Penn IT Strategic Plan Process

• Student mental health and wellness, especially in relation to social media, worry, and lonelines
• Real-time data and reporting on student performance and needs across different offices and departments
• Integrate administrative and academic information for a seamless student experience
• Cultivate student engagement and belonging in campus community
• Grow student choice and access to courses, equipment, and training
• Evolve student facilities for future learning and socializing

• Bridge the information gap and increase the awareness of existing resources among researchers
• Attempt to address the majority of Penn research computing needs in a heterogenous environment
• Assess and recommend approaches for cloud vs on prem, or hybrid
• Evaluate centralized and decentralized computing solutions to create a more efficient and coordinated way of building and managing research computing resources
• Ensure dedicated resources to assist with technical (data management, automation, software engineering, research engineering, etc.) and administrative support (grants, budgets, etc.)

• Data Integration, Use, Storage, and Preservation: securely and effectively share, use, and store data
• Data Governance and Ethics: comply with ethical standards and regulations of data and AI use
• Data-Driven Decision Making: leverage data and AI to improve decision making
• Collaboration and Innovation: foster collaboration and innovation using data and AI
• Education and Pedagogy: use data and AI to enhance teaching and learning and outcomes and personalize learning
• Equity and Access use data and AI to promote equity and access

• Familiarize and support faculty with emerging technology
• Increase access to and availability of Central Pool classrooms
• Standardize and modernize classroom technology for different modes of teaching (hybrid, remote) and ensure timely renewals
• Enable Lifelong Learning through careful investment and evaluation
• Increase Technology Support including instructional design, faculty support, and assistive technologies

• Improving the effectiveness and usability of large enterprise applications
• Reducing work duplication and technical complexity across the University by using common tools and platforms for various tasks and functions or turning systems off
• Enhancing communications and connections about IT between Schools and Center
• Training and awareness on key tools and systems
• Enable improved data collection and integration across various systems

• Staff are needed to be the bridge between IT and the relevant discipline and to reduce administrative burden
• Research staffing for training and support (technical and administrative - data management, automation, software engineering, and research engineering)
• Staff for learning environments including instructional design, classroom technologies, and assistive technologies
• Administrative systems and key IT consulting, e.g., to enable us to optimize enterprise applications, web design, information security, etc.
• Assess the best way to use Penn’s central resources versus local management
• Staff retention and career paths in a hybrid and remote work environment are important. Consider staffing and reskilling in emerging technologies such as data science, AI tools, and office automation

• Confidentiality, integrity, and availability are key principles that must be upheld to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access, alteration, and destruction
• This requires the implementation of secure networks, data, systems, and applications to prevent data breaches and cyber-attacks
• In addition, regular training and awareness programs must be conducted to educate students, faculty, and staff on the importance of information security best practices
• Resilience is also essential to ensure that the University can continue its operations even in the event of a security incident or disaster
• Detection, prevention, and response strategies must be in place to quickly identify and mitigate security threats. Two-factor authentication and email security measures must be adopted to provide an additional layer of protection for user accounts and to prevent phishing attacks
• Finally, with more universities moving their data and applications to the cloud, it is crucial to ensure cloud security measures are in place to safeguard data in transit and at rest

Team observations: Improving student experiences at Penn includes gathering data and analytics on student needs and providing seamlessly integrating administrative and academic information across admissions, classroom, financial aid, student life, and undergraduate schools. Cultivating student engagement and a sense of belonging in the campus community is crucial to improving student mental health and wellness, especially in relation to social media, worry, and loneliness.

1. Strategy: Identify opportunities to improve the technology associated with the common Penn student lifecycle.
   Initial recommendation: Develop a “user journey map” for undergraduate students and identify initial areas for improvement.
2. Strategy: Identify technologies and processes that can improve methods for student communication and engagement.
   Initial recommendation: Collaborate on developing a technology and process framework for disseminating critical information to students.
3. Strategy: Use data and analytics to improve administrative support provided to students. 
   Initial Recommendation: Explore where integrated data and timely reports could enhance student experiences and reduce administrative burdens.

Team observations: Ensuring continuous improvement and reducing the administrative burden of instructional and classroom technologies are required to keep up with the expectations of students and faculty. Current classrooms and learning spaces vary widely in technology setup and capabilities, contributing to an inconsistent faculty and student experience. Providing additional technical support in the areas of instructional design, classroom support, and assistive technologies will improve access and experience.

1. Strategy: Ensure continuous improvement and reduce administrative burden of classroom technology across Penn.
   Initial Recommendation: Enhance inventories of classrooms and tools. Develop minimum recommended standards and invest in promoting and supporting them.
2. Strategy: Increase training and support for faculty for existing instructional technology and classroom technology resources.
   Initial Recommendation: Provide resources and coordination to enhance Penn’s existing instructional and classroom technology services. 
3. Strategy: Improve methods and processes for identifying, procuring, and supporting adoption of new tools that align with needs and goals.
   Initial Recommendation: Analyze and optimize processes for adopting new instructional technology and determining needs.

Team observations: Data analytics and AI are essential for higher education in the 21st century. Penn must be able to share, use, and store data across different domains and platforms securely and effectively. Data analytics and AI can improve decision making. Moreover, they can help foster collaboration and innovation among researchers, educators, students, and staff. Managed properly, data and AI can enhance teaching and learning outcomes through personalized learning, tailored feedback, improved performance assessment, and support. Finally, data and AI should be deployed in a way that promotes equity, inclusion, and access for our community and addresses potential biases, barriers, or gaps in education. Data and AI usage at Penn must conform with ethical standards and regulations.

1. Strategy: Increase collaboration, integration, and support for Penn administrative data activities.
   Initial Recommendation: Pursue central opportunities for using Penn administrative data and AI to reduce administrative burdens and enhance student academic experiences. (linked to Theme 1, above)
2. Strategy: Increase collaboration, experimentation, and innovation on Penn AI activities.
   Initial Recommendation: Develop plan and establish buy-in to broaden and promote use of AI activities across Penn Schools/centers by connecting them with common use cases in a formal, coordinated manner.
3. Strategy: Strengthen equity, access, inclusion, and ethical standards with regard to Data & AI at Penn.
   Initial Recommendation: Partner with campus leaders in research ethics and access to further strengthen guidelines around ethical use of AI on campus and support more equal access to technologies and platforms.