University IT Unit Restructures to Improve Customer Satisfaction

By Michelle Nery

The university's Information Technology Unit (ITU) has been restructured in an effort to improve communication, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. "We are bringing several of the divisions formerly under UCIS [University Computing and Information Systems] under the same administrative umbrella as the units that formerly made up the Division of Instructional Improvement and Instructional Technology [DoIIIT] to provide our customers with a better level of support despite constrained resources," says Joy Hughes, vice president of information technology and chief information officer (CIO). The new Division of Instructional and Technology (DoIT) Support Services will report to its new executive director, Anne Agee, who also has been named a deputy CIO of ITU.

Hughes selected Agee to lead DoIT Support Services because of her customer service expertise. "Anne sets standards and evaluates her staff on the basis of customer service. Faculty and student satisfaction with instructional technology services has substantially improved under her leadership." The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools recently noted that "George Mason is nationally recognized as a leader in the infusion of technology into the teaching and learning process and that recognition is clearly deserved," Hughes added.

DoIT Support Services will incorporate all of the instructional support units and those UCIS units whose work directly affects the individual desktop user, including the Help Desk, Support Center, Telecommunications, Field Services, and Local Server Management. Previously, some of these groups were isolated from one another. Under the new organization, they will collaboratively evaluate customer service data and design enhancements.

Those UCIS departments that work to support enterprise-level technology, including Administrative Applications, Network Services, and Enterprise Services and Operations, will report directly to Hughes. Training and administrative services that used to be split between DoIIIT and UCIS will be consolidated to make the ITU more efficient

The reorganization was based on the findings of manager work groups that analyzed project management, customer service, communication, and collaboration within the organization. Hughes incorporated the group's findings along with feedback from staff interviews to design the new organizational structure.