Information ServicesAnnual Academic Report for 2006-07

Submitted byCurt PedersonVice Provost and CIO

Table of Contents

Introduction 2

Programmatic Achievements

o Initiatives in Support of Student Engagement and Success 6

o Initiatives in Support of Increasing Research and Outreach16

o Initiatives in Support of Enhancing Diversity and Community19

o Initiatives to Improve Administrative Efficiencies19

Accomplishments in Support of the OSU Capital Campaign 23

Assessment of 2006-07 Priorities 24

Major Barriers 24

Proposed Priorities for 2007-08

o Initiatives in Support of Student Engagement and Success25

o Initiatives in Support of Increasing Research and Outreach26

o Initiatives in Support of Enhancing Diversity and Community26

o Initiatives to Improve Administrative Efficiencies27

Summary 27

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Introduction

Oregon State University’s Information Services (IS) division serves as the Information Technology (IT) backbone for the University as we strive to achieve OSU’s strategic themes of optimizing enterprise, innovation and economic development. IS takes pride in providing the highest quality services and products possible to the OSU community. Information Services directly supports the University, departments, teachers, and researchers in moving OSU toward becoming a “Top 10 Land Grant University”.

Information Services is comprised of Administrative Services, Enterprise Computing Services, Media Services and Outreach, Network Services and Technology Support Services.

Some of the critical services provided by Information Services include:

Technology in direct support of OSU’s primary goals: education, research, and outreach

Technical and administrative support to the OSU administration, affiliated colleges and universities, Oregon University System (OUS), and other off-campus customers

The world’s largest university based open source lab (OSL) supporting millions of unique visitors a day and hosting many of today’s largest community based open source projects.

Enterprise network and telecommunications infrastructure that includes being the telecommunications hub for all OUS schools

Enterprise Computing facilities, operation and management for OSU, the Chancellor’s Office and the four regional universities (EOU, SOU, OIT, WOU)

Desktop support for over 60% of campus colleges and departments

Education and training in support of IT literacy through the Technology Across the Curriculum (TAC) program

Design and operation of general purpose enhanced classrooms and open access student computing facilities

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Core web development and hosting services provided by Central Web Services

COHO: University-wide helpdesk solution

Technological and management support of Wireless Instructional Network (WIN), Oregon Public Affairs Network (OPAN)/Oregon Channel, K-12 Integrated Database Project, and other OUS-wide outreach endeavors

Media resources and graphics development for students

Outreach to regional and national news, research and public affairs networks

Information Services Organization

Customers

Information Services serves a number of different customer groups both on and off campus, including other universities, campuses and Extension Services. Each of these groups has different needs.

StudentsStudents form the backbone of any university culture, and are an important part of every service that OSU offers. Students are dependent upon IS for many services including residential networks, telephone and communications, learning environments, student computer labs, professional presentation materials, and personal and career development.

Administration

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The OSU Administration is able to function because of the many services that IS provides. Critical administrative services such as accounting, payroll, HR, research, communications, and facilities all depend upon IS for daily operations and strategic initiatives.

IS employs over 300 student employees who assist in providing many of our core services. When IS students graduate they often have expanded job opportunities based on their significant experience as student employees.

Colleges and Academic FacultyComprising the bulk of education, outreach, and research opportunities at OSU, colleges and academic faculty are critical users of IS services. All of these users make frequent and high volume use of technology services provided by IS. Information Services adjusts to changing university needs in order to deliver robust technology solutions and services that allow faculty to commit to new research, create new outreach programs, and educate students through new innovative means.

Other Schools, Campuses, and Extension ServicesThe “Fifth Site,” which includes Western Oregon University, Southern Oregon University, Eastern Oregon University, Oregon Institute of Technology and the OUS Chancellor’s Office rely on technology services provided by Information Services. The IT superstructure for the four regional universities and the Chancellor’s Office is hosted and operated by IS in various configurations, including student, financial, human resources and financial aid support. Information Services helps each of the customers listed below meet their technology needs as they grow and evolve within the Oregon educational community. These customers include:

The OSU Cascades Campus

The “Fifth Site” (enterprise services)

Extension Services

Oregon Health Sciences University (telecom)

Portland State University (telecom & aggregate reporting)

University of Oregon (telecom & aggregate reporting)

Oregon’s Community Colleges

Oregon Department of Education

Research CentersThere are highly specialized research centers using services offered by IS including Hatfield Marine Science Center and the Food Innovation Center.

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The State, National and Global CommunityOSU has many programs directly impacting the public such as television broadcasts, scientific research, education, and extension and outreach programs. Information Services helps OSU reach these customers more effectively while promoting OSU to regional, national and worldwide constituents through computer technology and video networks. The Oregon Channel, the Oregon Wireless Instructional Network (Oregon WIN) and the Oregon Public Affairs Network (OPAN) are examples of these video networks. In addition, OSU’s successful Open Source Lab (OSL) is recognized as one of the top academic Open Source labs in the world.

Information ServicesThe units within Information Services are often consumers of their own and each other’s services and products. The IS departments work to innovate new technology for the OSU Community in a collaborative fashion, working together to expand offerings, reduce costs, and create strong new customer focus.

Funding Streams

In terms of functions and services to the University community, Information Services is highly diversified. The resources that are available for the multitude of IS operations is equally diverse. Much of the growth over the past five years has been the result of funding that is outside of the general fund allocation that IS receives.

The major source of funding for IS is Education and General, which is the allocation of state dollars. Technology Resource Fee funding is the next largest resource, as several IS functions, such as student computer labs, the enhanced classrooms and student multimedia services are totally funded from this student fee.

Several components of Information Services are service centers, where operations are on a "fee for service" basis. Telecommunications and the Community Network are two large service centers within Information Services. A third large service center is the Fifth Site Support, which provides enterprise services to the Fifth Site customers mentioned earlier. Other IS units charge fees for various services that are provided to the campus, but the revenue stream is not the core resource for the operation.

Grants and contracts have not been significant in the history of IS, but there is a move to expand this as a revenue source, and a way to enhance some of our operations.

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As of July 1, 2007, we have moved the Open Source Lab (OSL) costs to “soft” money that will consist of fees for service, sponsorships and donations. The Open Source Lab has a focus that extends beyond the OSU campus, and as such, large contributions or investments from the corporate world are key to the sustainability of the OSL.

As can be seen, the complexity of the Information Services array of services and functions creates an organizational and operational framework that requires an equally complex funding matrix.

About this ReportBecause Information Services is not an academic unit, our report does not neatly fit into the template provided. Rather than try to fit a “square peg into a round hole,” we have endeavored to compile an annual report that is reflective of the work we actually do in support of the university’s mission, while still capturing the flavor and intent of what the Provost requested. It is our intent to represent the value our collective work brings to the university, rather than simply a list of accomplishments from five very different units.

Programmatic Achievements

Initiatives in Support of Student Engagement and Success

Blackboard Improvements

SituationIn the 2005-2006 annual report we identified the stress that increased usage and flat funding had placed upon the Blackboard system. In this academic year we have used an increase in funding to make substantial improvements.

ActionHardware improvements:

Replaced the NFS server (file server) Replaced storage disk arrays with SAN storage Replaced the database server with a newer, faster server Replaced an older application server Added RAM to the remaining application servers Added an additional “shelf” of disk storage (Thanks to funding from

Ecampus.)

Software improvements: Upgraded from Blackboard 6.2 to Blackboard 7.1 Upgraded the operating system to Solaris 10

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Upgraded to Java 1.5 Upgraded to Oracle 9.2

Personnel and support improvements: Added one additional Blackboard system administrator

ImpactAs of spring 2007, 93% of all students are enrolled in at least one active Blackboard site. This is an increase of 6% from last year. Instructors have activated 4620 class sites for fall 2006 through spring 2007. The new hardware and software have improved the performance and reliability of Blackboard. There has not been an unplanned loss of service with the Blackboard system since the improvements were implemented.

ATLAS – Articulated Transfer Linked Audit System

SituationThe Oregon University System sponsored ATLAS system will provide students and academic advisors real-time information on how and where completed college sources transfer between post-secondary institutions. ATLAS supports more effective academic advising by eliminating or reducing the need to review and manually determine how each course taken at multiple institutions might apply toward a degree at another institution. This web-based system allows students to plan future courses, increasing efficiency and reducing their time to a degree.

ActionATLAS builds upon existing transfer articulation programs at the OUS campuses and runs the proven Course Articulation System (CAS) software. Enterprise Computing Services worked closely with both the Oregon State University ATLAS team and the Oregon University System ATLAS project manager to implement ATLAS at OSU and system-wide.

The CAS software is hosted and maintained at Oregon State for OSU, EOU, OIT, SOU, and WOU. CAS was developed to interface with the DARS degree audit system used by UO and PSU. The Enterprise Computing Service team developed the software to interface Banner transfer articulation, used by the other OUS institutions, to CAS.

ImpactATLAS will be available to OUS institutions over the summer. This tool will be of benefit to students system-wide and to any student thinking of transferring to an OUS institution.

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Presentation Capture Systems

SituationMedia Services supports computer and audio/video technology in all 128 general-purpose classrooms and over 35 departmental rooms. With all classrooms fully enhanced, faculty are seeking ways to capture classroom lectures for use by students outside regular classroom hours. The recorded lectures are used for review and to create opportunities for additional in-class discussions.

ActionIn 2006-07 Media Services assessed four presentation capture systems. This year an additional 10 to 15 large classrooms will be installed with presentation capture software. ImpactPresentation capture software allows faculty to digitally record their voice and classroom presentations (PowerPoint, document camera, and video) and upload the lectures to the web or into a BlackBoard course. Faculty pre-record lectures in order to free-up classroom time for small group work or other interactive sessions. The captured lectures can be used for student review or for e-learning applications. Presentation capture software replaces the more costly process of videotaping lectures and encoding for web-based distribution.

SCALE (Supporting Courses at Large Enrollment)

SituationThis year Technology Across the Curriculum (TAC) identified 68 faculty who teach large enrollment (300+) courses. TAC discovered that faculty members teaching large enrollment courses face similar issues and concerns. 

ActionAfter consulting with faculty, TAC created a forum during Spring Term 2007 where faculty can share their experiences, issues, and approaches with regard to large sections.  ImpactObjectives for the SCALE forum include:

1. Providing a forum where experiences, issues, and approaches may be shared among instructors.

2. Identifying common and critical issues of large-enrollment courses.3. Enjoying a social network for faculty facing similar challenges.4. Hosting guest speakers, showcasing methods and demonstrating

technologies. 

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Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

SituationSexual harassment is an ongoing problem on college campuses. The OSU Office of Affirmative Action enlisted Media Services to create an online prevention training resources for students and faculty/staff. ActionMedia Services created a multimedia training tool blending video clips and written analysis and recommendations.

ImpactThe Sexual Harassment Prevention Training site helps students recognize, prevent and respond to issues of sexual harassment. The video clips help students understand the different situations they might encounter.  Media Services worked with Affirmative Action and Ecampus to create a BlackBoard version of the content for mandated faculty and staff training.

Faculty Growing Educational Mastery (GEMS)

SituationIn working with faculty, Technology Across the Curriculum staff realized faculty have difficulty finding time to attend workshops and are often looking for quick reviews or suggestions on how to solve instructional technology and BlackBoard problems

ActionTAC staff created a series of short online tutorials that walk participants through use of equipment or BlackBoard processes.

ImpactTAC has a growing number of quick, online reference tutorials that address a wide array of instructional technology tasks. This model is being replicated across Media Services to provide on-demand learning opportunities.

Student Media Services (SMS) Expansion of Equipment Checkout

SituationMultiple academic departments own and checkout equipment for students to complete assignments or conduct research. In many cases, departments are unable to provide adequate access to equipment or properly maintain the equipment. Action

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SMS created infrastructure for staffing checkout counters, maintaining equipment and training students on the use of media and research equipment. SMS also worked closely with the Valley Library to create space on the main floor of the library for improved access and longer office hours.

ImpactWith an effective equipment checkout system in place, a growing number of departments are moving their media and research equipment to SMS for student checkout. This provides improved student access to properly maintained equipment for academic and research activities

Open Source Lab Mentoring Program

Situation OSU computer science students build a firm foundation through academic learning. Seniors integrate their classroom experience and receive academic credit for completing a year-long project, during which they create a final software product from start-to-finish. For this approach to work effectively, students must select active software projects that have knowledgeable mentors available to help develop a comprehensive engineering project plan and provide wise guidance through periods of difficulty.  Quality of both projects and mentors has a direct impact on maximizing the students’ learning potential throughout the project.

Action In addition to mentoring students within the lab, the Open Source Lab (OSL) has expanded our student mentoring program this year to include four Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) students working on year-long senior projects.  Students work on real-world open source projects and receive guidance as they experience what happens when things don’t progress as expected. They learn to develop project plans, write code, test, and deploy software to the standards of a professional software developer.  OSL mentoring is designed to teach what it means to be a professional, including accountability for decisions, doing whatever it takes to get the job done, working within a team, and dealing with unpredictable circumstances.  This experience provides opportunity to earn the professional competence they will need when entering the workforce, as well as specific knowledge of open source software application development.

Impact The OSL mentoring program has proven highly effective, as students emerge from their lab experience ready to function as professionals and the resulting software they worked to develop is actively used in production at OSU, as well as

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within other universities, institutions, and organizations outside the University. The mentoring program demonstrates how greatly students benefit through the partnership between EECS academics and the OSL.  Next year, the OSL will continue to participate by mentoring a new group of EECS seniors, and plans to continue to expand this teaching/mentoring program to partner more closely with the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and the College of Business.

Grant and Research Collaboration with Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS)

Situation The OSU School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science actively and regularly applies for research grants, the awarding of which is becoming increasingly competitive.  To improve their chances of receiving these grant awards, EECS is partnering with the Open Source Lab on grant applications. This collaboration lends greater credibility to the applications and provides for shared resources should the grant be awarded.  Furthermore, EECS graduate students currently research a variety of areas, including open source software team group dynamics and how the use of software tools impacts the resulting software.  To achieve meaningful results, graduate students need to study live software teams functioning within their daily work routines on a variety of software projects.

Action The OSL is collaborating with EECS on both existing graduate students’ research projects, as well as new grant opportunities.  The OSL provides letters of support for grant applications written by EECS. If or when the grants are awarded, the OSL will collaborate with EECS to accomplish research by providing student-programmer resources, open source knowledge and expertise, and potential project hosting. For existing research, the OSL has provided EECS graduate students access to interview and observe OSL student-programmers performing their daily activities.  The OSL provides a valuable environment with several student-programmers working closely and effectively on projects, which serves as the ideal circumstance the graduate students need to observe for their studies.

Impact EECS has applied for a number of grants with letters of support from the OSL. Since grant applications have become increasingly competitive, it may take time before the results of this collaborative effort can be accurately measured for evaluation.  However, once grants are approved, they will provide first-rate educational opportunities for EECS and OSL students as they work together to accomplish research projects.  Results of the OSL’s collaboration with EECS on current research projects are far easier to measure.  The OSL provides EECS graduate students direct access to live software teams performing daily work.

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Graduate students accomplish research goals through first-hand observations and interviews with OSL students.  This provides EECS graduates with quality data they are using to develop results of their research projects.

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project

Situation One Laptop Per Child is a powerful learning tool created expressly for the world's poorest children living in its most remote environments. The “XO” laptop was designed collaboratively by experts from both academia and industry, bringing talent and decades of collective field experience in every aspect of this non-profit humanitarian project. The result is a flexible, low-cost, power-efficient, responsive, and durable machine with which nations of the emerging world can transform the content and quality of their children's learning potential.  However, without educational software installed this machine is an inadequate learning tool, and hundreds of software applications need to be written or modified to work effectively on the XO laptop.  The OSL’s student programmers are currently in the process of creating and modifying open source software applications for the XO laptop, so the entire potential as a revolutionary learning tool can be fully realized.

Action OSL students have made significant contributions to the word processor and writing systems throughout the laptop.  In addition, OSL students have written a high-quality, easy to use media player for the XO laptop called “Watch and Listen”.  This media player plays audio and video and will allow children to view educational content, such as Sesame Street, encoded in a variety of languages. Our next project for the laptop is to create a simple media encoder which will allow children to create and share their own audio and video content, so they can tell each other their own stories.

Impact OSL students have made significant contributions to the educational software supplied with the XO laptop, including the word processor, writing systems and an audio/video player that will be available to the children using the laptop.  Other major contributions include improving the visual consistency in Sugar, the graphical environment, as well as updating the application packaging format. Last, but certainly not least, the efforts of our student programmers were noticed by RealNetworks, Inc., a reputable leader in internet media delivery. Because RealNetworks was impressed by the students’ results, they provided a $500,000 grant to the OSL through the OSU Foundation, to continue funding for students’ efforts to further develop software for the XO laptop.  This project not only makes a difference to children in developing countries, but also has provided an outstanding learning opportunity and training ground for our student

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programmers, complementing their classroom learning.  Students have learned to overcome a number of technical challenges, worked to meet tight deadlines, learned to work cooperatively with teams of remote programmers, have been accountable for professional-quality software, and much more.  This has made a tangible difference in developing their skill levels, and they will be able to bring this experience to bear as they later enter the workforce as software engineers.Oregon Virtual School District Project – Online Learning for Oregon Students

SituationThe Open Source Lab (OSL) has been building a connection to state government through the Oregon Virtual School District (OVSD). The OVSD is a program led by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) that, in cooperation with a consortium of virtual learning providers throughout the state, seeks to increase access and availability of online learning and teaching resources to the people of Oregon. A mandate and funding for OVSD was created by the 2005 Oregon legislature (Senate Bill 1071). ODE requested both hosting for the project infrastructure as well as custom software development.

ActionThe OSU OSL provides hosting infrastructure and development resources for the OVSD student portal and learning management system portions of the project. In addition to building connections to state government, parts of the project are being jointly produced with the Business Solutions Group (BSG) in the College of Business for the OVSD educator portal.

ImpactWith the increased contact with ODE and the OSU BSG, we established the relationship and have laid the groundwork for future projects, both joint projects with BSG as well as other state government projects. These projects increase the visibility of OSU and the OSL in the government sector and enhance our reputation as a leader in open source information technology.

Campus Wireless Network

SituationPrior to this year, OSU had been actively engaged in deploying wireless infrastructure on parallel tracks with wireless networks in engineering, business, select buildings based on targeted TRF proposals, and some administrative areas either covered by Network Services or paid for by the affected departments. Creating a comprehensive campus-wide wireless network has always been our goal; however, slight differences in approach and policy compromised a uniform student experience. Network Services strove to eliminate barriers to learning, engagement, and success which had been inherent in the network.

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ActionThis year Network Services completed wireless installations which brought campus coverage to 86% of academic areas. All wireless networks were brought under Network Services’ management, which created a seamless wireless network campus-wide. Network Services also worked with the City of Corvallis, Benton County, and Corvallis School District to form a consortium that released a request for proposals to cover the entire city of Corvallis with wireless networking that would allow OSU students to connect anywhere within the city limits.

ImpactWireless networking has now become pervasive and completely integrated into the student experience. We regularly see 2,000 simultaneous users on the campus network during peak times; and students rely on this network to access online coursework, engage with each other and faculty electronically, and to conduct their daily business. It is difficult to overstate the positive impact on the student experience, as this current generation of students now simply expect this high level of connectivity, and the technology has transformed their daily lives. For instance, one look around the library at any time of day or night convinces the causal observer of the critical importance of mobile computing to today’s OSU student.

Community Network

Situation The Community Network (CN) provides desktop support service for more than 60% of OSU Colleges and departments, located both on and off campus. Our goal is to continue to add customers and provide services to OSU units as appropriate.

Action This past year we implemented our Service Improvement Initiative, created to provide an enhanced support experience for CN customers while enabling us to keep costs down and continue to become more efficient.

Impact This enabled us to grow the Community Network and add two major departments and 50+ customers. It resulted in new efficiencies and less duplication of processes. CN now serves more than 2200 customers and 3000+ workstations.

OSU Helpdesk Software (Coho)

Situation

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Established in 2003 by OSU's Technology Support Services, the OSU Helpdesk project (Coho) has worked to create a modular, open-source, web-based helpdesk system that would meet a variety of users' needs. The current implementation of Coho includes call-tracking, knowledgebase, calendar and inventory modules based on various open source products, including Bugzilla, the bug tracking solution developed by Mozilla.org. Coho is now widely used within the University and has been successfully deployed by other universities and organizations.

Action In 2006, we were approached by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) in New York, asking us to consider customizing Coho to meet their needs. IAVI, a non-profit organization heavily involved in the search for a cure for AIDS, focuses on clinical vaccine trials in humans, particularly in developing nations in Africa and Asia. They were seeking a helpdesk tool to help them meet the IT support needs of 3 clinical trial sites in Nairobi, Kenya, including the Kenya AIDS Virus Initiative (KAVI); and potentially for all 14 of their sites in Africa and India.

We were able to successfully configure a server with installation of customized Coho modules with the IAVI/KAVI modifications for implementation in Kenya.

Impact We were very excited by this opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way to a project of such global significance. This collaboration with IAVI provides OSU a unique opportunity for the involved students and staff to develop the skills and experience necessary to successfully collaborate with external organizations and people from different cultures, on behalf of the University. Students have also been major beneficiaries of this software as customers, users, and developers.

The cost savings generated by using open source software can be substantial. Server licenses and commercial helpdesk costs can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. OSU has been able to leverage open source software to successfully move forward an important project that would otherwise have been cost prohibitive.

OSU Computer Help Desk (OCH)

SituationThe OSU Computer Helpdesk (OCH) is constantly looking for cost effective ways to expand and improve the level of service provided to the students, staff and faculty.

Action

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This past year OCH continued several activities intended to expand and improve the services provided, and communicated with the campus community about those services. These include: Advertising campaign including table tents, in MU Commons and the library,

and a booth at Beaver Community Fair Presentations at START sessions Continued growth of laptop support service Additional knowledgebase articles Impact The primary benefit of the OSU Computer Helpdesk is students’ ability to access online services. Approximately 60% of student calls received by the OCH were related to ONID accounts, Blackboard, or Email issues, all of which directly affect the students’ ability to learn and communicate with their instructors and peers. Increased awareness of OCH services among the students, improved procedures and practices, and expansion of OCH services to meet the growth of students’ technological needs will help ensure that all OSU students are able to access the full spectrum of educational opportunities the University offers.

Initiatives in Support of Increasing Research and Outreach

Oregon Channel Programming

SituationOregon Public Broadcasting, Legislative Media and the Oregon Public Affairs Network partnered in 2007 to trial the “Oregon Channel,” a statewide public affairs and state government channel. Media Services, as host to OPAN and the Oregon Wireless Instructional Network, provides the Oregon Channel non-government public affairs programming. ActionMedia Services taped over 30 OSU lectures for distribution over the Oregon Channel and collected programs from other OUS and private universities, the World Affairs Council, city clubs and other public affairs entities to provide a six hour block of programming to the Oregon Channel every Sunday evening and two hours of programming to OPAN every weekday evening.

ImpactOSU lecture series and events reach a statewide audience and OSU will remain involved with the Oregon Channel as it moves from trial phase to full operations.

Back Page

SituationPortland literary reviewer, Jody Seay introduced the idea of a 30-minute interview program with Oregon authors to air on OPAN and the Oregon Channel.

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ActionMedia Services produced a series of 18 interviews with Jody Seay and Oregon authors.

ImpactOregonians were introduced to nationally acclaimed Oregon authors, including a review of their writings and insights into the art and work of writing.Streaming Media Outreach

SituationMedia Services worked collaboratively with News and Communication and Terra Magazine to add value by attaching short video clips to news stories and online Terra articles.

ActionMedia Services videotaped, encoded and posted short video clips on the web to accompany news stories and Terra articles.

ImpactThe video clips enhance the likelihood the news stories will be picked up by media outlets and the add value to online Terra articles.

Austin Family Business Videos

SituationAustin Family Business Program selects and honors outstanding family businesses in Oregon every year.

ActionMedia Services worked with AFBP and the selected family businesses to create short videos that highlight the families and the history and success of their businesses. ImpactThe collaborative effort creates video archives of successful family businesses and strengthens connections between Oregon family businesses and OSU.

Public Sector Communities Program

SituationAs part of OSU’s commitment to excellence in public service, the Open Source Lab’s Public Sector Communities Program provides information, leadership and resources for open source software initiatives across a wide spectrum of

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organizations. The adoption of open source software for all forms of governmental applications continues to expand rapidly, outpacing other industries is some segments. Building on the strength and popularity of the Government Open Source Conference (GOSCON) in 2005, a second annual conference was conducted and, in between, OSU complemented its reputation as a community pioneer in this segment of the open source community.

ActionIn October 2006, the second annual GOSON was held in Portland. Internationally renowned industry pioneers contributed their time and efforts to making the conference a success for all attendees of this unique conference. Conference content including presentations, videos and podcasts have extended the life and reach of the conference resulting in new relationships outside of the university’s domain.

ImpactThe event reached its goal of being self-sustaining, increasing the number and geographic diversity in attendance, and saw the addition of special interest communities such as the Transit Forum. Participation in development projects such as the Oregon Virtual School District Student Portal and the Open Health Information Project were initiated as a direct result of an increased reputation in this domain, providing additional venues to provide excellent public service. The public sector program continues to attract the interest of government and academic leaders seeking best practices in this filed.

Oregon Health Network

SituationThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order during Fall 2006, making nearly $200 million in Universal Service Funds available for statewide health care networks that connect rural health care providers to each other and to Internet2. As a charter Internet2 member and with our statewide extension mission, OSU appropriately and actively participated in the formation of the State of Oregon’s response to the request for proposals.

ActionIn collaboration with over 150 groups statewide, OSU took a leadership role in formulating a response to the FCC order requesting just over $20 million in federal funds to help build the Oregon Health Network. A copy of the final proposal can be accessed at the Telehealth Alliance of Oregon web site: http://www.ortelehealth.org

Impact

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The immediate impact of this effort convened the 150 separate groups to achieve a common goal. OSU cooperated and worked to foster an air of collaboration and partnership that will benefit the Oregon health care delivery infrastructure—regardless of the outcome of the award process. Network Services expects that through successful implementation and connection to Internet2, we can lower OSU’s continuing operational costs while simultaneously increasing collaborative opportunities with health care providers such as the Samaritan Health Group, with whom we are already partnering on Medical School practicum.

Initiatives In Support of Enhancing Diversity and Community

Implementation of the Merger of the Technology Access Program with Services for Students with Disabilities

SituationFollowing an external review of OSU departments that support students with disabilities, the recommendation was made to integrate TAP and SSD.

ActionMedia Services worked with SSD to plan and implement the merger of the two departments. This required a review of functions, staff and responsibilities to ensure the technical resources and services would continue in a new environment. ImpactA single point of accountability and support was created to meet the full spectrum of support required by students with disabilities.

Initiatives to Improve Administrative Efficiencies

Drupal

SituationAs the Web becomes the central tool for information dissemination and communication there is a need for an efficient way to update, change and edit websites and pages.

Action

Central Web Services customized and deployed an open source web authoring application that simplifies the creation and authoring of websites by departments without requiring expertise in HMTL or other web authoring programs.

Impact

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Once implemented, Drupal sites can be easily updated and maintained by individuals who are familiar with the content and purpose of the web pages.

Web Security

SituationThe open access nature of the Web creates many opportunities for intruders to disrupt and harm OSU sites and web activities.

ActionCentral Web Services reassigned staff and ramped up security measures to meet this growing threat.

ImpactCWS provides a secure web environment for OSU and has prevented any major disruption of the OSU web environment and web servers.

Videoconferencing for OSU job applicants

SituationVideoconferencing with job applicants reduces recruitment costs and improves the ability to share information about candidates more widely within departments.

ActionMedia Services upgraded videoconferencing rooms and services to accommodate flexible use of video conferencing as an outreach and interview tool.

ImpactThe use of video conferencing is seen as a successful way for OSU to communicate with job applicants, clients and staff across the state, country and world.

Core Network Improvements

SituationNetwork Services set a goal in the 2006-07 report to upgrade the core network in support of ever-increasing demands for bandwidth that drive a significant portion of our existing business service provisions to research, video instruction, and IT services. A goal was also set to upgrade our Internet2 connection to enable and encourage greater collaboration throughout the county and in the Pacific Northwest; including the PAC-10 schools for athletics, the Pacific Northwest National Labs, and others.

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ActionIn direct support of the aforementioned goals Network Services has successfully upgraded our core network to a 1Gb capable backbone to a 10Gb capable backbone, and have connected our two data centers on campus at 10Gb along with our entire core infrastructure. We are in discussions with College of Forestry and College of Engineering regarding connection upgrades to the core network to 10Gb, and we have collaborated with colleagues at the University of Oregon to upgrade the Oregon GigaPOP (our connection to Internet2) to a 10Gb capable device.ImpactThese upgrades both set the stage for radically increased capabilities, both on campus and off, and deliver much needed relief for bandwidth congestion previously experienced. Network Services no longer sees on campus delays attributable to the core network, and were able in the case of OSU Athletics to successfully employ our Internet2 connection in a new way, previously considered impossible. The PAC-10 conference announced last year that they would use the Internet2 for transferring game day football videos, which all universities are contractually obligated to provide to opponents, rather than use the previous method of shipment via Federal Express. Not only was OSU one of the first sites to enable this transfer of video, we consistently outperformed most of the rest of the PAC-10 schools in transfer rates to the hub site at UCLA. What once involved a trip to the airport and a long night of waiting to receive the video data, now takes only a few minutes without ever needing to leave the sports facility.

Technology Support Services Server Support Group

Situation The role of the Server Systems Group (SSG) is to provide and support campus-wide services as well as file and client management services for Community Network (CN) technicians and customers. In this roll SSG provides the following services to the OSU campus community: Antivirus services, Software Distribution, Terminal Services, Coho Helpdesk, Windows Software Update Service (WSUS), Server Management Service, System Management Server (SMS), and Vista Key Management Service. For Community Network customers and support personnel SSG provides: Server Management Services, File space hosting, Active Directory Domain management, and consultation and engineering services.

Action This past year we added several server management contracts for Colleges and departments. We started a project to improve the reliability of file space hosting and to reduce the number of servers dedicated to this function.

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We updated and improved our Antivirus web site which has provided the campus community with timely information about software issues and access to the most current antivirus client. We set up the Symantec Antivirus Report application and provided access to the technical community.

We began partnering with Crop and Soil and the College of Engineering in the use of TSS’ Systems Management Server install. We set up and deployed the Vista Key Management Service for the University.

Impact Managing servers for Colleges and departments ensures that these systems are housed in a proper data center, and patched and monitored for security and proper operation. The upgrade to the file hosting service enables us to improve system reliability and reduce the number of servers.

In dealing with vulnerabilities and threats on the network, timely and up-to-date virus information is important. The antivirus site revision allowed us to broadly publish the most current information and segregate content for the target audience. The Symantec Antivirus Report application gives departmental computing administrators (DCAs) and other interested parties the ability to keep abreast on the status of their computing environment.

The Systems Management Server (SMS) enables us to provide a reliable, secure, and structured system that allows a department's flexibility and security in one package. Partnering with other units on campus allows us to maximize the use of this system without spending time and money on duplicate systems.

Professional Development Project

Situation In late 2005 the need for a centralized course registration system for on-campus professional development providers and consumers was identified. Technology Support Services (TSS) drafted a plan and received buy-in from the two largest providers of professional development training on the main OSU campus, Human Resources (HR) and Enterprise Computing.

The goal of this project was two fold. 1: To create an easy-to-use web site for anyone seeking professional development opportunities to find what they desire. 2: To create an easy-to-use website for instructors to advertise and manage enrollment of their classes.

Action With guidance from HR and Enterprise Computing, TSS worked with Central Web Services (CWS) to design and program a web site. This site now provides

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a consolidated location for professional development opportunities at Oregon State University. It includes on-line registration for OSU employees interested in personal and professional growth offered from various units on campus.

Impact The OSU Professional Development web site (http://oregonstate.edu/training) went live in April 2006. Since then it has received buy-in and or strong interest from 12 major providers of training on campus. There are 100 unique courses in the system, with over 325 unique sessions of those courses. Over 825 OSU employees have logged into the site, with over 1200 people having signed up for and attended a course. Completed the Office of Human Resources OSCAR tasks

SituationThe OSCAR tasks have improved the accuracy of forms received by Human Resources and Business Affairs. However, not all the defined HR workflows had been developed into OSCAR tasks.

ActionWe set the goal of completing all of the HR defined tasks by June 30, 2007 and partnered with the Business Solutions Group to augment our programming resources to complete the job.

ImpactThe HR defined tasks are all complete.

Added non-ONID functionality to the LDAP directory

SituationThe ONID LDAP directory is used by many IT entities on campus to provide authentication and Single-Sign-On for their IT services. However, some departments need to provide IT services to people who don’t have a formal relationship with Oregon State. We don’t want to extend the full suite of ONID services to the non-OSU users, but we do want to leverage the ONID LDAP directory. Extension Office personnel, who may be county employees, who need to sign up for a professional development class offered at OSU are a good example. An ONID login is required to use the professional development class registration service.

ActionWe created a web-based program that will allow the IT entities who offer services to create non-ONID entries in the ONID LDAP directory for their users.

Impact

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The system is in place and in use. We expect the use of LDAP authentication to grow over time. This allows us to separate the other ONID services from authentication.

Accomplishments in Support of the OSU Capital Campaign

Information Services, as a "service" unit is now envisioned as part of the Capital Campaign. It was acknowledged that we had major IT needs for enterprise systems and infrastructure, but also recognized that the likelihood of finding donor opportunities in this area was probably not a reality. We agreed to work closely with the Provost on our needs for critical improvements outside of the Campaign.

We continue to have strong interest from the "open source community" in supporting our Open Source Lab (OSL). Subsequently we have attracted major gifts of money and in-kind support which must continue as we have moved the OSL to 100% ‘soft money.’ New gifts in support of the OSL will be seen as in addition to the goals of the Capital Campaign and simply enhance the overall University efforts to reach our final goals.

The major gifts to the OSL included $500,000 from Real Networks in support of work our development team is doing for the One Laptop Per Child project. Another notable gift was from Google for $300,000 in recognition of the overall work being done in the Open Source Lab.

We continue to get monetary support form individuals all over the world who donate to the OSL.

Media Services secured an $89,000 donation of digital video production equipment from Sharp Laboratories based in Vancouver Washington. The surplused Sharp equipment will provide digital video production upgrades for the Media Services studio, KBVR-TV and be used in the new Athletics remote production truck.

Assessment of 2006-2007 Priorities

Budgetary constraints and staff reductions limited completion of a number of key priorities from last year, However, progress was made in all priorities with several carried over into next year.

All of the accomplishments documented in this report were listed as goals for 2006-07, which are included in the Information Services strategic plan in support of OSU’s mission and strategic plan.

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Major Barriers

IS overall has historically been funded at less than our higher education peers. Over the last few years we had to find a way to re-invest in our IT infrastructure and staff by curtailing many services that are important to the university, but are not mission critical information technology (IT) services.

As a result we are providing fewer services and focusing on those that are most core to the University. As the colleges have such varied needs and IT capabilities, it has been challenging to bring campus together on what are the most important priorities. The areas below are the ones currently needing the most attention and continue to stress our ability to provide services.

Aging technical infrastructure continues to worsen, making it more difficult to provide needed services and taking staff time that could be spend on more strategic enterprise priorities.

Growing demand for increased security which is taking resources away from other needed projects/services.

Disaster Recovery/Business Continuation. Even with adequate planning we have no funding in support of implementation.

Lack of dedicated IT planning/policy resources for OSU/OUS. Our part-time dedicated planner left for another opportunity leaving us with no one dedicated to this function, even part-time.

Having most salaries below the market place, leading to increased turnover as the IT market heats up.

Lack of appropriate and adjacent office space to do the work. Difficulty of creating a funding model that meets growing enterprise needs

in Central Web Services. Difficulty of working across departments to gain shared efficiencies due to

funding and control issues. Duplication of services that inhibit adequate support and planning to meet

campus needs Network Services did experience some difficulties accomplishing campus

departments’ migration behind the firewall—primarily due to the time commitment required for their respective staff members to perform the necessary reconfigurations of servers and services. Understandably, we also find our staff short-handed and unable to assume many of the activities requested by our colleagues campus-wide; such as, scanning all wireless devices for viruses and patch levels before allowing access to our network and automated generation of conference IDs for the wireless network.

Proposed Priorities for 2007-2008

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Initiatives in Support of Student Engagement and Success

Deployment of city-wide wireless internet access, at least within one mile radius of campus.

Faculty involvement in Classroom Support – Media Services will continue to work through Technology Across the Curriculum (TAC) and faculty committees to assess classroom technologies and incorporate feedback into ongoing investments in classroom technologies.

Expand use of presentation capture systems and document cameras in the classrooms to improve the ability to present and disseminate information, ideas, and demonstrations

Expand on the success of SCALE and GEM training modules to assist faculty in the effective and creative use of technology to advance teaching and learning at OSU.

Expand A/V support – work with key campus centers and departments to provide a central pool of professional audio/ video staff and equipment to better meet the growing A/V needs on campus.

Pilot project to establish a walk-up service desk in the Library Information Commons. The walk-up service desk would provide quick, on-the-spot assistance for all issues currently supported by OCH. Time consuming, complex issues such as in-depth troubleshooting and virus removal would be escalated to the current OCH call center.

Continue to refine the Service Improvement Initiative, and grow the Community Network.

Implement the Content Management module of Blackboard.The Content Management module gives users the ability to share content with other users, their classes, their organizations and guests.  In addition, it allows students to easily set-up an ePortfolio and to choose who can view it.

Student Media Services (SMS) – Expansion and enhancement. Continue our open source leadership in such projects as One Laptop per

Child; Apache; Drupal; Coho; Open Office; and more. Work with OPB, OUS and Legislative Media on viable model for the

Oregon Channel.

Initiatives in Support Of Increasing Research and Outreach

Upgrade Internet2 connection to 1gb. Increase statewide exposure to OSU lectures and events through work

with OPB and SOPTV as the Oregon Channel matures. Increase Central Web Services (CWS) support for research automation

and progress improvement. Complete the Banner database consolidation for Western Oregon

University Upgrade the Banner system hardware for the 5th Site

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Initiatives In Support Of Enhancing Diversity and Community

Ongoing meetings Established all IS Celebration and Community Building Event

Initiatives to Improve Administrative Efficiencies

Automated conference ID generation; and, decommissioning of visa payment gateway.

Expansion of web tools for on-line credit card processing. Dedicate 5 FTE to facilitate 80% of total OSU departments’ move behind

firewall. Develop comprehensive Information Security Program in-line with OUS

policy. Banner hardware replacement. Banner 8.0 implementation. Implement university-wide portal and single sign-on consolidation. Rewrite Coho Helpdesk software. Increase web intrusion efforts. Replace aging building wiring. Expand telecommunications capability to west campus. Increase Banner development – support to include such projects as:

Accounts payable; cashiering; scholarship data base. Web security – make ongoing web security and hosting a priority. Seek

ways to support and maintain this critical infrastructure. Prioritize and expand enterprise web development – work with campus

advisors to prioritize, design and meet key enterprise web needs. Implementation of OUS security policy Implement comprehensive Information Security Program in-line with OUS

policy.

Summary

Information Services continually seeks out new and innovative technologies and best practices in support of the mission of the University. As an organization, perhaps the most important thing we have accomplished is the continual improvement of the services we provide. We are proud of the fact that, despite having very limited resources, we continue to grow and contribute to the University community and greater IT community at large.

OSU Information Services continues to be recognized as a national leader in IT innovation. The fact that we are recognized at this level is directly related to the

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employees who work for us and the job they do everyday. Many of our IS employees are recognized as leaders in their fields and take great pride in advancing the university’s mission. We are excited about the future and the collaboration with OSU colleagues in support of the long-range goals of the University.

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