Information Technology Services Report
This report highlights the progress Information Technology Services has achieved during the
2013-2014 Academic year. I am pleased to report that we have completed or made significant
progress on several key technology initiatives established in Doane’s Strategic Plan and I am
also pleased to report that we have completed several objectives set in the supporting
technology plan.
Online Learning
As outlined in the Doane Strategic Plan, the college is planning to offer online programs to
students by the fall of 2015. Based on input from our market research partner and our current
strengths, we have developed a series of undergraduate, post-baccalaureate and graduate
programs, as well as certificates and endorsements to be developed and implemented over the
next three years. These programs still require discussions with faculty and approval by the
higher learning commission. A business plan has been drafted and is currently being reviewed
by cabinet and the President. Once this process is complete the plan will be submitted to the
Strategic Innovation Committee. Additionally, a potential partner has been identified to assist
us with enrollment management, curriculum development and student and faculty support and
we are currently reviewing their proposed contract should we receive approval to move
forward.
School of Graduate and Professional Studies
Recruiter - Customer Relationship Management System
We have implemented Recruiter on the Omaha and Grand Island campuses and are currently
implementing Recruiter for Lincoln undergraduate students and plan to go live in October.
In collaboration with the Office of Strategic Communications we have created and
implemented a website for the School of Graduate and Professional Studies and Education.
As a re result, prospective and current students have improved access to relevant information
about their learning experience. You can see the new site by visiting:
http://www.doane.edu/gps
School of Arts and Sciences
Learning Commons and Instructional Design Lab
The new learning commons is open for business. Students now have access to a series of new
spaces and resources configured for group study, media production, scholarly discussion,
collaboration and academic coaching. Some of the new features include:
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24x7 Computing lab and expanded general computing lab
Collaboration conference room and workstations with large display
Media lab with audio and video production equipment and software
Renovated and relocated Rall Gallery equipped to display digital art
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Writing lab with new workstations
Information science classroom that can be used as a 25 station computing lab
Centrally located Genius Bar staffed with library and technology personnel
We are currently in the process of finalizing the plans to transform CM 20 (now CM 188) into
an Instructional Design Lab. The renovation should begin in late December and the new space
will become a lab for faculty and students to experiment with new and emerging technology.
The space will be equipped with collaborative workstations, mobile technology and
video/web/phone conferencing capabilities.
Mobile Learning Initiative
This summer we established a working group to evaluate the potential impact as well as cost
of support, training and infrastructure for a common mobile computing device to enhance
learning. The committee reviewed existing programs at several schools and the committee
members experimented with iPads, laptops, PC convertibles and their associated software. We
are in the process of discussing the potential initiative with academic divisions and will also
request input from students through the student council. Once we receive this input cabinet
will review and make a final recommendation on a mobile learning program including fees
and timing.
Below is a selection of key initiatives and outcomes from the Doane College Strategic Plan
and the Information Technology Plan that have either been completed since our last report or
will be started prior to the Board’s next meeting in October of 2014.
Goal 1. Learning through Engagement
Objective
Strategy
Objective E:
Prepare students to
use technology
effectively for
communication and
for research in
preparation for their
future careers.
Strategy 2: Evaluate the potential
educational impact as well as costs
of the support, infrastructure, and
training requirements for a Mobile
Learning program (providing all
students and faculty with a
common device – laptop or tablet)
as one option to facilitate the
effective use of technology in
academic programs and to enhance
student learning on the effective
uses of technology.
Status
A working group met this
summer and reviewed existing
mobile learning programs at
several institutions. The group
also experimented with several
devices and applications. We
have expanded our discussion to
the academic divisions and will
seek input from students through
StuCo. The cost for this project
range from $300k to $460k.
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Goal 2: Expanding Resources through Enrollment Growth.
Objective
Strategy
Status
Objective B: Grow
enrollment for nontraditional and
graduate students.
.
Strategy 2: Establish a blended or
on-line program on the
undergraduate level and identify a
niche area for a new on-line
graduate program.
Doane College is planning to
offer online programs to
students by the fall of 2015.
Faculty are discussing a series of
undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, and graduate
programs, certificates and
endorsements. These programs
will also require approval of
HLC.
A business plan has been created
and cabinet and the President are
currently reviewing this along
with a proposed contract from a
potential partner. Once this
process is complete, the plan
will be submitted to the strategic
innovation committee for
review. The projected
investment required over the
first three years is approximately
$850k.
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Goal 4: Exceptional Educational Environment.
Objective
Strategy
Objective A:
Provide an enriched
technological
environment that
facilitates
communication,
research, and
effective service
across all campuses.
Objective C:
Develop a campus
master plan to
improve academic
facilities and plan for
future growth.
Strategy 1: Create a new
Information Technology
Strategic Plan to support the
institution’s strategic initiatives
and plans for future growth.
Status
The Plan has been developed
and work is in progress.
Specific strategies were
developed to support the 20122017 Doane College Strategic
plan.
This year we were not able to
fund the programmed refresh
of laptops and desktops for
labs, faculty and staff due to
budget constraints. As a result,
some labs and faculty are using
machines that are six years old
and beyond their recommended
life cycle. We would require
approximately $100k to fully
fund the program and get back
on plan.
ITS Strategic Plan: Learning
and Teaching Spaces Strategy
1: Improve the experience of
student learning at Doane by
developing more flexible
classroom designs that
accommodate a variety of
teaching and learning styles.
A plan has been developed to
transform CM20 (now CM
188) into a modern teaching
and learning laboratory starting
in December. The plan was
delayed a few months in order
to complete the learning
commons and ensure students
and faculty had access to our
24x7 computing lab. The new
lab will provide a flexible
learning environment that
support’s collaborative work
and incorporates, mobile
conferencing and lecture
capture. Dr. King will provide
technology workshops for
faculty in this space.
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Objective D:
Transform the
library into an
advanced learning
commons.
Strategy 1: While awaiting
realization of the full master
plan, develop a plan to renovate
the existing space of the Library
into an enhanced learning
commons.
Goal 5: Supportive and Inclusive Community.
Objective
Strategy
Objective C:
Restructure the
College to
promote growth,
effective
planning and
enhanced
communication
across all
campuses in the
college system,
expanding
awareness of the
college’s
common
mission.
Strategy 5: Improve the College
web-site for marketing and
Enrollment Services and move to
develop a College-wide portal
that delivers user-specific
information to increase
communication of timely
information and to provide easier
access to College-related
announcements, news,
documents, policies, pertinent
websites, events, etc.
The Learning Commons is now
open for use. Students now
have access to a series of new
spaces and resources
configured for group study,
media production, scholarly
discussion, collaboration and
academic coaching
Status
The new School of Graduate and
Professional Studies website
went live in September.
This site provides information
tailored for prospects and
students in these programs. The
site also includes information
about graduate education and
campus specific information for
the Grand Island, Lincoln and
new Omaha campus.
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IT Plan: Teaching and Learning
Initiative
Target
Lecture and
Seminar Media
Services
Living, Learning
and Performance
Spaces
Create a multi-year development
plan for implementing lecture
capture services in designated
Smart classrooms on all three
campuses to enhance the learning
experience.
Continue to improve students
living and learning experience
through technology
Outcomes
In January, we will install a
video capture system in the
new Instructional Design Lab.
Faculty will be trained on its
use and provided the
opportunity to experiment with
the system in a lab
environment.
We have completed the
installation of new audio and
video technology in the East
and West dining room and
added a 200” diagonal screen
in Heckman Auditorium. The
new projection equipment for
Heckman was not funded and
will have to be proposed again
next year. At this point we are
using a portable projector that
we place on the floor to
project on the screen.
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IT Plan: Administrative Computing
Initiative
Target
Outcomes
Recruiter
Acalog
Implement
Recruiter
Application for
GPS and
Education.
We are currently in the process of Implementing
Recruiter for undergraduates on the Lincoln
Campus. The planned go live date is October 1st.
We will begin work on an international application
in October.
Implement new
Online Catalog
Solution.
In support of the Registrar’s office, we have
assisted with the implementation of a new online
catalog system for the college. The system will be
available through the Doane Website on
September 30th.
LiveText
Implement
Assessment and
Portfolio Software
Colleague
Student
Information
Systems
Upgrade
Upgrade Colleague
Hardware, and
Applications to
prepare for new
enhancements and
increased capacity.
We are continuing the process of implementing
LiveText software for the College. Students and
Faculty are currently using the software to measure
outcomes and effectiveness of teaching and
learning in our general education courses on all
campuses. Additionally, our education students
will be using the field experience module to track
their experience teaching. This project is a multiyear and multi-phase project.
We had planned to upgrade the hardware for the
Colleague environment this summer. As a result of
budget constraints we only updated the web server
as part of the virtual environment refresh. The
Colleague Application and Database server
upgrade was deferred due to funding constraints.
IT Plan: Technology Infrastructure and Support
Initiative
Target
Upgrade
Virtual Server
Environment
Over the summer we will upgrade
our physical servers that host the
more than 50 servers in our data
center.
Outcomes
The college’s virtual server
environment was upgraded this
summer. We have the prepared
servers that we planned to
provide the sciences but had to
defer the purchase of additional
VMWare licenses needed to
create a virtual server lab for
Math, Physics and Technology.
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Campus
Managed
Wireless
Upgrade Wireless infrastructure
and add and update Wireless
Access Points.
Classroom,
Faculty and
Staff Refresh
Complete scheduled server,
classroom, lab, faculty, and staff
refresh programs.
Security
Appliance
Installation
Install New Security Appliance in
Omaha
Internet
Services and
Transport
Investigate the possibility of
adding or using an additional
carrier for transport to improve
redundancy.
We successfully completed the
wireless infrastructure upgrade
this summer and added 44 access
points in residence halls and
academic buildings to improve
coverage and increase density
where in demand.
We were able to upgrade 10
classrooms this summer on the
Crete campus. We created a new
lab on the Lincoln campus and
we updated the lab on the Grand
Island campus. We were not able
to fund the refresh of any labs,
faculty or staff machines on the
Crete campus. We are continuing
to upgrade remaining XP
machines to Windows 7
We deferred the installation of a
new appliance in Omaha this
summer due to budget
constraints.
We have received quotes for
transport from other carriers and
will be evaluating them this fall.
A recommendation will be
forthcoming as part of the annual
budgeting process.
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