INTRODUCTION

MISSION STATEMENT

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

The University of North Texas is the largest and most comprehensive research and doctoral degree-granting institution in North Texas. The University is committed to excellence in teaching and the discovery and application of knowledge through research and creative activities. As a metropolitan university, the institution is dedicated to continued growth as a leader in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Denton area; the Metroplex; and state, national, and international education communities.

The University:

• conducts high-quality instruction, scholarship, and service by:
• • fostering excellence and innovation in teaching and learning;
  • supporting research and creative activities that advance knowledge, strengthen undergraduate and graduate programs, and promote the application of knowledge for the benefit of society; and
  • accepting a primary leadership role in addressing community needs of the Metroplex region and the state;
• maintains a community founded on free and open inquiry, academic integrity, and the examination of values;
• nurtures development of students by providing continuing opportunities for intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and career growth;
• stresses understanding and appreciation of the historical, intellectual, technological, scientific, and cultural nature of the search for knowledge;
• promotes the advancement of the arts; and
• supports a culturally diverse environment and advocates mutual respect for all members of the University community as they strive for excellence.

The University fosters its relationship with the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth and cultivates partnerships with elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, other universities, businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations to improve the quality of education and community life. (Approved by the University of North Texas Board of Regents, December 3, 1993.)

Major Information Resources Projects Completed

Detailed descriptions of progress made since the preparation of the '95-'99 IR Strategic Plan can be found within the separate Technology Effectiveness Reports drafted in Summer 1996 by the UNT Information Resources Council Program Groups for Instruction, Research, Administration, Communications, and Standards & Cooperation. Some of the significant IR projects completed within the past two years are highlighted below:

• User support issues have been addressed. Twelve new positions have been funded university-wide to provide distributed (i.e., departmental) computer support to faculty and staff end-users. These additional positions are intended to bring the ratio of users to support staff closer to 100:1. Three new positions have also been funded to provide additional central support.
• Remote access to computing resources has been enhanced. Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) support was established on UNT's dial-up services in November 1995, enabling dial-up users to utilize graphical programs such as Netscape. At the same time, a Premium Remote Access Subscription Service (PRAS) was made available to UNT students, faculty, and staff. The PRAS was initiated to address the overwhelming demand for dial-up campus and Internet services. All dial-ups have been upgraded to support communication speeds of at least 14,400 baud.
• Significant advances have occurred in the campus data communications infrastructure. The Internal Building Wiring Project has been completed, resulting in the connection of most campus classrooms and offices to the campus-wide network. Throughput has been increased via Ethernet switching. Thanks to increased connectivity and interoperability, significant quantities of 3270 equipment (mainframe terminals, communication devices, etc.) have removed from production, thus saving approximately $40,000 annually in maintenance costs.
• UNT completed a study of distance learning and its appropriate technologies. A modest video-conferencing facility has been built. The University now connects through the Trans Texas Video Network (TTVN) to sites throughout Texas for delivery of two-way interactive video-conferences. A specially-designed conference/classroom houses a VTEL video-conference system that conforms to industry standards, making future modes of connectivity for interacting with students, administrators, and others feasible. At least six distance education courses were scheduled for delivery via the video-conference facility in the Spring 1997 semester, and the University anticipates expanding both its course offerings and video-conference capabilities to meet a growing demand for the type of face-to-face interaction that such a technology provides. The university has hired an Associate Vice President for Distance Learning, who also serves as the Dean for the School of Library & Information Science.
• A major new research UNIX computer was acquired and installed to support large-scale computing research projects on campus.
• A new mainframe was acquired to replace two mainframes. Now that academic and administrative mainframe processes occur on a single machine, operating costs are significantly reduced. In addition to the hardware upgrade, much of the software, including operating systems and the database system, was also upgraded.
• Student transcripts can now be sent and received electronically.
• Advancement Information System data is now available to campus development officers and staff using Esperant, a user-friendly query and reporting tool.
• Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) has been implemented to allow students to accept and receive awarded financial aid funds in a more timely and efficient manner.
• An ECS imaging systems has been implemented in Claims Accounting. This replaces the older Laser Optic Filing Systems (LOFS), therefore providing easier and more widespread access to images (paid vouchers, etc.) from across campus.
• We completed the project to meet interface and reporting requirements of the State Comptroller's Statewide Property Accounting (SPA) System.
• State and federal financial aid database reporting requirements were implemented.

Major On-going Information Resources Initiatives

Work on several key projects identified within the previous IR Strategic Plan continues. The following paragraphs briefly describe some of the more wide-reaching projects currently under way:

• Technical support for faculty and staff end-users should continue to improve. A Distributed Computer Support Management Team has been formed to coordinate support efforts of distributed support staff and Computing Center. During Fiscal Year 1998, the effectiveness of the 100:1 user-to-support staff ratio will be evaluated.
• A major thrust in recent years has been the migration to graphical user interfaces (such as Windows) and the requisite microcomputer hardware. This project is ongoing as operating systems and hardware will need to be upgraded on a regular cycle.
• UNT continues to enhance and expand its Campus-Wide Information System (CWIS). A new position, created within Public Affairs and Information Services, should speed this effort.
• The migration to NetWare 4.1 and GroupWise (which includes faculty/staff e-mail and scheduling) is nearing completion. A GroupWise remote gateway has been installed; faculty and staff can access this gateway from a remote computer via modem to send and receive GroupWise e-mail, appointments, etc.
• The student e-mail system continues to grow; it currently services over 15,000 accounts. JOVE, the general purpose UNIX system, which supports student e-mail among other functions, has been significantly expanded and enhanced.
• The Student Information Server System (SISS, a new name for our Generalized Information Access (GIA) system which includes our Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform) continues to grow beyond teleregistration functions. An additional voice response application has been added for Career Planning and Placement. A third voice processing unit and two SUN systems have been added to the system. Much of the information available through IVR is also being made available through the World Wide Web (WWW).
• Development continues on the degree audit system. The transfer articulation module is nearly ready for use by Admissions. This is interfaced with our electronic transcript network to eliminate massive data entry workload. We expect to have degree program requirements from 94­95, 95­96, 96­97, and 97­98 written by end of summer 1997 for the completion of Phase I of the project. Testing is underway on the 94­95 requirements that are in the system at this time. Phase II will be the conversion of this system to a client server platform and/or graphical user interface front end.
• Faculty are encouraged to use instructional technology via special forums.
• UNT is migrating from Texas Higher Education Network (THEnet) to the Department of Information Resources (DIR) statewide network (CAPnet). Increased throughput and significant cost savings are anticipated.
• Human Resources has acquired an employee Applicant Tracking System. The vendor is currently in the process of making required modifications to allow the system to be effectively used at UNT.
• Financial Aid is implementing the National Student Loan Database System software to improve efficiencies for student loan deferment processing.

Proposed Major New Information Resources Initiatives

• A top priority for the immediate future is the improvement of classroom environments to support the use of instructional technology.
• Support for distributed learning initiatives is also a top priority for the near future. This support will consist of evaluating and implementing new technologies that enable multimedia communications, instructional consultation and programming, etc.
• Several initiatives are proposed to increase the accessibility and functionality of UNT's technology services for its students. These include expanded dial-ups, adaptive equipment, and fuller access to student data via the Student Information Server System (accessible by telephone and WWW).
• UNT's Campus Wide Information System (CWIS) (www.unt.edu) will be enhanced significantly, with special emphasis on recruitment and advancement.
• Development was begun recently for a new Automated Purchasing and Accounts Payable (APAP) system. This system will introduce workflow and automated approvals to departmental and administrative users. It will also provide an entity file for the eventual combining of entity databases to eliminate duplication and streamline maintenance.
• Significant programmer staff time will be dedicated identifying and solving Year 2000 issues within our legacy applications. We believe that (if not corrected) the Admissions Management System (AMS ­ a component subsystem of our overall Student Information Management System [SIMS]) would be the first of our systems to have problems because of the turn of the century (Year 2000). Consequently we plan to identify and correct problems in this system by the end of FY 1997 (8/31/97). Because of the tight integration of the AMS subsystem with the other SIMS subsystems, it may be necessary to correct all SIMS subsystems (Student Records System [SRS], Billing / Receivables System [BRS], Financial Aid Management System [FAMS], and AMS) at the same time. If this is not done then it will be necessary to make certain that AMS and the other SIMS modules will still work together correctly after the needed modifications have been made to AMS. We plan to complete all required modifications to the SIMS modules by Dec. 31, 1998, which will result in the SIMS system having been through an entire set of processing cycles (four semesters, including the two summer '98 semesters) after the corrections have been made but prior to the end of the century. We plan to correct all other (non­SIMS) automated (computerized) administrative information systems by the end of Fiscal Year 1998 (8/31/98). This will result in these systems having gone through at least one full production cycle (including any calendar and fiscal year­end processing) well before the turn of the century. We plan to implement a new mainframe operating system (OS/390) and a new COBOL compiler and language environment (COBOL for MVS & VM) during the 1997 calendar year. These products will be Year­2000 compliant and will facilitate making the application software modifications.

Challenges

The challenges below are not unique to the IT support providers at UNT; these challenges are faced by many departments at UNT.

• The marketplace demand for people with computing skills is an ever-present threat to stability within the Computing Center and distributed support centers. Although funds are available to upgrade a limited number of positions each year, UNT frequently finds it difficult to recruit and retain the most talented people, considering that base salaries at UNT are generally lower than its competitors in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
• As our staffing and external expectations have increased, UNT is continuing to struggle with space/facilities problems. UNT is "space poor." These problems sometimes thwart efforts to make more efficient and productive use of our information resources. Many of our areas need expansion and renovation, but, even when funding is available, we have precious little 'wiggle' room to temporarily relocate while renovation is in progress.
• The rate of change within the technology industry is a sometimes frustrating challenge to providing support for efficient and productive use of resources. Further complicating the matter, we frequently cannot allocate 'time out' for staff training, and funding for training is limited.
• The exploding demand for dialup services and the lack of affordable commercial dial-up service providers is forcing us to revisit our dialup services plans. Although we have instituted the Premium Remote Access Subscription Service, the operating cost of which (approximately ½ of the total cost) is borne by the user, dial-up budget issues remain cause for concern. Demand for services is difficult to predict, especially in this transition period. Many in the UNT community have been reluctant to subscribe to the Premium service, insisting that an adequate number of free lines should be provided. The intricacies of the Denton and Dallas/Fort Worth local telephone company pricing and regulations also provide significant constraint.
• Finally, progress on administrative systems enhancements is frequently delayed and sometimes complicated by relentless onslaught of state and federal reporting mandates. A particularly demonstrative example is the State Comptrollers' Human Resources Information System (HRIS). It has been extremely difficult to bring this state-mandated project to completion due to ever-changing requirements from the State Comptroller's Office. The personnel subsystem is more stable than the payroll sub-system, but both systems will have to be re-worked (again) by our programmers during Summer and Fall 1996. Original specifications were published in December 1988. We were originally "live" in 1990 with the Personnel interface. This was rebuilt in 1993, and partially rebuilt in 1995, and (as already stated) scheduled to be rebuilt in 1996. We were scheduled to go live with the Payroll interface in 1993, 1994, and 1995. Each year we have met the specified requirements as best as was possible, but each year the implementation was deferred at the state level for another year. This year (1996) may prove to be another verse of the same song, but we must assume that it will actually be implemented this time.

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