Thursday, 25 August 2011

UCSI University ICT Strategy


The University will develop and maintain an advanced ICT infrastructure to establish efficient information
content delivery which is not time or location limited, and  which will be available on a 24/7 basis to
both mobile/wireless and wired users.
The ICT infrastructure will be secure, authenticated and resilient, using the latest technology to improve
its reliability and to reduce costs. Thus, the University will take a pro-active approach to invest in
equipment, software and staff expertise to ensure that network security will be constantly maintained and
upgraded with new technological developments.
There will be standard hardware and software platforms, with a minimum specification for PCs,
notebooks and peripherals, to minimise barriers to information flow and integration.
However, the University will maintain support for Unix/Linux and Windows operating systems with the
choice of operating system for servers being primarily determined by the requirements of the
applications hosted on each server.
The University will also maintain support for Oracle, Microsoft SQL and other forms of database systems
with the choice for applications being primarily determined by users’ requirements.
On future communication demands, the University will maintain the communication infrastructure,
monitor the traffic and bandwidth usage and evaluate future technological communication developments.
The University wireless network coverage will allow for connectivity from hand-held devices and
wireless-enabled notebooks.
Currently, Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak and Terengganu campuses are interconnected via broadband line.
As the University intends all its campuses to be open-learning centres with its remote offices
interconnected in a single Wide Area Network (WAN), a project to upgrade all its applications is already
emplaced. Fully-implemented, all services at the Kuala Lumpur campus will be available to the other
campuses.

The University will maintain its investment on high quality content (electronic and print) to support
research, learning and teaching by expanding its central data centre capacity to ensure that all users
have appropriate levels of storage capacity available on the University’s network or in cloud
environment. Thus, all critical administration data will be held centrally and users are provided fixed and
external storages devices for information storage, with access to the centre provided to users with
specific requests and authorization.
Systems containing information which require security will be password-protected. These would include
academic records, electronic resources, e-mails, student and personnel records and finance. Every
student and staff will have his/her own individual login which restricts access only to those information
deemed appropriate. The content is protected at the network and application levels to ensure that any
security breach at the network level will not lead to direct access to critical information.
As part of its ICT contingency and disaster recovery planning, critical data are backed-up and kept
externally from the central data centre.

As a basic principle, all users will have access to the information they reasonably need to complete their
studies, do their research and perform their required tasks. This information will be available in
appropriate and user-friendly formats in print or electronic format.
The University users (faculty, students and staff) will be able to use their university credentials (user
login and password) for access to any of the portals or system for information to empower them in their
decision-making processes. Thus, common data queries can be shared across faculties, departments
and institutional boundaries in anticipation and response to the constantly evolving needs of students
and stakeholders for easily accessed information.
The University will use standard web browsers or “thin client” technologies for user access to core
applications which will be adapted or replaced to enable users to access, enter or change information as
easily as using a web browser.
The University will continue to ensure that staff and students are aware of ICT structures and
applications developments to maximize Internet use and other related technologies to facilitate
communication, both internally and externally. It will also use clear communication mechanisms for
disseminating information to all users – written, verbal and electronic. There will be enhanced use of
web-based communication within the University by the Corporate Communications team as the
University’s primary means of both internal and external communication. In addition, the University will
install large e-notice boards in all its campuses for use by Corporate Communications to disseminate
information to all students.
However, the University website (www.ucsi.edu.my)  will continue to be a key marketing tool for the
promotion of University  information in terms of course and student information, staff information and
stakeholder (parents, potential customers, employers and  authorities) information. It will also continue
to be the main contact point for accessing other resources such as University e-mails and network
resources via the Internet at all times.

The leadership and top management of the University realises that ICT affects all individuals and units
on campus. As such, it needs an IT management and governance structure that is consultative,
collaborative, advisory and open comprising all levels of staff i.e. one that encompasses all areas of the
University community.
The University has a complex ICT infrastructure which is developed and managed by a team of staff
qualified in software, hardware and network (Computer Services Department). The manager reports to
the Group Executive Officer who is a member of the Senior Management Team. Budget and purchases
on ICT is approved finally by the Head of Department (HOD), Vice President (VP) and Finance
Department which recognise and support ICT’s role at the University.
There is an ICT Review Group composed of representatives from the teaching staff, management,
support services and administration which advises on direction, focus and priorities for ICT budgeting
and for reviewing, and which contributes to ICT strategic planning.  It also acts as a Project Management
team responsible for prioritising projects and ensuring they are properly planned, resourced and
monitored. Small scale individual projects are delegated to small focus teams who must report progress
to the ICT Review Group.The Manager of the Computer Services Department allocates teams to projects and monitors that they
are delivered within the agreed timeline and budget. He/She also assigns project teams to deal with
each identified area and reviews their progress against action plans.

A core value and belief of the University that every student matters, is evidenced by the establishment
of a set of personalised online services for our users to experience in their daily lives – credit card
payment, online access to check their courses, timetable, evaluation, academic results, job placement
and Google. As our services become more complex, covering a wider range of academic and business
processes, the challenge for the University is understandably greater.
Although several areas of the University already have such systems implemented, the University is
currently undergoing major upgrades to transform the current system into a single integrated system.
This is a long-term undertaking and requires a substantial amount of collaboration from all units at the
University.
The University continually addresses the concerns of balancing security issues with easy accessibility to
computers in the laboratories. In addition to the public computer laboratories on each campus,
designated teaching computer laboratories are also open and accessible to students at all times. Since
2003, the University has introduced a subsidy programme for students to purchase HP computer
notebooks. Besides these, the campus has wireless coverage to almost 85% of the entire place and
100% coverage inside buildings and hostels. Free internet access is available to all students at points of
access. The University has invested in extensive external links for students’ access to the Internet for
information through their study portal areas and e-mails.
Meanwhile, current ICT projects continue to improve the external links to provide better access to users
from anywhere in the world.
In recognition of students’ need to communicate with lecturers by e-mail or collaborate via social
networking tools (forum, chat, blogs and etc.) both, internally and externally, all students at UCSI
University are allocated an email address and login for portal accessibility via the external link.
Thus, the University responds to any software requests for additional assistance to support students’
needs in using this technology

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