Higher Ed 101: Filling a Void in IT Professional Development

Presented by:

Dr. Leslie Hitch & Beth-Anne Dancause

Northeastern University

Copyright Northeastern University, 2004 This work is the intellectual property of the

author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this

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Background

Why we need Higher Ed 101:• Organizational impact on customer

relations• Budgetary pressures• Leadership continuity

This model is transferable and can be adopted by your organization

Course Objectives• To understand core differences between corporate and

higher education organizational structures• To learn the roles & interconnections between individuals

and departments within the University• To examine, from as many perspectives as possible,

how information technology helps and sometimes hinders the day to day workings of higher ed

• To consider societal pressures affecting higher ed and the role IT may play in augmenting those pressures.

• To give participants familiarity and understanding of commonly used higher education terminology.

The Evolution of the Course

In the beginning…• 2 days with homework as a pilot• Focused on faculty & staff experience

As it evolved…• Half a day session• Includes student experience• Incorporates administrative systems

Mandatory for all IT staff

Condensed Higher Ed 101

AGENDA• Review of objectives• Lecture- History of Higher Education• Pin the Name on the Org Chart• Lecture- Role of President, Provost,

Trustees• Lecture- Staff• Lecture- Day in the Life of a Student• Classroom Discussion & Questions

President

VP VP VP

Manager

VP

Manager Manager

Assistant

Manager

Everybody Else

Reports to Everybody Else

Traditional Corporate Org Chart

Traditional Higher Ed Org Chart

Themes in Academia

1) Shared Governance

2) Academic Freedom (AAUP)

3) Tenure & Promotion

Pin the Tail on the Org ChartObjective:• What offices report to each area of the

University?• What systems/services does IT provide for

these offices?Outcome:• An understanding of interrelated areas• Understanding of internal silos

What’s the Role of the President, Provost & Trustees?TRUSTEES• Oversee university strategy, business and financial decisions…

PRESIDENT• Chief Executive Officer and reports to Board of Trustees…• Increase the University’s national and international reach…

PROVOST• Reports to the President and is a member of the Cabinet…• The Provost’s responsibilities include providing leadership for the university’s academic programs, policy development, library, personnel….

The Staff Perspective

• How do administrative systems fit into the higher education philosophy?

• Does “shared governance” apply to administrative systems?

Example: Graduate Recruitment

Why does this matter to me?

Thoughts from the Crowd…“The subject matter definitely will help me cope with frustrating situations and will probably help me get more ideas through the pipeline.”- Applications Developer

“The first exercise made me realize how much my vision is restricted to the departments I work with and not the university as a whole.”- Senior Database Administrator

Back to SchoolWhat percentage of students own their own computers**?

A: 52%B: 70%C: 87%

What percentage of students use the Internet more than the Library*?A: 23%B: 73%C: 90%

What percentage of students have a laptop**?A: 10%B: 24%C: 36%

What IT services does this impact?

How does this change the way we teach our students?

How many hours per week do students spend online*? A: 3B: 7 C: 11

How is supporting a laptop differentthan supporting a desktop?

How many students are impacted by a 1 hour outage of Internet service?

A Day in the LIFE of a Student

Gotta figure out what to wear- check the weather on weather.com and browse the headlines on boston.com… 8:15

Head over to the Help Desk in panic mode. They help me scanmy disk and recover the file just in time to print and make it to class!

8:45

11:00

Fire up my wireless laptop and check my email to see where my group is meeting. I IM my roommate Sue to find out where she wants to eat.

10:25

11:00AM Prof. Thomas shows us a streaming video from cnn.com of a press conference on Oracle’s takeover attempt of PeopleSoft. His notes will be online tonight.

A Day in the LIFE of a Student

11:00

Group work- we break up the assignment into pieces and each agree to post our contribution to Yahoo!Groups by Sunday.

1:00

Downtime- I swing by my room. Send my professor an email asking for clarification on our assignment. Log onto the portal to see events.

2:00

Chat with mom on IM to get the gossip on my sister. Cue up the new Britney Spears song from iTunes. Check my Palm to see what readings are due.

7:00

I almost forgot- the last day to register is today! Log onto the portal and take a quick look at the class schedule-see a cool class so I make an appointment to see my advisor tomorrow.

When Things Go Wrong- AndrewOur World Their World

Oct. 27

IDF Outage: West Village B

Hardware Failure

1 Hr 3 Minutes

With Apologies to Letterman

Changing demographics

New enrollment patterns

Security

For-profit education

Technological revolution

Globalization

Scientific research

Rapid tuition increases

Accountability

Money

10 top things affecting higher education

10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

Did You Pass the Course?

What are the 3 major themes in higher education?

Is the President or Chancellor the same as a CEO?

Is “getting tenure” contagious? (trick question)

If the VP can tell the IT staff what to do, why can’t the VP of IT dictate what kind of computer everyone must use?

How are students using technology & how does this affect IT?

How does IT affect the traditional roles & responsibilities at a university?

Questions?

For further information about this presentation, please contact:

Dr. Leslie P. HitchDirector, Academic Technology Services

Northeastern University360 Huntington Avenue

403 Richards HallBoston, MA 02115l.hitch@neu.edu617-373-7310