UNC President Molly Broad announced at the March 13, 1998 meeting of the UNC Board of Governors that the University of North Carolina was launching an effort to develop a system-wide Information Technology Strategy (ITS). This strategic planning effort, led by the UNC chancellors, will enable UNC's 16 constituent institutions to address the critical role of information technology (IT) in advancing their missions and goals as we enter the 21st century.

The planning effort will initially create a broad University-wide vision of the role of information technology in the future success of UNC institutions. This vision will support the University's overall mission and goals, as well as each campus in the development of its own program-driven IT vision and plans.

The ITS planning project will then work with campus groups to define a set of common IT challenges facing all UNC campuses and to develop initiatives to address these needs. The ultimate implementation of these initiatives will take place at the campus level, where institutional missions and needs will drive the details of each project.

Key to the success of any UNC IT vision is the need for pervasive and robust campus networks. Some UNC institutions currently offer examples of advanced computer networks. However, many campuses and some departments or colleges within the "role model" institutions, there are networks whose infrastructure falls far below even a "minimum level" of capability. As part of the ITS effort, UNC will work with the North Carolina General Assembly and the campuses to obtain the funding necessary to raise all of our campus networks to a level where they can compete effectively in the 21st century. This effort will also consider how to leverage the past investments of those campuses already determined to be at or near the minimum level.

Phase I of the ITS initiative (March - May 1998) will focus on:

• Developing a draft vision statement for UNC that articulates why information technology is critical to the academic mission and future competitiveness of the University. The drafting of this vision statement will be directed by a task force of chancellors and other institutional representatives, who will consult with a variety of groups (e.g., faculty, students, external constituencies) to develop and refine the vision.

• Defining minimum network-technology specifications for all campus facilities and determining the cost to move each campuses to the new specifications. The baseline network infrastructure will be required at all UNC campuses to support the IT vision and the eventual set of initiatives that UNC will undertake. The outcomes of this assessment will be used to develop a capital request to the General Assembly in the upcoming legislative short session beginning May 11, 1998.

Phase II of the ITS initiative will focus on the identification and prioritization of information technology initiatives that address the common needs of UNC campuses. This will require widespread involvement of faculty, students, staff and others to propose and evaluate potential IT investments in support of teaching and learning, research, public service, and administration. It will also entail an assessment of the non-network IT infrastructure (hardware, software, training and technical support) needed to implement the key ITS initiatives.

(Portions taken from "Backgrounder, University of North Carolina Information Technology Strategy Project," March 24, 1998)

Last Modified 5/21/98