To address these challenges, President Molly Broad initiated the Information Technology (IT) Strategy
project in March of 1998.
The planning process was led by a Steering Committee composed of the chancellors from nine of the constituent institutions.
Consultants from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP facilitated the process, prepared analyses of the issues, and wrote this report
for the University.
The IT Strategy project consisted of two phases of planning activity.
Phase 1, completed in September 1998 by Blackwell Consulting, had two objectives:
Develop a vision and goals to guide information technology’s role in the future success and competitiveness of the University
Define network connectivity specifications for all campus facilities and determine the cost of moving all of the campuses to these new specifications
Phase 2 has helped UNC to:
Identify the critical areas where IT can be used to advance the mission and goals of the University
Define strategies for UNC to meet the challenges in those areas
Create an action plan composed of initiatives to implement the strategies
Develop IT
Vision &
Goals
Define
Common IT
Challenges
Recommend
Strategies
Phase 2
November 1998 - August 1999November 1998 - August 1999
Phase 1
March - September 1998
Phase 1
March - September 1998
The resultant IT Strategy will enable UNC’s 16 constituent institutions to address the critical role of
information technology in advancing their missions and goals as we enter the 21st century.
These goals have served as a foundation for the planning activities and were used to help identify
the focus areas for this phase.
The Steering Committee defined five goals in Phase 1 to guide the development of the IT Strategy
in Phase 2:
Student Success:UNC students must become effective knowledge workers and lifelong learners who
use information technology to create, discover, represent and share knowledge.
Access and Outreach:UNC must use information technology and engage in vigorous outreach to link
North Carolina citizens, businesses and communities to the educational resources, programs and
intellectual capital they need to be successful.
Academic Excellence:UNC faculty and staff must be innovative users of information technology in
order to provide affordable, high-quality learning and teaching, support leading-edge research and
deliver effective and efficient administrative and student services.
Learning Relationships:UNC must enhance the learning experience by using information technology
to strengthen relationships between and among faculty and students.
Global Information Resources:Students, faculty, staff and the community at large must be able to
access, evaluate and exchange information across campuses and around the world.
During this phase of the project, more than 300 UNC personnel, students and external advisors
participated in the planning process, contributing ideas, information and knowledge to the
development of the final plan.
Prepared an environmental
scan of major challenges
facing UNC
Visited all 16 campuses to
identify IT needs and
challenges
Identified five focus areas for
the IT strategy
Conducted a current IT
utilization and support study
of UNC and 47 other
institutions
Identified exemplary
practices from other
systems
Worked with five task forces
to define the IT strategies
and identify projects for
UNC
Identified high priority
strategic initiatives
Estimated costs for the
recommended strategies
Developed an action plan
and investment projections
for an implementation
scenario over three years
Identify Challenges
and Focus Areas
Recommend
Strategies
Develop Action
Plan
Phase 2
November 1998 - August 1999
Using the goals as a starting point, the University undertook a participatory and collaborative IT
planning process in Phase 2 involving faculty, students, and staff from all 16 of the constituent
institutions and facilitated by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
