Mission Statement
Information Technology Services provides services and solutions that advance the UIS vision, mission and strategic goals. We support our students, faculty, staff and an ever growing global community with customer-oriented service and a robust and reliable environment that encourages innovative ways of using technology in all facets of teaching, learning, research, and service.
Guiding Values
- Commitment to excellent and responsive customer service
- Respect for colleagues and customers
- Commitment to fairness, consistency, trust
- Accountability
- Integrity
- Fostering cooperation and collaboration
- Adaptability
- Always having the best interest of the campus in mind
- Effective and efficient use of resources and time
- Innovation and leadership
Strategic Goals and Action Steps
Goal #1: Leadership in planning, management, and direction of technology initiatives in support of both academic and administrative operations.
Action Step #1 – Develop and maintain a technology architectural vision for the campus, aligned with the University priorities.
Action Step #2 – Review resource allocations annually for an efficient balancing of support for current and future endeavors.
Action Step #3 – Seek broad participation in setting IT priorities. Pursue ongoing communications with stakeholders concerning priorities and future needs.
Action Step #4 – Develop and maintain technical expertise of staff by providing ongoing professional development opportunities.
Action Step #5 – Conduct annual skills assessment for all staff, to ensure appropriate matching of skills with job functions.
Action Step #6 – Routinely track IT trends and best practices in higher education and industry by participating in conferences, workshops, and by following publications and online resources.
Action Step #7 – Ensure that documentation is evaluated for accuracy and necessary updates on a regular schedule.
Action Step #8 – Implement campus wide document management and collaboration tools.
Action Step #9 – Explore alternative funding sources for IT.
Action Step #10 – Continually assess the technology needs of UIS. Select and introduce technologies which will further the campus mission.
Goal #2: Ensure that systems and networks are secure, reliable, and easy to use.
Action Step #1 – Ensure that critical systems are stable, scalable and are operating current versions of software. Establish policies and procedures for updating campus technology. Ensure campus management is aware of the budgetary impact.
Action Step #2 – Schedule review of possible points of failure and verify that all possible points have redundant solutions. Ensure redundant solutions are in place, tested, and functional for all critical systems and services.
Action Step #3 – Perform periodic review of backup strategy. Schedule regular test of backup and restore procedures.
Action Step #4 – Employ project management practices for all major projects.
Action Step #5 – Develop and maintain comprehensive set of documentation. Ensure that all information is available to staff.
Action Step #6 – Fully define and test procedures for recovery from catastrophic failure of equipment and/or applications.
Action Step #7 – Systematically monitor all network equipment, network services, and core applications.
Goal #3: Improve student life through technology related initiatives.
Action Step #1 – Establish and maintain ongoing relationships with students and student groups to discuss technology issues and solicit feedback.
Action Step #2 – Advertise new services and publish ITS announcements in the student newspaper.
Action Step #3 – Increase the number of classroom lectures made available as audio and video downloads in various formats.
Action Step #4 -Continue to support the creation of technology-rich learning experiences to attract and engage students.
Action Step #5 – Provide technology support and resources for student organizations.
Goal #4: Provide outstanding technology support in all areas.
Action Step #1 – Communicating IT issues and problems to the campus in a timely manner.
Action Step #2 – Provide an annual one-day workshop for the combined staff and student workers focusing on customer support, team-building and teamwork.
Action Step #3 – Encourage campus use of the Technology Support Center as the single point of contact for all technology questions.
Action Step #4 – Continue development of the Procedures Manual Wiki so that it contains full sets of common questions and solutions.
Action Step #5 – Establish service level agreements on common functions/procedures.
Action Step #6 – Maintain a section on the ITS website with RSS feeds to announce new services, changes, and status of systems.
Action Step #7 – Conduct a carefully designed bi-annual customer satisfaction survey. Analyze the survey results and develop plans to address problems. Communicate the results to the campus.
Action Step #8 – Develop and maintain sets of documentation for common services and technologies, which allows users to resolve common problems using these resources.
Action Step #9 – Educate users in the use of online support tools.
Goal #5: Provide an environment that encourages the use of technology to
facilitate and enhance learning.
Action Step #1 – Continue to form partnerships with faculty to ascertain which technologies can enhance their course content and instruction.
Action Step #2 – Provide opportunities for faculty to pilot new technology initiatives. Sponsor presentations and workshops by the faculty to their colleagues.
Action Step #3 – Research technology used at other educational institutions. Sponsor means for ITS staff and UIS faculty to visit other institutions that are using technology in innovative ways.
Action Step #4 – Provide the faculty with instructional examples to stimulate imagination and creativity in teaching. Offer ongoing training and support.
Action Step #5 – Provide ongoing faculty and student development opportunities, workshops and orientation sessions.
Action Step #6 – Coordinate institutional offerings in areas of training and faculty development.
Action Step #7 – Offer regular forums for faculty to showcase technology usage in their courses.
