LOS ANGELES

MISSION COLLEGE

Information Technology Master Plan

October 9, 2003

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. I. Introduction

II. II. College Philosophy, Mission Statement & Goals

III. III. Strategic Technology Priorities

IV. IV. Technology Vision & Strategic Outcomes

V. V. Information Technology Strategic Goals, Objectives & Action Plan

A. A. Fostering Continued Quality Improvement in Teaching and Learning

B. B. Using Technology to Enhance Students Services

C. C. Promoting Effective and Efficient College Operations

D. D. Upgrading and Extending the College’s Technology Infrastructure

E. E. Assuring Comprehensive Electronic Communication Capability for all

College Constituents

VI. Implementation and Evaluation Plans

APPENDICES

Situational Analysis

A. Strengths & Weaknesses Assessment

I. Introduction

The pace of evolution, integration, and use of information technologies within modern organizations has accelerated dramatically within the past decade and is expected to continue unabated for the foreseeable future. This trend, while fostering significant enhancements, as well as significant changes to the content and style of most intellectual activities, has also introduced major challenges for many institutions. In particular, institutions of higher education face significant financial hurdles in continually upgrading and expanding information technology access, services, and support for their students, faculty and staff.

Los Angeles Mission College (LAMC) is pursuing an aggressive posture with regard to its use of technology in achieving its chosen future. The College seeks to incorporate appropriate technologies to transform its teaching and learning environment, to provide high quality services to its students and the community, and to extend its reach to new and diverse constituents.

To assist in furthering its mission, Los Angeles Mission College engaged in the development of a Master Plan for Information Technology during the spring semester of 2003. This planning effort was designed to identify strengths and weaknesses within the existing College technology infrastructure and to identify technology improvements and initiatives consistent with the needs, objectives and outcomes consistent with the College’s mission.

In order to achieve its mission the College has established the following strategic technology goals. Specifically, LAMC seeks to transform the college by:

· Fostering Continued Quality Improvement in Teaching and Learning

· Using Technology to Enhance Students Services

· Promoting Effective and Efficient College Operations

· Upgrading and Extending the College’s Technology Infrastructure

· Assuring Comprehensive Electronic Communication Capability for all College Constituents

The result of the strategic information technology master planning effort contained within this document is the establishment of a series of specific technology goals, objectives and action plans. The resultant impact of these goals, objectives and action plans will be to enrich the quality and comprehensiveness of the College’s academic and services offerings to its many constituencies. Specifically, the College hopes to assure that all faculty, administrators, students and staff possess the necessary technologies and training that will enable them to pursue educational innovation, manage institutional resources effectively, achieve their learning objectives, and provide quality service, while aiding the institution to extend its reach and enhance its competitive position.

II. LOS ANGELES MISSION COLLEGE

College Philosophy

Los Angeles Mission College is dedicated to providing the highest quality education in an atmosphere that respects and assists all people in pursuit of their educational goals. We believe that the acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary for success in the academic and workplace environments requires modes of instruction that match the changing needs of students. Furthermore, the college is committed to supporting student learning and personal growth as lifelong processes. Finally, we are dedicated to an inclusive decision-making process that respects the interdependency of the college, the student body, and the community we are privileged to serve.

Mission Statement

Los Angeles Mission College will ensure that students master academic and workplace knowledge and skills by providing comprehensive lower-division general education, AA and AS degree programs, occupational education, occupational certificates, transfer education, developmental education, counseling and guidance, and community services which will meet the needs of people in the San Fernando Valley while protecting academic freedom and maintaining academic standards.

College Goals

1. 1. Educational programs and services will be developed, evaluated and improved to ensure student access, learning and success while maintaining appropriate academic standards.

2. 2. Human, physical, technological and financial resources will be managed effectively to enrich and expand educational programs and maintain fiscal stability.

3. 3. Relationships with the community at large will be enhanced to promote common development.

III. III. Strategic Technology Priorities

In preparation for the development of the Los Angeles Mission College Information Technology Master Plan several key activities were conducted. The first was the evaluation of the quality and comprehensiveness of the technology environment as reported through a Technology Survey administered to a random sampling of students, faculty and staff. Second, an off-site planning retreat was held on May 15 and 16, 2003 with representation from all major constituent bodies of the College. Third, an assessment of the technology infrastructure and capabilities of the College was conducted by members of the consulting firm supporting the planning effort.

In conducting the previous assessments several key deficiencies were identified. In seeking to plan for the future improvement of the LAMC technology environment the following four deficiencies represent strategic impediments to the achievement of overall plan objectives. It is crucial to future success, as well as present stable operations, that these deficiencies receive the highest priority attention during the first year of the plan.

Technology Governance – The lack of a formal College structure to coordinate campus-wide technology progress contributes to a lack of effective use of resources, limited technology planning focus, and no mechanism to set College technology priorities. It is strongly recommended that the President appoint and charge a representative technology advisory body (Information Technology Advisory Council (ITAC), which will recommend College-wide policies and procedures governing technology priorities, access, and appropriate use of instructional technology, data and information technology.

Director of Information Technology – The College does not have a full-time position responsible for College-wide technology activities. As a result, support is fragmented, leadership is absent, and it is very difficult to focus project and implementation accountability for technology initiatives. It is strongly recommended that the College create the position of “Director of Information Technology” or its equivalent. Given the institution’s technology agenda, overall size (approximately 8,000 enrolled students), projected growth in physical size and enrollment, and technology investments it is crucial that there be one individual charged with the overall responsibility to coordinate, set direction and manage College-wide technology activities. It is fair to say that a position of Director of Information Technology for LAMC is not only consistent with higher education industry standards but an absolute necessity in today’s information intensive environment.

E-Mail – The absence of a reliable, quality e-mail system contributes to the loss of significant opportunities for improved service delivery and basic campus communications. In particular, the opportunity to effectively provide routine communication to students, and between students and faculty, is severely restricted. It is strongly recommended that the District/College E-mail strategy be resolved to enable LAMC to properly implement this fundamental technology building block.

Learning Resource Center (LRC) Commons – The LRC Commons is a vital facility for the delivery of numerous College teaching and learning activities. However, while it currently houses a large number of open access student computers, these devices are severely dated in their capability. It is strongly recommended that the College re-evaluate its needs for publicly available student devices and develop a utilization plan for the LRC that combines needs for special purpose laboratory facilities as well as public student stations.

IV. Technology Vision & Strategic Outcomes

Los Angeles Mission College’s vision for the use of Information Technology is to use it as a tool for learning, for management support, and for process simplification and innovation. In order to achieve the College’s mission, we must be creative and vigilant in seeking technology solutions that contribute to the accomplishment of the College’s mission.

Our Vision for Action:

We will employ Information Technology innovations to assist the College in achieving its strategic agenda by:

· Fostering Continued Quality Improvement in Teaching and Learning - Faculty, students and academic support personnel will be provided consistent, reliable access to information technologies. By continuing to support the inclusion of information technologies in the teaching and learning process we will empower faculty and students to participate fully in the academic environment: teaching, learning, collaborating, fostering and achieving their potential in an ever-increasingly information intensive society.

· Using Technology to Enhance Student Services - Provide current and prospective students with a comprehensive offering of conventional and emerging technology tools that facilitate easy access to student information, contributes to their full participation in the College community, develops their information literacy, minimizes unnecessary student interaction with administrative functions, and which facilitates and enhances students’ educational, career and personal development.

· Promoting Effective and Efficient College Operations – We will assure that all faculty, administrators, students and staff possess the necessary information technologies and training that will enable them to pursue educational innovation, manage institutional resources effectively, achieve their learning objectives and provide quality service. Administrative and management staff will have access to modern management information systems and tools that facilitate efficient and effective access to the data and information necessary to support sound institutional decision-making.

· Upgrading and Extending the College’s Technology Infrastructure – The basic building block for enhanced technology services is the quality and comprehensiveness of the College’s technology infrastructure. A scalable, reliable, flexible and comprehensive network, desktop, communications and web services environment is crucial to the continued improvement of College technology services.

· Assuring Comprehensive Electronic Communication Capability for all College Constituents – We will use information technology to extend the reach of the College and to promote its image within the community. We will use modern network and communications technologies whenever and wherever possible to reach prospective students and alumni as well as academic and business partners. At the same time, we will use information as a valuable tool to strengthen our ability to enhance and maintain a sense of community and to improve communication between and among all members of the College community.

Our Expected Outcomes:

We will realize our vision if the following outcomes are achieved through the judicious use of technology investments:

· All College graduates have acquired information competency and the technological skills appropriate to their academic discipline and career preparations;

· All College students have acquired the confidence to embrace new technologies and to see the creative opportunities in their use; (Needs to be reworded to be measurable or should be deleted)

· The College has improved communications among faculty, students, staff and administration;

· The College has an environment that supports and encourages innovation, exploration, risk taking and resourceful uses of technology throughout all aspects of College life;

· The College has enhanced student relationships with our faculty, with our institution, and with other students;

· The College has extended interaction and enhanced relationships with the community, other educational institutions, business and industry, our alumni, and professional organizations;

· The College has effective, efficient, quality delivery of student learning programs and services and the ability to make and implement institutional decisions in support of student learning;

· The College has adequate support and training for faculty, administrators and staff to enable the success of our vision; and

· The College supports analysis and decision-making at all levels which is information driven and knowledge based.

V. Technology Goals, Objectives & Action Plans

A. A. GOAL: Fostering Continued Quality Improvement in Teaching and

Learning

Objectives & Action Plans:

1. Establish minimum competencies that all students will demonstrate in the use of computers and information technologies, and assure that students have the training and developmental support necessary to guarantee their success.

· The Vice President for Academic Affairs will request the Academic Senate to charge the Curriculum Committee with recommending minimum competencies, be they for entry, graduation or both, that all LAMC students will demonstrate in the use of computers and information technologies.

2. 2. Provide an environment, plan, and assessment strategy for faculty to integrate technology into existing curricula, as well as their research and non-teaching duties.

· The Vice President for Academic Affairs will charge Academic Department Chairs with recommending a strategy for the best method to integrate technology within the College’s teaching and learning functions.

· Implement an enterprise course management system (Etudes) and promote its use as an aggregator of all class content for distance, hybrid, and face-to-face courses.

· Identify and recommend collaboration tools such as secure instant messaging, group messaging and synchronous web-conferencing.

· Review the benefits and possibilities of the use of video-conferencing technology as a tool for extending learning opportunities at regional locations where students may be limited by time and place.

· Develop a portable computing strategy to include an approach for student, staff and faculty computer acquisition as well as wireless connectivity.

· The Vice President for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the Information Technology Advisory Council (see Goal C, Item #1) will recommend a comprehensive, coordinated, instructional technology professional development program as well as other appropriate strategies that assure that faculty and professional staff with teaching and learning responsibilities are competent in the use of appropriate instructional technology tools to facilitate the integration of technology into the teaching and learning processes. Such a professional development program will address, at a minimum, the following needs:

o To promote and communicate the value of accessible technology integration within the curriculum to all faculty.

o To identify gaps in curriculum, training, facilities, and any other areas that will impede the objective of accessible technology integration within the curriculum.

o To set priorities for faculty development and recommend creative programs to energize all LAMC faculty.

o To identify and organize internal and external resources to facilitate faculty development.

o To create a faculty “mentors” program to provide ongoing support for faculty integration of accessible technology into their courses.

o To recommend a reward program for faculty creativity and skill in integrating accessible technology within their courses.

· The Vice President for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the Information Technology Advisory Council, will oversee the development of a robust course development support environment for faculty who wish to integrate technology into their teaching. Such an environment will coordinate appropriate academic and technological resources to minimally accomplish the following:

o Provide a supportive environment for faculty experimentation with a wide range of technology capabilities and innovations.

o Provide faculty with the instructional course design support necessary to effectively integrate technology into the curriculum.

o Provide support for faculty who wish to exploit the full capabilities of the Etudes course management system.

o Provide an organized approach and access to a range of internal and external information resources.

3. Provide learning programs and services and classrooms and laboratory environments with technologies that support the teaching, learning and research objectives of the College.

· Ensure that adequate IT personnel are available to research, test, and recommend tools and software to support the teaching and learning process.

· Incorporate computing and information technology requirements of academic programs into IT planning

· Provide students with disabilities with the latest advances in adaptive technology.

· Expand open lab (LRC Commons) facilities to provide student lap-top docking stations and other technological enhancements in support of student learning.

· Develop a strategy to assure that adjunct faculty have appropriate physical space and access to technology to support their teaching and administrative responsibilities by having the Council on Academic Affairs survey adjunct faculty technology needs.

· Provide access to electronic training rooms when needed to support student learning

B. GOAL: Using Technology to Enhance Student Services

Objectives & Action Plan:

1. Provide students with efficient, comprehensive, accessible student services and self-service options.

· Implement a holistic student services approach which utilizes available technologies to establish an equivalent electronic one-stop student support environment including such areas as program of study, academic advising, counseling, registration, financial aid and bill payment, etc.

· Map processes, review workflows, design and implement an accessible electronic student services center which fully exploits the functionality of the District Student System.

· From the results of the process and workflow review, identify applications gaps which contribute to service deficiencies and evaluate the feasibility and cost of developing local automated solutions to improve service delivery.

· Building upon the current capabilities of the District Student Services System, design and implement a cross-training program that establishes professional academic advisors as Student Services (SA) generalists who can effectively communicate basic information about all student service and academic areas.

· Assess and implement the steps needed to ensure all students have ready access to electronic resources and their own electronic records.

· Ensure that adequate IT personnel are available to research, test and implement tools and software to support enhancements to student services.

2. Encourage and support faculty use of College accessible online student information resources to bolster services to students.

· Provide ongoing professional development for faculty and staff on electronic access to student records and other information that supports academic functions.

3. Develop a strategy to enable the College to provide all communications to students electronically.

· Evaluate and design the most efficient method of implementing student use of College provided e-mail.

· Require students to use their College assigned student email accounts to communicate with the College.

C. GOAL: Promoting Effective and Efficient College Operations

Objectives & Action Plan

1. The President will establish a permanent oversight structure, the Information Technology Advisory Council (ITAC), to provide guidance to, as well as monitor the progress of, College-wide information technology initiatives.

· The ITAC will be a standing shared governance committee of the College, will focus upon all College technology functions, and will have membership representing the interests of faculty, students, including disabled students, staff and administration. The ITAC will be structured with subcommittees representing key College constituent groups which will minimally include subcommittees representing instructional and administrative uses of technology.

· The ITAC will have representation from Academic, Student and Administrative areas charged with taking an institutional view in making recommendations to the President and cabinet to:

o Oversee the progress toward achievement of Information Technology Master Plan objectives.

o Develop and recommend the duties and responsibilities of the position of Director of Information Technology.

o Provide information, and when necessary, educate members of the College community regarding all aspects of the College’s information technology plans, policies and objectives.

o Provide special focus upon issues of access, connectivity and communication for all members of the LAMC community.

o Ensure adherence to, and when necessary, recommend modifications to, information technology priorities.

o Review, recommend and mediate operational policy and procedures.

o Function as an executive and constituent sounding board for College-wide information technology issues.

o Maintain a planning focus; being watchful for the need to adjust and initiate priorities and new planning activities when circu