Telecommunications

What is the program’s mission statement or statement of purpose? Why does the program exist?

Information Technology Services of Eastern Illinois University provides effective, dependable, innovative technology, telecommunication, and mail services for faculty, staff, and students of Eastern Illinois University to facilitate the teaching/learning/research environment as well as the administrative support services.

Telecommunications, a division of Information Technology Services, is responsible for managing telephone services, identification card and mail delivery services at Eastern Illinois University. The office provides support for these areas, including cellular phones, debit cards, AlertEIU, PantherCard and delivery and pickup of campus mail and U.S. Postal Service mail in support of campus operations

How does the program mission align with the university mission?

All areas of Telecommunications provide services for university students, faculty and staff in support of the university and its mission. Faculty, staff and students rely on Telecommunications to provide communications services, identification card services, and mail services. Services provided by Telecommunications play an essential role in students’ university career. One of the first visits of new students is to the PantherCard office to receive their official identification card for EIU, allowing them access to on-campus services such as checking out materials at Booth Library and Textbook Rental Services, and entry to the Student Recreation Center. Faculty and staff throughout the university rely on Mail Services for delivery of Campus Mail and parcels. Faculty and staff as well as students rely on telephone service in the performance of their jobs and in their educational experiences. The areas of Telecommunications play a key role in the ability of the university community to communicate.

Whom does the program serve?

Telecommunications serves all students, faculty and staff, and annuitants. Most faculty and staff utilize phone services, and all are issued PantherCards. Annuitants maintain Panther Card privileges. Mail Services affect all departments on campus.

What are the services provided? How do these services align with the university mission and program mission?

All areas of Telecommunications provide services and support for university students, faculty and staff in support of the university and its mission. Specific services are PantherCard, Mail Services and telephone services. The Telecommunications area provides telephone support, including cell phones. The Panther Card area creates and maintains Panther Cards for all admitted students, faculty, staff, and annuitants. A few of the services holders of a Panther Card may receive are access and copy materials at Booth Library, receive textbooks from Textbook Rental Services, access to University meal plans, and entry to the Student Recreation Center. Mail Services provides on-campus departmental mail delivery and pickup of U.S. mail and university campus mail.

Describe the program’s origins (e.g. year established, purpose, expectations).

The Telecommunications office would have to research archives to determine when this unit was first formed. Telephone services date to the earliest days of the university, as does mail delivery. Panther Card was initiated in the 1990s, among the first smart card in the State of Illinois.

How has the unit changed or adapted over time?

Telecommunications began at Eastern in the early1970s, providing order and repair services. In the early 1980s it evolved to provide its own customer service department. The unit evolved into a local enterprise providing campus telephone support and helped to fund the data network for many years and provided staffing on the data/network side. In the late 2000s, student long distance revenue declined due to the advent of cellular service. The office has downsized over the years to the current two staff members in Telecommunications. In 1998 PantherCard took its present form as a campus smart card including debit (both bank and small purchase on-campus only). It, too, has since downsized to two staff members in a common office with Telecom for efficiency. Both offices moved to the Student Services Building in 2004 from the present University Police Department Building

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the program’s history and relevance to university mission.

Provide data, if available, on the numbers of students, faculty, staff, or others served by the program during the past four years. If no data are available, please estimate the numbers served annually.

The Telecommunications office serves every student, faculty and staff member with ID card service, as well as provides telephone service to the vast majority of offices and departments, and delivers Campus Mail to various university offices and departments daily.

Does the program offer any co-curricular opportunities for students (e.g., internships, RSO support, service-learning activities)? Please describe.

Telecommunications does not currently offer any co-curricular opportunities for students.

Does the program contribute to the delivery of academic programs (e.g., providing professional expertise, serving as adjunct faculty)? Please describe.

Possession of a Panther Card allows students to receive the textbooks necessary for their academic careers.

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the internal demand for the program. Note any clarifications or special circumstances (e.g., curriculum changes made by another program) that should be considered when reviewing the above data.

Is the program accredited or approved by a recognized external agency or otherwise certified to meet established professional standards? Provide an executive summary of and link to the program’s most recent accreditation or certification report, if available.

Not applicable

Is the program required to meet any regulatory or legal requirements? Is the program subject to any special auditing requirements?

Telecommunications, PantherCard and Mail Services are regularly audited by EIU’s internal auditors, the state’s Office of the Auditor General, and the university’s external auditors.

What are the most important outreach or public service activities supported by the program?

Not applicable

How do the local community and the region benefit from the program?

PantherCard provides a source of photo identity card that can be useful among area businesses, and employees/annuitants enjoy numerous benefits including discounted travel.

If needed, provide supplemental comments or data sources to help the reader understand the external demand for the program.

What are the two or three more important measureable outcomes tracked to assess program quality? Does the program conduct an outcomes assessment, and if so, what has been the impact?

See Information Technology Services.

What are the two or three most effective best practices that the program has implemented? What benefits have been gained from implementing these best practices?

The Telecommunications office has implemented best practices that focus on collaboration, transparency and wide participation. See Information Technology Services.

What external recognitions (e.g., awards, accommodations, professional certifications, references in trade publications) have the program and its staff received in the past three years?

While the nature of Telecommunications’ mission does not lend itself to formal external recognition programs, office staffers are eager to help other campus constituents in the performance of their own missions.

Is the program active with any regional, national, or international professional organizations?

The office participates in ACUTA, the Association of College and University Telecom Administrators; SUTA, the State Universities Telecom Administrators; and NACCU, the National Association of Campus Card Users. Telecommunications hosted the latest SUTA meeting in October 2013.

Note any presentations, publications, or offices held in the last three years.

Not applicable

If needed, provide supplemental comments or data sources to help the reader understand the quality of program outcomes.

Note any special benefits (e.g., personnel support, equipment, permanent improvements) that the program has received in the past three years from its grants and other sponsored programs.

Not applicable

How does the program benefit from donor gifts (e.g., scholarships, endowed chairs)? Does donor support provide a significant percentage of the program’s overall funding?

The Telecommunications office does not receive any donor gifts.

List two or three key relationships that the program maintains with external constituencies (e.g., community colleges, other universities, government bodies). How do these relationships advance the university mission or otherwise benefit the university?

The Telecommunications office maintains working relationships with Illinois Consolidated Telephone Company and Consolidated Communications Inc., relative to land line telephone infrastructure and service; Verizon Wireless for cellular/mobile services; and First Mid-Illinois Bank and Trust relative to ATM machines on campus in which PantherCards may be used as debit cards. Mail Services maintains working relationships with the U.S. Postal Service and various outside vendors such as Pitney Bowes, Mid-West Mailing and Shipping, and Bear Commercial Mail Services.

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the resources generated by the program. Note any clarifications or special circumstances (e.g., revenue pass-throughs) that should be considered when reviewing the above data.

Telecommunication revenues have declined each of the past three years. However, the services provided with the use of those revenues cannot decline or decrease. The demand and expectation for service across campus has increased and will continue to do so.

Provide an executive summary of and link to any metrics or benchmarks that the program tracks to measure productivity.

Telecommunications monitors various productivity metrics internally within its divisions, i.e., PantherCard, Mail Services and telephone services, to ensure efficiency, economy and accountability. These include turnaround time for ID card production, Campus Mail delivery and telephone service work order and repair.

What initiatives has the program implemented to enhance staff productivity (e.g., access to training, workflow improvements)? Briefly describe the costs and benefits of these initiatives.

Administration has attended ACUTA and NACCU conferences, providing opportunities for networking with personnel from other institutions and educational opportunities as well. SUTA functions are scheduled every six months and are attended. Mail Services also is involved with NACUMS, National Association of University Managers, for the sharing of national, state and regional mail issues and suggestions.

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the productivity of the program. Note any clarifications or special circumstances (e.g., accreditation requirements, curricular changes, program restructuring) that should be considered when reviewing the above data.

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the costs associated with the program. Note any clarifications or special circumstances (e.g., expenditures made centrally or externally, expenditures made on behalf of other units) that should be considered when reviewing the above data.

How does the program seek to distinguish itself from similar programs at other institutions?

The Telecommunications office has successfully provided consistent levels of service and accessibility as well as enterprise support with an efficient level of staffing and expenditures. It strives to create efficiencies in its business practices that support the academic mission of the university and to provide clarity in its operations, as well as to develop productive relationships with its external business partners and university stakeholders.

Note any unique and/or essential contributions that the program makes to the university.

Every service provided by the Telecommunications office is an essential contribution to the continued efficient operation of the university.

PantherCards issued by the office provide identification for students, faculty, staff and annuitants as well as debit card service.

Mail Services provides timely and efficient distribution of printed materials across campus, as well as deliveries.

Telephone services processes service requests and works with the local telephone company to ensure that installations are made as needed. For cellular (mobile) services, work with Verizon Wireless, our State of Illinois approved vendor.

Provide any program-specific metrics that help to document program contributions or program quality. Examples of some commonly used program-specific metrics may be found here.

Telecommunications, PantherCard and Mail Services track various statistics relative to their specific area such as number of telephone -- including cellular -- work orders and repairs, number of PantherCards created and replaced, and also mail volumes for both U.S. mail and campus services.

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand the program impact on the university mission.

Provide a link to or listing of the program’s goals and/or strategic plan.

The Telecommunications office continues to look at the use of technology to improve its function. We are seeking out efficiencies in Mail Services by researching opportunities in centralized delivery. PantherCard has been exploring for some time the next generation of hosted on-line system(s) including integration with the existing CBord system utilized by Housing and Dining, but due to the high cost of conversion is still continuing on with the current 10-year-old system. We will look at how responsibilities are distributed, in the pursuit of increased efficiency. The goal is to effectively utilize limited resources.

What role will the program have in the implementation of the university’s strategic plan (provide link to strategic plan)?

The Telecommunications office will continue to support and be involved in the achievement of the university’s strategic planning goals by supporting institutional goals and working to implement cost efficiencies.

In the next two or three years, what best practices, improvements in operations, or other opportunities to advance the university’s mission are likely to be implemented?

Upgrading from an enterprise Pinnacle billing system to a hosted billing system.

We will not replace the position director of Telecommunications upon his retirement.

If needed, provide supplemental comments to help the reader understand future opportunities for the program.