FY 2009 ITC Continuous Improvement Planitc.oecn.k12.oh.us/neomin-fy09.pdf · FY 2009 ITC Continuous...

FY 2009 ITC Continuous Improvement Plan

North East Ohio Management Information Network – NEOMIN 528 Educational Highway

Warren, Ohio 44483

Phone: (330) 847-6464 Fax: (330) 847-8568

www.NEOMIN.org

http://www.neomin.org/

NEOMIN -- FY 09 ITC Continuous Improvement Plan

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Introduction NEOMIN is an Information Technology Center (ITC) that serves both Ashtabula County and Trumbull County. NEOMIN and its consortium districts are members of the Ohio Educational Computer Network (OECN) authorized pursuant to Section 3301.075 of the Ohio Revised Code. NEOMIN has been a consortium based information technology center serving these counties since 1979. As an ITC, NEOMIN works in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), as part of the state-wide delivery system which provides comprehensive, cost-efficient accounting and other administrative and instructional computer services for participating Ohio School Districts. Funding for this network and for NEOMIN is derived from the State of Ohio, various grants and from local user fees. NEOMIN is centrally located to best serve and support its member districts. NEOMIN is comprised of thirty-one consortium members; including public schools, non-public schools, career centers and the county educational service centers. These districts account for 183 buildings that connect to NEOMIN, serving approximately 6,000 educators that use NEOMIN systems to support approximately 55,000 students. The NEOMIN Governing Board oversees the management and functions of the ITC. The board consists of two treasurers and six superintendents from member districts and is chaired by the two county ESC superintendents. The board has three committees to assist with planning, personnel and fiscal opportunities. Annually a general assembly of the consortium’s superintendents and treasurers meets to approve NEOMIN’s budget and fee structure for the current fiscal year. The FY 2009 member list is on Page 34. NEOMIN is housed in the Adult Education Center of the Trumbull County Career and Technical Center in Warren, Ohio and provides five core services: fiscal, student, state reporting, library and networking. Fifteen employees make up the staff of NEOMIN. Each core service is staffed to support, maintain, and train on a specific application. The organization chart can be found on page 38.


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The primary mission of NEOMIN, as adopted by the NEOMIN Governing Board in June 1998, is to provide technically competent, professional and cost effective support to each member district. This mission is achieved by providing the range of services listed in each section of the Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP). NEOMIN has adopted the motto: “NEOMIN, Where preparation meets opportunity!” Preparation in technology allows for better time management of projects and networks which in turn results in better service to all customers. This fiscal year NEOMIN’s management began discussing how preparation of systems can provide opportunities to collaborate, consolidate, and centralize systems. These efforts can offer cost savings and streamlined procedures for the member districts. For example, this summer two superintendents wanted to implement mass notification software. By working with NEOMIN and the vendors involved we were able to consolidate resources. This effort of two ballooned to eight districts participating. This saved the cost of purchasing redundant servers and systems. The application, hardware, and software are now managed from one point.

NEOMIN uses several tools to improve processes, skills and services. These tools include the CIP, annual survey, training evaluation sheets, and information from user groups, NEOMIN Planning Committee meetings, Technology Coordinator meetings, and Superintendent/Treasurer Meetings, but the most valuable tool is the constant feedback received from the member districts. NEOMIN’s staff takes great pride in their outstanding quality of work, their ability to progress and successful projects. NEOMIN provides superior support to all district users. Together the NEOMIN team has put together the following goals and improvements for the 2009 fiscal year for each of the core services: fiscal, student, state reporting, library and networking.


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Fiscal Services This key service provided the means for the OECN K-12 network to grow into the network it is today. NEOMIN maintains the USAS, USPS, SAAS/EIS modules of the state software. The software is developed, maintained and supported by the state software development team. The database coordinator maintains the system application at NEOMIN. To increase the level of usage of the state software NEOMIN has implemented workflows, dashboard reporting, and payroll time clocks. NEOMIN uses the fiscal staff, the fiscal user group, help desk requests and our annual survey to decide on the goals for this year. Management and the coordinators use our districts, annual survey, help desk and external databases to measure our goals and metrics. The Executive Director creates a final document of our goals. This document is reviewed by the support staff and the governing board chairs prior to submission. The goals are designed to meet our districts’ needs by using their ideas and suggestions for improvement. Most of the time, NEOMIN will include those districts to be part of the pilot program before we decide to implement through out the consortium. This gives NEOMIN and its districts the opportunity to uncover and fix issues. It also affords the opportunity to refine what responsibilities each have. Both NEOMIN and the district know what is expected of them. NEOMIN documents this by creating a scope of work for every project. The CA-USD is a valuable support tool that NEOMIN has incorporated into daily use. It helps management delegate responsibility and ensures answers and acknowledgements of the issues have been made. The help desk allows for management to prioritize and organize requests so as to not get lost. The fiscal support service area completes an average of 130 requests a month. NEOMIN is working on efforts to get more requests entered directly in the CA-USD, by using templates. NEOMIN has been able to link help desk requests to projects that are part of our goals. It is very evident as we are in the pilot phase the requests for these services require a little more hand holding. The biggest measurement of our goals is the overwhelming request for the staff to perform training. As NEOMIN is very customer service oriented we have taken on additional training in a classroom setting as well as one-on-one. Our environment allows for district staff to come and work at our offices and then be able to ask questions to staff directly. The staff’s improvements and accomplishments can be seen in the survey results on pages 21 thru 32. The analyses of those results are on the following page of each metric. These goals include improvements suggested by our districts. NEOMIN uses the help desk to measure the time it takes to acknowledge the receipt of a request. NEOMIN acknowledged requests within four hours 86.44% of the time and closed requests within eight hours 90.68% of the time. As the staff and management review the SLA we can improve how to measure our performance. In the next year NEOMIN plans to review the SLA to update metrics to better reflect our performance.


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Fiscal Services Fiscal Services Goal Matrix – including accounting (cash basis with generally accepted accounting practice extensions),

payroll/Personnel, and fixed asset accounting

# Goals * Initiated Date Status ** Comments 2009.1.01 Hire New Fiscal Support Employee 8/2008 Complete Hired an experienced assistant treasurer

2009.1.02 Implement PAYROLLCD WEB reports for all districts that would like this service

8/2008 In Progress

2009.1.03 Implement FISCWEB for districts for at least 6 districts

8/2008 In Progress

2009.1.04 Successfully complete the Calendar Year-end Payroll closing process

2/2009 Not Started Serves 31 districts with two staff members. Centralized printing of W2s and 1099

2009.1.05 Successfully complete the Fiscal Year-end Budgetary closing process..

8/2009 Not Started Serves 31 districts with two staff members. NEOMIN will Create Monthly/Fiscal CDs for districts

2009.1.06 Conduct Quarterly Payroll Meetings with Trumbull County

7/2007 Ongoing This ties directly to our survey requests for timely training

2009.1.07 Conduct Quarterly Payroll Meetings with Ashtabula County

7/2007 Ongoing This ties directly to our survey requests for timely training

2009.1.08 Attend at least six of our area county Treasurer’s meetings to hear Treasurer’s problems and desires and respond accordingly

7/2007 Ongoing These meetings are important to the development and continuance of these goals.

2009.1.09 Conduct Quarterly USAS Meetings with each County

7/2007 Ongoing This ties directly to the knowledge portion of the user survey

2009.1.10 Provide advance user training for NEOMIN staff members through SSDT.

7/2007 Ongoing NEOMIN does this through OEDSA and SSDT continuing training

2009.1.11 Conduct at least 25 training sessions for users in the areas of payroll, check reconciliation, inventory processing, USPS Web, USAS Web, automation of benefits, staff EMIS reporting, year-end processing and using worksheets, beginner Payroll and beginner USAS training

7/2007 Ongoing

2009.1.12 Conduct Ad Hoc reporting – Safari and SSWAT for fiscal and EMIS personnel

7/2007 Ongoing This is done annually for new and veteran users

2009.1.13 Visit each district’s Fiscal office 7/2008 In Progress To develop a better understanding of day to day activities at treasurers office


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2009.1.14 Implement FISCWEB and train district fiscal office staff. Many districts have been asking for the FiscWeb.

1/2009 Not Started This will decide who the first six districts to implement the FISCWeb with this year.

2009.1.15 Investigate third party software for the districts. Workflow and time clock process at this time.

7/2008 In progress Allows districts to collaborate, consolidate and centrally manage

2009.1.17 Continue to train the new fiscal support team member.

9/2008 In progress This involves other service area’s as we integrate staff and cross-train.

Notes

* Goals that are complete can be removed from next year’s CIP

** Status should be – not started, in progress, ongoing, cancelled, or complete


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Student Services The student service systems integrate many different facets of student record management. These various aspects include scheduling, grade reporting, attendance tracking and special education. All of these components are brought together to encompass the EMIS reporting requirements that are within the software’s functionality. Based on collaboration with our districts and the annual survey results, several software modules were implemented or piloted projects started successfully during FY 2008. These projects include: Electronic Grade book, Parent / Student Assist, D3A2 and Standards Based Report Cards. Using the feedback from our districts and the success we have encountered to date each of these projects will continue to expand during FY 2009 and meet the changing needs of the districts. NEOMIN uses input from district support staff as well as teaching staff, student services user group meetings, help desk (CA-USD) requests and our annual survey to help develop goals each year. These same sources are used to help measure our goals and metrics from the prior year. The Executive Director is responsible for the creation of the final document that defines the goals. The goals are designed to meet our districts’ ever changing needs by using their ideas and suggestions to improve. This document is reviewed by the support staff and the NEOMIN Governing board chair persons prior to submitting to ODE. The NEOMIN support staff is second to none in the state and continues to provide a high level of quality service to our consortium members. They are a talented group of individuals who are able to take theory and couple it with application. That is what makes our quality support sought after beyond our consortium’s geographical boundaries. During the past year the staff served in a larger statewide capacity by making presentations at both the eSIS User’s and OEDSA conferences. In addition, the NEOMIN staff has been active in indentifying and helping to resolve a variety of eSIS software related issues at the state level through the eSMOC consortium. The CA-USD is a valuable support tool that NEOMIN has incorporated into daily use. It helps management delegate responsibility and ensures answers and acknowledgements of the issues have been made. The help desk allows for management to prioritize and organize requests so as to not get lost. NEOMIN staff was able to meet all of the goals set for FY 2008. An overwhelming indicator of our accomplishments related to last year’s goals is visible in the volume of training conducted by NEOMIN staff. The request to perform classroom and one-on-one training more than doubled in the past year. All together, NEOMIN conducted 212 training or work sessions in the eSIS software during FY 2008. One of the primary areas that saw a large increase in usage and training needs was the teacher grade book module. The NEOMIN staff has trained 27 out of the 31 districts to use the grade book. Based on feedback from those training session and the expansion of projects like the teacher grade book module, NEOMIN will continue to offer a wide variety of trainings throughout FY 2009. NEOMIN has been able to link help desk requests to projects that are part of our goals. It is very evident as we are in the pilot phase the requests for these services require a little more hand holding. The biggest measurement of our goals is the overwhelming request for the staff to perform training. As NEOMIN is very customer service oriented we have taken on additional training in a classroom setting as well as one-on-one. Our environment allows for district staff to come and work at our offices and then be able to ask questions to staff directly. The staff’s improvements and accomplishments can be seen in the survey results on pages 21 thru 32. The analyses of those results are on the following page of each metric. These goals include improvements suggested by our districts. NEOMIN uses the help desk to measure the time it takes to acknowledge the receipt of a request. NEOMIN acknowledged requests within four hours 96.68% of the time and closed requests within eight hours 99.4% of the time. As the staff and management review the SLA we can improve how to measure our performance. In the next year NEOMIN plans to review the SLA to update metrics to better reflect our performance.


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Student Services Student Records Management Goal Matrix – including provisions for student scheduling, grade reporting, attendance tracking, and

tracking of special education needs:

# Goals * Initiated Date Status ** Comments 2009.2.01 Finish the transition Warren City Schools to new,

web-based AAL/eSIS student software. Registration, Scheduling, Grade/Attendance reporting, EMIS available to start year.

9/2007 Complete WCS successfully reported all EMIS data during FY 2008. This was a great accomplishment as the scope of work truly helped determine responsibilities on both parts.

2009.2.02 Expand usage and support of eSIS Grade-Book package.

10/2007 In progress This year 21 districts of the 31 were trained on the grade book application.

2009.2.03 Expand teachers’ access to daily attendance entry programs through the Teacher Assist module of eSIS.

7/2007 Ongoing The initial attendance entry by teachers helped improve accuracy and timeliness of the attendance entry process during the school year.

2009.2.04 Expand teachers’ access to period attendance entry programs through the Teacher Assist module of eSIS.

8/2007 Complete This functionality will be piloted by 3-4 buildings at the start of the school year.

2009.2.05 Expand access to the grade entry programs through the Teacher Assist module of eSIS.

11/2007 Complete Elimination of scan sheets.

2009.2.06 Transition district software to SPED Full from SPED Lite.

8/2007 Ongoing Integration with the base eSIS Student Management System allows input and aggregation of data at all levels for more complete and accurate state and federal reporting.

2009.2.07 Continue participation in eSMOC Collaborative. 7/2006 Ongoing NEOMIN has a concern that rising cost of this collaborative effort may become a factor at some point.

2009.2.08 Pilot Parent Assistant module. 8/2007 Complete Success of this project has other districts interested.

2009.2.09 Schedule training classes /open labs for entire year 7/2006 Ongoing To give districts time to plan attending

2009.2.10 Ad Hoc reporting either using eSIS or external program

8/2007 Complete Essential to using a module piece of software

2009.2.11 Ensure team is up to date with software functionality

8/2007 Ongoing This ties to our knowledge base and training survey

2009.2.12 Investigate eSMOC Elementary Report Card and determine if we have district that is willing to Pilot for portion or entirety of this school year

5/2008 Complete The investigation has led to pilots in FY 2009


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2009.2.13 Investigate eSIS Role Based Menu System and determine if we have district that is willing to Pilot for portion or entirety of this school year

6/2008 In Progress Limited staff and new FY2008 EMIS compliancy requirements, postponed this to FY2009

2009.2.14 Investigate eSIS Executive Assistant Module and determine if we have district that is willing to Pilot during this school year

6/2008 Cancelled Not available from vendor

2009.2.15 Continue Pilot of Standards-based Report card and determine if the project should be rolled out to other districts in the next school year

8/2008 In progress As a result of our user groups and survey information. Four (4) school buildings are using in FY2009.

2009.2.16 Implement Parent Assist 8/2008 In progress As a result of successful pilot, using a scope of work, at least 8 additional buildings are being added during FY2009

2009.2.17 Provide training specifically geared to district administrative personnel to help equip them with tools to understand/use data in decision making to improve academic achievement

8/2008 In progress This is basic eSIS training for administration and ESC staff, to gain a better understanding of the software and reports that are available to them. Initial training was conducted in August 2008 and will be repeated quarterly.

2009.2.18 Assure FY09 EMIS changes are successfully integrated into eSIS and that district staff are adequately trained on the new location of fields and functionality of the software.

7/2007 In progress Delays in software releases from both AAl and SSDT have delayed training for district staff. NEOMIN staff will continue to work with software providers and district staff to assure EMIS data is reported accurately and on time.

Notes




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State Reporting Service / (EMIS) The state reporting service system (EMIS) is a combination of information/data from our student information system (eSIS) along with data from both USAS and USPS financial and payroll reporting systems. NEOMIN uses several means of measuring whether goals from the preceding year were met along with several sources of input that help NEOMIN determine and develop our goals for the following year. Last year NEOMIN and its consortium schools were completely successful in achieving the reporting requirements. None of the schools had funds withheld from the districts. This attests to exceeding our goals as we were able to cope with EMIS changes as they occurred. NEOMIN uses the EMIS support staff, the EMIS user group, help desk requests and our annual survey to decide on the goals for this year. Management and the coordinators use our districts, annual survey, help desk and external databases to measure our goals and metrics. The Executive Director creates a final document of our goals. This document is reviewed by the support staff and the governing board chairs prior to submission. NEOMIN measured its goals by tracking trainings in a database, annual customer survey and using help desk reports. The goals are designed to meet our districts’ needs and by using their ideas and suggestions to improve. NEOMIN will include those districts to be part of the goal. Included in this CIP are our goals for the next year, including using the EMIS web and SIF integration. The CA-USD is a valuable support tool that NEOMIN has incorporated into daily use. It helps management delegate responsibility and ensures answers and acknowledgements of the issues have been made. The help desk allows for management to prioritize and organize requests so as to not get lost. The EMIS support service area completes an average of 100 requests a month. NEOMIN is working on efforts to get more requests entered directly in the CA-USD, by using templates. NEOMIN has been able to link help desk requests to projects that are part of our goals. It is very evident as we are in the pilot phase the requests for these services require a little more hand holding. The biggest measurement of our goals is the overwhelming request for the staff to perform training. As NEOMIN is very customer service oriented we have taken on additional training in a classroom setting as well as one-on-one. Our environment allows for district staff to come and work at our offices and then be able to ask questions to staff directly. The staff’s improvements and accomplishments can be seen in the survey results on pages 21 thru 32. The analyses of those results are on the following page of each metric. These goals include improvements suggested by our districts. NEOMIN uses the help desk to measure the time it takes to acknowledge the receipt of a request. NEOMIN acknowledged requests within four hours 100% of the time and closed requests within eight hours 100% of the time. As the staff and management review the SLA we can improve how to measure our performance. In the next year NEOMIN plans to review the SLA to update metrics to better reflect our performance.


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State Reporting Service / (EMIS) State-Mandated Data Reporting Goal Matrix – including access to the appropriate department and software applications (EMIS):

# Goals * Initiated Date Status ** Comments 2009.3.01 Provide assistance (individual or group) to schools

with the interpretation local report card data and with any necessary corrections.

6/2008 Complete Includes assistance with missing testing data

2009.3.02 Assist districts with understanding new EMIS reporting procedures.

6/2008 Ongoing This will be a continual goal as data requirements change

2009.3.03 Improve timeliness of EMIS report delivery and ease of access by posting reports received from ODE to district web sites for retrieval through the Internet

6/2008 Ongoing This works tightly with the notification/discover of when the reports are published

2009.3.04 Provide reports, conduct workshops and assist districts in the reconciliation of ADM counts with all other consortium members

11/2007 Ongoing In conjunction with Area Coordinator’s office.

2009.3.05 Provide updated EMIS documentation prior to each EMIS reporting period.

7/2006 Ongoing

2009.3.06 Provide training sessions prior to October, February, and June EMIS reporting periods.

7/2006 Ongoing Ties directly to training survey information

2009.3.07 Actively participate in the statewide OAEP association and attend OAEP conferences.

7/2006 Ongoing

2009.3.08 Attend OEDSA Conference to gather updated EMIS information

7/2006 Ongoing

2009.3.09 Run extracts in a timely and accurate manner submitted from users into help desk

7/2006 Ongoing

2009.3.10 Provide training for New EMIS Coordinators 7/2006 Ongoing

2009.3.11 Pilot EMIS Web Application 1/2008 In progress

2009.3.12 Review CTA, Preschool, Gifted and Special Education reports and assist districts in identifying and correcting issues that could cause a decrease in funding.

12/2007 Ongoing

2009.3.13 Implement two districts to begin using D3A2 6/2008 In progress Contact all districts that have expressed interest in D3A2 and assist those who elect to move forward during FY2009

2009.3.14 Train NEOMIN staff on UDMS/Safari report writing tools in light of elimination of EMIS Listmaker

11/2008 Not started

2009.3.15 Assure successful incorporation of all FY09 EMIS reporting

Prepare for EMIS FY 10 redesign

Notes




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Library Services Library services ensure the districts have software to support curricular resources, checking out materials, tracking circulation, and the technology to support the academic standards to produce effective instruction. Library services underwent several client changes this past year that demanded a great deal of coordination with our districts’ technology coordinator. The automation systems were improved as it migrates toward web based and student information integration. Sharing a server has reduced time that NEOMIN would have to afford toward hardware and operating system administration. NEOMIN is responsible for database administration, support, maintenance and data specifics. NEOMIN is also responsible for the client access to the database. However, working with the home site and the other participating ITC’s issues produces another set of issues. It is the usual persistence of our districts that demand a high level of service. NEOMIN tracked those demands and solved those issues in the help desk. NEOMIN uses the library staff, the library user group, help desk requests and our annual survey to decide on the goals for this year. Management and the coordinators use our districts, annual survey, help desk and external databases to measure our goals and metrics. The Executive Director creates a final document of our goals. This document is reviewed by the support staff and the governing board chairs prior to submission. NEOMIN measured is goals by tracking trainings in a database, annual customer survey and using help desk reports. The goals are designed to meet our districts’ needs and by using their ideas and suggestions to improve. NEOMIN will include those districts to be part of the goal. Included in this CIP are our goals for the next year. The CA-USD is a valuable support tool that NEOMIN has incorporated into daily use. It helps management delegate responsibility and ensures answers and acknowledgements of the issues have been made. The help desk allows for management to prioritize and organize requests so as to not get lost. The library support service area completes an average of 40 requests a month. NEOMIN is working on efforts to get more requests entered directly in the CA-USD, by using templates. NEOMIN has been able to link help desk requests to projects that are part of our goals. It is very evident as we are in the pilot phase the requests for these services require a little more hand holding. The biggest measurement of our goals is the overwhelming request for the staff to perform training. As NEOMIN is very customer service oriented we have taken on additional training in a classroom setting as well as one-on-one. Our environment allows for district staff to come and work at our offices and then be able to ask questions to staff directly. The staff’s improvements and accomplishments can be seen in the survey results on pages 21 thru 32. The analyses of those results are on the following page of each metric. These goals include improvements suggested by our districts. NEOMIN uses the help desk to measure the time it takes to acknowledge the receipt of a request. NEOMIN acknowledged requests within four hours 64.71% of the time and closed requests within eight hours 43.14% of the time. As the staff and management review the SLA we can improve how to measure our performance. In the next year NEOMIN plans to review the SLA to update metrics to better reflect our performance.


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Library Services Library Automation Goal Matrix – curricular resources and educational technology services to support academic contract standards

and effective instruction:

# Goals * Initiated Date Status ** Comments 2009.4.01 Train library media staff in the new features of

Symphony GL3.2.1. 9/2008 In progress NEOMIN Library Services staff

conducts half day training sessions to cover the new features of Symphony GL3.2.1, as announced by INFOhio.

2009.4.02 Hold open lab work sessions for library media staff in NEOMIN Lab for remedial assistance.

10/2008 Not started Library media users receive personalized assistance with specific library topics.

2009.4.03 Offer one Electronic Resource/ODE Benchmark & Indicators/School Rooms training at the beginning of the school year.

9/11/2008 Complete Offered to technology coordinators, curriculum advisors/directors, teachers, and library media specialists.

2009.4.04 Hold user group meetings to announce library technologies & discuss issues.

8/2008 In progress NEOMIN offers two meeting times on the same day to accommodate library media staff. .

2009.4.05 Offer training for the Ohio Career Information System (OCIS) for library media users.

9/2008 Not started Internet-based delivery system that offers accurate, comprehensive, current, and relevant occupational, post-secondary school and financial aid information.

2009.4.06 Offer new user training on library automation system basics.

9/2008 Ongoing basics of Symphony Workflows GL3.2.1.

2009.4.07 Supply NEOMIN grant information via a printed/online newsletter.

9/2007 Ongoing NEOMIN Library Services staff provide continual grant information for the school districts.

2009.4.08 Offer "refresher" library software training sessions on topics requested by library media users.

4/2009 Not started Library media users are served a questionnaire at the beginning of the school year that determines the training needs of the users for the current year.

2009.4.09 Visit library media staff in their school library setting.

7/2007 Ongoing NEOMIN Library Services staff visits school district library media centers to improve relations and provide individualized customer assistance.

2009.4.10 Attend majority of State and Regional Technical and User Group meetings and training sessions.

7/2007 Ongoing NEOMIN Library staff to attend INFOhio State Technical Roundtable Meetings, and Northeast Ohio Regional User Group Meetings to provide updates on library information technologies, allows for regional collaboration, and CEU's for NEOMIN Library staff.


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2009.4.11 Offer training for the SirsiDynix StaffWeb Client. 10/2008 Complete Library media users are trained during a NEOMIN User Group meeting on the new web-based StaffWeb client.

Notes


** Status should be – not started, in progress, going, cancelled, or complete


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Internet Access and Networking Services The key service to starting the OECN network was Fiscal Services. Today the network encompasses resources available through inter-connectivity and intra-connectivity. NEOMIN provides email, intrusion detection, internet filtering, firewall protection, website caching, and network accessibility between districts, between ITC’s, the OSCNet, and the Internet. The level of networking services has expanded with the addition of NEOMIN services. NEOMIN has increased the number of Ethernet connections every year by increasing vendor participation making it cost effective. NEOMIN has over 50% of the districts connected to NEOMIN by Ethernet. Annually, NEOMIN works with the vendors to increase the number of services by investigating new services and terms which the districts can afford. NEOMIN uses the networking staff, district technology coordinators, help desk requests and our annual survey to decide on the goals for this year. Management and the coordinators use our districts, annual survey, help desk and external databases to measure our goals and metrics. The Executive Director creates a final document of our goals. This document is reviewed by the support staff and the governing board chairs prior to submission. The goals are designed to meet our districts’ needs and by using their ideas and suggestions to improve. The goals increase our networking services as our districts demand more of our software applications to be delivered over the network. In turn, using those services over the OSCnet saves NEOMIN and the OECN money as there is no need to traverse the internet. A goal this year will be specifically to see which vendors can reach which districts in order to obtain basic level service, with the idea we can increase their bandwidth at a later time if required. The CA-USD is a valuable support tool that NEOMIN has incorporated into daily use. It helps management delegate responsibility and ensures answers and acknowledgements of the issues have been made. The help desk allows for management to prioritize and organize requests so as to not get lost. The network support service area completes an average of 25 requests per request area, email, network LAN and network WAN a month. NEOMIN is working on efforts to get more requests entered directly in the CA-USD, by using templates. NEOMIN has been able to link help desk requests to projects that are part of our goals. It is very evident as we are in the pilot phase the requests for these services require a little more hand holding. The biggest measurement of our goals is the overwhelming request for the staff to perform training. As NEOMIN is very customer service oriented we have taken on additional training in a classroom setting as well as one-on-one. Our environment allows for district staff to come and work at our offices and then be able to ask questions to staff directly. The staff’s improvements and accomplishments can be seen in the survey results on pages 21 thru 32. The analyses of those results are on the following page of each metric. These goals include improvements suggested by our districts. NEOMIN uses the help desk to measure the time it takes to acknowledge the receipt of a request. NEOMIN acknowledged requests within four hours 93.33% of the time and closed requests within eight hours 93.33% of the time. As the staff and management review the SLA we can improve how to measure our performance. In the next year NEOMIN plans to review the SLA to update metrics to better reflect our performance.


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Internet Access and Networking Services

Internet Access and Networking Services Goal Matrix – including email and the support of data exchange within the Information

Technology Center’s user entities and across different Information Technology Centers and their user entities:

# Goals * Initiated Date Status ** Comments 2009.5.01 Assure districts comply with Network Security

Policies and maintain static maps. 7/2006 Ongoing Adherence to policies will be tested at

least quarterly for any buildings that have static maps. Policy and testing must be reviewed with NEOMIN management.

2009.5.02 Assist districts with network re-design efforts to increase bandwidth, improve services and/or lower costs.

Embarq fiber implementation to 1 school district (4 buildings)

8/2008

Complete Warren Harding, Willard@East, Jefferson@Reserve, and Lincoln all converted to Embarq fiber by August 2008

2009.5.03 Attend and participate in each of the monthly technology coordinator meetings, for each county in conjunction with eTECH State of Ohio staff to receive input for future planning and to disperse information that will improve the performance of district personnel.

7/2006 Ongoing Attendance at meetings will be logged. Maintain documentation of training that NEOMIN conducts as part of meeting.

2009.5.04 Expand connectivity and lower network costs through participation in OSCNet/Ohio K-12 Network (formerly known as Third Frontier Network (TFN))

8/2008 Complete Successful connectivity and transition to OSCNet (Ohio K-12 Network) gigabit connection will determine success. Completed GigE connection to eTech in May

2009.5.05 Phase-out and migrate current ATM – connected school districts to an IP solution for WAN connectivity. This allows NEOMIN and member districts to remain compliant with the connectivity requirements of the Ohio K-12 Network

12/2007 Complete MNRG complete on 8/31, GNVA complete on 9/12, BRKF complete on 9/18.– all ATM equipment phased-out and unsupported by NEOMIN and Ohio K-12

2009.5.06 Provide IP video connectivity at NEOMIN for districts to utilize and as trouble-shooting tool for video problems.

7/2007 Ongoing Log activity by NEOMIN and district staff

2009.5.07 Maintain support of Cacti for network utilization reports for member districts information

7/2007 Ongoing Implement Cacti and begin phase-out of MRTG. Cacti reporting and database capabilities are far superior to MRTG. MRTG has been phased-out, Cacti is the only supported graphing tool provided by NEOMIN to the districts


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2009.5.08 Provide network design/implementation support services for member districts

7/2007 Ongoing Assist Technology Coordinators with LAN/WAN design issues for new building projects, upgrades and configurations

2009.5.09 Create a VPN for all users to access internal programs / data. Get technology coordinators to help.

01/2009 Not started Creates a secure method for users to gain access to NEOMIN from remote sites.

2009.5.10 Centralize a focused Network Backup (tape, SAN, or NAS)

6/2007 Complete Add devices to the computer network that can be virtually any where to backup data, and restore data, if budget allows. This may be considered as “complete” as it refers to the Storserver which has been in production since Jan 2007.

2009.5.11 Optimize Configuration of Network Core, upgrade connections to high speed machines and critical applications.

7/2007 Ongoing Secure and Improve performance of critical application servers, NEOMIN AD/ Domain, Cisco devices, routers, switches, Ciscoworks, and Call Manager

2009.5.12 Integrate Core Equipment Configuration / Backup into Disaster Recovery Plan

3/2007 Ongoing Take current plan and ensure the equipment can be brought back to an operating standard. Core network device configs are copied to Ciscoworks server which then is backed up by Storserver.

2009.5.13 Develop Strategy to implement LDAP security 6/ 2009 Not started Begin looking at how to centralize security by implementing a protocol (LDAP) recommended by the SSDT. NEOMIN is still looking at local LDAP solution

2009.5.14 Assist in maintaining NEOMIN LAN server farm

7/2007 Ongoing

2009.5.15 Implement district/building security to improve network security and improve reliability of network services. Utilize the access control list features of IOS software on routers AND/OR iTRAP to supplement security awareness

7/2007 Ongoing Reduce likelihood of a school district spreading a computer virus to other buildings in the NEOMIN network


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2009.5.16 Provide improved Internet performance through additional hardware/software appliances which could include DNS enhancements, caching or packet shaping

Increase caching HDD storage capacity to 500 GB

Utilize gigabit connections between caching system and core switch

12/2008 In progress Be able to identify and prioritize network traffic. Assure processing of essential fiscal, student and EMIS data. Upgrade of Packeteer traffic shaping appliance. Upgrade of load-balancing switch for Cache server farm Cache HDD upgrades complete 8/2007

2009.5.17 Participate in the OSCnet/Third Frontier project to expand connectivity between NEOMIN and Internet.

Maintain ARIN-assigned public IP address space

Maintain firewall DMZ

7/2007 Ongoing Upgrade to GigE connection to eTech complete 5/2008

2009.5.18 Maintain high availability of Internet Filtering capabilities to member districts

7/2007 Ongoing Minimize chances for unfiltered Internet access

2009.5.19 Upgrade Cisco PIX firewall, software as needed to maintain a secure and stable firewall appliance

7/2007 Ongoing Upgrade PIX OS to v 7.0 complete, but keep up with service releases

2009.5.20 Utilize blade server and “VMware” technology to virtualize NEOMIN’s physical LAN servers

01/2009 Not started Each physical server in NEOMIN LAN will be converted to VMware infrastructure

Notes




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Survey Method and Results / Goal Development and Metric Measurement NEOMIN use several sources to collect district feedback. A beneficial tool is the anonymous online customer survey. The survey is designed to protect the anonymity by using the district name and title of the responder. The questionnaire utilized radio buttons for evaluations and free text for comments. The following areas were included: Help Desk, trainings and meetings, ITC comparison and an overall summary. The survey is sent out over email and the questions and data are gathered from a web site front end and database back end. This year we received 1,214 responses to the survey. There was a great deal of appreciation for what the staff does from support to training. When compared to other ITC’s, NEOMIN was rated as excellent and a great value. There were many positive comments regarding the excellent service the staff provides to the districts. Using our annual customer survey results as the main metric for feedback the staff developed the goals in the specific core services. Each coordinator conducts at least a quarterly user group meeting with the district staff. NEOMIN’s user group meetings, general networking with the consortium members and other ITC’s suggestions help direct the goals. Management uses the CA-USD daily to manage time, acknowledge requests and close requests. A large part of our goals revolve around the help desk requests and improving customer service. Last year we began implementing request help desk (CA-USD) templates to encourage district staff to use the help desk system. Users enter help desk requests as the primary method in order to get the quickest turn around in problem resolution. In each service area’s narrative the measurement and creation of goals were mentioned. Management and the coordinators use our districts feedback, the annual survey, help desk and external databases to create goals and develop metrics. The annual survey and user group meetings solidify the goals set in each core service area. The goals are approved by the Executive Director and shared with governing board members.

Each goal is designed to meet the current and changing needs of our customers through the monthly user group meetings and the trends we see in the help desk requests. As we see more requests we act to get those districts involved. These are normally brought to the attention of management from the core service staff as they answer the help desk and notice the trends prior to any report. Help desk data is provided to NEOMIN management and superintendents on a monthly basis. Data is reviewed for staffing resources and the ability to acknowledge in a reasonable time frame and solve problems within our districts expectations, given the particular months considerations. NEOMIN correlates the data from the help desk reports to the user survey information for improvement and relevancy to proceed into pilots or implementation projects. This is noted in our narrative and goals, in which we try to collaborate, consolidate and centrally manage service for and with our districts. NEOMIN has reached the 90% mark for meeting state standards for acknowledgements and closure.


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Scale Fiscal EMIS Student Library Email Internet WAN Total Percent

Excellent 90 132 120 96 165 125 79 807 41%

Above Average 73 86 91 84 127 113 85 659 33%

Average 45 64 59 41 81 61 46 397 20%

Below Average 5 10 10 7 14 11 7 64 3%

Poor 4 8 8 5 7 5 5 42 2%

NEOMIN Training Quality & Timeliness2008 Customer Service Survey Results

Excellent 41%

Above Average 33%

Average 20%

Below Average 3%Poor 2%


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Level of Training by each Core Services The first metric we measure in the annual survey is the quality of training and timeliness of when the training occurs. Timeliness of training really hits home with fiscal due dates and state reporting due dates. As changes in the data requirements and software functionality occur the staff must learn these changes. Then the staff must be able to incorporate the data changes in the software and then conduct training, all just prior to the reporting period. This timing is very important, because if it is too early or too late is does not meet the needs of our district staff and educators. As indicated from the survey, and depicted in the pie chart, 41% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN as providing an excellent service, 33% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN service as above average and 20% as average, and 5% perceive NEOMIN as providing below / poor training services. NEOMIN removes the highest and lowest scores in an effort to mediate the poll. As part of this year goals NEOMIN will improve our rating for quality of trainings and timeliness. Changes and improvements to the systems depend heavily on our vendors and partner’s ability to provide NEOMIN with timely updates. This affects NEOMIN’s ability to train and train in a timely fashion.


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NEOMIN Response Time 2008 Customer Service Survey Results


Excellent 99 139 142 118 256 184 99 1037 44%

Above Average 68 115 98 93 183 164 100 821 35%

Average 53 64 65 42 71 59 47 401 17%

Below Average 2 6 6 5 6 6 4 35 2%

Poor 2 9 7 4 7 6 4 39 2%


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Level of Response Time by each Core Service NEOMIN’s survey asks users how well and quickly we respond to the help desk requests. NEOMIN attempts to acknowledge our requests in less than eight hours 100% of the time; however the CA-USD measures acknowledgements in less than four hours. This makes it difficult to measure how well we meet NEOMIN’s service level. It then measures closure of a request in less than eight hours. The key in this metric is the ability to measure requests that have different priorities and volume where resources are limited. NEOMIN is very aware of how this metric indicates how our districts perceive how well NEOMIN serves their needs. As indicated from the survey, and depicted in the pie chart, 44% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN as providing an excellent service, 35% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN service as above average and 17% as average, and 4% perceive NEOMIN as providing below / poor training services. NEOMIN removes the highest and lowest scores in an effort to mediate the poll. NEOMIN services will look at these metrics allowing coordinators of the specific core service to understand the service level agreement and where they stand. The goals in their service area will trend toward improving these metrics by using the reports available more often. Staff will also use the request status to meet the service NEOMIN intends to serve.


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Excellent 112 168 156 124 257 201 109 1127 52%

Above Average 66 88 92 74 133 113 80 646 30%

Average 38 41 42 36 62 49 39 307 14%

Below Average 4 8 9 4 5 5 4 39 2%

Poor 4 5 6 6 4 4 4 33 2%

NEOMIN Knowledge Level2008 Customer Service Survey Results

Excellent 52%

Above Average 30%

Average 14%



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Level of Knowledge for the Core Services NEOMIN’s level of knowledge exceeds management expectations, with the number of staff. NEOMIN staff has filled the number of CEU’s required every year and every fourth year. Management has always recognized the fact that training and learning software applications and networking applications is an ongoing process. NEOMIN staff is able to learn quickly and this is essential to provide excellent support. It is appreciated that the OECN has provided training that is affordable since our budgets are limited and becoming more limited while our knowledge level is expected to increase. As indicated from the survey, and depicted in the pie chart, 52% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN as providing an excellent service, 30% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN service as above average and 14% as average, and 4% perceive NEOMIN as providing below / poor training services. NEOMIN removes the highest and lowest scores in an effort to mediate the poll. The NEOMIN staff increases our knowledge base by attending and conducting user group meetings and training sessions. The meetings create an understanding of user needs that define our goals.


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Excellent 94 141 130 107 232 175 100 979 44%

Above Average 78 105 99 87 168 149 89 775 35%

Average 41 61 60 37 76 56 48 379 17%

Below Average 2 5 7 6 6 7 4 37 2%

Poor 3 10 8 5 9 7 5 47 2%

NEOMIN Problem Resolution2008 Customer Service Survey Results

Excellent 44%

Above Average 35%

Average 17%



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Level of Problem Resolution for each Core Service This metric asks our districts how well NEOMIN resolved their issues. Every district staff member wants their issue to be resolved as soon as NEOMIN is aware of the issue without knowing the backlog. As NEOMIN is very customer service orientated we recognize the fact every minute a user cannot perform their job costs the districts time and money. NEOMIN is on par with the state wide service level agreement for acknowledgements and closure of help desk requests. As indicated from the survey, and depicted in the pie chart, 44% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN as providing an excellent service, 35% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN service as above average and 17% as average, and 4% perceive NEOMIN as providing below / poor training services. NEOMIN removes the highest and lowest scores in an effort to mediate the poll. NEOMIN and its planning committee intend to review the SLA in this fiscal year, at the very least next fiscal year. Using the data from the CA-USD NEOMIN will be able to enhance our SLA with achievable yet distinct requirements. Using those metrics will increase NEOMIN’s level of service with well defined expectations.


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Excellent 82 108 99 94 204 160 87 834 35%

Above Average 86 138 124 111 216 183 111 969 41%

Average 40 65 72 38 86 70 43 414 18%

Below Average 6 10 8 6 17 18 6 71 3%

Poor 5 12 14 8 12 12 10 73 3%

NEOMIN Network Reliability2008 Customer Service Survey Results

Excellent 35%

Above Average 41%

Average 18%

Below Average 3% Poor 3%


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Level of Network Reliability by Core Service Among everyday users of the NEOMIN wide area network this is the most difficult to measure. Districts have trouble understanding difficulties in the internal local area network and NEOMIN’s local area network, which together creates the wide area network. NEOMIN does not manage or control district local area networks. NEOMIN’s network and the connections to NEOMIN was only down three days the past year due to a power outage. As indicated from the survey, and depicted in the pie chart, 35% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN as providing an excellent service, 41% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN service as above average and 18% as average, and 6% perceive NEOMIN as providing below / poor training services. NEOMIN removes the highest and lowest scores in an effort to mediate the poll. The network staff takes great pride into the accessibility and security of the NEOMIN network. A great deal of time and effort has been spent creating this internal and external network that not only meets our districts’ needs but adheres to the OECN K-12 standards. NEOMIN’s goals are to ensure each district meets the OECN K-12 requirements and receives their subsidy.


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Excellent 110 166 147 127 250 190 107 1097 50%

Above Average 67 98 96 77 152 127 88 705 32%

Average 37 39 48 38 62 50 39 313 14%

Below Average 1 5 5 2 3 4 2 22 1%

Poor 3 6 8 5 8 6 5 41 2%

NEOMIN Overall Support2008 Customer Service Survey Results

Excellent 50%

Above Average 32%

Average 14%

Poor 2%Below Average 1%


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Level of Overall Support by Core Service Overall support to the NEOMIN districts is something we strive for in each of our goals and helpdesk request responses. As a team NEOMIN works together to ensure we can meet the needs of the districts even though the request may not be in their core service area of expertise. As indicated from the survey, and depicted in the pie chart, 50% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN as providing an excellent service, 32% of the survey takers rated NEOMIN service as above average and 14% as average, and 3% perceive NEOMIN as providing below / poor training services. NEOMIN removes the highest and lowest scores in an effort to mediate the poll. NEOMIN supports 31 districts and serves each and every one with an overall theme of “customer is first”, and that customers’ needs exceed our own. The goals each core service took upon themselves is to improve our overall perception and support. These goals take into account suggestions given by district staff and our own knowledge about the software applications.


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Conclusion The NEOMIN annual survey had an outstanding number of district staff participate, the most since the start of the survey. District staff complimented each core service in their ability to train, respond quickly and retain knowledge. They were also more than satisfied with the network reliability. Overall the comments were very positive; in fact the districts want NEOMIN to do more. Management not only receives this information from the survey but from our training surveys and from emails and conversation. The staff uses this information to create additional goals and respond more quickly to meet the needs of our district members. The survey results show over 94% of the districts need our services and believe NEOMIN does a great job. That is due largely to the staff abilities, and the fact that our districts are able to reach NEOMIN. The district staff knows the NEOMIN staff; they are not just another help desk request. NEOMIN’s ability to provide superior support and personal service has created a great relationship with our districts. This has been and will continue to be a large reason why NEOMIN succeeds. Management will deliver the message that by working together we can overcome any situation, even with all the changes encountered annually. Working together to collaborate, consolidate and centralize will eventually lead to individual district technology that conforms and results in good decisions, cost savings and valuable resources. The goal development process begins with the annual customer survey. Input from staff, service user groups and help desk requests are an effective method to measure our achievements and direct our goals. Achievable goals are instrumental into moving forward as the goals raise the bar year by year. It is imperative that goals continue to challenge staff’s capabilities. NEOMIN staff takes great pride in our work and always puts the customer/district first. Our number one area of concentration is customer service and attempting to go beyond satisfaction. NEOMIN does this through additional training in a classroom and one-on-one sessions. The staff has successfully developed a mutually respectable relationship with our districts. NEOMIN strives to go beyond the needs of our customers. NEOMIN’s ability to provide technology and training provides the means for educators to create life long learners.


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NEOMIN Governing Board Members Mr. John Rubesich NEOMIN Governing Board Chair Ashtabula County Educational Service Center / Superintendent Mrs. Vicki Giovangnoli NEOMIN Governing Board Vice Chair Trumbull County Educational Service Center / Superintendent Dr. Jerome Brockway Planning Committee Chair Ashtabula Joint Vocational School / Superintendent Mr. Wayne McClain Personnel Committee Chair Trumbull Career and Technical Center / Superintendent Mrs. Mary Zappitelli Finance Committee Chair Geneva Area City Schools / Superintendent Mr. David Wilson Finance Committee Newton Falls Exempted Village Schools / Superintendent Mr. Douglas Hladek Personnel Committee Jefferson Area City Schools / Superintendent Mr. Mark Lucas Planning Committee Liberty Local Schools / Superintendent Mr. Mark Bello Personnel Committee Girard City Schools / Treasurer Mrs. Lisa Moodt Finance Committee Grand Valley Schools / Treasurer Mrs. Lori Simione Treasurer Trumbull County Educational Service Center / Treasurer


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2008 Online Customer Service Survey


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Mr. Thomas J. Garbarz, Jr.

Executive Director

Ms. Melanie Reese

Administrative Assistant

NETWORK AND SYSTEMS DIVISION

APPLICATION SYSTEMS DIVISION

LOCAL AREA

NETWORK SYSTEMS

WIDE AREA NETWORK

SYSTEMS

EMAIL/INTERNET

SYSTEMS

DATABASE

SYSTEMS

STUDENT/EMIS

FISCAL

LIBRARY

NEOMIN Governing

Board

Planning

Committee

Finance

Committee

Personnel

Committee

General Assembly

Mr. Robert Falatic

Associate Director

Northeast Ohio Management

Information NetworkOrganizational Chart

October 22, 2008

Ms. Marti Agona

Coordinator of

Database Systems

Ms. Lisa Collins

Coordinator of

Email/Internet

Systems

Mr. Brian Greathouse

Coordinator of Local

Area Network and

Systems

Mr. Kevin Homistek

Coordinator of Wide

Area Network and

Systems

Ms. Autumn Roper

Coordinator of

Library Application

Software

Ms. Davey Simo

Library Application

Consultant

Ms. Amy Blanford

Coordinator of Student/EMIS

Application Software

Ms. Barb Switzer

Student/EMIS Application

Software Analyst

Ms. Janine Pushak

Student/EMIS Application

Software Specialist

Mr. John Jaros

Student / EMIS

Application Consultant

Ms. Brenda Krol

Coordinator of Fiscal

Application Software

Mr. Brian Stevens

Fiscal Application

Software Specialist

FY09 ITC Continuous Improvement Plan OAC Checklist

NEOMIN - Northeast Ohio Management Information Network

Guidelines and Recommended Procedures for OECN Information Technology Centers (ITCs) (Based on current Ohio Administrative Codes)

3301-3-03 Information Technology center and User Entity Permit Eligibility and Application

3301-3-06 Responsibilities of an Information Technology Center and a User Entity

Information Technology Center (ITC)

Return to Sections

If the answer to any of the questions below is NO, an explanation is to be provided in the comments section.

1. Does the Information Technology Center (ITC) have a schedule of services and proposed agreements for execution between the ITC and providing the services and its user entity permit holders?Sample evidence: Copies of the schedule of services and proposed (or executed) services agreements between the ITC and each district it provides services for.

Answer (Yes or No): Yes

2. Does the ITC provide a minimum schedule of staffing, training, core services, resources and procedural operations as determined by the department and referenced as information technology center responsibilities in rule 3301-3-06 of the Administrative Code and performance requirements in rule 3301-3-07 of the Administrative Code? 3301-3-03(A)(4)Sample evidence: Copy of a staffing report that shows staffing assignments including cross-training duties; copies of service description offerings for core services; and a schedule of training offerings (including attendees) offered during the past 12 months.


3. Does the ITC promote a cooperative, integrated system of information technology for its user entities as well as among other information technology centers? 3301-3-06(A)(1)Sample evidence: Copies of communications and/or service offerings that promote integration of information technology for schools served by the ITC, and/or the sharing of services with or among other ITC's.


4. Does the ITC promote and administer the efficient and cost&ndasheffective implementation of information technology which supports the information technology strategies of the Department and all user entities? Sample evidence: Copies of the budget and descriptions of services offerings provided by the ITC.


5. Does the ITC coordinate innovative uses of information technology that support the goals of the department, information technology center, and all user entities? Sample evidence: Copies of the descriptions of services offerings provided by the ITC.

Page 1 of 10Custom Printed Questionnaire

12/24/2008https://dw.d3a2.esu.k12.oh.us/pls/apex31/f?p=122:6:2660810123576687::NO:::

User Entity Questions


6. Does the ITC provide for electronic networking capabilities between and among user entities, the information technology center, and support connectivity to the department or its designee, and maintain a system of electronic contact information as specified by the Department? Sample evidence: Copies of Ohio K-12 Network Building Connectivity Subsidy worksheets showing that each member entity of the ITC is participating in the Ohio K-12 Network, and logs showing that User Mail Profile (UMP) records are being regularly updated and transmitted to the SSDT for inclusion in the OECN CSO (White Pages).


7. Does the ITC make certain that all data acquired on behalf of user entities are held in trust for those entities? (Any transfer or release of any user entity's data shall require prior authorization from that specific entity.) Sample evidence: Copies of governance documents, service agreements, or policies that illustrate that all data held by the ITC is held in trust and remains the property of the school district. Copies of individual and/or blanket authorizations to release data on behalf of each school district.


8. Does the ITC offer core services to all user entities with permits? Sample evidence: Copies of the descriptions of services offered by the ITC to its user entities.


9. Do the user entities utilize requested core services provided through the OECN and its component information technology centers? Sample evidence: Copies of the listing of core services utilized by each school district, and funded by ODE.


10. Do the user entities participate in the governance and financial support of the information technology center that serves the user entity and remain financially current? Sample evidence: Copies of the minutes of the governing body(ies) of the ITC for the previous 12 months; a copy of the financial reports of the organization including budget and revenue projections; and an aged accounts receivable report for the ITC.


11. Do the user entities adhere to the governance documents of the information technology center? Sample evidence: Copies of the minutes of the governing body (ies) of the ITC for the previous 12 months.


12. Do the user entities procure and utilize a data communications link to communicate electronically with department personnel via compatible equipment? Sample evidence: Copies of Ohio K-12 Network Building Connectivity Subsidy worksheets showing that each member entity of the ITC is participating in the Ohio K-12 Network and remains eligible for Ohio K-12 Network subsidy.



3301-3-07 Performance Requirements

Governance Agreement/constitution


13. Do the user entities provide required data to the appropriate information technology center in an electronic format as defined by the department? (Large district user entities may, at the discretion of the department, report required data directly to the department.) Sample evidence: Listing of member entities showing that none are delinquent in any aspect of state reporting that passes through the ITC.


14. Do the user entities build the capacity of its staff through professional development that allows the user entity to meet specific obligations to the information technology center as per the contractual agreement between the information technology center and the user entity? Sample evidence: Copies of the service agreements between the ITC and its user entities, and listings of the professional development offerings of the ITC held in the past 12 months, including the names and district affiliations of each attendee.


15. Does the agreement include provisions for a governing assembly, a board of directors, and executive committee, or a combination of these entities? Sample evidence: An answer of YES requires that at least ONE of the following conditions exists: Each district's representative has a vote -(a) On the consortium's governing assembly Or (b) On the consortium's governing board/board of directors/executive board Or (c) In electing the members of the consortium's governing board/board of directors/executive board.


16. Does the agreement include provisions for a systematic approach to encourage participation that is representative of all end users and governance that is representative of all user entities? Sample evidence: Document content which provides for user representation. Examples include user groups, advisory committees, ad hoc committees, and/or the participation of end users on the governing bodies of the consortium.


17. Does the agreement define the responsibilities of each component of the organizational structure? Sample evidence: Document content that defines the responsibilities/duties of the following: (a) Governing Assembly (b) Board of Directors/Governing Board/Executive Board (c) Operating Committee (d) Fiscal Agent


18. Does the ITC governing authority rest with the board of directors or the governing assembly rather than the fiscal agent? Sample evidence: (a) An answer of YES requires that the "powers and duties" of the governing assembly and/or the board of directors/governing board, as listed in the governance document, reflect -APPROVAL- authority for establishing budgets, fees, hiring/firing employees, etc. instead of simply functioning as -RECOMMENDATION- groups with final decisions/actions relegated to the fiscal agent. (b) Responses from staff and user interviews/surveys. (c) Review of minutes from official meetings of governing groups.




All ITCs must maintain fully executed contractual agreements with their user entities

Local fiscal operations requirements

The ITC shall evidence the appropriate appointment and utilization of a fiscal agent.

The fiscal agent treasurer is responsible for all financial transactions assoicated with the information technology center. Any information technology center organized in accordance with Chapter 167 of the Revised Code may employ its own treasurer to assume all financial responsibilities.

19. Does the agreement set forth the process of change and define how organizational changes are to occur, such as, amending the agreement, changing the fiscal agent, adding and withdrawing membership, and changing officers? Sample evidence: Document content which describes procedures for the following organizational changes: (a) Amending the agreement (governance document). (b) Adding or withdrawing district membership. (c) Changing officers (of governing groups). (d) Changing the fiscal agent.


20. Does the ITC's governance document contain language that holds harmless the fiscal agent for any liabilities, obligations, claims, damages, penalties, causes of action, costs or expenses relating to the operation and activities of the consortium? (Amounts to be paid in the settlement of any such claims or damages, including attorneys' fees and costs and expenses, shall be apportioned among all consortium member districts to the extent permitted by law.) Sample evidence: Appropriate language contained in: (a) The current governance document Or (b) A separate contract/agreement between the consortium and the fiscal agent district.


21. Are all governance policies and procedures, as well as daily site operations, in accordance with the ITC's current by-laws, agreement(s), or both? Sample evidence: (a) Review of existing consortium policies/procedures. (b) Responses from staff and user interviews/surveys. (c) Review of minutes from official meetings of governing groups.


22. Does the contractual agreement between the information technology center and its user entities specify at a minimum the quality implementation standards, as defined by the department, for all core services, as well as any additional fees to supplement state subsidy for the core services? Sample evidence: Copies of service agreements between the ITC and user entities that illustrate that the above service level agreement (SLA) information has been included in the agreements.


23. Are all financial transactions and accounting procedures associated with ITC operations performed in compliance with requirements of the Revised Code and the auditor of state? Sample evidence: Review of audit report from latest applicable financial audit.


24. Are the financial accounting records of the ITC activities separately maintained and capable of being audited? Sample evidence: Review of audit report from latest applicable financial audit. Review of the latest EMIS financial submission of the ITC to ODE, showing that it complies with ODE rules for segregation of funding by special cost center (SCC) and specific



The board of directors or the governing assembly shall be provided access to the following:

Operating requirements

QC185 (EMIS) reporting codes.


25. Are procedures for receipting, expending, and accounting for funds defined and followed? Sample evidence: Review of audit report from latest applicable financial audit.


26. Do the appropriate governing bodies of the ITC approve all fee assessments, contracts, employee compensation and benefits, as well as initial and modified appropriations, as evidenced by official meeting minutes? Sample evidence: Review of minutes from official meetings of governing groups for the past 12 months.


27. Does the ITC maintain detailed fiscal reports for each regular board of directors or governing assembly meeting? Sample evidence: (a) Review of agendas/handouts from previous meetings. (b) Responses from staff and user interviews/surveys. (c) Review of minutes from official meetings of governing groups.


28. If requested, could the ITC provide other reports upon request? Sample evidence: Copies of newsletters and other communications to user entities that convey the financial condition of the ITC.


29. Amortization periods for the retirement of indebtedness shall not exceed the recommended schedules for depreciation as established by the Internal Revenue Service. Is the ITC in compliance? Sample evidence: Copies of the amortization schedules for any ITC debt(s) incurred within the past 10 years.


30. Does the ITC maintain a minimum cash balance equivalent to the higher of the following: An average of thirty days' expenditures for the previous twelve-month period or anticipated expenditures for the next sixty days? Sample evidence: Cash balance entries from the latest annual financial detail report filed with ODE via EMIS (June) reporting cycle.


31. Does the ITC hold a valid permit and maintain compliance with the criteria established for that permit as identified in paragraph (A) of rule 3301-3-03 of the Administrative Code? Sample evidence: Copy of the permit as issued by ODE, and certification by the ITC administrator and Governing Board Chairperson that the ITC continues to meet the above requirements.




Core services as defined in rule 3301-3-01 of the Administrative Code shall be implemented as follows:

Specific guidelines applying to Internet access and networking services are as follows:

32. Is the ITC in compliance with section 3301.075 of the Revised Code and with the OECN line item appropriation language contained in the most recent budged enacted by the Ohio general assembly? Sample evidence: Copies of Ohio K-12 Network Building Connectivity Subsidy worksheets showing that each member entity of the ITC is participating in the Ohio K-12 Network and remains eligible for Ohio K-12 Network subsidy.


33. Could the ITC as organized in accordance with either Chapter 167 or section 3313.92 of the Revised Code provide a current copy of its organizational agreements(s) if requested by the department and/or the public? Sample evidence: A copy of the organizational document(s) of the ITC is supplied to ODE and/or the public upon request.


34. Are the core services delivered based upon the quality implementation standards communicated by the department? Sample evidence: Copies of the service agreements between the ITC and user entities that specify the service level agreement (SLA) qualifiers as communicated by ODE as the minimum standards of service to be provided by the ITC. Review by ITC management of CA-USD Helpdesk metrics to insure that support is being performed by the ITC at the minimum levels specified by ODE.


35. Does all software and hardware, used by ITCs, enable efficient and effective end-user access to the core services? Sample evidence: Anecdotal information from users relative to the ease and efficiency of the services provided by the ITC, including information from user satisfaction surveys released by the ITC, or generated through the CA-USD Helpdesk process.


36. Is equipment for computer systems or support services shared among and between multiple ITCs in order to increase operational efficiencies, lower operating costs, and/or to improve service reliability? Sample evidence: Copies of agreements providing for shared and/or reciprocal services among and between ITC's; and information showing participation in cooperative purchasing ventures with other ITC's.


37. Are contractual agreements executed with user entities across all core service areas specifying the areas of service (e.g. software management, data management, training, problem resolution, documentation, communication and quality of service), responsibilities of the information technology center and the user entity for each area of service, and quality implementation standards for each area of service? Sample evidence: Copies of the service agreements between the ITC and user entities that specify the service level agreement (SLA) qualifiers as communicated by ODE as the minimum standards of service to be provided by the ITC. Review by ITC management of CA-USD Helpdesk metrics to insure that support is being performed by the ITC at the minimum levels specified by ODE.


38. Is the speed and reliability of the network commensurate with department standards and provide for optimal performance to end users?



Reports

Sample evidence: (a) Current interpretation is a network consisting of a minimum of a T1 (1.554Mb/s) of bandwidth per building (or grouping of up to four buildings) (b) Review of actual capabilities re: the data comm network diagram. (c) Existence of a network topology map which would not only define speeds, but also the number of devices supported across any given link.


39. Are standards established by the state for connectivity maintained by the ITCs? Sample evidence: Current interpretation is that the ITC must be running TCP/IP (v4) via an interconnect to the Ohio K-12 Network via the OSCnet.


40. Is the ITC responsible for any repairs or maintenance to the network and equipment for accessing the internet? Sample evidence: (a) Copies of appropriate equipment maintenance contract(s). (b) Responses from staff and user interviews/surveys. (c) Copies of other pertinent documentation.


41. Does the ITC coordinate and manage an integrated services network, which may include but not be limited to voice, video and data services? (Every educational entity desiring to be connected should have the option of access. The primary internet service provider(s) shall involve the network and provider(s) selected by the department.) Sample evidence: Copies of the listing of services offered by the ITC for networking to user entities; usage records of Internet access for the ITC's primary ISP as well as any secondary providers that the ITC may utilize.


42. Has the ITC filed a continuous improvement plan with the department, as defined by department guidelines and timeframes? (The report shall include the ITC's planned versus actual delivery of core services based upon quality implementation standards. The report shall inform the department-managed accountability system for the OECN. The ITC shall respond in writing to the department and/or make operational adjustments as directed by the department if deficiencies are noted in the department's review of the continuous improvement plan.) Sample evidence: Copies of the most recent CIP filed with ODE by the ITC; and records from ODE showing that the CIP was filed in a timely manner and that any adjustments requested by ODE were implemented.


43. Does the ITC implement an automated system with quality implementation standards defined by the department in partnership with the OECN? (The system shall, at a minimum, facilitate communication and problem resolution among user entities and escalation to appropriate information technology center staff across the OECN, as well as with the department. The system shall enable the reporting of quality implementation metrics for the core services to the department and provide data for the department-managed accountability system for the OECN.) Sample evidence: Records of utilization reports from the CA-USD Helpdesk system showing active utilization of the system by ITC personnel, and an analysis (included in the ITC's CIP), of the information that the ITC is gaining and utilizing from this system to track and improve services to its user entities.


44. Could detailed financial records of the ITC for the current and previous fiscal year transactions made available, if



Business continuity, security, and other safeguards

requested by the department? Sample evidence: Submission of detailed financial reports upon request by ODE.


45. Are financial records made available to the department within sixty days of the end of the fiscal year, in an electronic format as specified by the department? Sample evidence: Copies of the filing dates (confirmed by ODE personnel), that the ITC has filed its financial records with ODE via the EMIS (June) reporting cycle in the format requested.


46. Does the ITC have a written business continuity plan that is formulated, reviewed at regular intervals by the governing body of the data acquisition site, and on file at the department? Sample evidence: Copy of written disaster recovery plan.


47. Does the ITC have a written security policy that is implemented which includes the following? It specifies the methods for obtaining, processing, reporting, and storing data. It prohibits access to the computer systems and services by unauthorized personnel. Sample evidence: (a) Copy of written security policy in effect at the ITC. (b) Responses from staff and user interviews/surveys. (c) On-site review of data center facilities.


48. Is the ITC staff bonded, at a level determined by the ITC's governing body, for the faithful performance of their duties? Sample evidence: Copy of appropriate insurance policy/policies.


49. Does the ITC have insurance coverage for all fixed assets? Sample evidence: Copy of appropriate insurance policy/policies.


50. Does the ITC have a data retention policy that is written, implemented and communicated to all user entities? (This policy shall specify how data are stored, how they can be restored and the method for disposal of these data.) Sample evidence: Copy of existing written policy re: data retention.


51. Is the computer system reviewed at regular intervals in order to ensure sufficient system performance and data security? Sample evidence: Copy of appropriate system policies and logs indicating that monitoring has occurred.



Information Technology Center Personnel


52. Does the ITC comply by not modifying in any respect software or associated data structures provided by the department without the prior written approval from the superintendent of public instruction, or his or her designee? Sample evidence: Review of ITC intervention files and/or audit logs for evidence of data manipulation outside of approved program files; and/or evidence from the SSDT indicating that such manipulation has occurred.


53. Is the environment for the computer systems in compliance with the manufacturer's standards for installation, power, and maintenance? Sample evidence: Copy of statement from manufacturer and/or maintenance provider and/or review of requirements documents from manufacturer.


54. Does the physical security of the ITC prevent unauthorized access to the computer systems? Sample evidence: Existence of physical locking mechanisms that default to being locked at all times.


55. Are staffing levels sufficient to meet the service needs of the user as measured by end-user and staff satisfaction? Sample evidence: Responses from staff and user interviews/surveys.


56. Are personnel assignments made to ensure that user support needs are met and that all core services are successfully delivered? Sample evidence: Copy of job descriptions showing cross-training and secondary support assignments. Interviews with staff indicating that cross-training is being performed.


57. Do all staff members have training and/or experience necessary to perform the duties contained in their job descriptions? Sample evidence: Copy of resumes of staff members and professional development records for these individuals, and interviews with staff indicating that they are receiving the training requested.


58. Are all ITC staff given the appropriate training for the task assigned? Sample evidence: Copy of resumes of staff members and professional development records for these individuals, and interviews with staff indicating that they are receiving the training requested.


59.



Are all ITC staff whose job assignments are related to the support of technology or technology services engaged in an ongoing program of in-service in the areas of assignment? (Each staff member shall earn a minimum of one and one-half CEU's per year, with a minimum of eight CEU's earned during any four-year period of employment. Other training in lieu of CEU's may be used if approved by the department or its designee. CEU requirements for part-time personnel shall be pro-rated.) Sample evidence: Copy of professional development records for all ITC staff members for the most recent four years.


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FY 2009 ITC Continuous Improvement Planitc.oecn.k12.oh.us/neomin-fy09.pdf · FY 2009 ITC Continuous...

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