Information Technology Services Annual Report, 2002-03

Michael R. Sherer, Director of Information Technology

Executive Summary
ITS played a significant role in helping the institution meet its financial objectives, cutting over $150,000 out of its budget and cutting 2 positions from staff over the past two years while reorganizing in ways that maintained or improved service levels.  ITS gained efficiency by transitioning the campus from Novell to Linux for file and print services and from Netscape to open source mail servers (summer 2002), saving $9,000 annually in licensing and approximately 0.5 FTE.  ITS also played a significant role in the success of the new Music Center in its first year of operation, and in the successful launch of the Goshen College Office of Conferences and Events, which has brought a new level of professionalism to event coordination at GC. Other significant improvements to the campus IT environment include upgrading all dorms to 10/100 switched ethernet, creation of a new online admissions application, e-commerce capabilities, OS upgrades to Windows XP and MacOS X, and two major upgrades to our administrative systems. In spite of challenging times, ITS continues to set a high standard for quality, efficiency, innovation and service, delivering world-class infrastructure and services that support the academic and administrative mission of the college.

Achievements of 2002-03
Computing
o  Upgraded all lab computers in Summer 2002 to Athlon XP 1700 and PowerMac G4 733 models. Low-end computers on campus are now Pentium III/600's and iMac 333's.
o  Migrated to Linux for file and print services in Fall of 2002.  This move saved $7,000 in licensing fees and approximately 0.5 FTE in system administration.  In a recent survey of ICI schools, GC offered by far the most network storage to their students--over 500 MB for mail, web and file storage, where some schools are offering 50 MB or even none.
o  Upgraded all dorms to 10/100 switched ethernet in Fall of 2002.  By using commodity unmanaged switches, ITS kept the cost of this project under $7,000, one fifth of the cost of the original electronics purchased in 1997.
o  Transitioning to a four-year replacement cycle in summer 2003 to reflect the longer functional lifespan of computers.  
o  Added virus scanning and spam filtering to the new GC Mail Server.
o  Took 17" monitors off the hardware cycle to reflect the fact that they do not become obsolete and may last beyond four years.  
o  Upgraded Mac Lab to Mac OS X in Fall of 2002.

Data Systems
o  Upgraded to Teams Elite 8 in January and Teams Elite 9 in June.
o  Upgraded to Oracle 9i on Linux in June 2003. We are seeing significant performance improvements on the new system.
o  Moved from tape to portable hard drives as a means for backing up administrative data.  Data are stored in two off-site locations.
o   Built an admissions online application form with e-commerce capabilities.

Media
o  Added DVD production capacity with iDVD and DVD Studio Pro and a SuperDrive-equipped PowerMac.
o  Supported Call Grant and Plowshares Grants with Video Conferencing Classroom design.
o  Significantly involved with start-up issues in the Music Center related to systems, policies and procedures
o  I continue to be concerned about this area as it is under-funded and under-staffed relative to what it is being asked to do.  I am requesting a half-time grant-funded position to help get us through the ramp-up period in the Music Center.

Events
o  Assisted in reorganizing event coordination at GC.  Hired Sue Plank to head the Office of Conferences and Events. Sue has brought a new level of professionalism to event coordination at GC, while solving many of the organizational, policy, procedural and pricing issues that have plagued this area previously.
o  ITS played a significant role in installing network, computing and AV systems in the new Music Center and operating and supporting those systems throughout the year.
o  ITS played a leadership role in establishing a viable support plan for the Music Center in the face of limited funds.

New for Fall 2003
o  All PC's will be upgraded to Windows XP; all Macs to Mac OS X.
o  A parallel wireless network designed for coverage, ease of use and ease of management.
o  A revamped account creation and maintenance system that moves the process into HR and Admissions, improving service and efficiency.
o  A staff online timecard
o  A peer mentor database
o  An alumni portal for GC Online
o  An enterprise web content management system.
o  Additional internet bandwidth
o  Blackboard 6 enterprise course management system--an upgrade from Blackboard 5 Basic
o  Video Conferencing classroom in Wyse 3rd.
o  New library computer lab
o  Addition of Vita House to the campus network
o  Rewired Howell house

Key Performance Indicators
ITS continually monitors size, cost, performance, and capacity of our IT infrastructure, along with the breadth of services provided.  For comparison, we rely on data from the COSTS project and EduCause Core Data survey as well as data from prior years.  For example, ITS budget is expected to rise less than 2% this year, in spite of the fact that there was no computer upgrade in last year's budget. With the exception of 2002-03, the budget for 2003-04 will be the lowest since 1996-97.  ITS staffing levels (13.37 FTE) are at their lowest since 99-00.  This is in spite of a growing array of services, the addition of wireless networking and mobile computing, and near peak numbers of systems and servers.  Core IT makes up approximately 4.1% of the annual GC budget, putting GC near the median for IT spending vs comparison schools.  ITS Media tracks late requests, number, location and complexity of events, number and location of projects.  This past year, the new Music Center accounted for nearly half the project load in ITS Media.

Challenges
The challenges for ITS all have financial overtones. How to provide high-quality service, attract and retain high-quality personnel, focus on strategic use of technology, become progressively more efficient, stay abreast of rapidly changing technologies, and create a stimulating, rewarding work environment, all in the context of constrained resources.

Goals and Strategies
My overarching goal would be to attract enough resources into the IT area to address the challenges listed above. I am pursuing a strategy that combines entrepreneurial use of GC's studio space, Audio/Video production capacity, and IT development capacity, along with grant writing, to generate those resources.  The model for grants would be collaborative partnerships between ITS and departments that use IT creatively to strengthen programs.  In the area of pure IT goals, I want to have a clear road map for administrative systems and solid strategies in the area of storage management, web content management, and smart card services in place over the next 1 to 3 years.  I also want to continue to leverage open source, free technologies as a strategic advantage for the institution.

Where do you want to be five years from now?
In five years, I want people to say that ITS played a substantive role in the return of Goshen College to prominence as a national liberal arts college and a leader of Mennonite Higher Education; that ITS facilitated a successful NCA review; that it strengthened individual departments; that it helped with recruiting, retention and development goals; that IT is integrated into the strategic planning fabric of the institution; that ITS is well-run, efficient, innovative, service-oriented, and provides one of the best small college IT environments on the planet.