Seattle Pacific University’s budget challenges have had a widespread impact across the institution, including causing changes to the Computer and information Systems (CIS) department. Like many departments, these changes have necessitated both position eliminations and significant cuts to operational budget lines. The challenge given to us was to identify activities that we could discontinue to reduce budget, as opposed to our historic practice of trying to do more with less. CIS made several hard choices about which services to keep and which to eliminate with the knowledge that any change will have a direct impact on the campus community we serve. However, many impacts, such as file backups and cybersecurity protections, may go unnoticed.

CIS HelpDesk Operations

Helpdesk walk-in hours will be limited to 10am-4pm on weekdays. The helpdesk will no longer provide evening and weekend support. We also expect the current longer than historical response times on work requests to be the new normal.  

Reason for the Change

There are three key drivers for this change: headcount reductions; the transition from salaried to hourly staff, and minimum wage increases without budget enhancements for several years have decreased student employee labor hours.

Centralized PC Purchasing Changes

CIS is changing the way computers are funded and refreshed to better steward limited resources. The Centralized PC Purchasing Policy has been updated to reflect these changes. This shift will mean the following:

• One PC / Knowledge Worker - CIS will provide one standard PC (Windows or Mac) to each employee classified as a knowledge worker.  CIS will cover the up-front expense and a permanent budget transfer is no longer required.
• Second Devices - With very limited exceptions, all employees with more than one computer will be reduced down to a single device.
• Shared Computers - All shared computers (student / adjunct workstations, kiosks, etc.) will be reviewed for business need. Devices without a clearly explained need will be eliminated. Funding of shared computers by business units will not change. See the Centralized PC Purchasing Policy for details.
• Equipment Refresh Cycle - Equipment refresh cycle goals, under 5 years, have been increased by 1 year.  
• Equipment Stewardship - All equipment will be "stewarded" by CIS.  When positions become vacant, computers will be returned to CIS to be rebuilt and re-issued when a position is filled.
• Eliminated Equipment Budget - Funds stewarded by CIS to maintain/replace any eliminated equipment has already been returned to the institution to reduce the deficit.  

Reason for the Change

The Centralized PC Purchasing budget has been significantly reduced to reduce overall institutional operating expense. The change necessitates a realignment of existing equipment investments and downsizing the numbers of computers on campus to fit within SPU's budget and support labor capacity. Returning equipment to CIS during employee transitions simplifies inventory and asset tracking processes, improves device security, ensures better use of resources, and sets new employees up for success with a freshly refurbished device.  

Printer Program Changes

The fleet of Multi-Function-Printers (MFPs) will be reduced from 85 printers to 50 printers across campus. The locations eliminated were determined based on usage, distance to the next closest MFP, and accessibility. This change also necessitates the removal of sending print jobs directly to a printer. Secure Print will be the only option to print to the University MFPs.  

Reason for the Change

Budget for the Centralized Printing program has been significantly reduced and requires downsizing of the MFP fleet. The shift to Secure Print significantly reduces complexity, support expense, and reduces the risk of printing sensitive information to publicly accessible printers.

Additional Service Reductions and Changes

AV Equipment Checkout

Audio/visual equipment for checkout from the CIS Helpdesk has been eliminated. CIS will develop a list of local vendors that rent equipment to support events.

AV Event Support

AV technology support for online and in-person events has been eliminated. CIS will develop a list of local contractors you may hire to provide these services.

Matthew File Shares

The current hardware platform past its end-of-life and will not be replaced.  CIS will work with departments to transition their files to Document Libraries in Office 365 over the course of the '23-'24 Academic Year. 

If you've been waiting for a good time to review, re-organize, or remove old content from Matthew, now is a great time since it'll expedite the migration process once we get started.

Reach out to cis-bst@spu.edu if you'd be interested in moving your department's files early in the process and we meet to start things moving.

Tableau for Data Reporting

The University's Tableau license for ongoing maintenance has been canceled. CIS will continue to operate the Tableau server in a locked-down fashion for some time, but expect most departments to slowly transition reports and dashboards to Power BI.

Project Management

The IT Project Manager position and project management services offered by CIS have been eliminated.  CIS will continue to partner in the review of technology projects, but project management will now be done by the requesting department's leadership or professional services staff provided by technology vendors.