IT Strategic Plan: Strategic Initiatives 2004-2007

Revised April 2005

Strategic Initiatives 4-6 (2004-2007)

  1. Enhance Campus Web Services

    1. Develop enhanced services for faculty and staff to use in Web site development. Deploy PHP/MySQL to enable Weblog applications and other custom database applications. Explore the value of Weblog technology as it relates to the University. Identify the role IT units will have in supporting Weblogs. [2005; TLT, CC, CIS, WEB, LIB]
    2. Develop a form generation application that allows users to generate secure Web forms to collect survey research data. Application has been tested and is ready for production. [2005-2006; WEB; requires ½ new position]
    3. Develop a secure database service. At this time, IT does not have the personnel or servers required to support the storage of sensitive data. There is a widespread need for this service to support research as well as institutional information. [2004-2006; CIS, WEB; requires ½ new position]
    4. Encourage colleges and departments to use centralized Web services rather than managing Web servers at the unit level. This eliminates unnecessary and costly duplication of services that needlessly complicates the user environment and compromises network security. [2003-2007; WEB]
    5. Create and implement guidelines for Web page design. [2005; WEB]
    6. Continue the simplification of content management by encouraging broader use of Macromedia Contribute. Expand departmental site redesign program from 20 sites per year to 30 per year using the established methodology for the design and deployment of template-based Web sites. [2005; WEB; requires new position]
    7. Build and maintain Web sites that are accessible to people with disabilities. Continue monitoring the applicability of Section 508 and ADA to the University’s Web presence. Strengthen accessibility policy and training in this area. [2004-2006; WEB]

       

  2. Improve productivity services for faculty and staff.

    1. Improve centralized UNIX-based e-mail services for faculty and staff.
      1. Create a fully redundant and robust e-mail service for current Equinox mail users. Migrate users to the new service. [2005; CIS]
      2. Enhance anti-spam services. Allow users to opt-in to the service and choose service parameters. [2005; CIS, CC]
      3. Move all mailing lists from Equinox to a special-purpose server. [2005; CC]
    2. Expand Microsoft Exchange services to additional users. MS Exchange is the system that has been selected for users who require shared calendaring, personal productivity tools, and collaboration tools that cannot be as readily supported on UNIX e-mail. The goal is to expand the availability of centrally provided MS Exchange services to support 3,000 users, making it unnecessary for departments to run their own Exchange mail servers. [2004-2006; CIS; additional funding required]
    3. Evaluate campus licensing of Adobe Acrobat (full version). Most University desktops have a version of Adobe Acrobat installed. Forty percent of installations are Adobe Acrobat (full version), which is necessary for generating PDFs and for working with advanced forms. [2005; CC]
    4. Ensure that faculty staff, and vendors can securely access computing and information services from off-campus. Access to computing resources from off-campus must be controlled due to security and licensing concerns. Simultaneously improve security and usability of remote access services.

      Microsoft Terminal Services 2003 has been determined to be the preferred method for allowing remote secure access to the network. Proof of concept has been successful and production equipment will be deployed. [2005; CIS,CC]

      Investigate secure file access methods such as WebDAV over SSL, Web-based messaging over SSL connections, or any technology that makes access to resources easier for the user while minimizing internal support requirements. [2004-2005; CC]

  3. Serve as a partner in creating a superior technology-assisted learning environment for students and faculty.

    1. Increase students’ access to computers.
      1. Increase the number of public workstations in the Libraries. [2005; Libraries]
      2. Increase the number of laptops with wireless cards available for checkout to students. [2004-2005; TLT]
      3. Work with Residential Life and Housing to establish two technical Resident Assistant positions to support computer use and the computer labs in the residence halls. [2005; VPIT, CC]
      4. Explore partnerships with Dell to encourage students to purchase standard configurations of laptops. [2004-2005; CC]
    2. Recommend a strategy for “e-portfolio” development. [2005; TLT, CC, CIS, WEB]
    3. Create a mechanism for Academic Faculty to submit grades electronically. [2005; CIS]
    4. Develop guidelines for distributing IT funds for informational and instructional technology projects. [2005; TLT, VPIT]
    5. Increase support for faculty using WebCT (course management software). WebCT impacts over 650 courses/sections with 11,000-plus student accounts. The growth of online instruction has been exceptional over the past four years with no expected decline in growth for the near term. To meet demand for support for recent and anticipated growth, additional staff will be needed. [2005-2006; TLT; funding for one full-time administrative faculty position]
    6. Create performance measures for the use of classroom technology and online learning. Evaluate how much the technology is being used and how effectively the technology is adopted. Work with faculty and provide them with data to be used in assessing classroom technology and online learning. [2004-2006; TLT]
    7. Expand support for classroom instructional technology.
      1. Update and/or replace classroom instructional equipment on a 3-to-5-year cycle, depending on type of equipment. Funding has been identified for life-cycle replacement of equipment in existing level-4 classrooms, level-5 classrooms and equipment in the pool for lower classroom levels. Identify a stable funding source to support equipment replacement in conference rooms and specialized labs. [2004-2006; TLT, VPIT]
      2. Work with faculty, students, university administrators, and Facilities Services to establish campus standards for instructional equipment in the classroom. [2005; TLT, VPIT]
      3. Finalize initiatives already underway to establish systems that will remotely monitor, troubleshoot, and administer classroom projectors and computers over the campus network. [2005-2006, TLT]
      4. Evaluate newer technologies for applicability to the University’s teaching and learning processes. Examples: (a) annotation through electronic whiteboards or pen-tablet computers, (b) recording class sessions and posting on the Web through a streaming server, (c) haptic devices, (d) 3-D imaging, (e) immersive displays. [2005-2007; TLT]
      5. Collect data to determine the effectiveness of instruction that is being given to faculty in the use of classroom equipment. Faculty increasingly use media-based teaching materials, which creates a greater need for training. The primary goal in training both faculty and students in classroom-based technologies is to instill a sense of self-sufficiency. [2005; TLT]
    8. Develop strategies for supporting student and faculty use of information in digital formats.
      1. Assist in making information literacy an integral part of the University of Nevada, Reno, experience, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Pilot an information literacy model in a “core” undergraduate class such as English 102. [2005; LIB]
      2. Identify information literacy outcomes for the undergraduate experience at the University. [2005; LIB]
      3. Develop an online course evaluation instrument to obtain student and faculty perceptions of the value of the library instructional program. [2005-2006; LIB]
      4. Develop a coordinated program of services to support students and faculty in using digital images and streaming media for instructional purposes. Integrate digital media elements into authored multimedia products for classroom as well as distance education applications. [2004-2008; TLT, LIB]
      5. Design, develop, and support facilities where faculty, staff, and students can create digital multimedia projects. Planning is underway for a facility in the Knowledge Center, which is to open in 2008. Expanded services will require additional permanent staffing. [2004-2008; TLT]
      6. Determine the feasibility of expanding professional media production. IT receives requests to produce analog and digital media in support of instruction, research, and service. In some instances broadcast quality media must be locally produced to service commercial media markets. [2005; TLT]