University Educational Technology Services (UETS)
Administrative Support Unit Self-Study Review
Written by
Karen D. Oates, PhD, Manager, eLearning
Carolyn H. Gard, Director UETS
Members of the UETS Self-Study Review Committee
Carolyn Gard, Director, UETS, Chair
Julian Allen, Manager, Digital Media Services
Joe Amador, Manager, Lab and Classroom Technology Services
Jane Leonard, Manager, Alpharetta Center Technology Services
Phillip Mitchem, Manager, Web Services
Karen Oates, Manger, eLearning
Harold Powers, Project Manager, USG WebCT
January 31, 2003
Contents
I.
Mission and Functional Responsibilities
I.A.
What is the mission of the unit (and its subunits, if applicable)? Is the mission consistent
with the present missions and strategic plans of the division and the university? How is the
mission communicated to unit staff and constituents?
Unit’s Mission and Consistency with University Missions and Plans: University Educational Technology
Services (UETS) is a division of Information Systems and Technology (IS&T), the primary technology
service provider for Georgia State University.
From the University System of Georgia’s Mission Statement, “each institution in the
University System of Georgia will be characterized by: … “
“Technology to advance educational purposes, including instructional technology, student support
services, and distance education”
IS&T provides effective, efficient and high-quality information and instructional technology support and is
committed to a participatory, consensus driven operation in order to provide innovative and proactive
services. The IS&T mission statement from the University Information Technology Strategic Plan 2000 –
2005 (http://www.gsu.edu/ist/strategicPlan.html):
“The joint mission of IS&T units is to provide high quality, reliable and responsive information and
instructional technology support services to the Georgia State University community that are consistent
with the strategic planning process of the University. This will be accomplished through the delivery of
efficient, enhanced, and collaborative support and services. Also, these IS&T units will foster the
development of both innovative and proactive information technology expertise and assist the University
in planning for effective use of both current and future technologies.”
In addition to the joint mission of IS&T:
The mission of UETS is to facilitate learning by providing high quality, reliable and
responsive educational technology support to the university community.
UETS is committed to maintaining a professional and collaborative environment while
fostering the forward thinking mindset necessary to explore new innovations and effect
change to support, encourage and enhance the use of instructional technology. UETS is
dedicated to excellence and quality in serving the university and meeting its strategic
goals.
The following excerpts from the University Information Technology Strategic Plan 2000 –
2005 clearly illustrate that the mission of UETS is consistent with the present mission and
strategic plans for the University and division (the University’s plan for information
technology serves as the division’s plan).
From Section 2.6 VISION FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVENESS
“As part of the Information Technology Strategic planning process, a ‘Vision for
Information Technology Effectiveness’ at Georgia State University has evolved. The
major goals and initiatives presented in the current plan reflect this vision.” Excerpted
below are the vision statements in this plan to which UETS directly contributes:
Each faculty member will be able to make full and effective use of technology in instruction and research
through an individually appropriate use of training, desktop workstations, workstation support, and shared
information technology resources;
Courses and programs that are delivered electronically, or have technology-integrated components will
be improved and expanded due to the availability of appropriate technology-equipped classroom facilities
and instructional technologies and support to faculty and students. Web-based classroom management
software is used to enhance traditional classroom-based courses;
Support for all users of technology will be appropriate for their individual and local unit needs, yet
systematically deployed by the University as a whole to maximize delivery to and minimize complexity
and inconvenience for the user;
From Section 4 RELATIONSHIP TO THE UNIVERSITY STRATEGIC PLAN
“…the University’s Strategic Plan clearly recognizes that success in achieving its goals requires that
Georgia State University significantly enhance its capabilities in, and strongly promote the use of,
information technology within its community.
As its major initiative in the area of Enhance the Academic Mission, the University Strategic Plan
focuses on the infrastructure that supports teaching, learning, and scholarship. Within that initiative, the
overall goal for information technology is that of ‘… an enabling technology … allows for new
dissemination mechanisms and new ways for students to engage in inquiry-based learning …’ Several
important goals and priorities in this area were directly focused on enhancing specific functions and
general objectives within the information technology area. In the area of Support for the Academic
Mission, the major initiative is to ‘… become and remain current in the application of computing and
information technologies.’ Students, faculty and administrators all require access to adequate network
and infrastructure capacity, and a goal is to plan for these requirements in advance of when they are
required.”
From Section 5 UNIVERSITY STRATEGIC GOALS FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:
“Guided by the University’s Strategic Plan, this document elaborates on five Strategic Goals for
successful use of information technology at Georgia State University that are necessary for meeting the
University’s goals.
Information accessibility;
Technology-enabled faculty, staff and students;
Technology-enhanced education;
Business process effectiveness;
Technology-enhanced relationship management.”
“Commensurate with faculty involvement in technology is digitally enhanced education for students: in
class, in labs, at home, and in other places of study and exploration. Students expect technologyenhanced learning now and the University ’s ability to attract and retain high quality students will strongly
depend on the speed and effectiveness with which the institution enhances and delivers learning
outcomes to a society that is increasingly technology-literate, connected, media-aware, and time/place
sensitive. The metaphor of the university as a knowledge oasis is rapidly being replaced by an image of
the ‘eUniversity’ with anytime/anyplace knowledge acquisition and learning, which is a key element in the
University Strategic Plan.”
Communication of Mission to Unit Staff and Constituents: The UETS mission, functional responsibilities,
goals and objectives are posted on the UETS website (http://www.gsu.edu/uets) making them accessible
to everyone. The mission was developed with full participation and substantial input from staff and
constituents.
I.B.
What are the functional responsibilities of the unit, and to whom does the unit report?
University Educational Technology Services, as a division of Information Systems and Technology
(IS&T), reports to Reid Christenberry, CIO and Associate Provost. According to the University
Information Technology Strategic Plan 2000-2005:
“UETS, that is responsible for institutional instructional technology support, digital media services,
classroom and open access computing lab support, technology training services and campus Web
services.”
UETS is also the University’s primary liaison with students for Information Technology.
Institutional Instructional Technology Support
Provide institutional instructional design services
Provide course development services
Provide one-on-one instructional support for faculty and staff
Manage and administer Georgia State and University System of Georgia (USG) WebCT systems
Coordinate the WebCT Help Desk contract (Statewide contract)
Coordinate loading students on the Georgia State and USG WebCT servers
Coordinate WebCT software and hardware upgrades
Manage the WebCT Institute @ Georgia State and co-sponsor Institute Training
Provide assistance with instructional research
Digital Media Services
Help faculty create compelling digital content for courses
Assist faculty and students with capturing and editing video
Help faculty and staff convert 35mm slides or other pictures into a digital format
Videotape classes (guest speaker or student exercise)
Troubleshoot digital media software and hardware
Create special projects for campus units
Consult with faculty and staff about the selection of digital media software and hardware
Provide a facility, the Digital Café, where faculty can work with knowledgeable consultants or use digital
content creation equipment
Manage the Digital Aquarium, Georgia State’s premiere multimedia lab for students
Technology Training, Workshops and Events
Manage the eTraining Program, a web-based or just-in-time training program
Provide customized training, workshops, lectures and demos
Teach and assist with computer related classes
Conduct statewide WebCT training through a contract with the Board of Regents
Instruct faculty in the use of classroom technology
Provide tutoring or training in the use of digital media software and hardware
Develop and/or co-sponsor special events such as the Make the Web Connection Faculty Workshop and
the Teaching and Learning Expo
Classroom Technology Services
Support all technology in classrooms in the general schedule and the Alpharetta Center
Instruct and support faculty in using classroom technology
Support specialized classrooms and some departmental classrooms
Provide real time assistance to faculty in classrooms through the classroom hotline
Assist faculty and students with classroom software, hardware and connectivity related issues
Deliver equipment (TVs, VCRs, DVDs) to classrooms as requested
Provide classroom design service to schools and colleges
Provide campus leadership in specifications for classroom creation and renovation
Open Access Computer Lab Support
Manage and support the UETS computer labs on the main campus and the Alpharetta Center
Manage Panther Print for UETS, College of Education’s Instructional Technology Center (COE ITC),
Pullen Library, Law Library and other labs
Assist students in using the labs
Software for Labs and classrooms
Provide a common desktop image for all lab and classroom computers
Provide image-usage creation service to other lab managers
Implement and manage lab management software
Install software for faculty on lab and classroom servers
Campus Web Services
Create websites for campus units using a full life-cycle development process
Create online surveys for campus units
Conduct usability testing for websites
Provide web and accessibility consulting
Create and maintain web-related projects such as the Virtual Campus Tour and WebCam
I.C.
How does the unit compare with similar units at peer institutions (e.g., Urban 13+) in terms
of structure, responsibilities, size, and budget? Note: if additional institutions are used for
comparison, define the criteria used to select them.
Seven schools were selected for comparison. Six of the schools were common to both the Urban 13 list
and the Board of Regents (BOR) Proposed Peer Institutions list; one was common to the Urban 13 list
and the BOR Proposed Aspirational Institution list. Appendix A is a comparison of Georgia State to the
seven institutions.
Structure: Structure varies among the seven institutions. Only one institution, the University of Cincinnati
(UC), has a unit similar to UETS. Like Georgia State, they recently closed their College of Evening and
Continuing Education (CECE) with responsibilities shifted to the colleges. The counterpart to UETS at
the UC is Educational Information Technology Services (EITS). That unit reports to their Vice President
and CIO. The remaining institutions have multiple units reporting to separate individuals. All the
institutions, which offer instructional support to faculty in distance education units, also offer academic
programs and degrees through distance education.
Responsibilities: The functions and services similar to those provided by UETS are covered by multiple
units or are not offered at all at six of the institutions. UC’s EITS, the unit comparable to UETS, is
responsible for the microcomputer labs, classroom support and planning, the help desk, course
management system, streaming media, documentation and publications, UNIX services and the Faculty
Technology Resource Center. As part of that unit, the Faculty Technology Resource Center provides
faculty training, support, digital media services, consulting and instructional support.
Size: Since services are spread across campus units in most institutions reviewed, it is difficult to
compare the sizes of those units with UETS. Some individual comparisons can be made however. The
counterpart to UETS at the University of Pittsburgh, an aspirational institution, has 63 employees with six
instructional designers, whereas UETS has 34 employees with four instructional designers (one serves as
the eLearning Manger and one is funded and contracted by the BOR). The Creative Solutions
Department (CS) of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) is comparable to UETS Web Services
Department in function. However, UWM’s CS department has 14 employees compared to our Web
Services department with four employees.
Budget: The budget with fringes for the comparable unit, EITS at the University of Cincinnati, is about
$2.5 million while the UETS Fund Code 10 budget with fringes is about $1.82 million. Additionally, the
Director of the Educational Technology Outreach (ETO) at the University of Houston related that they
receive $3.5 million/year in student fees in addition to their regular budget.
II.
Goals and Objectives
II.A.
What are the unit’s goals and objectives? Are they consistent with the defined mission
and functional responsibilities of the unit? What is the unit’s method of developing
goals/objectives and communicating them to unit staff and constituents?
Goals and Objectives Consistent with Mission and Functional Responsibilities: In addition to the mission
inherited as a division of IS&T (I.A), the mission of UETS is to facilitate learning by providing high
quality, reliable and responsive educational technology support to the University community. The
UETS Goals for FY2003 listed below are by areas of functional responsibility defined by the
University Information Technology Strategic Plan and discussed in I.B. Objectives are not listed
below due to limited space; however, a complete list of goals and associated objectives are
presented in Appendix B.
Institutional Instructional Technology Support
Create interactive modules for students to become more familiar with course content that can be used for
multiple subjects and grade levels and that can be repeated by the student as often as necessary
Plan and implement a program for the rollout of WebCT’s enterprise version, called Vista, for Georgia
State scheduled for Summer/Fall 2003
Assist the Advanced Learning Technologies (ALT) group of the Board of Regents in planning and
implementing a program for the rollout of Vista to the University System of Georgia (USG) institutions
Digital Media Services
Transition to a more reliable video streaming technology
Improve access to our digital media services and display examples of our work
Provide multimedia support for Leadership Night
Continue to provide first-class multimedia resources and training to all students through the continued
operation of the Digital Aquarium, a specialized digital content creation laboratory
Improve multimedia services at the Alpharetta Center
Technology Training, Workshops and Events
Continue to provide eTraining, the web-based technology training program
Support major campus events
Reevaluate our role as a WebCT Institute due to low enrollment of non-Georgia State attendees in the
workshops
Classroom Technology Services and Open Access Computer Lab Support
Strive to reach 100% functionality of the labs and classrooms
Improve responsiveness and scalability of classroom support through restructuring the classroom support
organization
Support the Aderhold Learning Center classrooms and open access computer lab
Provide the most up-to-date software possible for labs and classrooms while maintaining an environment
which is stable, secure and easily accessible
Campus Web Services
Improve the quality of website products while improving turn-around time
Develop understanding of campus web needs and disseminate information among campus webmasters
Work with campus users and University Computing and Communications Services (UCCS) to put the new
campus Web server (new hardware and web server software) into production
Design new architecture for the campus Web server
General
Increase the knowledge base of staff in order to continue to provide leadership and serve as campus
experts in the identification, use and evaluation of emerging educational technologies.
Improve morale by working with employees to plan career paths
Developing Goals and Objectives: Goals and objectives are established by department management
under the leadership of the UETS Director with input received from UETS staff, faculty, staff, students,
committees, University administration, and colleagues at other institutions. These goals and objectives
are based on the Georgia State University Strategic Plan 2000 – 2005 and the University Information
Technology Strategic Plan 2000 – 2005.
At the end of each fiscal year, the goals and objectives are updated; completed ones are removed and
new ones are added. From the UETS goals and objectives, the UETS Action Plan for the fiscal year is
created. The high priority items are merged with the priority items from the other IS&T divisions to create
the IS&T Action Plan. When approved by the CIO and IS&T Directors, it is submitted to the Information
Systems and Technology (ISAT) committee for approval. The CIO then presents it to the Deans, Vice
Presidents and President.
Communicating Goals and Objectives: Goals and objectives are communicated to unit staff and
constituents via the UETS website, literature, annual reports, committees/advisory boards/councils on
which UETS staff serve (Appendix C), email and listservs (Appendix D), campus events and workshops,
one-to-one contact and internal staff meetings.
II.B.
To what extent have the present goals and objectives been achieved? What are the unit’s
notable accomplishments? How is achievement measured? Does measurement include feedback
from the providers and recipients of the service/product?
Achievement of Goals and Objectives: UETS goals and objectives are reviewed at the beginning of each
fiscal year. Those that have been completed are removed and new ones are added. The UETS goals
and objectives for FY2003 are listed in Appendix B with the status attached to each objective.
Notable Accomplishments: Some of UETS most notable accomplishments during FY2002 and FY2003
include:
Established the Digital Aquarium, a high-end digital media development facility for students
Implemented the eTraining program for all students, faculty and staff
Enhanced several buildings with technology including adding instructor stations to 55 classrooms in the
General Classroom Building and creating four classrooms with student computers in Sparks Hall. These
buildings were added to the classroom support schedule.
Planned and began support for the 47 classrooms in the Aderhold Learning Center and opened the Open
Access Computer Lab there
Expanded WebCT instructional design services giving faculty better options in course design and
development
Completed the Alexander the Great Project, a multimedia-rich leaning module used in for a history class.
This module is available to other professors wishing to discuss Alexander the Great in their curriculum.
Redesigned the process to add student data to the WebCT global database so that it comes from the
person registry. This allows daily updates during the drop-add period.
Deployed a Windows 2000 workstation image for all lab and classroom computers
Developed several excellent websites such as the Rialto with its virtual tour (http://www.rialtocenter.org)
and Student Computing Services (http://www.student.gsu.edu)
Completed a pilot project for online elections for the Staff Advisory Council
Implemented the suite of Altiris lab management software to provide remote access support to all lab an d
classroom workstations
Renovated the main open access computer lab including replacing all outdated computers and adding
25% more computers
Replaced all computers in Alpharetta classrooms and the lab and created a classroom with 24 student
computers
Achievement Measures: Achievement is measured by several methods and depends on the goal and
objectives. For projects that have a beginning and end, such as a department website or the creation of a
WebCT course or learning object, achievement is established by receiving approval (signoff) from the
requestor at project completion. For objectives that are more subjective, such as improving on a process
or changing a policy, achievement is measured by the feedback received from our clients. Achievement
measures are compiled quarterly and reported to the Director and the CIO (Appendix E).
Feedback from Clients: Measurement always includes feedback from our clients and our staff; UETS has
a very open communication policy with its constituents. Faculty, staff and students have several means
of providing feedback including established email accounts such as [email protected] and
[email protected], online forms and surveys, committees and one-to-one contact (Appendices C and D).
II.C.
Is the reward structure aligned with the unit’s goals and objectives?
The reward structure within UETS is aligned with the unit’s goals and objectives. Each employee has a
written job description that is updated at least yearly as part of the employee’s performance evaluation.
For the past two years, UETS has used the Performance Based Review form and process in which
performance is evaluated by comparing an employee’s actual performance to their job description. The
UETS Management team has spent a considerable amount of time reviewing job descriptions and the
corresponding performance evaluation forms to ensure alignment with UETS goals and objectives.
Raises are allocated based on the performance evaluation. With small percentage raises, it is very hard
to reward exemplary performance; however, the CIO has a discretionary raise pool and when justified, he
has added additional funds to the raises for UETS employees.
Money is not the only reward used. Staff members exhibiting exemplary performance are encouraged to
take on duties outside the scope of the current job so that they can be promoted to a higher-level position
in the future. The staff are encouraged to present at, and attend conferences and workshops, which not
only increases their knowledge base but also gives them peer-recognition for their work from individuals
outside the University. When major strategic projects are completed, staff members are rewarded with
kudos and public recognition for their accomplishments from their manager, Director and CIO. As a
whole, the UETS staff receives an amazing number of congratulatory and thank-you letters from satisfied
clients. The manager and Director always ensure that the employee receives a copy of the letter and
adds additional congratulations for the accomplishment. For major compliments, the CIO also sends his
congratulations.
As shown by the Staff Survey administered as part of this review, UETS was rated highly in important
related areas. Based on a scale of 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree), UETS scored a mean of
4.28 on the statement “I am held accountable for the quality and quantity of my work.” For the statement,
“It is important to Georgia State that I do my job well,” UETS scored a mean of 4.14.
III.
Services Provided to Community
III.A.
What services/products does the unit provide? To what groups/ individuals are these
provided: students? staff? faculty? alumni? others? How does the unit make potential clients
aware of available services/products?
Services/Products: UETS services are based on the University Information Technology Strategic Plan
2000 – 2005 as stated in I.A. UETS services will be discussed by functional responsibility. Groups and
individuals for whom these services are available are listed in parentheses next to the service.
Instructional Support Services
UETS provides comprehensive services to faculty and departments in designing and developing their
WebCT courses, either as a supplement to the traditional classroom or fully online. These services are
based on the ADDIE instructional design model (analysis, design, development, implementation and
evaluation), a systematic process used to create quality instructional courses and materials.
Instructional Design (faculty and graduate students who are teaching): UETS personnel help faculty:
Analyze online course needs
Write course goals, objectives, and measurable learning outcomes
Adapt course to an online environment
Develop an online syllabus
Develop effective online organization
Identify elements of effective online teaching
Develop strategies and techniques for the online classroom
Build online learning communities
Recognize student perspectives and the needs of online learners
Course Development (faculty and graduate students who are teaching):
Create and install digital media learning objects such as games, animations and simulations
Add Welcome pages
Post syllabi
Manage their courses (backup, reset courses, etc)
Manage their files (upload/download, zip/unzip, delete, etc.)
Load PowerPoint presentations and upload multimedia modules
Add web course pages and tools
Manage student grading tool
Create quizzes and manage question databases
Create discussion groups to match course objectives
Modify course appearance
Convert specialized vendor software to appropriate formats to meet instructional design and ADA
standards
Move course materials or entire courses to CD for offline or in-class viewing
Scan documents and convert electronic documents and presentations into web format
WebCT Support and Administration (Georgia State and USG faculty, staff and students):
Create, delete, reset and restore WebCT courses
Upload Person Registry student and course data
Create IDs for students, designers, guests and student views, reset passwords
Add individual students, guests and groups
Support faculty, staff and students via telephone and email ([email protected])
Version test new WebCT products and maintain, migrate and upgrade the product in coordination with
UCCS
Coordinate with University Information Services (UIS) in creating the data files from the Person Registry
Serve as liaison with WebCT, Inc. to ensure that their product meets the needs of Georgia State faculty
and students.
Additional services include (faculty and graduate assistants who are teaching)
Provide one-on-one, email and telephone support
Train students on how to use WebCT, eTraining, and student email
Assist in creating assessment measures
Assist faculty in conducting research or writing research grants on topics related to online course delivery.
Digital Media Services (faculty, staff and students)
Create animations, prepare video or audio for the web or CD
Create animations for web or CD
Graphic design for presentations
Multimedia enhancements for presentations including, video, animation and audio
Multimedia integration for websites including, video, animation and audio
Provide tutoring and training in the use of digital media software and hardware
Provide advice and guidance in the selection of digital media software and hardware
Troubleshoot digital media software and hardware
Provide a facility, the Digital Café, where faculty and staff can work with knowledgeable consultants and
use high-end equipment and software
Assist students in creating digital media products; provide workshops and checkout equipment, through
the management of the Digital Aquarium, a high-end multimedia lab for student use.
Technology Training, Workshops and Events (faculty, staff and students)
Provide online, anytime/anywhere training covering 400 module topics (eTraining Program)
Facilitate customized training (Special Request Program) – computer training at the request of faculty or
staff for the purposes of academic computing and faculty/staff development in WebCT, MS Office
products, GroupWise, Windows and the Internet
Schedule a trainer to come to an academic class and teach students in the aforementioned topics
Schedule a WebCT product demonstration
One-on-one on-site training for Georgia State faculty and staff on WebCT, MS Office products,
GroupWise, Windows and the Internet
Facilitate WebCT workshops and co-sponsor other campus events - First Friday Clinics, Make the Web
Connection Faculty Workshop, and Teaching and Learning Expo
Classroom Technology Services (Main Campus - faculty and students)
Install, maintain and support classroom technology for the general schedule
Answer the classroom hotlines to provide immediate technology support during class
Train faculty in the use of classroom technology
Information about what technology is available by classroom
Information about functions managed by others such as classroom scheduling, keys, etc.
Deliver equipment (TVs, VCRs, DVDs) to classrooms as requested
Tape classes for replay in the same class, or at a later time (Alpharetta campus)
Capture video and convert 35mm slides and images (Alpharetta campus)
Open Access Computer Lab Services (faculty, staff and students)
Wide range of applications and hardware needed by the student population with identical software
configuration for PCs and Macs
Up-to-date, reliable computer labs for student usage
First level support of students in using the labs, application software and student computing services for
students
Information about software, hardware, network, current availability, etc.
Support for INCEPT
Panther Print program which provides printing services in the UETS facilities, Pullen Library, Instructional
Technology Center, Law Library and several departmental labs.
Lab and Classroom Software Services (faculty)
Install software on lab and classroom servers for faculty
Create and maintain reliable and secure desktop image in labs and classrooms
Imaging services for College lab managers ranging from consulting to image creation for their lab
Alpharetta Center Technology Services (Georgia State and Georgia Perimeter faculty and students)
Classroom hotline assistance during class hours
Train new faculty in the use of the technology, such as the Crestron panel, document camera, VCR, slide,
computer and other multimedia options available in each classroom
Tape classes for replay in the same class, or at a later time
Convert 35mm slides or other images for use in MS PowerPoint or on the web
Capture video; Assisting faculty and students with taking portions of tapes to be placed in MS PowerPoint
Assist faculty and students with software and hardware and laptop connectivity in the classrooms
Teach or assist with computer related classes, such as web development and MS Office
Web Services (Campus units, schools/colleges, departments and organizations)
Create websites for campus units using a full life-cycle development process
Usability testing for websites
Web consulting
Web accessibility consulting
Create web-based surveys for clients
Create and maintain special web-related products that enhance Georgia State’s image such as the Virtual
Campus Tour, WebCam, etc.
Client Awareness of Services/Products: The following are the major methods UETS uses to publicize
services to potential clients:
Web: All services are described in detail on the web under http://www.gsu.edu/uets. UETS also
maintains websites for major services that we provide such as WebCT (WebCT.gsu.edu), eTraining
(www.gsu.edu/etraining) and Student Computing Services (www.student.gsu.edu).
Email: Individual email, WebCT listserv, GroupWise postmaster, and the Faculty-Announce and GeneralAnnounce listservs (Appendix D)
Literature: Flyers, handouts, brochures, booklets, bookmarks, and publications such as the Focus-IT
newsletter, the Villager, the Urbanite and the Signal
Committee membership: Staff sit on many campus committees including technical committees, advisory
committees and councils (Appendix C)
Campus Events and Workshops: UETS holds many workshops such as WebCT workshops, First Friday
Clinics and Make the Web Connection Faculty Workshop and participates in special campus events such
as the Teaching and Learning Expo and Staff Day at which time they publicize and discuss their services
III.B.
How are services prioritized and scheduled, and by whom? Do any laws, regulations, or
other requirements external to the university impact the provision of services/products? If so,
please identify.
Services Prioritization and Scheduling: Staff evaluate and identify client needs or requests for services
and respond appropriately according to the procedures established by the individual UETS departments.
For services that require resources from several departments, a multi-level process is used. Staff
communicate client needs and requests through their manager to the UETS management team which
assumes responsibility for prioritization or scheduling. If further action is required or other IS&T units are
involved, the UETS Director will take the request to the IS&T Directors and CIO. For all UETS
departments, simple questions received by phone are answered at the time of the call and those received
by email are answered within one business day. Prioritization is typically done on a first-come first-served
basis; however, projects may be re-prioritized due to university-level urgency. Campus committees may
also impact scheduling and prioritization. For instance, the Classroom Facilities Council determines what
and when major projects are done to classrooms. IS&T prioritization, including the Senate ISAT
Committee participation, is described in I.A.
Laws, Regulations and Requirements Impacting Services: The laws with the greatest impact on UETS
are: (1) copyright and fair use laws including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, (2) Family Educational
Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA), and (3) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508.
III.C.
How does the unit make the community aware of priorities, policies, and procedures?
UETS makes the community aware of priorities, policies and procedures as follows:
The CIO shares the priorities with the Deans, Vice Presidents and President after ISAT approval.
Web: The primary UETS website for communicating priorities, policies and procedures to clients is
located at www.gsu.edu/uets.
Email: Email is used in several ways to inform faculty, staff and students of priorities, policies and
procedures (Appendix D).
Literature: UETS authors and distributes interoffice correspondences, brochures, and flyers and submits
articles for the FocusIT, the Villager, the Urbanite and the Signal.
Committees, Advisory Boards, and Councils: Many UETS employees serve on committees, advisory
boards and councils (Appendix C).
Campus Events and Workshops: UETS holds many workshops such as WebCT workshops, First Friday
Clinics and Make the Web Connection Faculty Workshop and participates in special events such as the
Teaching and Learning Expo and Staff Day.
One-to-one Contact: Since UETS is often the first line of contact, priorities, policies and procedures are
communicated verbally over the phone or in-person as necessary.
III.D.
How does the unit learn about the community’s needs and obtain feedback regarding
service delivery? How well are clients’ needs defined and met? In this section include
information collected from the focus group. Note: For units that do not have an ongoing system
for identifying community needs and receiving community feedback, please include your plan for
implementing such a system and discuss how this information will be used by the unit.
Needs and Feedback for Service Delivery: UETS obtains input and feedback from the community
through several mechanisms, which are listed below:
Email and listservs: Email and listservs managed by UETS provide two-way communication between
UETS and the University community. They are used to communicate to faculty, staff and students and
gather feedback from its constituents on their needs, concerns and issues. In order to provide complete
coverage, emails and listservs are distributed to several individuals to ensure an immediate response.
Online Forms: Online forms (Appendix D) are used to request services, report problems and gather
feedback.
Committees, Councils and Advisory Boards: Appendix C gives a detailed list of the numerous
committees, councils and advisory boards on which UETS staff serve. These arenas assist UETS in
identifying community needs and are excellent vehicles for receiving input and feedback.
Surveys and Reports: Surveys are used to gather feedback on service usage and client opinions. This
feedback helps us plan, update services and resolve problems.
One-to-one Communication: UETS personnel are usually the first line of contact with the university
community when there are technology related questions, concerns or problems. UETS personnel have
received Customer Support training, and not only have the expertise to communicate well, but they report
problems, concerns and needs to their colleagues and to management. This form of communication is
usually followed by follow-up contact with the individual(s) who initiated it.
Client Needs Defined and Met: Institutional Research and Management and Staff Development Services
did not provide the faculty survey and focus group(s) for this review; therefore, the following information is
based on our existing feedback system.
Based on the data received from online forms, communication, surveys and the high volume of utilization
of UETS services, clients’ needs are well defined and met. The breadth and types of services that UETS
offers exceeds those of most other universities, especially compared to the Urban 13 (I.C). UETS
continues to take a leadership role and serve as campus experts in the identification, use and evaluation
of emerging instructional technologies in order to enhance both the teaching and learning processes and
university staff workforce performance. As a result of client feedback, UETS has expanded its services
including offering online training (eTraining program), reengineering strategic courses, creating reusable
learning objects, improving classroom support, providing a high-end multimedia lab with equipment check
out and training, and creating industry-quality websites. Appendix E lists metrics for UETS services.
As shown by the Staff Survey administered as part of this review and based on a scale of 1 (Strongly
Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree), UETS had a mean 4.14 for the statement “I am confident that UETS is
meeting customers’ needs”.
Statewide, UETS has taken a leadership role in support for teaching and learning through a contract with
the Board of Regents. Through this contract we provide support for the USG WebCT Project and the
USG WebCT servers (UCCS). The UETS Director was named to the WebCT, Inc. Product Advisory
Board and Georgia State was invited to be a member of the WebCT Institute program as one of 40
schools demonstrating exemplary support and usage of WebCT. Through these efforts, UETS has been
able to leverage state and corporate resources to assist in meeting the needs of our clients on campus
and throughout the state.
III.E.
Are there services/products that clients need which the unit cannot provide? What should
the unit need to be able to provide these?
Table 1 lists the new services that UETS would like to offer and the current services that we would like to
expand. Current services cannot be expanded due to understaffing.
Table 1. Client Service Needs
Service/Product
What is needed
Virtual classroom/web conferencing (new service)
Hardware and software
Videotaping classes (expansion of current service)
Staff, hardware
Instructional design support (expansion of current service for the Main Staff
campus; new service for the Alpharetta Center)
Website production (expansion of current service)
Staff
Digital media development (expansion of current service)
Staff
IV.
Structure, Organization, and Climate
IV.A. What is the unit’s organizational structure? (Please provide an organizational chart.) Is
this form of organization appropriate to meeting the unit’s goals and objectives? Do all critical
staff functions have a backup?
As shown in the Organization Chart in Appendix F, UETS is organized into five departments: eLearning,
Digital Media Services, Lab and Classroom Technology Services, Alpharetta Center Technology
Services, and Web Services. The Lab and Classroom Technology Services department is composed of
four groups: Classroom Technology Day Shift, Classroom Technology Evening Shift, Software/Network
Engineering, and Lab Support. eLearning is composed of two groups: Instructional Support and Training.
This organizational structure is appropriate to meeting the unit goals and objectives because there is a
department responsible for each of the major functional responsibilities of UETS. Further, the unit goals
and objectives, as discussed in II.A and Appendix B, are consistent with the mission and functional
responsibilities of UETS. The Alpharetta Center is a separate department due to its remote location and
provides a microcosm of UETS services. Not only is this form of organization most appropriate to
meeting the unit’s goals and objectives, but UETS is located within IS&T giving us a strategic and tactical
advantage when coordinating and interacting with other IS&T groups, the Board of Regents and other
USG institutions, and commercial vendors.
A vital part of a unit’s organizational structure is the management team. The UETS Director provides
leadership for the unit in conjunction with the managers of the departments. The UETS Director was
specifically hired to create an organization that would provide the campus with services that address the
functions initially defined in the University Strategic Information Technology Plan 1997 and continued in
the current 2000 – 2005 plan. Each department has a Manager and Lead or Project Manager Positions
as necessary for service provision and backup.
All critical functions have a backup, and most have multiple backups. Time-critical functions, such as the
classroom hotline and WebCT administration, are backed up by team members, a lead position, or the
manager. Backup for the department management functions are handled by the Director, a project
manager or lead, or designated to an appropriate employee depending on the critical nature of the
request or topic. Department managers back up the project managers and leads.
IV.B. For any services/products provided by the unit in conjunction with other units within the
university, please describe the relationship. How is the work coordinated between or among
units? How can such relations be facilitated?
UETS works in conjunction with multiple units across the campus on providing services. The
relationships between UETS and these units are described below, along with how the work is coordinated
and how these relations are facilitated.
UETS and Distance and Distributed Learning (DDL) work in conjunction with each other on the WebCT
Institute @ Georgia State, which provides training and workshops to WebCT customers for a fee. These
workshops are open to Georgia State faculty for free. UETS administers the program performing such
tasks as the scheduling, updating the Institute web pages, registering attendees and accounting. UETS
and DDL both independently conduct workshops.
The Teaching and Learning Expo is a jointly sponsored event with participation from Center for Teachi ng
and Learning/Teaching and Learning with Technology Center, UETS, DDL and COE ITC. Members of
the units meet regularly to plan the Teaching and Learning Expo, now in its fifth year.
UETS participates in special events such as Leadership Night where we provide services as needed.
These events have included input from a representative committee and are managed by External Affairs
and have always shown exemplary working relationships among the contributors.
As a unit of IS&T, UETS continuously collaborates with other IS&T units to provide services. UETS
collaborates with units such as University Information Systems (UIS) and University Communication &
Computing Services (UCCS) on numerous projects ranging from loading student data on the WebCT
servers to creating the student email system.
IV.C. Are duplicate or parallel services offered within the unit or elsewhere in the university?
Describe any overlap and discuss what changes might be indicated (e.g., centralization,
coordination, elimination of duplication).
There are three areas where parallel services exist: course design and development, digital media
development and departmental website creation. Both UETS and Distance & Distributed Learning (DDL)
provide these three services. However, the services are parallel in name only. The outcomes of the
services and products differ due to how these services are offered, staff educational backgrounds,
experience and technical expertise.
Description of Overlap
Course design and development: Both groups offer instructional design and development services to
faculty using WebCT. This includes consultations with faculty, needs assessment, storyboarding, file
management, creating quizzes and quiz databases, and full course development. Although the end user
might view the services of the two groups as identical, the similarities are mostly superficial. Users may
be unaware that the instructional design process is based on educational theories and instructional
models, which must be considered when designing and developing online courses. Understanding
educational theories and design models requires advanced study. UETS has purposely recruited and
hired instructional designers with graduate degrees in instructional technology and design and teaching
experience. These individuals are not only able to apply their craft successfully they are also able to build
a rapport with faculty and interact with them to determine their needs and provide guidance.
Digital media development: UETS and DDL both offer video editing and compression services and
tool/game design services for web-based courses. These services require specific steps in the use of the
software used to achieve the final product so the end user will not see differences in the final products of
the two groups. The advantage that UETS has, however, is that the Digital Media department is
strategically positioned within UETS so that they may work closely with the instructional designers in the
eLearning department and the graphic artists in the Web Services department to develop reusable tools
and games that are pedagogically sound and that enhance student learning. In addition, UETS Digital
Media personnel have two facilities, the Digital Café and the Digital Aquarium, where they can
work/consult with faculty, staff and students on their digital media projects.
Website creation: UETS and DDL offer website creation for departments and accessibility testing. The
end user or department requesting a website may view the services of the two groups as identical.
However, the final products may vary in design quality, navigation, ease of use, and project scope. A
UETS Web Services project team is composed of a project manager, information architect (temporary
staff), graphic artist and programmer. These individuals have degrees in their fields and experience in
education and industry. They use a full life-cycle development process that spans concept development
to implementation and quality assurance (testing and debugging). This process results in the creation of
quality informative websites that are well structured and easily navigable.
Suggested Changes: The elimination of duplication as a result of centralization is advised. A
consolidation of the two departments under UETS and IS&T leadership is warranted for several reasons:
The University Information Technology Strategic Plan 1997 redefined UETS. The University made the
decision that UETS should be responsible for institutional instructional technology support, digital media
services, classroom and open access computing lab support, technology training services and campus
Web services. That decision was carried forward in the 2000 – 2005 plan.
The strengths of the UETS management team include college degrees, work experience in their
respective fields, experience in a university setting including college teaching, and technical expertise.
These individuals possess excellent decision-making skills, project management skills and teamwork.
Many of these individuals have college teaching experience and graduate degrees. For example, the
manager of the eLearning Department has a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology and has taught at Georgia
State. The Director was an Instructor of Mathematics at Allegheny College.
The strategic position of UETS within IS&T. This unit has close contact with not only other critica l units
such as UCCS, UIS and Planning & Strategic Initiatives (P&SI), but close coordination with the Board of
Regents Advanced Learning Technologies (ALT) group and with the Project Manager of the USG’s
WebCT program. UETS is also in close communication with the major campus vendors such as SCT,
WebCT and Element K (Director is on the Advisory Board).
The faculty at Georgia State currently receive outstanding support but merging the two groups under
UETS would enhance and benefit the university in numerous ways. It would create a synergy unequaled
in the state and would result in higher client satisfaction. Advantages follow:
Single point of contact: Having one support group would provide a single point of contact for faculty and
staff.
Expansion of services: DDL staff could be placed in positions on the current UETS teams based on their
knowledge and experience. DDL personnel possess technical skills and knowledge and experience in
working with faculty. DDL’s skills in WebCT development under the guidance of UETS staff of
instructional designers would allow the development of more complex and strategic projects. The video
production personnel within DDL would complement UETS digital media development team. DDL
website developers could be added to the web design team thereby allowing us to meet the increasing
demand for quality websites and accelerating development.
Streamlining the processes: Currently, faculty who use DDL’s WebCT services contact DDL to request a
new WebCT course, to add students not in the global database or to resolve a problem (for example,
restore a course due to something being accidentally deleted). DDL in turn contacts UETS, who resolves
the problem or contacts WebCT and/or other IS&T groups to reach a resolution. UETS then contacts
DDL with the solution and DDL contacts the faculty member. Faculty who contact UETS receive feedback
directly from UETS. The turnaround time for faculty contacting UETS directly for the services mentioned
above takes fewer steps and subsequently less time.
Providing more consistent and accurate information: A merged group would provide consistent and
accurate information. Multiple groups providing the same or similar services often results in
disseminating different or inaccurate information. Due to the UETS position within IS&T and the
information technology community, we have faster access to technical information and possess the
pedagogical and technical expertise with which to interpret and disseminate that information correctly.
In addition to providing DDL personnel with roles more appropriate to their education and experience,
IS&T could offer them greater opportunities for advancement and growth.
IV.D. What are the unit’s planning, decision-making, and evaluation processes? Who is
involved in each?
Planning: For planning, UETS uses a “systems approach” as illustrated by its five key elements. It
begins with establishing the goal and defining the parameters of the project including who is involved and
affected by the decisions that will be made. Once this is clearly defined, the project is planned, which
includes identifying the tasks and resources and establishing a timeline/schedule. The third and fourth
elements are implementation and control of the project. Basically this consists of performing the tasks as
planned and asking “Is it working?” The final element makes adjustments to the dynamic conditions of
the process and then re-evaluates how it is working. This is a dynamic process and each element is
broken down into several other steps.
Depending on the project, the people involved may include faculty, staff, students, University
administration, Board of Regents personnel, vendors, and UETS personnel (management, leads and
staff). For example, after a needs analysis, the eTraining application was proposed by UETS in a student
tech fee proposal. In reviewing and selecting the application, UETS invited students, faculty, and campus
support groups to view product demonstrations, spoke to other institutions that had used the products and
met with Board of Regents personnel to discuss products and procurement options.
Decision-Making: The decision-making process depends on the scope of the decision to be made.
Decisions vary in complexity and the resources needed to make them. UETS utilizes participative
decision-making in order to maximize university resources. A team consisting of the Director, managers,
and staff in conjunction with those individuals or units who might be affected by those decisions handles
complex decisions with university scope and impact. If warranted, the UETS Director takes the proposed
decision to the CIO and IS&T Directors. Additionally, the CIO may solicit input from the Senate ISAT
Committee and the Provost.
Evaluation: Evaluation is conducted on most departmental processes such as building websites, training,
how applications are used, problem resolution, etc. All projects undergo a continual evaluation and reevaluation as adjustments are made. UETS personnel conduct the evaluation process on most projects.
The individuals identified in the planning process and/or those individuals who have direct interaction with
the projects provide input throughout the project.
IV.E.
Are work responsibilities clearly defined? How are these determined?
Work responsibilities are clearly defined. As shown by the staff survey with a scale of 1 (Strongly
Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree), UETS had a mean of 4.31 on the statement “I clearly understand what is
expected of me in a typical work day.” Each employee has a written job description that is updated at
least yearly as part of the employee’s performance evaluation (II.C). The employee and the manager
work together on this update to ensure that the employee understands his/her job responsibilities. Job
descriptions are rewritten mid-year if major changes of responsibility occur. UETS uses the Performance
Based Review form and process where performance is evaluated based on the job description. All UETS
managers and the UETS Director were trained in using this form.
Responsibilities are determined by the goals and objectives of UETS. As goals or objectives are
completed, new duties are assigned by UETS management to attain the next goal. Typically the manager
of the group determines the responsibilities of each staff member based on an assessment of the work to
be done, staff skill sets, current staff work load, and staff interests and career paths.
UETS has many staff working with our clients on a daily basis and as a result we have a lot of direct input
about faculty, staff and student needs. Thus, responsibilities are changed as needs change. “Working
smarter” has become the mantra of UETS in order to meet increasingly complex client needs without
increasing personnel resources. Again this leads to changes in staff responsibility.
IV.F.
What are the general morale, attitude, and culture of the unit? What measures are taken to
ensure that the unit is appropriately sensitive to the cultural backgrounds of staff and clients?
Morale: The general morale, attitude and culture of the unit are excellent. Morale is considered to be
positive and upbeat as shown by the staff survey with a scale of 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly
Agree), UETS had a mean of 4.03 on the statement “Overall, I would recommend UETS as a good place
to work.” However, many of the lab and classroom technicians voiced their concerns at the retreat with
regard to their career paths. Several of these individuals were hired at an intermediate level thus allowing
only one move upward, to that of a Lead. Unless a Lead leaves the unit, there is little room for upward
mobility. Solutions were brainstormed and will be investigated further by management and staff in future
planning.
Attitude: At this same retreat, staff attitudes could be defined as positive. Staff stated that they provided
excellent customer support, maintained good rapport with clients and were quite comfortable that they
met client expectations, often going beyond the call of duty. Most of this is achieved through following the
IS&T directive on providing quality customer service entitled the 7 Golden Rules of Customer Service
(Appendix G). This document focuses on our attitudes towards our customers, our commitment to them,
and striving for excellence.
Culture: The internal culture of UETS as a division of IS&T is shaped by the IS&T Value Statements
(Appendix G) adopted by the CIO and IS&T Directors in 1999. Respect for cultural values and
differences are paramount to UETS personnel. Our full-time staff and student workers cross many
nationalities and cultures and it is imperative that we are able to communicate and work together as a
team. Having a diverse work force has been an educational asset to UETS; it has helped our clients and
us develop respect for the views and contributions of all cultures. This workforce has significantly
contributed to providing quality service to a diverse student body and to meeting the expectations of our
faculty, staff and students.
Measures: Most of our staff members have received diversity training though the Office of Affirmative
Action. Two of our staff members also participate in the Panther Dialogue program. This program
encourages acceptance of diversity with regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual
orientation, veteran status and disability. The two staff members are being trained as facilitators so that
they can educate others in our unit on cultural diversity.
V.
Resources
V.A.
Provide a budget allocation and expenditure summary for the past five fiscal years, and a
copy of your most recent internal audit. In addition, for each of the core activities identified in IB,
indicate how resources are spent on each of these activities. To what extent does the budget
allocation and its utilization allow unit goals and objectives to be realized? What is the decisionmaking process for the distribution of budget allocations?
Allocation, Expenditures and Spending on Core Functions: UETS, with its current functional
responsibilities, was created by the University Information Technology Strategic Plan 1997. The UETS
Director was hired in October 1998 to refocus the organization; the CIO approved the plan for the current
organizational structure late spring 1999. A summary Fund Code 10 budget for the past five years is
presented in Table 2. The expenses for FY2003 for each of the core functions in I.B are shown in Table
3. UETS has 34 positions: 31 are funded by the Fund Code 10 budget and three are funded by the
Student Technology fee.
Table 2. Fund Code 10 Budget Allocation and Expenditure Summary for the Past Five Years
All numbers are from the original budgets for the year except FY1999 (after AV merged in).
Note: the increases in EFT and budget over the years were to support the increasing number of
technology enhanced classrooms.
Fiscal Year
Total Budget Number of Staff
Student
OS&E
(No Fringes) Staff
Salaries
Assistants Travel
FY 1999
$1,155,815
25
$911,623
$210,416
$32,476
FY 2000
$1,328,443
25.5
$971,124
$195,833
$28,476
FY 2001
$1,411,037
28.5 $1,166,554
$195,833
$28,476
FY 2002
$1,567,236
29 $1,290,137
$209,179
$28,476
FY 2003
$1,667,143
31 $1,367,313
$183,811
$32,476
$83,543 BOR
Table 3. UETS Activity Based Budget Expenses for FY2003 as presented to FACP
Note: UETS has approval to spend $2,768,821 but $1,667,143 in FC10 revenue. Other revenue consists
of $768,536 Student Technology fee, $3,500 Cost Recovery, Initiative Funding $108,962. The deficit of
$220,680 will be met by redirection/salary savings within IS&T.
FTE Counts
Costs
Detailed Costs
Activities
FC10 Non Total Cost Line Item
Lump
NonFTE FC10
Without Perso nal Personal Personal
FTE
Fringes Services Services Services
Office of Director - Plus all classroom &
1.00
0.00
138,825
110,825
0
28,000
staff phones
USG WebCT Project- Regents funded
eLearning
eTraining (Tech Fee funded) and Training,
Workshops and Events
Institutional Instructional Support
Total
Lab and Classroom Technology
Services
Open Access Computer Lab Support
Printing in Labs - UETS, Pullen, COE ITC,
Law Library -Tech Fee Funded
Non Tech Fee Printing In Labs
Classroom Technology Services
Total
Alpharetta Center Technology Services
– Tech Fee
Digital Media Services
Digital media for courses, special projects
Digital Aquarium - Tech Fee funded
Total
Campus Web Services
UETS Total
1.00
0.00
65,102
65,102
2.20
0.00
238,058
100,058
0
138,000
2.80
5.00
0.00
0.00
213,321
451,379
164,921
264,979
43,000
43,000
5,400
143,400
3.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
331,888
171,000
128,377
198,311
5,200
171,000
13.50
16.50
0.00
3,500
0.00
642,959
0.00 1,149,347
2.00
262,022
476,450
604,827
105,036
62,509
260,820
80,000
3,500
104,000
283,700
76,986
3.00
0.00
3.00
4.50
31.00
0.00
173,861
149,961
1.00
197,514
49,283
1.00
371,375
199,244
0.00
330,771
233,581
3.00 2,768,821 1,518,492
16,400
81,798
98,198
90,240
637,360
7,500
66,433
73,933
6,950
612,969
Internal Audit: In terms of an internal audit, IS&T was audited as a whole, but not UETS as a unit. The
audit findings/problem reports are not included here since they did not cover any areas for which UETS is
directly responsible.
Budget Allocation and Utilization Allowing Goals Realized: The UETS original budget is comprised
almost exclusively of staff salaries. There is essentially no funding for items such as equipment repair
and replacement in the classrooms and computer labs, staff training, travel, etc. The budget for student
assistants falls far short of what is needed to actually operate the computer labs. Given the budget, the
main way to realize goals and objectives is to repurpose staff. Redirecting money at the IS&T level has
been a factor in being able to realize goals and objectives. UETS is constantly looking for ways to work
smarter and automate functions so that staff can always be focused on core services. Whenever we plan
to offer a new service, related services are re-evaluated and may be discontinued to ensure the new
service will have adequate support.
The student technology fee funding has enabled us to do many things such as replace the computers in
the classrooms and computer labs, support the Alpharetta Center, create and operate the Digital
Aquarium, and provide the eTraining program.
Decision-Making Process: Each UETS department shares staff input to decide expenditures to
accomplish goals and objectives for the coming fiscal year. The managers of the departments submit
their spending plans to the Director who compiles a composite spending plan for UETS. The Director will
add costs and work with the management team to modify costs as needed. The Director submits the
UETS spending plan to the CIO and the CIO compiles an IS&T spending plan. This spending plan must
balance to zero (0). The UETS budget deficit (projected to be $220,680 for FY2003) must be offset by
revenue originating elsewhere. The IS&T Directors and CIO decide priorities, approved by the Senate
ISAT committee, so that this balance is achieved.
IS&T maintains a wait-list of items that need to be funded but could not be accommodated in the IS&T
spending plan. Individual staff members may submit items to their manager for the Director to add to the
UETS wait list. IS&T salary savings, if not used to cover hold backs/budget cuts, are used to fund waitlisted items according to priorities set by the CIO and IS&T Directors.
V.B.
What is the space, facilities, and technology allocation? To what extent do the allocation
and its utilization allow unit goals and objectives to be realized?
UETS full-time staff are housed in six buildings: the Commerce Building, Library South, the Alpharetta
Center, the Aderhold Building, General Classroom Building (GCB) and the Student Center (Digital
Aquarium). UETS space and technology allocation for each department in UETS is listed in Appendix H.
In addition to office space, UETS also maintains the Digital Café, the Digital Aquarium, and three training
labs in Classroom South and Aderhold.
UETS personnel are fortunate to have current technologies (computers, printers, scanners, etc.) in order
to function at a high level and to perform their duties. Having the proper equipment and software has
resulted in being able to successfully keep pace with technology advances and to provide leadership to
our clients and serve as campus experts, thus meeting the goals and objectives of our unit.
The current facilities are restrictive. We have three staff members in student cubicles. Office/cubical
space for staff is generally 80 sq feet and student office/cubical space is 64 sq feet. This does not allow
room for us to meet with our clients. At the Alpharetta Center we have one staff member who does not
have a desk or an office. This person uses the media room for an office and a table for a desk. This
room was not designed as an office but for video editing and media storage.
V.C.
Do employee skills match the unit's needs? Is additional training or cross-training
necessary? If so, what kind? Is there a regular mechanism for providing training?
Employee Skills: UETS recruits and hires the highest qualified staff. Employee skills not only match the
unit’s needs, but in many cases, exceed our expectations. UETS has been most fortunate to hire
individuals who not only have the technical expertise and experience, but who also have the
communication skills and analytical capabilities needed to meet our goals and the needs of the university
community. For most positions, having individuals with technical expertise is not enough; other
requirements that must be considered include advanced degrees, communication and interaction abilities,
university experience, and an advanced knowledge base.
Additional Training and Cross-Training: Additional training and cross-training are always necessary due
to the rapidly changing world of technology. As upgrades and advances are made, training is a
necessity. Through cross-training of staff, all critical functions of the unit have a backup. Staff members
receive training via formal and informal means. Formal training consists of application workshops,
conferences, seminars, eTraining, training via a virtual classroom environment, and vendor training. An
example of informal training offered by the Lab and Classroom Technology Services and Alpharetta
Center departments, is pairing full-time staff and student workers with more experienced senior staff for a
period of time until they are comfortable with the policies and procedures of the unit. UETS also has
several staff employees who are seeking academic degrees in their respective work fields increasing their
knowledge base and benefiting the division and the University.
Other forms of training include providing and purchasing documentation for employees, eTraining, and
outside vendor training such as A+ Certification training for our Classroom Support Technicians.
Although our technicians meet our unit’s needs, they are also interested in additional cross-training,
including intradepartmental training. Additional training will not only keep pace with new and advanced
technologies, improve the skills of employees, and boost morale it will also give employees a broader
scope of the technical, communicative and environmental aspects of an information technology unit and
improve interaction among the units in IS&T. Additionally, IS&T offers its employees many training
opportunities through team building retreats, diversity training, and consensus building workshops to
name a few.
Regular Mechanism: A regular mechanism for providing training for UETS personnel is professional
conferences and workshops. With the rapid rate of change in educational technology, conferences, with
their associated workshops and peer networking capabilities, are deemed the best way to stay current.
The goal is to have at least one staff member from each department attend a national conference each
year. We have been able to accomplish this goal regularly and UETS personnel have been invited to
present as well as attend these conferences. Funding for these conferences is through the IS&T wait list
process described in V.A.
For individual staff, formal means of providing training are identified and scheduled depending on the
needs of the individual and the requirements of the position. However, during performance evaluations, if
training is warranted to achieve performance goals, it is addressed at this time as well.
V.D.
What changes could be made to produce greater efficiencies or economies of scale (e.g.,
reduction, modification, or elimination of paperwork; structural reorganization)? What constraints
(e.g., resources, personnel, technology) must the unit address to achieve these?
Since the Director was hired in late 1998, UETS has made numerous changes to produce greater
efficiencies. For example, UETS has (1) systematically refocused its resources to improve the timeliness
and quality of its support, (2) placed resources on the web to eliminate paperwork especially online
request forms, and (3) automated many processes in managing the lab and classroom software and
printing. A project manager was hired for the Web Services department to ensure that web projects are
completed on schedule and include usability, accessibility and quality assurance testing in the process.
The eLearning group has focused on creating reusable learning objects for faculty to create sound
pedagogical learning environments. The mantra of UETS has been “working smarter” and we have been
very successful in maximizing our resources.
As indicated in (2) in the paragraph above, UETS has placed many resources on the web. Faculty, staff
and students can request UETS services via established email addresses and online forms (Appendix D).
This has greatly enhanced our ability to work efficiently. Greater efficiency, however, could be achieved
through a web interface with Remedy, the campus’s problem reporting software system, rather than the
current method of sending email to a specific group. Generation of Remedy tickets from UETS online
forms would provide better statistics to guide us in upgrading services making it easier to meet requests.
IS&T is in the process of upgrading Remedy but lacks the requisite Remedy programming services to be
able to provide a web interface anytime soon.
The proposed merger of DDL into UETS would allow greater efficiencies and economy of scale.
Combining DDL course developers with UETS instructional designers and digital media group would
allow UETS to undertake more strategic instructional technology projects such as the GSU1010 template
and the redesign of the Biology 2107/2108 course. Many faculty are interested in having their course reengineered to an online environment. But with current resources we can only handle one major project at
a time and keep up with day-to-day support.
VI.
Summary of Report and Strategic Directions
VI.A. Overall, what are the unit’s greatest strengths? How can the unit leverage the strengths
that already exist? Can the strengths be improved upon?
Strengths: The greatest strengths of UETS are: (1) its vision and leadership, (2) its ability to create new
relevant, production-quality campus wide services, and (3) its ability to sustain these new services and
current services. The factors that contribute to these strengths are the high quality of the staff and
management team and the unit’s relationship with the University.
UETS staff members are committed to a customer service philosophy (Appendix G), are dedicated to
excellence, and accept and embrace change. They are experienced professionals with educational
backgrounds commensurate with their positions; and they exhibit talents in areas such as communication,
inter-personal skills, their professional field of endeavor, and technology.
UETS Management Team exhibits vision and leadership. They think creatively with an understanding of
the University and are dedicated to working for the greater good of the University. They work as a team
and demonstrate sound judgment and a proper degree of risk taking. Managers possess participative
decision-making skills thus sharing decision-making responsibilities with their staff and soliciting input
from staff and users. They remain current in their professional field and possess excellent project
management skills.
UETS relationship with the University is built on many factors including its close relationship with the
faculty, its proactive outreach and cooperation, its position within IS&T, reporting to the CIO who reports
to the Provost, and its cooperation with university units, the Board of Regents and outside vendors.
UETS personnel are members of numerous committees, councils and advisory boards (Appendix C) and
are knowledgeable of University needs.
Leveraging strengths: UETS continuously leverages its strengths. Four examples follow.
The Digital Aquarium was conceptualized as a result of the CIO bringing together Student Center and
UETS management personnel who brainstormed about how to better utilize space and attract more
students to the Student Center. UETS worked closely with the Student Center and the SGA to make this
vision a reality.
Lab and Classroom Technology Services planned and implemented support for the Aderhold Learning
Center with a minimal number of new staff. This was possible due to the previous creation of a scalable
classroom support system with day and night shifts, dispatchers, and zone coverage.
Web Services is working on a major website for the Biology department with numerous unique templates
(95 by last count) and databases. The hiring of a project manager and the addition of a temporary
information architect has made it possible for Web Services to produce large, complex websites and to
keep all web projects running on schedule, greatly increasing customer satisfaction.
Following on the success of eTraining, the eLearning department is now working to bring a new service to
campus called virtual classroom/web conferencing where faculty will have the ability to teach from a
distance, teach students who are at a remote location, or hold classes totally online. Sessions can be
recorded and streamed on the web for use at a later time.
Improving strengths: Strengths can be improved upon by augmenting the staff and management team
and opening additional relationships with the University community. Additional positions are required to
meet the growing support needs of the university. The following five positions will allow us to meet our
goals, expand and improve instructional support.
An Instructional Technology Specialist (minimally a Masters degree in Instructional Technology) is
needed to meet the growth of online courses and the increase in faculty requests for instructional design
services. This will ensure the continuance of high-quality services and products for faculty. This position
becomes even more critical if DDL developers are merged into UETS.
A University Website Coordinator (Information Architect) is needed to enable development of the more
complex websites now required by the campus. In times of tight budgets, it will be cost effective for the
University to have an internal group capable of developing industry quality websites rather than contract
for these services. This person will be important in migrating to Luminis, the Campus Pipeline
application, and should be involved in its early planning.
The two Assistant Director positions are needed to better coordinate major projects and to provide more
strategic support (V.B.4 below).
An Administrative Assistant is needed to allow managers and staff to spend more time on work suitable to
their job respective descriptions.
Merging DDL under the leadership of UETS will allow greater efficiencies and economy of scale. As
stated in IV.C, a merger would offer the University community a single point of contact, expanded
services, improved turn-around time for faculty, and provide consistent and reliable information.
VI.B.
What areas need improvement, and what recommendations can address these?
B.1.
What, if any, changes are indicated in the unit’s current mission, goals, and objectives?
(Section I)
No changes are indicated in the unit’s current mission, goals and objectives. The unit’s current mission,
goals and objectives are aligned with the Georgia State University Strategic Plan 2000 – 2005 and the
University Information Technology Strategic Plan 2000 - 2005. At the beginning of each fiscal year, the
goals and objectives are reviewed and updated. An action plan for the fiscal year is then formulated so
that UETS can continue to meet faculty and student needs in preparation for the academic year.
B.2.
What, if any, changes are indicated in the ways that the achievement of goals and
objectives is measured? (Section II)
The methods used to measure achievements of goals and objectives might be improved. Two
measurement systems are currently in use depending on whether a project has a beginning and end or if
it is ongoing. Both measurement systems should be streamlined and the measurement tools placed on
the web. Recommendations to improve the measurement systems might include setting up baselines,
developing dynamic feedback forms, conducting department surveys, providing more timely feedback,
and encouraging our clients to participate in the system. Before embarking on such an endeavor,
however, a study of measurement systems should be completed. As part of this study, Management and
Staff Development Services would be contacted to engage their expertise and services.
B.3.
What, if any, changes are indicated in the services/products provided to clients by the
unit? (Section III)
UETS services and products are based on its functions as stated in the University Information
Technology Strategic Plan 2000 – 2005. These services are consistently reevaluated as needs are
identified and changes in technologies occur. For instance, UETS is now monitoring national initiatives
regarding ePortfolios. Current data and feedback suggest the addition of a new service and the
expansion of some of our current services. A new service now in its preliminary stages is the virtual
classroom/web conferencing service. Current services that should be expanded include videotaping
classes, instructional design support, website production, and digital media development. UETS provides
high quality services in all of these areas, but is limited to the number of faculty, staff and students that
they can be accommodated simultaneously. Staffing and space for these services are required to meet
the growing demands of the university.
B.4
What, if any, changes are indicated in the unit’s organizational structure, processes, and
climate? (Section IV)
Unit’s organizational structure: UETS organizational structure allows us to provide excellent coverage of
all functions (I.B). The unit has five managers who report to the Director. Many of the projects require
personnel from different UETS departments to work closely with each other. To better coordinate major
projects and to provide more strategic support, adding two assistant directors to UETS is recommended.
The assistant directors will play a vital role if DDL is merged into UETS. One assistant director would be
responsible for all instructional activities including instructional support, digital media services, technology
training and web services in order to more closely coordinate these services and provide a more
seamless instructional support system. A second assistant director would be responsible for the labs and
classrooms for both the main campus and the Alpharetta Center.
As stated in IV.C, it is recommended that DDL be merged into UETS. If this recommendation comes to
fruition, UETS organizational structure will be reexamined in order to place DDL personnel in positions
commensurate with their experience and backgrounds.
Processes: As stated in V.D, improvement in generating statistics to guide us in upgrading our services
could be achieved through a web interface with Remedy, the campus’s problem reporting software
system, rather than the current method of sending email to a specific group. Generation of Remedy
tickets from UETS online forms would provide better statistics to guide us in upgrading services and it
would be easier to ensure that all requests were met.
Climate: The major change to the climate of the unit would result from examining the morale of the group
with regard to career paths. This would focus primarily on classroom support technicians, but all
personnel would be considered in the process. A team representing all departments will be selected and
assigned to identify the problem and its extent, to discuss possible solutions, and to select and implement
a solution. The solution will be tracked over the next three years to ascertain if it has achieved its goal.
B.5.
What, if any changes are indicated in the unit’s resources (budget, space, staffing,
technology, etc.)? (Section V)
Several changes are indicated to meet the growing demands of the university.
Staffing: Five staff positions are needed to meet the growing support demands: an Instructional
Technology Specialist, a University Website Coordinator (Information Architect), two Assistant Directors
(B.4 above), and an Administrative Assistant.
The University would be well served by a reevaluation of all job categories related to creating campus
websites. A first step was taken last year by the addition of the University Website Designer position. We
now need a new University Website Information Architect position.
Budget: An increase in UETS budget (projected deficit this fiscal year is $220,068) is warranted. UETS
carries a zero (0) budget for classroom consumables. Classroom consumables include items such as
cables, printer cartridges, printer paper, phone bills (approximately $2000 per year), projector bulbs ($300
to $500 each), etc. These costs are covered by IS&T salary savings and with the growth in the number of
technology-enhanced classrooms, the costs are rising each year. The student assistant budget has
changed very little in the last five years (Table 2 in V.A), yet the number of labs and classrooms that we
support has increased tremendously.
Alpharetta Center and Digital Aquarium funding: Currently, the Student Technology Fee funds the
Alpharetta Center Technology Services and the Digital Aquarium operational costs, including staff and
student assistants. The Technology Fee committee has stated that the Student Technology Fee should
only fund staff for start-up projects. For subsequent years of projects, Fund Code 10 funding should pay
for staff. Therefore, funding is needed to retain these support staff and students.
VI.C. Define for your unit a reasonable time-frame for goal-setting (e.g., 3-, 5-, 7-, 10-years), then
review the recommendations derived from B1-5 above. What priorities among these areas should
be set? What is a realistic timetable for the achievement of the recommendations (1-, 3-, 5-years)?
Within each time frame, prioritize the recommendations. How does the unit plan to monitor
progress? Note: For the purpose of addressing this question, a chart that utilizes the following
headings will suffice.
As stated in II.A, UETS reviews and updates their goals and objectives at the end of each fiscal year in
order to prepare for the following year. If funding were available, the goals identified in B1-5, could be
accomplished in three years as shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Recommendations, Priorities and Measures of Progress
Prioritized recommendation(s)
One-year goals
Merge DDL into UETS
Work with Human Resources to create a
University Website Information Architect
position
Add 1-3 positions as funding permits
Acquire a virtual classroom/web
conferencing system
Two-year goals
Streamline achievement measurement
system
Expand services in instructional design,
videotaping classes, website creation, and
digital media development to meet the
growing demand
Add additional positions as funding permits
Three-year goals
Conduct a career path study
Web interface with Remedy
Measures of progress
Decision made to do so. Plan for implementation under new
organizational structure. Complete merger. Demonstrate
increased productivity by metrics and customer satisfaction via
survey.
Existence of new job position.
Obtain funding, recruit and hire. First priority is instructional
designer.
Determined by approval of tech fee proposal for FY2004.
Faculty use during Fall 2003.
Follow project management process: analysis, design,
develop, field test, implement, and evaluate (IV.D)
Once funding and additional personnel are acquired, the new
achievement measurement system will be used to evaluate
progress.
Obtain funding, recruit and hire
App oint a committee to study the concern, identify the
concern and its extent, make recommendations (one-year
goal); implement recommendations (two-year goal); evaluate
the success of the solution and re-address the concern if
needed (three-year goal).
Dependent on other units’ ability to make the web interface
available.
Appendices
Appendix A – Comparable Units to UETS within Peer Institutions
All institutions listed below, with the exception of the University of Pittsburgh, are listed as members of the
Urban 13 and the BOR Proposed Peer Institutions. The University of Pittsburgh is a BOR Proposed
Aspirational Institution.
Institution
Structure and Responsibility
Size and Budget
University of Cincinnati
all campuses
University of Houston
Comparable
Size of the department cannot be
determined. However, the Faculty
The Educational IT Services unit is
Technology Resource Center, which is
comparable to UETS. The Director of EIT comparable to UETS’ eLearning
reports to the VP and CIO of UCIT.
Department, has five employees.
Responsibilities of EIT include
eLearning has six employees, one of
microcomputer labs, classroom support
which is dedicated to the BOR WebCT
and planning, the help desk, course
Project.
management system (Blackboard),
streaming media, documentation and
Budget with fringes is about $2.5
publications, UNIX services and the Faculty million while the Fund Code 10 budget
Technology Resource Center. The Center of UETS with fringes is about $1.82
provides faculty training, support, digital
million.
media services, consulting, and
instructional support.
Not comparable
Unit size information is not available,
however, UH’s IT unit has 36
Two units: (1) Educational Technology
managers, 12 of which equate to the
Outreach (ETO), (2) Information
services offered by UETS five
Technology (IT)
departments (and five managers).
ETO houses Distance Education, which
ETO has three instructional designers;
offers degreed programs, admissions and UETS has two instructional designers
registration. DE provides support for
faculty who are teaching their courses.
ETO receives $3.5 million from student
fees in addition to their regular budget.
IT provides multiple services with no
equivalent unit to UETS
University of Illinois at Chicago
Not comparable
No information available
Multiple units: (1) Academic Computing
and Communications Center (ACCC), (2)
Administrative IT Services (AITS)
Center for the Advancement of Distance
Education (CADE) is part of the School of
Public Health
Temple University
Not comparable
No information available
Multiple units: (1) Academic Computer
Services, (Administrative Computing is
separate), (2) Instructional Support Center
(ISC) supports Blackboard with limited
services.
Online Learning Program (OLP) – register
through Continuing Ed or OLP
Wayne State University Not comparable
Size is difficult to determine due to the
spread of services across departments
Multiple units: (1) Division of Computing & and units; titles are not descriptive of
Information Technology (CIT), (2) Office of functions.
Teaching & Learning (OTL)
Budget information is unavailable.
CIT offers a few of UETS services as does
the OTL, but none comparable to UETS
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Not comparable
Size is difficult to determine since titles
are not descriptive of functions.
Multiple units: (1) Information and Media The Creative Solutions Department
Technologies (IMT), (2) Center for
(CS) is comparable to UETS Web
Instructional & Professional Development, Services Department in function.
(3) Learning Technology and Distance
However, CS has 14 employees
Education (LTDE)
compared to Web Services 4
employees.
LTDE reports to the CIO.
Budget information is unavailable
IMT is similar to IS&T. Four of the 12 IMT
departments are comparable to a portion of
UETS services.
University of Pittsburgh Not comparable
60+ personnel
(Aspirational institution)
Center for Instructional Development and The Faculty Instructional Development
Distance Education (CIDDE) is responsible Lab has four instructional
for the Instructional Development Lab,
technologists. Faculty Development
faculty development, distance education, Services has a staff of nine, six of
media enhanced classrooms, faculty
which are instructional designers. The
training, etc. Distance Education offers
Electronics Graphics and Design has
academic programs and degrees.
three staff at UP; UETS Digital Media
department has four staff.
Georgia State
University
Budget information is unavailable.
UETS Director reports to the CIO who
34 full-time permanent staff (31 -Fund
reports to the Provost. UETS has five
Code 10; 3 - Technology Fee)
departments and is responsible for
institutional instructional technology
FY2003 FC 10 budget = $1,667,143
support, digital media services , technology But approval to spend $2,768,821.
training, classroom technology services,
open access computer lab support,
software for labs and classrooms and
campus web services
Member
Appendix B – UETS Goals and Objectives for
FY2003
Listed by areas of functional responsibility; however,
many of the goals and objectives span functional
areas especially the creation of digital media
products as instructional materials.
Institutional Instructional Technology Support
Goal: Create interactive modules for students to
become more familiar with course content that can
be used for multiple subjects and grade levels and
that can be repeated by the student as often as
necessary
Complete development of three reusable learning
object game templates – Sink or Sail (Hangman),
Categories (Jeopardy), and a timeline. – In Progress
Goal: Assist faculty in the redesign of their WebCT
courses to improve student learning and student
retention
Complete course redesign and development for
Biology 2107/2108. – In Progress
Redesign GSU1010, as part of the GPC1010
initiative, using modular learning objects, thus
allowing faculty to customize their 1010 course by
selecting those objects that they wish to use. This is
a strategic initiative that involves Georgia State and
Georgia Perimeter College and is part of a FIPSE
grant. – In Progress
Goal: Improve student knowledge of technology
resources on campus
Create a Student Computing @ Georgia State
website - Completed
Create an interactive module on Student Computing
that may be used in WebCT courses such as GSU
1010 or on a website independent of WebCT. – In
Progress
Goal: Research emerging technologies with faculty
for use in instruction
Explore PDA usage for instruction. – In Progress
Select the Virtual Classroom/Collaborative Tools
software to meet existing campus needs and write a
Tech Fee proposal. – In Progress
Goal: Upgrade to WebCT version 3.8 - Completed
Test new version on non-production server Completed
Manage the upgrade so as not to interfere with
academic classes - Completed
Reload student data - Completed
Goal: Improve WebCT server performance
Review file data and contact faculty individually
(800+) and request they remove former students,
move files, delete old courses, etc. – In Progress
Review large courses to determine reasons for large
file size. Offer resolutions to faculty in order to
reduce course/file size. – In Progress
Goal: Plan and implement a program for the rollout
of WebCT’s newest version, called Vista, for
Georgia State scheduled for Summer/Fall 2003
ADA Advisory Committee
Administrative Council
Campus Web Masters Group
CFC - Classroom Facilities Council
CTL-TLTC Advisory
Electronic Reserve Review Committee
Element K Advisory Corporate Board
Student Orientation Working Group of the
Enrollment Management Group
FIPSE Grant Team
Freshman Learning Community Group
ITSC - Information Technology Security
Subcommittee of ISAT
ITSS - Information Technology Support
Subcommittee of ISAT
NetSIG Committee
Panther’s Dialog Committee (Diversity)
Public Relations Council
Staff Advisory Council Executive Committee
Strategic Planning Committee
TLTS - Teaching and Learning with Technology
Subcommittee of ISAT
University Public Relations Council
University Senate: Budget Committee
University Senate: FACP
University Senate: Planning and Development
Committee
University Web Advisory Committee
Carolyn Gard
Phillip Mitchem
SAC President (Phillip Mitchem)
Jarrett King
Phillip Mitchem
Joe Amador
Carolyn Gard
Tony Culberson
Michael Lena
Carolyn Gard
Karen Oates
Carolyn Gard
Carolyn Gard
Carolyn Gard
Carolyn Gard
Karen Oates
Joe Amador
Carolyn Gard
Joe Amador
Carolyn Gard
Joe Amador
Robert Musick
Daye Rogers
Daniel Bragg
Chandra Maharaj
Carolyn Gard
Phillip Mitchem
Phillip Mitchem (President)
SAC President (Phillip Mitchem)
Carolyn Gard
Carolyn Gard
Phillip Mitchem
SAC President (Phillip Mitchem)
SAC President (Phillip Mitchem)
SAC President (Phillip Mitchem)
Carolyn Gard
Jarrett King
Phillip Mitchem
Appendix D – UETS Communication Methods
UETS has established general email addresses, listservs and online forms to communicate with the
University community. These forms of communication are used to make the community aware of
mission, goals and objectives, priorities, policies, and procedures as well as to learn about the
community’s needs and to obtain feedback regarding services.
Emails and Listservs
Purpose
UETS General Email
Contact
[email protected]
UETS Recipients
Director and all managers
Classroom Support
[email protected]
Digital Media
Lab Support
[email protected]
[email protected]
Training and eTraining
WebCT Support
[email protected],
[email protected]
[email protected]
WebServices
[email protected]
Lab and Classroom Technology
Services Manager, Alpharetta
Support Manager and the Classroom
Support team
Team members
Lab and Classroom Technology
Services Manager, Alpharetta
Support Manager and the Lab
Support team
Training personnel
eLearning Manager, Project Manager
and WebCT support personnel
Web Services Manager, Project
Manager and staff
Online Forms for Gaining Input and Feedback, Requesting Services and Reporting Problems
Purpose
Online Form
Classroom input and problem reporting http://www.gsu.edu/uets/classrooms/report.html and
http://www.gsu.edu/uets/classrooms/suggestions.html
Requesting to have equipment
http://www.gsu.edu/uets/classrooms/request.html
delivered to a classroom
Request software added to lab and
www.gsu.edu/uets/class_lab/request.html
classroom servers
Lab input and problem reporting
www.gsu.edu/uets/computerlabs/report.html
Requesting an online WebCT course
and additional services
Report a WebCT Problem
http://www.gsu.edu/uets/support/webct_app.html
Evaluation of standup training
http://www.gsu.edu/uets/training/evaluation.html
eTraining feedback
http://www.gsu.edu/etraining/feedback/index.html
http://webct.gsu.edu/support/webcthelp_request.html
Appendix E – Metrics for UETS Services
Classrooms Supported as of December 31, 2002 (includes Alpharetta Center)
Basic classrooms (transparency projectors only and possibly 92
TV/VCR)
Classrooms with instructor workstations (no student
136
workstations)
Classrooms with instructor and student workstations
14
242
Total classrooms supported
Classroom Workstations Supported as of December 31, 2002 (includes Alpharetta Center)
Number of instructor workstations
150
Number of student workstations in classrooms
405
555
Total number of instructor and student workstations
Open Access Computer Labs Supported as of December 31, 2002
Library South Main Lab
125 PCs and 14 Macs
Art & Humanities Lab
75 PCs and 16 Macs
Aderhold Learning Center Lab
Kell Hall Computer Lab
Alpharetta Center Lab
Total labs supported
44 PCs
30 PCs
40 PCs
5 labs with 314 PCs and 30 Macs
Training for Calendar Year 2002
WebCT hands-on workshops
32
Special request training courses
68
eTraining courses available
450
eTraining total users as of December 31, 2002
4,549 (81% students, 8% staff, 4% faculty, 7%
miscellaneous)
1-on-1 in person training sessions
260
Phone training/support sessions (20 minutes plus)
360
First Fridays (3-hours once a month)
10 (none held in July or November)
Georgia State WebCT Statistics for Calendar Year 2002
New courses created
1,308
Courses designed and developed (consultation, analysis,
200+
course management, file conversion and upload, student
tracking, etc)
Reusable learning objects created
4
Faculty using WebCT as of 12/31/03
801
Number of students using WebCT as of 12/31/03
19,000+ (estimated)
Number of WebCT courses as of 12/31/03
2,030
USG WebCT Statistics as of December 31, 2002
Number of users (students)
37,387
Number of designer accounts
1,999
Number of WebCT courses
1,988
Digital Media for Calendar Year 2002
Major Projects (Establish Digital Aquarium, Leadership Night, 10
Animations, etc)
Digital Aquarium - Number of student sessions
14,580
Digital Aquarium Workshops
388 for students; 8 for classes
Web Services Projects for Calendar Year 2002
Websites completed
15
Number of projects completed in addition to websites
7
(surveys, virtual tour, website audits)
Number of websites currently under development
7
Website requests on wait list
8
Appendix F – UETS Organizational Chart
Appendix G – IS&T Documents on Customer Service and Values
Golden Rules of Customer Service
Never give excuses; focus on resolving the problem. Use this phrase: “What I can do is…”
Always be pleasant with customers. Focus on resolving the problem, not on adjusting the customer’s
attitude.
Customers are not interruptions of our work. They are the reason for it. Customer relations are an
integral part of your job, not an extension of it. Our business is developing relationships through respect
and trustworthiness, coupled with appropriate technical expertise. People don ’t care how much you know
until they know how much you care.
Always be responsive to customers. Return phone calls and e-mail in a timely matter — within one
business day. Never have a full voice mailbox.
Honor your service and support commitments. Every customer has the right to expect a commitment to
an appointment time for scheduled services. Every customer has the right to expect our rapid response to
a crisis disruption of service. If a commitment cannot be met, inform the customer immediately.
Take ownership of problems. If it is not your problem to resolve, involve the appropriate party, and
ensure that ownership of the problem is transferred with the customer’s knowledge.
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.
IS&T Value Statements
Our commitment to service is the basis for our relationship with the Georgia State University community.
Change is constant; therefore, we plan for it with consideration for the interests of those affected.
We believe in the dignity and worth of all individuals and value their unique contributions.
We support each other, sharing successes and challenges.
We communicate in an accurate, timely and forthright manner.
We listen to and learn from each other and our customers.
We encourage consensus decision-making through a non-judgmental sharing of ideas, including input
from customers, staff and community.
We resolve conflicts proactively, working together as a cohesive team for the good of the Georgia State
University community.
We foster an environment that empowers the individual closest to the work to make appropriate
decisions.
We maintain a professionally attractive and vibrant organization to support the University’s mission.
Appendix H – UETS Space and Technology Allocation
“Current technology” in the table below means that each staff member has a computer above the
Standard Replacement Threshold as proscribed in the Student Technology Fee Call for Proposals
FY2004. The managers also have printers and there are several shared scanners and printers for the
unit.
Department/Location
Number of Staff
eLearning (includes
6 staff
USG WebCT)
1 temporary employee
Commerce Bldg
4 student workers
Space
Technology Allocation
3 offices (manager and Current technology
2 project managers)
4 cubicles (staff and
temporary employee)
Students share 6
cubicles with Web
Services
Digital Media in
4 staff
Commerce Bldg except 2 student workers
Digital Aquarium staff in
the Student Center
10 student workers
Lab & Classroom
Technology Services
Commerce Building,
Library South, GCB
Aderhold Building
17 staff
5 classroom support
student workers
35 lab support student
workers
Alpharetta Center
2 staff
7 students workers
Web Services
Commerce Bldg
4 staff
1 temporary employee
4 student workers
Director’s office
Commerce Bldg
1 staff
1 office (manager)
Current technology
3 cubicles* (staff)
Student workers are
located in the Digital
Café or Digital Aquarium
4 offices (manager and Current technology
3 staff)
13 cubicles* (staff)
1 test lab
1 workbench room (for
repairs)
1 master control room
(Aderhold)
1 conference room
(shared with the Senate)
Student workers are
located in the labs
Office (manager)
Office computers are 3 years
Media room with a table old
which also serves as an
office (staff)
Student workers are
located in the lab
1 office (manager)
Current technology
4 cubicles (staff and
temporary employee)
Students share 6
cubicles with eLearning
1 office for the Director Current technology
*Three staff members (2 in Lab and Classroom Technology Services and 1 in Digital Media) are housed
in student cubicles, which are considerably smaller than staff cubicles.