Report Submission - ID: 17Admin179. Author(s): Sherri McWilliams. Unit of Analysis ID Number: 123. Sector: Provost

Transcription

1 Report Submission - ID: 17Admin179 Author(s): Sherri McWilliams Unit of Analysis ID Number: 123 Sector: Provost Division : College of Forestry & Conservation Unit for Assessment: IT and Research Computing State the mission, objectives, and primary functions of this unit. : The Quantitative Services Group is the information technology support unit for the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation (FCFC) and the Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station (MFCES). Our mission is to promote, implement, and support information technologies that advance FCFC/MFCES s success in accomplishing its educational, research, service, and administrative goals in a globally interconnected world. Objectives: Support FCFC/MFCES faculty, staff, and students with information technology that assists in successfully fulfilling their educational goals Support faculty, staff and students with information technology that assists in successfully fulfilling their research and service missions Through shared knowledge and communication develop as an empowered professional team built on a foundation of mutual respect Seek innovative solutions through a team-based approach to problem solving Strive for quality in our pursuits; maintain high standards of excellence Endeavor to find the necessary flexibility to adapt to evolving needs Primary Functions: Planning: Support the FCFC mission by developing a forward-looking information technology strategy Server Administration: Configure and administer servers that support FCFC Technical Support: Provide personalized, friendly, timely, and effective technical assistance to end-users Software and Hardware Management: Select, purchase, and manage software and hardware; Pursue strategies that optimize investments and minimize costs Web Services: Design and manage web services content for FCFC Data management: Support the storage, backup, and security of data Communication: Promote end-user self-sufficiency. Maintain a positive working relationship through effective communication

2 Professional Development: Seek opportunities to advance the skill set, and collaborate with other professionals on and off campus Identify the primary users of the unit.: Internal: Undergraduate majors (761.3) and graduate students (132.2) per year over past 5 years (stable trend) Employees (284 in 2017, stable trend) Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station - Statewide research arm of FCFC Centers/Institutes (7): Avian Science Center, Fire Center, Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research, Numerical Terradynamics Simulation Group, Bolle Center, Montana Climate Office, Wilderness Institute Departments (3): Ecosystem & Conservation Sciences, Forest Management, Society & Conservation Majors (5): Ecosystem Science & Restoration; Forestry; Parks, Tourism, & Recreation Management; Resource Conservation; Wildlife Biology Minors (4): Climate Change Studies, Ecological Restoration, Wilderness Studies, Wildlife Biology Certificates (4): GIS Sciences & Technologies, Protected Area Distance Management, Natural Resources Conflict Resolution Program, Wilderness Management Graduate (8): M.S. Forestry, M.S. Parks, Tourism & Recreation Management, M.S. Resource Conservation, M.S. Wildlife Biology, M.S. and Ph.D. Systems Ecology, Ph.D. Forest & Conservation Sciences, Ph.D. Fish & Wildlife Biology Wilderness Institute s Distance Education Program Properties (2): Lubrecht Experimental Forest, Bandy Ranch Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit UM students that are enrolled in courses (40) taught in our supported computer labs (4 labs with a total of 80 seats) External: Faculty Affiliates Prospective Students State and National Agencies including U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Grizzly Bear Recovery Program, Montana Coop Unit researchers and staff, Montana State University Extension Lubrecht Experimental Forest guests ESRI GIS software products for UM's affiliated campuses (Missoula College, Montana Tech, Western, Helena College) Submit Organizational Chart : 17Admin179_SubmitOrganizationalChart_ pdf Complete the FTE Detail Excel spreadsheet provided in the link below.: 17Admin179_CompletetheFTEDetailExcelspreadsheetprovidedinthelinkbelow_ pdf Using the space below, address any issues with your FTE Detail Sheet.: As you can see from the official APASP 5 year overview of budgets (personnel FTE, General Fund expenses, and other funds), the UM Data Office did not know how to provide this information for our IT and Research Computing Unit of Analysis. To derive this information, we asked the Data Office for the official salary and personnel

3 data. We then identified the individuals in our unit for each year and calculated FTE and salary from the Data Offices database. For Operating expenses explained below in Criterion #4 Efficiency, we derived the data from UMDW. Finance: Budget and Financial Planning,Purchasing/Procurement Human Resources: Employee Training Communications: Marketing and Communications,Website Maintenance/Development,Social Media Information Technology: Application Development/maintenance,Provide unit with server and desktop support. Criteria 1. - Bullet 1.: Leadership: Provides leadership to FCFC/MFCES on IT needs and strategies to fulfill the teaching, research, and service mission Contributes to and collaborates with other UM units to plan and implement IT resources Provides students access to specialized software to be competitive in their discipline Developed first UM website Coordination of GIS software for UM and 5 other campuses FCFC website won 6 UM awards in 2 years including Best of Show Implemented a private cloud serving researchers and students Statewide recognition for leadership in geographic information Engagement: Support information technology that enables students the process of discovery and experiential learning from both local and remote locations o Provide specialized field hardware o Provide cloud-based data collection software o Provide laptops and portable video equipment Collaboration with external professionals o Websites for distance learning and multi-university research o Access to public datasets o Video conferencing o IT for off-campus properties o GPS station for U.S. National Reference Network Diversity: Provided training and technical support in FCFC/MFCES for meeting accessibility requirements Hired diverse student interns Support IT for faculty conducting research and workshops abroad Support IT needs for foreign students Sustainability:

4 Computers purchased according to need, repurposed, and recycled Mindful of energy demands o Deployed private cloud that hosts 28 virtual servers reducing need for physical servers o Decommissioned 1 server room -saving energy- decommissioning another o Utilizing UM s Modular Data Center Support UM programs and centers focused on sustainability o Montana Climate Office o Climate Change Studies o Fire Center Criteria 1. - Bullet 2.: For FCFC/MFCES we run one of the largest enterprise server environments on campus. Faculty, staff, and students rely on us daily. Building a rapport with users, we learn how they work, their level of expertise, and what resources they need. We advise them on IT purchases, and educate them on UM resources. We effectively assist users so they can work without technology being a barrier. We are available and frequently accessible after hours. Support requests, consultations, and trainings are evidence for high utilization of our services. We actively engage with campus IT groups and committees to represent FCFC/MFCES. MFCES researchers have a high number of research projects (>200 per year over the 5 year period) and often with specialized needs that campus IT does not have the resources to support. We provide the IT support when faculty bring these specialized needs into their classrooms. A reduction of resources would equate to a loss/reduction of IT support for: All identified internal and external users 4 teaching/computing labs All allied programs GIS for UM and satellite campuses Specialized software and computing environments that support MFCES research (202 active grants per year, with an average of >$8 million in new grants dollars per year) MFCES remote properties Given an increase in resources, we could: Provide better equipment to increase productivity Create a common research compute environment to reduce costs Implement innovative solutions giving students a competitive edge for employment Increase training opportunities Investigate public cloud-based services Support "Next Generation" learning Criteria 2. - Bullet 1.: This unit has experienced increased demand for data storage, processing, mobile access, wireless services, web services, and cloud-based services in the past five years. Our unit must continually adopt and implement evolving technologies to enable our faculty and students to remain competitive. Trends experienced: 36.83% decrease in FTE for IT personnel in FCFC over past 5 years

5 284 employees, undergraduate majors, and graduate students per year over past 5 years (stable trend) Increased use: Data storage increased four-fold (400% - 10TB to 50TB) Between teaching, research, and graduate lab needs, most FCFC faculty doubled the number of computers Websites supported increased (26% - 39 to 49) Mobile device support (laptops, phones, tablets) High performance computing Support for device security (anti-virus/malware software) Added support for: 2 Geography computer labs in addition to FCFC computer labs o Lab computers supported increased 111% (38 to 80) Fire Center and Geography servers o Servers supported increased 136% (22 to 52) 3 research programs/centers 4 faculty research labs Montana Wildlife Coop Unit Mac and Linux operating systems (formerly only Windows) Developing software solutions that campus does not provide (electronic timecard, student database) Anticipated trend: Increase in support for faculty research Managed data storage expected to increase 20% each year 8% decrease in FTE for IT personnel Increase in research projects requiring website support Additional demand for support by internal units Increased demand for user support; diversity of users and uses Criteria 2. - Bullet 2.: FCFC/MFCES are in an increasingly globally competitive and interconnected world. Globalization shapes user expectations. A diverse technological landscape and changes driven by user demand mean more time researching effective solutions and understanding support requirements. Trends: Support for faculty/researcher/student collaboration with local, state, regional, national, and international entities though initiation of 59 new grant projects a year Increased need to support remote access for growing international programs Increased need to provide remote support for faculty sabbaticals and student conferences Increased interaction with external professional societies relevant to FCFC has increased the demand for web support Increased development of the Montana State Arboretum has increased demand for web services and remote access data collection Increased interest and required support in distance education programs

6 o Wilderness Management o Protected Area Management The addition of 2 meeting rooms offering online meeting, conferencing and desktop sharing required increased support Sustained management of GIS licenses and support for UM and affiliated campuses o Missoula College o Montana Tech o Western o Helena College Sustained support for GIS and system administration of Wilderness.net Supported GPS units and remote field data collection software for wilderness weed mapping cooperative Sustained support for the Montana Sage Grouse Project (50 research techs, one PhD, and more than one faculty) Supported external collaboration tools, websites, and data storage for researchers in joint projects with external entities Increased support for IT for Montana State University Extension Forestry Criteria 3. - Bullet 1.: We rely on evidenced-based internal assessments. Access to comparative institutional information or comparable IT benchmarks for Higher Education to assess operational efficiency is not available. Our user community holds us accountable for the cost, quality, quantity, timeliness, and value of our services, the projects we pursue, and the decisions we make. The College of Forestry Program Review/Self Study, March 11, 2016 states IT and computer support provided to FCFC by the four individuals in the Quantitative Services Group remains excellent. Experiential evidence: We have a demonstrated history of effectively operating as an independent and agile group under FCFC Administration with limited oversight The lack of complaints and voice of support to the FCFC Administration is a primary gauge of performance Users engage us because of our high quality of service Employ weekly meetings and project management tools to track: o Progress on support requests o Issues (no issues unresolved/forgotten) o Workloads and performance level One-half day response time or less to support requests Received awards and accolades from the UM community, including the following Pinecone Awards for UM website design: Tamarack (Best Visual Design): 2014, 2015 Lorax (Best Content Manager): 2014 Great Owl (Best Study Page): 2016 Spruced Up (Most Improved Site): 2016 Golden Pinecone (Best In Show): 2014, 2015 Staff awards reflect both contribution and excellence: 2016 FCFC Dean's Award for Extraordinary Service

7 2015 UM Outstanding Staff Award - Campus Interaction and Meritorious Job Performance 2000 Career Distinguished Service Award from the Montana Association of Geographic Professionals Criteria 3. - Bullet 2.: In aggregate, our four employees have a combined 73 years of service in information technology within UM, with many collaborative projects with other UM personnel and groups internal and external to UM. One or more of us participate in the following activities: Trainings: IT Short Courses OpenStack private cloud - OpenStack Conference (2015 Vancouver) Linux operating systems LANdesk antivirus and management software School of Business Administration Information Technology and Big Data courses Nutanix enterprise private cloud Commvault enterprise backup software Leadership and Engagement: OneIT initiative IT Staff Ambassadors Montana Association of Geographic Professionals Developed/led training in Cascade Content Management system Service: Tech Partners meetings Student Technology Assistants Program (STAP) Montana State Arboretum Committee Software committees o TeamDynamix Implementation Committee o LANdesk o Emergency IT notifications o Amazon Web Services Software Asset Management Roundtable Higher Ground (IT accessibility conference) SUMMIT (UM IT Unconference ) Montana Government IT Conference Numerous state GIS conferences (conference host 2008) and local GIS workshops Web master o Society of American Foresters Criteria 3. - Bullet 3.: Information technology contributes heavily to the advocacy and advancement of basic and applied research, creative work, and academic scholarship, and helps to foster an environment where research, scholarly activities, entrepreneurship, and economic development can succeed. FCFC research productivity directly supported by our IT efforts:

8 Expenditures per tenure faculty FTE of (AUD Report Delaware Data) o AY13: $538,000, 67% more than the next highest unit, 62% higher than the NSICP Benchmark o AY14: $509,664 69% more than the next highest unit, 63% higher than the NSICP Benchmark Info Griz Report Fragrant Report o Average of 202 active research grants per year over past 5 years o Average of 59 new grants per year over past 5 years We are the primary IT support entity for: Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station - the statewide research arm of FCFC. 43 research faculty and associated research staff and graduate students 14 faculty research labs 12 research programs and centers o National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis o Avian Science Center o Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research o Montana State University Extension Forestry o Montana Climate Office o and 7 others Three tiers of support characterize our research faculty base and associated research staff and graduate students: Standard: Web, , and office productivity software (53% of total) Specialized: Standard support plus research, specialized software, and/or specialized mobile\field device support (23% of total) Advanced: Specialized support plus computational, stand-alone, publicly-hosted, cloud, and/or specialized systems (24% of total) Criteria 3. - Bullet 4.: We are the primary IT support entity for FCFC, including administrative and academic computing needs. In conjunction with day-to-day support, we perform training with employees to keep them current on technology external and internal to UM. We support: undergrads per year over past 5 years (stable trend) graduate students per year over past 5 years (stable trend) 284 employees 43 instructional faculty 20 graduate teaching assistants (historical average) 40 courses (including all sections) taught in FCFC and Geography computer labs We build, manage, and maintain physical spaces with customized technology implementations: 20 research labs 4 student computer labs, totaling 80 computers 3 meeting rooms with web-conferencing and digital teaching capabilities 1 classroom with interactive whiteboard and digital teaching capabilities

9 We also design, build, and maintain websites and digital file storage for: 3 departments 14 faculty labs 11 instructional programs Implemented a jobs board (feed) on our website for students to find jobs to enhance their education and field experience. o Other units on campus followed our lead and implemented job boards on their websites Criteria 4. - Bullet 1.: Personnel expenses and funds are listed on the FTE spreadsheet (Other general funds) - Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station: Operating and Capital Expenses o $40,663 Includes $13,330 lease payment towards our Dell CX4/SAN Server Environment o $38,862 Includes $13,330 lease payment towards our Dell CX4/SAN Server Environment o $45,013 Includes $13,330 lease payment towards our Dell CX4/SAN Server Environment o $23,052 No lease payment o $33,599 Includes $18,609 lease payment towards our Nutanix Enterprise Server Environment (Designated funds) - Forestry Sales & Service, QSG Revenue (Printing Sales, Interdepartmental Charges, Sales and Service, Other Income) o $6,801 o $6,570 o $8,862 o $8,810 o $10,351 Personal Services Expenses o $1,331 o $1,034 o $1,281 o $1,844 o $1,873 Operating and Capital Expenses o $2,563 o $7,436 o $1,695 o $10,396 o $7,403 Criteria 4. - Bullet 2.: Most the expenses we incur are fixed expenses that are essential in our teaching, research and service mission.

10 These are a priority and must be supported first: Software licenses used in teaching and research Utilities Communications o Port charges o Phone charges o Internet charges Areas we have had to adjust to cuts: Personnel Since 2012 the Firecenter/NTSG has lost 2 systems administrators (2.0 FTE) o These two positions supported: 5 faculty researchers 20 staff in Firecenter and Numerical Terradynamics Simulation Group 2 enterprise private cloud environments o The College, FireCenter, and Numerical Terradynamics Simulation Group were not able to refill these positions o Our unit absorbed much of these support responsibilities resulting in: Increased workload for our unit (more IT issues and significantly more responsibilities) Increased user support Increased server administration Less time for planning; less proactive/more reactive Less time for cross-training Less time for documentation Training o Steady decline in funds available for training o Impacts our professional development o Had to find ways to advance through free/very inexpensive programs Travel o Steady decline in funds available for travel o Impacts our ability to attend professional conferences and to support remote properties (Lubrecht Experimental Forest and Bandy Ranch) Supplies and General Expenses o Purposefully more mindful on expenditures to defer purchases and only purchase what is absolutely necessary Criteria 4. - Bullet 3.: Private Cloud Implementation: Benefits include: o Reduced energy usage o Reduced server replacement costs o Leveraging UM's Modular Data Center (2017) freeing space and saving energy Collaborated with Library in researching private cloud infrastructure to leverage shared knowledge Research Computing: Engaged researchers on

11 o o o Identifying enterprise computing needs/shared IT infrastructure. Purchasing shared server and storage solutions Identifying future computing needs Cascade Content Management System: Leveraged UM's web content management system to: o Manage 49 websites o Train/manage 24 web editors Encouraged other units to join Cascade PaperCut Printing Management: Joined other units to implement a common printing solution for students (2015) Saved money by not having to purchase a stand-alone printing solution Software Licensing/Management: Pooled software funding and negotiated multi-use software licenses with other units to save 10's of thousands of dollars o ESRI GIS: (1999) for UM and all UM campuses o Intergraph Erdas Imagine Image Analysis: (2002) for FCFC, the National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis, Montana Tech, and Montana Natural Heritage Program o Trimble GPS: (2009) for FCFC, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, and the College of Humanities and Sciences o Exelis Envi IDL Image Analysis: (2013) for FCFC and the Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group Participate in campus software roundtables group to find cost savings Collaborate on purchasing: o SPSS o Adobe o Matlab o TeamDynamix - ticketing, knowledge base, project management Communication Software: Adopted communication software to better collaborate internally and with other IT campus units o Slack - chatting software o Asana - project management o Confluence - wiki site hosting our shared knowledge base Criteria 4. - Bullet 4.: Our unit is not generally in a position to generate external revenue due to limited staffing and resources We receive $1000/year from Montana State University Extension Forestry for user and desktop support. This revenue helps offset student printing costs in our instructional labs.

12 Criteria 5. - Bullet 1.: For more than twenty years, our IT group has led campus by 1) bringing in the first T1 fiber optic cable; 2) creating the first website for the entire university; 3) deploying the first hyper-converged research storage cluster in the datacenter. We embrace innovative team-based thinking while nurturing relationships with IT professionals on and off-campus including people from the private sector and Montana Tech. Engage Students Where They Are: Procure more laptops for students o In 2015, we secured 8 laptops worth $20,000 from Federal Government Surplus (FGS) for checkout at no cost to UM. Laptops are used by financially disadvantaged students and students doing field research. o Assist campus groups in similar procurements using our FGS account Invest in People: Provide flexibility for members of our team to study for professional IT certifications Propose a percentage of grant dollars be allocated for IT staff training in new technologies Partner with Place: Equip students with software tools that allow them to work in remote research sites Recruit a diversity of students for student IT position Reinvent the Heart of the Curriculum: Support faculty s computer-based educational initiatives Introduce grads to big data processing opportunities Solicit feedback from students on their IT needs with listening forums Foster Knowledge Creation and Innovation: Utilize our expertise to teach IT short courses for students, staff and faculty Develop an IT for IT knowledge base Share knowledge and opportunities with other researchers Criteria 5. - Bullet 2.: Research Computing Collaboration: Continue to facilitate partnerships to leverage shared computing resources. (e.g. Linux data storage and processing in the Division of Biological Science) Continue to collaborate with Montana Tech to provide students with access to their High Performance Computing Cluster. Continue to explore partnerships through Tech Partners Leverage used IT equipment by contributing equipment to a shared research computing effort Research Computing Centralization: Create a centralized environment to support research computing that would give faculty and graduate students a robust platform for analyzing large data sets.

13 Combine resources from across campus to save money purchasing research computer hardware. Explore funding mechanisms to implement a cost-recovery model for research computing Antivirus: Implement a single, centrally deployed antivirus solution to save money and IT professional's time; eradicating computer viruses. Video conferencing: Implement a single video conferencing package to achieve significant cost savings across campus (e.g. GoToMeeting, Zoom, or Blackboard Collaborate) IT Service Management Software: Implement software for IT support tickets, asset tracking, and project management. Streamline support processes and create a knowledgebase spanning IT professionals Single sign-on: Implement a single user sign-on. Eliminates confusion and demonstrates to our users that we value their time. Shared software licensing: Continue to explore options to efficiently and effectively collaborate on the purchase and administration of software. Mapping services: Leverage campus site license for enterprise GIS software to advance campus mapping and accessibility Criteria 5. - Bullet 3.: Computers for Staff: Implement a revolving computer replacement program for staff similar to UM's faculty rollout program. Currently, FCFC staff members receive four-year-old, hand-me-down computers from teaching labs, which they generally use for another four years. Implement a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) to deploy less expensive dumb terminals. Users would access their virtual desktop running on a powerful server, or over-theweb from remote locations. These digital workspaces can start small, scale linearly and be easily upgraded and managed. Training: Training budget sufficient for IT professionals to remain proficient on the current and emerging technologies Our unit current has a yearly training budget of $500 per person, which is insufficient

14 Swipe Card Access: Provide students with after-hours access to our physical computer labs using swipe card devices and monitoring with security cameras Virtual Computer Labs: Implement virtual computer labs to provide students anytime/anywhere computer access to utilize software they cannot afford Implementing virtual computer labs also enable faculty to "spin up" lab environments specifically tailored to their instructional objectives Virtual Reality Tools: Implement virtual reality tools to entice prospective students to virtually tour our college and areas we study -- like rainforests in Costa Rica -- using an $8 pair of Google Cardboard "googles" and a smart phone Finance and support the production environment for this innovative recruitment tool Anytime-Anywhere Access: Continue to deploy and advance technologies that enable anytime/anywhere access to campus resources and information using responsive technologies for all device formats