University of Wisconsin Centers 1997 Information and Instructional Technology Plan I. Executive Summary The UW Centers (UWC) offers a freshman-sophomore liberal arts curriculum to approximately 9,000 students at its thirteen locally owned campuses. In addition to preparing students for the baccalaureate degree and professional studies, the UW Centers has a strong commitment to service in its thirteen widely dispersed local communities. To best serve its students and their communities, the institution keeps abreast of new and emerging developments in higher education on the state and national level. In planning for the future, the UW Centers is addressing many issues such as student learning and faculty development as well as institutional effectiveness and efficiency. The application and integration of technology offers promise for the institution in progressing on these issues. Technology may also assist the institution in meeting the student recruitment and retention concerns that have developed in the increasingly competitive Wisconsin higher education market. The institution has recognized the need to consider information technology and learning/teaching technologies as a whole and to eliminate many distinctions between administrative and academic computing issues. This recognition led in 1996 to the creation of a Faculty/Staff Senate Committee, the Information and Instructional Technology Committee, (IITC) charged with advising the Senate and the Chancellor on technology issues. The UW Centers goals for the 1997-2001 planning period focus upon this merger of information and instructional technology (IIT). UW Centers will use IIT to support and enhance student learning and faculty teaching. Investments in the distance learning infrastructure are critical to the offering of sophomore level courses across a subset of thirteen geographically dispersed campuses and the efficient use of faculty in our environment of scale diseconomies. In conjunction with State of Wisconsin initiatives, these investments will enable collaborations among other UW System institutions, K-12 education, the Wisconsin Technical College System, and the UW Centers. The infrastructure investment will be critical to achieving needed reductions in administration and governance costs associated with overcoming distance. Finally, this infrastructure investment will allow the UW Centers to maintain the service levels of the existing Wide Area Network (WAN), Local Area Networks (LAN), and Internet access connections under conditions of increasing traffic and expectations. Continuing and developmental projects during the period will focus on data availability both within and outside of the institution and on adequate workstation availability for faculty and staff. Making information and instructional technologies an integral part of the core activities of the institution in the next two to four years will be the most challenging goal in the face of the human and fiscal constraints facing the UW Centers and higher education as a whole. Introduction Information technology changes currently occurring in higher education almost guarantee that a 1997 plan will be obsolete by 1999! Thus the two most critical institutional issues will be weaving the role of IIT planning and implementation into institutional decision-making processes and increasing network bandwidth, both strategies which well position the institution for most eventualities. II. Strategic Direction The strategic direction of the UW Centers is documented in the current draft of the UW Centers' Strategic Plan as Goal IV with its implementing activities: Goal IV. Acquire, integrate and evaluate technology to enhance the learning, teaching and institutional support environment. We strive to do careful and informed planning that results in rational and balanced decisions on using technology in our classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and offices. Using technology should broaden quality access to information in institutions from the local campus and community to the global arena. Implementing Actions 1. Complete the UW Centers' master academic and technical plans for instructional and information technology. (Spring 1997) 2. Develop and offer courses and learning activities by various media, e.g., audiographics, electronic mail, Internet, interactive video, and to evaluate their effectiveness. (Fall 1997 and ongoing) 3. Use distance education to complement and supplement classroom instruction. (Fall 1994 and ongoing) 4. Purchase, install, upgrade and maintain the technology infrastructure at all campuses based on the academic and technical plan. (Fall 1997) 5. Continue development of infrastructure support for student support processes (SIS, TIS, HELP), automated registration, degree audits, libraries, financial aids, and learning centers and advising. (Fall 1994 and ongoing) 6. Continue to develop, use and evaluate technology for distance learning to increase access to courses among UW Centers that are small campuses with limited curricula and available faculty. (Fall 1994 and ongoing) 7. Share technology to support collaboration with for-year institutions and Extension and to deliver upper division courses and professional education on Centers' campuses. (Spring 1998 and ongoing) 8. Provide training and development for faculty, academic and classified staff on the effective use of technology. (Spring 1994 and ongoing) 9. Assess learner satisfaction in courses which use distance technology (Spring 1997, Spring 1999) 10. Provide adequate technical staff at all sites to support the use of technology. (Fall 1995 and ongoing) 11. Evaluate the full technology infrastructure to determine if it is meeting goals within institutional priorities and budget resources. (Fall 1998 and ongoing) Strategic Direction (1997-2001) A. Basic Institutional Planning Issues 1. What are the primary needs and associated major changes planned for your academic programs? The primary need of the UW Centers is to continue to offer, at each campus, the full range of freshman and sophomore courses necessary to pre-majors and to completion of the Associate Degree, in the face of a changing student population and lower enrollment courses. The major changes for the UW Centers academic programs include implementation of the revised Associate of Arts and Science degree, continued enhancement of student transfer opportunities, implementation of the institutional assessment program, and the development of degree completion programs that provide opportunities for students to obtain bachelor's degrees while remaining in their home communities. The Centers also has a continuing commitment to bring the resources of the university to the local communities through continuing education and university-community outreach. Given the major changes planned for our academic programs, the UW Centers must insure that current information and instructional technologies are available to Centers' students and faculty. Major continuing investments are required in general computer access labs, science labs, classroom modernization, distance education technologies, and administrative computing to achieve this goal. What are your plans for using IT to address these academic program priorities? There are three priorities in the UW Centers' Academic Plan for Technology: To use instructional technology to supplement the core curriculum as necessary to prepare students for transfer. Utilizing distance education to offer sophomore level, lower- enrolled courses across Centers' campuses will enable us to strengthen the array and frequency of courses essential in the curriculum, improving student retention. It will also allow us to more efficiently and effectively use faculty expertise. To enable the UW Centers to collaborate effectively with the other UW institutions to provide third year programs, blended second and third year programs and degree completion sequences. To use instructional technology to forge new and stronger partnerships with the K-12 institutions and with the Wisconsin Technical College System. Information and instructional technology will play a major role in meeting these academic program priorities. Enhanced and especially distance learning systems will be used to meet the academic program needs through applications of information and instructional technology, including the World Wide Web (WWW) and instructional software. Access to institutional information will be enhanced through further development of the Centers' WWW sites. A video/data network with sufficient bandwidth to allow compressed video and Internet based distance learning offerings in addition to the current Audiographics delivery system will make lower enrollment course offerings available and viable at smaller Centers' campuses and will facilitate cooperative degree-completion programs with baccalaureate institutions. Upgrading faculty and staff workstations and faculty, staff and student training programs are required to insure that the new instructional environment will be used effectively. Inter- and intra- departmental program development will be used to address changing instructional needs. In addition, working in unison with other UW institutions through collaborative courses will require specific strategies to enhance faculty use of appropriate instructional technologies. 2. How is your student population changing and how are their academic and student life needs changing The UW Centers' student population has increasing expectations for a "connected" education -- connected to the array of resources available in digital form and through the Internet/World Wide Web. These expectations are driven by increasing investments in the technology infrastructure in the K-12 system. Students expect equal or better technological resources in the higher education system. The Centers must make the investments necessary to meet students' educational needs and expectations. Students have ever increasing higher education choices. Higher education nationally, within the state of Wisconsin and within the University of Wisconsin system has become increasingly competitive in attracting students. The UW Centers must provide a technological environment that allows it to compete effectively with other institutions of higher education. The Centers' environment must also reflect contemporary standards both in the local/statewide schools and in local corporate and public/governmental organizations. Students must be prepared "technologically" for transfer to the baccalaureate institutions. If they are not, they will choose not to attend Centers' campuses or will choose not to remain for their sophomore year. Finally the returning adult students who make up a significant market for the UW Centers may have less or at least different technology backgrounds than the traditionally aged students. These individuals are often place bound and may have additional time constraints due to family and work. Thus there are two different groups of students who must be integrated in the institution's technology planning. What are your plans for using IT to help "the campus" respond to those needs? The UW Centers will develop an IT environment that supports student learning and enhances the efficiency/effectiveness of teaching by faculty and staff. IT resources will be focused on improving learning outcomes in conjunction with the institution's program for the assessment of student learning and institutional effectiveness. IT investments will represent an increasing share of the Centers' resource allocations in order to maintain a "connected", competitive, technologically adaptive environment for all student populations. 3. How are your faculty, students, and academic administration involved in developing institution and campus IT strategies and plans. In 1996 the UW Centers' faculty and academic staff Senate appointed an ad hoc committee to review the role of the governance process in IT. That ad hoc committee recommended revisions to the Centers' IT planning processes through the creation of a revised Information and Instructional Technology Committee. The newly constituted committee has broad faculty, academic staff and functional representation as well as ex-officio membership from the academic and administrative institutional offices. The Committee's role is specifically to advise the UW Centers' Senate and the Chancellor on planning and development related to information technology issues. In 1995, student technology fee committees at each campus assumed responsibility for advice on expenditures of funds from the newly instituted student technology fee. On some campuses these committees are an integral part of the student government, and on others, represent students but are separate from other student committees. 4. How are the various areas involved in IT (i.e., libraries, faculty development, instructional design, educational media and learning technologies, student support services, facilities planning) increasing coordination and cooperation to maximize resources? The various areas are involved through both the institutional Information and Instructional Technology Committee as well as through the parallel campus level representative committees. Cross-institution linkages also occur through the Office of Academic Affairs and the Administrative Services Office in the central administration. Discipline/area/topic specific cross-functional groups, e.g., the Library Council and the Student Information System Advisory Committee, provide opportunities for increasing coordination to allocate resources to institutional priorities. Collaborations with the baccalaureate institutions typically involve multi-institution working groups of faculty and staff as another opportunity for coordination and cooperation. 5. Digital Campus No current plans are anticipated for the development of a "digital campus" for the UW Centers in the next two years. B. IT Solutions 1. Besides funding, what are the most important IT related opportunities that should be addressed Systemwide to improve the environment for your institution? The most important IIT opportunities that should be addressed Systemwide to improve the environment for the UW Centers include those related to distance education. These opportunities involve implementation and technical support for the hardware, network facilities and wiring, and site support for distance learning opportunities for Centers' students and their communities. Given the wide geographic dispersion of the Centers, there is also a great need for operating support, bridging, links among sites, and related needs that exist on a different scale than at single site institutions. Real time, on-line applications on the WAN often require dedicated bandwidth to maintain the instructional value; the opportunities available through the State BadgerNet should contribute to operation of those real time applications. Further opportunities relate to the development of collaborative academic programs with the baccalaureate institutions that can be delivered through distance education to Centers' students and their communities at their local campuses. These opportunities are especially important in serving the place bound adults that have traditionally been a significant part of the Centers' student population. In addition, collaborative continuing education programs may be delivered through distance education which would expand the opportunities within the Centers' communities for university outreach services and degree completion programs. Last, yet perhaps most important, are the opportunities for Systemwide collaborations in faculty/staff development in the applications of IIT to instructional, administrative, and student life concerns. Shared instructional technology training, faculty resource development centers, and other Systemwide efforts to develop and maintain the new instructional technology skills in the face of rapid changes are essential, especially given the diseconomies of scale and geographic dispersion problems faced by the Centers. 2. Besides funding, what are the most important IT related challenges that should be addressed Systemwide to improve the environment for your institution? The most important IIT related challenges that should be addressed Systemwide to improve the environment for the UW Centers include collaborative and systemwide advance planning for adequate bandwidth to meet the challenges of new and expanding applications such as compressed and other video and the Internet. The challenges related to purchasing and implementing administrative systems that meet institutional and system management and reporting needs should also remain an important priority. Realistically, funding is and most likely will remain the single most important IIT related challenge for the institution. Addressing that challenge must remain a major priority. C. Funding Assumptions Assuming no new funding, what are your priorities for responding to needs for growth in ongoing IT application areas (e.g., help desk services, modem pools, campus network cabling and electronics, end user training, desktop computers, classroom electronics, and on-line academic information)? The priorities may be met through reallocations of funds from existing program areas and services and into IIT areas. Centers' campuses have been given guidance in the annual budget guidelines in the last two years that required such reallocations to meet minimum IIT standards in a number of areas. Without additional funding, major, large scale reallocations will be needed in order to meet the needs for classroom electronics, distance learning equipment, and faculty computers. These three areas would receive priority reallocations along with the minimum complement of computers in administrative areas that are needed to improve efficiency and effectiveness. There exists significant doubt that the Centers can meet these priorities while maintaining other existing critical academic program priorities. D. Disaster Recovery The UW Centers has prepared a disaster recovery plan following the format presented in the Disaster Recovery Planning Paper written by the UW System Information Technology Management Council Disaster Recovery Committee. This plan is intended to cover institutional systems and institutional wide area networking components. Local area networking on the campuses and campus specific applications will be covered by individual campus plans which are under development. 1. What are the most critical university functions which depend on an adequate and reliable IT infrastructure (e.g. registration)? The UW Centers considers the following IT systems/applications to be Mission Critical based on the functions they provide: Student Information System Admissions function Registrar functions including student registration and transcripts Bursar functions including accounts receivable Financial aid functions including financial aid disbursement SIS reporting capabilities Interfaces with UW System and government agencies Library Automated library functions that provide direct or indirect customer services, such as cataloging, searches, materials checkouts, etc. Capital Goods Inventory System Capital goods data entry functions Capital goods analysis and reporting capabilities UW Centers Electronic Mail System Electronic communication between UW Centers' locations, departments and outside agencies Personnel Reporting System Personnel analysis and reporting capabilities CentersNet WAN Institutional connectivity to administrative systems, electronic mail, and the Internet-- often used real-time for classroom presentation. Local Area Networks Student access to computer lab instructional software Access to productivity tools such as word processing software, spreadsheet software, database software, and other shared software World Wide Web Server WWW based capability for disseminating UWC information including web-based course delivery and linking to other information such as the transfer information system (TIS) 2. In the event of systems failure or overload, what is the scope and readiness of your plans for disaster recovery, "brownout" mitigation, and interim restoration of these critical university functions. According to the UW System Disaster Recovery Planning Paper, a disaster may be considered "any event that causes significant disruption in services for a period of time that affects the organization." Therefore, the UW Centers' Disaster Recovery plan covers various levels of service interruption. The information in the plan is organized in such a way that it is possible for the institution to choose the pieces of the plan necessary for recovery depending on the type of interruption. The plan includes specific information on vendor maintenance agreements (including hours and support numbers), data recovery alternatives based on backup and transaction logging schedules, and the procedures for restoring service for the systems/applications designated as mission critical. E. Interoperability 1. What are the most critical university functions which depend on interoperability between IT components on your campus and other UW campuses or elsewhere? The UW Centers collaborates with other UW campuses in many areas. The UW Centers uses the accounting and appointment systems at UW Madison, shares the library automation hardware and software with UW Stevens Point, and links to the World Wide Web servers at UW System for transfer and administrative information. In addition, the UW Centers collaborates with UW Extension and UW Madison in the use of audiographics for distance learning. Finally the UW Centers exchanges documents and spreadsheets with UW System and other UW campuses regularly in administrative areas. Looking toward the future, the UW Centers will be expanding its distance learning program to include compressed video and will partner with other UW campuses in providing distance learning opportunities to its students. The UW Centers may also share in future common systems initiatives with other UW institutions. 2. Based on your answer to E.1. which IT components most need to be interoperable? Networking For the UW Centers to access the systems at other UW institutions it is necessary for its data and video networks to comply with state and university standards. Operating Systems/Hardware To insure the UW Centers can support the software necessary to interface with systems at other UW campuses, the UW Centers must employ an open systems concept on servers and must comply with industry standards on the desktop. Databases The choice of database packages employed by the UW Centers will affect its ability to provide data to UW System and other UW institutions. Office Software The type of desktop office productivity software, such as word processing and spreadsheet applications, will affect the ability of UW faculty and staff to utilize templates and exchange documents. Video Equipment Distance learning classrooms must have standards compliant equipment if the UW Centers are to receive programming from other UW campuses. 3. How is this interoperability being addressed? Networking Over the past several years the UW Centers has upgraded its local and wide area networks to become more compatible with other university and state agencies. CentersNet now employs Cisco routers rather than the AT&T ISNs used previously. In addition, the UW Centers is currently migrating its local area network servers to Windows NT using the TCP/IP protocol. These changes should help prepare the UW Centers for the advent of BadgerNet. Operating Systems/Hardware All UW Centers institution wide applications reside on platforms running either UNIX or Windows NT as an operating system. The UW Centers is therefore positioned to interface its systems as necessary with systems at other UW campuses which have an open systems environment and to support World Wide Web enabled applications. The UW Centers is working toward a Windows environment for all desktop personal computers. Databases For institutional systems, the UW Centers utilize Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server. These database systems meet State of Wisconsin standards and conform to UW standards for SQL compliant database systems. The UW Centers is encouraging the use of Microsoft Access for desktop database applications. Office Software The UW Centers is moving toward the Microsoft office suite to insure it can utilize templates provided by UW System (such as the EXCEL Travel Expense Report) and exchange documents with other campuses and state agencies. Video Equipment The UW Centers has formed a committee to develop a Request For Proposals (RFP) for distance learning classroom equipment. This RFP committee includes representatives from the Department of Administration as well as UW Extension. The RFP will stress that classroom video equipment be compliant with industry standards and with equipment at other UW institutions. 4. What areas of interoperability need to be addressed beyond your individual institution (i.e., in cooperation with other institutions)? All of the areas mentioned thus far are issues for all UW institutions. The UW Information Technology Management Council has formed common standards and common systems committees covering most of these issues. F. Year 2000 Issue 1. How has the institution's executive office informed campus personnel about the importance of the Year 2000 preparations? The importance of year 2000 issues has been discussed at institutional network administrator teleconferences, meetings of the Information and Instructional Technology Committee, and will be noted at meetings of Centers' Campus Deans. 2. Who has been appointed as the institution's overall coordinator of Year 2000 preparations? Given the unique structure and geographical dispersion of the UW Centers, Tom Schneider, institution Director of Computer Services has been appointed overall coordinator. Significant local campus responsibilities are assigned to the individual campus network administrators under the leadership of the Director of Computer Services. 3. Has an overall Year 2000 Project been explicitly organized and scheduled, with responsibilities assigned? No. Preliminary review of applications, hardware, and software suggest that the institution does not have a significant internal Year 2000 problem. Many accounting and recordkeeping systems are provided as services from the Peterson Processing Center which may have issues related to legacy systems. Those issues are being address by that unit. 4. Have individual departments been advised to identify a "Year 2000 systems preparation coordinator"? The network administrators at each Centers' campus will lead the assessments of Year 2000 impacts on each campus, with systematic guidance from Central Administration. 5. Has each department been asked to develop a self-assessment of planning and preparations for Year 2000 systems? Year 2000 self assessment guidelines have been distributed to the campuses. 6. Are Year 2000 planning and assessment workshops being organized for department coordinators? No. This training will be incorporated within ongoing staff training activities. 7a. Which are the major "central computing" systems affected? The student information system and the capital goods inventory system are the major central computing systems affected by potential Year 2000 concerns. 7b. For which of these systems are project plans and adequate resources identified for Year 2000 preparations? Review of these systems for year 2000 implications has not yet been completed. Both are relatively new systems and are implemented in database languages. Minimal concerns are anticipated. 8. When will the overall campus self-assessment of Year 2000 planning preparations be complete, including individual departments outside of "central computing"? Institutional and individual campus assessments of year 2000 preparations, including the resources required, are expected to be completed by Spring semester 1998. III. Goals and Projects (2 year horizon) The UW Centers IIT goals for the 1997-1999 planning period fall into two broad areas. 1. Develop an environment for support of student learning. (Supports UW Centers' strategic goal IV - Acquire, integrate, and evaluate technology to enhance the learning, teaching and institutional support environment.) Projects that fall within this area include: Major Project: Distance Learning Infrastructure Development Project. 5.1 Project Name/Description The objective of the Distance Learning Infrastructure Development Project is to implement a capability for delivering and receiving interactive video at all UW Centers' campuses to: Support the curricular needs and enhance the academic offerings at UW Centers' campuses; Collaborate with UW baccalaureate institutions to offer upper division courses and degree programs; Interact with the Wisconsin Technical College System; Interact with K-12 teachers and students; Provide a cost-effective alternative to travel for business and meetings. 5.2 Project Strategy This project will be comprised of four phases and will involve UW Centers' faculty and staff, as well as representatives from UW System, UW Extension, and the Department of Administration. Preliminary Design Phase A committee of representatives from UW Centers' faculty, UW Centers' administration, UW Extension, UW System, and the Department of Administration will research and analyze the UW Centers' functional requirements and produce functional specifications. Classroom equipment needs as well as networking requirements will be analyzed. An RFP may be produced for procurement of the necessary equipment. Final Design Phase Upon completion of the preliminary design phase and completion of the RFP (if necessary) the final design phase of the project will begin. This phase will include choosing the vendors, preparation of purchase orders, and preparation of an implementation schedule. The committee formed for the preliminary design will be expanded as necessary to coordinate the implementation at the UW Centers' campuses and with the UW Centers' partners in distance learning. Implementation Phase Distance learning equipment will be installed and functionality testing will begin. In addition, staff development workshops will be conducted. Operations Phase Distance learning will begin operation in the UW Centers' video classrooms. 5.3 Project Priority High 5.4 Technical Features The technologies to be employed have not yet been determined. As mentioned above, a committee has been formed to evaluate the alternatives available. The membership of the preliminary design committee will insure that the project technical direction is consistent with statewide and UW System standards. 5.5 Timescale Project Start Date: February 14, 1997 Begin Final Design: May 15, 1997 Begin Implementation: September 15, 1997 Begin Operation: January 22, 1998 5.6 Estimated Cost The estimated project cost is not known with precision at this time. Anticipated capital investment/hardware costs are in the $1 to $1.3 million range to provide network and basic classroom equipment for each of the UW Centers' fourteen locations. Operating costs and staff support requirements are yet to be determined and will be dependent upon the technical design requirements chosen. Other Projects: Student Access to Current Technologies. Using student technology fees, budget reallocations, and the annual proposal/grant processes related to laboratory and classroom modifications and computer access funding, the UW Centers will upgrade the resources available for student learning. Faculty Access to Current Technologies. Using internal budget reallocations, UW System biennial budget opportunities, and other annual proposal/grant processes, the UW Centers will upgrade the resources available for faculty computer access and faculty learning centers for the integration of current technologies into the instructional program. Multimedia. Various prototype projects in integrating multimedia in support of learning will be undertaken during the next biennium. 2. Develop long term infrastructure and resource allocation processes that attend to IIT issues. (Supports UW Centers' strategic goal I - Identify current and potential student populations to be served and goal VII - Develop, allocate and manage human and financial resources in an integrated process.) Projects that fall within this area include: Campus Access to Administrative Data. The UW Centers will continue to work toward improvements in the ability of campus administrators to access and utilize administrative data. Improvements in the institution's local and wide area networks, as well as in the software available on the desktop, have provided new opportunities to deliver decision support capabilities to campus administrators. Access to a data warehouse that includes student information, personnel data, and capital goods inventory data falls within the scope of this project. Business Office Automation. The objective of this project is to continue to enhance the productivity of the UW Centers business office by applying various forms of office management software to business office tasks currently being performed manually. Campus Wide Information System. The UW Centers current use of World Wide Web server(s) only begins to exploit the potential of using the Web to disseminate UWC information. This project intends to significantly expand the use of a CWIS server to make UWC information available via the Web. Training and Documentation. The objective of this project is to provide UWC faculty and staff the skills necessary to utilize the technology available within the institution. It will involve both training sessions and developing and maintaining application notes and documentation. The most challenging goal facing the UW Centers in the next two years will be making information and instructional technologies an integral part of the core activities of the institution. We look forward to that task with both ambition and a high degree of belief that it will be accomplished. Z:\DOCUMENT.97A\ITPLANWP.415 April 15, 1997 April 15, 1997 (1:57pm) University of Wisconsin Centers Information and Instructional Technology Plan 1997 13