Preamble

Information Services (IS) partners with the campus community to provide robust, reliable, and secure information resources and services that enable faculty, staff, and students to excel in their academic and administrative pursuits. Collaborating with other offices, we provide the facilities, equipment, and professional support to assist faculty with meeting their teaching objectives as well as support for innovative uses of information technology to advance teaching, research, creativity, and scholarship.

This Plan lays out our shared goals for the coming years, a project that will contribute substantially to the success of the University of Richmond’s Strategic Plan.

We have many assets on which to build. The Information Services division is staffed by purposeful, talented team members, who are dedicated to supporting the academic and administrative functions of the University. We offer an array of technology resources and services that support the students, faculty, and staff.

The University Technology and Information Plan specifically supports the University Strategic Plan’s goals of academic excellence, a thriving and inclusive community, and responsible stewardship.

The University Technology and Information Plan was developed through a three-phased approach. First, we established a baseline by looking at institutional priorities, our “as-is” IT capabilities, and identification of gaps and opportunities. Next, we developed strategies through extensive constituent engagement, analysis of solution options in critical areas, and an assessment of our implementation readiness. Finally, we created this integrated Plan through the development of implementation timelines, and the establishment of enablers - looking at our funding, our organization, and IT governance.

The Plan delivers continued improvement to everyday technology services and enables other units’ strategic goals. The Plan leverages the expertise of many areas, including IS, the Hub, the Library and their academic and administrative partners. More specific benefits are outlined later in this report.

These goals provide direction, and we invite the University community to join us in bridging the digital horizon together. Hundreds of community members have suggested initiatives that can help us reach our goals, and operational plans are already under development to animate those initiatives. We are committed to measuring our success rigorously, in sharing that information transparently, reckoning honestly with opportunities and challenges that these assessments reveal, and using that information to improve. Through this Plan, and achievement of the goals that we have outlined, Information Services will build on our strengths to build a bridge to the digital horizon, helping the University enhance its leadership among the nation’s premier colleges and universities.

Vision

Faculty, students, and staff will harness modern technologies and robust information resources to enable teaching excellence, facilitate scholarship and innovation, promote student success, and facilitate responsible stewardship. The University will invest in the ability of students, faculty, and staff to use technology effectively, operate IT efficiently and protect the information security of its community.