Major Information Technology Priorities and Initiatives

The following are the information technology priorities for Queen's University and ITServices:

 

1. QUASR: Improving Business Processes and Enabling Information Access

 

Replacement of the University's major administrative systems is moving forward on schedule, with the first module (Finance) scheduled to go live November 1st. ITServices is heavily involved in many different dimensions of the project in areas including infrastructure, security, and training. We will continue to work closely with the other QUASR partners in planning and preparing for subsequent phases, which will see the rollout of Human Resources and Student modules in 2010 and 2011. Work has also begun on developing an appropriate operational support model for the entire QUASR application environment, which is to be established by the time the Queen's community begins using the Finance module.

 

2. Extending and Enhancing Support for Teaching and Learning

 

A number of projects are underway this academic year with the goal of providing improved support for teaching and learning. Pilots planned by the Principal's Task Force on Virtualization will experiment with technologies to accommodate larger and more diverse enrolments while augmenting the classroom learning experience with richer online learning resources. In addition, we will be conducting a pilot with a new learning management system, Moodle, which provides much of the functionality currently available through WebCT, but offering more contemporary and flexible instructor and student experiences.

 

3. Ensuring the Security of University and Personal Information

 

Continuing to strengthen the security of the University's IT infrastructure and helping the Queen's community learn and adopt secure information handling and management practices continue as a high priority for ITServices and IT staff in other areas. Attempts to obtain unauthorized access to personal and/or confidential information are continuing to increase in frequency, and schemes to gain such access are becoming more sophisticated. Fortifying the University's security defences, expanding the system security assessment program to identify vulnerabilities, and continued efforts to broaden awareness and understanding of safe information practices, are all of vital importance.

 

4. Developing and Strengthening the University's IT Infrastructure

 

Improvements to the Queen's IT infrastructure will include a new portal, new collaboration tools and other enhanced service offerings, increased storage capacity, and further strengthening so that critical systems are more secure and better able to withstand peak demand periods and electrical supply interruptions.