OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Northern Kentucky University
Campus Technology Plan 2011-16
LETTER FROM THE CIO Dear Colleagues, I am proud to share with you the 2011-16 Campus Technology Plan. This plan is the culmination of many months of collaboration with a large number of individuals across our campus. It provides a framework for the future that supports our mission to place learners and their learning at the center of what we do. The impact on society of innovative technology solutions has never been more promising despite the current economic climate. We live in a time where information technology is impacting work, entertainment, healthcare and, of course, education at a level that few ever imagined. In fact, all of the technology advances are helping to define the characteristics of 21st-century education. Mobile technology, e-book readers, e-learning and social networking are just a few examples of changes that are impacting our future. Our students are coming to campus with new expectations, including the desire to learn anywhere, anytime. These digital natives who are “always� connected will bring change accompanied by challenges, but ultimately they will drive us to improve education and our university. This reality has fundamental implications for how we design and deliver our academic programs as well as how we gather, share and use knowledge to support student success. Technology is expanding student access and changing the fundamentals of both how we go about the teaching-learning process and how the university operates. We have lofty goals and believe the roadmap presented in this 2011-16 Campus Technology Plan will have a long-lasting contribution and effect on the mission of NKU. As an alumnus of NKU, I could not be more proud of this institution and look forward to a tomorrow full of endless possibilities. Sincerely, TIM FERGUSON
Associate Provost and CIO, Office of Information Technology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Letter from the Provost
2 Letter from IT Advisory Council Chair
3 Acknowledgement of Contributors
5 NKU Strategic Plan
6 NKU Points of Focus 2012-14
8 Campus Technology Plan
9 Planning Process
12 Introduction 12 Themes 13 Strategies 14 Goals 19 Strategic Metrics
FROM THE PROVOST I am pleased to endorse the NKU Campus Technology Plan. This plan supports NKU’s mission and vision to be a premier comprehensive, metropolitan university that prepares students for life and work in a global society. The appropriate integration of technology has become increasingly important in every aspect of NKU’s work and has become a part of our organizational culture. As such, the success of the plan is dependent on collaboration across all divisions. The successful utilization of technology as outlined in this plan will increase institutional effectiveness and positively impact overall student success. Indeed, technology has become an integral part of the university as enrollment rates continue to rise and we strive to increase retention rates, decrease time to graduation, grow new online programs and enhance teaching/learning with technology that provides value added to both content and pedagogy. This plan encourages us to explore new innovative and emerging technologies that can propel NKU’s teaching and learning into the 21st century. In preparing this Campus Technology Plan, the Office of Information Technology received input from all areas of campus and also used the feedback from Huron and Gartner, which included hundreds of interviews. This was a significant effort by many individuals on campus both internal and external to OIT. The implementation of the plan will require collaboration across the full breadth of the university and as a result will benefit the entire university, students, faculty, staff, programs and community. This plan will be a dynamic document that will be constantly updated as we work together to meet our mission. Sincerely, GAIL WELLS
Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs
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LETTER FROM IT ADVISORY COUNCIL CHAIR As chair of the Information Technology Advisory Council, I am privileged to have provided input and support for the first Campus Technology Plan. I believe that technology is one of the core components in a productive learning environment. ITAC is a representative body of faculty and staff acting in an advisory capacity for the Office of Information Technology. The purpose of ITAC is to: Provide a forum for faculty and staff to advise OIT on academic and administrative technologies. Explore how technology may be used to further the mission of the university. Recommend solutions to challenges being posed where technology can aid.
In the last year, ITAC has had the opportunity to provide input and recommendations to key areas in support of the Campus Technology Plan. ITAC members had the opportunity to provide inputs to both Huron Consulting and Gartner Inc. on campus efficiency and technology plan initiatives. I am excited about the collaborative relationship ITAC has forged with IT and look forward to the continued success in the implementation of the Campus Technology Plan. KENNETH S. RHEE, PH.D.
Associate Professor and Director, Executive Leadership and Organizational Change Editor, SCR Annual Advances in Business Cases Department of Management Haile/U.S. Bank College of Business
Campus Technology Plan 2011-16 | 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF CONTRIBUTORS The Office of Information Technology would like to thank the following individuals who were directly involved in creating the Campus Technology Plan. Dr. James Votruba
President
Administrative
Dr. Gail Wells
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Katie Bontrager Executive Director, Office of Institutional Research and Analysis Dr. Zebulun Davenport Vice President, Student Affairs Michele Hall Registrar Russ Kerdolff Comptroller Ken Kline Senior Director, Budget Office Dr. Sue Hodges Moore Vice President, Policy Planning and Budget Dr. Susan Mospens Director, Student Achievement Center Ken Ramey Vice President for Administration and Finance Kim Schraffenberger Senior Analyst, Planning and Budget Sara Sidebottom Vice President, Legal Affairs Marilou Singleton Director, Advancement Services Lori Southwood Senior Director, Human Resources Kathy Steffen Assistant Athletic Director Leah Stewart Director of Financial Aid Jeff Strunk Director, Procurement Services
Academic
Kevin Golden President, Student Government Association Austin Green Senator-at-large, Student Government Association Dr. Charles Hawkins Faculty Regent and Professor of Physics Dr. Kevin Kirby Interim Dean, College of Informatics Dr. Diana McGill Chair, Department of Chemistry Dr. Douglas Perry Dean, College of Informatics Dr. Kenneth Rhee Associate Professor and Director, Executive Leadership and Organizational Change Dr. Denise Robinson Dean, College of Health Professions Dr. Tracey Sigler Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Management Dr. Mark Wasicsko Dean, College of Education and Human Services
IT Advisory Council Dr. Kenneth Rhee Chris Bowling Lisa Bunkley-Boyd Shannon Eastep JoAnn Fincken Mary Gers Diane Gronefeld Michael Hatton Dr. Charles Hawkins Dr. Gary Johnston Kris Lovett Dr. Ellen Maddin Dr. Diana McGill Steve Nienaber Dina Neumann Dr. Toru Sakaguchi Chris Strobel Dr. Steve Wilkinson
Chair, ITAC Staff Faculty Faculty Staff Faculty Faculty Faculty Faculty Faculty Staff Faculty Faculty Staff Staff Faculty Faculty Faculty
Office of Information Technology Tim Ferguson Associate Provost and CIO Kathy Bennett Director, Research and Development Meredith Brennan Senior Manager, Special Projects Bert Brown Director, Customer Systems Bob Byles Associate Director, SAP Development Linda Davis Finance Senior Business Analyst, Enterprise Services Kim Heimbrock Director, Policy and Compliance Sarah Mann Associate Director, Instructional Technology Lori McMillin Business Manager Kim Taylor Associate Director, Enterprise Services Doug Wells Director, Infrastructure Theresa Westlund HR Senior Business Analyst, Enterprise Services
“Strong overall IT performance compared to peer institutions.” Gartner
“Universal Wi-Fi, 24-hour support, modern equipment, frequent opportunities for training on the best and newest developments in educational technology make us the envy of our peers and position us well for the demands of hi-tech, hi-touch education.” Dr. Mark Wasicsko Dean and Bank of Kentucky Chair in Educational Leadership College of Education and Human Services
Campus Technology Plan 2011-16 | 4
NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY STRATEGIC PLAN Vision Statement Northern Kentucky University will be nationally recognized as the premier comprehensive, metropolitan university that prepares students for life and work in a global society and provides leadership to advance the intellectual, social, economic, cultural, and civic vitality of its region and of the commonwealth. Mission Statement The mission of Northern Kentucky University is to educate students to succeed in their chosen life roles; be informed, contributing members of their communities – regionally, nationally and internationally; and pursue satisfying and fulfilling lives. The university will offer a comprehensive array of baccalaureate and master’s programs as well as law and other selected doctoral programs that meet regional needs. To read more of the university misson statement, visit http://nku.edu/ about/mission.php. Core Values NKU is committed to:
Placing learners and their learning at the center of all that we do.
The highest standards of excellence in every dimension of our work.
Access to education that holds high expectations for all students and provides support for their success.
Public engagement that advances the progress of the region and commonwealth.
Intellectual and creative freedom and the free expression of ideas.
A culture of openness and inclusion that values diversity in people and ideas.
A work environment that encourages and rewards innovation and creativity.
A campus climate that supports collegiality, collaboration and civility.
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NKU POINTS OF FOCUS 2012-14
Student success.
Teaching and learning.
Scholarship and public engagement.
Enrollment management.
Funding and resource development.
Organizational effectiveness.
“NKU students have access to more than just a great faculty and staff; they have access to some of the world’s most sophisticated technology.” President James Vortruba
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Campus Technology Plan 2011-16 |6
OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Campus Technology Plan 2011-16
CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY PLAN Our 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. Our Mission The mission of the Office of Information Technology, in support of the strategic goals of the university, is to provide the 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: 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.
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.
Assist and support the northern Kentucky region to achieve educational excellence through advanced and efficient technology solutions.
Provide a robust, high-performance, and secure IT infrastructure for university resources and information.
Evaluate and implement emerging technologies to provide solutions that enhance processes and improve services for the university and community.
Provide training and support for the university community in the use of advanced software and educational tools through a highly skilled technical staff.
Campus Technology Plan 2011-16 | 8
PLANNING PROCESS The technology plan was created following campuswide discussions, interviews, strategic planning sessions, and analysis of internal and external data. In fall 2010, the Office of Information Technology engaged Gartner, a research and consulting organization, to assist OIT in the development of a strategic plan that resulted in this Campus Technology Plan. Gartner is an organization with more than 4,300 associates globally providing research, consulting and additional services to nearly 11,000 organizations worldwide. It has been providing research and advisory services for more than 30 years. Gartner is respected as the premier expert on information technology worldwide. Within Gartner, a dedicated team of research analysts are focusing on issues and emerging trends pertinent to education (K-12 and higher education).
Gartner consultants interviewed 55 individuals across campus including administrators, deans, chairs, faculty, Information Technology Advisory Council members and IT personnel. To facilitate the planning process, OIT provided Gartner with additional information relative to the review. Utilizing this information, Gartner performed a comparative analysis between NKU’s technology budget and other highereducation institutions. Gartner reviewed our current infrastructure, systems, educational technology and many other areas to accomplish its work. In winter 2010, NKU engaged Huron Consulting Group to conduct a campus-wide efficiency study. Huron Consulting Group helps clients in diverse industries improve performance, comply with complex regulations, reduce costs, recover from distress, leverage technology and stimulate growth. Huron’s professionals have helped organizations operating
October 2010
August 2010
• RFP response was reviewed. • Vendors were interviewed. • The Office of Information Technology selected Gartner to assist.
• RFP was issued.
November 2010
September 2010 • Proposals were received.
• The planning process began. • Gartner interviewed 55 individuals. • Gartner held a conference call with IT Advisory Council.
in virtually every industry, and its clients include many of the nation’s Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, healthcare companies, government agencies, research universities, academic medical centers and premier law firms. Huron’s services are provided through the following three business segments: Health and Education Consulting, Financial Consulting, and Legal Consulting.
EDUCAUSE researchers, peer institutions and community members collaborate annually to produce IT-related information, analysis, reports and other publications that result in the CDS. The EDUCAUSE CDS database was filtered for data responses from NKU’s institutional peers, and the information was reviewed and analyzed while developing this plan.
Huron consultants interviewed more than 240 individuals at all levels of the university. Findings from the Huron study were also incorporated in this plan. Additional Inputs As part of our benchmarking exercise, OIT participates in EDUCAUSE’s Core Data Service by completing its annual survey. EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.
December 2010 Fall 2011
• OIT campus technology planning team worked closely with Gartner to provide requested information.
• The Campus Technology Plan became available.
Spring 2011
January 2011 • Final data was gathered. • Gartner provided an initial data analysis.
• Gartner conducted an on-site validation workshop to review findings and recommendations. • The Campus Technology Plan was created as Gartner, Huron and EDUCAUSE inputs were received. • Campus constituents reviewed the plan.
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Other EDUCAUSE resources that are used on an ongoing basis include:
Below are some of the results.
Best Practices for higher education technology implementations.
Computer Labs
Research regarding trends in higher education relative to student expectations.
EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative.
Research around emerging areas such as mobile and online learning.
Throughout the planning process, EDUCAUSE resources were used to complement the findings and information. Ever-evolving technology and changing student demands will continue to impact those we serve as well as what, where, when and how we serve them.
Information from two internal surveys was analyzed and the results from those surveys were incorporated into the overall Campus Technology Plan. Those surveys were the Fall 2010 IT Student Survey and the 2011 Faculty Priority Survey. IT Student Survey 2010 During the fall of 2010, the Office of Information Technology and the Information Technology Advisory Council distributed an IT student survey in an effort to better understand the changing needs of NKU students. Nearly 2,000 students completed the survey.
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30%
70%
Only 30 percent of NKU students indicated that they use campus computer labs on a regular basis. (Nationally, the trend in higher education institutions is a reduction of campus computer labs and re-appropriation of funding to support other student initiatives.)
Student Technology
60%
40%
More than 60 percent of NKU students bring a laptop to campus for their classes and other activities.
60%
70%
30%
About 70 percent of NKU students have smartphones.
80%
+
40%
Almost 60 percent of NKU students have data plans for their mobile devices.
20%
More than 80 percent of NKU students use laptops, tablets or iPads for school-related work.
CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY PLAN INTRODUCTION
CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY PLAN THEMES
The Campus Technology Plan is composed of four parts: themes, strategies, goals and metrics.
There are four basic concepts that embody OIT’s approach to implementing the technology plan:
The plan aligns with the university’s strategy and direction and will be updated accordingly (as NKU updates its strategic plan). The plan will also be reviewed and revised as new technologies emerge within higher education.
ENGAGE | SERVICE | IMPACT | INNOVATE
Engage – Communicate, collaborate and contribute to teaching, learning, scholarship and research endeavors to enhance the student experience and promote university success.
NKU Strategic Planning
Campus Technology Planning
(OIT Annual Report)
Service – Provide effective, efficient and proactive support to campus by fostering a positive, respectful and welcoming environment.
VISION MISSION STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Assessment & Improvement
Impact – Implement solutions that maximize efficiencies, improve processes and increase productivity.
Performance & Execution (Annual Objectives)
Innovate – Exploit disruptive technology and leverage new technologies that will transform the university.
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STRATEGIES There are four key strategies that represent the core of the Campus Technology Plan:
Impact Student Success & Learning Outcomes This strategy places learners and their learning at the center of all we do at the university. It focuses on students’ technology experiences inside and outside of the classroom, ensuring academic quality. Optimize University Operations This approach seeks to enhance the university’s technology-based operations and systems, increasing both OIT and institutional effectiveness.
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Strive for Information Technology Excellence This plan of action aims for the highest standards of excellence in every dimension of our work, including service, resource management, and policies and standards. Strengthen the Information Technology Infrastructure This strategy addresses ways to build upon the university’s current information technology infrastructure, creating a more powerful and secure foundation for daily use and in the event of a disaster.
GOALS To make progress toward our strategies, OIT will execute goal-based projects. (In some cases, goals are applicable to multiple strategies; however, in this plan, goals are listed once to avoid redundancy.) The goals for the next five years are outlined below. 1. Impact Student Success & Learning Outcomes
Student Information Systems – Provide integration for technology solutions that support recruitment, retention, academic achievement and alumni relations.
Student Engagement – Expand technology resources that provide venues for student interaction with faculty and staff both inside and outside the classroom.
Student Experience – Expand and improve student self-service capabilities and implement additional mobile functionality.
Student Service – Support technologies that enhance student services by providing faculty and staff with improved connectivity, communication tools and access to information via tracking and reporting.
Enhanced Learning Environments – Ensure that all
physical and virtual learning spaces have reliable, current technology that accommodates a variety of learning and teaching styles.
Ubiquitous Learning – Provide systems and infrastructure to support learning and improve access to education through the use of innovative, online, mobile and emerging technologies.
Instructional Technology Integration – Expand training and support to ensure the effective use of technology in the design, development and delivery of course content.
Some initiatives that will impact student success and learning outcomes include: Pursuing an aggressive campus investment in smart classrooms. Collaborating with academia in the research and adoption of new and emerging technology in the classroom. Supporting the expansion of the academic software portfolio.
Campus Technology Plan 2011-16 |14
Supporting faculty and the creation of their course materials by providing instructional design resources.
Providing faculty with additional support as lecture capture is integrated into more online and face-toface courses.
Providing training and support for integration of technology in collaboration with a faculty mobile work group for exploration.
Enhancing administrative systems and expanding self-service and mobile offerings to improve the student experience.
Developing academic technology replacement strategies that leverage virtual environments and student/faculty personally owned devices for learning anywhere, anytime as it relates to technology labs and faculty access to technology.
2. Optimize University Operations
Continuous Process Improvement – Support the university’s efforts to improve technology-based business processes in order to maximize organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
Enhance Operational Reporting – Identify and address reporting gaps that support critical business processes.
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Employee Experience – Expand and support selfservice functionality.
Business Intelligence – Provide an enterprise business intelligence environment that supports analytical reporting and contributes to enhanced decisionmaking across the university.
Unified Communication and Collaboration – Provide integrated solutions that increase effectiveness of communications among faculty, staff and students.
Social Mobile Web – Leverage NKU’s online presence in support of recruitment, outreach, learning, marketing and communications.
Some initiatives that will optimize university operations include:
Continuing to leverage our SAP investment by collaborating with campus constituents to determine projects of most value to the campus.
Providing additional self-service capabilities to employees and managers.
Collaborating with functional areas to improve business processes.
Transitioning to a new web content management system supporting web 2.0 technologies.
Providing additional reports to support analytics and dashboard reporting.
Providing simplified and integrated forums for university communications via unified voicemail, email initiatives, campus-wide digital signage and collaboration platforms.
3. Strive for Information Technology Operational Excellence
Policies & Standards – Optimize IT processes by enabling consistent use of standard tools, best practices and innovative technologies.
Governance – Engage faculty and staff in establishing priorities through an improved, transparent and effective governance structure.
Resource Management – Establish effective strategies for planning, monitoring and managing IT resources, including organizational, financial and other university assets.
Transformation through Innovation – Research opportunities to use disruptive technologies and new delivery models to support the long-term vision, objectives and strategies of the university.
Information technology-specific initiatives for operational excellence include:
Investing in the development of faculty and staff by offering trainings on existing and new technology products as well as new smart classroom technologies.
Organizational Effectiveness – Evaluate and improve service to provide the most efficient structure and best customer experience.
Campus Technology Plan 2011-16 | 16
Developing new models to provide campus support, including liaison support and centralized support model for SAP/myNKU end users.
Establishing a technology roadmap that encourages explorations, pilots, evaluations and the adoption of innovative technology practices and tools to support campus across academia and administration.
Improving governance processes by working toward effective and transparent processes that better optimize resources.
Determining methods for continuous improvement of IT budget allocation best practices demonstrating positive improvement toward the run, grow and transform target percentages of 60-20-20. (“Run” represents on-going operations and is usually associated with non-discretionary investments. “Grow” represents investments needed to develop or enhance IT solutions to support scalable business growth. These are usually discretionary investments. “Transform” represents investments needed to provide IT solutions that fundamentally support a changed business model. These are nondiscretionary investments. OIT currently spends 90 percent of its time in “run” to keep IT-related things at NKU going, hence the desire to shift into “grow” and “transform.”)
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Educating all IT employees on the importance of information technology infrastructure library best practices in service management and initiating process workshops to create our baseline for ITIL implementation.
Dedicating resources to focus on next-generation technologies and their impact on the university.
4. Strengthen Information Technology Infrastructure
Enterprise Architecture – Provide system architecture designed for maximum availability, high performance and feature-rich business applications. Implement, support and maintain campus application architecture to assist in achieving the university goals.
Infrastructure Services – Expand and maintain reliable, flexible infrastructure services including network, telecommunications and system storage performance.
Business Continuity – Create and implement a longterm strategy for disaster recovery.
Information Security – Implement security systems to protect and monitor campus technology solutions. Improve university awareness and education.
Data Architecture – Provide methods to design,
construct and implement a consolidated, universitydriven data resource.
Identity Management – Provide a robust account management process integrated with all systems.
A reliable and secure infrastructure is achieved through servers, network equipment, wiring and software (that keeps everything running). Initiatives to strengthen infrastructure include:
Expanding cloud computing. Student email has been successfully migrated to the cloud for more than a year. We are currently working on the migration of faculty/staff email.
Providing the best service to campus. Whenever new solutions are offered, we often analyze sourcing strategies to determine which solution is the best fit for campus.
Broadening thin-client technology on campus. (A thin client is a computer that is connected to a server and has a bare minimum operating system and no hard drive.) This allows IT to repurpose old and current equipment (by using thin-client software that is controlled by the server), offer remote computer lab access to students, display computer software more quickly and reduce the amount of time spent on maintenance.
Working with the state of Kentucky to upgrade our current bandwidth and improve the Kentucky Universities Network.
Determining cost-effective disaster recovery solutions by collaborating with other universities to provide critical system availability in the event of a disaster.
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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 Success and Learning Outcomes
Strengthen Information Technology Infrastructure
Refresh 20 percent of all classroom technologies.
Increase by 10 percent the number of course sections using lecture capture technology.
Measure application availability with a goal of 99.999 percent data center availability for critical business systems.
Increase IT’s funding for academic software by 30 percent.
Measure network connectivity (wired/wireless) to verify that 99 percent of campus is covered. Fill in coverage holes as needed.
Optimize University Operations
Increase the number of systems and data sets that are integrated into NKU’s Enterprise Architecture.
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.
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.
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“To ensure student success, a university must have an IT department that is bold enough to provide a state-of-the-art infrastructure for learning, while at the same time being accessible, responsive and secure. NKU is fortunate enough to have an Office of Information Technology that rises to the challenge.” Dr. Kevin Kirby Dean (Interim), College of Informatics
Published October 2011 by Office of the Chief Information Officer Northern Kentucky University Lucas Administrative Center 507 Highland Heights, Kentucky 41099 Phone: (859) 572-5272 Web: Email:
Scan the QR code to visit the IT web site.
Copyright 2011, 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.