NKU Office of Information Technology 2011-2012 Annual Report

2011-12 ANNUAL REPORT

ENGAGE

SERVICE

IMPACT

INNOVATE

OFF I C E O F I N FO R M AT I O N T E C H N O LO GY

LETTER FROM THE CIO Dear Colleagues: Information technology in many higher education institutions is such a routine and reliable part of university life that IT is often seen as a basic utility or commodity. With this perspective, the impact of IT on education is not seen as a game changer. At many innovative institutions, IT is considered the thought leader for transformation and innovation in a world of constant change and chaos. In reality, technology impacts everything that we do within a university setting.

At NKU, the Office of Information Technology embraces and welcomes these challenges as manifested in the Campus Technology Plan.

Looking at the activities of the past year, OIT provided unsurpassed services in both the delivery of daily, essential IT services as well as led the way in technology innovation. Griffin Hall is just one example that exemplifies both types of service as IT was directly involved with moving and relocating numerous faculty offices as well as providing leadership and insight into the transformative technology housed in this state-of-the-art building.

During the past year, OIT made several advances toward its goals, guided by the strategic direction set forth in our CTP. This annual report measures OIT’s progress toward those goals, and this accountability assures the campus community that OIT is always doing its utmost to succeed and excel efficiently.

As OIT continues to work toward the goals as outlined in the CTP, we must also be aware of the changing world around us. Students are coming to campus today with high expectations. One of OIT’s goals is to not only move teaching and learning into the 21st century but also to propel it into the future by researching and creating classrooms of the future. We are also exploring ways to improve the student experience through the use of mobile technology, ePrint solutions, eText, etc. In addition to improving the student experience, OIT is working to transform the way we do business through the use of virtual labs, additional self-service tools and more.

Next year will be an exciting and transformational year for NKU as a new president takes the reins for the first time in 15 years and we transition to an NCAA Division I university. These changes offer the university great opportunity and challenge. OIT’s role is to serve as a catalyst – to engage with partners at NKU as well as regional and national peers to help guide NKU in making the right technology choices at the right time and to find solutions that help everyone achieve their goals. While I know there will be some challenges ahead, I look forward to our future together and continued collaboration with faculty, staff and students.

Sincerely, Tim Ferguson Associate Provost, Office of Information Technology Chief Information Officer

CONTENTS

01 02 06 07 09

Outlook and Objectives

Leadership and Governance

Trends and Future Technology Directions in Higher Education

OIT Presents to the University Board of Regents

Fiscal Year ‘13 Objectives

13 15 19 25 41 43

Dean’s Corner

OIT Portfolio

Strategic Metrics

Accomplishments

Griffin Hall Spotlight

Transformation through Innovation

Office of Information Technology Annual Report Editor Tiffany Emerson ’09

Content Contributors and Editors NKU OIT Executive Team

Design Tommy Cooper

Copy Editor Tira Rogers ’01, ’05

Photographs Timothy D. Sofranko

Additional Contributors Hazen Master ’12 Justin Soliday Sean Ryan ’10

Publisher Office of Information Technology

Copyright 2012, Northern Kentucky University

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OUTLOOK AND OBJECTIVES Vision

To empower and serve the university community through accessible, collaborative, innovative and advanced technology solutions that provide an enriching academic experience to our students, and to strengthen the ability to educate the public we serve.

Mission

The mission of the Office of Information Technology, in support of the strategic goals of the university, is to provide highest-quality service and delivery through innovative and efficient technology for students, faculty, staff and the community. As an integral part of the university and as leaders in technology we will: o

Improve the learning experience with flexible classroom designs that accommodate a variety of learning and teaching styles utilizing technology best practices in both face-to-face and distance-learning classes.

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Provide students, faculty and staff with easy access to information anytime, anywhere, across a variety of devices and platforms to support learning, decision- making and operational effectiveness.

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Assist and support the Northern Kentucky region to achieve educational excellence through advanced and efficient technology solutions.

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Provide a robust, high-performance and secure IT infrastructure for university resources and information.

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Evaluate and implement emerging technologies to provide solutions that enhance processes and improve services for the university and community.

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Provide training and support for the university community in the use of advanced software and educational tools through a highly skilled technical staff.

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LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE Leadership

The OIT team has been able to establish and maintain a national presence for NKU by participating in industry leadership groups and presenting at national conferences. Building quality, collaborative relationships with our strategic IT partners is extremely important. These relationships and partnerships allow us to find out about new products and services prior to their release and in some cases shape the new product or service. These relationships also allow us to learn from our peers as well as share our experiences with others. These relationships ensure that NKU’s needs and values are properly conveyed to our partners and the technology community.

The OIT team represents NKU on the following committees:

o Leadership Board for CIOs – A nationwide board that serves as a think-tank on the

topic of technology in higher education.

o Dell Platinum Advisory Council – A partnership connecting “thought leaders from

Dell’s strategic customers” with senior Dell executives for frank discussions and

close collaboration that help guide business strategy at Dell.

o SAP Higher Education Advisory Council – This council is a partnership between

SAP higher-education customers and SAP executives. Universities are able to

collaborate and voice their challenges and requirements to SAP, driving priorities

for future areas of SAP development.

o CIO Summit Advisory Board for UBTech 2012 – A group of top higher-education

CIOs who participate in special sessions at higher education’s premier

technology, leadership and vision conference.

o IT Leadership Forum – A regional CIO roundtable with membership from

organizations like P&G and Toyota.

o Kentucky CIO Forum – This forum is an interactive group of higher education

CIOs and senior IT professionals throughout the commonwealth that

meet quarterly to identify challenges and discuss issues related to information

technology. Members participate with peers to share information and experiences

and exchange best practices.

o Blackboard Idea Exchange – A senior users and administrators group that provides feedback to Blackboard on product development.

o K-12 Technology Leadership Committees – Members of OIT participate on various K-12 leadership committees including the Steering Committee for Grant County Career and Technology Center.

o Reflections Board – The reflections board is organized by Radiant Technologies and discusses relevant audio-visual technology issues. It encompasses a broad range of regional leadership to help share insight and direction for future audio- visual strategic paths.

In addition to serving on the committees listed above, OIT has received numerous awards. This year, OIT received the 2012 CIO 100 award and the Best of Kentucky Technology award for the “Most Innovative Use of Technology” by the Kentucky Digital Government Summit. This year’s awards recognize the innovative technology implemented in Griffin Hall. In 2011, CIO Tim Ferguson was named by Computerworld as one of its Premier 100 IT leaders. Tim continues to serve on numerous committees and to present at national conferences.

Governance

To support communication, decision-making and prioritization, NKU has several governance organizations that OIT works collaboratively with including: o

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IT Policy Council – This council is composed of the vice presidents reporting to the university president.

They meet on a monthly basis. IT policies and IT projects affecting the campus community and human services are discussed, and this council is the body that approves changes in IT policies.

IT Advisory Council – This council is composed of faculty, staff and students. It is chaired by faculty on a rotating basis. To obtain information, in support of the work of ITAC and its subcommittees, surveys are issued to faculty, staff and students. myNKU Advisory Group (SAP) – This council is composed of faculty and staff with specific focus on initiatives relating to student life cycle management, human resources, and finance/ accounting systems. Participants within this council provide input on enhancements and communicate new/enhanced functionality to their respective areas.

IT Student Advisory Group – This group is composed of representatives from NKU’s Student Government Association and other student organizations. IT staff work with this group to better understand the IT needs of our students. This group has provided valuable feedback to OIT, which has led to the expansion of virtual labs and the exploration of ePrinting solutions.

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TRENDS AND FUTURE TECHNOLOGY DIRECTIONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION It is extremely difficult to predict the future of technology. The constantly changing landscape requires that information technology offices stay abreast of new and emerging technologies. OIT looks to some outside organizations such as EDUCAUSE and Gartner for assistance and direction in this area.

EDUCAUSE is a preeminent nonprofit professional organization whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. EDUCAUSE programs include professional development activities, applied research, strategic policy advocacy, teaching and learning initiatives, online information services, print and electronic publications, special-interest collaborative communities, and awards for leadership and innovation.

Each year, EDUCAUSE conducts several surveys on various topics of interest to higher education institutions.

One such survey asks CIOs at EDUCAUSE member institutions to select their five most-important IT issues from a list of 27 items. The results of the Top 10 IT Issues, 2011 survey were as follows:

1. Funding IT

2. Administrative/enterprise resource planning/ information systems

3. Teaching and learning with technology

4. Security

5. Mobile technologies

6. Agility/adaptability/responsiveness

7. Governance, portfolio/project maintenance

8. Infrastructure/cyber-infrastructure

9. Disaster recovery/business continuity

10. Strategic planning Another annual publication by EDUCAUSE is the “Horizon Report,” which describes six areas of emerging technology that will have significant impact on higher education and creative expression over the next one to five years.

The following is an excerpt from the Horizon Report 2012 Higher Education Edition: On the near-term horizon – that is, within the next 12 months – are mobile apps and tablets. The second adoption horizon, two to three years out, is where we will begin to see widespread adoptions of two technologies that are experiencing growing interest within higher education: game-based learning and learning analytics.

On the far-term horizon, set at four to five years away from widespread adoption, are gesture-based computing and the Internet of Things.

Another resource OIT uses is Gartner, Inc., the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company. Annually, Gartner creates a “hype cycle” for education. This Hype Cycle gives an education CIO a toolbox of emerging technologies for flexibility, if combined right. The Hype Cycle characterizes the typical progression of an emerging technology from overenthusiasm through a period of disillusionment to an eventual understanding of the technology’s relevance and role in education. Another component of the Hype Cycle is the years-to-mainstream-adoption rating, which represents how long it will take a technology to reach mainstream adoption. The Hype Cycle can help institutions determine when to invest in a technology. The 2011 Hype Cycle for Education placed virtual desktops and lecture capture in the fewer-than-two-years-tomainstream adoption category. Based on Gartner’s recommendations, OIT has implemented virtual desktops and provided lecture-capture tools to faculty. In the two-to-five-years-to-mainstream adoption are items such as cloud email for faculty and staff, eTextbooks, and web-based office productivity suites – all of which OIT is currently researching.

To provide the most value to the campus community, information from organizations such as EDUCAUSE and Gartner must be considered, along with the study of technology trends at large.

OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PRESENTS TO THE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF REGENTS At the request of the Board of Regents, Tim Ferguson, CIO, presented an information technology update at the March 2012 Board of Regents meeting. Three colleagues, Sarah Mann, associate director of the center for innovation and technology in education; Mark Wasicsko, dean of the College of Education and Human Services; and Kevin Kirby, dean of the College of Informatics, assisted with the presentation.

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Operational excellence – The main points of focus within this strategic area were governance and innovations.

The IT governance structure was briefly discussed as well as examples of innovation including lecture capture, Griffin Hall’s new digitorium technologies, and virtualization.

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Information technology infrastructure – The importance of infrastructure was discussed. Statistics about the growth in the number of computers on campus and the number of wireless access points on campus since 2005 were presented. IT security programs were also discussed as well as business continuity and disasterrecovery projects that are underway.

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Optimize university operations – Effectively, these are the business systems that run the university. Statistics were shared regarding the number of reams of paper and labor hours saved by moving business processes online. NKU mobile app development was also highlighted along with results from our IT student technology survey.

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Impact student success and learning outcomes – Emphasis was made regarding how IT impacts student success through the entire student lifecycle from recruitment with the n@NKU app to alumni with lifetime email. The evolution of the classroom was briefly discussed, and statistics regarding the growth in the number of smart spaces since 2005 were presented.

The academic software portfolio and the instructional technology toolkit for faculty were also discussed. Videos showcasing how NKU faculty integrate technology into their classes were shown.

The presentation conveyed how integral OIT is to every aspect of campus. The first part of the presentation focused on the impact of technology on education, future trends in higher education and changing expectations of our students.

Photographs of long registration lines and students carrying heavy books, provided courtesy of the Schlachter Archives in W. Frank Steely Library, reminded the audience how “paper-based” everything was just a few years ago. Today, students register for classes, check grades and access class materials completely online.

Wasicsko briefly discussed “Higher Ed in a New Era.” To emphasize how our students’ expectations are changing, he played a video showing kindergarten students using iPads to create and share their stories. Wasicsko challenged that “we need new models of learning and delivery such as outcomes-based classes, drop-in classes, etc.”

The core of the presentation focused on the four key strategies laid out in the Campus Technology Plan. Each of the four strategies was discussed, and examples of changes over time and growth were provided including video testimonials from faculty and students.

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Kirby then discussed “The State of IT at NKU” from a computer scientist’s viewpoint. Kirby stated, “Technology is never an end in itself. It is a means to an end. It is a means towards learning. It is a means toward knowledge discovery…. technology is becoming a magnet to encourage bright and creative people to think in new ways.” Kirby emphasized how proactive OIT is at NKU and praised NKU’s OIT for being engaged with a mission, transcending infrastructure.

Ferguson gave a brief summary and explained how OIT’s four main concepts, engage, service, impact, and innovation, would drive OIT’s work forward into the future.

Ferguson used Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Education 2011 to show how NKU is already investing in some emerging technologies. Ferguson also shared an overview of some of the transformational projects of 2012 including expanding self-service functionality, enhanced learning environments, and the virtual student success center.

“NKU Information Technology has partnered with the financial and operational auditing department on a number of security-related projects. Through the use of SAP, OIT has been able to automate key security tasks around account life cycles and logging changes on key data elements in SAP. OIT has also reduced university risk by locating and removing sensitive data and automating tasks around virus protection and system patching.”

Larry Meyer, Director, Financial & Operational Auditing

FISCAL YEAR ‘13 OBJECTIVES Impact Student Success & Learning Outcomes

Optimize University Operations

Student Information Systems o Support the research and acquisition of new

technology solutions that support recruitment,

retention, academic achievement and alumni relations. o Research tools that will allow for effective uses of

technology to advance student advising services. o Provide real-time data exchange between the SAP

Student Information System and the Sigma ProSAM

financial aid system in order to provide more timely

information and better service to students.

Continuous Process Improvement o Provide additional academic technology support

liaisons that are embedded in colleges. o Provide technology support in each academic

building during the first week of each semester. o Enhance the myNKU administrative systems (SLCM,

HR, FI) with a focus on self-service functionality for

employees, students and administrators. (For details,

see Administrative Systems Improvements following

FY ‘13 Objectives.) o Implement process improvements and functionality

to support Division I requirements while maintaining

system and data integrity. o Use best practices for software consolidation and

purchases campus wide. o Enhance individual skills and ability to use available

technology and services (e.g. myNKU, Microsoft,

Blackboard) through ongoing training and improved

communication. o Continue to research customer relationship

management products that focus on the entire

student lifecycle. o Continue to improve the products, procedures

and policies related to mobile device adoption and

cloud technologies. o Implement effective project management processes

to better manage resources in support of events

requiring audio/video services including NKU’s

transition to Division I athletics.

Student Engagement o Expand the usage of text messaging tools. o Explore additional technology resources to

encourage student engagement and interaction.

Student Experience o Expand mobile development and functionality to

support the student experience including support for

Android devices. o Explore and evaluate options for a student portal to

expand student services.

Student Service o Establish a new central location for student

technology support. o Adapt IT services so students can more easily

access and use those services.

Enhanced Learning Environments o Repair, replace and upgrade classroom technologies. o Design and deploy enhanced learning environments

(incubator classrooms). o Create a faculty application process for the “teaching

with technology” showcase. o Explore, evaluate, pilot and foster emerging

technologies that enhance teaching and learning.

Ubiquitous Learning o Enhance and expand campus infrastructure to

support “bring your own device.” o Expand the use of the virtual labs that provide

remote access to discipline-specific software.

Instructional Technology Integration o Increase adoption of lecture capture to support

university goals. o Update the current academic software portfolio to

provide more software for educational use. o Support growth in the creation and use of digital

course content and faculty/student use of technology

resources.

Enhance Operational Reporting o Improve usability, reduce clicks and provide easier

access to Business Warehouse reporting. o Create customized BW web report applications to

improve usability and increase efficiencies.

Employee Experience o Support technology that facilitates research and

scholarly collaboration. o Increase awareness of available technologies and

services. o Expand the Virtual Desktop system to better

leverage faculty/staff devices. o Create an archival storage location that will allow

faculty members to store additional education

materials, research and publication data in a secure,

backed-up location.

Business Intelligence o Encourage collaborative and data-driven decision

making. o Develop and launch a self-service web-based data

dictionary to allow campus users to pull report and

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report field information on various Business Warehouse reports.

Continue efforts to improve data quality by focusing on ERP system business process improvements as well as the reporting from the data warehouse.

Implement a pilot dashboard analytical application in support of an academic area.

Unified Communication and Collaboration o Research an online conferencing tool that will

integrate with the campus telecommunications

system, email and course management systems.

Social Mobile Web o Support new web content management system and

implement new functionality as requested. o Expand mobile development and functionality to

support the growing needs of the university including

support for Android devices.

Strive for Information Technology Operational Excellence Organizational Effectiveness o Expand the usage and availability of self-help and

remote support tools. o Recruit, develop and retain the very best technical

and professional staff. o Cultivate broad and transparent communication

practices for both internal and external users. o Improve the efficiency of IT systems and services. o Continue to research best practices for improving IT

efficiencies using Information Technology

Infrastructure Library, service management, etc.

Policy and Standards o Perform annual review of policies, standards and

guidelines. o Begin Phase I of producing internal and external

service-level agreements to provide clearer

understanding of roles and levels of service to be

provided. o Develop quality assurance testing standards and

procedures that ensure that all requirements are

met and effective solutions are delivered that meet

user expectations.

Governance o Develop and implement an annual IT planning

cycle that includes review and revision of the

Campus Technology Plan. o Improve the governance process to engage more

faculty, staff and students in OIT planning. o Expand project management resources and overall

structure in IT. Resource Management o Continue improvement of transparency of projects

and provide metrics on resource allocations to

complete a project.

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Continue efforts to be transparent with allocation of IT resources and use best practice resources in the process.

Expand on existing strategies to further project, track, and report on IT revenues and expenses.

Develop strategies that will better express and explain the ROI/TCO related to IT projects and services.

Research and explore other support methodologies that include chargeback processing and consider student technology fees for funding.

Transformation through Innovation o Begin Phase I of developing technology roadmaps

for hardware and software products. o Explore, evaluate, pilot and foster emerging

technologies that transform business process and

enhance teaching and learning. o Foster adoption of emerging technologies and

facilitate change by establishing user communities

that can share knowledge and best practices. o Provide IT systems and services needed to

effectively support the university’s outreach mission.

Strengthen Information Technology Infrastructure Enterprise Architecture o Create a methodology to best determine how to

implement new services at NKU, using various

sources, Software as a Service, hosted infrastructure

or hosted locally in the NKU data center. o Continue to improve the wireless access on campus

by increasing the coverage area and connection

speeds. o Continue the expansion of IP phone technology

across campus, along with increased functionality for

video conferencing and online meetings. o Upgrade the current enterprise architecture

portfolio by performing operating system and

software upgrades as needed. o Perform data center upgrades to increase system

efficiency and create a more robust environment. o Prepare the NKU network for connection to the new

Kentucky state network (KyRON). o Create a pilot program for enhanced inventory

tracking using the RFID systems inside Griffin Hall. o Expand the intelligent building system to allow

building data to be used in the classroom and also

expand system functionality to create a more efficient

building.

Infrastructure Services o Increase the usage of automated software

distribution for the desktop computers providing

efficiencies inside and outside of information

technology. o Install an in-building system that will increase cell

phone coverage.

o Expand the campus implementation of digital

signage.

Business Continuity o Expand the systems available at NKU’s hot site,

including key business systems. o Update and develop additional disaster recovery

plans for key business systems. o Perform annual testing of DR plans to refine

recovery processes. o Expand the use of system virtualization, clustering

and cloud service usage to provide a more

robust system architecture and increase IT services’

availability.

Information Security o Perform an external audit that identifies potential

vulnerabilities. o Upgrade current security services to create a more

robust and secure environment. o Develop tools, services and processes to secure

mobile devices.

Data Architecture o Reduce risks of data loss and identity theft by

discovering and securing sensitive information on

faculty and staff computers. o Increase the integration between campus business

systems to reduce redundant data and also provide a

single source for campus information.

Identity Management o Enhance integration of third-party systems to use

the campus directory for authentication.

Administrative Systems Improvements Planned for FY ‘13

Below is a partial list of improvements planned for FY ‘13: SLCM o Implement Phase II of custom event planning/

class schedule building application to allow academic

departments the ability to create more of the class

schedules without assistance from registrar’s office.

This enhanced application will allow departments to:

• Schedule sections meeting together (shared event and online program linked sections).

• Schedule sections with multiple components

(lec/lab combos, hybrid sections) and allow

for state mandated maintenance of content

percentage for hybrid sections.

• Maintain teaching workload hours (ex. 0 credits

for lab; 3 credits for lecture).

• Schedule sections with a regular schedule

with exceptions and sections with an irregular

schedule, and maintain credit hours for variable

courses.

In addition, Event Planning Phase II will provide

enhanced section information on the Student Portal,

campus information for hybrid courses, enhanced

data integrity and ability to capture data necessary

for reporting.

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Create an online form for students to change their program of study or specialization to provide better student service and increase efficiency with timely approval and correct approval routing.

Implement PayMetrics to address student credit card payments in accordance with PCI Compliance.

Integrate address verification software with SAP student information system to improve quality of student contact information.

Use a third-party provider to allow students who do not have a network ID to request transcripts.

Update stored performance indices and establish a process for accurately maintaining stored performance indices used in reporting.

Change the system logic used in the dunning process to not assume the highest dunning level on all line items. Also reduce the dunning levels to reflect aging of balances and change the language on the dunning notices to reflect this change.

Automate the current manual process of writing off uncollectible accounts.

Calculate interest based on total account balance instead of by line item.

Enhance Biller Direct, the online student bill payment functionality, to display class fees with detailed descriptions separately from tuition, and use these same detailed descriptions on all forms of correspondence to students to clarify student bills.

Enhance the SAP Student Information System to meet the rigorous compliance and reporting require ments for a Division I school. The SAP Student Information System will be modified to track some additional data that is now only captured in the NCAA’s remotely hosted Compliance Assistant system. A new SAP Student Information System NCAA screen will be developed to provide a one-stop place where the various types of financial aid and student-related athlete data are easily viewable. The SAP data warehouse will also be enhanced to support the NCAA reporting requirements for Division I.

HR o

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Implement time management in Employee Self- Service portal. This function will allow employees to record time worked and absences through the Employee Self-Service portal. The time record will be routed to the manager or time administrator via the Manager Self-Service portal for approval prior to payroll processing.

Provide employees with online W-2 forms through the Employee Self-Service portal to streamline the annual W-2 process.

Implement an online form for employees to request time off through the Employee Self-Service portal that would route approval electronically to the manager or time administrator. Then record the request on the employee’s time calendar.

Develop a report that will provide OSHA information. This report is required to satisfy external state workers’ comp and OSHA reporting requirements.

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Move the travel request and travel expense report functionality from SAPGUI to ESS/MSS in the SAP web portal. This change will simplify travel processes, provide enhanced functionality and improve overall system security.

Provide an online form with electronic approval for users to request new foundation or university cost/ fund centers. This project will provide a standardized account request process with better control, integration and documentation.

General o Enhance the current myNKU/SAP training based on

the feedback gathered from campus surveys to

include the deficient areas identified. o Implement the HP Quality Center Testing Software

to assist with system testing and provide more

thorough and consistent testing of our SAP systems.

What’s Coming

Below is a list of projects that are examples/highlights from the objectives for FY ‘13: Personal Device Printing Systems are being put into place allowing students, faculty and staff to print from personal laptops, tablets and other mobile devices to NKU printers. Users will be able to email documents to the campus printer system from anywhere and release the job to print at a convenient printer with the use of their NKU All Card.

Integration into cloud storage is also being developed that will allow users to print directly from services such as Dropbox. Over the next year, campus lab printers will be replaced to reduce the cost of per-page printing.

Collaboration Tools (online meeting) Implementation New services are being installed that will allow NKU to host online meetings on campus. These systems will allow online meetings between people on and off campus.

Faculty and staff will be able to personally schedule an online meeting using Microsoft Outlook. Implementation of a campus instant-message tool that is integrated with campus accounts and allows users to communicate securely is also in process.

Android Support The use of Android smartphones has grown tremendously over the last few years and, as a result, iNKU is being developed for Android devices. Given the popularity of features relating to academics such as checking course schedules and grades, the first release will be focused on providing services relating to the student’s academic experience. This new Android version will be available around the start of fall term 2012.

Smart Classroom Upgrades Classrooms that have infrastructure that is more than five years old are being targeted for upgrades. The upgraded classroom technology will provide reliable functionality and additional features to promote effective delivery of instruction. These technologies include items such as

digital control systems, high-definition capability, lecturecapture equipment, and Blu-Ray players.

Genius Bar Implementation An area in the new Student Success Center will be designed to focus on student technology support. The following services will be provided: hardware and software troubleshooting, a print center for general and specialized services, technology training on topics such as securing your computing device, and “what’s new” sessions on current topics.

Mobile Device Carts Available Carts consisting of Android devices or iPads will be available for faculty to check out this fall for classroom use. These devices will allow faculty to engage and interact with students in new and exciting ways.

Enhanced Learning Environments of the Future Initiative Specific classrooms across campus will be designated as “incubator classrooms.” These new learning environments consist of innovative technologies that include hardware, software, mobile devices, possible classroom design/layout changes and more. These classrooms will allow faculty to research and test emerging technologies to support teaching and learning goals.

Division I Support Efforts will be directed toward supporting the rigorous compliance and reporting requirements for our transition to Division I. The ERP system will be enhanced to track additional data. A new ERP NCAA application will be developed to provide a one-stop site where various types of financial aid and student-related athlete data are easily viewable and maintained. The data warehouse will be enhanced to support Division I reporting requirements.

In addition to reporting requirements, more than 50 sporting events will be streamed live on ASun.tv and available for other media outlets requiring enhanced audio/video services.

Travel Process Improvements The travel request and travel expense report functionality will be moved from SAPGUI to ESS/MSS in the SAP web portal. This improvement will provide improved access, more intuitive functionality and the ability to save travel request and expense reports in a draft mode.

Change of Program/Change of Specialization Improvements An online form for students to change their program of study or specialization will be deployed to provide better student service and increase efficiency with timely approval and correct approval routing.

DEAN’S CORNER

“Advances in technology have revolutionized healthcare, and NKU is committed to preparing its students for the 21st century healthcare workplace. The proposed state-of-the art health innovations center will provide our faculty “The concept of Griffin Hall was first and students with an innovative “living” sketched out back in 2006, and the laboratory where they can use cuttingNKU Office of Information Technoledge research to address healthcare ogy was a constant and active parissues. These same technologies need ticipant as we moved through design, to be available in the virtual space to construction, and occupancy. We support our online students. OIT has were able to create a state-of-the-art already provided the College of Health showpiece of digital technology unlike Professions with additional instructional anything else in the world. When you technology and instructional design walk into Griffin Hall, you see light; support to help faculty develop and you see technology; you see media deliver quality courses both in the traall integrated together to inspire and ditional classroom and online. CHP’s empower our students, faculty, and continued collaboration and close community. OIT has been instrumental working relationship with OIT will be in achieving the building’s goals. OIT imperative in the design and support now faces the ongoing challenge of of the new health innovations center.”

maintaining this complex IT infrastructure; fortunately, NKU has a responsive and knowledgeable IT support team.”

Kevin Kirby, Ph.D. Dean, College of Informatics

Denise Robinson, Ph.D. R.N. F.N.P. Dean, College of Health Professions

“IT personnel are always responsive to my office needs. Regardless of what sort of problem I might experience, I am able to resolve it in short order. In fact, there have been several instances across this past year when IT personnel have gone way above and beyond in servicing my technology needs and in partnering with A&S faculty and me in committee work dependent upon technology.”

Samuel J. Zachary, Ph.D. Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

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“The College of Business is very excited “The ways of presenting ideas and inabout its new collaboration with OIT. spiring people to action have shifted OIT has provided us with an excellent from the traditional sit-and-get formats academic technology analyst who will (if those actually ever work), to highly support our use of instructional technolimpactful and easily shareable forms of ogy. We are particularly excited about learning. As we saw with the Arab Spring, having this analyst because he will help social media can mobilize nations, topple us more effectively deliver our newly governments and create new interests revised M.B.A program, which employs a in and passions for important ideas. Youmixture of online and in-class instruction. Tube, Facebook, TED Talks and LinkedIn Our new analyst will work one on one are now “where it’s at.” For educators with faculty to fully integrate technology who are committed to enhancing student into their traditional, blended and online growth, development and learning, it is courses. We will also be exploring how time to heed Bob Dylan’s advice - the technology can be used to give students times they are a-changin’ - and get onthe global viewpoint they need to take board. into the workplace. Thanks, OIT, for your In this new era of higher education, the support of the college!” new models of learning and delivery will Richard H. Kolbe, Ph.D. look more like the flipped classroom, Dean, Haile/U.S. Bank College of Business outcomes-based, annual tuition, drop-in/ drop-out programs and courses, and a “The legal profession is becoming highly much more open and personal course mobile, and NKU Chase is committed to of study. NKU is in an enviable position helping its students embrace this reality. among higher-education institutions in In partnership with OIT, NKU Chase has this regard. The close ties and partnercreated Chase@NKU, a new mobile app ships between IT and the academic areas available for the iPhone and iPad. NKU is visionary and keeps academics in the Chase law students can now consult their forefront. That’s what we are here for, handheld devices to stay informed about and it is wonderful to have effective partupcoming events, explore the Chase nerships to allow it to happen.”

Law Library catalog and gain secured acM. Mark Wasicsko, Ph.D. cess to job postings, exam numbers and Dean and The Bank of Kentucky Chair in Educational Leadership other information. The app can also be College of Education and Human Services accessed by prospective Chase students, providing a touchscreen guide to NKU Salmon P. Chase College of Law.” Dennis Honabach, A.B., J.D. Dean, Salmon P. Chase College of Law

OIT PORTFOLIO HOW OIT SPENDS ITS TIME

2% 8%

2012

2011

90%

10% 8%

RUN

Represents ongoing operations and is usually associated with nondiscretionary investments.

82%

GROW

Represents investments needed to provide IT solutions that fundamentally support a changed business model. These are nondiscretionary investments.

TRANSFORM

Represents investments needed to develop or enhance IT solutions to support scalable business growth. These are usually discretionary investments.

SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS

The Office of Information Technology supports six kinds of software applications and more than 140 software products.

123456 DESKTOP SOFTWARE

CORE SERVICES

HOSTED SERVICES

INSTRUCTIONAL NKU CUSTOM SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS

BUSINESS SERVICES SOFTWARE

COMPUTERS NUMBER OF UNIVERSITY-OWNED DESKTOPS/LAPTOPS ON CAMPUS

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

3,422 3,947 4,368 5,383 5,506 5,460 5,873

According to the 2011 NKU IT student survey, only 30 percent of NKU students use computer labs on a regular basis. Nationally, the trend in higher education institutions is to reduce the number of campus computer labs and re-appropriate funding to support other student initiatives. IT is currently working to reduce the number of NKU computers on campus. This supports virtual environments and leverages student-owned devices, allowing students to access university software.

SMART CLASSROOMS NUMBER OF SUPPORT STAFF MEMBERS PER SMART CLASSROOM

NUMBER OF SUPPORT STAFF MEMBERS PER DESKTOP/ LAPTOP ON CAMPUS

4:250

6:291

588

489

2011

2012

2011

2012

In 2011, four support staff members were responsible for 250 smart classrooms. Today, six support staff members are responsible for 291 smart classrooms.

NETWORK AND SERVER COMPARISONS

158

168

PHYSICAL SERVERS

450

550

NETWORK DEVICES

17

(ROUTERS & SWITCHES)

In 2011, each support staff member was responsible for 588 computers. Today, each support staff member is responsible for 489 computers. According to the industry best practice, each staff member should support 150 computers.

348

420

2011 2012

VIRTUAL SERVERS

731

847

WIRELESS ACCESS POINTS

2011 2012

METRICS # OF EMAILS PER DAY

80

OIT SUPPORTS MORE THAN

LABS

300+

NKU STUDENTS SEND, ON ESTIMATE,

100,000 MESSAGES

NUMBER OF TRAINING SESSIONS

114

NUMBER OF FULL-TIME OIT EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OF OIT STUDENT WORKERS IN THE 2011-12 FISCAL YEAR

51

26,807 NUMBER OF OIT SERVICE REQUESTS PER YEAR

ONLINE CHATS 2011

3,128

BOMGAR REMOTE ACCESS 2011

2012

6,326

2012

3,022 3,025

THERE ARE ABOUT

1.7 million EMAILS PROCESSED BY NKU EMAIL SYSTEMS DAILY ON CAMPUS

OFF CAMPUS

200,000 NUMBER OF EMAILS SENT DAILY FROM FACULTY/STAFF TO OFF-CAMPUS ADDRESSES

1.5 MILLION EMAILS FROM OFF-CAMPUS ADRESSES ARE SENT TO STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF

1.2 MILLION ARE VIRUS OR SPAM

2011-12 STRATEGIC METRICS The metrics for each strategy will be determined and monitored through the university planning process. As the campus technology plan is reviewed and updated (based upon the priorities of the university and the technology environment), metrics will be compared to see if they align with the strategies and goals.

IMPACT STUDENT SUCCESSES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES REFRESH 20 PERCENT OF ALL CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGIES.

INCREASE BY 10 PERCENT THE NUMBER OF COURSE SECTIONS USING LECTURE CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY.

INCREASE OIT’S FUNDING FOR ACADEMIC SOFTWARE BY 30 PERCENT.

OPTIMIZE UNIVERSITY OPERATIONS DEVELOP AND DEPLOY END-USER TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT WITH A GOAL OF AT LEAST 20 PERCENT PARTICIPATION OF ACTIVE MYNKU USERS. IMPROVE ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS BY IMPLEMENTING AT LEAST FIVE SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS THAT IMPROVE BUSINESS PROCESSES. INCREASE DATA WAREHOUSE REPORT OUTPUT BY 5 PERCENT THROUGH INCREASED ADOPTION AND USAGE.

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STRIVE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE CREATE MORE SERVICE-LEVEL AGREEMENTS WITH DEPARTMENTS AT NKU.

OFFER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES TO 30-40 PERCENT OF STAFF, PROVIDING EACH STAFF MEMBER AN OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING/ CONFERENCES EVERY TWO TO THREE YEARS. Improve OIT customer satisfaction by 5 percent as measured by faculty/staff and student customer service satisfaction surveys.* *The survey is now planned for FY ‘13

STRENGTHEN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE MEASURE APPLICATION AVAILABILITY WITH A GOAL OF 99.999 PERCENT DATA CENTER AVAILABILITY FOR CRITICAL BUSINESS SYSTEMS. MEASURE NETWORK CONNECTIVITY (WIRED/WIRELESS) TO VERIFY THAT 99 PERCENT OF CAMPUS IS COVERED AND FILL IN COVERAGE HOLES AS NEEDED. INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SYSTEMS AND DATA SETS THAT ARE INTEGRATED INTO NKU’S ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE.

OBJECTIVE MET

PARTIALLY MET

NOT MET

OIT SERVICES

ACADEMIC SUPPORT

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BUSINESS SUPPORT

TECHNOLOGY

ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE

MISSION CRITICAL IT SYSTEMS

2011-12 ACCOMPLISHMENTS Impact Student Success & Learning Outcomes Provide consistent, reliable services that engage students, enhance learning and improve support through technology.

Student Information Systems

o

Student photo rosters are now available to faculty within their Blackboard course. Student photos are pulled from the All Card office and are only available to the course instructor.

Support departmental requests for software rollouts:

Student Experience

o

SmartCatalog, a web-based academic content management system, was implemented to produce NKU’s first online undergraduate and graduate catalogs. OIT supported the implementation and integration with the university website.

o

o

Hands-on, instructor-led training classes were developed and delivered. In addition, SmartCatalog competency centers offered personalized, hands-on assistance to users needing to update their catalog entries.

Scoop.nku.edu, the student-centered online orientation program, was implemented for transferstudent orientation. The program provides detailed information to help students successfully transition to NKU. SCOOP provides students with information about academic success, myNKU, financial aid and more. Each section is followed by a short quiz to ensure comprehension. Through SCOOP, incoming transfer students can learn valuable information comparable to what is communicated to students during face-to-face orientation, Northern Exposure.

o

Support was continued for the current student retention software, EMAS Retention Pro. However, it was determined that the university now has additional requirements and other software applications should be reviewed. In collaboration with the Office of Student Affairs, a request for proposals was created. Responses to the RFP were reviewed and demonstrations were conducted. A new solution will be selected that meets the broader needs of the campus. The new solution will be implemented in FY ’13.

o

Enhancements were made to the iNKU and n@NKU mobile apps.

Student Engagement o

Blackboard Connect’s Professor Notification tool was deployed across campus. This tool allows faculty to send text messages and text-to-voice messages to students from within Blackboard. Students can also receive text messages to notify them when assignments are due, when grades are posted and much more.

o

Faculty workgroups were established within each college on campus. These workgroups were created to help develop discipline-specific learning environments where faculty can research and explore emerging technologies that allow students to learn in ways that maximize student retention and learning outcomes.

•

n@NKU is a mobile app that was developed through collaboration between OIT and the Office of Admissions. This app is geared toward high school students and provides them with resources and information as they are making their college decision. The most recent enhancement to n@NKU allows students to take a self-guided virtual tour of the campus. The tour features information about each building on campus, photos and a map that allows students to pinpoint their location on campus.

•

iNKU is a mobile app for current students, faculty and staff. This app is integrated with NKU’s campus student information system, which allows students to view their class schedule, grades, advisor information and more. iNKU also features a campus map, access to the TANK bus schedule and a campus directory. The latest version of iNKU provides students with single sign-on functionality and access to the Steely Library catalog. Students can log in to the “myDashboard” tool and view the following: • Advisor contact information.

• Account balance.

• Academic holds.

• Registration window.

o

Chase@NKU was developed in collaboration with Chase College of Law. This app provides functionality for both prospective and current Chase students.

Features include access to admissions information, job postings, Chase iTunes U, TWEN, the law library catalog and more.

o The second annual IT student survey was deployed.

Results were analyzed, and those results were used to develop FY ’13 objectives. o

Wireless coverage was expanded in university housing and throughout campus, providing broader access and faster speeds. Outdoor wireless systems that cover green spaces and sports fields were also introduced.

o

Administrative assistance was provided to the College of Arts and Sciences for the deployment of the Successful Online Learning Tutorial. SOLT was available to more than 2,200 online students each semester.

Student Service

o Functionality was developed that allows users to access myNKU using a wider range of web browsers than traditionally supported by SAP. o New performance indices for financial aid including remedial hours were added to the advisor quick- reference screen. o

Catalog information about course requirements was added to the advisor quick-reference screen.

This information is also available in the student’s view under My Records.

o An online admission application was developed for the School-Based Scholars program and implemented in the fall of 2011.

Enhanced Learning Environments o

More than 100 smart spaces with legacy hardware were upgraded with new technology and added functionality. Upgrades included items such as microphones for lecture capture, document cameras, Blu-ray players, HD-capable projectors and digital control panels.

o

Faculty workgroups for each college were created to work with OIT to assess the technology needs of the individual college based on its teaching and learning goals. Physical space for each “incubator classroom” has been identified. OIT is currently consulting with vendors to explore innovative solutions for faculty to evaluate.

o

The Innovative Technology Teaching Showcase consists of video interviews of NKU faculty who are using innovative technology in the classroom.

These interviews were recorded and uploaded to the CITE website. The following are examples of the showcase: • Keith Walters, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, uses NKU’s lecture- capture system, Tegrity, to record his face-to-face classes so students can watch his lectures again and again to reinforce the learning. Walters also uses his iPad in the classroom to annotate on his PowerPoint presentations that are being displayed to the class. Walters feels that using these technologies allows him to keep his students motivated and engaged.

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•

Bethany Bowling, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, uses TurningPoint clickers in the classroom to engage her students in active learning. Bowling uses the clickers to ask students questions about what they know so students understand what they don’t know before taking an exam. This type of formative assessment helps the students and the professor understand areas that require additional focus prior to an exam.

•

Frank Braun, lecturer in the Department of Business Informatics, uses Wimba Classroom, which allows students to connect to his graduatelevel courses synchronously. This technology has allowed Braun to expand the reach of his class and allows students outside the geographical region to take NKU classes in real-time.

o Technology support was provided for the grand opening of Griffin Hall. Prior to the grand opening, OIT managed the purchasing, distribution and setup of more than 500 new computers for faculty, staff and informatics labs. OIT interfaced with A/V consultants and contractors to design and implement 32 technology-enhanced learning spaces and the cutting-edge digitorium. OIT implemented a new digital signage system with 14 managed end points in Griffin Hall. OIT was also a critical component in the integration of a new intelligent building system and a new radio-frequency identification system.

Since the opening of Griffin Hall, OIT has dedicated support staff to provide services to a building that never sleeps. OIT has supported numerous events for campus and regional activities. A few examples are MashComm, UpTech, Start-Up Weekend and Hack-a-thon. OIT is also supporting the faculty as they transform the way courses are taught using the innovative technology now available in the Griffin Hall classrooms. o Virtual desktops of IT computer labs were created, and the service was extended to allow student-owned devices to access computer lab software. Now, more than 250 virtual desktops are actively being used.

Expansion of the program is expected, as additional software and lab needs are identified.

Ubiquitous Learning o Department-specific faculty workgroups were created to research emerging technologies that will become part of the enhanced learning environments of the future (incubator classrooms). o The iPad Faculty Workgroup has been working with iPads in the classroom for the past year. These workgroups allow faculty to share apps and ideas for integrating the iPad into the classroom. The workgroup shares ideas and information by using a Blackboard discussion board for collaboration.

Members also facilitate and share ideas during iPad Lounges. o The Android Faculty Workgroup originally received Dell tablets as part of a pilot program with Dell.

Members of this workgroup have had the chance to try tablets like the Samsung Galaxy, HP Slate, Lenovo ThinkPad, ViewSonic, ASUS and more. This workgroup uses a Blackboard discussion board to share ideas and apps. o CITE provides a variety of tablets available for NKU faculty and staff to check out and try. These devices are available for short-term use.

o Lightning-round sessions provided faculty with short demonstrations of how other NKU faculty use specific instructional technologies in their courses. In just one hour, attendees had the opportunity to see demonstrations of several applications and how other NKU faculty members implement them. Following the lightning round sessions, faculty are encouraged to attend a hands-on, instructor-led workshop to learn how to implement the new tool into their course. o A series of iPad Lounges were held that allowed NKU faculty and staff to come together, share and learn from each other. During the first iPad Lounge session, members of the CITE staff demonstrated some helpful apps such as Splashtop HD, AirPlay, AirSketch, DoodlecastPro, OnLive Desktop, and more. Guest presenters also facilitated some of the iPad Lounges and shared their experiences with their colleagues: •

Peter Trentacoste, interim assistant vice president for student affairs, shared how he uses the iPad to help him maintain a paper-free office.

•

Barbara Houghton, professor in the Department of Visual Arts, provided an overview of iBook Author and demonstrated how she is currently developing her fall 2012 syllabus using iBook Author. Her students will be able to download the iBook and have it with them at all times.

•

Keith Walters, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, demonstrated how he uses AirSketch on his iPad to control and annotate his PowerPoint presentation in real-time.

o An online version of the Summer Faculty Institute was developed and deployed. The Online Faculty Institute is a four-week asynchronous online course for faculty and provides them with a true online course experience. This course allows faculty to explore online course design and pedagogy while collaborating with colleagues from different departments. o CITE staff facilitated two presentations titled “Teach with Technology: NKU Resources to Enhance Your Teaching” at the “Meet, Greet and Grab a Seat: Sharing Best Practices in Teaching” faculty conference in August. Staff also facilitated three tabletop discussions. o Staff participated in the College and Career Readiness Network for Information Technology Professionals workshop. This workshop was hosted by NKU’s College of Education and Human Services for regional K-12 administrators and information technology staff.

Instructional Technology Integration o Funding for academic software has more than tripled this past year. A site license was purchased for survey software, and numerous discipline-specific software packages were acquired for instructional use. o Lecture capture was adopted to support university goals relating to online course delivery. Lecture capture allows NKU faculty to provide the up-closeand-personal experience of a face-to-face classroom in an online format. o Hardware has been expanded to support lecture capture. Including Griffin Hall, there are now more than 70 classrooms equipped with built-in technologies that allow faculty to easily record lectures without the need for additional peripheral equipment. o Instructional design staff assisted with the development of more than 50 new online courses across multiple disciplines including nursing, informatics, history, business, criminal justice and education. o Online Blackboard office hours are now available to faculty. Faculty can chat online with Blackboard gurus from anywhere. Several faculty workshops were also recorded and posted online so faculty can watch them anytime, anywhere. o Academic Advising Tab training is now offered online through Blackboard and allows faculty and staff to access it anytime, anywhere. Faculty no longer have to wait for a scheduled training session. This new online training contains a video tutorial, built-in assessments and more. o Customized documentation for more than 180 smart classrooms was created and placed both physically and digitally in those classrooms in an effort to assist faculty with better using the technologies available in each room.

Additional Accomplishments o Additional emphasis was placed on the beginning of each semester’s academic technology support. More than 1,000 OIT staff hours were dedicated toward onsite smart classroom support during the first week of classes. To accomplish this, eight remote help desks were staffed in academic buildings. In addition to smart classroom support, staff also answered various technology questions for faculty, staff and students.

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Optimize University Operations Support the university’s efforts to streamline and simplify university administrative operations and systems.

Continuous Process Improvement o Upgrades were made to the internal email system and the Blackberry enterprise system to ensure a smooth transition between NKU and a cloud-based email solution. o Technical liaisons with various skill sets were hired and deployed across campus to assist with bridging the technology gap between OIT and the academic colleges. OIT collaborates with the academic colleges to determine the needs and skill sets of the liaisons.

Additional personnel will be added to this initiative in FY ’13. o A myNKU training plan was developed in collaboration with the Office of Human Resources. As a result, a training needs assessment was developed and deployed in 2011. This assessment indicated that a large number of campus participants were not aware that online support documentation (e.g. quickreference cards, manuals, simulations, etc.) is available.

This conclusion indicated that a viable communication plan will be extremely important to increase staff awareness of existing resources when the new website is launched. Additional training and documentation are also being developed as a result of the survey.

•

A myNKU course catalog was created listing all workshops offered to users, prerequisites and delivery mode. As part of the myNKU training plan, role-based training plans for competencies related to human resources, finance and student life-cycle management were created for users.

The training plans list the competency, the course and how to achieve the competency (e.g. instructor-led training, online tutorial, etc.).

•

Roles were identified where SAP proficiency is required, and training plans were developed for each of these roles. Reports were run to identify individuals with these roles. Training attendance reports were run for all identified individuals, and their training attendance was compared with the training plans for each recognized user role to determine the corresponding gap in training attendance and retention.

•

Assessments are being developed and deployed in Blackboard for all face-to-face and web-based trainings to assess the users’ comprehension and retention of the training.

•

The myNKU website was redesigned, focusing on the online documentation section of the help and reference page. The new website offers additional, process-based information including beneficial process reports and checklists. The initial redesign website launched summer 2012.

Additional phases will follow.

•

The interface for Kentucky Retirement Systems that uploads information from SAP to the state retirement system was developed and implemented.

•

Several improvements and efficiencies have been applied to the enterprise compensation management module. Budget reporting functionality has been enhanced, thereby improving the budget reconciliation process.

•

Additional enhancements were applied to the position budget function, which is still administered through the budget office and vice presidents’ offices.

•

KRS sick accrual report was developed to track employee balances as required for KRS reporting.

•

Revisions were made to the position budget control to make the process more efficient.

•

A new process was configured and implemented to allow for a one-time merit process using the employee compensation management module.

•

A custom PAR listing report was created for departmental tracking purposes.

o The following improvements were made to the financial and accounting system: •

A new process for requesting NKU Foundation accounts has been developed, and initial testing is complete.

•

Requirements are currently in review for a new university fund/cost center request form and online electronic approval process. Development is planned for FY ’13.

•

Two new Business Warehouse reports for the travel module were developed and implemented.

•

Additional inventory fields were added to the fixed-asset data in SAP, with conversion completed in early 2012. The university’s annual asset verification in March included these new fields, thus eliminating redundant processes such as the IT computer inventory verification process.

•

Enhancements were made to the travel module including automation of travel security role assignments as well as updates to travel workflow, which will improve travel transaction processing.

•

New functionality added to FI transactions allows users to view attachments.

•

Short text is now a requirement on budget transfers to improve reporting.

•

Improvements were made to vendor display processes, including the exclusion of blocked vendors.

o The following improvements were made to the human resources system: •

Grant time and effort certification is now available in myNKU.

•

An online PAR form to separate, retire or end employee assignments with workflow approvals was successfully implemented in fall 2011.

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o The following improvements were made to the student life cycle management system: •

The testing phase of development for the paymetrics system is underway.

•

Requirements were gathered and development work is in progress to implement change of specialization (major) and change of program forms using workflow to automate this process.

Launch is scheduled for FY ’13.

•

The development work and testing to enhance advisor assignment process for efficiency is complete. NKU is working with SAP to resolve an issue before launching.

•

Planning is underway to enhance the student activities tab. Development will begin in FY ’13.

•

Development work to implement near real-time interface to the Sigma financial aid system is complete, and testing is ongoing. The interface is expected to launch in FY ’13.

•

Development work is underway for the final phase of the custom online event planning application. This will allow 90-95 percent of all complex course/linking scenarios to be handled by the academic departments. The scheduled launch for event-planning phase II is this summer.

•

Requirements have been gathered to enhance the grade-change process by automating instructor/ faculty approvals via workflow. Development work will begin in FY ’13.

•

Annual SAP system upgrades and maintenance to support regulatory and institutional mandate were implemented.

•

Interfaces were enhanced to pass additional athletic participation data and scholarship award data between SAP and alumni systems.

•

A new eCheck payment option was developed and implemented.

•

Additional functionality including registration cart quick view and pre/co-requisite report by department were added to the student administration tab in myNKU.

•

Updates were made to the chair view of grades and update section seats/instructors functions on the student administration tab in myNKU.

•

An online graduation application was developed and implemented.

Enhance Operational Reporting o Report usage statistics were reviewed to identify the top 50 most active reports. Each of those reports was audited to improve functionality, remove irrelevant information, define specific purpose and create documentation, where applicable. o Seven reporting and analytics training sessions were offered, and 87 faculty and staff attended.

The sessions focused on how to educate the enduser community in analytics and determine gaps in operational reporting. o A new Business Warehouse reporting template with increased functionality was unveiled. It includes provisions for: •

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Direct links to existing report documentation, myNKU help and reference, and the BW training manual.

•

Predefined formatted views to improve usability, increase efficiencies, and reduce clicks.

o A student credit-hour-per-faculty FTE reporting application was developed to assist the administration and faculty in planning and monitoring the number of student credit hours being taught. o An academic deficiency reporting application was developed to assist the Office of Admissions with monitoring the academic readiness of applicants. o An application was developed to allow student services personnel to run reports against their third-party hosted student activities tracking system (OrgSync) and integrate those results with data from student reports in the SAP data warehouse. o New functionality was implemented that provides the ability to report on students based on their membership in various cohorts as identified by the Office of Institutional Research. o Several queries and reports were developed or enhanced in collaboration with the Office of Institutional Research.

Employee Experience o Additional campus systems (e.g. OrgSync, IMLeagues) were integrated with campus user accounts. This provides enhanced reporting functionality. o Self-service password resets were made more userfriendly. The password reset application now allows new users to activate their NKU user ID and current users to change their NKU user account password or reset a forgotten password online. o Student mail systems were upgraded so that students now receive a warning after login if their password is about to expire. Students are also redirected to the password change page after their password has expired. o AskIT, an online self-help knowledge base, was developed and deployed to campus. This tool enables students, faculty and staff to research and find answers to their technology-related questions 24/7.

Business Intelligence o A collaborative campus group was formed to identify areas for data quality improvements and opportunities for business process efficiency gains.

o Address verification software was purchased and will be implemented during summer 2012 to improve the quality of student contact information. o The aforementioned data quality project also addressed quality improvements and opportunities for business process efficiency gains. o Development is in progress for a self-service webbased data dictionary that will provide campus Business Warehouse users with the ability to pull information about fields and reports at their convenience. Application launch is scheduled for FY ’13.

Unified Communication and Collaboration o Requirements are being gathered to design a student intranet/portal. This “virtual student success center” will provide a variety of services and support for all students. Development of the student intranet/portal will begin in FY ’13. Phase II of this project will focus on a similar portal for faculty/staff.

Social Mobile Web o A new web content management system was implemented to support the growing needs of our campus. The new CMS is both Mac and PC-friendly, providing departments with greater flexibility, ease of use, and additional functionality to help move NKU into the next generation of web technology. OIT will continue to support the Office of Marketing and Communications throughout the redesign project.

“We are grateful for the timely and effective support provided by IT personnel. While we were between technology coordinators, IT quickly responded and provided excellent, knowledgeable on-call support for addressing our diverse technology needs, including fielding phone calls from teachers; managing our web presence and online services; and assisting with problem-solving—all with a patient and highly positive attitude!”

Alice Gabbard, Senior Director, Kentucky Center for Mathematics

Strive for Information Technology Operational Excellence

o

Basic expectations are presented to new staff through an internal orientation manual.

o

Additional training materials provided to Help Desk staff include topics such as:

Transform IT to a culture of operational excellence in behaviors and processes.

•

Organizational Effectiveness o Coverage of the 24/7 IT Help Desk was expanded using full-time personnel. The IT Help Desk is now covered by full-time staff more than 75 percent of the time. This expansion provides more consistent and knowledgeable support to campus.

• • • o

Smart® Notebook software training was provided for smart classroom technicians and the IT training team. This two-day hands-on training was provided onsite by a Smart® certified trainer.

During the training, participants learned practical uses of the software that can be applied in the classroom. Since that training, the IT training team has conducted several demonstrations and trainings for NKU faculty.

o

Professional development plans were identified for IT teams. Business analysis training was delivered to team members interacting with analysts. Additional trainings are being planned including a collaborative training opportunity with Miami University.

o

Research and planning is underway to support the creation of an internal and external communication plan for OIT; however, a communication plan was not developed during FY ’12 as the focus was placed on completing the Campus Technology Plan. In the meantime, additional communication efforts have begun, including monthly newsletters and the creation of the CIO website:

o Audio/visual support is now available 7:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. weekdays. These extended hours provide muchneeded onsite support for late-afternoon and evening classes. o Online service request forms were updated to streamline the support process and provide the SAP user community with better system support. The myNKU support website was redesigned to offer more self-help options. o Planning is in progress to establish a service-level agreement with the SAP user community to set support expectations. o Research and investigation into SLAs is nearly complete. SLA templates are currently in development for lab imaging and work-at-home software support. o Initial research into Information Technology Infrastructure Library is complete. Further investigation into how broad-base understanding and adoption in OIT can be accomplished is still needed. o Technology support services were expanded by using remote support tools such as RoomView, Bomgar and Cute Chat. RoomView allows IT to virtually monitor and assist in smart classroom support. Bomgar allows support staff remote access to client computers to assist in resolving problems. Cute Chat allows clients to have real-time conversations with support staff.

Usage of the chat tool has increased 40 percent over the previous year. o Plans for a realignment of OIT offices to better support the Campus Technology Plan and needs of the campus are in progress. o Staff and student workers at the IT Help Desk participated in several trainings regarding good customer service.

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I nteracting with customers and suggested phrases to use and avoid.

Setting expectations with the customer and meeting those expectations.

Maintaining a professional demeanor.

Being helpful even if it isn’t something IT directly supports.

•

Monthly newsletters are sent via email to faculty and staff in an effort to improve communication. These newsletters contain information about new products and services, system updates, trainings, tips, etc.

•

The new Office of the CIO website provides access to the current fiscal year objectives, IT committees, CTP, annual report, newsletter archives and governance policies. The site also encourages users to provide feedback or escalate an IT issue.

•

Core data for the 2011 survey was submitted in June 2012. The EDUCAUSE Core Data Service is a benchmarking service used by colleges and universities to assist with IT strategic planning and management. Analyses and reports are featured at the EDUCAUSE annual conference each fall.

Policies and Standards o A process to review current IT policies has been implemented along with a process to assess and recommend best practices for emerging technologies. o Testing standards are being developed along with the implementation of a new testing tool, Quality Center. Other testing tools are currently in use that expand the compatibility of NKU software solutions.

A communication plan has not been developed, but the IT newsletter is being used to keep the campus apprised of changes.

Governance o A review of the Campus Technology Plan was not completed prior to the release of this year’s annual report because the CTP was published in the fall of 2011. Plans are underway to review the CTP during FY ’13 and make revisions based on the new strategic initiatives of the university. o The IT Policy Council, IT Advisory Committee, myNKU Advisory Group and IT Student Advisory Group were effectively used as an IT steering committee to prioritize projects for the greater good of the campus community. o Additional project managers were hired in an effort to move toward a project management office. o Project managers established an SAP project dashboard with status updates occurring monthly. o SAP development projects were prioritized through a process involving all university divisions and approved by the VPs. The top projects were identified and prioritized. o Through the prioritization process, development efforts were collected, evaluated and justified as part of the project assessment with the divisions of the university.

Resource Management o The IT computer replacement inventory process was successfully combined with the university’s overall inventory process so the campus community can now use one system for resource management. o A survey was developed and deployed to department chairs. The goal of the survey was to collect information about academic software licenses and use cases. This information provides a basis that can be used to begin analysis of centrally managing academic software.

o The regional Student Technology Leadership Program Fall Showcase was hosted by OIT. More than 500 students from local K-12 schools participated in the event. o Several statewide workgroup meetings were hosted

by OIT this past year including KyRON, CPE-DLST and Kentucky Blackboard Administrators.

Strengthen Information Technology Infrastructure

o Expansion of automated tools to manage and distribute software to computers has resulted in more standard practices, ease of distribution and an increase in policy enforcement.

Provide a reliable and secure information technology infrastructure that enhances productivity and accessibility.

o Planning is in progress to better use reporting within the PPM tool to manage supply/demand of IT resources to strategic initiatives.

o Server clustering and high-availability services were expanded to provide better service to the campus community. The tape library system was upgraded to accommodate faster backup speeds. An archival storage system was also introduced that allows departments to save large research projects.

Transformation Through Innovation o The learning environments of the future (incubator classrooms) will serve as the hotbed for researching and testing emerging classroom technologies.

A virtual innovations center is being planned to showcase new technologies as they are brought on campus. Examples of innovation centers at other institutions have been explored. A physical location for an innovations center has not yet been identified. o

The Campus Technology Plan is a high-level guide that provides a framework for the future of OIT that supports the university’s mission. A more in-depth and formal guide will be developed in FY ’13.

Additional Accomplishments o The first Campus Technology Plan was created in 2011. The plan is a five-year strategy created following campus-wide discussions, interviews, strategic planning sessions, and analysis of internal and external data. The plan was designed in collaboration with Gartner, an IT-focused research and consulting organization. The Campus Technology Plan will evolve as campus priorities change over time.

Several OIT staff members presented at local, regional o and national conferences in the past year, including the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities Conference, the Kentucky Innovations Conference, HighEdWeb and Blackboard World.

Enterprise Architecture

o NKU web servers were deployed in a highly available mode that facilitates uninterrupted operation when a component fails or crashes. This allows for more secure systems, larger quotas and higher application uptime. o A new Kentucky Regional Optical Network (KyRON) was designed through a collaboration with other state universities. OIT also participated in the KyRON request for proposal process. o Server virtualization was expanded, which reduces the server footprint in the data center. This has resulted in fewer servers and more efficient availability – saving both space and resources on campus. Currently, more than 75 percent of the server environment is now virtualized. o The RFID solution was implemented in Griffin Hall.

Currently, this RFID solution features the ability to track up to 200 devices. Development on the integration between the RFID systems and digital signage has begun. o Phase I of the IBS was implemented in Griffin Hall.

Cumulative data regarding lighting, temperature, electrical usage, card access and other building functions has been collected. This data is stored in a data warehouse, which allows for additional analysis and research. A dashboard was also designed to permit online access to this information.

o The web security tool, Fortify, has been implemented and best practices are being developed for web page scanning. Other monitoring tools have been expanded to identify additional security threats. o Mobile management solutions are being investigated and explored. A solution has not been identified at this time. o Annual SAP system upgrades and maintenance to support regulatory and institutional mandates were implemented. These upgrades will also allow for future expansion of services in the SAP environment. o More than 25 client/server applications underwent an upgrade in the past year, including document imaging, pay for print and fax server. o Campus network bandwidth was increased to 10 GB among all buildings and upgraded throughout the science center to accommodate 10 GB speeds among floors and 1 GB to science center research servers. o A process to upgrade server operating systems and remove old server hardware is underway. Currently, more than 70 percent of the outdated systems have been removed from NKU’s IT environment. o University databases are being upgraded to a clustered environment that links multiple databases throughout campus to maximize performance and efficiency. Old databases are being upgraded to the newest database management systems.

Infrastructure Services o Harris InfoCaster was deployed on campus as the digital signage system. This allows for centralized communication and area-specific updates on events and key information. Griffin Hall was the first building to implement this digital signage system. Since then, digital signage has expanded to four other buildings on campus, and additional expansion is being planned. o Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager and Ghost Imaging were used to efficiently distribute desktop software across campus.

o A disaster-recovery hot site was established at Murray State University. The Murray hot site houses the core domain/DNS systems and also stores key data backups that make recovery much faster in the event of a local disaster. Data stored at Murray includes campus accounts, network documentation and critical database backups. o Campus redundancy tests were performed to verify critical systems’ stability (e.g. Blackboard, myNKU, Internet access, etc.). Tests were also performed on electrical generators to verify that key infrastructure would maintain power if there was an electrical outage. Additional tests are planned for FY ’13.

Information Security o Antivirus protection was expanded to more than 5,000 computers via automatic updates. o Identity Finder, a data loss prevention tool, was installed on more than 200 computers resulting in millions of personal data items being eliminated from systems, thus reducing the risk of data loss if an attack occurs. o Additional web servers were installed to provide additional security protection. A new firewall system is also being designed for enhanced security. o A third-party IT security audit is in process. o The Norse Secure Awareness Program was implemented. It is designed to educate 2,500 faculty and staff about the dangers of various security threats via SANS “Securing the Human” training modules.

SANS training was also introduced to new employees as a part of the university’s orientation procedures. o More than 800 surplus PCs, Macs, printers, copiers and hard drives were securely recycled, reducing the risk of data loss.

Data Architecture

Business Continuity

o The document image system was upgraded to use an NKU student ID instead of Social Security numbers, which allows for system integration with myNKU and provides additional data security.

o Several core system documents were developed for the disaster-recovery plan. Additional work on the disaster-recovery plan continues.

o All Cards were upgraded to display the student ID on the face of the card and provide better integration with myNKU.

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Identity Management o Webmail login procedures were upgraded to allow users to change passwords via the webmail system.

Students, faculty and staff now receive a notification message when their impending password expiration is within five days.

Additional Accomplishments o The 2011 Business Intelligence Summit was hosted

by OIT. More than 150 individuals from 48 different institutions and organizations attended the event.

The BI Summit brought together assorted members of the higher education community to collaborate on business intelligence topics.

“Disaster recovery is a common challenge facing all universities. The collaboration effort established between NKU and MSU has allowed both institutions to be more efficient with funds, maximize return on investment and expand our services. This partnership has allowed us to build a business continuity framework.�

Linda G. Miller, Chief Information Officer, Murray State University

GRIFFIN HALL SPOTLIGHT NKU is committed to maintaining its role as a leader, and Griffin Hall exemplifies how NKU is revolutionizing the way students learn and collaborate. As a result, OIT was selected to receive multiple awards including the 2012 CIO 100 award and the Most Innovative Use of Technology award by the Kentucky Digital Government Summit in recognition of the groundbreaking technological implementation of Griffin Hall.

Advanced technology is changing the way classes are taught at NKU. Today’s students want active involvement in their coursework. Griffin Hall has 32 innovative learning environments that support lifelong learning. Each room is fully equipped with lecture capture functionality including cameras and microphones that allows classes to be recorded for later use or streamed live, permitting students to attend class anytime, anyplace. Each room also has full automation with Crestron. When the projector is turned on, the room lighting dims, the projection screen lowers and the window shades go down. The furniture and workstations are easily reconfigured for small-group activities, classroom interaction or more traditional lecture-style setups. In addition, Griffin Hall is equipped with 18 labs for teaching, researching and collaborating. Digital media labs conjoin the best 2D, 3D, web, mobile and film production hardware/software the world has to offer. These integrated workspaces allow students to prepare for the future by obtaining valuable hands-on experience using the latest technologies.

Griffin Hall was not created just for NKU; it was created for the community. The Rieveschl Digitorium is more than a lecture hall, more than a concert hall and more than a meeting space. The venue functions as a 120-seat learning facility and amphitheater – an ultramodern, fully programmable event center. The MicroTile display system is one of the largest video walls of its kind in the United States. It expands user capability for introducing multiple high-definition media sources that can be presented in simultaneous collaboration. Participants can actively engage with a 3D motion picture, a multiphase business presentation or even a ballet.

One strategic element of the Griffin Hall project was the creation of an intelligent building system, designed to create an energy-efficient, interactive and programmable environment that controls all of the building systems. The IBS integrates key technologies into the main IBS, which collects and analyzes this data, then relays back an action plan. Security, temperature control, lighting and water are just a few of the systems managed by the IBS. When digital sensors detect daylight, the maximum brightness of Griffin Hall lighting is lowered. Digital signage, classroom computers and equipment all power off when the building closes each night. Through radiofrequency identification, equipment assets are deployed and tracked, plus visitors can even navigate and tour the building. The system collects and analyzes all this RFID information through which additional system automations will be implemented. OIT has developed the IBS in an open manner to allow for continual expansion and refinement.

Griffin Hall stands as a template for environmental responsibility. NKU has applied to make Griffin Hall its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver- certified building on campus. High-tech teaching facilities lower operational costs, reduce waste and conserve utilities while simultaneously promoting efficiency in the design of future buildings.

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TRANSFORMATION THROUGH INNOVATION Transformation through innovation is a goal within the Optimize University Operations strategy section of the Campus Technology Plan. Year after year opportunities to use disruptive technologies and new delivery models will be researched and implemented to support the changing needs of our growing campus.

Oftentimes, transformation through innovation is seen as a way to implement new processes or change the way something was done to better utilize resources and increase productivity. For instance, NKU continues to leverage its investment in SAP systems by transforming business processes to more efficient methods, providing convenience to students, faculty and staff as well as saving time and resources. By utilizing SAP’s workflow, or electronic approvals, NKU has increased efficiencies in many areas. Human resources, finance and student systems have eliminated paper by utilizing online forms.

These workflows also minimize time by routing forms quickly and accurately through the necessary approvals.

Additionally, data is entered once, thereby limiting effort and error.

NKU’s OIT is seen as a leader in innovation and has been given multiple awards for its work with SAP and the innovations in Griffin Hall. This past year, OIT received another award for its new efficient disaster-recovery solution. Along with Murray State University, NKU received the University Business’ Model of Efficiency Award for their collaboration efforts to implement mutual disaster-recovery solutions. This partnership allows each university to house equipment for the other institution, enabling both universities to back up their data regularly and store it off-site for retrieval in case of disaster.

In addition to SAP, Griffin Hall and disaster recovery, OIT has successfully implemented several new technologies on campus that are improving the student experience, enabling easier access to resources and providing opportunities to change the way courses are taught and how students learn.

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A new service is now available, allowing students to connect remotely to NKU computers – NKU virtual lab.

Virtual lab capabilities support remote access to software from any location. Students can also connect to the NKU virtual computer lab from their personal devices (e.g., PCs, Macs, iPads, etc.). Since many NKU students live offcampus, this service is invaluable to students who need access to specialty software in order to complete class assignments. Students have found that the virtual lab is a “huge time saver” and allows unparalleled access to software that is often restricted to a department-specific computer lab. It may also open the door for new courses to be taught online since students can now access some department-specific software packages online. Over time, OIT’s goal is to reduce the number of computer labs on campus and invest those savings into other innovative technologies that impact the success of NKU students.

NKU faculty and students are also taking advantage of innovative technology through the use of lecture capture.

Through Tegrity, a lecture-capture software, class lectures can be made available anytime, anywhere. Tegrity is a user-friendly software that allows faculty to record lectures for online classes as well as to record traditional classes, allowing students to study more efficiently.

Lectures can be viewed via a web browser, mp3 or mobile device. Tegrity lectures provide an up-close-and-personal touch in online courses that is often lacking. Faculty who record their traditional face-to-face classes find that students are able to pay closer attention during class time, knowing that the recorded lecture will be available online and notes can be taken later. Faculty are not seeing a decline in student attendance but rather more-engaged students during the course period. Lecture capture can help increase student retention since students have the ability to review material not understood in class over and over while studying for exams.

As the iPad and other mobile technologies are gaining more popularity in higher education, faculty are researching ways to integrate mobile technology into their classrooms. Through OIT’s mobile device loan program, faculty are able to check out a device and try it before investing in one. Informal workshops and discussion boards allow faculty and staff to share their ideas with each other. Faculty across campus are exploring and adopting innovative ways to transform their teaching through the use of mobile technology.

Moving forward OIT will continue to support the technology needs of the university in alignment with the Points of Focus for 2012-14. OIT looks forward to its involvement as plans for the Student Success Center are put into action with OIT playing a critical role in supporting the students.

“The relationship between the Department of Advanced Nursing Studies and the Office of Information Technology could be characterized as synchronous trailblazing. With each level of academic success that DANS has achieved, IT has paved the way for greater interaction and communication in online learning.

Information technology has been DANS’ foundational support through advanced integration of cutting-edge web-based technologies, faculty support through IT training and continuing education, IT troubleshooting and the most recent resource support of department-based instructional design and tech support. Online learning accomplishments within the Department of Advanced Nursing Studies would not be possible without the vision, support and expertise of all staff in the Office of Information Technology.”

Marilyn Schleyer, ARNP, Ph.D.

OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Northern Kentucky University Published July 2012 by Office of the Chief Information Officer Northern Kentucky University Lucas Administrative Center 507 Highland Heights, Kentucky 41099 Phone: (859) 572-5272 Web: it.nku.edu Email: cio@nku.edu Copyright 2012, Northern Kentucky University This publication was prepared by Northern Kentucky University and printed with state funds (KRS 57.375). It is Northern Kentucky University’s policy to ensure equal employment opportunity for all persons and to take the necessary actions needed to recruit, employ, train, promote and retain qualified faculty and staff, including members of protected groups. Discrimination against any individual based upon protected status, which is defined as age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic or veteran status, is prohibited.