Information Technology Services Annual Report 2005-06

Submitted by Michael R Sherer, Director of ITS

Executive Summary
Academic year 2005-06 was a watershed year in that all major measures of computing (storage, processing power, network bandwidth, internet bandwidth) have evolved to a point where the next upgrade in each area puts GC ahead of user demand. As these resources shift from being constrained and expensive to being plentiful and cheap, it will require the campus to think in new ways about how to utilize technology in the curriculum, research and administration. Significant accomplishments for the year include moving to a DS3 internet connection--a six-fold increase in internet bandwidth, phase 3 of the 64 bit computing migration--placement of 190 Athlon64 PC's in summer 2006, placement of over 200 LCD monitors, rollout of new e-commerce, event sign-up and web application tools, four-camera TV capacity used to produce "Festival of Carols" for WNIT-TV and four other projects, significantly increased use of video-conferencing for academic purposes, server upgrades for major network services (e-mail, gcfile, calendar), a re-worked IT planning/advisory structure, new disaster recovery, risk management, privacy and security policies, a Classroom Master Plan document, and a rewritten ITS Strategic Plan following the structure of the 2005-2010 Campus Strategic Plan.  In the coming academic year, we hope to facilitate the rollout of alumni and prospective student web services, make progress on connecting to the iLight2 statewide network, complete our migration to flat panel displays, and help departments create departmental technology plans that further their strategic goals along with the broader goals of the institution.

ITS Accomplishments for Academic Year 2005-2006

Academics
o  Upgraded to Blackboard 6.3 in summer 2005 and Blackboard 7.1 in 2006
o  Began an evaluation of Moodle and Sakai as alternatives to Blackboard LMS.
o  Helped Ron Johnson put together four-camera production capacity, which was used to record and produce "Festival of Carols" for WNIT-TV along with 3 other shoots in spring semester.
o  Completed the initial draft of the Classroom Master Plan document and submitted it to the Academic Dean for further processing.
o  Used video-conferencing tools to bring in two 'remote' ASL profs.
o  Began renovations of Wyse 123 and Science 006 for multimedia and projection

Labs
o  Placed new PC's in all labs for Summer 2006
o  Added 20" LCD displays to UN002 and Library Lab in Summer 2006
o  Upgraded AD 21 to 17" LCD panels in Summer 2006
o  Standard PC configuration now includes 1 GB dual-channel RAM, 80 GB hard drive, PCI-E graphics card and a DVD burner
o  For the third year, we will build our own PC's, which allows us to place 64 bit systems at significantly reduced costs--$540/system this year.
o  Upgraded to a CUPS print spooler, which fixed some print accounting problems with new HP printers.
o  A new switch and WiFi router were added to the Comm Hub to address networking issues there.

ResNet
o  ITS presence on freshman move-in weekend was much expanded
o  Revised registration process enforced virus and spyware checking and the installation of Service Pack 2 for PC's
o   Developed and implemented the new Student Technology Assistant Program which allowed students to get second level /hardware support from trained technology students
o  Offered training (for the first time) to RAs to help support students in the dorms

Software/Support
o  Made Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft products available to students, faculty and staff for personal purchase.
o  Began migrating individual users from Eudora to Thunderbird IMAP.
o  Began transition to Intel Macs with the purchase of 33 dual core Mac Minis.
o  Received two Dell 48 ppm printers at no cost and currently evaluating a Dell D620 laptop vs. a Toshiba M5.
o  Processed 3,242 help desk tickets.

Data Systems
o  Automated transfer of employee timecard data into Jenzabar EX, saving HR staff from manually entering this data.  
o  Prototyped http://mygc.goshen.edu as an example of how web services for all GC constituents might be implemented.  This project will first manifest itself as an online alumni directory and online information update in Fall of 2006.
o  Implemented improved project tracking capabilities to MapleTrack
o  Implemented tracking system for the Online Admissions Application.
o  Completed an automobile registration application for Physical Plant/Student Life.  This application is projected to save over 50 hours in data entry time, the bulk of which comes at the busiest time of the year.
o  Assisted HR in shifting to the new vacation hour policy.
o  Projected to complete the data clean-up/import of Harris Publishing alumni data in summer 2006

ITS Media
o  Piloted a video iPod project in admissions to aggregate audio, video and still admissions content into a portable device.  
o  Finished Crestron classroom upgrades
o  Added a TIVO DVR for off-air recording of academic content.
o  Moved a C-band moveable dish from the library roof to the UN roof.  
o  Purchased a digital receiver to explore DVB MPEG feeds.
o  Purchased a medium size Allen & Heath mixer for Reith Recital Hall and other campus events.
o  Helped Matthias Stegman set up a portable recording rig that facilitated teaching a new audio production class.
o  Overhauled ITSMedia website using Caravel.
o  Implemented a turnkey backup system for WGCS if Simian computer fails.
o  Installed a computer in Umble Center that allows for multi-track playback for theater effects.

Network Services
o  Migrated to a 45 Mbit DS3 network connection.
o  We're continuing to explore the possibility of moving to iLight2 in the 2006-2007 timeframe, which would give us 1 Gb of Internet 2 bandwidth.
o  We're in the early exploration stage of a 10 Gb network backbone upgrade.
o  Implemented CBORD Odyssey PCS campus card services system for dining and RFC access control.
o  Upgraded Mail and GC File to faster hardware
o  Added improved webmail services (Llohamail)
o  Upgraded WGCS streaming server
o  Used Rsync to back up OSX servers

Web
o  Began doing online event signups using Caravel's online event signup/e-commerce tools.
o  Development completed for doing online registration for Alumni weekend this fall.
o  Streamlined Accounting's process for handling online payments, paving the way for more online payment processing applications.
o  Upgraded GC Online server to current hardware.
o  Upgraded GC Online API to PHP5

Security
o   Implemented phases 1 & 2 of a secure password standard.  The new password standard requires passwords of 8 characters or greater, punctuation, numbers, and mixed case.  We plan to have completed the migration by Fall of 2006.
o  Created a secure partition on Admissions laptops to reduce the risk of identity data loss.
o  Added a firewall to the WGCS network to improve security.

Planning/Administration
o  Completed and approved a Disaster Recovery document.
o  Trained Glenn Gilbert to use KeyServer for broadcast announcements.
o  Reworked the ITS Strategic Plan to mirror the structure of the 2005-2010 Campus Strategic Plan.
o  Reorganized the IT Planning/Advisory Structure to strengthen the academic component and elevate the role of the Administrative Computing committee.

Personnel
o  Ryan Rittenhouse and Paul Ortman were hired at the end of last fiscal year, replacing Tim Boshart and Velin Kounev.  They ramped up quickly and have made excellent contributions over the course of the year.
o  The long-term success of an IT department has a significant HR component--attracting, developing and retaining high-quality employees with a commitment to the college and its mission; balancing the need for consistency, maturity and longevity with the need for new ideas, energy and enthusiasm.  Even though we have lost some very strong employees over the past 10 years, I would rate this year's staff as one of the strongest and most cohesive yet.
o  ITS Media is re-organizing for 2006-07, with Todd Hershberger cutting back to 0.6 FTE.  Todd's reduction allowed us to create a 0.5 FTE receptionist position, which will add much-needed consistency to the customer interface and basic operation of the office and equipment checkout pool.
o  Reuven Hodges will work remotely from Champaigne-Urbana during 2006-07.
o  Paul Meyer Reimer worked remotely from England during 2005-06, but has returned for 2006-07.

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 EduCause Core Data survey, the Campus Computing Survey, the Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI),  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.   This year we are beginning an effort to make our KPI's better reflect the executive-level objectives for all departments in terms of cost, performance and accountability.

Financial KPI's
o   IT Cost/Student FTE = $1,375.  The mean for this KPI in BA Liberal Arts institutions was $1,249 in the 2003-04 EduCAUSE Core Data survey.  If we assume that IT spending in other schools went up 6-10% over the past two years, this figure is only slightly above the mean.  If enrollment projections hold, this figure should drop to $1,350/Student FTE in 06-07.
o  IT Cost as percent of total budget = 4.42% of total budget.  Getting accurate comparative data is difficult in this area, with most falling in the range of 3-7% of total budget.  This figure has fallen from 5.27% in 2001-02
Per student costs are slightly higher than other institutions, while the cost relative to overall expenditures is slightly lower than other institutions.  This is largely about economies of scale.  Unlike many areas of the institution, additional enrollment will add little to the cost of the IT infrastructure and staffing until we add new buildings.  Thus, adding 100 students would significantly lower our per student cost without significantly increasing overall cost.  It's also worth noting that even as our KPI cost factors have fallen over  the last five years, the speed (internet bandwidth up 1,500%, CPU speed up 300%), quality (system lifecycle up 33%), capacity (network storage up 667%, local storage up 800%, system memory up 800%), capability (added , size (+63%) and service level of the IT environment and services have all risen dramatically.

Review 2005-06 Goals and Strategies
o  Begin working with Departments on their Technology Plans, as called for in the 2005-2010 Strategic Plan.  This was postponed until Fall 2007 to coordinate with an Academic departmental planning initiative.
o  Develop strategic relationships with key departments to help them make more effective use of technology.  Examples of this would be Admissions and College Relations where ITS has invested significant time on key priorities for these departments. On the academic side, there were significant projects with Communications, Physics, Sociology, English, Music, ASL, WGCS, Record and others.
o  Complete the Classroom Masterplan document, to provide a comprehensive plan for helping classroom spaces meet the pedagogical objectives of the institution.  This was done and presented to the Academic Dean.  The first fruit of that effort is the renovation of Science 006 and Wyse 123 during summer 2006.
o  Refine the understanding of what mission-driven IT means, and how IT advances and opportunities are in dialog with institutional mission.  Fruit of this effort came in the form of a rewritten ITS Strategic Plan that adheres to the structure of the campus strategic plan and a revised IT Planning and Advisory structure that enhances our ability to do departmental-level IT planning.
o  Continue to make progress in the areas of security, disaster recovery and risk management policy and practice.  Significant progress made here with new policies generated and approved and numerous improvements made to security practice across campus.  Security in particular is a moving target, so this will continue as a priority in 2006-07.
o  Demonstrate that external collaboration and entrepreneurial IT can generate value and revenue to help us achieve our IT goals.  As of June 2006 Mennonite.net has been breaking even for the last 6 months, has purchased a new computer for designer Ruth Smucker and has paid for two summer DevCorps staff members.  Mennonite.net-related develop projects have resulted in numerous improvements to Caravel that are benefiting GC.  Most notable is the Vermont Suppers project that resulted in significant enhancements to the FolderViewer, Form Builder and search tools.

2006-07 Goals and Strategies
o  Understand and help achieve the goals and priorities of the new Brenneman administration
o  Begin working with Departments on their Technology Plans, as called for in the 2005-2010 Strategic Plan.
o  Successfully implement the new IT Planning/Advisory Infrastructure.
o  Continue to advance the Classroom Masterplan agenda
o  Promote and leverage Caravel's application development, content management and community building capabilities.
o  Begin preparation for Vista and Mac OS X Leopard upgrades
o  Evaluate and potentially implement Jasper Reports/iReport for enterprise-level reporting
o  Continue nurturing strategic relationships with key departments
o  Sort out remaining issues with CALEA, iLight2, PCI compliance, other legislative mandates.
o  Continue to raise the profile of security and privacy issues both within ITS and in the user community.
o  Continue to demonstrate that external collaboration and entrepreneurial IT can generate value and revenue to help us achieve our IT goals.  

Challenges and Opportunities
Significant use of amortization in 2004-05 and 2005-06 will make for one of the tightest IT budgets yet in 2006-07, with very low investment in new hardware.  The upside of this situation is that the technology infrastructure is in very good shape with the transition to LCD monitors and 64 bit hardware nearly complete and a reasonable 4 year purchasing plan in place to cover projected upgrades to networking, desktop and mobile computing, storage and servers.  The emergence of the iLight2 statewide network represents both a challenge and an opportunity. iLight2 represents almost unlimited internet bandwidth for GC, but the college is not well-situated relative to the iLight2 connection points. This will potentially make the cost of connecting significantly higher than our current DS3 cost.  Moodle represents one of the few remaining options for significant cost-savings, but also a significant transition effort for faculty.