Information Technology Services Annual Report, 2003-04

Michael R. Sherer, Director of  Information Technology

Executive Summary

The ITS Agenda for 2003-04 was heavily influenced by projects and needs in other areas of the institution--the renovation of Wyse Hall, the building of the KMY connector, the Plowshares grant, the AdmitGold project, the Career Mentor project, LGI and the Plato project, Online Giving, the Church Chapel renovation, leadership transition at WGCS, the creation of the Office of Conferences and Events and institution of a strategic calendar management team all consumed large amounts of staff time beyond normal maintenance and operations.

This academic year was also significant for the increased level of virus, worm and other security-related issues across the internet. While we survived the year with only minor service outages, it was not without some heroics on the part of ITS technical and support staff. ITS has adjusted to reduced staffing levels and reduced budgets while continuing to add services and improve service levels.  This combined with rising security and service demands is a major concern--that we will not be able to increase efficiencies rapidly enough to offset the rising demand for services and support. Already, we are experiencing some overload in the technical area.

Other significant improvements to the campus included the addition of IP video-conferencing capabilities in Wyse Hall, increased internet bandwidth from 2 to 5 T1's and the beginnings of a transition to 64 bit computing on servers and desktops. In spite of the financial and staffing challenges, 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 2003-04
Computing
o  Upgraded all campus computers to Windows XP and Mac OS X. Budget constraints and a shift to a four-year replace cycle meant there were only about 50 new systems purchased.  Low-end computers on campus for 2003-04 were Pentium III/600's and PowerMac G4 400's and for 2004-05 will be 1 Ghz Athlon PC's and PowerMac G4 400's.
o  Upgraded Mac Lab in Summer of 2003 to 1 gigahertz eMacs.
o  New lab standards for PC's will be Athlon 64's with DVD burners and 17" LCD screens. Lab Mac standards are projected to be a 1.25 Ghz eMac with SuperDrive with high-end G5's in strategic locations.
o  The Goshen College Record added a 13 x 19 proofing inkjet printer and now prints issues in color. Layout was switched from Quark XPress to Adobe InDesign. The Record is the first student newspaper at a Mennonite College to print in color.
o  Came in under budget in a fiscally challenging year, while making significant improvements to the campus IT environment.

Network Services
o  Upgraded to Blackboard Enterprise Learning System version 6.0
o  Made significant improvements to GC's spam and virus control systems.
o  Created a separate wireless network to achieve the goal providing a zero-configuration wireless service that is open, yet securable.
o  Minimized network and service downtime in the midst of the worst year on record for virus, worm and hacker activity.
o  Upgraded wiring from Category 3 to Category 5e in Admissions to meet increased network demands of GoldMine contact management software.  A similar upgrade is planned for Newcomer Center south wing.  That will mean that all significant instances of category 3 wiring on campus will have been eliminated.

Data Systems
o  Our primary database server was upgraded to a dual Opteron server.
o  Assisted Admissions in implementing AdmitGold and synchronizing data with our main administrative system.
o  Implemented the Caravel Web Content Management system.  The new server, currently in testing, integrates existing web content and new content managed sites, allowing for a smooth, low-cost transition.
o  Upgraded to Open LDAP 2.1
o  Backing up administrative systems onto USB 2.0 portable hard drives.  
o  Reorganized web/database development to rely less on student labor, creating a team of three staff developers.

Media
o Hired Todd Hershberger with Plowshares funding (approximately half-time) to assist with high-end audio support and event support.  Todd allowed us to bring the Performing Arts series audio in-house at substantial savings [how much?]
o  Renovated AV systems in College Church chapel, adding two projectors and two motorized screen resulting in significant labor savings in setup and tear-down for chapel convo and other events.
o  Bought 8 Sony 3000 lumen LCD projectors on auction at $2,000/ea. and placed them in key classrooms.
o  Purchased a Rimage DVD/CD duplicator
 o Installed two multimedia classrooms in Wyse hall and equipped one with a complex videoconferencing setup for distance learning.  Provided portable videoconferencing services for a number of plowshares-related discussions. 
 o Facilitated faculty transition at WGCS and developed plan for technical infrastructure improvements
 o Installed Crestron Roomview remote management software in 5 classrooms to assist in timely support for teaching faculty
 o Provided equipment, support and consultation for three Plowshares related video productions, including two that traveled internationally
 o Worked with Brian Wiebe to develop a dollar amount in Music Center budget (for 04-05) for equipment, repairs and consumables so as to reduce such spending from the ITSMedia budget.
 o Served avg of 35 plus persons per day in the office (have to double check those figures)

Events
o  Hired an administrative assistant to Sue Plank
o  Newly air-conditioned residences enabled GC to attract Conn-Selmer University and helped raise overall summer bookings.
o  Continued to reduce the deficit inherited from the previous system.
o  Instituted a strategic calendar management committee and systems for better managing internal events.

New for 2004-05
o  GC becomes the first college in the world to move to all 64 bit hardware in its public computer labs.
o  Over 100 new Athlon 64 PC's in public labs, equipped with DVD burners and 17" LCD monitors.
o  20 new dual processor G5 PowerMacs w/ 20" LCD monitors strategic placed locations on campus.
o  A revamped LDAP infrastructure
o  New email, web and file servers.
o  An enterprise web content management system integrated into existing webspace.

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.  These national surveys give us useful generalizations for understanding our performance relative to other colleges across the nation.  These would include:  GC is more centralized in its IT services than most institutions (this is good, especially for a small institution), GC's budgeting ratio of staff to equipment is significantly higher than most institutions (which indicates that we have been highly effective at wringing cost out of the hardware/software area), our ratio of computers per student FTE is higher than the median (because of our enrollment challenges over the past several years), GC's spending on technology expressed as percent of overall budget and as dollars/faculty FTE are near the mean, while spending per student is significantly higher than the mean (again, because of enrollment).  

Challenges
Most of the challenges for ITS 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. This environment is causing overwork for some key technical staff, with demand for services outstripping our ability achieve new efficiencies.  Specific technological challenges include increasing demand and support load for mobile computing, increasing security-related support and maintenance in the areas of viruses, spyware, hacking and denial of service attacks. Staffing transitions are also having an impact as we lost Ezra Nugroho, June Templin and Umesha Balasubramaniam in the last year--all seasoned employees.  We have been able to make good hires to replace them, but there are inevitable transition adjustments.

Goals and Strategies
ITS goals and strategies will be significantly shaped by the outcome of the "Advancing Goshen" discussion which will conclude this fall.  Based on the initial information coming out of these discussion it is clear that we need to find structures and processes that allow IT to play a greater role in shaping the strategic technology direction of individual departments and programs, all in the context of the broader campus mission and direction.  My current recommendation is to have an institutional mandate for each department to have a technology plan, a strategic plan and a marketing plan that inform one another.  This would provide a structure and motivation to address the recommendations coming out the Advancing Goshen initiative. We are currently exploring the possibility of a Charette-style process with individual departments that would allow us to make rapid progress in this area. I continue to work at entrepreneurial activities with the objective of creating a successful technology development co-op based on the Caravel CMS.  Core IT objectives would be to update our LDAP infrastructure, extend our wireless infrastructure, successfully utilize our new content management system, upgrade key network services, and perform significant upgrades to our classroom technology infrastructure.

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.