A Federated Model of Computing Support at a Large State University
Maurice LeatherburySenior Director of Academic
Computing and Assistant to the Associate Vice President for
Computing and Communications Services
University of North Texas
“Federated”Federal – “of or constituting a form of government in which power is distributed between a central authority and a number of constituent territorial units”“Formed by a compact between political units that surrender their individual sovereignty to a central authority but retain limited residuary powers of government”
UNT Background
27,500 studentsFourth largest in Texas9,000 desktop computersGigabit fiber backbone, 10/100Mbps Ethernet throughoutDS-3’s to both I1 and I2Netware, Windows NT, Sun Solaris, Linux, OS/390, Apple OS’es supported
Computing Support Structure
Computing Center – 160 FTE’s Administrative Computing Academic Computing Mainframe Technical Services Networking and Communications Services
(datacomm, telecomm)Each of eight colleges/schools plus major administrative units has its own LAN/desktop support personnel About 45 FTE employees
Microcomputer Maintenance Shop builds and supports desktop computers, sells and maintains Dell laptopsClassroom Support Services provisions classrooms with data projectors, VCR’s, etc. and maintains them
Computing GovernanceComputing Center reports to Vice President for Business and Fiscal AffairsInformation Resource Council represents all colleges and schools as well as major administrative areas (administration, budget, etc.) Major policies and computing decision recommendations come
from the IRCInformation Resources Steering Committee (the President and Vice Presidents) make final decisions or recommendations to BoardGeneral Access Lab Committee represents 13 computer labs that are funded through student fees, makes policy and sets lab budgets from a student technology feeGeneral Access Lab Managers Committee composed of lab managersDistributed Computing Support Management Team composed of managers of major desktop support units on campus (i.e., excludes CC administrative and academic units)
Funding ModelComputing Center gets capital equipment funding from HEAF “off the top,” salaries and operating from M&ODistributed units get equipment/software funding from HEAF through VPAA’s allocation to the colleges and schools (computing needs compete with other capital equipment needs such as research equipment)Distributed units’ personnel and operating costs come from general college/department fundsComputing Center pays for many central functions: Novell Netware Microsoft Campus Agreement Remedy Call Tracking SAS and SPSS licenses Sun hardware and software maintenance Data communications (no chargeback)
Brief HistoryFebruary, 1996 the IRC formed Ad Hoc Committee on Distributed Support Issues because of problems with support across campusCharged it to study: Organization, training, career development, cross training
of distributed support staff Server consolidation Software tools to facilitate network administration
Consider formal coordination of decentralized computing unitsDevelop guidelines or standards for computer support staffing levels
Brief History (con’t)July 1996 Provost established Distributed Computing Support Management Team (DCSMT) Membership from all major desktop support units on campus
(colleges, administrative offices, etc.) Chair is Director of Academic Computing, who also advises
colleges and administrative units on hiring and evaluation of support personnel
Ad Hoc Committee established “CSQ” (Computing Support Quotient) goal of 100 support units {(users + machines)/2} per support personRange of CSQ was 44 (Library) to 275 (Physical Plant.) Average was 140Faculty Senate passed resolution requesting additional staffing in computing support
Additional Staffing
11.75 new positions were addedMajority went to colleges/schoolsThree positions were upgraded to provide equity among units$351,000 new funding, 75% first year, 50% subsequent years provided by VPAA
Current CSQCentral Administration 132.80College of Arts & Sciences 134.06College of Business Administration 79.78College of Education 125.10College of Music 123.67Computing Center 116.00Housing 50.57Library 77.50Physical Plant 28.00Registrar 30.25School of Community Service/School of Merchandising & Hospitality Management 51.00School of Library & Information Sciences 54.87School of Visual Arts 100.00Student Development 135.95University Union 81.00
Computing Support Salaries
GradeSalary (entry)
Computing Support Specialist I $30,270
CSS II $33,732
CSS III $36,960
CSS IV $40,536
Computing System Manager I $44,532
CSM II $49,008
CSM III $53,916
CSM IV $59,424
Distributed Computing Support Management Team
On the Web at http://www.unt.edu/dcsmt22 members, including the computing support manager at UNT’s System Center in south DallasChaired by Director of Academic ComputingMeets every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month (System Center participates via videoconference)Additional persons usually attend: CC security coordinator, Assoc VP for Computing and Communications Services, campus-wide networking support personnel, etc.
DCSMT Functions
Coordinate efforts of central and distributed computer support units for efficiency and effectivenessImprove distributed computing environmentImplement recommendations of Ad Hoc committee on computing support
DCSMT’s Relationship to Other Computing Groups
Chair of DCSMT reports on its activities to the IRCDCSMT recommends policies and procedures to the IRC (it DOES NOT make policy!)Many DCSMT members are also members of the General Access Lab Managers CommitteeMost colleges/schools have technology committees with DCSMT members participating
Major DCSMT Initiatives
Campus-wide call tracking system (Remedy)Desktop OS standardization (Windows 98, NT)Laptop computer standardization (Dell)Productivity suite standardization (MS Office, some Corel Wordperfect)Virus checking standardization (McAfee)PDA support (Palm OS)
Major DCSMT Initiatives (con’t)
Students in the Novell treeNetwork management tools (Managewise, DSExpert)Y2K readinessHourly worker wage studyCSS/CSM classifications minimum requirements change
Major DCSMT Accomplishments
Communication! (CC to distributed units)Communication! (Distributed units to CC)Communication! (Distributed units to distributed units)Communication! (Computing support to campus in general)Most DCSMT meetings end with status reports from each attendee, discussing problems, solutions, etc.
Distribution of Responsibilities
Computing CenterFund campus-wide software (MS Campus Agreement, Remedy, etc.)NDS tree, Active Directory coordinationData communications funding and maintenanceHelp Desk for students, administrative computing questions, general computing questionsCompaq server maintenanceAdministrative systemsCentral planning (DIR, etc.)Security planning & coordination
Distributed UnitsFund local hardware and softwareSupport all of their users’ computing needs except for administrative systemsHelp desk for their users’ questionsConform to campus standards (datacomm, NDS, security, etc.)
What Makes the Model Work?
Standardization Desktop computers, LAN servers, Laptops, Novell,
Microsoft, Etc.Funding Computing Center supports campus-wide initiatives,
has “carrot” to gain acceptance Distributed units have enough to meet most
computing needsStaffing Generally adequate to provide desktop support
Cooperation Partnership between central computing and
distributed computing
SCT BANNER 2000
INTEGRATED ADMINISTRATIVE SOFTWARE SYSTEM
EVALUATION AND SELECTION
EL PASO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Integrated Administrative Software System
Evaluation and Selection Process
May 1996 - ORACLE DBMS purchasedJune 1996 - IASS Committee FormedJuly 1996 - Jan 1997 - IASS RFP drafted Feb - April 1997 - RFP issued for consultant to review IASS RFPSept - Nov 1997 - Consultant selected and review of IASS RFP completedDec 1997 - Feb 1998 - IASS RFP draft finalizedMarch- May 1998 - IASS RFP issued & evaluatedJune - August 1998 - on-site demos
Integrated Administrative Software System
Evaluation and Selection Process
Oct - Dec 1998 - Software Evaluation Team, 11 members; 2 Vendors Evaluated with Four Offsite VisitsJan - March 1999 - Vendor NegotiationsMarch 1999 - SCT Banner 2000 approved by Board of TrusteesMay 1999 - Kickoff & Business Process AnalysisDec 2000 - Finance Module Go-LiveMarch - June 2001 - Finaid & Student Go-liveJan 2002 - H/R Go-live
Integrated Administrative Software System Evaluation Criteria
Weighted scores by criticalityGeneral SystemAdmissionsRegistrar/Records - Credit and CEFinancial AidFinancial SystemH/RTechnologyVendor Other - WEB, Reporting, Support
Integrated Administrative Software System
SCT BANNER Selection
PriceState of Texas/DIRTX Connection ConsortiumFunctionality - General, Student, Financial Aid, A/R, Tuitions, G/L & AccountingWEB & V/R functionalityTechnologyLess Strong in H/R and Purchasing
SCT BANNER ImplementationTIPS
Budget - doubled estimated implementation hours, overtime and part-time, departmental equipment (PCs, monitors, network printers), materials duplication, licensing, servers and network equipment, upgrades, Summit & evaluation trips Site evaluations - Pick sites that are on same version if possibleTraining - Dedicated training rooms, Train the Trainer, Internal training documentation, smaller training areasNo Base Line Modifications
SCT BANNER ImplementationTIPS
Business Process Analysis - EPCC ready/SCT not, Change processes not systemProject Management - Internal Full time, external part time, Change Management is keyStaffing - backfill key positions, develop vacation accrual policies Project Management Team - Senior Management Level including Functional Team ChairsFunctional Teams - Chaired by Director level or above, users assume ownershipDocument & record all meeting and decisions
SCT BANNER ImplementationTIPS
Functional - Cumbersome maintenance; Approval Queues, User profiles, Security Matrix, etcIntegrated General Person - Triple CautionReporting - State Reports solution in progress, canned reporting not great, ODBC reporting has security and performance issues, Get Help!!Technical - Licensing, Training & Hands on, Staff Retention, multiple Servers needed, installations, PC’s, network printers, Extras - A/R Cashier system, Counseling and Testing MS ACCESS system, Payment server
SCT BANNER ImplementationEPCC Status
On track overallOutstanding issues - Reporting, Internal Training, Departmental Equipment, Banner Installations, Credit Card PaymentVendor Support Good overall
GEAR UP FOR BOOT CAMP!!
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