Strategic Plan
Mission Statement
Through collaboration and professionalism, the Technology Support Department provides the highest possible quality Information Technology (IT) services, support, and assistance to the University community.
Vision Statement
Technology Support will be recognized as the premier source for IT customer services and solutions that fosters a technologically advanced University community by leveraging teamwork, technology, expert knowledge, professionalism, and the commitment to excellence.
Technology Support is committed to the values of
- customer service;
- mutual respect and trust;
- teamwork;
- ethics; and
- professionalism.
Goals, Critical Success Factors, and Objectives (including Strategies and Assessments)
Goal 1. Technology Access: Provide access to contemporary technology to enable student, faculty, and staff to achieve their learning, teaching, and research goals.
Critical Success Factors (measures the degree of success over the next 5 years):
- Double the amount of public access computing areas, including workgroup settings in common areas.
- Increase staff to one full-time staff person for every 50 workstations.
- Provide a computing access environment that is virtually wait-free.
- Make 75% of relevant services available via the Internet.
- Provide orientation to IT services and support to all incoming students, faculty, and staff.
- Increase customer satisfaction to achieve 95%.
- Increase the number of available site-licensed software by 25%.
Objectives:
Objective 1.1: Deliver access to technology via computing facilities, hardware, software, and other available resource to students, faculty, and staff.
Strategies:
- Create fully monitored, 24x7 student computer-access areas, equipped with contemporary equipment (hardware and software) within a 5-minute walk from any on-campus resident location.
- Maintain, improve, and expand student computer-access areas configured for workgroup environments.
- Continue formal and informal contacts with students, student groups, staff groups, and faculty groups regarding their IT needs.
- Supply a comprehensive project solution source for the University community (especially students) via high-quality prints, binding service, scanned image productions, etc.
- Research, develop, and utilize cutting-edge technologies.
Assessments:
- Review usage of computer access areas.
- Customer review and feedback.
Objective 1.2: Deliver the most current software available to students, faculty, and staff.
Strategies:
- Use site licensing to leverage buying power to provide state-of-the-art software to students, faculty, and staff.
- Use feedback, Internet and trade publications to assess University site license software needs.
Assessments:
- Review effectiveness of site licenses.
- Customer review and feedback.
Goal 2. Training and Documentation: Provide training and documentation services to enable students, faculty, and staff to become more self-sufficient, productive, and optimize their use of technology.
Critical Success Factors (measures the degree of success over the next 5 years):
- Provide TTU with the highest quality computer training and courseware in an effective and well-executed training program.
- Coordinate and educate the TTU community in using the Information Technology to achieve their educational and professional goals.
- Double ShortCourse training participation.
- Increase ShortCourse offerings to include advanced-level courses by utilizing IT Division experts.
- Bring usage of Computer-Based Training (CBT) (or a successor) to 2500 students, faculty, and staff.
- Provide both printed and online documentation for training and learning purposes.
- Provide courseware and manuals as appropriate for computer training courses.
- Develop documentation for proprietary software.
- Make 75% of relevant reference services available via the Internet.
Objectives:
Objective 2.1: Enable technology-enhanced teaching and learning via training opportunities for students, faculty, and staff.
Strategies:
- Expand training opportunities and participation for students, faculty, and staff by using instructor-led courses, online courses, training material on CDs and videos, publications, and other available resources.
- Include industry-standard software courses that require multiple sessions (or workshops) (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator, Microsoft Access, etc.).
- Expand the scope and availability of computer and/or network-based training in technology for students, faculty, and staff.
- Make ongoing training, including Quality Service Training, a priority for staff members and student assistants.
- Leverage academic resources of the University by encouraging and supporting IT staff to take courses and seek degrees.
- Provide adequate time and resources to provide exemplary training opportunities for students, faculty, and staff (including IT Division staff).
- Use feedback and customer input to evaluate training opportunities.
- Retain student employees for staff positions by providing training opportunities, computing resources, and competitive salaries.
- Design, develop, and implement training courses to advance the level of user knowledge, making use of IT Division experts as instructors.
- Provide on-request computer training.
Assessments:
- Amount and type of training available and utilized.
- ShortCourse growth and participation.
- Training provided through classroom instruction, CBT, and video.
- Amount of staff training received.
- Customer review and feedback through on-line evaluations.
Objective 2.2: Provide documentation to enhance the ShortCourse experience and self-paced learning for students, faculty, and staff.
Strategies:
- Develop user-friendly documentation that provides a less technical format for beginning users in various applications.
- Expand the scope of online and printed documentation to include a broader subject base and disseminate that documentation to a wider range of student, faculty, and staff.
- Provide 95% of training documentation online.
Assessments:
- Amount of documentation printed vs. online.
- Subject base increased each year.
- Customer review and feedback.
Objective 2.3: Create end-user documentation for proprietary software created for faculty and staff of TTU by other IT areas within the Division.
Strategies:
- Develop a friendly, collaborative environment between Technology Support’s Documentation and departments responsible for software development.
- Incorporate technical communication technologies to design and write end-user materials based on proprietary software.
Assessments:
- Quality of communication between relevant IT departments.
- End-user review and feedback.
Goal 3. Internet Presence: Continue to provide the official World-Wide Web presence for Texas Tech University.
Critical Success Factors (measures the degree of success over the next 5 years):
- Provide up-to-date information for TTU contacts and information.
- Bring World-Wide Web interface to developing technologies.
- Bring TTU Web in compliance with the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) and federal guidelines.
- Make 75% of relevant services available via the Internet.
- Enhance navigation of TTU Web with the establishment of a site-mapping feature.
Objectives:
Objective 3.1: Maintain official Web site for Texas Tech University.
Strategies:
- Continue to maintain the official Web site for the University.
- Ensure the accuracy of the data on the official Web site for the University.
- Enhance web presence to provide uniform web presence.
Assessment:
- Accuracy and relevancy of the data on the official Web site for the University.
Objective 3.2: Establish a visual consistency for all related TTU Web sites.
Strategies:
- Design and provide templates for departmental, organizational, and student Web sites.
- Provide initial assistance with Web setup.
- Redesign existing applications to conform to standards.
Assessment:
- End-user review and feedback.
Objective 3.3: Keep pace with emerging technologies in the Internet area.
Strategies:
- Apply new technologies to the TTU Web presence, bringing this service to devices such as PDAs, phones, etc.
- Maintain cutting-edge developers by providing high levels of training (40-80 hours per year).
Assessments:
- Review of current technology in relation to peers.
- Review staff training levels.
Goal 4. Marketing: Market and promote products and services within the IT Division to increase awareness of TTU technology services to students, faculty, and staff.
Critical Success Factors (measures the degree of success over the next 5 years):
- Ensure awareness and usage of available resources by students, faculty, and staff.
- Promote IT products and services to students, faculty, and staff in an efficient and informative manner.
- Make 75% of relevant services available via the Internet.
Objectives:
Objective 4.1: Schedule promotional events and market campaigns during events such as University Day and Orientation.
Strategies:
- Provide orientation to IT services and support to all incoming students, faculty, and staff.
- Increase the frequency and depth of informal and formal contacts to our community of customers - especially students and faculty.
- Provide comprehensive, efficient introduction to IT Division resources and services for all students, staff, and faculty members.
- Involve student assistants to promote products and services to TTU students.
Assessments:
- Amount of awareness due to marketing campaigns.
- Increased use of labs.
- Increased downloads and purchases of software.
Objective 4.2: Assess marketing needs of departments within the Information Technology Division.
Strategies:
- Hold yearly marketing events for departments.
- Collaborate with each IT director to access marketing needs and establish goals.
- Assist units in the Division in achieving their outreach and economic development goals.
- Implement a department-wide strategy for measuring customer service.
Assessment:
- Feedback from departments and directors.
Goal 5. Personnel: Recruit and retain high-caliber IT personnel.
Critical Success Factors (measures the degree of success over the next 5 years):
- Increase salaries for skilled IT staff to be competitive with private sector.
- Establish equitable pay based on experience for staff.
- Reduce staff turnover by 10% annually.
- Implement a competency evaluation process to assist in identifying training needs and merit.
- Identify areas of skill deficit and provide appropriate training opportunities.
Objectives:
Objective 5.1: Recruit the best possible candidates.
Strategies:
- Send IT experts to recruit candidates at regional job fairs.
- Recruit Texas Tech students prior to graduation.
- Leverage student assistant resources for promotion to IT staff positions.
- Use on-line recruiting resources (e.g., Monster.com).
- Use local recruiting resources (e.g., local placement agencies, KCBD Hiring Network, etc.).
- Use of on-line IT testing resources.
- Offer competitive salaries and promote available benefits.
- Work with senior IT management to obtain a full-time IT recruiter position.
Assessments:
- Review of applicant pools.
- Retention of student employees as staff employees.
- Salary and benefits surveys.
Objective 5.2: Retain quality employees.
Strategies:
- Offer competitive salaries and promote the benefits.
- Offer IT Divisional benefits such as flex time, and other staff perks.
- Offer staff enrichment opportunities, such as certifications, training, professional development, conferences, access to industry publications, and collaborative opportunities with peers and other universities, etc.
- Promote a fun, cohesive team environment.
- Provide cross training.
- Provide opportunities for career advancement.
- Foster an internal knowledge transfer among staff.
- Provide staff with the right tools for the job.
- Leverage the unique learning opportunities available at Texas Tech.
- Increase staff office space.
Assessments:
- Salary and benefits surveys.
- Annual employee reviews.