Information Technology Principles to Guide Campus Decision-Making

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     INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PRINCIPLES TO
     GUIDE CAMPUS DECISION-MAKING

     University of Colorado, Boulder


The University of Colorado at Boulder exists in a complex,
interconnected world whose lifeblood is information. The
campus uses information technology in many ways to accomplish
its missions of teaching, research, and service, and will
increasingly need to rely on technology to succeed in meeting
the educational needs of the 21st century.

In recent years, innovation in the application of information
technology to most aspects of our lives and growth in its use
have been rapid. Continued change in this field is now the
norm rather than the exception. Information technology offers
the campus remarkable opportunities for expansion of learning
and scholarly activities, as well as enhancing public service
that will benefit the state, nation, and world.

Since 1991, members of the Boulder Campus have been working
to develop a set of principles to guide campus decision-
making for information technology, as part of the strategic
planning process for campus information technology. This
effort, begun by the Chancellor's Committee on Information
Technology and now carried on by the Campus Policy Board on
Information Technology (CPBIT), has resulted in the following
17 draft Principles. Considerable time and thought have gone
into development of these draft Principles, including
balancing the many differing perspectives that a campus is
likely to have on each of these Principles.

CPBIT is interested in hearing comments about these
Principles from members of the university community so that a
set of final Principles can be agreed upon for use by the
campus. If you have any comments or suggestions about these,
CPBIT urges you to take the opportunity to express your
thoughts about these Principles. There are several different
ways you could choose:

1. The full text of the draft Principles is in electronic
form on CUline at Campus Services, Computing on Campus, CPBIT
Technology Principles. An e-mail message regarding the
principles can be sent to the following address:
CPBITResponse@Colorado.EDU.

2. A "town meeting" devoted to public discussion of the
Principles will be held on Friday, November 18, 1994, 3 - 5
p.m. in CIRES Auditorium (Third Floor, Room 338 in the CIRES
building).

3. Letters regarding the Principles can be sent to the chair
of CPBIT, Vice Chancellor Bruce Ekstrand, Campus Box 40.


PRINCIPLES

PART I. Information Technology and the University Mission


Principle 1 -- Academic Primacy

Teaching, learning, research/creative work, and public
service are the primary missions of the University. The major
rationale for information technology resources is to support
the primary missions of the University.

Implications
* Clear definition of the strategic academic goals of the
University is essential for the effective allocation of IT
resources.
* IT resources will be allocated so that the primacy of the
academic mission of the University is respected.
* The discretionary power of academic, administrative,
support, or auxiliary units to levy charges for IT services,
or to improve their own IT capabilities, should be reviewed
by CPBIT (refer to Principle 6), in light of the overall
academic mission of the University.

Implementation
* CPBIT will inform academic and administrative officers of
this principle. Performance appraisals of these officers will
consider whether IT decisions have been made with the
priority of the academic mission in mind.


Principle 2 -- Common Good

Campus IT resources are provided in a manner that serves
overall campus needs. Specific and localized needs are
reviewed within the framework of assessing and meeting the
common good. Users of shared resources respect the impact
their use will have on other users.

Implications
* Resources that serve broad and diverse communities, such as
the campus libraries, the campus networks, and CNS research
computing facilities, must be allocated to maximize usage and
benefit. Wherever possible, such resources should be provided
at levels necessary to accommodate the typical user.
* All members of the academic community will have access to
the networks at reasonable cost.
* Users with unique needs may seek alternative solutions to
their needs, but must assess impacts on the shared components
of the IT environment and ensure that steps are taken to
avoid any negative effects.
* It is the responsibility of campus IT units to be
responsive to common needs and provide solutions that meet
the requirements of the user.
* The common good will be advanced by establishing allocation
procedures to assure that the entire campus community can use
IT resources.
* The creative tension between the common good and unique
needs will be recognized by supporting them as well as
possible within resource constraints, and consistent with the
common mission of the University.

Implementation
* The Boulder campus must review periodically what is needed
for the common good and evaluate whether needs previously
regarded as unique should become part of the core services.
* The Boulder campus must develop early warning systems to
examine projects that may affect the common good or pose
significant unique needs.
* IT projects with significant impact on the common good
infrastructure should be referred to CPBIT for consideration.
* IT resource allocations should reflect the importance of
the common good while seeking to accommodate some unique
needs.
* The Boulder campus should develop efficient buying
mechanisms, standards for hardware and software
configurations and uses, and training and assistance to
support the common good.


Principle 3 -- Strategic Goals and Resources

Information and its related technologies are major campus
resources. These resources are used to support and guide the
achievement of the strategic goals of the campus.

Implications
* The willingness of the University to address IT structural
and procedural issues will determine its ability to compete
effectively in the increasingly IT-intensive international
scholarly environment. Strong leadership is required to meet
the IT vision.
* The IT infrastructure is increasingly important to the
success of the campus Strategic Plan. The goals of the plan
that are most directly affected by IT should be identified so
they can be consistently addressed. Priorities for IT units
should reflect the strategic goals of the campus.
* IT investments important to the plan must be undertaken to
support the advancement of the campus.
* Budgeting such investments by individual IT units is likely
to be insufficient and ineffective. Such efforts must receive
either offthe-top funding or funding through a linked
mechanism that is based on cross-departmental support.
* Projects with broad impact or significant institutional
costs should be reviewed by CPBIT to measure their value in
advancing campus strategic goals.

Implementation
The Boulder campus needs significant senior management
involvement in setting IT policy and direction. To date, it
has relied primarily on tactical management of IT resources.
The campus needs to develop a management structure and
process for investing in and managing IT resources as
strategic resources. This requires improved coordination of
planning, budgeting, procurement, and deployment of IT
resources. (Refer to Principle 6.)
* CPBIT should assess those situations where IT can be used
to advance the campus strategic goals.
* Individual departments should inform their vice-chancellor
of major departmental initiatives, especially contract and
grant proposals, that involve IT. The vice-chancellors should
in turn consult with relevant IT units and CPBIT to ensure
that standards are met and interoperability is achieved.
* Proposed projects should be based on accepted campus
standards to maximize services to users. (Refer to Principle
5.)


Principle 4 -- Ethics

The use of IT is guided by a Boulder campus code of ethics
that addresses the laws and practices of responsible behavior
concerning fair use, privacy, intellectual property rights,
and censorship. It is the responsibility of each IT user to
be familiar with this code, and to abide by it to avoid
infringing upon the rights of other users.

Implications
* The rights of free speech and privacy of network
communications and data must be balanced with the need for
security of the system (e.g., against viruses), preventing
illegal activities (e.g., fraud, theft), and dealing with
issues such as obscenity, abusive communications, and junk
mail.
* Since digital products are easily moved, copied, and
changed, ethical standards and legal rights to ensure that
intellectual products are attributed to their authors must be
adopted. * Relevant laws, standards, rights, and associated
procedures must be communicated to network users, and they
must be enforced, consistent with rights of due process.

Implementation
* CPBIT will direct the development of a statement of "rights
and responsibilities of network users."
* CPBIT will direct the development of procedures for
identifying abuses and for the adjudication of cases related
to such abuses.
* The Boulder campus will endorse and widely promulgate
relevant guiding statements to foster ethical behavior (such
as the EDUCOM principles on software copyrights and the
American Library Association's guidelines on intellectual
freedom).


Principle 5 -- Standards

A comprehensive set of technical standards is identified and
supported. Distinctive needs may require nonstandard
approaches.

Implications
* Standards are derived from internal and external sources,
including federal and state laws and regulations,
international technical organizations, and university and
campus policies.
* Standards assist in the effective integration and
utilization of IT resources. IT agencies must work to
maintain and follow standards in order to meet common user
needs.
* To the extent possible, supported standards must be based
on public domain or site-licensed, low-cost proprietary
solutions. Training and diagnostic services will be provided.
* Where standards are required, the Boulder campus must
ensure that they are adequately supported.
* Standards apply to data, and data dictionaries must
accompany all administrative projects. Key elements common to
multiple systems should be defined centrally. Integrity of
data must be a campus standard.
* Specialized needs may occasionally warrant nonstandard
approaches. In such instances, the approach must be tested to
determine its impact upon shared resources, and to evaluate
its call on central services for assistance and support.
* In some cases, the Boulder campus may need to create local
standards if none exist, and anticipate developments in the
marketplace.

Implementation
* CPBIT is responsible for ensuring that standards are
established and adhered to.
* The Boulder campus must be prepared to assist in the
testing of nonstandard solutions by providing a basic testing
environment. Users are responsible for providing the
nonstandard hardware or software.
* The Boulder campus may choose proactive mechanisms
(including financial and technical support or sanctions) to
encourage noncompliant systems or applications to move to
standard solutions.


PART II. Information Technology Management


Principle 6 -- Organization and Governance
Information and its related technologies are major University
assets. The University invests in information technology and
manages IT in a coordinated and effective way.


Implications
* Information and IT are strategic resources. Comprehensive
review and management of such resources will advance the
University's mission. Failure to manage these resources
effectively may result in lost opportunities and
deterioration of the assets.
* Coordination of IT is a management function that should be
clearly defined in the Boulder campus administrative
structure.
* Management of individual IT activities (e.g., the
Libraries, Telecommunication Services, and Computing and
Network Services) may be delegated. However, overall
coordination of planning, budgeting, and expenditures will be
managed by CPBIT.
* The Boulder campus must provide organizational support for
CPBIT.
* CPBIT decisions, policies, and procedures must be widely
communicated to the campus community.
* CPBIT should assess the information technology needs of
campus users in support of CU-Boulder's primary missions.

Implementation
* The Chancellor's Committee on Information Technology
recommends that the Chancellor establish a Boulder Campus
Policy Board on Information Technology (CPBIT) and charge it
to review management, coordinate planning, consider budget
requests, and make recommendations to the chancellor
concerning Boulder campus policy and resource allocations for
IT.
* The membership of CPBIT should include but not be limited
to the vice-chancellors, the directors of planning and
budget, and the chancellor's chief of staff.
* The chair of CPBIT should be given support in recognition
of the time and effort required by additional duties. The
chair of CPBIT should advise the chancellor on IT policy.
* The directors of Telecommunication Services and Computing
and Network Services, and the dean of campus Libraries should
work closely with the chair of CPBIT to identify issues
requiring review by CPBIT, and to assure that background
papers are prepared as the basis for considering these
issues. The directors of Telecommunication Services and
Computing and Network Services, and the dean of campus
Libraries should serve either as permanent staff to the CPBIT
or as regular members thereof.
* The CPBIT should establish standing and ad hoc groups as
needed to assist it in preparing information and
recommendations.
* In order to provide a flow of information to and from the
University System Policy Board on Information Technology
(PBIT), a member of the PBIT should serve ex officio as a
member of the CPBIT.
* The Chancellor's Committee on Information Technology
recommends that the Chancellor immediately establish CPBIT,
and direct it to seek a Boulder campus consensus on the
vision and principles contained in this report.


Principle 7 -- Scholarly Information

Scholarly information in electronic form is integral to
academic work in the same manner as printed materials such as
books and journals. Those resources that are made generally
available are the province of the Libraries, in consultation
with other appropriate units, and employ the same policies
for access and acquisition as are used for other library
materials. Similarly, electronic information produced or
acquired in the course of teaching, research, and scholarship
are treated using the accepted norms for information in
nonelectronic form. Where relevant, wide dissemination of
such information for reference use by others in the academic
community is encouraged and facilitated by the Libraries and
Computing and Network Services.


Implications
* Many forms of IT-based scholarly material should be
acquired and/or managed by the Libraries in much the same way
as books and journals.
* The decision process to acquire or access these resources
will be the same as for other library materials.
* A strategy must be developed for allocating the cost of
sharing information that encourages sharing of scholarly
information.
* Access to IT-based material should be free to members of
the academic community to the greatest extent possible, in
the same manner as other library materials.
* IT materials generated as part of scholarly research should
be treated with the same confidentiality and ownership
principles as any other information that results from
scholarly work.
* University databases should be available in electronic form
when possible, using the same principles for dissemination as
those that govern paper-based materials.

Implementation
* The Libraries and Computing and Network Services will form
an Electronic Scholarly Information Task Force to address
such issues as acquisition, intellectual access, site
licenses, and networking.
* Where scholarly information in electronic form is acquired
by a unit within the Boulder campus and made available on the
campus network, the Libraries and CNS will work
collaboratively to provide intellectual access to the
information in accordance with national bibliographic
standards.
* Bibliographers will be responsible for acquiring stand-
alone and network-based collections of scholarly information
in electronic form. These collections will be searchable
using either commercial or locally-written search software.
* Standards for IT use must be made public. The discussion of
literature pertaining to these standards will involve legal
issues as well as operating procedures. Librarians must
define their roles in the overall management of IT-based
materials and then communicate these policies to the academic
community. (Refer to Principle 5.)
* Appropriate training must be available to users.


Principle 8 -- Administrative Data Management

Administrative data are the property of the University and
are generated and made accessible in ways that meet campus
and university management needs.

Implications
* Data management policies, processes, and procedures must be
established.
* Boulder campus management should identify the data
necessary for effective management of the campus. A process
must be developed to identify administrative data required
for emerging management needs.
* The systems development process must reflect management
needs. Administrative data should be easily accessible to
management.

Implementation
* The data management function should be administered in a
manner to ensure effective campus operations.
* Data management policies, processes, and procedures must be
administered by a designated department on the campus.
* A Boulder campus data management function and structure
should be established, with the Office of Planning and
Institutional Research designated as data manager.
* CPBIT should recommend policies on access to administrative
data. Responsibility for administrative data should be
assigned to specific departments. Responsibility includes
data quality (integrity), data production, data security and
accessibility, and training in the use of administrative
data.


Principle 9 -- Network Management

The campus data and communication network infrastructure is a
strategic resource and is central to further developments in
information technology. It is imperative that its growth and
operation be deftly managed.

Implications
* The Boulder campus will minimize the number of different
communication systems and will continue to develop and
require the use of approved campus communication standards
for all administrative and most academic IT needs.
* The Boulder campus recognizes that some research activities
may require distinctive networking technologies. In such
instances, researchers should contact appropriate Boulder
campus IT units at the earliest opportunity to obtain
approval and ensure timely coordination with other campus
activities.
* The Boulder campus network infrastructure, including the
backbone, must be enhanced and expanded to keep up with
demand and with developing technology. Network improvement
has long lead times, and planning for backbone enhancement
should be proactive
* The Boulder campus will continue to be a leader in state
and regional networking, both to provide outreach and to
ensure that its own needs are met.
* The core services of the network should be dynamic and
maintained consistent with the IT climate of the campus;
financial support should keep pace with these changes.
* The Boulder campus will need to develop increased external
network services to provide connectivity for Boulder campus
users to such resources at the information highway, the
Internet, and Gopher, World-Wide-Web, among many others.

Implementation
* The campus will identify funding to support necessary
expansion and enhancement of the campus backbone facilities.
A specific plan should be developed by CNS and
Telecommunication Services, with extensive input from campus
constituencies, and approved by CPBIT; the plan will need to
be reviewed and updated periodically.
* For the next several years, the area of greatest demand is
likely to be for the campus high-speed data communications
backbone. A formal planning process should be used to assess
needs and to ensure adequate resources are provided to meet
these needs.
* Academic and administrative departments with distinctive
data communications needs should consult with CPBIT to review
their plans.


PART III. Availability and Use of Information Technology --
          On and Off Campus

Principle 10 -- Core Services

The core of campus information technology resources and
services is barrier-free and provided to Boulder campus users
without discrimination based on ability to pay.


Implications
* Resources that serve the broad, diverse, yet common needs
of the campus community should be identified and made
available in order to maximize usage.
* Some of the core resources and services should be provided
at no cost to the campus community users.
* The Boulder campus must acknowledge unique user needs,
which must be met through resources outside of the common
core. The campus must ensure that these needs are addressed,
but do not negatively affect core services. All units on
campus must be responsible to respond to and support core and
special service needs.

Implementation
* A white paper should be prepared by CPBIT, with extensive
Boulder campus input, that specifically identifies core
services and options for funding.
* CPBIT should formulate and approve a specific set of core
services and funding mechanisms.


Principle 11 -- Instructional Computing

Information technology and its role in instruction is
fundamental to the future of the Boulder campus.
Incorporating instructional computing into campus teaching
and learning is encouraged.

Implications
* All students will have opportunities to use computing in
their educational program.
* Incorporating computing and IT into instruction will be
rewarded.
* The comparative efficiency of learning modes will be
considered in decisions about IT support for instruction.

Implementation
* The University will develop physical facilities,
infrastructure, and support functions to encourage
instructional computing applications of all types.
* Improvement of instruction with information technology will
be a criterion in faculty/staff personnel actions.
* The University will invest comprehensively in development
of its information technology activities, facilities, and
support for instruction in all fields.


Principle 12 -- Research Computing

Computing and other information technologies are essential
for support of research and creative work. Research computing
has the potential for both forcing and guiding the
development of the future of the Boulder campus. The campus
provides a basic infrastructure to support shared computing
resources and to connect research computing to basic network
services. For the most part, consistent with other forms of
research support, research computing is carried out as a
decentralized, departmental activity.

Implications
* Some high-end computing should be available locally for
researchers who have no access to external grants and for
those who are developing new research areas; however,
leading-edge research computing should not be a financial
responsibility of the Boulder campus.
* Researchers/scholars have the right to purchase, set up,
and maintain their own computing environments, but not
necessarily to connect to the campus network. Campus IT units
will provide consulting services to ensure that compatibility
is maximized, cost is minimized, and access to campus
networks is facilitated.
* Every effort must be made to provide shared software
through the negotiation of license agreements for
applications such as statistical or mathematical packages
employed by researchers in different fields and departments.
* Every reasonable attempt must be made to ensure that
computing equipment and capacity are added in an orderly
fashion.
* Support and training services should be provided to
facilitate the orderly evolution of research computing, and
the broader area of research in information technology.
Researchers should be provided with objective analyses about
potential equipment purchases, necessary support levels for
software and hardware, and licensing agreements.
* In order to improve the understanding of available
computing resources, space should be set aside where vendors
could display their research computing equipment for extended
periods of time, and, possibly, train campus personnel in the
use of their hardware and software.
* In recognition that the availability of external research
funds differs from discipline to discipline, the campus
should develop a means of providing funding to allow faculty
to be able to use appropriate technology, especially in the
humanities and social sciences.

Implementation
* Provision of large-scale research computing is not a
Boulder campus priority. However, access to such computing
should be facilitated by expanded consultation with campus IT
units and training services.
* Access through campus networks should be facilitated, if
feasible.
* Access to campus networks should be carefully regulated.


Principle 13 -- Administrative Systems

Administrative systems are essential for campus operation and
support of the broader campus needs and missions. They
support management decision making as well as use appropriate
data standards for exchange with other systems.

Implications
* An administrative systems approval process must be
established that embodies the campus information technology
principles.
* Boulder campus administrative system needs must be
identified consistent with the campus strategic plan. System
designers must consider broad campus and multicampus needs.
* University and Boulder campus data standards for exchange
with other systems must be developed.
* Systems must be user-friendly and facilitate management's
use of the information. Administrative systems not developed
in coordination with this principle must be discouraged or
sanctioned.
* Those responsible for administrative systems must plan and
budget for system maintenance and replacement.
* Campus administrative systems frequently have utilization
beyond an individual department. The design of these systems
should explicitly address access and use by units and
individuals across the entire campus.
* Multicampus systems should be designed with consideration
of specific campus missions and priorities. Implementation of
these systems should reflect individual campus operating
environments.


Implementation
* CPBIT should establish a multiyear plan for administrative
systems to encompass their strategic, administrative, and
replacement needs. This plan needs to be appropriately
communicated to and coordinated with Boulder campus
officials.
* CPBIT should establish a procedure to review administrative
systems for compatibility with university and Boulder campus
needs, and policy and budget issues.
* This procedure should recognize that timing issues may be
important to the proposing department. System development
planning must include reviews of proposed procedures to
improve the quality of management activity, the productivity
of administrative functions, and the user-friendliness of the
information.


Principle 14 -- Outreach

The provision of CU-Boulder information technology resources
to other higher education institutions, local communities,
and private corporations is a component of its service
mission. CPBIT must regulate the way the campus IT resources
are used by entities outside the campus and University.

Implications
* IT resources to external groups can include technical
consultation and assistance in establishing local community
or regional networks, electronic data exchange, access to CU
personnel and data bases, and, in prescribed circumstances,
access to computing resources.
* The costs of providing such access to external groups must
be carefully considered as well as issues related to
competition with the private sector.
* "Connections" of all sorts between CU-Boulder and external
groups will grow in importance in the years to come.

Implementation
* CPBIT should develop an inventory of existing CU-Boulder IT
resources provided to external groups, develop guidelines for
the encouragement of further opportunities, and allow for the
marketing of such services as well as publicity about CU-
Boulder/external group "connections."


PART IV. Economics

Principle 15 -- Risk-taking

Rare inevitable in the introduction and use of new
information technologies. Risk-taking in the use of advanced
technologies is encouraged in academic areas, but risks are
to be minimized through careful management in administrative
areas.

Implications
* A thorough investigation into the use of new technologies
for research and instruction will be encouraged. Academic
departments may acquire specialized resources, provided that
the call on campus-wide resources is reasonable and support
is provided.
* In administrative systems, prudent risks are accepted but
the emphasis is on stability and cost-effectiveness.

Implementation
* CPBIT should examine the risks associated with new
technologies in administrative systems and infrastructure.
* New academic and administrative acquisitions and
applications should not be connected to the campus
infrastructure without consideration of their impact on that
infrastructure.


Principle 16 -- Cost and Value

Opportunity costs, organizational efficiencies and change,
and potential extended values of information technology
investments must be systematically assessed before making
acquisitions.

Implications
* A campus resource allocation process must be developed that
will foster investment in IT across Boulder campus units
through use of linked and shared funding mechanisms, fees and
charging mechanisms, subsidies, and budgeted allocations.
* Appropriate life-cycle methodologies must be employed to
assess IT investments and benefits, paying attention to full
costs, opportunity costs, end-user costs, and funding
mechanisms.
* CPBIT must develop a process to assess IT investment
opportunities and to establish priorities.
* Some IT investments will not be institutionally permitted -
- even if the user has funding available -- if the investment
does not satisfy the IT principles.
* CPBIT will periodically assess systems and terminate
support or investment in systems that are no longer
economically viable.
* CPBIT will develop a procedure to ensure that appropriate
legal and policy requirements are met and included in the
estimated cost before proceeding with an investment.

Implementation
* The current campus budgeting process cannot easily handle
cross-unit funding and non-construction capital projects.
* CPBIT needs to develop an IT budgeting process that
addresses these issues.
* As part of the effort to develop IT budgeting procedures,
CPBIT should set standards for full economic and policy
costing of proposed changes in IT. In assessing opportunity
costs, CPBIT should consider the cost of not undertaking the
proposed IT development, as well as the cost of maintaining
the current system.
* CPBIT will consider whether a pool of resources needs to be
created to subsidize IT developments, including essential
projects that cannot provide all the funding necessary to
meet requirements.
* New funding techniques and charging mechanisms should be
continually explored to meet priority IT investments.
* CPBIT should examine these funding mechanisms carefully for
both cost and fairness.


Principle 17 -- Productivity and Effectiveness

Information and its related technologies are used to improve
the productivity and effectiveness of campus functions. In
this way, IT enables the campus to direct resources to
support the primary missions of teaching, learning, research,
and public service.

Implications
* The Boulder campus needs to use information technology to
develop and measure productivity and effectiveness.
* The Boulder campus needs to consider investments in IT in
the same manner as it views other investments to maximize
productivity and effectiveness.
* Coordination of key IT investments is required to maximize
institutional productivity and effectiveness.

Implementation
* Campus administrative procedures must concentrate on
systematically auditing results of campus functions to ensure
compliance with regulations and policies, not on inspection
at each step of the process. This requires the campus to
delegate authority to the lowest competent level, and to hold
units responsible for results. It also requires that units
charged with audit responsibilities be empowered to ensure
that timely corrections are made.
* In developing new or improved administrative systems, each
campus unit must review its current policies and processes to
ensure the most effective use of the system capabilities,
even if this means changing current policies and processes.