Contents
IT Governance: Roles, Responsibilities & Memberships
Executive IT Council
The Executive IT Council, the top-level IT group committee, is comprised of:
- Executive Vice President
- Provost
- Vice President for Information Technologies and CIO
- Vice President for Strategic Planning and Analysis
In addition to championing IT governance activities, the Executive IT Council Role is to:
- Ensure business strategy and objectives are set, communicated, and aligned with IT and vice versa
- Approve strategies and investments
- Resolve any major conflicts in technology investments
- Stipulate high-level direction for sourcing and use of IT resources when demand creates conflicts
- Impart guidance for integration and collaboration between other university-wide governance practices
The Vice President of Information Technologies and CIO serves as the liaison to the Executive IT Council and the IT Governance Steering Committee.
Operating Principles
Meetings are held as needed and particularly toward the end of annual budget cycles to align IT investments with overarching institutional investments.
IT Governance Steering Committee
The IT Governance Steering Committee, chaired by the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, is primarily responsible for all major IT decision-making for the University. The committee provides guidance as well as sets IT priorities to enable the University to balance its improvement goals with available resources in alignment with the University’s strategic goals and mission. The Vice President for Information Technologies and CIO chairs the IT Governance Steering Committee.
The IT Governance Steering Committee is comprised of:
- Associate Vice President Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness
- Associate Vice President IT Strategic Operations
- Associate Vice Provost, Chief of Staff
- College Deans
- Chief Budget Officer
- Faculty Senate Representative
- Vice President and General Counsel
- Vice President for Enrollment Management
- Vice President for Facilities, Real Estate, and Auxiliary Services
- Vice President for Finance
- Vice President for Human Resources
- Vice President for Information Technologies and CIO
- Vice Provost for Libraries and Museums
- Vice President for Research, Scholarship, and Innovation
- Vice President for Student Life
In addition to championing IT governance activities, the IT Governance Steering Committee role is to:
- Collaborate in IT governance
- Advise the Executive IT Council as a committee
- Recommend strategic initiatives and strategic projects for Executive IT Council review, sequence strategic projects, and facilitate innovation
- Review and assess projects that meet required strategic criteria
- Reject or hold requests, projects, and/or services especially if it is determined that the university already has a solution that achieves similar goals and objectives as the proposed project
- Provide clear charges to the Committees that define their purpose, scope, and authority
- Create ad hoc committee(s) as necessary to explore emerging University needs
- Administer the IT governance framework
- Monitor the IT Project Portfolio
Operating Principles & Term
Meetings are held every other month; meeting frequency may increase during annual budget review. Vice provosts and vice presidents are permanent participants. College Deans and Faculty Senate representation are three-year (3) appointments that commence at the beginning of the fiscal year. Three (3) College Deans will be appointed by the Provost. Dean representation will be staggered.
Advisory Groups
Advisory Groups are comprised of a broad cross-section of technology, administrative, and operational staff who represent the University’s needs. Advisory Groups represent functional domains, such as administrative systems, student experience, IT services, research computing, architecture, and security and IT risk. At the direction of the IT Governance Steering Committee, ad hoc committees may be formed.
See Advisory Group membership.
The role of an Advisory Group is to:
- Champion IT governance activities
- Collaborate in IT governance
- Coordinate initiatives, sponsor analyses, guide services, and recommend the sequencing of projects
- Review proposed requests, projects, and/or services
- Recommend requests, projects, and/or services when believed beneficial to the University
- Reject requests, projects, and/or services if determined that the University already has a solution that achieves the same goals and objectives as the proposed project
- Communicate activity to the IT Governance Steering Committee on a monthly basis
- Advisory Groups are time-bound and have a clear charge and deliverables
The Assistant Vice President of IT Strategic Operations, or designee, serves as the liaison to the IT Governance Steering Committee and Advisory Groups Chairs.
Operating Principles & Term
Meetings are held monthly. Chairs meet monthly with the Assistant Vice President of IT Strategic Operations and report activity monthly. Most Chairs of the Advisory Groups are aligned with appropriate institutional positions and are permanent participants. All other members will serve terms of two (2) years. The groups are comprised of the following:
- Student Experience Committee (SEC)
- IT Services Committee (ITSC)
- Architecture Committee (AC)
- Research Computing Committee (RCC)
- Security and IT Risk Committee (SIRC)
- Administrative Systems Committee (ASC)
Other Groups
Other Groups are considered technology-related groups, existing or developing at the University, that are in position to inform the IT Governance Steering Committee on information technologies, projects, and processes. Example groups include Data Governance, Digital Learning, and Learning Spaces.
The role of these groups is to:
- Inform the IT Governance Steering Committee on IT, projects, and processes under consideration that could impact the information technology strategy or the University’s technology.
