CAUSE/EFFECT

This article was published in CAUSE/EFFECT journal, Volume 22 Number 4 1999. The copyright is by EDUCAUSE. See http://www.educause.edu/copyright for additional copyright information.

Seton Hall LogoCampus Profile
Seton Hall University

Seton Hall University, founded in 1856, is the oldest diocesan institution of higher education in the United States. The university enrolls nearly 10,000 students, including 4,400 full-time undergraduates, and it consists of nine schools and colleges. The main campus is located on 58 acres in South Orange, New Jersey, and the School of Law is located a few miles to the east in Newark. Technology is a priority at Seton Hall, particularly as it applies to teaching and learning. The university has made a capital investment of $15 million over the last four years in its technology infrastructure, and it maintains an annual IT operating budget of more than $11 million, approximately 11 percent of its annual budget for the South Orange campus. The Division of Information Technology has doubled its professional staffing since 1995, reaching 90 full-time positions.

Seton Hall�s commitment to technology is backed by universitywide support and a rigorous strategic plan, and its efforts have gained the institution national attention, including recognition through the 1999 EDUCAUSE Award for Excellence in Campus Networking.

Planning and organizing

Seton Hall began a universitywide strategic planning process in the 1994-95 academic year, and as part of that process the institution developed a long-range plan for information technology. A steering committee was formed to assess the institution�s technology needs and develop solutions. The committee included campuswide representation, and it was cochaired by Dennis Garbini, who at the time was associate vice president for finance and administration, and then-faculty member Stephen Landry. Members of the committee were given substantial release time for a semester as they were expected to focus much of their efforts toward the IT plan.

After receiving input from the larger community and examining issues through numerous focus groups, the committee formulated an ambitious five-year technology plan, backed by a long-range technology budget. Now in the fourth year of that plan, the institution has achieved 85 percent of its outlined goals.

Landry, now the university�s chief information officer, explains that the plan�s successful implementation results from careful planning and project management. �The university got very real about planning. Projects that were core to the implementation of the strategic plan were included in the budget and funded; projects that were not core were deferred.�

Funding for technology initiatives came through a number of sources: increases in tuition and fees, capital investments, cost reductions through reengineering, and corporate partnerships. Landry notes that the development of a long-range IT budget was instrumental in enabling the university to lease technology equipment and move IT expenditures from a capital to an operational expenditure.

Phillip Long, director of User Services and Support and executive director of the new Institute for Technology Development, says that the close ties between the strategic plan and the budget are what distinguish Seton Hall�s plan from many comparable efforts. He says, �When I came to Seton Hall, people actually knew what the strategic plan said, and it meant something to them.�

An ongoing Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable program brings faculty and administrators together to act as a planning body for information and instructional technology issues. One of 300 around the country, the roundtable program was developed in conjunction with the TLT Group of the American Association for Higher Education.

In 1997 the university reorganized and combined academic and administrative computing under one umbrella, led by Garbini as vice president of Information Technology. The new organization ensures representation for information technology on the executive cabinet and in the budget process. Landry, who reports to Garbini, explains that with the integration of academic and administrative computing, the delivery of services is now more effective: �The organization is now structured around the types of services delivered rather than who receives the services.�

The Division of Information Technology has two major areas: the Office of the CIO and SetonWorldWide, which provides support for the university�s online graduate degree programs. The Office of the CIO includes three areas. University Computing Services, led by Bernd Walter, comprises Applications Development, Computer Operations, Systems Support, and Telecommunications. User Services and Support, led by Long, encompasses the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center (which includes the university�s Media Center) and PC Support Services. The Technology Project and Budget Office, led by Lynne Rogerson, provides project management support for the university�s technology initiatives. SetonWorldWide, offering half a dozen online graduate degree programs, is led by Edward Goldberg, former chancellor of higher education for the state of New Jersey.

A reengineering of admissions, financial aid, and the bursar�s and registrar�s offices resulted in a single Office of Enrollment Services, providing one-stop service for students and creating efficiencies in administrative processes. Through the Web students can access an admissions application, financial information, and grades, and they can also register for classes. Faculty and employee Web services will be available soon as well.

The university libraries� electronic services also continue to increase. Including library services in the long-range IT goals was central to the academic focus of the strategic plan. Seton Hall plays a leadership role in academic libraries, serving as one of two host sites for the Virtual Academic Library Environment (VALE). A consortium of institutions in New Jersey, VALE�s key objective is to equalize student access to electronic resources.

Seton Hall�s Mobile Computing Program puts a notebook computer in the hands of every first-year student and incorporates the use of the technology into the curriculum. Students are able to use their laptops to connect to the network from many public spaces on campus--including park benches.

Mobile computing

Seton Hall�s Mobile Computing Program is one of the university�s most visible technology initiatives. Through a strategic partnership with IBM, first-year students are issued current Thinkpad laptops when they arrive on campus. The program includes integrating technology into the institution�s curriculum and providing an infrastructure to support the use of technology in teaching and learning.

Started as a pilot project in 1995 with 20 students and 12 faculty, the Mobile Computing Program was the result of a decision to make computers available to students on a one-to-one ratio. Landry explains that because only 50 percent of Seton Hall�s undergraduate students are residential, a portable computer was chosen to allow better access; notebook computers also open more windows for using technology in the classroom.

The Mobile Computing Program became mandatory for freshmen in 1998 after larger pilot projects proved successful. Participating students pay $650 per semester in technology fees to help offset the cost of the laptops, which are refreshed on a two-year cycle. By 2001 all full-time undergraduate students will have notebook computers. Faculty receive laptops as part of the program, as well as technical, pedagogical, and financial support to incorporate the technology into their teaching.

All Seton Hall classrooms provide Internet access for faculty, and one-third of the classrooms provide data and power connections to each seat as well as built-in computer projection equipment. The supporting network includes an ATM backbone and switched 10Mb Ethernet in most academic buildings as well as a state-of-the-art network server architecture.

Residence halls are wired to provide data connection for each student. Walter notes that the network is also accessible from many public spaces, including library carrels, lounges, the Pirates� Cove coffee bar, and even outdoor park benches. But some venues are still tough to reach. The university will soon try to permeate those areas with a pilot wireless project in three buildings, including the university library.

Despite the overwhelming success of Seton Hall�s mobile computing efforts, the program has had its challenges. Asset management and distribution have been more difficult than anticipated, and keeping the program affordable is a constant concern. For part-time students who don�t participate in the program, course selection is limited to classes not using mobile computing.

Due to the unique nature of each graduate program, adoption of mobile computing at the graduate level has been slower than at the undergraduate level. Several graduate programs in the School of Graduate Medical Education have adopted their own versions of the mobile computing program, and others are exploring this option.

Corporate partnerships

Garbini notes that while it quickly became clear that most of IBM�s goals for the higher education market aligned with Seton Hall�s focus for information technology, the idea of a corporate partnership as part of the Mobile Computing Program was initially daunting.

Landry explains that many members of the community resisted corporate partnerships. One reason for this resistance is that standards can limit flexibility. �Our hardware standard is the IBM computer; our software standard is the Microsoft Office Suite. That does somewhat reduce faculty choice,� he says. �Our response is that these standards provide the greatest good for the greatest number of faculty and students. Clear standards allow us to focus more of our efforts on teaching and learning rather than supporting a wide variety of hardware and software.�

While some departments are able to support and maintain their own technology, most don�t have the necessary resources. �They�re happy to participate in something that raises the level of technology at the institution. We don�t have the resources to do this all on our own, so we craft partnerships with corporations,� Landry says.

�Partnerships are a good way for institutions of our size to leverage our way into this level of technology, especially in situations like this when nobody knows what the rules are,� adds W. Rory Murphy, professor of chemistry and cochair of the Faculty Senate�s Instructional Technology Committee. With no long-term models, he says, �there�s no information on which to base a right answer.�

Seton Hall recently forged a similar partnership with AT&T to offer an impressive cell-phone package to students. Garbini explains, �We packaged the best deal and the best hardware that students could imagine to find on the street. The immediacy of communication is something that this age group expects.� The institution also holds partnerships with SPSS, Waterloo Maple, and Xircom.

Teaching and learning

Mobile computing has transformed teaching and learning at Seton Hall, but its success lies far beyond notebook computers. The institution has helped faculty integrate technology into their pedagogy, and both faculty and administrators have embraced technology as an important aspect of the curriculum.

A Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center (TLTC), directed by Long, supports and guides the incorporation of information and instructional technology into educational programs and practices. �Many institutions rush forward and dump money into technology, with none toward the purpose of teaching and learning,� notes John Ribar, director of the TLTC�s Center for Academic Technology (CAT). Ribar explains that CAT faculty consultants, who themselves have extensive classroom teaching experience, help faculty to think about how technology can be used in the teaching and learning process. Tools such as LearningSpace are commonly used in Seton Hall�s classrooms.

Another resource, the Student Technology Assistant (STA) Program, employs students as information technology consultants to faculty. Through the program, faculty and students enter partnerships, integrating an academic component for student benefit.

The Curriculum Development Initiative also plays a key role in transforming teaching and learning at Seton Hall. The initiative provides funds to departments as they weave technology into their core curricula. �There�s an infectious element to teaching with technology, but that�s not sufficient to make institutionwide change--you need to work at multiple levels,� says Long. �The Curriculum Development Initiative is much more systemic.� Provost Mark W. Rocha agrees, adding, �I�m optimistic now that we won�t rest on our laurels but that we�ll use the energy that�s been created and move along with the kind of curriculum change that the technology makes possible.�

Institute for Technology Development

As Seton Hall has become successful in incorporating technology into its curriculum, it receives many requests for consulting and assistance. In response, the university has created an outward-looking organization, the Institute for Technology Development (ITD). Long, who directs the ITD, describes its mission: �We�re taking core services that the university offers internally and translating them into a language that might be useful to other institutions looking to gain something out of what we�ve learned.�

A primary component of the ITD is assessment. Seton Hall offers guidance in assessing the institutional impact of information technology on teaching and learning and collects data for incorporation in a national repository of such assessment data.

The ITD also assists colleges and universities as they initiate student technology assistant programs, ubiquitous computing projects, discipline-based faculty consulting, and technology planning and implementation.

Peter Ahr, chair of the Faculty Senate, remarks on Seton Hall�s transformation into a leader in higher education information technology: �It seems that we�re one of the first campuses of the 21st century--we�re a measure of both what higher education is and what it will become.�

Sidebar

Sheeran PhotoMonsignor Robert Sheeran Information technology is important at Seton Hall University because it helps us achieve our mission to form servant leaders in a global society. When I became president, my vision was to see Seton Hall in the top tier of Catholic colleges and universities in the country. Technology is one of the strategic initiatives that is helping us achieve that goal. We�ve been successful because our technology initiatives are exceptionally unified and exceptionally comprehensive. Our strategic plan has set our institutional priorities; if an initiative does not fit into the university�s strategic plan, it�s not funded. Seton Hall was founded with a commitment to provide our students with a values-based education, building core competencies in their disciplines and providing students with the underlying skills they need to succeed in their personal and professional lives. We want to be high-tech and high-touch at the same time--technology is meant to enhance what we do, to help our students think and act critically. Technology is part of our environment, but it never replaces the human interactions; it has to be used wisely.

This department regularly focuses on the information resources environment--information, technology, and services--of an EDUCAUSE member institution to promote a better understanding of how information resources are organized, managed, planned for, and used in colleges and universities of various sizes and types. This article was written by EDUCAUSE writer/reporter Shannon Burgert, based on a visit to Seton Hall University.

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