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Information technology reboots, reorganizes, refines processes

Sacramento State’s information technology functions have been reorganized, pooling and coordinating resources from around the campus to better meet the strategic needs of the University.

The new Information Resources and Technology division (IRT) is primarily a combination of the previous Campus Computing and Media Services, Common Management System, and Business Information Systems resources. In addition, the IRT Division has new campus-wide responsibilities for critical information security and accessible technology initiatives.

The division encompasses most of the campus-wide academic computing, administrative computing, computer support, networking and telecommunication functions. In addition, IRT coordinates information technology policy and priority-setting campus-wide.

“The largest unit in the middle here didn’t even exist a year ago,” says Larry Gilbert, IRT vice president and chief information officer, pointing to an organizational chart of the new division. The unit he describes is the Academic Computing Resources Group. “It’s a work in progress, but the intent is to really put the focus on enhancing support for the academic process. In the past, information technology focused on technology itself and its infrastructure. Now the focus needs to be on how to use technology appropriately to enhance the academic process and provide additional support for faculty teaching and the student learning process.”

Gilbert’s position didn’t exist a year ago either. Prior to his arrival in March 2007, there was no chief information officer (CIO) position at Sacramento State.  President Alexander Gonzalez created the position and elevated it to the vice presidential level as part of a larger California State University initiative to improve strategic planning for information technology, while fostering innovative application of technology to instruction at all CSU campuses.

“What we’re focused on is more direct client services, especially enhancing support for faculty in the classroom and improving technology services for our students,” Gilbert says. “We want to change from being a background technical organization to one that is directly involved in providing information technology customer services to faculty, students, and staff.”

Gilbert says one of the key focus areas of the new division is the creation of a student web portal that will combine web resources, email, WebCT, and other information tools into an easy-to-use one-stop-shop.  “Increasing the functionality of WebCT, an on-line course management system that allows instructors to enhance their courses with discussion boards, email, quizzes, self-tests, surveys and grade books, is also especially important, as WebCT is currently used by more than 20,000 Sacramento State students,” he says

Another focus area is enhancing support to faculty in the classroom. “We’re doing a pilot test of what I call a ‘smarter’ classroom,” he says. “Right now, a so-called smart classroom has just a projector and a place to plug in a laptop computer. We are implementing a prototype classroom in Sequoia Hall that will be upgraded with a complete electronic podium, including a built-in desktop computer and all the technology needed for any type of teaching a faculty member prefers. We’re looking for faculty input on this prototype so we can further enhance it and use it as a model for further classroom improvement.”

Gilbert says it’s important for the University to keep up with technology, because students increasingly pay close attention to the currency of technology when they select campuses to attend. “We have to provide technology services to students to both attract them to campus and then keep them here. We have to keep our information technology structure current or we will start to lose students,” he says.