For this fiscal year, the division is focusing much of its human and financial resources on enhancing and maintaining systems integrity and improving administrative business processes. Table 1 presents a breakdown of these projects by strategic directive. As the Year 2000 approaches, systems integrity becomes mission critical. All departments in the Information Services division are dedicating a portion of their resources to make sure that the university's mainframe, network, telecommunications and desktop systems function properly in the year 2000. Information Services will also be actively involved in upgrading and expanding information technologies for the classroom, installing networking and telecommunications services in new DePaul facilities, ensuring that network and mainframe systems are secure and performing a needs assessment and vendor analysis for a new mainframe student system.
Information technology remains a significant catalyst in improving university business processes.
The Process Facilitation Team, an ad hoc group appointed by the university president to improve cross-functional administrative processes, continues to work closely with Information Services on a number of projects. Re-engineering employee demographics to increase employee and department access to this information as well as to synchronize employee demographics across a number data sources is one such project. DePaul Town Square is another project being developed and implemented by the Process Facilitation Team and Information Services. DePaul Town Square will provide faculty and staff an electronic forum to share program information, items for sale, help wanted, personal opinions, and other community listings in a non-intrusive manner. Information Services is also working closely with Student Financial Accounts, the Controller's Office, Office of the General Counsel, Advancement, Enrollment Management, Residence Life, University Relations and Academic Affairs to improve or enhance critical processes in these administrative areas.