IT Organization reporting structure

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Greetings everyone --

I'm a newcomer to this list, and I've done some preliminary searching through archives and have not had much luck.

This email covers two topics that are separate, but connected:

Long story short, at Gallaudet pre-2010, IT structures were decentralized -- there were three separate IT organizations each reporting to its' own division Academic Affairs (Academic Technology), Admin/Finance (Info Tech Services), and a k-12 tech organization reporting to a separate VP of the pre-college programs. Yes, at Gallaudet, we do have a k-12 program with its own national mission to develop best practices and shared knowledge on educating deaf k-12 students nationally.

In January 2010, all tech services were merged and ever since, we've become a single entity that reports to the president. Presently, there is some discussion/thought of moving the reporting structure of tech services to another VP or elsewhere (i.e., not reporting to the president).

What are pros or cons of potential change in reporting structure? Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

My second question relates to whether the technology "help desk/call center" should be expanded to include other call center -- facilities for example. Thoughts, pros/cons?

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to interacting with everyone on this list.

Earl

Earl C. Parks, Jr.

Executive Director, Gallaudet Technology Services

Gallaudet University

800 Florida Avenue, NE

Washington, D.C. 20002-3695

202.250.2877

earl.parks@gallaudet.edu

********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.

Posted by: earl.parks@gall... on April 29, 2013

Hello Earl, I am also fairly new but have some experience with your first question. There is value in having IT reporting to a "neutral" and high level location in the organization. If embedded in either side of the house--academy or administration--the other side of the house can feel short-changed when IT responds to the demands of their boss over their customers, real or perceived. IT being the enabler of institutional mission also suggests having them tightly integrated with strategic levels rather than suppressed as a functional service. There are ways around the conflicting demands problem, such as robust governance, customer advisory councils, a culture of accountability, 360 reviews, portfolio prioritization framework, but many organizations lack that level of maturity. Happy to discuss if it's helpful.

--Anne

Anne Milkovich, MBA PMP SPHR
Director of IT Administration, Planning and Programs
MSU IT Center, Planning and Program Management Office
51a Renne Library, Montana State University
P.O. Box 173240 Bozeman MT 59717-3240
406.994.5715 anne.milkovich@montana.edu

Posted by: annemilkovich on April 29, 2013

Next month, we will organized as follows:

President

VP of IT

Then the following depts.

PC Sevices (a/v also)

Web and eLearning

Information Services

Network Services

Our former reporting structure was

President

VP Business Affairs

CIO

Then the following depts.

PC Sevices (a/v also)

Web and eLearning

Information Services

Network Services

Posted by: gpcannady on April 29, 2013

Earl,

Congratulations on the merger of IT support structures. This is often a tough organizational change and I have found that just because the boxes on the institutional org chart have been rearranged, it often takes a much longer time for the operational efficiencies to be fully realized. There is a lot work required both within the IT group and within the larger institution to ensure this change is working well and the new organizational structure is adopted. Moving to a centralized Help Desk for all IT calls is a good option but I would be careful no to dilute the mission and responsiveness of the Help Desk by expanding to support other functions like facilities or even student support services. There examples of this being done well and even vendors that will handle this function but the needs are vastly different. If the scope of the call center is simply intake of calls, documentation (ticket creation) and referral to the appropriate area for resolution then supporting multiple areas may be a great move. However, if the scope of the Help Desk is first contact resolution then I think keeping it simple with only IT calls is a better route. We allow people to contact the Help Desk (actually called the Technical Support Center) via phone (voice mail after hours), entering a ticket themselves or via walk ins. We support students and faculty that are local, at regional centers and online so a majority of tickets come in via phone. Our busiest time is the two weeks leading up to the start of the semester through a few weeks into the semester and there are often many high priority calls (i.e. Classroom Down). This is also a high call volume time for facilities (dorm room issues, classroom issues, ID cards, etc.) and a high call time for student services (registrations, financial aid, schedule changes, etc.) so adding those calls to the IT call volume would be problematic from a staffing/customer service perspective as well as a first call resolution perspective. Again, if the goal is simple intake, documentation and handoff then this can work but if techs (mostly trained student workers) are on the phone fixing problems and resetting passwords then I see this being a less efficient model overall. We use KBox for IT ticketing and Facilities uses School Dude - each works very well for our needs.

On the reporting structure, that is a complex issue and highly dependent on the organizational structure/culture at your institution. The CIO position is about outreach and interaction with key university members as much as it is about vision, technology and management (well, at my campus anyway). Reporting to the president gives the IT organization visibility and conveys the importance of this function to the institution and let's everyone know that this is a shared resource. This can be accomplished reporting to the provost or another senior leader but I think it is critical that IT leadership is represented on cabinet or whatever the senior leadership/planning team is at the institution. This is where things get started and having IT engaged at this level is critical for many initiatives to run smoothly and gives the IT organization a heads up to be more responsive to upcoming priorities and have input on those initiatives. The IT function is often about identifying institutional needs and connecting the less obvious needs to come up with an enterprise solution and to prevent wasting valuable resources. I can think of dozens of specifics where being engaged at this level has helped us make better decisions, pool resources and build support for important initiatives. In the last 18 mos. our portal implementation, online CJ and DNP programs, 3 year degree programs and business analytics implementation are all examples of major cabinet level discussions and decisions where IT played a key role in either identifying the needs and/or assisting with the solution. Engagement at this level is so important for an IT organization and at some institutions this can only be achieved reporting to the president.

Welcome to the list and I wish you the best.

Curtis

Curtis White

Vice President, Information Technology

Ashland University

www.ashland.edu

Ph: 419.289.5777

Cell: 419.606.3582

Skype: cltrwhite

Posted by: cdwhite on April 29, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

Hi Earl,

First question:

I am currently in the process of bringing together two separate IT organizations - Computer & Network Services (Fairfield employees) and Administrative Computing (Ellucian Managed Services) – at Fairfield University. Here at Fairfield, I report to the CFO/VP of Finance.

At my last institution I reported initially to the CFO/VP then they restructured and I reported directly to the President. I’m open to discuss my situation with both, but honestly thus far I prefer reporting to the CFO. However my situation here is unique. My CFO/VP is not technical but respects technology. When technology needs to be discussed, I’m at the table. We also have a committee of the Board of Trustees dedicated to technology, so I have a technology voice there as well. In addition, I report to the person who is holding the bag of money. I get heard about needs and I’m not vying among the other VPs for funding.

I’m a strong leader/manager. I enjoy interaction; I enjoy ‘selling’ our tech needs. But for me, and maybe it’s the great Finance leaders I’ve reported to, I’m empowered to do my job and when I say I need money for (insert project here), I’m heard. If you don’t have that relationship with the VP, I can see it could be a real concern.

Second question:

I am all about software-sharing – as in use your ticketing software, create a new instance for facilities and allow them to take advantage of your technology. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d advocate taking support tickets for facilities. Maybe a simple form with an automated notification workflow on the backend parsing requests to each individual area. I see taking on that responsibility as being a slippery slope. Also, we use students on our help desk. Likely something we wouldn’t pursue. I’m interested in hearing feedback, particularly advocating for this.

Paige Francis

Chief Information Officer

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Rd.

Fairfield, CT 06824

203-254-4059

Posted by: Paige Francis on April 30, 2013

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Events for all Levels and Interests

Career Center

Leadership and Management Programs

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Getting Involved

Jump Start Your Career Growth

Latest Topics

EDUCAUSE organizes its efforts around three IT Focus Areas

Join These Programs If Your Focus Is

From the Blogs

Find Others

Share Ideas

Get on the Higher Ed IT Map

2013 Strategic Priorities

Membership

Who We Are

Stay Informed

Uncommon Thinking for the Common Good™