U of I Academic Senate Cites Concerns Over IT Changes

A plan by University of Illinois administrators to place information technology directly under their control isn't sitting well with the Urbana campus Academic Senate.

The faculty-student body opposed the move Monday on a 61-to-14 vote. U of I Chemistry Professor Al Scheeline said consultants suggested the changes to IT just days before administrators approved them in February.

He said no faculty saw the report in that time, and they still don't have a clear idea of what the impact will be. Scheeline said the suggested savings of $18-million a year by the year 2013 are up in the air as well.

"Were the costs accurately figured out? Were the benefits accurately figured out? Was there sufficient breadth in looking at those costs and benefits? I have to clue to the answer of any of those questions," Wheeler said. "And I don't know we would have come up with any different answer if we had those answers, but the faculty just feels like it's been cut off from asking the right questions before precipitious actions were taken."

The Urbana campus Student Body President says plans to centralize Information Technology could mean a loss of autonomy for many who are used to making decisions at their level. David Olsen said the changes could take power away from faculty and researchers.

"How does academic and research educational IT fit into the broader IT picture, and how will that be impacted?" he said. "Will faculty and students who use these IT resources every day, especially in fields like computer science and electrical and computer engineering, how will those fields be affected?"

As with nearly all the votes taken by the Academic Senate, the vote is merely advisory. The Urbana campus' new Executive Chief Information Officer, Michael Hites, said the changes should allow the university to better prioritize certain projects, but he says some are misinterpreting the change in plans. He said the changes won't impact collegiate support groups or research departments like the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

The Senate's Executive Committee and IT committee will continue to discuss the plans over the summer. Urbana campus Interim Vice Chancellor and Provost Richard Wheeler said the proof will come in the way the changes work out. But he said serious discussions on IT governance on campus are just getting under way.

"There are a lot of pretty good people who are applying themselves to coming up with solutions that will work." said Wheeler.