One IT Strategic Plan

"UC Berkeley's IT professionals work together to provide the tools, data, and infrastructure the campus community needs to continue to grow as the world's greatest public research university."

Our Goals:

Goal 1

Goal 1: Support Engaged Thinkers and Global Citizens

Provide all students the essential tools and data they need to be engaged thinkers and global citizens.

goal 2

Goal 2: Develop research cyberinfrastructure for public good

Develop the research cyberinfrastructure Berkeley needs to address society’s great challenges and to share knowledge for the public good.

Goal 3

Goal 3: Create a diverse and inclusive community of IT professionals

Create a diverse and inclusive community of IT professionals who are trusted and strategic partners with the campus, alumni, and the public.

Goal 4

Goal 4: Sustain the IT foundation for campus

Sustain the IT foundation for campus faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Improve campus IT systems and infrastructure through innovation, sustainable funding, campus governance, and organizational evolution. Support all strategies.

Goal 1 Priority Initiatives:

Provide all students the essential tools and data they need to be engaged thinkers and global citizens.


Goal 1 TriangleInstructional Resilience for In-Person and Hybrid Teaching Environments*

In coordination with the Research, Teaching, and Learning (RTL) Executive Advisory Group and campus stakeholders (Berkeley Law, Engineering, Haas, and iSchool), develop a design-based plan to identify the next iteration of instructional resilience for remote, in-class, and hybrid instruction. Lead: Research, Teaching, and Learning

Key Measures of Success

  • A standard definition for Instructional Resilience across Undergraduate Education, Law, Engineering, Haas, and iSchool.
  • Document trends, commonalities, and gaps of instructional resilience across all units based on surveys, focus groups, and 1:1 discussions with users.
  • Initiate one design-based project tackling a component of Instructional Resilience based on findings from previous measures of success.
  • Berkeley Law: Educational Resilience

Support our Law school students, faculty, and leadership in all aspects of remote, hybrid, and in-person learning. Refine procedures for staying flexible in supporting teaching as guidelines around COVID mandates change and are removed. Lead: Gabe Gonzales

  • Engineering IT: Instructional Services

Increase support for instructional services for large-scale courses, including DataHub, Computer-based Testing, and bCourses. Lead: Finsen Chiu

  • Haas IT: Refresh Academic Planning Tools

Working alongside RTL to streamline and align Haas' in-house curricular planning tools with the best practices of the Instructional Resilience collaboration priority. Leads: Sreekala Nair and Dennis Sheridan

  • School of Information IT: Instructional Resilience

Deliver tools and services allowing instructors and students to pivot quickly between remote, hybrid, and in-person modalities as circumstances dictate. This effort focuses on building out/refining Zoom Room capability in our classrooms/meeting spaces. Leads: Kevin Heard and Gary Morphy-Lum

Goal 2 Priority Initiatives:

Develop the research cyberinfrastructure Berkeley needs to address society’s great challenges and to share knowledge for the public good. 


Goal 2 TriangleImprove Services for Researchers Working with Data

In collaboration with bIT (Storage & Backup, bConnected teams), develop a framework and methodology for working with researchers to understand and express their data storage needs. Together, these tools will provide a systematic way to characterize a research data use case and its requirements, allowing for “one conversation held multiple times” (rather than a series of disparate conversations) and moving forward with the campus storage strategy effort. Our goal is to establish a common lens through which we can understand storage characteristics and assess risk to research data, allowing both campus and investigators to place a value on that data. Lead: Research, Teaching, and Learning

Key Measures of Success

  • Identify a set of fundamental research data storage characteristics.
  • Develop a mechanism for quantifying the importance of each storage characteristic to help researchers select among storage options.
  • Align with and support the data storage options dashboard developed by the bConnected team.
  • Develop a requirement gathering template that produces a systematic and sharable characterization of the risks and requirements for research data storage.
  • Provide input into developing storage and backup services, both on campus and system-wide (e.g., UC Research Data Backup RFP).

Goal 3 Priority Initiatives:

Create a diverse and inclusive community of IT professionals who are trusted and strategic partners with the campus, alumni, and the public.


Goal 3 TriangleDigital Accessibility Program

A collaborative effort across the UC Berkeley campus, the Digital Accessibility Program seeks to ensure all university websites and digital content are able to be accessed and interacted with by everyone in our community. As we create and share online content, we want to be sure it has been designed, developed, or procured to be accessible to people with disabilities, including those who use assistive technologies. Lead: Berkeley IT - Campus IT Experience.

Learn more about the Digital Accessibility Program

Key Measures of Success

  • Create the new ITAP Steering Committee to oversee the policy implementation at Berkeley.

  • Hire a new Program manager to run the Digital Accessibility Program

  • Kick off the Website & Third Party Platform Remediation to identify and remediate the top 200 public-facing Berkeley websites.

Goal 3 TriangleMature the IT Governance Model

Continue to mature and grow the new campus IT Governance model. Stand up additional committees as needed. Leverage the model to move high-impact IT projects through the campus review and funding approval processes. Lead: Berkeley IT - Strategy and Partnerships.

Learn more about IT Governance

Key Measures of Success

  • Hire a governance Program Manager.
  • Standup the Data Governance Committee.
  • Continue to develop and formalize IT governance processes and policies, including annual goal setting and self-assessment.
  • Create a robust communications plan to better inform the campus community about how to engage with IT governance and learn about outcomes for topics that come to governance for review/recommendation.

Goal 4 Priority Initiatives:

Sustain the IT foundation for campus faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Improve campus IT systems and infrastructure through innovation, sustainable funding, campus governance, and organizational evolution. Support all strategies.


Goal 4 TriangleCybersecurity Implementation*

Continue to roll out the IS-3 Unit Project across campus, operationalize the onboarding process, initiate an annual review for pilot Units, and ongoing Unit Information Security Lead engagement. Lead: Berkeley IT - Information Security Office

Key Measures of Success

  • Onboarding is complete for all units designated as high-risk.
  • Complete annual review for early adopters of IS-3 implementation.
  • Onboarding process established for high and low-risk units.
  • Ongoing annual review process developed.
  • A program of regular communication with Unit Information Security Leads (UISLs) is in place.
  • Berkeley Law: Security, Privacy, Compliance

Work through recommendations from IS-3 review and complete departmental Information Security Management Program reviews. Lead: Gabe Gonzalez

  • Environment, Health, & Safety IT: Cybersecurity and IS-3
    Compliance

Continue work to bring EH&S systems and applications into compliance with IS-3 standards, and begin to evaluate processes for vulnerabilities. Lead: Guy Seltzer

  • Goldman School of Public Policy: Cybersecurity and IS-3
    Compliance

Continue work to bring all Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP) systems and applications into compliance with IS-3 policies and standards and begin to evaluate processes and identify and mitigate vulnerabilities. Lead: Darrian Hall

  • Haas IT: Implementation of the IS-3 Security Policy

Departmental audits of cybersecurity practices to ensure compliance with the IS-3 policy. Lead: Sreekala Nair

  • I School IT: Information Security Program

Create an information security program allowing key stakeholders to identify/manage risk and keeping our practices aligned with applicable laws, regulations, and university policies. Leads: Kevin Heard, Steve Didley, and Gary Morphy- Lum

  • Letters & Sciences IT: IS-3 Compliance and Recommendation Implementation

Work through recommendations from the IS-3 review for LSCore. Provide consultative assistance to LS units outside of the LSCore organization regarding IS-3. Lead: Edgar Ortega

  • Research Administration and Compliance: IS-3 Implementation

Improve departmental information security posture and reduce risk by implementing recommendations from the Information Security Office (ISO). Research Administration and Compliance (RAC) IT will work with RAC leadership, ISO, IT Client Services, and Berkeley IT service providers to implement IS-3 policies and standards. Lead: Ken Geis

  • University Development and Alumni Relations IT: IS-3 Implementation

Work with the Information Security Office to audit and document the University Development and Alumni Relations’ (UDAR) IS-3 compliance. Lead: Kalpa Barman


Goal 4 TriangleNetwork User Experience Improvement

Offer a broader and clearer range of connectivity options for campus users. Modernize and improve the stability, usability, capability, and capacity of various network services, including Wi-Fi Infrastructure, Wi-Fi Device Connectivity Services, Campus Firewall, Campus VPN, and Connectivity for International Students. Lead: Berkeley IT - Campus IT Infrastructure.

Key Measures of Success

  • Improve the roaming performance of user-connected devices to allow for seamless connectivity while
  • moving around on campus.
  • Deliver a network-specific for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Including a device registry that maps to
  • individual CalNet IDs and improves connection reliability/stability.
  • Fully remove AirBears2 network to simplify user experience and replace all remaining CISCO wireless
  • access points to improve connection reliability and stability.
  • Roll out a new visitor network and retire CalVisitor to improve network security, connection reliability,
  • and stability.

Goal 4 TriangleData Center and Cloud Services Roadmap Implementation

Develop concrete next steps for the evolution of on-premise server rooms across campus, including data center colocation and local/edge server rooms, and a detailed implementation plan for campus system utilization of the public cloud. Lead: Berkeley IT - Strategy and Partnerships.

Key Measures of Success

  • Deliver V1 of the campus (proposed) computational infrastructure roadmap.
  • Identify a surge option for Warren Hall and actively onboard high-power dense research computing to a new location in the first half of FY23.
  • Establish target colocation facilities for future workloads.
  • Develop an accepted financial and incentives model for covering campus off-site hosting costs.

Goal 4 TriangleData Integration Supporting UC Berkeley Advancement

Implement a comprehensive data integration platform that simplifies and expedites data interchanges from multiple auxiliary systems into the alumni/donor system of record (CADS). Lead: University Development and Alumni Relations

Key Measures of Success

  • Implementation of new interfaces in just a few weeks instead of months, with our limiting factor being vendor sophistication rather than UDAR capabilities.
  • High-impact data from across campus can be prioritized and stored in CADS - events, communications, volunteers, etc.
  • Streamlined processes that allow UDAR to work through 10x as much imported data within a year.
  • Precise data use guidelines and definitions for Berkeley Advancement as a foundation for a shared language and data culture.

Goal 4 TriangleOne IT Strategic Plan & Process Revision

In collaboration with One IT Leadership, reshape the IT strategic planning process to determine the direction of IT services and support for the Berkeley campus over the next three to five years. The plan will continue to focus on building an agile and resilient IT strategy while analyzing the best course of action to reach our collective priorities. Lead: Berkeley IT - Strategy and Partnerships

Key Measures of Success

  • Engage the One IT community in reenvisioning a new campus strategic planning process and plan to align and coordinate common IT priorities and goals.
  • Identify new programs and activities to foster collaboration across the One IT community.
  • Develop outreach strategies to highlight bIT service offerings that could provide value to smaller campus IT departments.

Major Campus Systems Enhancements:

Various service management systems and/or applications are being evaluated, migrated, or replaced over the next several years. For FY23, we wish to highlight these significant enterprise projects and the departments and staff that make them possible. The behind-the-scenes work impacts and shapes the IT experience for the Berkeley campus community.

These substantial operational projects each contribute to the Berkeley Campus Strategic Goals of empowering engaged thinkers and global citizens to change our world while simultaneously addressing society’s great challenges. The One IT community comes together to embrace the California spirit: diverse, inclusive, and entrepreneurial by providing the foundational systems and support that drive the university’s mission.

Goal 4 TriangleComprehensive Curriculum Management System

The current homegrown Comprehensive Curriculum Management System (CCMS) cannot meet the evolving needs of the university, which were exacerbated by the pandemic. Students, parents, and faculty are all impacted. The first effort will consist of developing a budget estimate and submitting it to IT Governance for approval. Lead: Berkeley IT -   Campus Applications and Data

Key Measures of Success

  • Procurement of a transparent, integrated system to effectively manage the full suite of curriculum development processes for undergraduate and graduate curricula.
  • Initial change management work/sign-off across campus partnerships.
  • End-to-end business process review and fit/gap analysis.
  • MVP implementation/integration.

Goal 4 TriangleEPIC Implementation*

Work with the UC-wide implementation team to implement Epic (as the primary EHR system for Berkeley) to replace PnC, Systoc, and EyeCare. This initiative will be a significant multi-year migration project impacting nearly every department and business unit at UHS and the Optometry Clinic. It will require a close partnership with a UC Medical Center. Lead: University Health Services IT

Key Measures of Success

  • Identify a UC Medical Center hosting partner (Aug 2022).
  • Identify the one-time implementation and five-year operating costs and identity/secure the necessary funding (Sept 2022).
  • Appoint an experienced Epic Implementation Lead, and create a project implementation plan “Playbook” (Oct 2022).
  • Working closely with our Medical Center partner, kick off the Epic Implementation project to “go live” in Summer 2024 (earlier for Optometry).

Goal 4 TriangleGender Recognition/Lived Name Implementation

Engage with project leadership and Berkeley IT to organize and engage resources supporting campus efforts to implement new policies for gender recognition and lived names that affect nearly all campus applications and data services. Lead: Berkeley IT - Campus Applications and Data

Key Measures of Success

  • Effective project management, governance, and engagement structures are in place.
  • Roadmap for technical implementation completion by 12/23.
  • Document and manages campus data definitions, hierarchies, and flows.
  • Portfolio of affected systems prioritized and managed.
  • Working solutions in place in priority systems.

Goal 4 TriangleWork-Study Management System

The existing 20+-year-old homegrown Work-Study Management System (WSMS) was built with a robust design to meet the complex needs of UC Berkeley and serves nearly 3,000 student employees with significant financial needs, 80 off- and on-campus employers, and 700 employer users; it is destined to be sunsetted due to the urgent need to upgrade the underlying technology and user interface. The UC Berkeley Work-Study program disburses nearly $10M in aid to students ($6M from UCB institutional funds and $4M from the federal government). UC Berkeley must identify a sustainable solution to continue to meet the needs of students, employers, and staff. This is especially urgent with the expected growth of the work-study program through the Learning Aligned Employment Program (LAEP) and the investment in the Governor’s budget that more than doubled this work-study program from

$200M to $500M. Initial internal research suggests that Work-Study vendor options are lacking. With campus partner input, the SIS team also performed a high-level fit/gap analysis, revealing that leveraging delivered Campus Solutions functionality has substantial gaps requiring significant customizations to meet the current need. Therefore, prioritization and funding for a WSMS Replacement project are essential to do more research and provide a final assessment. Lead: Berkeley IT - Campus Applications and Data

Key Measures of Success

  • Identify and connect critical stakeholders.
  • Create a project charter with a phased approach.
  • Investigate vendor space and internal applications and capacity.
  • Identify a path forward/minimally viable product.
  • Begin implementation.