1996 Directions Statement

March 1996

After consideration of comments and suggestions from many people on campus, the University Computing Committee (UCC) is pleased to submit our final version of the 1996 Directions Statement. The UCC continues to welcomes comments and suggestions: these will be considered as part of the implementation process of the recommendations. They can be sent via e-mail to the UCC committee or to any member of the committee. The members of the committee who prepared the document are listed below:

• Liz Bevan, (UCC Secretary), Institutional Analysis and Planning
• Jay Black, Associate Dean for Computing, Faculty of Mathematics
• Paul Dirksen, Director of Computing Services
• Ian Gibson, Associate Dean for Computing, Faculty of Science
• Brent Hall, Associate Dean for Computing, Faculty of Environmental Studies
• Duane Kennedy, Associate Dean for Computing, Faculty of Arts
• Bruce MacNeil, Associate Librarian
• Bud Walker, Director of Data Processing
• Richard Wells, Associate Dean for Computing, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences
• Bill Wilson, (Chair of UCC) Associate Dean for Computing, Faculty of Engineering

Table of Contents

• I. Executive Summary
• II. Recommendations
• 1. Introduction
• 2. A Vision of Information Technology and the Future of the University of Waterloo
• 3. Issues and Recommendation
  • 3.1. IT/Information System Management and Organizational Structure
  • 3.2. User IT/IS Activitie
    • 3.2.1. Teaching/Learning Computing Activities
    • 3.2.2. Research Computing
    • 3.2.3. Administrative Computing
    • 3.2.4. The Electronic Workplace
  • 3.3. User Training and Suppor
    • 3.3.1. IT/IS Training for Users
    • 3.3.2. End-User Support
    • 3.3.3. Appropriate Use of Electronic Media
  • 3.4. Technical Infrastructur
    • 3.4.1. IT/IS Service and Support Framework
    • 3.4.2. Student Computing Environment
    • 3.4.3. Information Technology Security
    • 3.4.4. Information Technology Communication Networks
    • 3.4.5. Standards
• 4. Resource Issues
• 5. Appendix
• 6. References

I. Executive Summary

The purpose of this computing directions statement is to present a strategic plan for the University to respond to the dramatic changes that are occurring in information technology and information systems. It is clear that most of the primary activities of the University are being significantly affected by these changes in information technology and it is critical that the University respond with appropriate changes in the management structure, the technical infrastructure and the human resources applied to this area.

A vision of how information technology has become a key element in the future development of the University, is presented. Traditional boundaries between the various academic computing activities and administrative information systems have become blurred and therefore better coordination of the support for these activities is required. The two most critical issues identified are the establishment of a strong IT/IS management structure and the reorganization of support areas along functional lines. The appointment of a senior manager to provide leadership in this area and the formation of a new integrated University Committee on Information Technology and Systems are recommended.

Various user activities are discussed, including research computing, teaching/learning computing and administrative computing. A common requirement in all these activity areas is a well supported electronic workplace which is equitably accessible by all faculty, staff and students to provide the basis for effective use of information technology in their work and studies. This not only requires the coordination of computing facilities but also requires a strong system of user training and user support to capitalize on the benefits of information technology and facilitate efficient use by the whole university community.

The need for a well coordinated technical infrastructure is discussed. In an environment where there is distributed responsibility and resources for information technology the appropriate balance between central facilities and support and distributed support must be found.

II. Recommendations

R1.

Appoint a senior person to provide leadership in IT/Information Systems (IS). This manager would be responsible and accountable for planning, implementing and coordinating all IT/IS activity for the University. The person selected should have strong managerial and IT/IS skills with some business background, and have a good understanding of the University community, its needs, and the important role of IT in teaching/learning and research.

R2.

Establish a single committee, University Committee on Information Technology and Systems (UCITS), which would be advisory to the senior manager on all matters relating to IT/IS. This committee would replace the role of the present UCC and PACIS committees and should be made up of people who have the authority and operational responsibility for IT/IS. The committee would be chaired by the IT/IS manager and given the existing organizational structure the membership would include:

• General Services - Representative
• Finance - Representative
• Academic Affairs - Representative
• Library - Representative
• Department of Computing Services - Director
• Data Processing Department - Director
• Associate Deans Computing (6)
• Manager IT/IS

R3.

Develop special subcommittees and working groups to provide the resources and expertise to address specific IT/IS issues and provide advice to the manager and UCITS. UCITS would develop the Terms of Reference, identify the membership, and appoint the Chair for these subcommittees and working groups. Some examples of such committees/working groups are:

• Campus Network Advisory Group (CNAG)
• Unix Support Advisory Group (USAG)
• Financial Systems Project Subcommittee
• Student Information Systems Project Subcommittee
• UWInfo Operations Committee
• Teaching/Learning Advisory Group
• News Server Policy Working Group
• User Community Advisory Group
• Scientific Computing Advisory Group
• Computing Advancement Group

R4.

Assign management responsibility for the Department of Computing Services, Data Processing and the Library to the senior manager (IT/IS). Other units that should also be considered are: Telephone Services, the Computer Store, Audio Visual and Graphic Services.

R5. Conduct a review and subsequent re-organization of IT/IS support activities along functional lines, with an emphasis on the ability to support user/university driven needs. This should be done in consideration of the role of some distributed support units

R6. Recognize and reward the effective use of IT in teaching and learning. This could be via the currently enhanced attention being paid to the teaching component of merit or via special targeted awards.

R7. Foster the effective use of IT in teaching and learning, by reorganization or coordination of parts of bodies such as TRACE, Audio Visual, and the Library, to provide consultation, design, production and evaluation on the integration of IT into the curriculum.

R8. Encourage preparation of educational materials in digital format to facilitate flexible delivery using IT for private study, tutorials, laboratories, distance education and classroom presentation. Infrastructure support, such as electronic classrooms, should be planned and coordinated at an institutional level.

R9. Ensure that administrative IS standards, approaches, and infrastructure are consistent with the University IT standards (see R34), approaches and infrastructure, and vice versa.

R10. Commit to principles of distributed access, IS integration, and the exploitation of generic solutions and protocols as opposed to customized approaches or development for specific areas.

R11. Ensure that IS projects are supported with appropriate commitment by both the user groups and IT/IS service providers, that priorities are well established through consultation, and that project feasibility, structure, methodology, and evaluation are appropriate.

R12. Develop and maintain a statement describing the base level of hardware, software, network infrastructure, system support, and training necessary for the electronic workplace.

R13. Develop a plan for the coordination of resources at all levels to ensure that faculty, staff and students have appropriate access to workstations that will facilitate their required academic and academic support activities in the electronic workplace.

R14. Identify a set of core computer skills required by various user groups and develop training programs designed to help users learn and maintain these skills.

R15. Build on existing models for training and user support, by maintaining a central group responsible for the development and coordination of high quality IT/IS training programs for faculty, staff and students across the University.

R16. Provide faculty and staff members with release time to permit them to take full advantage of training sessions and maintain adequate levels of competency.

R17. Expand the structure of local help desks and support to all faculties and major administration units. DCS/DP should provide support, coordination, backup, professional development, and training for staff providing local support.

R18. Encourage departments and groups to adjust job responsibilities to establish local staff expertise and thus provide a basic level of local support for the major activities of their unit.

R19. Provide well defined information and guidelines on appropriate use of computing, privacy and intellectual freedom issues in the electronic workplace.

R20. Constitute a working group to generalize the USAG report of June 1995 to encompass PCs and Macintoshes.

R21. Develop a university-wide policy for infrastructure provision and support, and a charging policy for researchers and others who wish to buy services from various service providers on campus.

R22. Design a procedure whereby UCITS, DCS, and DP can work with individual units to develop local system support expertise.

R23. Provide all students with equitable on-campus access to the Electronic Workplace (see section 3.2.4). Users may be charged for activities which result in direct costs to the University such as printing and dial-in access to the campus network.

R24. Provide adequate student computing lab resources to support teaching/learning activities. This requires a program for ongoing upgrades to hardware and software.

R25. Investigate the feasibility of an integrated, campus-wide student computing environment which is accessible from both on-campus and off-campus.

R26. Negotiate with vendors to allow the University community to obtain hardware and software at reasonable costs.

R27. Develop an overall policy for campus network, software and data security. Once a policy is in place, a plan should be made to improve the general level of security across campus considering the available technology, resources, and risks.

R28. Establish a working group and forum to review and coordinate IT/IS security.

R29. Assign staff to effectively monitor ongoing security procedures, both internally and externally, and to identify, assess and correct/eliminate new security risks.

R30. Establish a security awareness program for all staff and students with access to campus IT/IS facilities, as part of the general training effort.

R31. Continue the operation of the Computing Network Advisory Group to act as the focal point for network evaluation and planning, making recommendations to UCITS to define operation policies and future planning.

R32. Review the second level networks and develop an upgrade plan to provide consistent service with appropriate bandwidth to all areas using fibre optic technology. Those areas with the highest demands should have first priority.

R33. Examine the potential use of network technology for integration of all communication needs (video, phone, data) on-campus and possibly with key university partners.

R34. Refine the list of standard hardware, operating systems, applications software and networks to be supported by the University. Maintenance of this list should be the responsibility of UCITS and its working groups, in consultation with the user community.

1. Introduction

The 1989 University Computing Directions Statement has formed the basis for policy and development of computing and information technology systems for the past 6 years. Although it was intended that the statement be reviewed and updated each year by the University Computing Committee (UCC), a review has not been done until now. Many of the goals defined in the statement have been achieved while a few others have not been acted on or are still in progress. Many of the general directions stated in the 1989 document are still relevant today, but there have been very dramatic changes in the enabling technology and in the variety and breadth of use of information technology both within the university and in the general community. The significance and impact of information technology on the fundamental university functions of teaching/learning, research and administrative operations have also dramatically increased. It is therefore time for a thorough review and revision of the computing directions statement in the context of this new environment.

It is important to note that the present document has a broader focus than the previous document, by including most aspects of information technology and information systems rather than the narrower focus on computing systems alone. "Information Technology" is technology related to the creation, communication and distribution of information in all forms. "Information Systems" refers to the systems and infrastructure that support the administrative and business operations of the university. In this document, these terms are generally referred to as IT and IS respectively.

Also, it should be noted that this document provides recommended "directions" for the University to follow and is not intended to be a detailed policy document. Policy details and implementation plans should be developed by the new management structure and support committee recommended the Section 3.1.

As part of the process of review and updating of the directions statement, the UCC has consulted widely with students, faculty and staff through a number of different mechanisms. There were several open meetings held with different sectors of the university, and one for the university community as a whole. Also, a special meeting was held with IT/IS support staff and a number of meetings were held with some faculty councils and university administrative committees. A home page was created to keep the community informed on the progress of the review and a newsgroup was set up to encourage discussion (uw.ucc.review). The resulting directions statement also is being submitted to the Commission on Institutional Planning as part of its overall planning and development report.

The next section of this document presents a picture of UCC's vision of an integrated environment of information technology and information systems, and discusses the important effects of this environment on the future development of the University of Waterloo. This is intended to provide a general framework for the more specific "Issues and Recommendations" that follow in Section 3. The "Issues and Recommendations" are grouped into sub-topics that include; IT/IS Management and Organizational Structure, User IT/IS Activities, User Training and Support, Technical Infrastructure and Resource Issues.

2. A Vision of Information Technology and the Future of the University of Waterloo

The overall goals of the University of Waterloo are the acquisition, creation, and dissemination of knowledge. Increasingly, achieving these goals depends upon equitable access by the entire university community to a powerful, well-managed electronic information infrastructure, which means electronic services, information, and computational resources. The infrastructure and the technology that support this are both changing rapidly, and inaction on the part of the University is damaging to its long-term ability to meet its goals in an efficient and timely manner. In this context, the current infrastructure is too balkanized and requires some rationalization. An enhanced institutional commitment is needed at all levels to increase the integration of information technology in work and study throughout the university community.

Each member of the university community should have the opportunity to be innovative and creative in the application of information technology to individual and institutional goals. The university must encourage the adoption of new technology, through standards and guidelines, and must have enough organizational flexibility to enable this adoption, through distributed responsibility and accountability for the acquisition, development, and use of information technology. This responsibility and accountability imply that individuals and units will act to reinforce centrally supported systems and standards.

Individual, departmental and institutional requirements must be satisfied in a harmonized manner. The institution must provide adequate training and support so that innovation will be successful, and individuals must ensure they have the skills and knowledge necessary to appreciate how information technology can best serve them in their study or work. Further, the individuals must help craft, use, and work within the infrastructure in a responsible fashion that reflects well upon themselves and the university. In return, the university must recognize the individual's legitimate rights to freedom of expression and privacy in our increasingly electronic workplace.

Equitable access, efficiency, and harmonization of institutional and individual requirements are the three main information technology issues facing the University at this time. Addressing these issues will be a complex task, involving changes in attitude, reallocation of resources, and rethinking how the University does its business. However, the rapid pace of technological change will continue, independent of the University's actions. If significant action is not taken, the university will become increasingly mired in outdated technology and will lack sufficient information technology human resources to achieve institutional goals. However, timely action on a number of fronts, should enable the University to take advantage of the wealth of individual's knowledge, creativity, and energy to achieve institutional goals more effectively and efficiently than is done at present.

3. Issues and Recommendations

Information technology has become a complex topic with many interacting activities, issues and requirements. However, in the university environment, certain groupings can be defined to provide a more organized structure for discussion of the issues. Figure 1 shows two broad groupings with User Activities above the line, and Infrastructure Support functions below the line. The user activities can be further subdivided according to the major university functions, namely Teaching/Learning, Research and Administration. However, many activities such as electronic mail, word-processing, use of spreadsheets, etc., overlap these functions while others are unique to the individual functions. This intersecting set of activities forms the Electronic Workplace, representing the common workplace activities performed by most people.

The infrastructure support shown below the line in Figure 1 can be subdivided into Technical Infrastructure support and User Support and Training. The technical infrastructure support refers to all the hardware and software infrastructure plus the technical support personnel who are responsible for installation, maintenance, and development of the infrastructure systems. User support and training refers to all the personnel responsible for supporting the end-user so they can make the most effective use of IT/IS in performing their job functions. The end-users include all faculty, students and staff that need to use IT/IS in their university activities. The knowledge and skill level vary widely in this end-user group.

Underlying all the IT/IS activities and support functions is the Management of IT/IS. This is the key element that ensures the most effective use of the Resources to provide a well coordinated and supported environment. This is crucial, especially in a university environment, where IT/IS responsibilities and resources are distributed across the enterprise.

In the following subsections, the management functions are considered first, followed by detailed discussions of the main activity areas. Then the various training and support issues and the fundamental technical infrastructure are considered. 

3.1 IT/IS Management and Organizational Structure

Computing technology, information systems, information delivery systems and personal communication systems have become much more intertwined, all interacting under a common infrastructure. The traditional boundaries between academic computing and administrative computing are no longer distinct. The impact of changing IT/IS on all aspects of fundamental university activities (teaching/learning, research and administration), has grown dramatically over the last five years and will continue to grow each year. This is a time when it is critical that the University respond to these changes with a strong commitment and an effective management structure to coordinate and lead the University in the area of IT/IS.

Two committees, the University Computing Committee (UCC) and the Provost's Advisory Committee on Information Systems (PACIS), provide advice to the Vice President, Academic and Provost. At present, these two committees often make independent decisions that can and do affect the others' ability to support IT/IS on campus. Also, several departments/units (Audio Visual, Computing Services, Data Processing, Graphic Services, the Library and Telephone Services) have significant overlap in their goals and objectives, and yet report to different administrators. If the university is to continue to meet the needs of its faculty, staff and students, and to remain relevant in the face of serious cuts to funding, an effective and coordinated management structure must be established for IT/IS. This management structure should be charged with:

• ensuring that the mission and goals of IT/IS are defined, understood, and supported by the university. Decisions would be easier to make if all shared the same corporate values and if goals are consistent with the institutional mission;
• ensuring that resources available to IT/IS are adequate to support the present IS projects and that new projects are approved only with the understanding that this requirement can be met;
• recognizing and encouraging innovation and experimentation in IT/IS leading to improved performance in teaching/learning and research and in the services that contribute to these activities;
• recognizing the role of all categories and all levels of staff and faculty in achieving the IT/IS mission;
• interpreting and representing IT/IS to the university community and beyond;
• providing an authoritative and consistent image of the role of IT/IS in the teaching and learning process at the University of Waterloo.

The two most critical issues identified in this computing directions statement are the establishment of a strong IT/IS management structure and the reorganization of support areas along functional lines. These views are supported by feedback obtained from University of Waterloo personnel involved in IT/IS, as well as comments received during other general meetings and individual submissions to UCC. Also, the O'Sullivan Report¹ recommends the need for, "...establishment of a new position of a full-time manager with the required technical and managerial skills to manage both operations [DCS and DP] on a coordinated basis or as a single Information Services department." The need for a strong management structure to provide leadership and direction in academic computing is emphasized in the work of several external groups. For example, the report on academic computing at the University of Toronto² recommends appointment of a full time Director of Academic Computing and the establishment of an Academic Computing Management Board. The impact of information technology on the university's mission is discussed throughout the draft report on the "Virtual-Campus" at the University of Western Ontario³. A good summary of the importance of universities responding to the challenges and opportunities of new information technologies is highlighted in the HEIRAlliance Report⁴ on, "What the Presidents Need to Know ... about Evaluating Institutional Information Resources."

Recommendations:

R1.

Appoint a senior person to provide leadership in IT/IS. This manager would be responsible and accountable for planning, implementing and coordinating all IT/IS activity for the University. The person selected should have strong managerial and IT/IS skills with some business background, and have a good understanding of the University community, its needs, and the important role of IT in teaching/learning and research.

R2.

Establish a single committee, University Committee on Information Technology and Systems (UCITS), which would be advisory to the senior manager on all matters relating to IT/IS. This committee would replace the role of the present UCC and PACIS committees and should be made up of people who have the authority and operational responsibility for IT/IS. The committee would be chaired by the IT/IS manager and given the existing organizational structure the membership would include:

• General Services - Representative
• Finance - Representative
• Academic Affairs - Representative
• Library - Representative
• Department of Computing Services - Director
• Data Processing Department - Director
• Associate Deans Computing (6)
• Manager IT/IS

R3.

Develop special subcommittees and working groups to provide the resources and expertise to address specific IT/IS issues and provide advice to the manager and UCITS. UCITS would develop the Terms of Reference, identify the membership, and appoint the Chair for these subcommittees and working groups. Some examples of such committees/working groups are:

• Computing Advancement Group
• Scientific Computing Advisory Group
• User Community Advisory Group
• News Server Policy Working Group
• Teaching/Learning Advisory Group
• UWInfo Operations Committee
• Student Information Systems Project Subcommittee
• Financial Systems Project Subcommittee
• Unix Support Advisory Group (USAG)
• Campus Network Advisory Group (CNAG)

R4.

Assign management responsibility for the Department of Computing Services, Data Processing and the Library to the senior manager (IT/IS). Other units that should also be considered are: Telephone Services, the Computer Store, Audio Visual and Graphic Services.

R5.

Conduct a review and subsequent re-organization of IT/IS support activities along functional lines, with an emphasis on the ability to support user/university driven needs. This should be done in consideration of the role of some distributed support units such as Mathematics Faculty Computing Facility (MFCF) and Engineering Computing.

3.2 User IT/IS Activities

3.2.1 Teaching/Learning Computing Activities

Information technology used in teaching and learning (sometimes called learning technology) spans a wide range of applications such as electronic mail, the World Wide Web, design and analysis programs and video-conferencing. Although IT is expected to become increasingly entwined in teaching and learning, the exact nature of this involvement is not completely clear. This area is changing very rapidly. For example, although the World Wide Web is relatively new service, it is currently one of the most potent forms of digital communication, combining relative ease of use and wide availability. Rapid growth of other similar technology is expected, and therefore, the necessary IT infrastructure required for support of teaching and learning must be planned without being tied to a specific methodology and delivery mechanism. Such infrastructure should be planned and coordinated at an institutional level.

The potential of IT for teaching and learning is not widely disputed, however, a number of barriers have prevented its wider acceptance and use. Chief amongst these is the technology itself, closely followed by the time required to create materials using these systems, and lack of pedagogical models to follow.

• For teachers, increasing familiarity with the electronic workplace and varied software has reduced the barrier of technology.
• For learners, familiarity and skill in the use of the electronic workplace makes IT a viable and indeed preferred vehicle for many types of interaction.

In order for teachers to make effective and appropriate use of IT, there must exist resources to support the development of facilities such as specially equipped electronic classrooms and networks, personnel resources to support current pedagogically useful software, and help in the creation of new course materials. This might be achieved through an expansion of the role of the TRACE office. IT allows many options for the delivery of educational materials if they are prepared in digital format. IT facilitates flexible delivery for private study, tutorials, laboratories, distance education, and classroom presentation. The result is a breaking down of the barriers of time and space which allows a rethinking of teaching and learning and the potential of improved learning at the same or reduced costs. Technology by itself is, however, only part of the issue. The reward structure of the institution should also be modified to acknowledge the effort involved in the development of new modes of teaching and learning.

In order for learners to make effective use of IT, it is critical that they have appropriate and convenient access. For on-campus users, this currently means access to sufficiently powerful hardware and software as well as Internet access. For off-campus users, this currently means telephone access via terminal servers to the campus student networks. Student-owned computers offer an opportunity to leverage scarce on-campus resources, but to be successful, this requires the development of an enhanced infrastructure to effectively integrate these machines into the campus network, both from on-campus and off-campus. Key issues are: software licensing, access control, security, and the provision of easy-to-install connectivity kits that require minimal support.

As tuition fees rise and competition for learners becomes more fierce, all aspects of the facilities of the institution will be evaluated. Flexible and powerful integration of IT in teaching and learning may provide an important competitive edge.

Recommendations:

R6.

Recognize and reward the effective use of IT in teaching and learning. This could be via the currently enhanced attention being paid to the teaching component of merit or via special targeted awards.

R7.

Foster the effective use of IT in teaching and learning, by reorganization or coordination of parts of bodies such as TRACE, Audio Visual, and the Library, to provide consultation, design, production and evaluation on the integration of IT into the curriculum.

R8.

Encourage preparation of educational materials in digital format to facilitate flexible delivery using IT for private study, tutorials, laboratories, distance education and classroom presentation. Infrastructure support, such as electronic classrooms, should be planned and coordinated at an institutional level.

3.2.2 Research Computing

Research computing needs vary widely from faculty to faculty, and research group to research group across the university. Hardware systems may include special purpose computers imbedded in experiments, high performance parallel processing computers, general purpose Unix workstations, powerful visualization facilities, large database systems and multimedia computing systems. Similarly, software needs include powerful computer programming environments, highly specialized analysis and design software, powerful database software and a wide range of scientific computing software. Good Internet access is also a very important tool for research computing. Research grants and contracts provide financial resources for the purchase of hardware and software in support of research activities. As a result, many purchase decisions are made by individuals or research groups quite independent of the directions being followed by the university as a whole. To a large extent, it has been the tradition that the responsibility for research computing lay with the researchers, rather than the university, and it is likely that this approach will be continued.

This situation does lead to problems in providing consistent quality technical and user support for the researcher's computing systems and software. Support is handled in different ways in different faculties. For example, in Mathematics there is central support for a good Unix computing environment through MFCF. Also, hardware and software support for researchers in ICR has been provided through infrastructure grants. There are several examples where individual research groups set up their own computing facilities and provide their own support. In other cases, researchers rely upon support from DCS personnel.

Due to the independent nature of researchers and the lack of university resources to supply the specialized needs of research computing, the present diverse and distributed nature of research computing will continue. However, the university plays a very important role in supporting a strong and well managed computing network infrastructure, a solid base of technical support for general Unix and PC/Mac computing and high quality training and user support. To be efficient, the supply of this support must be tied to some level of standards in hardware and software purchases. These issues are not unique to research computing, and therefore, discussions along with appropriate recommendations are given in other sections of this directions statement. 

3.2.3 Administrative Computing

Administrative information systems are of a form and character that are largely mandated by the functional needs of the university. These systems cross departmental boundaries, require extensive distributed access, and need to interact with each other. As a result, there is a strong requirement for integration, compatibility and standardization amongst systems both from a functional and from a technical perspective. Since these systems pervade a range of activities in both academic and academic support areas, they are a significant factor in determining the IT infrastructure of the university, and, at the same time, are a product of this infrastructure. For example, the electronic workplace is a crucial common denominator for both academic and administrative systems. The implementation of IS is being enhanced with the growing availability of packaged software solutions for vertical markets, highly functional development environments for IS professionals, standard industry approaches, and common tools that facilitate end-user information retrieval, analysis, and development activities.

More recently, generic networked-based services such as Electronic Data Interchange, the World Wide Web, and electronic banking offer a new dimension in services geared to reducing proprietary IS approaches and costs, while at the same time increasing IS integration and access. IS development projects can often be large, complex undertakings. Project activities can draw heavily on units that provide service to the entire university thus impacting the integrity of other IT/IS operations. It is important that such projects are undertaken with the appropriate commitment, collaboration, coordination, and cooperation to maximize the productivity of the project and to minimize the impact on IT/IS support for other areas.

Recommendations:

R9.

Ensure that administrative IS standards, approaches, and infrastructure are consistent with the University IT standards (see R34), approaches and infrastructure, and vice versa.

R10.

Commit to principles of distributed access, IS integration, and the exploitation of generic solutions and protocols as opposed to customized approaches or development for specific areas.

R11.

Ensure that IS projects are supported with appropriate commitment by both the user groups and IT/IS service providers, that priorities are well established through consultation, and that project feasibility, structure, methodology, and evaluation are appropriate.

3.2.4 The Electronic Workplace

In much of the university, faculty, staff and students use computers routinely for their daily activities. These include word processing, electronic mail communications, spreadsheet analysis, data collection, electronic reporting, information exchange through the World Wide Web and newsgroups, and social interactions with the university community and others. The level and breadth of these activities will continue to grow significantly over the next several years. This growth will accelerate as distributed systems allow end­ users to access university databases for academic support activities.

The growth of the electronic workplace requires that the university ensure reasonable and equitable access by faculty, staff, and students throughout the campus, to workstations connected to the campus network (directly or remotely) with appropriate software and support. The implications for the student computing environment are discussed in section 3.4.2.

The university expects that faculty and staff who routinely require computers in their work will have a workstation on their desk. In many instances, this workstation will be used for a mix of research, teaching, and administrative functions, and thus will need to adhere to institutional standards. As a result, provision of the workstation is a shared responsibility between the University, its units, and external research funding agencies. This recognizes that it is increasingly impractical to switch back and forth between different workstations dedicated to specific functions or restricted to specific uses.

With increasing use of the electronic workplace consideration must be given to correct integration of computer workstations into the work (and leisure) environment to prevent adverse health effects. These considerations should include appropriate work organization (breaks, task variety) and physical configuration of the work environment (appropriate furniture, lighting etc.). These should be considered during planning, purchase, installation of computer hardware and software, in the training of computer users as well as in the formulation of job descriptions.

Recommendations:

R12.

Develop and maintain a statement describing the base level of hardware, software, network infrastructure, system support, and training necessary for the electronic workplace.

R13.

Develop a plan for the coordination of resources at all levels to ensure that faculty, staff and students have appropriate access to workstations that will facilitate their required academic and academic support activities in the electronic workplace.

3.3 User Training and Support

3.3.1 IT/IS Training for Users

In an environment where budgets are being reduced, and everyone must "work smarter", it is necessary to ensure that all faculty, staff and students have the skills, including computer skills, to work efficiently. Staff need computing skills to use their hardware and software effectively. Faculty need computing skills for course administration tasks, for research work, and to deploy technology to increase the effectiveness of their teaching. Students need computing skills to complete course requirements and conduct research using the Internet. In addition, as a larger technology component is added to the educational process, tasks such as course registration, job searches, and on-campus communication, will require students to have more IT skills.

Most IT/IS training is provided by the Department of Computing Services (DCS). Introductory and advanced courses are provided during normal working hours for systems and software supported by DCS. Some faculties and departments provide additional training and support. However, not all faculty, staff and students take advantage of these courses for a variety of reasons including, insufficient release time, the timing of the training sessions and inappropriate or inadequate training facilities.

With the rapid introduction of new systems and technology there is a need to recognize that training and support are a shared responsibility between the institution and the user. The institution has a responsibility to provide quality training programs that meet the needs of all users (faculty, staff and students) to ensure that new IT/IS tools and systems can be used effectively, efficiently and productively. The training and support should be ongoing and be provided at appropriate times so that all users have the opportunity to complete the training and maintain skills at an appropriate level for their job or course requirements. The user has a responsibility to take advantage of these opportunities to learn required skills and maintain them at appropriate levels.

Recommendations:

R14.

Identify a set of core computer skills required by various user groups and develop training programs designed to help users learn and maintain these skills.

R15.

Build on existing models for training and user support, by maintaining a central group responsible for the development and coordination of high quality IT/IS training programs for faculty, staff and students across the university.

R16.

Provide faculty and staff members with release time to permit them to take full advantage of training sessions and maintain adequate levels of competency.

3.2.2 End-User Support

While modern computer systems are relatively easy to use, there exist vastly different skill levels among the University of Waterloo user community. This range of skill levels coupled with the complexity of systems and software, requires on-going support from knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced support staff.

University of Waterloo has already established an effective support structure which includes help desks in a number of departments and faculties (Science, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Data Processing, Library), local consulting offices (Applied Health Sciences, Arts, Math, Needles Hall), office calls for difficult problems, and a customer support centre (DCS), all attempting to provide 'one-stop' support. A mechanism is in place for supporting users and groups receiving new systems (software and hardware installation) and users upgrading existing hardware and software. Newer methods of providing support such as on-line help desks and on-line support materials also are beginning to be provided.

This structure of distributed support recognizes that different parts of the campus have different needs and that providing support close to the user is imperative. The structure also permits groups to develop local "self help" expertise to support their individual group's needs.

Recommendations:

R17.

Expand the structure of local help desks and support to all faculties and major administration units. DCS/DP should provide support, coordination, backup, professional development, and training for staff providing local support.

R18.

Encourage departments and groups to adjust job responsibilities to establish local staff expertise and thus provide a basic level of local support for the major activities of their unit.

3.3.3 Appropriate Use of Electronic Media

Discussion of appropriate use of electronic media requires a balanced view between principles of intellectual freedom and individual privacy, and issues of respect for the rights of other individuals in the community. All too often, users of electronic media believe that electronic communication, as a relatively new medium, differs from other forms of communication and therefore is not subject to the same policies regulations and behaviour norms that govern other conventional forms of communication. This belief is unfounded. Electronic communication and the use of university resources (equipment and access to computing resources) are governed by university policies, practices and agreements, and by legislation.

The University of Waterloo Policy number 33 on Ethical Behaviour begins:

Executive Council of the University of Waterloo on June 12, 1991, issued a policy on the use of computing facilities that states in part:

• Computing facilities at the University of Waterloo, and the on-campus and off-campus electronic communication systems by which they are interconnected and accessed, exist to support the research, instructional and administrative needs of the University. Most of these facilities are shared resources used by a large population of users. Facility administrators and users should ensure that these resources are used economically and wisely .... misuse may lead to disciplinary action within the University; it could also lead to civil and/or criminal action.
• Internet rules of behavior that govern the use of resources, such as The NET: User Guidelines and Netiquette⁵ by Arlene Rinaldi, also exist, although these rules are no more than guidelines and do not necessarily reflect University of Waterloo policy. As a participant in the Internet, the University of Waterloo supports generally accepted principles of proper use, and will abide by and enforce them through appropriate policies and mechanisms, including sanctions of individuals who willfully abuse Internet privileges.

Recommendation:

R19.

Provide well defined information and guidelines on appropriate use of computing, privacy and intellectual freedom issues in the electronic workplace.

3.4 Technical Infrastructure

3.4.1 IT/IS Service and Support Framework

IT/IS service and support are provided by a number of different units on campus, to different constituencies, at varying costs. This has advantages and disadvantages. New services and enhanced service levels can be provided differentially to support differing priorities and resource availability. Expertise can be developed and resources deployed according to both local and institutional priorities. Reaction to change can be rapid, since constituencies do not necessarily need to consult with central authorities or convince them that institutional priorities require modification. On the other hand, in the long term, lack of coordination and differing directions can lead to inefficiencies, duplication, and inequities which significantly inhibit the achievement of institutional goals. The number of devices in the computing environment and its complexity, have both grown to the point where it is not feasible to provide all IT/IS support centrally without a massive transfer of resources from other units. DCS/DP must concentrate on support activities that provide the greatest value to the institution as a whole.

There is a need to level the playing field and redefine the service and support framework for IT/IS across campus. The key aspects of this new support framework have been identified. First, a campus-wide understanding of what IT/IS infrastructure should be provided centrally, needs to be developed. Currently, this infrastructure consists of the following services:

• Access to the University of Waterloo campus network;
• Access to software packages (via SMS, xhier, Watstar MAD, PC and Macintosh software depots);
• Software for core business functions and the electronic workplace;
• Servers and operation of core business functions;
• Training materials and courses for the above.

Based on this campus-wide understanding of infrastructure, the types of IT/IS services and levels of expertise required to provide those services should be defined. In the long term, a model should be adopted which includes centralized specialists supporting distributed generalists,î very much along the lines of the USAG report, but with an expanded scope covering all aspects of IT/IS support. In this report, three levels of support services are defined.

• Level 1 services define functions and services that can be automated, and that are common across constituencies, including the provision of infrastructure, and the development and operation of core business systems.
• Level 2 services are concerned with per-machine and per-user support, and the allocation of resources to IT/IS priorities outside Level 1. Examples of Level 2 responsibilities include provision and support of teaching equipment, faculty-level infrastructure, and the operation and maintenance of shared research computing facilities.
• Level 3 services are associated with consulting and day-to-day operational support within workgroups, and acts as the first line of support. Each unit should have a designated workgroup support person responsible for day-to-day operation, routine hardware and software installation, some problem diagnosis, account administration, system security enforcement, and liaison with Levels 1 and 2 service providers.

In principle, Level 1 services should be provided centrally, Level 2 services should be provided by large units such as the faculties or the Library, and Level 3 services should be provided within workgroups such as departments and research groups.

Given this framework, research users should in principle be charged for all services beyond the base infrastructure, in a consistent fashion across campus, although the charges may be levied by different units. Level 1 services should continue to be provided centrally without a direct charge (with the exception of non-infrastructure services to researchers). However, charges may be levied by major units, such as faculties, for Level 2 services to members of their own constituencies. In general, these units should also be willing to provide Level 2 services, for an appropriate charge, to other units, groups or individuals, subject to overall resource constraints. Level 3 services will generally use resources within the individual workgroups. This will require significant training of local system administrators, and a recognition of local responsibility for support. These charging policies are a subject for future study.

The ability to react in a timely fashion to differing needs and priorities in academic and administrative units across the University, must be preserved. Local centres of expertise will continue to develop as the computing environment evolves, and this must be accommodated in the support framework. On the other hand, units must recognize the legitimate need of the University to leverage local expertise for university-wide benefit. A crucial aspect of this is the responsibility to adhere to corporate guidelines and standards.

Recommendations:

R20.

Constitute a working group to generalize the USAG report of June 1995 to encompass PCs and Macintoshes.

R21.

Develop a university-wide policy for infrastructure provision and support, and a charging policy for researchers and others who wish to buy services from various service providers on campus.

R22.

Design a procedure whereby UCITS, DCS, and DP can work with individual units to develop local system support expertise.

3.4.2 Student Computing Environment

Undergraduate and graduate students routinely use computers in their learning activities. Computers are used for daily activities that comprise the electronic workplace as well as specific activities related to course and research requirements. Computing will play an increasing role in learning activities as faculty integrate information technology into the teaching environment. Student use of computing also will increase over time as information systems allow students direct access to academic support activities such as registration.

In order for students to make effective use of IT/IS, they require appropriate and convenient access to the student computing environment both on and off campus. At present, the student computing environment consists of a mixture of hardware and operating systems that vary between, and within, faculties and academic support departments. On-campus access to the student computing environment varies greatly across campus. This leads to complications for students enrolling in courses in other parts of the campus as they may be forced to have multiple computer accounts, use multiple operating systems, and travel across campus to the appropriate computer lab. Barriers that impede student access should be removed.

The growth of computing in student learning requires that the university provide sufficient access to computing resources through on-campus computer labs and dial-in access from off campus. Adequate access to on-campus computer labs with appropriate hardware and software is important for learning activities of existing students and to attract new students. Adequate dial-in access, availability of software at reasonable prices, connectivity support, and user support are necessary to allow students to use home computers to meet their computing needs. Also, facilities should be developed in the on-campus computer labs to allow access for student-owned computers.

Recommendations:

R23.

Provide all students with equitable on-campus access to the Electronic Workplace (see section 3.2.4). Users may be charged for activities which result in direct costs to the University such as printing and dial-in access to the campus network.

R24.

Provide adequate student computing lab resources to support teaching/learning activities. This requires a program for ongoing upgrades to hardware and software.

R25.

Investigate the feasibility of an integrated, campus-wide student computing environment which is accessible from both on-campus and off-campus.

R26.

Negotiate with vendors to allow the university community to obtain hardware and software at reasonable costs.

3.4.3 Information Technology Security

The term "security", when applied to IT, generally refers to the sum total of risks that IT brings, the assessment of those risks, and the steps taken to minimize them. The term does not usually embrace the overall integrity of computing systems which can include such items as disaster recovery plans and quality assurance practices.

As computing at the University of Waterloo has evolved to a more distributed environment, the number of potential threats to its secure operation has increased. There exist more communications with the outside world, greater numbers of increasingly knowledgeable student, staff and faculty users, increased numbers and diversity of systems, and more physical access points. Previous practices which involved simply locking away sensitive documents do not apply in this new electronic environment. Sensitive information, including financial and personal information, will become common traffic across the network. Without proper precautions, personal privacy may be lost. Any effort to address security will need to consider the following:

• Security should not impede access unnecessarily.
• There is no single solution to security issues, only the realization that there exist risks which must be assessed and prioritized, based on legal and perceived importance. Each potential solution will carry a particular cost.
• A plan to improve security should represent an overall strategy and be formalized into university policy.

Although specific risks will vary in importance depending on the specific user group (faculty, staff, or student), the system, and the service being considered, certain basic themes exist for all, including:

• Physical security (e.g., access to networks, devices, concerns over vandalism or misuse)
• Network security (e.g., traffic snooping or modification, external vulnerability, denial of service)
• User integrity (e.g., identification, authorization, authentication, accountability)
• Software integrity (e.g., security exposures inherent in operating systems, vendor supplied applications, and developed applications)

Information access control (e.g., institutional data policy, software protection).

Recommendations:

R27.

Develop an overall policy for campus network, software and data security. Once a policy is in place, a plan should be made to improve the general level of security across campus considering the available technology, resources, and risks.

R28.

Establish a working group and forum to review and coordinate IT/IS security.

R29.

Assign staff to effectively monitor ongoing security procedures, both internally and externally, and to identify, assess and correct/eliminate new security risks.

R30.

Establish a security awareness program for all staff and students with access to campus IT/IS facilities, as part of the general training effort.

3.4.4 Information Technology Communication Networks

The main issues regarding computing networks are bandwidth, topology, communication hardware/infrastructure, network functions and management. There are three main domains of computer networks at the University of Waterloo. These are the main backbone of the campus network, the second-level networks which provide the distributed building services, and the network tie to the Internet. Over the last several years, a solid 100 Mbps FDDI fibre optics backbone has been established with redundant fibre optic runs to provide good future expansion capacity. The second-level networks provide access for whole buildings or faculties, or for the second-level networks dedicated to smaller groups with heavy computing activity. There are also some third-level networks, but these are usually localized within particular groups. One exception to this is the Pronet based Watstar network, which may be considered as a third-level network.

As IT activity has increased, both on-campus and off-campus network bandwidth demands and access have grown dramatically, and will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. The data communication network has become the most critical component in our distributed IT systems, and therefore, the university must be prepared to allocate adequate resources to provide appropriate upgrades and expansion of the on-campus networks and the connection to the Internet. The main concern is to implement a continuous evaluation and planning process, that will ensure that the networks grow in a planned and coordinated manner. Presently, a UCC working group, the Computing Networks Advisory Group (CNAG), plays a key role in this on-going planning process for the campus network needs. This model should be continued in the future.

Recommendations:

R31.

Continue the operation of the Computing Network Advisory Group to act as the focal point for network evaluation and planning, making recommendations to UCITS to define operation policies and future planning.

R32.

Review the second level networks and develop an upgrade plan to provide consistent service with appropriate bandwidth to all areas using fibre optic technology. Those areas with the highest demands should have first priority.

R33.

Examine the potential use of network technology for integration of all communication needs (video, phone, data) on-campus and possibly with key university partners.

3.4.5 Standards

Adoption of IT/IS standards across the university can lead to significant cost savings and improved quality of support as a result of improved efficiencies. In this context, "standards" refer to hardware, operating systems, networks, protocols, development tools and methodologies. There is an ever increasing need for IT/IS systems to interact and exchange information in a seamless manner which dictates adoption of some standards in communication protocols and software. However, because of the rich and diverse application of IT throughout the university, and because of the variety of individual IT needs, a variety of systems and software are required. Also, because purchase decisions are made in a distributed sense by individuals, groups and faculties, it is difficult to enforce a rigid set of standards. Therefore, a compromise is needed to realize efficiencies of support through adoption of standards while at the same time attempting to satisfy the varying needs across the university.

The adoption of university standards will significantly benefit the institution by:

• reducing the complexity of the technical infrastructure
• reducing hardware purchase cost through volume discounts
• reducing software costs through site licenses
• lowering technical support costs
• lowering training and end-user support costs
• easing management
• facilitating cooperation among the different academic and administrative units.

Dictating narrow standards for all aspects of IT/IS within the university is not practical. However, incentives can be put in place to strongly encourage adherence to a somewhat flexible set of standards. This is definitely required for the network infrastructure where adoption of standards is essential to the management and operation of the systems. Also, for administrative functions, adherence to standards is particularly important. This is also done in the Unix systems area, where a number of hardware platforms and operating systems are defined as "officially" supported by the university. This approach needs to be expanded as broadly as possible to all areas of IT/IS systems and software, so the university can benefit from the resulting efficiencies and provide adequate support for the increasing use of IT/IS in university activities.

Failing to adopt standards in these areas will result in: the university being unable to adopt modern IS across the campus; rapidly escalating training and support costs and/or a deterioration in service; and increasingly frustrated and ineffective faculty, staff and student users.

Recommendation:

R34.

Refine the list of standard hardware, operating systems, applications software and networks to be supported by the university. Maintenance of this list should be the responsibility of UCITS and its working groups, in consultation with the user community.

4. Resource Issues

A large number of the recommendations in this report depend either directly or indirectly on resource issues. It is clear that the university cannot implement all recommendations immediately, especially in light of the current severe financial constraints being imposed on the university. However, it should also be very clear that most functions in the university are becoming more and more dependent on the effective application of IT/IS, and to not respond to the increasing needs in this area, will have very severe long term effects on the stature and performance of the university. There are two ways in which the university can respond to this dilemma.

First, many of the recommendations in this document pertain to changes in the management of IT/IS, in the organization of support units and in the coordination of distributed IT/IS responsibilities and resources. These changes will result in improved efficiencies in the operation and support of IT/IS activities across the university, without increasing long term resources. However, the process of making these changes will consume some additional short term resources to achieve the long term gains. This is a very good investment.

Second, the university must realize that there have been, and will continue to be, further significant increases in the level of IT/IS activity. In fact, the increased use of IT/IS in all university functions represents the most dramatic change seen in the university in recent years, apart from the budget cuts. If the University of Waterloo expects to continue to be a dynamic university, known as the "leader of tomorrow" it must respond by allocating additional resources to this critical area, even in a time of budget cuts.

Appendix

Review Process

• June 29, 1995 - UCC retreat - development of initial focus and issues.
• Early July, 1995 - Established Web page, newsgroup (uw.ucc.review) and e-mail (ucc@dcs1) for communication. Distributed the document, "University Computing Committee Review of the University Computing Directions Statement" as well as the 1989 University Computing Directions Statement.
• July 20, 1995 - Open meeting with students.
• July 25, 1995 - Open meeting with faculty.
• August 2, 1995 - Open meeting with staff.
• September 1, 1995 - Distribution of the document, "A Vision of Information Technology and the Future of the University of Waterloo."
• September 15, 1995 - UCC meeting with computer support staff.
• September, 1995 - Discussions at several Faculty Councils.
• September 21, 1995 - General Open Forum.
• September 27, 1995 - UCC meeting with Executive Council.
• Oct.-Dec., 1995 - Preparation of the draft version of the Directions Statement.
• January 19, 1996 - Distribution of the draft document, "University Computing Directions statement (1996)".
• February, 1996 - Presentations at several Faculty Councils.
• February 8, 1996 - UCC meeting with the Commission on Institutional Planning.
• February 15, 1996 - UCC meeting with the Provost.
• February 26, 1996 - General Open Forum.
• March 18, 1996 - Release of the final document.

References

¹ Report of the President's Advisory Committee on the Central Administrative Structure at the University of Waterloo, June 24, 1994, page 9.

² Provostial Task Force on Academic Computing, University of Toronto, 1995, pages 21-23.

³ The University of Western Ontario, Towards the 'Virtual Campus' DRAFT Report, March 1995.

⁴ The Higher Education Information Resources Alliance, Executive Strategies Report #6 on, "What the Presidents Need to Know ... about Evaluating Institutional Information Resources", July, 1995.

⁵ 1 This document may be found on the WWW at URL http://www.fau.edu/rinaldi/netiquette.html

⁶ 1 Unix Support Advisory Group report presented to UCC in June, 1995.