3.2.1 Information Resources Governance Policy

1. Purpose:

Piedmont University focuses on prioritizing global technology initiatives. The purpose of this policy is:

To establish intentional and agreed upon procedures for information resources prioritization and procurement.
To determine appropriate funding sources for information resources initiatives.

2. Governance

2.1 Structure

2.1.1 Information Resources Steering Committee (IRSC) The Information Resources Steering Committee (IRSC) provides governance for the university’s information resources. The IRSC consists of the Chief Information Officer, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Vice President for Advancement, and (as a non-voting member) the Director of Academic Technology. The IRSC receives and reviews vetted proposals from the Information Resources Coordinating Council (IRCC) and presents to the President for final approval as required.

2.1.2 Information Resources Coordinating Council (IRCC) The process of approval of technology initiatives relies upon the Information Resources Coordinating Council (IRCC) to review each proposed initiative before presentation to the IRSC for action. The IRCC members are Director of Academic Technology, Director of Data Resources Management, and the Chief Information Officer. Working groups of the IRCC conduct a detailed and comprehensive review of each initiative that falls within their assigned application area.

Application areas include the following Working Groups:

Academic Technology – led by the Director of Academic Technology, Responsibilities of this committee include:
1. Computer lab requirements (hardware/software/maintenance)
2. Instructional systems
3. Systems/initiatives that support instruction or faculty preparation
4. Systems that support student learning
Data Governance – led by the Director of Data Resources Management Responsibilities of this committee include oversight of the design, development, maintenance, policies, and procedures associated with data contained in institutional database systems. Primary focus is on Colleague, but also includes other databases as related to their integration with Colleague.
Technology Infrastructure – led by the Chief Information Officer Responsibilities of this committee include:
1. Network hardware/software
2. Faculty/staff office hardware/software
3. Institutional software subscriptions
4. Power backup
5. Student support systems (not for instruction)
6. Administrative support systems
7. Security systems
8. Institutional websites
9. Intranet

Other application areas may be added as required.

2.2 Responsibilities and Duties

2.2.1 The Data Governance Working Group will review all initiatives or requests involving modification (additions, changes, or deletions) to institutional database systems.

2.2.2 All other Working Groups shall focus on refining the business case for information resources proposals.

The Working Groups will:
1. review and submit the requests to the IRCC,
2. return the initiative request to the requesting business unit for resubmission based on the Working Group’s questions and comments, or
3. if the Working Group does not agree with the proposal, submit the proposal along with a dissenting opinion to the IRCC for review
The IRCC will either:
1. pass the vetted requests to the IRSC for review and submission to the President,
2. return the initiative request to the requesting business unit for resubmission based on the IRCC’s questions and comments, or
3. if the IRCC does not agree with the proposal, submit the proposal along with a dissenting opinion to the IRSC for review.
The IRSC will pass the vetted requests to the President for a final disposition.

2.2.3 The IRCC has agreed that items that are considered core infrastructure (e.g., network switches, servers, wireless access points, LMS platforms, online course development software and/or hardware, faculty/staff computers, printers) will be approved directly by the IRSC and the President.

2.3 Meetings

2.3.1 The IRCC Working Groups will meet monthly between September and January, with additional meetings as deemed appropriate.

2.3.2 The IRSC will meet only when proposals have been vetted and submitted by the IRCC or as necessary to facilitate decisions related to information resources.

2.4 Minutes and Communication

2.4.1 The Working Groups, IRCC, and the IRSC shall maintain meeting minutes. Minutes are to include lists of members present, absent, and/or excused.

2.4.2 A monthly summary will be posted on the Information Resources Governance (IRG) Teams site. The IRG Teams site will be made public in order to establish and maintain decision and process transparency.

3. Funding Sources

3.1 Technology Fee:

The technology fee will be used to fund all core infrastructure purchases and core infrastructure replacements based on the established refresh schedule.

Faculty and staff will be able to choose from an approved list of computer equipment. If an employee requests a higher quality machine, and if the request is approved by the appropriate business unit leader, the higher quality equipment will be purchased based on the established refresh schedule or at the time of hire for all new employees. The difference in cost between the approved hardware and the higher quality hardware will be paid by the requesting business unit. The upgrade request must be approved by the appropriate VP and the CIO.
The technology fee will be used to fund all computer lab equipment purchases and equipment replacements based on the established refresh schedule.

The type of hardware being requested for computer lab purchases and replacements will be presented to the Academic Technology Working Group for review and approval. The Academic Technology Working Group will submit the vetted proposal to the IRSC for final approval and submission to the President.

The technology fee will be used as a “seeding” fund for submitted and approved instructional technology and information resources initiatives. The fee will cover the cost of initial hardware purchases and future hardware replacements. The fee will cover the initiative’s implementation costs and the first years’ service and/or maintenance cost for any needed software. All other software costs and service/maintenance costs past the first year will be paid through the Information & Technology Services’ software account.

3.2 Other Sources:

3.2.1 Any initiative not explicitly listed in section 3.1 will be funded through the appropriate business unit. The initiative submissions will follow the procedures detailed in sections 2.1 and 2.2

4. Proposal Submission Process

4.1 Proposal submissions will be accepted beginning March 1st and ending August 31st. Proposals will be submitted to the CIO and the CIO will assign the proposal to the appropriate Working Group for review with reviews beginning September 1st and ending January 31st. The requesting individual and/or business unit will use the Technology Proposal Request form to submit their proposal.

4.2 Approved proposals will be prioritized for budgeting purposes. The budget priorities in order of importance are:

core infrastructure purchases and core infrastructure replacements,
all computer lab equipment purchases and equipment replacements (NOTE: all replacements will be reevaluated each refresh cycle), and
“seeding” funds for submitted and approved instructional technology and resource initiatives as detailed in section 3.1

If funds exist – this will be a function of the technology fee funds, core infrastructure requirements, and computer lab requirements – then all proposals will be funded. If available funds do not exist, then proposals will be funded based on IRSC and Presidential priorities.

4.3 All approved proposals will receive funding during the next immediate fiscal year.

4.4 Any proposal that is submitted after August 31st will follow the submission process; however, funding will not be approved until all the priorities listed in section 4.2 are satisfied.

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Section 3 - General Policies