Essex County College INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MASTER PLAN 2009-2012

Essex County College INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MASTER PLAN 2009-2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction... 3 Guiding Principles... 4 Alignment... 5 Projected Annual Costs... 6 Goals and Objectives... 7 Page 2 of 11

Introduction This document describes information technology goals and objectives in which the college will engage over the next three years. It delineates the College s future vision of its technological resources - both academic and administrative - as well as a generalized plan of action in order to realize this vision. This master plan is meant to be a dynamic, working document and will be updated on a regular basis by Information Technology, as per the demands created by changing technologies, campus requirements, and service expectations. It should be read by those individuals within ECC who are responsible for implementing technological initiatives. As a support division within Essex County College, the IT department will coordinate its technology goals and initiatives with the goals set forth by key planners, which are articulated in the College s Strategic Plan for 2009-2012. The Information Technology department is responsible for the technology infrastructure of Essex County College s computing environment, which facilitates access to institutional information by faculty, staff, administrators, and students. IT seeks to continuously pursue a wide application of current and new technologies in support of the College s mission. Scope For the purposes of this document, the term technology includes software, hardware, and infrastructure that either directly or indirectly affects instruction, learning outcomes, and services within the Essex County College campus community. The objectives presented in this document cover the main campus in Newark, the West Essex campus in West Caldwell, and the Police Academy in Cedar Grove. Mission To provide excellence in information technology solutions and services that will enable the College constituency to realize and uplift the vision, objectives and goals of the institution. Page 3 of 11

Guiding Principles The Information Technology department enables Essex County College s core mission an open access community college dedicated to academic excellence, serves the dynamic needs of diverse constituencies through comprehensive educational programs and services -- by working with the College s faculty, students, and staff to maximize the value of information technology to their work. The guiding principles of Information Technology are: ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE To work collaboratively with students and faculty in support of an IT environment that enriches and enhances teaching and learning. COMMUNICATION To improve the flow of information throughout the ECC community, engaging constituents in a dialogue about IT needs and priorities, increasing the visibility and benefits of IT services, and creating the identity of IT as an effective service organization. ADMINISTRATIVE EFFECTIVENESS To provide state-of-the-art administrative support systems that improve administrative processes and access to information for faculty, staff, and students. SERVICE To provide quality customer service that is timely, responsive and flexible. SECURITY AND RELIABILITY To continually assess and improve the technology and practices employed to secure the institution s networks, servers, individual workstations and sensitive data. FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND INTEGRITY To secure and effectively manage the financial resources necessary to support the College s mission and strategic goals. Page 4 of 11

IT Master Plan Alignment with College Goals GOAL 1 Develop new credit and non-credit programs and community offerings that meet emerging needs while ensuring that all current programs and offerings are of superior quality and responsive to academic and labor market demands and community interests. To support this goal, IT strategies must foster accountability for the quality of programs and services that are delivered. GOAL 2 Implement and upgrade academic and student support programs and services to improve student s access, recruitment, retention, and success. To support this goal, IT strategies must simplify the learning environment; provide a high availability online learning infrastructure and enhance the student experience through continuous improvement in service delivery. GOAL 3 Recruit, retain, develop and promote high quality faculty and staff. To support this goal, IT strategies must enhance teaching excellence and embrace staff performance management that ensures high alignment with institutional goals. GOAL 4 Develop resources to support effective programs and align the College s budget with the Strategic Plan. To support this goal, IT strategies must include best practices for good stewardship over Information Technology resources to maintain the cost effectiveness of College investments in these resources. GOAL 5 Advance all areas of the College by applying emerging technologies and upgrading the physical environment. To support this goal, IT strategies must provide for a technology infrastructure that is designed for scalability and high performance. GOAL 6 Promote a culture of assessment throughout the college. To support this goal IT strategies must provision the information architecture and infrastructure to allow effective data-driven decision making. Page 5 of 11

Information Technology Projected Annual Costs FY 2009-12 Cost Classification 2009-10 Grand Total FY: 2009-10 2010-11 Grand Total FY: 2010-11 2011-12 Grand Total FY: 2011-12 Admin Academic Admin Academic Admin Academic Hardware $200,000 $216,000 $200,000 $260,000 $210,000 $273,000 Software $150,000 $100,000 $100,000 $150,000 $105,000 $157,500 Maintenance $300,000 $60,000 $315,000 $80,000 $330,750 $84,000 Connectivity Charges $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 Consulting Services $40,000 $00,000 $45,000 $00,000 $25,000 $25,000 Training $50,000 $40,000 $80,000 $20,000 $84,000 $21,000 Other ongoing expenses $80,000 $50,000 $80,000 $50,000 $84,000 $52,500 TOTAL $855,000.00 $501,000.00 $1,356,000 $855,000.00 $595,000.00 $1,450,000 $873,750.00 $648,000.00 $1,521,750 Page 6 of 11

Goals & Objectives GOAL 1 Use information technology to enhance access, learning, retention and student success. Objective 1.1 Objective 1.2 Objective 1.3 Objective 1.4 Objective 1.4 Objective 1.5 Objective 1.6 Objective 1.7 Objective 1.8 Objective 1.9 Objective 1.10 Objective 1.11 Objective 1.12 Maintain a network infrastructure to support distance learning Create and maintain a Faculty Technology Resource center to assist faculty with the creation of instructional courseware/media development. Provide student smart cards that can be used for multiple purposes. Advance and promote emerging technologies that are commensurate with College needs. Maintain state-of-the-art computer labs Expand portal &Web capabilities to include tools and services for students and faculty (e.g. tuition & financial aid calculators, inquiry & application forms, instant messaging, and real-time tracking reports, etc). Educate students and faculty on available tools and services through various ECC communication vehicles. Expand online college services to include online tutoring, online student center, and online counseling/advisement. Provide IT internships for students in network administration, web design, the repair lab and the academic computer labs. Ensure that technology is accessible to persons with disabilities Transition Smart Classrooms from NOMAD technology to technologyready classrooms Provide technical support for the Learning Resource Center Provide technical support for the Center for Technology Page 7 of 11

Goals & Objectives GOAL 2 Promote compatibility and interoperability through standards, policies and communications Objective 2.1 Establish and maintain the following standards for the institution: Objective 2.2 Objective 2.3 Objective 2.4 Objective 2.5 Desktop applications Suite: Microsoft Office 2007 Desktop Operating System: Microsoft Windows On-campus Email Access: Microsoft Outlook Anti-spyware tool : Microsoft Windows Defender Web-based Email Access: Outlook Web Access Wireless Access: WiFi LAN Connectivity to ECC network: VPN Access Voicemail/email/video: Cisco Unified Messaging Establish and maintain the following client-application standards: Database Management System: Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning system: Banner 8 PDF file reader: Adobe Acrobat Reader Helpdesk software: Track-IT Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer Banner customization/3 rd party vendor: Evisions Zip Extraction Software Application: WinZip Continue to patch and upgrade Oracle Continue to support Red Hat Linux Remain on Solaris (OS for SUN systems) for next 2 years; upgrade to latest version Page 8 of 11

Goals & Objectives GOAL 3 Leverage technology innovation through a robust infrastructure, and state-of-the-art tools and services Objective 3.1 Objective 3.2 Objective 3.3 Objective 3.4 Objective 3.5 Objective 3.6 Objective 3.7 Objective 3.8 Objective 3.9 Objective 3.10 Objective 3.11 Objective 3.12 Objective 3.13 Objective 3.14 Objective 3.15 Expand wireless access to all campuses (West Caldwell, Police Academy) Implement Oracle Grid Control Enhance firewall and network monitoring capabilities Add 1 gig of RAM to each desktop Implement redundant servers with load-balancing front-ends Implement IP telephony to the desktop for all new phones Maintain upgraded firewall and intrusion detection systems to protect network resources from attack. Enhance the institution s security system via state-of-art DVR technologies Continue College Bandwidth Enhancement Project (upgrade the college s Bandwidth and traffic handling capabilities to the internet.) Continue to implement ECC Camera Replacement Plan Provide technology training for ECC staff on standardized software applications Provide information kiosks and a network of flat-panel, touch screen video displays strategically located in public areas across campus Provide a self-service kiosk for students Implement online deferred payment function (Banner) Implement Evisions-Intellecard - a debit card solution for Financial Aid students (seamlessly converts FA checks and vouchers to an electronic transfer by loading funds directly onto the student s Visa debit card) Provide students with online tools (via portal) such as tuition and financial aid calculators, inquiry and applications forms, and instant messaging options. Page 9 of 11

Goals & Objectives GOAL 4 Provide Information Technology resources for the efficient operation of the institution through automation and the implementation of state-of-the-art administrative support systems that improve access to information for faculty, staff, and students. Objective 4.1 Revamp ECC website to be consistent with the college s marketing and communications efforts Objective 4.2 Automate process for generating 10 th day reports Objective 4.3 Phase-out existing Bookstore system and migrate to new open architecture system that integrates easily with Banner Objective 4.4 Migrate from current check-generation process to electronic direct deposit for Financial Aid students Objective 4.5 Bring the outsourced1098t process in-house Objective 4.6 Migrate Community Continuing Education (CCE ) data to Banner Implement the following Banner sub-modules Objective 4.7 Faculty Workload Control Objective 4.8 Recruitment module Objective 4.9 Selective Admissions Objective 4.10 Graduate Student (ECC graduate) Tracking Objective 4.11 Title IV Objective 4.12 Transfer Articulation Objective 4.13 EDI Transcript Upload Processing Objective 4.14 WebCapp Implement the following Banner Processes/functions Objective 4.15 Admissions Web Quick Start Processing Objective 4.16 Time Ticketing For Registration/Permit-Override Procedures Objective 4.17 Degree Audit Objective 4.18 Defer Payment Enhancement Continue to support and enhance the following home-grown applications: Objective 4.19 Web Reports Objective 4.20 Learning Center Student Tracking System Objective 4.21 Student ID system Objective 4.22 Police reports Page 10 of 11

Goals & Objectives GOAL 5 Practice good stewardship over Information Technology resources to maintain the cost effectiveness of College investments in these resources Objective 5.1 Objective 4.2 Objective 4.3 Objective 4.4 Objective 4.5 Maintain a telecommunications and network infrastructure to facilitate and support growth and changing requirements. Re-deploy usable equipment when feasible and salvage parts from obsolete computer equipment prior to disposal in order to provide the broadest possible access to technology in a cost effective manner. Prioritize information technology spending in accordance with institutional goals, establishing priorities that are practical and sustainable. Develop a multi-year computer and information technology expenditure including planned and budgeted equipment and software upgrades. Maintain the goals set forth in the College-Wide Technology Equipment Replacement Plan. Page 11 of 11