2001-2002 Highlights

UNC Division of Information Resources

• Contract negotiations led by Coordinated Technology Management saved individual campuses and the University more than $1.6 million during 2001-2002. System-wide agreements are virtually eliminating the countless hours that purchasing and legal and IT personnel used to spend negotiating individual contracts for campuses. A new password protected web site is making purchasing decisions even faster and easier by providing online access to terms and conditions of executed contracts. More than $5.2 million has been saved since collaborative procurement activities began in FY2000.

• The Division of Information Resources supported e-Learning programs in teacher preparation, consistent with developmental funding priorities for e-Learning programs that were established by the Division of Academic Affairs.

• The Shared Services Alliance reached an agreement with SCT that will move 13 campuses from the current legacy SCT Plus environment for administrative systems to SCT's Banner enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. By reducing the cost of service hours from $220 per hour to $160 per hour, the Alliance expects to save about $14 million during the five-year implementation.

• Networking and Media Services, formerly known as Internal IT Support, expanded the scope of its services to UNC and its affiliates to avoid duplication of resources and ensure cost-effective integration of new technologies.

• The Division of Information Resources joined with the Division of Public Affairs to establish Online Services, a function that assists other units with increasing their effectiveness by providing web-based information and applications for the UNC Office of the President and UNC General Administration, in support of the 16 campuses and affiliated organizations.

• The Division of Information Resources assisted UNC campuses with responding to a new state statute that grants campuses IT management flexibility and gives UNC chancellors and their boards of trustees the authority to develop individual IT management plans. As of November 8, 2002, five campus plans have been approved by the UNC Board of Governors.

• The Teaching and Learning with Technology Collaborative expanded its Professional Development Portal, launched a project to identify effective practices in TLT on the 16 campuses, began work on a database of assessment items and resources, hosted 235 faculty and staff at an annual professional development conference, and adopted a strategic plan to effectively respond to campus needs.

• UNC announced an agreement with Campus Pipeline, Inc., to co-develop the Prospective Student Portal, created under the auspices of the Shared Services Alliance, and make it available to the broader higher education market. The new partnership will provide better technical support for all campuses, maximize collaboration between IT offices, improve customer relationship management, and reap long-term cost benefits for the University.

• UNC completed work on the proof of concept for an education data center, the critical first step in designing a data warehouse to enhance program decisions and policy affecting North Carolina's K-16 education community.

• SAS and UNC officials expanded their $3 million, five-year partnership to provide faculty with access to Academic Trainer's Kits, an opportunity that will offer students unique exposure to new technology tools in a variety of disciplines.