Comments on this report can be sent by e-mail to citac-comments2@ksu.ksu.edu, which will be forwarded to Roger Terry, Bradley Shaw, and George Brandsberg.

Fnal Report of the

DEANS COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

EXTENDED WORKING GROUP FOR THE USER ASSISTANCE CENTER

AND THE LIBRARY

January 12, 1996

The members of the Extended Working Group for the User Assistance Center and the Library are:

Karen Cole (kcole@ksu.edu), University Libraries
Barbara Stowe (bsstowe@ksu.edu), Dean of Human Ecology
John Streeter (jws@ksu.edu), Office of Information Systems
Roger Terry (rterry@ksu.edu), College of Agriculture
Ralph Wasmer (wazzer@ksu.edu), Computing and Network Services

CHARGE TO THE GROUP

The Extended Working Group for the User Assistance Center and the Library was charged to:

  1. Develop recommendations on issues relating to development and staffing of a "Technology Assistance Center" including policy and organization related to all components (such as the recently proposed instructional development services component) of a comprehensive Technology Assistance Center with Hale Library providing a key facility from which services will be provided.

  2. Determine the role data warehousing will play at both the level of the Technology Assistance Center and in the overall context of the new KSU information environment.

With the advice of Dean Brice Hobrock, this Group did not devote any effort toward determining the extent and type of staffing for the new library addition and source of funds.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Extended Working Group for the User Assistance Center and the Library recommends the establishment of a comprehensive organization to become known as "Information Technology Services" and to be charged with overall responsibility for managing University information resources. The Vice Provost for Academic Services and Technology already serves as its chief administrator, and the Provost and two Vice Presidents serve as its Executive Committee. To assist the Vice Provost for Academic Services and Technology with the incorporation of critically needed new instructional and research technology services and facilitate the coordination of user assistance services across a wide spectrum of information technology service providers, the recommendations include creation of a new service unit, the "Technology Assistance Center," with its own director, within space that can be made available in the newly expanded and renamed Hale Library (formerly Farrell Library).

OBSERVATIONS

The Extended Working Group for the User Assistance Center and the Library has made the following observations:

  1. Users have difficulty in knowing where to go or whom to call to get help with various particular aspects of information technology.

  2. The Vice Provost for Information Technology and Academic Services cannot be responsible for day-to-day management of all of the information technology service provider units.

  3. Effective organizational relationships bringing together the efforts of all information technology service providers are lacking.

  4. A consistent "user service attitude" throughout the University is critically needed to ensure the successful integration of continuously advancing information technologies into the day-to-day activities of all students, faculty, and staff.

  5. There is a need for a strong R&D component within Information Technology Services to facilitate and support the adoption of innovative and emerging technologies which encourages risk taking and new development.

  6. Comprehensive and cohesive planning, both short and long term, is needed to establish priority goals and objectives aimed at improving the most important aspects of the information technology infrastructure including:

    1. the development of mediated instructional facilities to support both Campus-based and distance learning,
    2. the advancement of the Campus network speed and capacity to support high-speed multimedia communications between and within the buildings to the individual workstation,
    3. the support of high-end research computing through appropriate campus-based facilities and easy access to off-campus facilities,
    4. the coordination of Local Area Network (LAN) administration, and
    5. the establishment of an effective desktop support organization,

    among the many other important aspects with potential for improvement.

  7. Effective leveraging of financial and human resources from a variety of service areas is necessary to efficiently implement priorities that will further the University's ability to accomplish its information technology deployment and service objectives.

  8. Consistent logging, tracking and record keeping of information technology related problems and their resolution/disposition could facilitate:

    1. the identification and understanding of the underlying technical and management causes,
    2. user and technical staff training to eliminate routine problems, and
    3. alteration of the way the technologies are implemented to enhance the effectiveness of their use by the University community.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Given the preceding observations and the charge the Working Group recommends:

With respect to Organization

  1. Acceptance of the "Technology Assistance Center" as:

    1. a centrally located walk-in, call-in, write-in office facility in Hale Library serving as the single point of contact "911 Consult" for all aspects of information technology related user assistance,
    2. a coordinating unit establishing customer-centered communications among the information technology service units and the information centers (i.e. the academic colleges and departments and administrative divisions and offices), and
    3. a focal point for problem identification, resolution, and related management reporting. The problem resolution process can involve the efforts of a variety of technical service personnel distributed among the information technology service units and the information centers.
    4. a resource on new and emerging technologies for problem solving.

  2. That the major service functions performed by the Technology Assistance Center should include:

    1. User Information, Technology and Information Access Consulting and Training,
    2. Management Services (providing Strategic Way to Acquire Technology-SWAT Teams which consult with and support the information centers in distributed capacity planning and acquisition efforts),
    3. Coordination among Information Technology Service providers,
    4. Instructional Technology Production and Distribution Services, and
    5. High-End Research Computing and Communications Technology Services.

  3. A Director of the Technology Assistance Center be appointed to:

    1. report to the Vice Provost of Academic Services and Technology,
    2. have responsibility and authority for information technology user services at the University,
    3. serve as a member of the Information Resource Management Team, and
    4. be responsible for directing the primary functions of the Technology Assistance Center and managing the day-to-day activities which include:

      1. developing and maintaining a central help desk function,
      2. initiating R&D initiatives,
      3. developing training programs to meet the needs identified through problem logging and tracking,
      4. marketing new and innovative information technologies,
      5. providing expert information on new and innovative technologies,
      6. communicating with and coordinating efforts involving multiple information technology service units (CNS, ISO, Telecomm, Continuing Education, RECC, etc.), and
      7. maintaining University public information services such as the University's WWW Page and Unicorn.

  4. That colleges and/or departments with technical services staffs appoint a user services representative to work with the Technology Assistance Center (TAC). The representatives would be expected to meet regularly with Technology Assistance Center and representatives from the other Information Technology Service providers. The meetings would be used to discuss issues and training needs, to share problems and technical information, and facilitate the implementation of University standards and procedures.

  5. That the Information Resource Management (IRM) Team (currently "the Cooperative Team") be formalized to work with the Vice-Provost for Academic Services and Technology while recognizing that the formality of the reporting relationships among the participants is not as important to overall success as the effectiveness of the informal communications and professional collegiality among the directors and the staffs of the various units. The Information Resource Management Team would be charged with responsibility for developing and implementing all aspects of the information technology environment at KSU.

  6. That the Vice-Provost for Academic Services and Technology serves to:

    1. establish direction for the Information Resource Management Team,
    2. seek funding for information technologies,
    3. create an environment fertile for new visions for the future,
    4. empower Information Resource Management Team members to work together to accomplish the directions
    5. encourage and lead Information Resource Management Team members to leverage staff and resources among the information technology service provider units in order to implement projects which further the vision and direction for KSU, and
    6. encourage risk-taking among the Information Resource Management Team.

  7. That the Information Resource Management Team be charged with developing formal Information Resource Management policies, standards, procedures, and guidelines for the University to include procedures for acquisition, creation, use and disposal of information resources. The standards should establish service level expectations of the information technology service provider units which are represented on the Information Resource Management Team. Further, policies, procedures, and rates related to information technology service billing rates should be reviewed and be consistently applied for "value added" services.

With Respect to Data Warehousing (and Data Administration)

  1. That the Information Resource Management Team take the lead in implementing and further advancing the data administration policies currently being developed by the Data Administration Task Force.

  2. That a "University Data Warehouse" be established to serve as the official repository for all "University Owned Data Resources".

  3. That the "University Database" be defined as the all encompassing collection of University owned data, regardless of location, media, format, or use.

  4. That the Technology Assistance Center serve as a focal point for centralized contact to facilitate user access to the University Data Warehouse and the University Database for the purpose of retrieving and preparing special output products. With Respect to Financial Resources

  1. That the financial resources for space, furnishing, equipment, and new Technology Assistance Center projects will require a combination of leveraging existing resources by the Information Resource Management Team and the influx in "new" resources either through reallocation or "new" monies. All information technology service units could be candidates for future funding via an overhead charge or technology fee.

  2. Establishing a "menu" of basic services to be provided at "no cost" to departments, colleges and users is critical. The resources for providing the basic services could be generated through existing budgets as well as implementing an Information Technology Fee. The practice of billable per unit service charges should be carefully reviewed and considered unacceptable with respect to the provision of basic services in order to "level the playing field" between have and have not areas of the campus.

  3. That partnering with researchers who are writing grants and requiring that a portion of the grant funds be available for technology, when it is appropriate with the grant request, would in effect allow for extended, extra services. These "extra" services for supporting possibly non-standard services, R&D activities, and other ventures would likely ensure successes. Further, as "extra" services were established a continual review and plan for ongoing financial support must be established. The reallocation of sponsored research overhead funds to support basic services to research grant recipients should be considered.

  4. That other important non-basic "Value-Added" services be established on a per unit of service fee basis. These services and service fees should be established by the Information Resource Management Team with provision that they be consistently applied across campus.

  5. That despite best efforts, there will always remain a critical need to manage user expectations with respect to the level of service that can be expected of and provided by the Technology Assistance Center and the other Information Technology Service providers. KSU Information Technology Service provider units are generally created in response to user demand and directed toward meeting that demand. But, the financial and human resources typically made available to the information technology service provider units are not sufficient to the level of service expectations as much as they are directly related to the funding available to establish the service unit. In most cases, "service level expectations" are not realistically supported by the financial and human resources made available to the service unit. If Information Technology Service units including the Technology Assistance Center are going to be effective agents of the University, due consideration must be given to matching the resources provided to the service units to the "service level expectations" applied to their services.

In order to accomplish the preceding recommendations the Extended Working Group for the User Center and the Library presents the following diagrams as a way of conceptualizing the relationships among the various information technology service provider units and their customers. The first diagram conceptualizes the need for coordination and integration of the services to provide a functional whole, an "Umbrella of Information Technology Services." The second, more detailed diagram, describes the relationship of the proposed "Technology Assistance Center" with its own service functions and the major existing information technology services organizations and their component functions.

SCOPE

umbrella

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January 12, 1996