VCU Information Technology Strategic Plan: Give Us Your Thoughts

17 Comments Latest from Elan Technologies

Since last summer, VCU Technology Services has been crafting an information technology strategic plan to serve as a roadmap for technology development at VCU for the next five to ten years. This plan is designed to extend the technology we depend on each day at VCU, make it more reliable and easier to use, and identify and implement new and transformative technologies that will support University goals.

The draft plan is based on the directions of VCU 2020, the University’s strategic plan, and takes into account the needs of students, faculty and staff as well as possible future developments in technology (which admittedly can be very difficult to forecast). It is also tempered by the current and future budget realities facing VCU.

We are currently in the process of sharing the draft plan with various University constituencies to get their reactions and input. The process will continue through the end of May. This document outlines the draft goals, objectives and initiatives. Please take a few moments to review the proposals. You can use the comments form at the bottom of this blog page to provide us with your thoughts and ideas or ask any questions you might have concerning this strategic plan. You can also provide this feedback via email. Please keep in mind that many of these initiatives are activities that are above and beyond current services. In order to pursue, they may require additional funding or a reallocation/reprioritization of existing resources to accomplish.

Thank you for taking the time for reviewing these ideas and providing us with your feedback.

Click here to view and comment on the proposed VCU IT Strategic Plan

Mark Willis
Chief Information Officer
VCU Technology Services

About This Entry

Feb

2010

Published on Friday, February 12, 2010, at 12:08 pm by Samuel Kennedy in the Technology Services: From the CIO blog.

Categories: Uncategorized

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17 Comments Below

#1 June Min February 19, 2010

Is there anyway we can pay extra for increased internet speed for us internet enthusiasts/Gamers? The current internet we have at McRae Hall is slow for anything other than the VCU school work.

#2 Leticia Flores March 18, 2010

I am very excited to see that IT will be given additional support and encouragement to expand their services and capabilities. We are a department-based health care service provider on the Monroe Campus, with many ties to the medical campus. We often suffer from obstacles in communication between our campus and the Medical campus. We cannot currently share networks, which makes secure transferring and sharing of often sensitive media difficult- we may as well be two completely separate institutions. This hampers our ability to provide better training and education to our students and service provision to our patients. I hope that this plan proceeds considering the two campuses as part of one university system. Also, our training clinic is located on the very far end of the Monroe campus- along Broad and Lombardy streets. We have no "hard-wired" IT system, and must share a "laser" signal with Sports Medicine. I hope that we may be considered part of the wireless expansion plan. Thanks for the opportunity to see what your plans are, and the opportunity to comment. I see the IT staff as being integral to our identity as a university, and an invaluable resource for us.

#3 garbettgl March 22, 2010

The existing VCU public computers are extremely beneficial for student use. Are there any plans to expand public computer areas for students?

#4 Tom Jones March 23, 2010

I'm really glad to see a creation of a "wireless village" in the plan - this has already become essential at other universities, including James Madison University. But, for the number of people using the infrastructure (and possibly adding a few thousand to that), I'm not sure if VCU will have the resources necessary to ensure implementation of such a system will be widespread and secure, with few to no lags.

#5 Charles West March 30, 2010

IF IT WORKS, DON'T FIX IT!!!! "Increased functionality" is code, to those of us non-technogeeks, for "It won't work for a couple of months," or "It's going to be hard to learn, and those geeks are going to change it anyway." Leave it alone!

#6 Melissa Wang March 30, 2010

I liked the emphasis on decreasing and eliminating redundancy. As a student, I have used the med school e-board and the VCU blackboard. The blackboard is so much more efficient and powerful. Why are all VCU programs not using the blackboard for communication, class assignments, grades, etc?

#7 Kasey Martin April 1, 2010

Creating a "research network" or providing some type of means to be able to share data securely is definitely needed. Has the university considered allowing research teams invest in Microsoft Sharepoint (online version)? We use this software for research we are conducting with people from several different organizations - it provides a safe and secure way to organize data and protocol related to the project.

#8 William Donahoe April 2, 2010

Allow FTP over wireless, please. It's ridiculous that we have to plug in. We already have to authenticate to connect to the wireless so you know what we're uploading. Anyone trying to do web work at VCU needs FTP access.

#9 Kelly Gotschalk April 8, 2010

Can we dump Lotus Notes and get an e-mail system that works better offsite? The Mail Anywhere feature of Lotus Notes has serious limitations and slows me down greatly when I need to work remotely.

#10 Rick Puckett April 21, 2010

I am a former VCU student and work for a local Boat Store and Auto Body Repair Shop. I would like to see a page on the VCU website dedicated to local businesses. You could easily provide outbound links to the local businesses' websites which would make it easy for students and alumni to find reputable businesses in the Richmond area. These businesses could in turn provide reciprical links to VCU's website, helping prospective students find VCU classes and programs--a mutually beneficial relationship.

#11 Anonymous April 25, 2010

Please open the wireless ports to the same standards that the wired ports currently have. Wireless access is now the main way most students communicate with the VCU network. The fact we are allowed to use ftp and many other ports and protocols over wired and not wireless does not make sense. The security concerns with opening these ports are currently present anyway and there are ways to circumvent the limitations anyway. No one benefits from the restrictions. Also, it would be greatly appreciated if other operating systems such as Linux, Unix, and Mac's were kept in mind during any changes made. Windows should not be the sole focus as there are a growing number of students and faculty using other systems. Thanks

#12 Aaron Wolen May 4, 2010

Plan looks excellent. IT plan should include a policy that mandates researchers to backup data to VCU servers. Most researchers here don't realize the school offers this and, anecdotally, it appears very few have a sufficient backup strategy in place. If possible, data backup for researchers should be free, since the data is valuable to the university. Second suggestion, since so many students and faculty access the internet through open, non-secure wifi hotspots at coffee shops and such, I believe the school should offer its VPN service to all students and suggest they use it when outside of the campus network. This will help protect students from potential identity theft and fraud.

#13 Frances Smith May 21, 2010

Please don't forget to articulate the importance of providing IT and web tools that are accessible for all students and faculty. Following and supporting such standards (such as the W3C web accessibility standards) assures we are providing for instructional settings that are more universally designed for all learners.

#14 Glen Larson May 27, 2010

There are three primary legs to all IT organizations, people, process and technology. The plan seems to primarily focus on technology and for an IT organization that is common. There is a section that focus on the people as well, which is excellent, but I think it lacks focus on support and services to the clients or end users. There is some mention of process, but in my opinion that is one area where the strategic plan falls short. Adoption of industry best practices such as ITIL, ITAM, PPM and an SDLC is crucial for an organization that have a growing user base like VCU. In addition the plan does not provide an indication of timing for the efforts. In conjunction to the Strategic Plan, you should develop a prioritized strategic roadmap that shows when the specific initiatives are planned. This would be especially important given this plan covers a fairly large period (5-10 years).

#15 Jim Jarson May 31, 2010

I have to agree with some of the other commenters. Opening the same ports wirelessly as wired would be a great benefit to my every day tasks and for those of us who do not work well sitting at the same ole desk. @June: Why would VCU want to invest in providing greater access to academic distractions?

#16 Nathan June 21, 2010

VCU public computers are very useful for students. Thanks for telling your program. It is working well.

VCU Technology Services