S.S.: We don't trust anybody inside or outside. We monitor access to critical systems, use role based identity, and conduct proactive scans weekly-plus a few other things we won't talk about publicly.
B.M.: We formed a central IT security office with dedicated staff (reallocated from within our organization) three years ago, and it reports directly to me. We also have developed incident response teams mostly composed of individuals from outside our central IT organization, which has helped us to better engage our community in both responses and avoidance through better compliance with best practices.
C.S.: We have intrusion detection where we know if somebody is trying over and over again to gain access and failing. The greatest security threat is wireless and people bringing their own laptops, but it's a small percentage. We have all the fail-safes a four-year would have, but we don't see as many attempts.
How are you managing the push to integrate technology in your classrooms (lecture capture, better presentation options, etc.)? What group is driving it?
R.D.: Providing power connections for students is still a major issue and will be for the foreseeable future. Every summer we either add projection capabilities or replace A/V equipment in a dozen classrooms. This is motivated by increased faculty use of web-based technologies and PowerPoint in the classroom. We've been experimenting for about three years with lecture capture software from Tegrity. Faculty feel more comfortable covering a lot of material because students can review more easily. I think this is a technology that students will be expecting universities to provide within five years, much as ubiquitous networks and wide use of learning management systems have become universal student expectations.
C.S.: If there is a single group leading a change you'll get resistance from some people, but we have collaboration. IT is driving it from providing support-not pedagogy. Eighty percent of our classrooms are "smart classrooms," and the technology can do lecture capture. We're expecting more faculty to start posting lectures online. There is no question that students love the faculty that use the technology. And-this is the coolest thing-we have faculty demonstrate how they have integrated technology into their classroom. We're going to make it an annual event.
S.S.: Colleges tend to drive the learning environment. We lay the base standards, but on the teaching side we try not to be rigid on what is picked. IT also provides consulting help to spec, acquire, and implement A/V-type technology solutions, feedback systems (clickers), and so on.
J.S.: I'd say that what IT lends to a process is our skills and comfort level with doing tech assessment.
On the people side, how do you drive organizational change and get everyone on board?
R.D.: The hundred million dollar question! We use a variety of approaches, but they almost always involve partnerships with peer leaders from the functional side (academic or administrative), so developing good relationships with others across campus is critical.
B.M.: It is important to develop a shared vision. This is not trivial, and will likely involve a lot of hard work. We have a concept that we call "core service teams." When a common need exists on campus for a service, we pull together people mostly from outside central IT to work through the process and identify options. It culminates in a report to me. That has worked really effectively. When the team does the work, it ensures buy-in right from the beginning.
S.S.: Good communication and timely information dissemination are very important. For instance, we still had people using dial-up, and it was becoming cost prohibitive. We've been working for a year to notify people [we are shutting it down], especially if it will have a negative impact.
J.S.: I agree with the premise that IT is a leader for change. We have to help users understand what they need. To increase the ongoing dialogue and ownership among and between all constituents, we recently created a twelve-person university-wide IT governance group (the IT Advisory Committee-ITAC). Part of it is "feel our collective pain"-we don't have the resources to implement every good idea out there.
