1. IT Assessment Tools and
Strategies
Lisa Castellino Assistant Vice Chancellor, Office of
Institutional Research
Leah Kraus, Associate Vice Chancellor, Information
Technology Systems Division
University North Carolina Wilmington

2. 2006 – 2008
A Culture of Assessment Begins
o Dr. Saunders-White, New Vice Chancellor
(ITSD – VC) appointed October 2006
o Redefined organizational structure
o Creation of division mission statement
o Redefined and focused IT governance
(improving student and academic services and
support)
o Setting goals and measuring outcomes
established – first set of KPIs

3. Fall 2006
ITSD KPIs and Results
KPIs
1. Ensure the availability of
critical applications
2. Increase staff development
opportunities
3. Introduce/implement new
technology innovations
4. Support the university
capital campaign
5. Develop/implement cell
phone consolidation plan
6. Encourage student/faculty
interaction
7. Develop security awareness
Outcomes
1. Resource efficiencies such as life
cycle management, use of server
virtualization, disaster recover
partnerships and others
2. Staff development and
professional growth opportunities
such as leadership development
council
3. Innovation awards for campus
4. Increase giving from 27% to 87.5%
5. Negotiations with vendors
6. Establish Student IT Advisory
Council and creation of an ITSD
Merit Scholarship
7. Establish IT Security awareness
campaign

4. ITSD KPIs and Results
o 2006 KPIs become Core KPIs for ITSD
o Language of results based planning begins
o KPI discussion, review is ongoing across
division
o Decisions regarding projects and
budget/resources based on KPIs begins

5. 2007 – 2008 KPI Results
Focus of ITSD Annual Report became results/outcomes of KPIs.
For example:
o Implement 5 areas of cost avoidance:
 Use of onsite training, train the trainer, and Books 24x7
 Leveraging volume purchasing
 Contract negotiations
 Equipment recycling
 Publication redesign
o Departments able to connect KPIs, projects and University
Mission

6. 2008 – 2009 KPIs
o Annual Reports continue to be based on results of KPIs
o KPI language is part of the ITSD culture
o Departments embrace writing division KPIs
o Departments recommend additional KPIs
o Goals, budget, planning tied to KPIs
o Consistency of goals and outcome language established
2008 – 2009 KPI Example :
Implement 15 it initiatives that provide for ubiquitous computing, automate
internal processes, enhance university operations and contribute cost
savings or avoidance to the ITSD budget.
Selected outcomes from Annual Report:
 Move more servers to VM
 ImageNow innovations
 Various sw upgrades done in-house with no services
 Converting paper to electronic forms

7. 2009 - 2010 KPI Evolve
o ITSD takes KPIs to next level in preparation for SACS
o Language of Assessment Cycle becomes part of culture
o Departments work directly with Institutional Research to create goals that
can be measured by efficiency and effectiveness
o Departments write their own goals with assessment measures
o Division writes division KPIs/goals as part of retreat exercise
Department KPI Example:
o Provide enhanced service to our university community through deployment of
automation technology and development of technical documentation.
Selected Outcome:
o All student account creation was automated, and class groups were created in the
Windows Active Directory Infrastructure, including accepted students as
requested by Admissions. This automation and new group creation enables better
service to our students, faculty and staff while reducing the administrative burden
on staff who previously had to run this process daily.

8. Beyond KPIs and Internal
Assessment
o UNCW and ITSD requires next phase of IT strategic planning
o UNCW prepares for SACS in 2012
o Age of Accountability
 Reaffirmation of accreditation
 Competing for resources
o Demonstrate and increase the value of our services and
contribution consistent with university mission
o Provide means to communicate value of IT
o Determine areas of improvement, supporting change and
focusing and identifying priorities.
o Understand expectations and delivery of technology services

9. Beyond KPIs and Internal
Assessment
o UNCW and ITSD requires next phase of IT strategic planning
o UNCW prepares for SACS in 2012
o Age of Accountability
 Reaffirmation of accreditation
 Competing for resources
o Demonstrate and increase the value of our services and
contribution consistent with university mission
o Provide means to communicate value of IT
o Determine areas of improvement, supporting change and
focusing and identifying priorities.
o Understand expectations and delivery of technology services

10. Decision to Use TechQual+ Survey
o The Higher Education TechQual+ Project provides IT leaders with tools to
 Assess
 Analyze
 Report
the effectiveness of technology services
o Survey designed to understand the end user perspective and close the gap
between those that deliver IT and those that use IT
o Outcomes based approach
o A standardized questionnaire that measures 3 core commitments
expected of IT organizations in higher education:
 Connectivity and Access
 Technology and Technology Services
 End User Experience

11. Next Steps ITSD
o Continue work with Institutional Research to
expand culture and understanding of
assessment cycle
o Use TechQual Survey data in strategic and
budget planning
o Enhance and expand communication and
feedback loop with campus