The Technology Newsletter for the University of
Hawaii Community
The Technology Newsletter for the University of Hawaii Community
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The Technology Newsletter for the University of Hawaii Community |
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External reviewers, accreditation agencies, and internal committees have discussed and debated the optimum organization for information technology since the 1970s. One of the major contributions of the UH Strategic Plan for Information Technology was the development of broad-based consensus on the need for a major reorganization of this area. With the formal adoption of this plan in 1992 the vision of a new integrated information technology service unit was shared among faculty, directors of the existing information technology service units, university executives, and the Board of Regents.
In October 1993 President and Chancellor Mortimer began a reorganization of the University of Hawai`i administration at the executive level. As part of that process responsibility for information technology was assigned to the new Office of the Senior Vice President of Administration. The March 1994 organization of that Office included the creation of a single information technology organization consisting of the Office of Information Technology, Computing Center, and Management Systems Office. In October 1994 the Telecom Office was integrated into the newly reorganized unit, now called Information Technology Services.
The new structure of Information Technology Services (ITS) is depicted below. Some of the ITS groups are quite similar to groups that existed previously, and others are quite new and are made up of staff from multiple offices. Most striking is the flatness of the organization, in keeping with modern thinking in management. We expect that this will help us operate more efficiently and respond to the changing environment in which we work more easily and rapidly than in a highly hierarchical setting. Cross-functional teams are beginning to work in several areas, such as electronic mail and desktop network access software.
This is the first major reorganization of information technology support at the University in over 20 years. The realignment of the four current offices into nine functional groups will allow each group to focus more closely on its functions and provide better service to users. Many significant areas of duplication and fragmentation will be eliminated, thereby improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness of planning and operations. The challenge to us in this organization is for our nine groups to work together to ensure that there is effective coordination, even at the operational level, and that no necessary tasks or functions fall through the cracks.
No organizational structure is perfect, and it is certain that our next reorganization will follow sooner than the last one as we continue to strive to find ways to meet the explosive and evolving needs for information technology support throughout the University system.
David Lassner, 956-5023
david@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu
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The HERN project is an early outcome of the Hawai`i Education Networking Consortium, a collaborative relationship established in December 1993 among the University of Hawai`i, Department of Education (DOE) and East-West Center to facilitate cooperative activities in the development and support of educational telecommunications.
HERN will build on the State's ongoing activities to link schools within the DOE and all campuses in the UH system to each other and with the Internet. The new NSF funds will not build the physical network, but will help address many of the other infrastructure and application issues that become more critical given the availability of a more sophisticated and ubiquitous work. HERN will consider appropriate management strategies, institutional structures, training systems, support systems and end-user interface requirements needed to provide equitable access to a statewide educational community. HERN will also experiment with the use of network technology to facilitate and support educational reform. In particular, the project will develop models for collaborative curriculum development and delivery across multiple levels of education, from K-12 through community college.
Funds will be available to provide a limited number of Internet servers within the DOE and University, to provide a core project staff which will train and assist existing UH and DOE employees in learning to manage and support these systems, and to develop and conduct workshops for teachers and faculty on the use of networking technologies for educational transformation. A goal of the HERN project is to work itself out of existence; at the end of the three-year grant period it is expected that the HERN training and support functions will have been institutionalized by the University and DOE, both cooperatively and individually as is found to be appropriate.
Dr. Philip J. Bossert, former President of Hawai`i Loa College and former DOE Assistant Superintendent of Education for the Office of Information and Telecommunications Services, is the HERN Project Director. The Principal Investigator is David Lassner, UH Director of Information Technology Services, and co-Investigators are Sharen Arakaki of the DOE Office of Information and Telecommunications Services and Jodi-Ann Chu of UH Information Technology Services. John Morton, Provost of Kapi`olani Community College, will provide leadership for HERN activities within the UH Community College System, and the project will continue to be guided by the Hawai`i Educational Networking Consortium.
David Lassner
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The Distance Education and Instructional Technology group, in addition to
coordinating the distance education activities of the University, provides
coordination for downlinking of satellite programs for both instructional
and staff development uses. What is a satellite teleconference? In its most
simplistic form, it is a presentation, panel discussion, or meeting which
is broadcast via satellite to other geographic locations. Therefore, while
sitting in a classroom here in Hawai`i, you can participate in an event
originating at some other location. You will typically see and hear what
is being presented, and if you have questions or comments you can use a
telephone to call into the teleconference, where your question and the
subsequent answer will then be heard by all the participants.
Satellite teleconferencing can be an economical way of providing staff development. Last year, librarians from across the state participated in a live satellite teleconference sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), "Achieving Breakthrough Services in Libraries." After the conference, Paula Mochida, Coordinator of Public Services for UHM library and the Hawai`i coordinator for this conference, commented that the librarians were pleased with the opportunity to participate in an international conference since they could not have flown to Boston, the conference site. In addition, they found this to be an excellent staff development experience and that they hoped to participate in future programs offered by ALA.
If you receive a brochure for a satellite teleconference and would like to participate locally, there are three steps you must follow:
Hae Okimoto, 956-3504
hae@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu
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The Help Desk is here to provide information to you to enable you to use your computer resources more effectively and efficiently. Documents can be obtained from the self-service document files and manuals are available for loan.
Student consultants will answer general questions on UNIX, PCs, Macs and the IBM mainframe. In depth or difficult questions will be referred to the appropriate ITS staff member. Assistance is also available over the phone or via electronic mail.
Archie
Veronica
WAIS
WWW search engines
In October of 1992, Telecom was designated as the central processing point
for Telecom Requests (TR) for all University of Hawai`i campuses. The purpose
of the TR is to provide users with the required voice and data equipment,
and voice and data services expeditiously within established guidelines and
procedures. The TR and related forms were recently updated and distributed
to the Department and Campus Telecom Coordinators.
In order to keep accurate system information, the Telecommunications
Management System (TMS) records, processes and updates information for long
distance billing programs, Campus Resident Long Distance accounts and
telephone equipment/software/directory records. TMS automatically generates
the billing documents in various cycles throughout each month for services
rendered. Therefore, it is crucial that users keep Telecom informed and
updated on any department or personnel changes.