UW Colleges
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
2003-2005
Every member of the University community uses information
technology in one way or another every working day. It is inevitable that use
of information technology will continue to increase both in frequency and in
variety of application. In the UW Colleges information technology is now as
much a part of the university as libraries and classrooms. Effective planning
for the continuous growth of information technology is an important component
of the larger university strategic planning effort.
This plan includes the Colleges’ information technology
goals for the next two years. This plan explains the ways in which these IT
goals will help to achieve the university’s larger goals. It is intended that
a) this plan be useful to anyone within the university who depends upon the
support of the University’s information technology resources, and b) that the
information technology goals discussed in this plan be understandable to all
members of the university community, regardless of their familiarity with IT
terminology.
Process
The UW Colleges Information Technology Plan is a biennial
plan mirroring the state budget biennium. The plan is drafted by the UW
Colleges’ Information and Instructional Technology Committee (IITC) and
reviewed by each campus IITC committee and each campus’ IT staff. The plan is
then approved by the UWC Senate and then forwarded to UW System Administration
and the Board of Regents biennially. In order to ensure that the plan is
dynamic, a progress review of the plan is conducted in alternate years by the
UWC Information and Instructional Technology Committee (IITC) and the plan is
amended as necessary.
In order to ensure that the plan meets the needs of the
institution and the 13 campus components of the UW Colleges, the IITC reviews
each campus’ Information Technology Plan, which are
updated on an alternate year cycle, prior to the review of the biennial plan.
In order to ensure that the plan achieves the institutional aims of the UW
Colleges a number of other UWC processes require compliance and/or integration
with the IT plan. Those processes include the capital planning process, the
laboratory and classroom modernization grant programs and general computer
access grants.
Group 1
– Goals in support of the IT infrastructure
1.
Support and enhance the UW Colleges-wide academic and administrative IT
infrastructure
2.
Integrate IT planning into the larger context of institutional strategic
planning
3.
Actively investigate new technologies with promise for problem-solving
5.
Provide support to faculty using information
technology in the classroom
6.
Enhance the curricular array at each campus through
the use of compressed video and
7.
Develop new student markets by offering the Associate
Degree online
8.
Increase teaching and learning modalities at each
campus through the development of hybrid courses
9.
Provide support to faculty as they increase use of
web-based learning tools
10. Develop
and improve effective teaching methods and practices for supporting high
quality online and web-enhanced learning.
8.
Implement the PeopleSoft Student Information System
9.
Continue to use, maintain, and upgrade the new Voyager library system
Description
of Planning Goals in Support of Strategic Directions
1.
Support
and enhance the UW Colleges-wide academic and administrative IT infrastructure The infrastructure includes the
network and servers, desktop hardware, the software environment and training
for the IT staff who support the infrastructure.
a.
Network infrastructure, traffic, security and desktop
hardware acquisition, development and support
i.
Since spring 1999, the UW Colleges wide network
traffic has been managed by WiscNet, a public non-profit entity established to
manage the statewide information network used by educational institutions in
ii.
Campus Supply and Expense budget allocations now
reflect, to a small extent, the campus Wiscnet
traffic in an effort to ensure wise resource use at the location of the
resource use.
iii.
The current T1 data line, the ‘last mile’, connecting
each campus to Wiscnet is now reaching capacity
during prime hours on several campuses. Bandwidth expansion is being actively
investigated at several campuses and existing dark fiber holds promise at
several locations. Any bandwidth expansion exacerbates the traffic management
problem in (i) above.
iv.
The OIT will work with campus IT staff to achieve
efficient
v.
Given the internet environment and the institutional
dependence on network computing, security becomes a primary issue. The
installation of PIX firewalls and NAT in summer 2003 will provide much greater
security for campus servers and users.
vi.
The UW Colleges Information and Instructional
Technology Committee (IITC) has formally recommended a
four-year replacement cycle for desktop computers throughout the Colleges.
However, this cycle has not yet been achieved.
vii.
The allocation of General Computer Access DIN funding
is now based on a rotation, allowing campuses to plan efficiently for student
computer lab modernization.
viii.
Most campus IT plans identified the acquisition of
additional multi-media classrooms as a high priority. The OIT will work with
the UWC lab and classroom modernization grants committee to seek funding for
these classrooms.
b.
Software implementation, development and support
i.
The re-negotiation of the UW-Microsoft contract and
the resulting Colleges-specific implementation decision will be a critical
driver of IT plan components over the next two to three years.
ii.
An Exchange 2000 server environment has now been
implemented on each campus. This environment provides a uniform and integrated
Microsoft Office/Outlook environment for faculty, staff and students.
iii.
Using the Exchange environment, begin a migration to
electronic forms for all possible applications. We expect that this will yield
large cost savings, primarily due to reduced handling of forms.
iv.
The current paper-, and labor-intensive distribution
of staff benefits and leave forms will be moved to electronic distribution.
v.
Continue to train faculty and staff in the use of
Exchange/Outlook and the integration of Outlook with the Microsoft Office
environment. Training is accomplished by a mix of onsite and WislineWeb sessions and a support website.
c.
Training and support for IT staff
i.
The installation of the MOM (Microsoft Operations
Manager) software allows central IT staff to monitor all institutional servers
for problems, including those on each campus, with 24 hour pager alert notification
capability.
ii.
Continue to utilize campus IT support staff members
(previously DE) in the broader role of instructional technology support.
iii.
The Dept. of Administration (DOA) technical training
provided at no charge has been instrumental in improving the skills and morale
of IT staff, with concomitant benefit to the University. We will continue to
utilize this resource by continued central funding of campus IT staff travel
expenses. The IT staff are encouraged to seek
professional development through campus and central funding.
2.
Integrate
IT planning into the larger context of institutional strategic planning. Specific
goals include:
a.
Strengthen campus IITC committees by recommending
uniform committee structure and functions to the Senate
b.
Strengthen the existing relationships between campus
IITC and the UWC IITC. Ensure that there is continuous planning and review of
completed processes. Information must flow in both directions for this to be an
effective relationship.
c.
Strengthen relationships between the UWC IITC, the
senate and the Chancellor by formalizing IITC reporting, ensuring that the Chancellor and Senate are
aware of IT priorities and the value of these priorities
d.
Ensure that information technology is considered in
all strategic planning by inserting that requirement in all planning process
documents..
3.
Actively
investigate new technologies with the promise for problem solving Geographic
dispersion is the UW Colleges’ oldest and most intractable problem. The
communication challenges faced by the single campus units of the UW System pale
in comparison to the communication problems of the Colleges. For the same
reason, the benefits brought about by advances in communication technology are
much greater for the UW Colleges than they are for the other UW institutions.
a.
OIT will continue to investigate desktop
video-conferencing as a tool for overcoming the geographic dispersion of the
Colleges. This technology will enable faculty, staff and students to meet with
each other regardless of
location, saving the time and expense of travel which frequently
precludes such discussion. This initiative is doubly important in these difficult
budget times as the frequency of onsite meetings is sharply reduced.
b.
The UW Colleges uses the BadgerNet
ATM network (Wiscnet-managed) to support our
compressed video course offerings. We’ve
now installed our first H.323 connection. Assuming success, we will migrate
from ATM to H.323 as older ATM equipment fails over the next three years.
c.
The recruitment and retention of capable IT support
staff is a problem we share with all other contemporary institutions. Yet our increased use of IT as the tool of choice for solving
problems, conducting business, and communicating increases our need for IT
support. This makes it necessary for us to find ways of extending our scarce IT
support resources.
d.
Remote client management is a technology being
investigated to enable offsite technicians to solve problems and manage IT
resources without having to be at the site of the computer.
e.
Increasing concentration of critical IT tasks at Central,
removing those responsibilities from campuses has proven efficient and will
continue. Examples include web server placement, server monitoring, and
firewall monitoring and logging.
Group 2 – Teaching and
learning
5. Provide support to faculty using information technology in the classroom
a. Continue to support faculty in the use of the “Blackboard”
package (provided by UWM ). Supplement basic training with additional workshops
addressing particular pedagogical concerns.
b. Expand faculty use of the
6. Enhance the curricular array at each campus through the use of compressed video and
a. Our use of compressed video has
stabilized over the 2000-2001 academic term and further growth is not foreseen.
Continued adjustment of the compressed video curriculum will be the norm for
the near term.
b.
Over the past two years the number of
7.
Develop new student markets by
offering the Associate Degree on-line
a.
This
program has been an outstanding success. NCA approval of the Online Associate
degree was granted in 2001. Exponential growth of enrollments has marked this
program since its inception in 1998. The UWC business plan for the Online
Program puts this program on a self-funded, flexible basis.
8.
Increase teaching and learning modalities at each
campus through the development of hybrid courses
a.
Fall of 2002 the Hybrid Course Project awarded grants
to four campuses (Fox, Marathon, Marinette, and Waukesha) to develop hybrid
courses in a program that would enhance evening offerings, specifically
focusing on returning adult students. 17
faculty are participating in the development of 16
courses to be offered in the 2003-2004 academic year.
9.
Provide support to faculty as they increase use of
web-based learning tools
a.
Beginning Fall semester 2002, all UWC courses have a
Blackboard site available for faculty use
b.
Implement Batch processes to make it easier for
faculty to create their course site and enroll students.
c.
Training is offered on campus, to departments, and
via
d.
With the new CMS, Desire2Learn, a UW Colleges
Implementation Team will develop a migration plan in cooperation with UW
System’s Office of Learning and Information Technology.
10.
Develop and improve effective teaching methods and
practices for supporting high quality online and web-enhanced learning.
a.
Provide training for effective use of our CMS.
b.
Introduce the institution to MERLOT and other
learning object repositories.
c.
Provide training for effective use of discipline
specific software–Academic.com, ALEKS, and Others as they are identified
d.
Provide training for effective time management –
Outlook Exchange.
e.
Pursue grant funding for development of learning
objects.
Group 3 – New applications and
initiatives
1. Complete the migration to the PeopleSoft Student Information System
(PRISM)
Recommended
to Senate and Chancellor