The Office of Information Technology

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is the university's centralized computing and telecommunications support organization, consisting of three campus-based divisions on the Newark, Camden and New Brunswick campuses, as well as two university-wide divisions supporting administrative computing and telecommunications services . The 220-member computing services staff collectively provide support for voice and data networking services, centralized batch and timesharing computing platforms, administrative applications software, and instructional computing resources in support of Rutgers' threefold mission of instruction, research, and public service. The executive director of computing services reports to the vice president for institutional research and planning and is a member of the university's Administrative Council (a group including the vice presidents, provosts, and deans) and the University Senate. The vice president for institutional research and planning reports to the president and is a member of the President's Cabinet.

Campus-based computing services divisions each maintain centralized data centers which provide general-purpose academic computing systems and software support on the Camden, Newark and New Brunswick campuses as well as operating and maintaining student computing labs. The administrative computing services division maintains a centralized mainframe data center that provides and supports the primary administrative applications for supporting the core business functions of the university. The telecommunication division supports university-wide voice and data networking connectivity throughout Rutgers.

Executive Summary

This report summarizes the activities and accomplishments of the Office of Information Technology (OIT) for Fiscal Year 97/98 and plans and goals for Fiscal Year 98/99. As the University's computing and information technology support organization at Rutgers, OIT provided services to the more than 48,000 students as well as 11,000 faculty and staff on all three campuses. Through its 220 full-time and 490 part-time staff including student assistants, a diverse array of resources and support services were provided throughout the 97/98 academic year. The University's strategic planning process has recognized and acknowledged the growing dependence of the entire institution on the services and facilities OIT provides and has identified information technology resources and infrastructure as key to the attainment of core institutional goals and objectives. The following highlight a number of major activities and initiatives over the past year, reflecting OIT's commitment to these strategic priorities.

RUNet 2000

Recognizing the need to upgrade and expand the network infrastructure, OIT staff led a major planning effort for RUNet 2000, a comprehensive and advanced communications infrastructure designed to meet the institution's needs for voice, data, and video. A formal request for proposal for the RUNet 2000 initiative was issued during the 97/98 academic year. Following an extensive evaluation process involving numerous committee structures, the project and its nearly $100 million funding plan received the approval and endorsement of the Rutgers Board of Governors in July 1998. Final contract negotiations are currently underway with the successful vendor, Bell Atlantic Network Integration, Inc

Commitment to Excellence

Given the increasing importance of information technology services, OIT formalized a quality improvement initiative during Fiscal Year 97/98 with the assistance of the Quality and Communications Improvement (QCI) team led by Brent Ruben and an outside consultant. Organizational mission, vision and values statements have been formalized (see appendix), and process teams charged with the operational goals of improving customer satisfaction and organizational dynamics are underway along with an effort to appropriately align OIT services and support model with the ongoing needs of the institution.

Administrative Computing Enhancements

Along with Year 2000 compliance issues, one of the major themes of The Multi Year Plan for Administrative Computing during Fiscal Year 97/98 was to leverage existing administrative systems through the use of data warehousing and web technologies. In support of this goal, Administrative Computing Services developed a number of new web applications aimed at improving services for current and prospective students, faculty, staff, and administrators while extending the life of existing applications. Highlights include: undergraduate admissions applications via the Web, online transcripts and grades via the Web, financial aid applications and document status via the Web, address directory record updates via the Web, and access control for data custodians via the Web.

Distributed Support

Voice Services

E-mail Distribution Lists

Instructional Services

In conjunction with the Teaching Excellence Centers, OIT made WebCT (Web Course Tools) available for faculty throughout the University. The software was used for 91 courses to create on-line courses, to make supplementary materials available on the Web, for student progress tracking, for group project organization, for grade maintenance and distribution and auto-marked quizzes, and to create bulletin boards and on-line chat rooms.

SROA-Supported Projects

With support from SROA and other funds, New Brunswick Computing Services set up a dedicated system for social science researchers who need large scale statistical data processing. In Camden, SROA and local student computing fee funds were allocated to continue the expansion of the Science Vision Project, a data visualization project involving the Chemistry, Computer Science, and Mathematics departments. Through the support of SROA and NIH funds, the Newark campus implemented a high performance parallel computing facility and visualization workstations, used for experiments in the areas of brain images involving the language processes, memory and vision and the effects of brain trauma, molecular modeling experiments to create a new generation of pharmacological agents, and urban environmental research focusing on environmental conservation and development.

Improvements to Dialup Services

Over the past year, major improvements and enhancements were made to remote access facilities. Escalating demand for remote access to information technology resources led to the need to increase the size of the dialup pool to 1,500 modems from about 950 modems.

Internet 2

During Fiscal Year 97/98, Rutgers continued its collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, Lehigh and the University of Delaware on a regional high speed point of interconnection for Internet2, the Mid-Atlantic GigaPop for Internet2 (MAGPI). OIT submitted and received a two-year grant from the National Science Foundation's meritorious applications, high-speed connections program for a connection to the vBNS backbone (very high-speed backbone network system). This national network infrastructure currently interconnects the National Supercomputing Centers, and will comprise the initial backbone, which links or ties together "gigapops" for Internet2 institutional members. OIT also received a $100,000 grant from the 3Com Corporation for Internet2 related activities.

Student Fee

OIT received 15% of the student computing fees for the fall and spring terms to support infrastructure used by students, including UNIX servers, dialup services, and portions of University software site licenses. Support was provided for infrastructure on all three campuses: Camden - upgrade to some Ethernet switches and improved networking, an increase of 24 dialup lines, an upgrade of 24 dialup lines, a Novell server, and a web server; New Brunswick - upgrade to the Eden UNIX cluster, some Ethernet switches and improved networking, an increase of 96 dialup lines, and an upgrade to 120 dialup lines; and Newark - upgrade to some Ethernet switches and networking, an increase of 24 dialup lines, and an upgrade to 72 dialup lines.

These activities highlight the achievements and accomplishments of the OIT staff over the past year. Each of the activities has contributed to the support and enhancement of the academic, administrative, and/or public service missions of the institution.

A. Summary of Major Services and Accomplishments

The services offered through OIT include basic services, such as Internet services, instructional services for students and instructors, research services for faculty, students, and staff, administrative computing services, software, and voice services; services to assist users in accessing information technology resources, including how to get an account, how to get connected, where to purchase computers and peripherals, and hardware repair and installation services; and pointers to general assistance services and available training and documentation. The following sections describe these services and provide some statistics as well as examples of activities during Fiscal Year 97/98.

1. Basic Services

a. Email, Web, and Directory Services

A variety of Internet-based services are available through OIT to assist students, faculty, and staff in communicating with others. Among these services are e-mail and e-mail lists, newsgroups and online discussion facilities, web services, and directory services.

There are more than 82,000 Web pages on the Rutgers Info System. These pages were visited nearly 87 million times during the Fiscal Year, which breaks down to about 238,000 visits per day, 10,000 per hour, and 165 per minute.

All OIT campus divisions continued to improve services to faculty and students who want to run Web sites on OIT systems. Examples of improvements include improved forms handling and the creation of virtual hosts, where departments can have email addresses with a visible identity (e.g., department name.rutgers.edu).

Including both OIT central systems as well as several departmental systems, Rutgers currently processes on the order of 2 million email messages per week. During the Fiscal Year, New Brunswick Computing Services increased the reliability, performance, and capacity of New Brunswick systems in preparation for increased traffic and to move toward the possibility of large scale, university-wide mailings. The division also moved from text-based to desktop network-based mail systems.

During Fiscal Year 97/98, an e-mail taskforce, consisting of 17 members from a broad spectrum of administrative and academic areas throughout the University, was convened to consider issues and provide recommendations concerning the process of using e-mail on a large scale for University business. The initial recommendation was for the establishment of moderated lists for department chairs. Thirteen (13) lists have been established thus far: School of Business; School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies; Cook College; College of Engineering; Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology; Graduate School of Education; Mason Gross School of the Arts; College of Pharmacy; Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy; School of Social Work; Institute of Management and Labor Relations; and all department chairs.

The Newark campus web pages were redesigned following the guidelines of the university web committee. Design standards for the second level pages and third level pages were developed following the same guidelines with uniqueness as appropriate. Many departments currently have web pages stored in departmental accounts. A process for transferring these pages from their existing location to the new server was established which assures that the standards for page design are followed. Departments were informed about the campus web server and a web based registration form was created for transferring account and request information. All departments will have a page from which they may link unique informational pages. To date, approximately 20 Newark departmental pages were set up on the new campus web server.

b. Academic Instructional Computing Support

A variety of OIT services are available to assist in instruction. On all campuses, OIT operates a number of computing facilities containing Macintosh, Intel-based microcomputers and Unix systems (Xterminals or Suns). These labs are open most hours during the week so that individuals can access instructional materials, information technology resources and communicate with the academic community. While much of the instructional work is done using these lab systems, there are also some tasks for which a larger computer makes sense. Thus OIT supplies a set of large Sun Unix servers, which any student or instructor can use.

Instructional Microcomputer Labs can be reserved by instructors wanting to provide hands-on computer training to students. New Brunswick Instructional Microcomputer Labs were reserved for more than 1,000 class period during both the fall and spring semesters during Fiscal Year 97/98. In Newark, approximately 15 instructors scheduled the labs for 29.5 hours of use weekly in 20 courses. In addition to scheduled courses, instructors used the labs for 11 short-term teaching activities. In Camden, the labs were used 26 times during the summer term for a total of 414.1 hours, 22 times during the fall term for a total of 340.5 hours, and 24 times during the spring terms for a total of 388.4 hours.

OIT has tools, information and courses to assist faculty in creating their own instructional Web Pages. It maintains a system, WebCT (Web Course Tools), for the creation of complete on-line course materials. One OIT facility on the Busch campus, the Digital Media Lab, has advanced hardware and software for anyone interested in developing multimedia instructional materials. During Fiscal Year 97/98, its first year of availability, WebCT was used by faculty in 91 courses. The software was used to create on-line courses, to make supplementary materials available on the Web, for student progress tracking, for group project organization, for grade maintenance and distribution and auto-marked quizzes, and to create bulletin boards and on-line chat rooms. This project was undertaken in conjunction with the Teaching Excellence Center, which provides faculty training and non-technical assistance.

Several pilot programs are in place in Newark utilizing the web-based instruction development applications of Front page and Lotus LearningSpace running on a local Windows based NT server. The campus is also piloting the use of WebCT using the system in New Brunswick. Since the fall of 1997, a first year Biology course enrolling about 500 students has been taught using web support. Use of the web site by students averaged 50,000 hits per month and evaluations indicated a high degree of student satisfaction with the program. By the fall of 1998, the second year Biology course will also use web based methods. In addition, ten other courses have been developed using the web tools with 300 students participating in the courses.

In Camden, OIT staff collaborated with the Teaching Excellence Center and Library staffs to develop a pilot web-based instructional toolset to provide an enhancement to the standard classroom activity. A handful of faculty volunteered to develop their coursework for online class notes, class materials, discussions, and e-mail communications. Teaching Excellence Center staff are evaluating the impact of WebCT on this pilot for the next fiscal year.

c. Services For Faculty and Staff

OIT offers many services to assist faculty and staff in accomplishing their research and administrative tasks including basic services such as e-mail, Netnews, web page hosting, and support services such as domain name service. Access to central Unix accounts is available for those who need to do computing that is beyond the capabilities of their desktop systems. Specialized research-oriented services, including handling of large datasets, access to a variety of tape drives, machine-readable data, and high-performance computing are also available as is consulting and help both for individuals and departments.

With support from SROA and other funds, New Brunswick Computing Services set up a dedicated system for social science researchers who need large scale statistical data processing.

In Camden, SROA and local student computing fee funds were allocated to continue the expansion of the Science Vision Project. AN SGI server, SGI workstations, and supporting software applications were purchased and installed to provide data visualization capabilities for the science departments involved in the project (Chemistry, Computer Science, and Mathematics). System administration support was provided by OIT.

Through the support of SROA and NIH funds, the Newark campus implemented a high performance parallel computing facility and visualization workstations. The next phase of this program will take the high performance capability to the laboratory bench. Classes on the use of high performance hardware and software were held for students, faculty, and postdoctoral fellows increasing the number of researchers carrying out studies. Experiments are carried out on brain images involving the language processes, memory and vision and the effects of brain trauma. Chemists, biologists, and neuroscientists collaborate on molecular modeling experiments to create a new generation of pharmacological agents. Urban environmental research focusing on environmental conservation and development in the Hackensack Meadowlands will use the imaging and video processing for Digital Library applications.

The Rutgers High Performance Computing Project (HPCP), also known as the "Rutgers Supercomputer Project", supports faculty and students in using high performance computing facilities at the National Supercomputer Centers established by the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, NASA, and National Institutes of Health. These Centers provide a critically important resource for education and research, and represent a substantial financial benefit to the University. Every major state-of-the-art supercomputer is available at one or more of the National Supercomputer Centers. This variety of new technologies would be impossible to replicate at Rutgers University; therefore, access to these machines and local support for supercomputer users are critical for Rutgers to fulfill its educational and research missions. The high performance computing services at the National Supercomputer Centers are available at typically no charge to the user, and therefore represent an extremely attractive source of computing resources for Rutgers researchers.

The Rutgers HPCP supports faculty and students through the five Supercomputer Remote Access Centers (SRACs) in Chemistry (New Brunswick), Engineering (New Brunswick), Hill Center (New Brunswick), Neuroscience (Newark), and Physics (New Brunswick). The SRACs provide computational support for code development and post-processing, specialized software for visualization, training (formal classes and consultation) and assistance in utilizing the National Supercomputer Centers. Usage of external supercomputer systems by Rutgers researchers has typically doubled every 18 to 24 months. Precise statistics are not available, since a significant fraction of Rutgers' external usage is now on non-NSF Supercomputer Centers which do not report statistics to Rutgers.

A major focus of the Rutgers HPCP in Fiscal Year 98/99 will be the improvement of local support for code development and debugging using Message Passing Interface (MPI) which has become the de facto standard for parallel computing and is supported on all vendor systems. Activities will include training courses in MPI and the establishment of an MPI computer platform in Engineering through the Rutgers 1998-1999 SROA program.

d. Software Services

OIT plays an active role in helping to minimize the cost of popular software packages to University departments. Software, like any other commodity, is less expensive when purchased in large quantities. Through the use of volume purchase agreements and software site licenses, OIT has been able to significantly reduce the cost of owning software for most University departments. Reduced pricing for software is offered from the following manufacturers on selected products: Microsoft (all operating systems, all server software, all business applications); Network Associates / McAfee (McAfee Virus Scan Security Suite); SAS Institute (SAS); SPSS (SPSS); Waterloo Maple (Maple); and Trumpet International (Trumpet Winsock).

A University-wide site license for McAfee VirusScan Security Suite, a microcomputer virus protection program, was acquired and made available for use on University owned microcomputers utilizing DOS/Window 3.x, Windows 95, Windows NT workstations, Windows NT servers, and Novell NetWare operating systems. A web registration form was made available on the site license page of the New Brunswick Computing Services web site.

e. Voice Services

Reliable, cost-effective telephone services are available for students, faculty, and staff at Rutgers through the Voice Services component of OIT. Behind the scenes, OIT Telephone Office, part of the Telecommunication division, oversees the 24 hour a day, 7 day a week operation of more than 20,000 telephone lines, 12,000 telephone instruments, and the daily adds/moves/changes requested by departments. In one year, this responsibility resulted in the receipt, coordination, and completion of about 2,000 "trouble tickets" with a total maintenance cost of more than $240,000. Also coordinated and completed were more than 1,500 orders for new services valued at about $250,000.

Fiscal Year 97/98 saw the completion of the largest Rutgers voice project in the past twenty years, Student Telephone Services. The two year process of evaluation, presentation, and implementation culminated with the installation of 7,250 telephone lines in residence halls on all campuses. For the first time, 14,000 undergraduate resident students had live, operable telephone lines waiting for them when they arrived. They also began to receive personalized calling statements and bills managed through eight digit individual authorization codes. The University also saw a major benefit from the STS system. While the average student is paying the same amount as in previous years for telephone services, the University's mass purchasing power allowed STS to acquire services for less and resell to generate a profit. During Fiscal Year 97/98, STS generated a surplus projected to be nearly $1 million, to be applied toward RUNet 2000 wiring costs in residence halls.

The Telephone Office managed the establishment of a Customer Service/Billing outsourcing contract with Telesoft, Inc. (Arizona) including creation of procedures with the Controller's Office for bad debt management. This office is also the University's primary contact point for all primary telephone vendors, currently Bell Atlantic and AT&T. It evaluates product offerings, negotiates terms, conditions, and pricing, and has the ultimate responsibility for approving bill payment. During Fiscal Year 97/98, the office achieved substantial economies for Rutgers by engineering a new, complex, strategy for long distance calling.

During the Fiscal Year, the Telephone Office also implemented the new 732 area code for New Brunswick campuses and the new 973-353 area code-exchange for the Newark campus.

2. Accessing Services

a. Obtaining an Account

Any Rutgers student, full-time faculty member, or full-time staff member can get an account on a Rutgers computer system. These accounts are used to login to the OIT UNIX systems, to use remote services based on those systems (e.g. reading e-mail and news), to use the general Rutgers dialup lines, to use the public PCs and Macs at most locations, and to use administrative web applications

During Fiscal Year 97/98, there were more than 55,000 accounts on Rutgers computer systems. In Newark, 2,427 students created an account on Pegasus bringing the total student accounts to 8,018. Faculty and staff accounts totaled 1,883 of which 719 belonged to faculty, 46 belonged to guests, 47 belonged to departments and the remainder belonged to staff and teaching assistants. In Camden, there were 4,824 ICI accounts and 771 RCI accounts. In New Brunswick, there were 28,698 student accounts and 8,652 faculty/staff accounts. Accounts on Rutgers administrative systems total 2,500, with an additional 250 accounts used during add/drop and touchtone registration time periods.

b. Getting Connected to the Network

All students, faculty, and staff with Rutgers computer accounts can connect to the Rutgers University network. The network consists of about 400 interconnected production networks supporting about 20,000 defined hosts. To access resources on the network and for connections to the Internet, one of three types of network connections is required: Ethernet, a hard-wired link into the network from a University building or dormitory; Rutgers modem, a temporary connection through a telephone line from home or a non-wired University building; or an Internet Service Provider, a commercial telephone-based service.

About 25% of residence hall beds allow direct access to the network. This number is expected to rise to about 35% within the next semester. By the completion of the RUNet 2000 project, nearly all residence hall beds will be wired. In addition, nearly 50% of academic and administrative users currently have network access, a number expected to increase to 80% by the completion of the RUNet 2000 project. For those individuals who live off-campus or are in non-networked buildings, OIT maintains about 1,500 modems that allow access to the network from on- and off-campus sites.

c. Computer Store

The Computer Store, an auxiliary funded operation, is a value-added reseller for the acquisition of personal computers and peripherals. It is the authorized sales point for IBM, Dell, Apple, Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, and OIT Network Installation/Computer Repair (NI/CR) Systems personal computers, printers, and peripherals. The Store provides specifications, technical assistance, needs assessment, and pricing on a wide range of hardware and software products to students, faculty, staff, and departments.

During the year, the Computer Store hosted a number of promotional events, including a Technology Day show at the Busch Campus Center. The Show was attended by about 1000 students, faculty, and staff members, and hardware was featured by Apple Computer, Xerox, and Computing Services. Several prizes, including a Xerox printer/fax/scanner/copier and promotional copies of Apple CD-ROM system software were given away.

A total of 1345 orders were received and processed from the University community during the Fiscal Year. (635 orders were received from students, 124 orders from staff, 111 orders from faculty, 473 orders from internal departments, and 2 orders from Rutgers-affiliated tax-exempt organizations.) These orders ranged in complexity from the sale of a single mouse or peripheral cable to extensive multiple-system orders for use in the OIT-administered public facilities. Sales for the year totaled $2.14 million.

d. Hardware Repair and Installation

Hardware repair and installation activities are aimed at providing authorized repair for most major brands of computers, monitors, and printers and networking services to assist faculty, staff, and students in connecting their computers to the Rutgers network and the World Wide Web. The Network Installation/Computer Repair (NI/CR) Group, an auxiliary funded technical effort, provides these services as the internal equivalent of a value added reseller for the repair, installation, and networking of personal computers and peripherals. In conjunction with the Computer Store, this cost-recovery center assists clients through all phases of the process of selecting and configuring a computer, planing and installing a local area network, and connecting the computer to the Rutgers network.

The Network Installation group worked cooperatively with the OIT Telecommunications Network Engineering group to provide network media planning for a wide range of network topologies. The group also provided the University with the professional installation, termination, testing, and repair of data, voice, video, and fiber-optic cabling according to BICSI standards. In addition, Network Installation performed independent testing, media certification, and post-installation assessment after work performed by outside vendors to ensure compliance to University and industry standards.

During Fiscal Year 97/98, the OIT Network Installation group completed a total of 204 service requests. These requests ranged in scope and complexity from emergency repairs of single data and voice lines to extensive building-wide wiring plants with hundreds of voice, data, and video connections. The group billed $366,955 for parts and $390,456 for labor, cost-recovering $757,411 for the year.

The Computer Repair group is the factory and Rutgers-authorized repair center for IBM, Dell Computer, Apple Computer, and Hewlett-Packard products, and provided support for most other brands on a time-and-materials basis. The group offered custom-configured and constructed NI/CR Systems industry-standard Intel-based personal computers, and provided fully RUNet-ready systems to allow "plug-in and go" installations in network-ready sites for sale through the Computer Store.

The group completed 2,061 service requests, which include both individual repairs for students, faculty, staff, and departments, and network installations to establish connectivity. The repairs were performed on a wide range of equipment, both on-site and in the Livingston Campus repair center. A total of 91 new NI/CR Systems desktop computers were custom-constructed, and logic upgrades were performed on a significant number of existing systems to allow customers to inexpensively enhance the performance of their computers. The group billed $317,894 for parts, $139,891 for labor, received $27,220.00 for warranty repair reimbursements from outside vendors, cost-recovering $484,985 for the year.

3. Help Services and Resources

a. For Individuals

Services for individuals are available at the Information Center on the Busch Campus and at Help Desks located on each campus, as well as via e-mail, through help@system.rutgers.edu. Consultants provide first level user support for inquiries on dial-up communications, networking, e-mail, Unix, Windows, Macintosh and the Internet. They handle account issues, i.e. account creation problems, special account requests, and password changes. They also distribute free software for dial-up networking and Netscape through a disk exchange program.

On the New Brunswick campus, the Information Center handled 7,084 questions from students, faculty, and staff. In addition, 3,358 office consultations were provided and 1,611 e-mail responses to questions were sent. Other online help assistance included 4,056 responses to students and 2,460 responses to faculty and staff.

On the Camden campus, staff handled 3,259 walk-in questions and 129 telephone questions from students, faculty, and staff.

The Newark campus maintains a help desk in conjunction with the lab facility in Engelhard Hall. Many walk-in and telephone questions are handled each day, although exact figures are unavailable at this time.

In an effort to improve service to the University, an online ACS help mailbox was established to address questions relating to administrative computing. Since its inception last August, 148 queries have been handled through this channel.

Special assistance was provided for physically challenged students in Camden, in conjunction with the Committee for Students with Disabilities. A visually impaired student was given access to Zoomtext, software that enlarges text for easier viewing. A student with limited range of motion of his fingers was given access to a special keyboard to accommodate his disability.

Public computing labs provided a broad range of services to students during the Fiscal Year. New Brunswick Instructional Computing Labs had 1.4 million user-hours of usage, calculated by counting the number of people using computers every hour the labs are open. The busiest weeks, just before the final exam period, saw more than 55,000 user-hours of usage per week. In Newark, more than 29,000 hours of open access lab time were available to students during the Fiscal Year. In Camden, public computing labs were open for about 40,200 hours. During this time there were 193,000 PC logins from the public labs to the server.

b. For Departments

Departmental support is available on all three Rutgers campuses in the areas of microcomputer hardware, software and operating system selection, local area network planning services, and business needs assessments. Departmental system troubleshooting contract services, network design and planning, and network support are also available. Departmental system administrators can learn about advances in network administration through Unix and PC/LAN support groups that meet monthly and through e-mail forums for information dissemination, inquiries, and peer discussion.

Fee-based support services for select University departments were initiated through the Microcomputer Support Services Group of New Brunswick Computing Services. Services include PC local area network administration and support. These services are available on an hourly or annual basis. Fees associated with the services offset the costs of the auxiliary staff needed to provide them. During Fiscal Year 97/98, services were provided to four departments/units: Continuous Education and Outreach, Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers National Transit Institute, and the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources at Cook College. These departments were supported by one auxiliary staff member.

Camden Computing Services supported departmental projects in: Financial Services, Forum Public Policy, Physics, Biology, Office of Student Affairs, Development Office, Office of Summer Programs, Financial Aid, Psychology, Political Science, Fine Arts, Project LEAP, Computer Science, Admissions, and the Provost's Office.

A pilot project was initiated on the Livingston campus to reshape distributed support services. The model calls for the hiring of departmental unit computing specialists (UCS) who act as the first points of contact for all departmental computing needs. By reporting jointly to the department and OIT, the UCS are closely aligned with the disciplinary needs and requirements of departmental faculty, but have ready access to levels of technical expertise within the divisions of OIT. OIT staff designed, developed, and delivered 10 special technical support classes for departmental UCS. These classes ranged from half-day, to full-day, to multi-day classes. Three hundred twenty one (321) people attended the classes. Courses included: Installing Windows NT 4.0 Server, Web Support Strategies, RU Specific Networking Issues, Administering Windows NT 4.0 Server, Administering Novell NetWare 3.x, TCP/IP Network Diagnosis, Planning a LAN, Installing Novell NetWare 4.x, Administering Novell NetWare 4.x, and Netware IP. Feedback from the pilot project has been very positive. Members of the UCS group report that they often receive assistance from other group members and have less need for support from the second level OIT support staff.

c. Training

Short hands-on workshops or lecture/demonstration type seminars on various supported software and systems are presented every semester by the OIT divisions on all three campuses. In Fiscal Year 97/98, Camden Computing Services presented 18 courses to 81 individuals in the areas of Introduction to Computing, the Internet, word processing, web browsing, web composing, e-mail, spreadsheets, and home access to the Rutgers network. In addition, four computing overview seminars were presented to 295 incoming students and three presentations were made to 58 Lanning Junior High School students.

In New Brunswick, 735 individuals attended 49 courses including Introduction to Emacs, Introduction to UNIX, Pine Electronic News Reader on UNIX, Creating and Using Newsgroups and Mailing Lists, Dialup Networking Using PPP and a Macintosh, Dialup Networking Using PPP and Windows 95, Introduction to Netscape Browser and Mail, Introduction to the SAS System, Introduction to SPSS Under Windows, Introduction to Parallel Computing, Message-Passing Interface, Understanding Personal Computers, Introduction to Pine Electronic Mail, Introduction to the Internet, Basic Internet Skills, Creating Your Own World Wide Web Pages, Creating Effective Presentations, Introduction to Netscape Composer, Introduction to Windows 95, and Converting from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95.

In Newark, 18 classes in a variety of areas were attended by 220 individuals. Special requests were made for specific courses for staff in two department; these courses were attended by 18 staff members.

d. Documentation

Each of OIT three campus computing divisions maintains their own web pages and printed documentation specific for services offered on their campus. In Camden, 18 new documents were created and 11 documents revised during the Fiscal Year. The Camden Computing Services website is updated regularly; a weekly online announcements section is also available.

Three web sites offer information on New Brunswick Computing Services and its services, and provide user assistance on a wide variety of computing topics from general user assistance, to detailed instructions on topics such as web publishing, Unix system administration, and instructional computing for faculty: http://www.nbcs.rutgers.edu, http://www.rci.rutgers.edu, and http://www.eden.rutgers.edu. Documentation for supported software products is available in both print and online formats. A complete listing of the available topics can be found at http://www.nbcs.rutgers.edu/docs/.

The OIT Newsletter, once produced on a bi-monthly basis to provide information to faculty and staff on OIT-wide activities, was temporarily suspended During Fiscal Year 97/98. Decisions about whether production will be re-initiated are expected early in Fiscal Year 98/99.

4. Administrative Computing

Administrative computing services span a broad range of activities, including payroll, budgeting, student admissions and course enrollment, financial aid, transcripts and grades, scheduling, and invoice processing, as well as many other functions necessary for the University to carry out its day-to-day business. During Fiscal Year 97/98, there were many new developments in this area; some of the key ones are described below.

A significant effort occurred to identify the scope of the application program remediation effort and testing phases for the Year 2000 conversion. The applications include 2,884 student and financial systems, 1,477 of which were tested and 1,108 of which are in production. Estimates are being prepared to complete the remaining 1,407 programs utilizing a baseline estimating technique to project completion dates. Upon completion of the remediation effort, a system test will be conducted to verify that the database interdependencies work. Additional planning is also being done to test the applications in the new operating environment consistent with the implementation of system software changes on the mainframe.

During Fiscal Year 97/98, Administrative Computing Services developed a number of new web applications aimed at improving services for current and prospective students, faculty, staff, and administrators while extending the life of existing applications. Summarized below is a list of the new web applications and some of their benefits to the University community.

Undergraduate Admissions Application via the Web. This application includes the online admissions application form, the EOF questionnaire, and a re-designed and integrated process for admissions status checking capability. The system went live in September 1997 and during Fiscal Year 97/98 1,932 applications were submitted electronically. System benefits include the ability to apply to Rutgers through the Web and to learn about application status, minimization of data entry, and on-line application review. Use this Fiscal Year indicates 13,726 hits by the Rutgers Info helpdesk staff for answering inquires, 128,753 hits by applicants, and 1,272 hits by the Undergraduate Admissions Office.
Online Transcripts and Grades via the Web. This application utilizes the student data warehouse that is updated from the SRDB (Student Records Database) on a regular basis. The system went live January 1998 and has been accessed 62,930 by students and 717 deans and administrators over the last six months. The system allows currently registered students to review their complete academic record online, including transfer courses and credits received. It also provides students with an easy mechanism to verify and track their grades, current course registration, courses previously taken, major, degrees, proficiency exams, etc.
Financial Aid Application and Document Status via the Web. This application utilizes information captured in the Financial Aid Management System, moves it to an Oracle database and then presents it to the student through a web interface. The system went live in the Fall of 1997 and has been accessed by students a total of 3,665 for the year. The system provides applicants and current students with web access to the status of documents required to process their financial aid and allows students to stay informed of activity through the financial aid process.
Address Directory Record Update via the Web. Recognizing the need to empower staff and reduce the amount of data entry and handling, this application utilizes the web to gather updated directory information that is feed back into the Payroll system where staff directory information is maintained. The system went live in October 1997. During the Fiscal Year, 523 updates were received electronically. System benefits include electronic updating of demographic data thereby reducing paper and data entry and resulting in more rapid system updating.
Access Control for Data Custodians . A Web application was developed to allow the data custodians the ability to manage access to the Web and client server applications they oversee. The Web application has empowered the custodians to take direct responsibility for managing access to their applications rather than having Administrative Computing handle security. Web and client server applications that allows customers to control access include: Undergraduate Admissions, Online transcripts and grades, New Brunswick Post Office, HRInfo, and FASIP.

Other key application development activities include:

Daily transmission to PNC Bank. In order to eliminate any fraudulent accounts payable disbursements, a daily transmission was implemented containing accurate data to the PNC bank for verification of legitimate payments.
Co-requisite Process. The telephone and on-line registration systems were enhanced by implementing a co-requisite process that automatically registers students in the required co-requisite course. This eliminates end-user departments from manually enrolling students in the required courses. Student services are improved by avoiding overbooking and subsequent resolution.
New Brunswick Post Office . A new web based student address system was implemented replacing the old post office system. This provides the Mail Services staff with the capability of automatically assigning box numbers and updating combinations. It also eliminates manual sorting of mailings, keypunching and data entry activities, many paper reports, and provides higher system accuracy and flexibility. Graduate students can now be integrated into the system and updated on the Student Records Database All students will soon have access to their address post office box information online via a Web screen.
Western Monmouth Program . Mechanisms were developed to incorporate the Brookdale Community College and Western Monmouth Program into student applications (i.e. admissions, scheduling, registrations, financial aid, and student accounts receivable
Direct Loan. In order to be in compliance with new federal regulations, the direct loan notification letter was significantly revised. Over 22,000 direct loan letters were produced and mailed to students each semester during Fiscal Year 97/98.
Tuition Remission for Dependent Children. A new Oracle based application was created for tracking tuition remission for dependent children. The system provides an easy method for Personnel to determine an employee's eligibility and to track documentation certifying dependency. The new system also allows the Student Financial Services (SFS) Office to track the number of semesters a student has had remission. Previously this process was manually handled with minimal formal controls. The tuition remission system went into production in February 1998.
Salary Projections and Contract Settlement Terms. A methodology was developed and modifications incorporated to include contract settlement terms into salary projections for the next fiscal year prior to payroll system implementation. This provides the Budget Office with accurate and timely data for determining salary requirements.
FASIP (Faculty Academic Services Increment Program). Through a new, more efficient system for the FASIP program, the processing of merit awards, salary adjustments, personnel data, and payroll corrections was streamlined so that this information can be retrieved directly from the Human Resources Information Data Warehouse.
Compensation Benefit Statements . The 1997 Compensation and Benefit Statements, which provide employees with a standard statement and ACS with a standard system to maintain, was redesigned and rewritten.
Payroll Modifications and Contract Settlements . A number of significant payroll modifications were implemented. New data elements were added from the revised ADR form which was needed to support the development of the faculty/staff directory. The terms of new union contracts, including IOUE, AFSCME, COLT, AAUP, FOP, TA/GA were incorporated which involved new salary tables, calculation of retroactive payments going back to 1995, various clothing allowances, and bonuses.
Departmental Accounting Reconciliation . A monthly automated process for the Division of Life Sciences, Bureau of Biological Research and the Center for Urban Policy Research was created to provide financial data for reconciliation between the University financial system and the departmental system.
Trial Balance. The Trial Balance process was improved by incorporating fringe benefit calculations within the same time period as corresponding salary related entries providing the accountants with more current information which reduces errors and additional trial balance adjustments. A similar process was developed for indirect cost entries.
Automated Disbursement Processing. Administrative Computing streamlined invoice processing and commitment closing by eliminating manual paper processing and substantially reducing data entry. Staples became the third vendor using Automated Invoice Processing (AIP), joining Fisher Scientific and VWR Scientific for the processing and payment of invoices. Each month vendors send a tape of invoices requiring payment. Computer processing eliminates the manual paper process and data entry saving the University time and money. During the Fiscal Year, 18,588 invoices were processed using AIP. Rutgers Disbursement Control Office is now using OFIS (Online Financial Information System) allowing commitments to be closed online rather than preparing time-consuming manual forms to be keyed in by data entry. Departments now receive timely and accurate financial information with little time spent on data entry.
Credit Card Implementation . A system was implemented to allow students to use credit cards to pay term bills. Changes in the data feeds for lockbox processing, term bills, etc. were designed to support credit card payments.
Partial Payment Plan. In order to improve services to graduate student employees, a new partial payment plan was implemented which allows automatic payroll deductions for students' University housing and dining charges. Thus far, 230 students are participating in the program.
Commencement Implementation . Working with the Registrar's Office, ACS developed a system for managing commencement and diploma information. The system replaces a long standing manual process in the Registrar's area and the information is now integrated into the Student Records Database. More than 10,000 diplomas were ready four weeks earlier than in the past as a result of the new commencement system.
Undergraduate Admissions. A methodology for updating the Undergraduate Admissions system (NJAS) on a daily basis was designed and implemented, replacing the previous batch process that ran once or twice a week. This provides Undergraduate Admissions and applicants much more timely information. In addition, three new comparison reports were developed for Undergraduate Admissions to allow this office to compare their progress to previous years, to assist in evaluating marketing strategies, and to continuously monitor the quality of any given years' class. Professional looking undergraduate admission certificate signed by President Lawrence were developed. Students now have one piece of paper showing their acceptance to Rutgers.
OSRP (Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program) Processing. The tracking and processing of OSRP was improved through the development of more user-friendly online screens, and automatic production of OSRP letters and certificates for students. These enhancements eliminate the possibility of human error saving hours of checking and verifying. Previously Undergraduate Admissions manually processed OSRP recipients and generated letters. In Fiscal Year 97/98, 2,538 students received OSRP letters.
Personalized Letters . Personalized letters to inform prospective students of missing credentials were created. In the past, letters were addressed to "Dear Student". Now they contain individual names and addresses. A facility has also been developed to allow Undergraduate Admissions to request a letter online.
Law Student Financial Aid Packaging . The financial aid packages for Law School students were automated, improving on the previous manual process.
GSM Admissions . An uploading process for moving data from the Graduate School of Management's local PC admissions system into the Student Records Database (SRDB) was developed and implemented. As the primary student database for the University, the SRDB now has a more complete record of student data.

The above highlights only a portion of the programming effort underway in ACS. During Fiscal Year 97/98, 1,004 new programming requests were received by the division; 992 requests were completed and 307 are still open or still outstanding. These requests range in magnitude and scope and all require analysis, programming, and coordination.

B.Infrastructure

1. Campus Computing Facilities

OIT directors from all three campuses joined together in Fiscal Year 97/98 to coordinate one large purchase order for new computers in instructional labs. Nearly 400 computers were ordered through the Rutgers Computer Store at a savings of $696 per computer, for a total savings of nearly $270,000.

Student to public computer ratios varied across the campuses during the Fiscal Year, due in large part to differences in campus support models. In Camden, the student to public computer ratio was 24:11. In Newark, it was 22:1. In New Brunswick, it was 41:1. The major difference seen for the New Brunswick campus is seen because New Brunswick Computing Services does not provide support for departmentally-based computer facilities, whereas Newark and Camden Computing Services provide at least some departmental support.

The public computing facilities in Camden deployed switching technology during the Fiscal Year, thereby providing noticeably improved speeds for networking applications.

In New Brunswick computing facilities, more than 500 computers were upgraded. The operating system used on DOS-based computers was also upgraded from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 in all facilities. New facilities were established in the College Avenue and Livingston Campus Learning Resource Centers, in the Graduate Reading Room of the Alexander Library, and in the new Allison Road Classroom Building Laboratory, which is replacing facilities in SERC, the Digital Media Lab, and the Hill Center basement. This facility also contains four audiovisual Instructional Microcomputer Labs.

During the winter break, all Newark campus coordinated instructional computing laboratories were converted to Windows 95 systems with memory and disk upgrades and enhancements.

In Camden, an additional form scripting tool was made available for ease of creation of web forms. All Unix-based systems were converted to Solaris 2.6 during the winter break.

A major renovation of the main Newark Computing Services public lab facilities in Hill Hall was completed. Six rooms were redesigned to include moveable partitions, creating the possibility for instruction for both large groups and small groups. Two rooms were remodeled to become a Creative Writing Center for one-on-one tutorials and for instructional use. The Facility now houses 172 Macintosh, Intel, and Sun workstations. Funding for the renovations was provided by OIT, the Newark Provost's office, and the University. In addition, progress was made toward the renovation of Smith Hall Room 220 aimed at creating a 200+ seat smart classroom with an audiovisual/computer projection system that will enhance teaching of large sections of many courses.

During the winter break, all Newark-coordinated instructional facility PC workstations were converted to Windows 95. In preparation for this and for possible future operating system upgrades, all memory and disk storage components were significantly increased and workstations were enhanced with high density zip storage devices. Jacks were designed to accept a standard set of earphones and will soon be installed on all workstations enabling students to make use of the sound functions in the lab environment.

A networked software server, available to students in the McCormick residence halls on the New Brunswick campus, was established. This server provides access to select software for use on the students' personal computers. The service is expected to be available to all networked residence halls in the near future.

2. Administrative Computing Systems

During the fall semester, the administrative mainframe computer, RUTADMIN, was upgraded to an IBM Model 9672-R41. This upgrade increased the processing power of the system from 28 million instructions per second to a capacity of 41 million instructions per second. It also allows the simultaneous execution of more programs and provides sufficient processing capacity to handle peak processing periods for the next two to three years.

Other infrastructure improvement projects include:

Tape Upgrade - Tape storage technology was upgraded from IBM 3480 to IBM 3490E model tape drives. The new drives double the amount of data that can be held on a single tape volume. This increases efficiency by diminishing the overall size of the tape vault, and decreasing tape mount activity. Thousands of tapes were re-initialized for use on the new drives, and the tape numbering scheme was adjusted to consolidate the tape vault.
New Xerox Printer - In January, the Xerox 4090 mainframe printer was replaced with an IBM 4890 printer. The main benefits of the new printer are highlight color capability, and enhanced print quality. The first highlight color print application will be the newly designed Student Term Bill. Other printer upgrades include replacing the software that drives the mainframe Xerox printers with Xerox's XPFC software. The main benefit to the conversion is that XPFC is commercially supported and maintained and should be much more reliable. The Prudential Writer software previously used was free, nonsupported, and had been in place since the early 1980's. The conversion is approaching its final stages, and should be complete by late Summer, 1998.
Conversion of Microfiche to Online Report Distribution - Production applications that created microfiche reports were converted to Online Report Distribution software. The new software allows for indexing of reports for quick reference, string search capability, and color highlighting of fields for ease of viewing. In addition, the expense and manual effort involved in creating and distributing microfiche was eliminated. The project has been very well received and has been viewed as a vast improvement over microfiche.
Elimination of 3420 Reel Tapes - All old technology 3420 reel tapes were converted to newer 3490 tape technology. Over 1,000 tapes were converted and decommissioned over a four month period. The main benefits of the conversion are increased reliability and data integrity, and decreased offsite storage costs.
Disaster Recovery Systems - In December the contract with Sungard, the disaster recovery services vendor, was re-negotiated. The newly negotiated contract included increases in mainframe processor and disk capacity, changes in tape technology, and additional provisions for recovering PC LAN's and SUN UNIX equipment. Also added was Sungard's PC Remote Operations Capability, which provides the ability to conduct disaster recovery operations from a remote location via a dial-in PC. In addition, the mainframe Disaster Recovery Plan was tested three times over a six month period, between January and June of 1998. Some of the highlights of the tests were the institution of streamlined procedures for system restoration, and testing from the Administrative Services Building via Sungard's PC Remote Operation Capability.

3. Networking

During Fiscal Year 97/98, more than 40 networking projects valued at $1.4 million were designed, engineered, and implemented. Activities involved integrating new campus-wide or building LANs (local area networks) into the existing network infrastructure. Projects in Newark included wiring of: Hill, Conklin, Ackerson, Engelhard, Management Education Center, 43 Bleeker Street, 49 Bleeker Street; projects in New Brunswick included wiring of: Allison Road Classroom Building (SERC II), Davidson Hall, University Post Offices, Ruth Adams Building, Ruth Dill Johnson Crocket Building (Women's Center), Sonny Werblin Recreation Center, Maryott Music Building, South Tower, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Lucy Stone Hall (2nd and 3rd floors), Helyar House, and IR-4 building. Plans for about 20 projects for Fiscal Year 98/99 were also developed. Continued electronics improvements included replacement of old routers on the Newark and Busch campuses as well as the establishment of an intercampus ATM-based backbone operating at high speeds.

The Rutgers network was highly robust during Fiscal Year 97/98; of the 138 routers which experienced any unplanned outages, there was an average downtime of less than 1%. This number also includes time for scheduled maintenance and upgrades. About 1,500 network problems were reported and fixed during the Fiscal Year using a variety of software such as Spong, HP OpenView, Cisco Netflow, CiscoWorks/CiscoView, SNMP Web, DNS Web, and Internet monitor.

4. RUNet 2000

Activities related to RUNet 2000, a comprehensive and advanced data, video, and voice communications network improvement project, moved forward during Fiscal Year 97/98 leading to the Board of Governors approval to award a contract early in Fiscal Year 98/99. Of the five vendors that submitted bids for the project (Ameritech/IBM, Bell Atlantic Network Integration, Lucent Technologies, Siemens Corporation, and WilTel-formerly Nortel), two emerged as the leading candidates (Bell Atlantic Network Integration and Siemens). These companies presented the most technically sound, least cost proposals. An extensive round of "Best and Final Offer" negotiations took place, aimed at modifying the scope of the RFP to reflect shifts in technology and reducing costs, reducing the number of variances and exceptions taken by the vendors, encouraging the vendors to refine their original pricing submissions, providing an opportunity for bidders to present innovative approaches to the partnership, and assessing vendor flexibility and overall willingness to work with the University to realize the project.

Within the first week of Fiscal Year 98/99, the Board of Governors Advisory Committee awarded the contract to Bell Atlantic Network Integration for $43.3 million.

5. Internet2

Internet2 is a national initiative to accelerate the next generation of the Internet. It involves a number of federal agencies, industry, and more than 120 research universities in the U.S. Rutgers is the only public university in New Jersey that is a member of this group. During Fiscal Year 97/98, regional planning meetings between Rutgers, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Lehigh, and the University of Delaware were held to discuss the technical design for the interconnectivity between institutions and to evaluate vendor proposals.

A very high speed circuit (vBNS) was installed between New Brunswick and Newark as part of the key installation of Rutgers' plan to be involved in Internet2. This sophisticated communications circuit will provide support for video application between New Brunswick and Newark and improve performance and reliability of Information Technology Services.

Rutgers was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Cisco Corporation for the University's partnership in creating and managing an advanced campus network infrastructure that will meet the technology objectives of Internet2. In addition, 3Com provided more than $175,000 in equipment grants to support Rutgers' Internet2 efforts.

C. Organization - Management and Staffing

1. Quality Improvement Initiative

The OIT "Commitment to Excellence" quality improvement initiative was formalized during Fiscal Year 97/98 with assistance from the Rutgers Quality and Communications Improvement (QCI) team led by Brent Ruben and a consultant hired to guide the process. Draft mission, vision, and values statements were developed (see Appendix) and presented for discussion to the entire OIT organization at a workshop held in June. Feedback will be used to assist in finalizing the documents.

Four teams were convened to begin gathering and analyzing data about OIT's operations and to provide input to the Strategic Planning team, the directors-level decisionmaking team. The Customer Identification and Needs team began initial identification of what students know about OIT's services and what additional services the students want. The Service Strategies team created a preliminary classification of the services currently available. The Performance Indicators team began to identify ways in which OIT is measuring the quantity and quality of service offerings. The Human Resources team conducted research about Information Technology recruitment and retention issues. The Communications team began to investigate communication barriers within the organization and to develop techniques for improving communication between all people within the organization.

2. Staffing - Promotions, New Hires

Twenty-two (22) positions were unfilled at the conclusion of Fiscal Year 97/98. Active recruitment occurred during the Fiscal Year, through such venues as Rutgers A/P/S postings, national and local newspaper advertising, advertising in computer and management publications, posting on technical organization listservs, search firms, job fairs, student training/mentoring, referrals, and special or targeted mailings..

3. Human Resources Development

To maintain a high quality, motivated workforce, it is vital to ensure that training and professional development are made available to those who want or need it. Although OIT had no formal program for requiring such training, about 90 employees in the organization took part in such activities during the Fiscal Year, an indication of their importance to OIT's staff. A formalized program for training and professional development is being considered for all OIT employees for Fiscal Year 98/99.

D. Public Awareness

To address student concerns about computing at Rutgers, the New Brunswick Computing Advisory Committee distributed a survey to groups of undergraduate and graduate students to gauge student priorities in the area of computing. New Brunswick and Newark campus students supported the development of a campus backbone and the upgrading of equipment as well as the addition of more dial-ups.

A briefing on RUNet 2000 was held for student leaders and the press. Members of the RUNet 2000 management team and others discussed the project and answered questions about its impact, costs, and timeframe.

Articles about OIT activities appeared in Rutgers Focus , The Star Ledger , and The Daily Targum . OIT activities were also discussed on New Jersey Network (television).

OIT coordinated an exhibit, with support from University Relations, showcasing Rutgers projects in such areas as computational neuroscience, distance learning, animal science, and human-computer interaction at the Rutgers Alumni Federation reception for legislators and alumni at the Masonic Temple in Trenton. The event highlighted RUNet 2000 and Rutgers' leading role in Internet2.

OIT also coordinated a series of demonstrations/presentations by faculty involved in Information Technology for Wendy Rayner, the newly appointed Chief Information Officer for the State of New Jersey, and several other government officials.

Support for the New Jersey Intercampus Network (NJIN) Internet server and Internet Technology project was continued, providing access and information to 46 New Jersey colleges and universities.

Conceptual discussions were held toward the production of new brochures describing OIT's services. It is expected that six brochures will be prepared, three aimed at students (one for each campus) and three aimed at faculty and administrators. A brochure aimed at new students may also be prepared. A meeting will be held with the University Relations Publications division in early July to move this project forward.

In Camden, OIT sends service updates to students, faculty, and staff through the weekly REACT mailings. In addition, bi-monthly "brown bag" lunch meetings were held for the campus community covering topics such as RUNet 2000, supercomputing, and the campus backbone.

E. Goals for Fiscal Year 98/99

Mission

The mission of the Office of Information Technology is to provide university-wide leadership in Information Technology and quality Information Technology services in support of the University's mission of instruction, research, and service.

STRATEGIC GOALS

General University Support

Provide university-wide leadership in the integration of information technology resources to support the core missions of the institution.
Establish a university-wide policy advisory committee for computing and information technology that will serve as the vehicle to implement policy and standards.
Design, build and support an adequate network infrastructure to support the needs of the institution.
Increase the opportunities for collaboration and cooperation between computing and libraries given the changing role of information technology resources in supporting the academic enterprise.

Instructional Support

Facilitate the integration of information technology resources into the curriculum.
Provide and support centralized IT resources in support of instructional needs and requirements.

Research Support

Expand the range of centralized research computing support resources.
Explore alternative staffing strategies to provide enhanced distributed systems support.
Facilitate and enhance research capabilities through involvement and participation in the Internet2 initiative.

Outreach Support

Facilitate extending the reach of the institution through the adoption, integration and support of distance learning technologies.

Administrative Support

Improve administrative productivity university-wide through the integration of appropriate centralized as well as distributed technologies.
Initiate processes to formalize replacement plans for administrative systems and applications.

OPERATIONAL GOALS

Appropriately align OIT service and support model(s) with the needs of the institution, recognizing differences in campus needs and requirements.
Improve customer satisfaction.
Improve organizational functioning and dynamics.
Secure adequate staffing and funding mechanisms to appropriately support the information technology needs of the institution.
Design and implement a human resources plan that incorporates an organizational commitment to professional development, training and appropriate levels of compensation.

F. Divisional Goals

Administrative Computing Services

Strategic Goals

General University Support

Establish the first stages of a distributed systems management infrastructure. Install and customize CA-Unicenter as the basis for this infrastructure to assist in managing administrative server systems, client server applications, software distribution and asset management. The end goals are quicker problem detection and resolution, and enhanced availability for distributed administrative systems.
Complete the ADSM (Adstar Distributed Storage Manager) backup pilot in the Administrative Services Building. The outcome of this pilot will be to recommend a university wide approach for providing centralized desktop and server backup and offsite storage services.
Implement changes to the University Payroll system to continue to support the development of the University's Pay for Performance system.
Investigate and develop university-wide architecture for accepting electronic payments over the web.

Instructional Support

Improve service to customers through increased collaboration and integration of administrative and instructional web initiatives.

Administrative Support

In partnership with the office of Graduate Admissions, develop an online Web application for applying for admission to Rutgers' graduate programs. This process will permit an applicant with Web access to make online inquiries and request a hard copy of the Catalog of Graduate programs, apply for admission, and check online for the status of their application. The process will automatically update the SRDB and an Oracle database, thus reducing data entry and building a future decision support database to support the Graduate Admissions process. (Note: This also supports General University Support and Outreach Support in that it will facilitate the application process and information flow to applicants anywhere in the world.)
Implement a distributed printing infrastructure to speed the delivery of mainframe printed output to customers.
Continue the implementation of data warehouse applications in support of enhanced information analysis and decision making. Leverage state-of-the-art technologies to provide cost-effective data administration and decision support solutions. Establish data administration standards and procedures to ensure information quality and protection.
Complete the application programming modifications to all central University administrative systems to ensure Year 2000 compatibility.
Complete Year 2000 infrastructure upgrades and full end to end testing of administrative hardware and software to ensure Year 2000 compliance.
Develop a University-wide architecture for integrating imaging and workflow management technology with administrative systems. (Note: this also supports General University support)
Begin investigation, feasibility studies, and planning for the replacement of administrative systems. Enlist the help of outside consulting firms to assist in establishing a planning model that includes methods for process reengineering, business case justification, and systems selection.
Establish a method for integrating central IMS databases with the Web. Implement and test the Shadow Web server which will allow update of central IMS data via a Web interface. Initial application focus will be to develop online student course registration via the Web. (Note: this also supports Instructional Support Goals)
Analyze and transition Rutadmin (mainframe) Ben email users to a supported email environment that's consistent with OIT services direction.
Implement the mandated Federal requirements for reporting Hope Tax credit and Life Time Learning credit information for both traditional matriculated students and students enrolled in continuing education programs.
Analyze and implement financial aid reauthorization changes that are mandated by Congress every five years.
Implement the Artsys articulation management system to support and improve the student transfer process between NJ community colleges and the University. A second phase of this goal will be to implement the EDI standards and the sending and receipt of electronic transcripts.
Continue to participate in the planning and implementation of a procurement card solution to improve the University's purchasing process.
Participate in the planning, development, and integration of a departmental accounting system with the University's central systems.
Investigate and continue to advance the security architecture and the reduction of potential exposures for administrative systems and data.
Provide administrative systems that facilitate and exploit the use of administrative data as a strategic asset of the University and for more efficient day to day activity.

Operational Goals

Participate in planning efforts for a remodeled problem resolution and support structure within OIT. Begin to align staff priorities to support the new model.
Renovate and upgrade the working environment in room 100 and 101 staff areas.
Strengthen professional development planning to meet the changing needs of ACS, as well as, providing an opportunity for staff to grow and develop both technically and professionally.
Reduce the strain on centralized data entry by analyzing production processes and procedures to develop new methods of data collection. Expand the use of electronic feeds and investigate/develop/acquire/deploy new technology solutions for data collection.

Camden Computing Services

Strategic Goals

General University Support

Develop and implement plans for Novell, Unix, NT and other operating system improvements.
Coordinate and support Year 2000 activities across the campus aligned with central and local Y2K committees.
Provide leadership to campus departments in developing their IT needs and plans.
Provide networking leadership for the campus to improve backbone services, assist in building design, communicate standards and assist in transitional networking plans.
Promote continued collaboration and cooperation with the Library and TEC staff in supporting computing components of the planned technology-based classrooms.
Enhance and expand the Educational Series to include new applications and additional sessions on key applications.

Instructional Support

Provide IT leadership to the campus in the development and implementation of plans for public computing facilities on the campus.
Encourage and assist faculty in developing web-based instructional materials for classroom presentations.

Research Support

Encourage and support faculty participation in I2-related and other projects requiring information technology.
Participate in the integration and support for departmental outreach programs including distance learning and off campus instruction.

Outreach Support

Gain knowledge of and assist in video distribution for distance learning programs

Administrative Support

Collaborate with administrative departments on campus to improve office work flow and assist in planning for their systems and software upgrades.

Operational Goals

Improve front line service through hiring full time staff in the Campus Center and part time staff for BSB operations (evenings and weekends). Also, develop a plan to improve student assistants training through seminars, coaching and support.
Increase communications to faculty, students and staff through paper mailings once per semester, E-mail through the campus REACT, student newspaper and online web announcements.
Establish a separate web server for improved web page access and development. Work with the campus committee to improve the layout, links and content of the campus pages.
Promote staff participation in CTE teams to work on OIT issues. Encourage staff acceptance and strive to adhere to the newly created Mission, Vision, and Values statements of OIT.
Further align services with the campus and institutional needs through participation on the Camden Strategic Academic Alliance Computer Planning committee that identifies campus priorities.
Develop a campus-based staff plan to better meet the increased computing support demands including additional staff for SGI system administration, FAS faculty offices, campus administrative offices, faculty development and classroom technology. Consult with departments on computer support needs and funding required.
Develop a plan for staff professional development to enhance their skills appropriately for their job function and growth.

New Brunswick Computing Services

Strategic Goals

General University Support

Identify opportunities for technology: Work with advisory bodies such as the NB Computing Advisory Committee, Instructional Technology Support Committee, and Email Taskforce to identify areas where technology can provide the greatest impact for the University community.
Mailing lists: First phase of large-scale mailing list support.
White pages: Reengineer white pages.
Account creation: Reengineer (at least through design phase) account creation.
INFO: Move Info into Network Services.
Indexing: Provide web indexing services.
Y2K: Provide support for University Y2K effort.
Novell Upgrade: Plan and implement Novell upgrade for the University.

Instructional Support

Web-based instructional tools: Evaluate available tools. In cooperation with the Instructional Technology Support Committee, select specific tools for implementation and support.
Dorm support: Move dorm support from pilot into implementation: Goals are to make it available to all students in the dorms, and to make (to the extent allowed by licensing) all lab software available through the project.

Research Support

PC software distribution: Establish a system for online distribution of PC software.
Unix software distribution: Replace Track with a new Unix software distribution system.
Large dataset users: Put into production a new facility for large dataset social science users.
High performance computing facilities: Develop MPI-based facilities for high-performance scientific computing.
Engineering computing services: Start up the new Engineering Computing Services group.

Operational Goals

Staff training: Work with the HR Department to evaluate requirements for training staff throughout the University, including training for common PC applications.
Distributed support: Work with NB Computer Advisory Committee to evaluate Livingston project, and work out the proper relationship between NBCS and departments. Implement distributed support on at least one additional campus.
PC aux services: Expand MSSG aux services from 1 to at least 3 staff.
UNIX support group: Create Unix support group, providing support and aux services.
Campus computing facilities quality initiative: Assess strengths and weaknesses of support of students in labs, design and begin implementation of improvements in training and supervision of consultants.
Education series: Move all training to hands-on.
New support model: In cooperation with other divisions, plan and begin implementation of a single help desk. Provide proper training for staff to act as front end for all areas of OIT. Organize interaction between "front end" and "back end."
Technical seminars: To help provide technical background for staff who are going to be moving from end-user support to helping departments and departmental staff.
Budget review: Carefully review budget allocations within NBCS, to see whether it is possible to do reallocations to projects of strategic importance.

Newark Computing Services

Strategic Goals

General University Support

Provide campus leadership in the use and support of information technology resources through expanded communication with the campus community.
Establish a student advisory committee for computing to advise on operational issues and activities and develop communication paths between students and computing services.
Enhance the Education Series offered to the campus by improving the quality and scope of courses offered and the distribution of the announcements and scheduling.
Promote departmental support through the departmental coordinators and the distributed support model.

Instructional Support

Promote and expand the collaboration and cooperation between Computing Services, the TEC, and the Library.
Provide and support campus resources in support of instructional needs and requirements.

Research Support

Enhance support provided to the parallel computing users through involvement and participation in planning current and future activities.

Outreach Support

Facilitate campus outreach programs through departmental consulting and support.

Administrative Support

Initiate development of campus administrative computing committee to facilitate development of campus issues and bring to attention of administrative services.

Operational Goals

Support the CTE initiatives through the involvement and participation of all staff members.
Improve organizational functioning through implementation of CTE revised processes and interdivisional communication.
Fill open positions and implement revised organizational structure.
Improve customer satisfaction.
Design and rewrite web pages to align with OIT's web pages and to reflect services provided to the campus.
Improve operation and staffing of the student labs through development of appropriate policies, improved hiring, training and supervision of lab assistants, and improved reporting and repair of hardware and software.
Develop professional development plans for each staff member aligned with skills needs assessment.
Improve operation of CS-Net group through implementation of trouble reporting and tracking application.

Telecommunications

Strategic Goals

General University Support

Develop and mobilize an implementation plan for RUNet 2000, including finalization of Bell Atlantic's contract, definition of roles for Owner's Representative services, establishment of procedures and documentation concerning project policy and interactions with building occupants and Facilities, and establishment of a financial structure for overall project management.
Participate with the RUL in implementing VALE (Virtual Academic Library Environment) for statewide access to library resources located at Rutgers-NB.
Develop and publish technical networking standards for university-wide services, development and implementation of a transition plan for migration of legacy RUNet services to RUNet 2000, including support for a single protocol environment and renumbering of existing nodes.

Instructional Support

In conjunction with the campus divisions, implement pilot services for software distribution to dorm students.

Research Support

Implement high performance networking services to select meritorious researchers in conjunction with Internet2.
Further assess options for support of video over the data network including implementation of pilot programs.

Outreach Support

Continue operations and support for the New Jersey Intercampus Network (NJIN) services provided under contract for Internet access, including email services, multimedia software services, and web access.
Provide technical and strategic leadership to the State of New Jersey's joint higher education networking planning committees with a focus on a major bidding process.

Administrative Support

Participate aggressively in Y2K committees to minimize potential service disruptions at Rutgers.
Enhance the Network Support Center as the focus of divisional problem reporting/tracking coordination efforts; participate in interdivisional planning activities to simplify help desk support.

Operational Goals

Improve internal and external communications concerning the status and tracking of major work in progress, for RUNet 2000 related and non-RUNet 2000 work.
Evaluate alternatives and develop recommendations for possible implementation of enhanced/more cost-effective telephony services such as automated attendant, voice mail, and message boards.
Closely monitor the Student Telephone Services (STS) program through its second year of operation to improve effectiveness and profitability.
Develop a long term strategy for continued operation of the Computer Store in conjunction with the Division of Procurement.
Train all managers/supervisors adequately for implementation of the University's planned Pay for Performance Compensation system.
Recruit, retain, train, and integrate permanent and temporary telecommunications staff adequate for needs of the University, including the immediate needs of the RUNet 2000 project; seek opportunities for consolidation of staff now fragmented across many different building locations to improve efficiency.
Participate actively in interdivisional activities in support of the new OIT "Commitment to Excellence".

Appendices

1. OIT Mission, Vision, and Values

MISSION STATEMENT

VISION STATEMENT

The Office of Information Technology will be a role model within the higher education community for customer satisfaction and service excellence using innovative strategies and advanced technologies, through a unified multi-faceted approach.

VALUES STATEMENT

The Office of Information Technology believes that the organization's greatest asset is its staff. We encourage and support professional development activities that meet the goals of the organization. We take personal responsibility, are accountable, and embrace a set of values that guide our daily actions.

Teamwork

We extend cooperation and support to our colleagues and customers throughout the University community. We hold team goals paramount while encouraging and recognizing both individual and team achievements.

Innovation

We embrace creative solutions, different perspectives, and new opportunities. We provide leadership for the University in introducing and applying Information Technology.

Professionalism

We are knowledgeable in state-of-the-art Information Technology and apply our knowledge in accordance with the best professional practices. We empower each other and use good judgment in performing our duties and activities. We value the benefits of diversity and treat all individuals with respect.

Integrity

We are trustworthy and honest in all of our actions. We hold to a high standard of ethics in our professional relationships.

Initiative

We identify opportunities and promote appropriate uses of Information Technology. We proactively take steps to increase our customers' awareness of Information Technology as a means to achieve their objectives.

2. Committees that Provide Governance for OIT

New Brunswick Advisory Committee for Instructional Computing (CH) (GL)

Provides recommendations to the University VP for Academic Affairs and to the VP of for University Budgeting on the use of the student computing fee for services that support instructional computing at the general access hubs located on each campus as well as Computer support for the broader teaching and learning efforts in New Brunswick.

Newark Campus Computer Planning Committee (NCCPC) (MB)

Responsible for evaluation of (c) proposals and direction, advising the Provost at Newark. Liaison between the campus community and The Provost on all research, Public service and administration. Goals include development of a strategic plan for computing in Newark, overseeing and being advocates for the most efficacious uses of computers, assessing the state and needs of computing on Campus and providing guidance for critiques of the actions of both the Provost and OIT in Newark.

Campus Planning and Advisory Committee on Computers (DG)

Responsible for evaluating ICI proposals and direction, advising the Provost at Camden. Presently considering new direction as a consultative group for computing on campus.

RUNet 2000 Committees

(To be replaced by the TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES) Management Team, Architecture and Design, Advisory, Steering, Communications, Student Advisors

Compensation and Development Committee

Provides direction on compensation and other Human Resources issues.

Board of Governors - Audit Committee

Provides direction for systems changes mandated by auditors' observations.

STRATEGIC COMMITTEES THAT ENABLE OIT TO CARRY OUT ITS MISSION

Academic Coordinating Council (Instructional Deans) (BG)

A forum for exchange of information on, and coordination of changes in courses and academic programs, and to serve as an incubator for ideas about program innovation.

Instructional Technology Faculty Support Committee (CH)

Develop a strategy whereby all service providers work together to support faculty development for instructional technology on the Campus including smart classrooms. Involves TEC, Library, Media Services, etc.

New Brunswick Computing Advisory Committee (GL) (CH)

Provide advice on the priorities and the development of academic and administrative computing services that support the mission of the New Brunswick campus.

Subcommittee: Student Fee Subcommittee: Recommend potential uses for improving current services and contributing to support the educational objectives of the RUNet 2000 project.

Joint Committee on Information Technology (GL)

Joint Library and computing services committee to establish a structure for the respective roles and responsibilities of each organization related to the support of information technology and promote collaboration in the areas of funding opportunities, educational programs and electronic information resources and services.

Camden FAS-IT Committee (DG)

Discusses IT issues that relate to FAS along with media and library areas.

GL=George Laskaris, Executive Director for Computing and Information Technology; CH=Charles Hedrick, Director - New Brunswick Computing Services; MB = Marie Botticelli, Director - Newark Computing Services; BG = Bernice Ginder, University Director - Administrative Information Systems and Planning; DG = David Gwalthney, Director - Camden Computing Services

1. The student to public computer ratios were calculated using public workstation numbers provided by each of the individual campus divisions (Camden - 190, Newark - 418, New Brunswick - 843) and total numbers of undergraduate and graduate students for each campus taken from the 1998 Rutgers Factbook.

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The Office of Information Technology

Accountability Report

Fiscal Year 97/98

Table of Contents

About the Office of Information Technology

Executive Summary

RUNet 2000

Commitment to Excellence

Administrative Computing Enhancements

Distributed Support

Voice Services

E-mail Distribution Lists

Instructional Services

SROA-Supported Projects

Improvements to Dialup Services

Internet 2

Student Fee

A. Summary of Major Services and Accomplishments

1. Basic Services

a. Email, Web, and Directory Services

b. Academic Instructional Computing Support

c. Services For Faculty and Staff

d. Software Services

e. Voice Services

2. Accessing Services

a. Obtaining an Account

b. Getting Connected to the Network

c. Computer Store

d. Hardware Repair and Installation

3. Help Services and Resources

a. For Individuals

b. For Departments

c. Training

d. Documentation

4. Administrative Computing

B.Infrastructure

1. Campus Computing Facilities

2. Administrative Computing Systems

3. Networking

4. RUNet 2000

5. Internet2

C. Organization - Management and Staffing

1. Quality Improvement Initiative

2. Staffing - Promotions, New Hires

3. Human Resources Development

D. Public Awareness

E. Goals for Fiscal Year 98/99

Mission

STRATEGIC GOALS

General University Support

Instructional Support

Research Support

Outreach Support

Administrative Support

OPERATIONAL GOALS

F. Divisional Goals

Administrative Computing Services

Strategic Goals

General University Support

Instructional Support

Administrative Support

Operational Goals

Camden Computing Services

Strategic Goals

General University Support

Instructional Support

Research Support

Outreach Support

Administrative Support

Operational Goals

New Brunswick Computing Services

Strategic Goals

General University Support

Instructional Support

Research Support

Operational Goals

Newark Computing Services

Strategic Goals

General University Support

Instructional Support