed new and remodeled buildings to start out with robust infrastructure. The College s budget process supports life cycle funding for items like computer refresh cycle and attempts to restore funding that may be cut during difficult fiscal years. Due to the unstable nature of CA community college funding, it is difficult for any institution to guarantee a timeline or automatic funding for lifecycle replacement in every budget year. Online learning at Mt. SAC is both an extension of the classroom and a separate instructional method. IT partners with the Library and Learning Resources Division on the support and implementation of Moodlerooms, the College s course management system. Faculty can also choose to use Course Studio, which is an online classroom environment available via the portal. Course Studio is automatically populated with all the students from a course and the faculty member can post announcements, links, news, files, and have a discussion board. Carefully manage ongoing technology expenditures, recruit and retain quality technical staff to maximize limited staffing budgets, asses new projects based on priorities 8. Supporting the trends toward IT consumerization and bring your own device. IT supports the back end integration technology between Moodlerooms and Banner. IT also provides technical assistance to students and faculty via phone and with accessing Moodlerooms. Requests for assistance with course content are referred to the College s Online Learning Support Center. Faculty and the Research Office have access to many Argos data reports for reviewing the effectiveness of online learning. IT recognizes that technology is now a consumer product and that most functionality can be created or accessed with little or no IT involvement. Sometimes these consumer products are not the best option as they turn over data to third party entities, have no scalability, or have little or no technical support options. IT reaches out to departments to provide consulting services Provide consulting services to College for acquisition of technology, involvement with Institutional 9/18/2013 Page 4

5 9. Transforming the institution s business with information technology. 10. Using analytics to support critical institutional outcomes. and be a partner in technology acquisition and implementation. IT supports the concept of bring your own device for both faculty and students. The College s Student Success Plan includes an action item to modify construction standards to include outlets and charging stations for these devices. Mt. SAC transforms its business with information technology by connecting with students regardless of location. The College now provides online orientation, online counseling, and online courses. Virtually all business transactions like registration, fee payment, ordering transcripts, and viewing grades can all be completed via the College portal. This type of transformation extends to the employee too. All applicants apply via an online application process, paychecks and leave balances are available real time online, and most business can be conducted via or chat sessions. IT works to breakdown silos and integrate processing as much as possible. The College can benefit from business process reengineering as it moves forward with the selection of a document management system that includes electronic workflow. Senior leadership is focused on making data driven decisions. IT supports this initiative by providing a Data Warehouse for the Research department. Argos has more than 300 data reports that can be made available to any faculty or staff member as needed. IT is also working on an Executive Information System to provide real time data in dashboard like views. leadership and ongoing evaluations and assessments Implement integrated, web based system (Luminis and Banner) Develop an RFP and implementation timeline to replace the existing imaging system with a robust document management system Student Success is a critical institutional outcome. The implementation of the Mountie Academic Plan (MAP) provides powerful data to Counselors about student progress and needed intervention. Overall statistics about future enrollment trends and student completion and success rates will also be available. 9/18/2013 Page 5