As a result of University budget cuts, the Office of Information Technology will make internal system changes, including eliminating many staff positions.
Marc Hoit, vice chancellor of Office of Information Technology, said there will be approximately a 6 percent budget cut for OIT.
“This is my best guess. We were looking into different options, from 3 percent, 6 percent and 11.25 percent,” Hoit said. ”Six percent is what seems to be most likely right now, although it will take at least another month for the formal announcement.”
According to Hoit, the biggest change in OIT will be the addition of a new Shared Services unit.
“Shared Services will be the new unit which will effectively merge some of the common components in infrastructure systems, systems and operations and identity management groups amongst others. We will be basically reorganizing the people doing same type of work in different group,” Hoit said. “We hope to reduce costs through this.”
Hoit said almost 15 positions have already been scrapped from OIT.
“This was a tough decision to make. 11 filled positions and four vacant positions have been discontinued,” Hoit said. ”Unfortunately, these positions had to be terminated.”
In addition to cutting staff, Hoit said OIT will no longer use certain software applications.
“We have closed down our mainframe, which accounted for a quarter million of our budget. Some pieces of the software used by OIT will be eliminated including Sybase, one of our database systems. Our license for Novell, a system used to for administrative purposes, will also not be renewed.”
According to Hoit, budget cuts could lead to increased need for student hires for OIT in the upcoming semester.
“As there will be decreases in permanent hires, we will definitely require more part-time positions to be filled. Students normally work for one semester or for one project. Such short term talent is what we will need and students are perfect for that,” Hoit said. “They will have more opportunities for internships and part-time jobs with OIT. We will also facilitate to use our projects as a part of coursework for students in computer science stream.”
According to Leslie Dare, director of student affairs technology services, OIT will use this opportunity to reorganize and improve efficiency.
“There is no doubt that OIT will have a difficult time working as efficiently on the back end with fewer staff overall,” Dare said. “But my understanding is they will not have a direct impact on student services.”
Hoit said there will be a few minor impacts on students.
“We will be shifting our Help Desk hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. to a period between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is because our statistics show that calls between seven and eight in morning and five and six in the evening comprise only two percent of total calls we receive,” Hoit said. “Other than this, there will be no significant changes, no change in the charges for our phone or internet services.”
According to Dare, OIT staff are up to the task of reduced personnel and budget cuts.
“I work with many of the staff in all the various departments with OIT on a daily basis, in many different venues, as a colleague in troubleshooting technical issues, as a partner on committees and in strategic planning, as a customer receiving services and support,” Dare said. “I can say with confidence that just about to a person, these are very dedicated university employees and I am sure that they are up to the task.”
Hoit said these budget cuts are not only a problem for OIT, but for the rest of the University as well.
“Budget cuts are painful, and there will certainly be some additional responsibilities,” Hoit said. “These are difficult times for us as well as for other departments at N.C. State.”
