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Standard 3:
Developing and Applying Resources and
Organizational Structures to Ensure Sustainability
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3.7: The institution's information technology resources are
sufficiently coordinated and supported to fulfill its educational purposes
and to provide key academic and administrative functions.
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UC Santa Cruz Summary of Evidence |
Information technology is a key component to the
infrastructure supporting the University’s instruction and research
mission, and its administrative operations. As such, it is an important
factor in maintaining our excellence as an institution of higher
education. From policy development to hardware maintenance and computing
security to instructional computing support, the campus seeks to create an
operational model within which it will optimize strategic planning and
resources, develop best practices, and create flexible processes with the
capacity to meet evolving needs. Campus long-range planning highlighted
this objective, and identified a critical need for senior leadership in
the area of IT. Extensive discussion with Academic Senate and
administrative committees, as well as with Deans and Vice Chancellors,
informed the decision to establish a new position on campus - the Vice
Provost, Information Technology. This position was created directly as a
result of the campus’ ten-year Planning Process, and was also an
appropriate response to the budgetary challenges presently confronting the
University, and the critical and central role that IT-based solutions will
assume in the campus response. The Vice Provost, Information Technology
will guide campus-wide strategic IT planning and policy formulation.
Responsibilities include the oversight of the campus’ IT infrastructure,
the application of IT to the instruction and research program as well as
campus business processes, and coordination of IT issues across
organizational boundaries.
In addition to developing new IT leadership
responsibilities, the Vice Provost was given management responsibility for a
new Information Technology Services organization established to leverage and
coordinate campus IT resources. The core of this new unit is comprised of
the Computing and Telecommunications Services and Media Services
organizations, formerly reporting to the Vice Chancellor of Business and
Administrative Services and the University Librarian, respectively. In
response to budget challenges, the campus is also exploring further
consolidation of IT services, and investments required to advance the campus
goals. Coordination of information technology resources is further achieved
through the Information
Technology Committee. This advisory committee forms the forum for
reviewing, evaluating, and recommending strategies, plans, and policies for
campus information technology. Through its membership, this committee
broadly represents research, instruction, teaching excellence, operations,
administration, and students.
The campus also has two academic senate committees that
advise on technology issues. The
Committee on Computing and
Telecommunications provides general advice on the resource and policy
issues, while the Committee
on Teaching, through its oversight of Instructional Improvement Grants,
provides advice on utilization of grants to support technology enhancements
for the classroom. The campus also has a
Classroom
Subcommittee (subcommittee to the Capital Improvements subcommittee to
Advisory Committee for Facilities) that provides recommendations for modernization of classroom media and
technology.
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Links to Evidence and Related Documents |
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