ITSS ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Executive Summary
ITSS provides central IT services for UND and NDUS. ITSS personnel work closely with the University Chief
Information Officer (CIO) and the University Information Technology Council (UITC) with its sub councils, and
campus administration in order to better align with campus IT priorities and with the NDUS CIO and Directors for
NDUS expectations.
ITSS provides central information technology (IT) services for UND including help center; network, server and
database administration; technology support; communications infrastructure; telephone; classroom technology;
Blackboard; faculty workshops and graphic design. ITSS is comprised of Support Services and Infrastructure
Services each overseen by an Associate Director. In FY 2008, ITSS had 70 full-time, 2 half-time employees
and 41 student employees. Twenty nine and one-half (29.6) FTE staff are funded by and responsible for NDUS
activities.
The greatest portion of ITSS human and financial resources go towards on-going information technology
services that UND constituents expect and require in order to do their work.
ITSS 2008 Accomplishments:
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The Identity Management (IdM) Governance Board established principles from which to create IdM
Policies.
Implemented IdM to directory resources (Active Directory and LDAP)
Replaced 32 computers in ITSS computer labs
Wireless networking equipment was upgraded and expanded in Chester Fritz Library and Gamble Hall,
coverage expanded in the School of Law, Twamley, and newly installed in twelve additional buildings.
Wireless hot spots were installed in commons areas of all residence halls. ITSS supported wireless
network coverage exists in 64 buildings, 38 with full coverage and 26 with limited coverage
Ruckus server installed for free and legal music downloads
Added the following buildings to the campus network: EERC Hydrogen Center, Northern Plains Center
for Behavioral Research, Parking Ramp, School of Engineering and Mines Jodsaas Center, and new
President’s residence
Upgraded main campus BlackBoard to the most current version
Installation of the Blackboard Community System providing space for committees, groups and
organization to collaborate online
Classroom technology upgrades in O’Kelly 301, Montgomery 201, Gillette 101, Merrifield 10, Chester
Fritz Library 202, Hyslop 172, Hyslop 316, Starcher 225, Nursing 102 and International Centre
New technology classrooms setup in Leonard 215, Merrifield 313, Hughes Fine Arts Center 164, Hyslop
Dance Studio, Ireland 355, Nursing 201A, and Carnegie 7
Northern Tier Network Consortium-North Dakota agreements and network operating center services
were finalized and implementation plans developed to connect at 10 Gigabit to the national and
international high-speed research network for winter 2009 implementation
Leased land for UND in Second Life, a virtual world, for UND staff, students and faculty to meet and
teach courses
Developed and hosted monthly Technology Trends Forums showcasing exemplary faculty in their use
of emerging technologies in the classroom
Extended use of VoIP telephone sets at Bismarck State College (BSC) for IVN. They are part of the IVN
Help Desk at UND, IVN Help Desk calls can be answered at BSC
Completed an upgrade of the Avaya telephone switch servers to S8730’s
Completed an upgrade of the telephone switch software to version 5.0
Training room was completed in the Telecom/ITSS area
Added MaSU to the UND S8730 telephone and MM voicemail systems
With the exception of ConnectND, ITSS budgets have been flat for many years. Maintenance for existing
services takes a greater percentage of the budget giving less funding for discretionary or new campus projects.
Staffing levels have been stable so there is an ongoing process to identify the higher priorities and staff skills
required for those priorities.
ITSS ANNUAL REPORT
2007-2008
Department Name: Information Technology Systems and Services (ITSS)
Assessment Contact:
Name: Dorette Kerian
Phone: (701) 777-3880
Email: dorettekerian@mail.und.nodak.edu
The University of North Dakota in its Strategic Plan, Building on Excellence, calls us to “Optimize the use of
information technology to improve student learning, research and the administration of the University”.
Organization
ITSS is under the Office of the Provost, reporting through the Chief Information Officer (CIO). ITSS is comprised
of Support Services and Infrastructure Services each overseen by an Associate Director. Support Services has
team leaders for help desk, support, operators, telephone and a manager of the Center for Instructional
Learning Technologies. Infrastructure Support has team leaders for database administration, network services,
server administration and telecommunications infrastructure. The IT Security Officer, research specialist,
accountant and administrative assistant all report to the Director.
ITSS works with the University Information Technology Council and its sub-councils and with information
technology (IT) staff in other units to provide current and plan for future IT infrastructure and support services for
UND faculty, students, and staff. The campus IT Security Officer works out of ITSS. ITSS also works closely
with the NDUS CIO and the ConnectND Executive Director for NDUS funded services including ConnectND and
ODIN data center services, wide area network coordination, and help desk services.
The NDUS
accomplishments will be reported through NDUS CIO.
Mission, Vision and Values/Principles of ITSS
Mission: ITSS provides leadership, instruction and access to information, communication and technology
resources in support of the higher education community: teaching, learning, research and public
service.
Vision:
Utilize dynamic planning to expand and enhance information access, implement best practices,
integrate leading edge technologies and expand professional development to meet the changing
needs of the university.
Values/Principles:
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Provide reliable communications infrastructure
Provide quality technology resources
Provide quality customer service
Embrace collaborative change and innovation
Encourage professional growth
Provide quality leadership
Provide cost effective services
State of the Unit
UND campus IT responsibilities and services in ITSS include information technology support, infrastructure, and
application implementation. Detailed information can be found under ‘Those We Serve’ section.
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ITSS holds UND’s membership in Internet2 (I2) to provide researchers, faculty and students high bandwidth
computing and networking capability. Through ITSS, UND along with NDSU and ITD, participate in the Northern
Tier Network Consortium to upgrade network capacity across the states from Wisconsin through Washington.
Staff external organization contributions include the national Association for Technology Professionals in Higher
Education and the EDUCAUSE Net@EDU.
Staff members lead and are active in campus organizations and committees including the University Information
Technology Council (UITC); the UITC Network, IT Managers and Academic sub-councils; Student Technology
Fee Committee; Beyond Boundaries Planning Committee; UND DreamWeaver User’s Group; SAS User’s
Group; Staff Senate; IT Security Committees and Groups; and the Loss Control Committee. They lead and
participate in NDUS organizations and committees including the NDUS ConnectND Management Team, the
NDUS Security Group, and several HECN administrative, network and ad hoc committees.
Staff members are active in service and religious organizations.
1. Human Resources
ITSS Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Staff
UND
NDUS
ITSS Administration, Accounting and Leadership
Desktop /Help Desk /Support Services
3.35
9.34
2.65
3.16
Database and server administration
CILT Technical Staff
5.74
6
11.76
0
Security
Network integrated communication infrastructure and services
1
8.65
0
2.35
Operations
Production Control and ODIN support
1.2
.1
4.8
1.9
Telephone administration and services
Total
ITSS Student Employees
6
41.38
29.62
(Lab/cluster, desktop, integrated communication, general office support
and software license assistant)
Graduate Student
40
.5
ITSS staff attended over 85 formal training sessions or workshops in ConnectND tools and applications,
security, networking, server administration, database management, telecommunications, help desk, support
services, user training, blackboard, classroom equipment, distance learning, audio visual, crystal reports, and IT
leadership. Additional learning is gained at workshops, conferences, on-line, and through working with peers.
2. Those We Serve
The University:
Available to each member of the University Community:
ITSS hosts, operates, administers and/or supports servers and systems in an air conditioned, and
controlled environment with generator power and data backup service for:
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UND web site to share information to both internal and external university audiences
U-Mail for students and faculty and GroupWise e-mail for administrators and faculty electronic
communication
Streaming video services to view or re-view of events (lectures, presentations, athletic events)
electronically
Blackboard learning management and community system for course materials, committee, group and
organization sites to teach classes, share information and communication.
Campus applications such as proxy server, CFL Docutek, and ImageNow
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ITSS provides and supports network infrastructure and services:
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Wired network access in every classroom, office, and most other campus rooms at 100 megabit per
second-with ability to implement for 1 gigabit per second where requested and funded
WAN access at 1 gigabit per second, Internet1 access up to 622 Mbps, and Internet2 access to 100
Mbps (the latter 2 shared among NDUS campuses)
Leadership of Network Sub-Council for campus network guidance, planning and direction
Wireless access covering more than 50% of campus buildings
Domain Name Service and Dynamic Host Control Protocol services for IP number addressing and name
management
LDAP directory services for user authentication for central IT services
Cisco Clean Access for campus network authentication and for verification and remediation of up-todate virus protection and OS patches in residence halls and in open and wireless network access areas
Network security, including firewalls and VPN services, to protect critical systems and services from
unauthorized access
ITSS provides client support services for the campus:
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Help desk services problem reporting, tracking and resolving issues
Desktop computer assistance, consulting and training
Shared system computer consulting and training
Training, documentation, and news items inform campus members about information technology and
assist in its use
Desktop telephone, voice mail service and training as well as campus operator, cellular phone referral
and retail phone card services
Web services HTML, PHP and MySQL
Design, planning, and implementation for classroom technology
Maintenance, training, and checkout of classroom presentation equipment
A/V recording and duplication services
Graphic design services
Blackboard user support for faculty, students and staff
ITSS supports campus researchers:
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Administration of Vice President for Research’s Computational Research Center (CRC) High
Performance Computing Cluster
ITSS advances campus IT security
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Awareness and education about IT security and leadership for policy development and implementation
to strengthen campus IT security
Students:
In addition to the services above, all of which are available to students as members of the University
Community, ITSS provides services to students:
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Telephone, voice mail, long distance, and Internet service in virtually every on campus student
residence
Availability of general-purpose computing clusters in the Memorial Union and Chester Fritz Library
UND web site for student organizations and U-Web student web site for course work
Blackboard course, committee, group and organization sites
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External Constituents/Other Stakeholders:
Telephone Services are provided to incubator businesses. Telecommunications services are often arranged for
special campus events. UND, with NDSU, sponsors the I2 membership for K12 schools in North Dakota through
the Sponsored Education Group Participant Program. With NDSU and the ND State Information Technology
Department, UND is a member of Northern Tier Network-ND, which brings the national and international
research and education network to North Dakota.
3. Programming
ITSS participates with University within the University (U2) to plan for and assess IT workshops including
business applications, web development, and electronic communication. ITSS staff provide new student IT
orientations in cooperation with the Graduate School and Enrollment Services. An ITSS brochure offers
technology updates each semester. The ITSS web site (www.und.edu/dept/itss) offers resources for use of IT.
Security workshops and a campus Cyber Security Awareness Day are provided through the IT Security Office.
4. Fiscal and Physical Resources
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The ITSS central personnel budget was about $3.55 million: of which nearly $1.46 million was provided
for UND IT services. Those funds are primarily appropriated dollars that come to UND for IT and some
recharge funds. The remaining dollars fund personnel to provide NDUS services and are provided from
the NDUS system office technology pool, ODIN, and ConnectND fees. UND’s ITSS central operating
and equipment budget in 2007-08 were nearly $6 million with UND’s share just about $823,000. UND’s
share is spent on maintenance of existing hardware and software, campus network electronics and
management, servers for central IT service and consulting to improve service. The remaining $5 million
in expenditures were for NDUS. NDUS states over $5 million of their IT expenditures for services in FY
2008 were expended for UND, based on FTE.
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The Telecommunications Department within ITSS is a recharge center for Administrative Long Distance
and Telephone Services, Technical Services and Student Telephone Services. The Department
received $731,665 in appropriated funding for Administrative Telephone Services and Repairs and the
incoming Toll-Free line. The bulk of the funding is used for Administrative Telephone Services and
Repairs (such as providing academic departments with telephone service) with the remainder going into
salaries. The department also generates revenue from the sale of telephone and cabling services to
campus departments and students. Depreciation for switch and infrastructure replacement and major
underground cabling projects are funded from income generated from sale of services.
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Funding that was allocated to CILT/ITSS for 2007-2008 operating was used to maintain ongoing
services; classrooms, faculty workshops, graphics, and Blackboard. Special projects included;
upgrading the Digital Multimedia suite for faculty self-service use and course related special student
projects, training staff through conferences and other professional development, upgrading staff laptops
and department servers, and adding social software tools into Blackboard. Classroom funding from STF
to CILT/ITSS and special STF projects for other departments provided for new installations.
ITSS has facilities in the basement of the Carnegie Library (Telecommunications/ITSS), Robertson-Sayre Hall
ground, first floor and second floor (Center for Instructional and Learning Technology/ITSS), and Upson II, 366,
371 and 361 and the basement of Upson II (ITSS main offices). The distribution of staff over 3 buildings and
several floors contributes to communication and collaboration challenges resulting in reduced efficiency and on
occasion outages or missed opportunities.
An ITSS machine room is located in the basement of Upson II. This machine room houses server and network
equipment strategic to UND and NDUS networks.
The UND campus network is connected with a gigabit (1,000 Mbps) link to the state wide-area-network
(STAGEnet), the commodity Internet, and Internet2 over two physically diverse fiber paths. Network equipment
and configurations on these links support redundancy and automatic recovery in the event of a failure. The
UND backbone network provides gigabit (1,000 Mbps) capability and redundancy within the campus core and
gigabit or 100 Mbps links to campus buildings. Redundant gigabit links exist from the campus gateway routers
to core switches at Aerospace. The network centers in Merrifield Hall and Upson II are secure and access
controlled environments, protected with uninterruptible, and generated electrical power backup. ITSS manages
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and supports ~4,000 residence hall connections at 10/100 Mbps. Data Subscriber Link (DSL) supports up to 768
high-speed connections in UND campus apartments.
UND’s Avaya S8700 telephone switch currently has 5,899 stations in use for students, faculty and staff. It
provides on-campus telephone connectivity and off campus long distance dialing. The campus telephone
switch, located in Merrifield Hall, is also protected with uninterruptible and generated electrical power backup.
The Modular Messaging voice mail system provides 3,894 voice mailboxes for campus customers.
UND shares a state contract along with NDUS, State Government and State Agencies to provide cellular phone
services for administration and staff that require mobile communication. NDUS, State Government and
Agencies also share a state contract for intrastate, interstate and international long distance services to obtain
the lowest per minute rates possible.
5. Evaluation
Assessment of Accomplishments of YOUR Strategic Goal:
Optimize the use of information technology to improve student learning, research and the
administration of the University and of the North Dakota University System.
Goal 1:
Align IT service and support with the business requirements of UND and NDUS.
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ITSS staff offered 111 workshops to the University Community in the 2008 fiscal year with 749
participants
ITSS staff processed 1,720 tests and 60,000 evaluations for over 2,000 separate courses for the
campus in the 2008 fiscal year
3,200 site license and volume license software licenses were distributed. These software licenses
were for products from Microsoft, Adobe, Macromedia, SPSS, SAS, ESRI, Mathematica, and
AutoCAD
CILT/ITSS staff provided workshops for 571 faculty and 51 students
In Blackboard 1,070 course sites were created for 10,068 students and 475 Instructors and 1,027
course sites were created for 10,082 students and 477 instructors, during fall and spring semesters
respectively
By the end of spring semester 70 Blackboard Community sites were being used by committees,
groups, and organizations
141 Teaching Station/Podium training sessions were completed
Summer Teaching with Technology workshop offered to 10 faculty in collaboration with OID
Goal 2: High quality IT services provided by high quality work force.
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Over the last year, the UND Help Desk received 13,308 calls placed to 777-2222 and 14,688 to the
NDUS 800 service. The UND Help Desk also entered 19,636 customer support requests (includes
HECN calls)
ITSS managed and provided computer support to the Memorial Union Computer Lab, the third floor
Chester Fritz Library Computer Lab, and seven academic department labs
3.5 desktop FTE staff resolved over 645 desktop services requests Desktop tickets in the past fiscal
year, also a reduction for the same number of staff
The ITSS computer labs provided services to 182,824 patrons last year
947 telecommunications repair orders and 1083 telecommunications service orders were completed
ITSS provided 32,529 campus e-mail accounts for students, faculty, and staff, 31,330 U-Mail
accounts and 1,197 GroupWise accounts
There are 559 accounts on the general campus webserver (www.und.edu) and 350 accounts on the
student web server (uweb.und.nodak.edu)
913 classroom equipment requests and 279 classroom work orders were completed
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Goal 3: Improve IT infrastructure for currency, efficiency, effectiveness and reliability.
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Upgraded network management systems
NetEnforcer and Infoblox DNSOne tools manage and monitor network traffic and provide Internet
name management, respectively
There are over 1,500 hosts with gigabit connections to the campus network. The number of 100
Mbps ports available in campus offices and classrooms increased from ~15,000 to ~15,700
ITSS UND funded server administrators manage 106 physical and 8 virtual UND servers (for central
and department services) and administers 80 nodes in the Research Cluster, an increase over last
year
ITSS host 17 physical servers for other UND departments
Goal 4: Improve IT security for compliance with national, state, NDUS and campus law and
policy.
 Cisco Clean Access (CCA), hardware was upgraded to authenticate users and check for up-to-date
anti-virus software and operating system patches for residence halls and campus apartments, wireless
coverage areas (supported by ITSS), open network outlets in the Chester Fritz Library and the Memorial
Union, and DSL users in campus apartments
 Central firewall services were added for the following networks: facilities alarm and security, voice,
Northern Plains Center for Behavioral Research, parking ramp, and all new ITSS installed wireless
 VPN services implemented for SMHS Southwest Campus in Bismarck to MedCenter One
 IT Security policies and procedures regarding the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and
Computer Surplus, Transfer, and Disposal were created by campus Subject Matter Expert Groups
 Various IT security awareness activities were conducted on campus to promote personal responsibility
and community partnerships for securing data including a Cyber Security Awareness Day attended by
approximately 150 faculty, staff, and students
 U2 seminars on Data Protection and Privacy, Safe Online Practices, and Internet Safety for Kids were
conducted for faculty and staff
 An IT Security website is kept up-to-date to share security software, policies, initiatives, and alerts with
the UND community
 Integration of the three Blackboard licenses into one system provided better support for faculty and
students, in addition to complying with UND policies and procedures on course access, user names and
integration with Campus Connection.
ITSS UND Challenges:
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Need for IT leadership and additional talented and well-trained IT staff
Co-locating all ITSS staff in one building would help gain efficiencies and increase synergy among staff
Need accessible faculty development laboratory space
Some colleges lack sufficient dedicated IT support staff causing greater dependency on a small central
IT staff and making it difficult for faculty to integrate technology in their classroom and research
Students and faculty are concerned about the number of logins and passwords they must manage
Telephone service model is changing with greater cellular phone ownership, and increased use of
wireless and WiFi for communications
Plans and funds are needed to respond to expectation that network demands will grow by 50 to 60
percent each year
Students are requesting wireless access throughout campus requiring funds for secure and managed
wireless network access
Requirement to authenticate all campus network users
Planned activities for 2009:
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Work within NDUS for VoIP expansion planning and expand VoIP infrastructure, testing and evaluation
Upgrade campus core network switches for a scalable and highly available 10 Gigabit network
backbone for all wired and wireless network transmission within campus and to the Internet
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Add campus wireless networking into buildings where it doesn’t exist, expand in areas with limited
coverage, and evaluate and upgrade in areas of higher student occupancy and interest
Provide outdoor wireless network coverage in the central quad area of campus and in the brick paved
area east of the Memorial Union
Implement solution for campus-wide network user authentication for access to the network
Complete the implementation of Northern Tier Network Consortium-North Dakota segments
Expand on Identity Management for campus use
Participate in IT Planning efforts with CIO and UITC
Develop plan for single signon
Make network file storage available to departments on campus.
Install and implement LANDesk for end user support
Add web-based interface to access voice mail
Automated course creation and enrollment of students in BlackBoard
Investigate and consider plan for learning management content system
Participate in campus-wide e-mail review and planning
Identify and implement hardware upgrades needed to sustain systems
Identify a stable funding source for the Blackboard learning System licensing, hardware, and
administration
Participate in review of learning management systems for confirmation of BlackBoard use or move to
new system fall 2010
ITSS 2008 Accomplishments:
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The Identity Management (IdM) Governance Board established principles from which to create IdM
Policies.
Implemented IdM to directory resources (Active Directory and LDAP)
Replaced 32 computers in ITSS computer labs
Wireless networking equipment was upgraded and expanded in Chester Fritz Library and Gamble Hall,
coverage expanded in the School of Law, Twamley, and newly installed in twelve additional buildings.
Wireless hot spots were installed in commons areas of all residence halls. ITSS supported wireless
network coverage exists in 64 buildings, 38 with full coverage and 26 with limited coverage
Ruckus server installed for free and legal music downloads
Added the following buildings to the campus network: EERC Hydrogen Center, Northern Plains Center
for Behavioral Research, Parking Ramp, School of Engineering and Mines Jodsaas Center, and new
President’s residence
Upgraded main campus BlackBoard to the most current version
Installation of the Blackboard Community System providing space for committees, groups and
organization to collaborate online
Classroom technology upgrades in O’Kelly 301, Montgomery 201, Gillette 101, Merrifield 10, Chester
Fritz Library 202, Hyslop 172, Hyslop 316, Starcher 225, Nursing 102 and International Centre
New technology classrooms setup in Leonard 215, Merrifield 313, Hughes Fine Arts Center 164, Hyslop
Dance Studio, Ireland 355, Nursing 201A, and Carnegie 7
Northern Tier Network Consortium-North Dakota agreements and network operating center services
were finalized and implementation plans developed to connect at 10 Gigabit to the national and
international high-speed research network for winter 2009 implementation
Leased land for UND in Second Life, a virtual world, for UND staff, students and faculty to meet and
teach courses
Developed and hosted monthly Technology Trends Forums showcasing exemplary faculty in their use
of emerging technologies in the classroom
Extended use of VoIP telephone sets at Bismarck State College (BSC) for IVN. They are part of the IVN
Help Desk at UND, IVN Help Desk calls can be answered at BSC
Completed an upgrade of the Avaya telephone switch servers to S8730’s
Completed an upgrade of the telephone switch software to version 5.0
Training room was completed in the Telecom/ITSS area
Added MaSU to the UND S8730 telephone and MM voicemail systems
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Other Assessment and Evaluation Activities:
The 2008 Graduating Student Survey in which ITSS was ranked third in the campus survey is found at:
http://www.und.edu/dept/datacol/gss08_announcement.htm
Evaluation of University Strategic Initiatives and Planning
Priority/Action Area F (http://www.und.edu/stratplan/goals_action_strategies.html#6 )
Goal One: UND provides coordinated information technology services and applications supporting
learning, instruction, research and services, and provides for efficient, secure, and effective operation
of the University.
2. Continue to identify and develop appropriate IT policies, standards and practices:
(c) identity management; --Principles approved, policies will follow.
4. Identify the need for campus systematic storage and access for research, learning information and
administration, and, based on need, develop appropriate plans. – Request for information developed
and submitted
8. Continue to increase the number of general purpose classrooms with resident presentation
technology and hardware and software that will enhance teaching and learning. – 8 new classrooms
completed and 10 classrooms updated.
Goal Two: UND has first-rate, leading-edge infrastructure (including voice, video, and data network,
network storage and research computing).
2. Pursue funding to implement third and fourth years of the campus network plan for on-campus gigabit
networking and wireless implementation. -- STF funding will complete wireless implementation by fall
2009
4. Implement network authentication campus wide.—Business case developed, technical plan being
developed.
5. Work with state and regional partners for planning and funding high bandwidth network access.—
Northern Tier connection available first quarter 2009
6. Develop a plan to connect the television infrastructure of the TV Center, ASN, and RWIC to the Alerus
Center via a fiber connection.—Discussions underway with Alerus
7. Design and implement IdM for a single source for identification, authentication and provisioning.—IdM
implemented with directory resources
Goal Five: Enhance the University’s position as a leader in the creation and application of information
technologies to enrich and extend learning and research.
3. Enhance capacity and use of high-performance computing. (CIO, UITC, VPR: ongoing) – CRCC
upgraded, ‘CAVE’ installed, plans for shared memory and further CRCC upgrades completed.
For 2008-09, in support of the use of Information Technology at UND, ITSS will:
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Complete the second phase of the IT Security Risk Assessment Plan to identify threats and
vulnerabilities to the information and systems critical to UND’s operation.
Implement campus storage solution
Expand IdM use to additional services
Complete Northern Tier Network Consortium-North Dakota connections
Participate in developing overall information technology/cyber-infrastructure plan for campus
With NDUS campuses, plan for VoIP. Install infrastructure to support VoIP
Implement campus-wide network authentication
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