From the TIG report: “It is recommended that the new IT organization have fewer layers of management to bring the senior management of IT closer to the users and the internal IT staff…The goal is to keep management layers to three or less between CIO and the staff.”
However, in many cases, the current person most likely to be tagged as the ITO reports directly to the Dean of their College. Under the new model, the ITO reports to a Director of User Experience and Engagement (DUEE) who reports to the CIO. This adds a layer of management that currently does not exist in many cases, as does the dotted line to the Provost. This does not seem to be in the best interest of the department they are serving. At the 10/11 Town Hall, Duane stated that the “primary function {of the ITO} and what they will be measured on is how they are continuing to deliver services to the areas they are representing”. I’m having a hard time understanding how a Director can conduct a valid performance review if s/he isn’t even in the same facility as the ITO. Additionally, since personnel files are subject to review when current UNM employees apply for different positions within the University, the ITO’s loyalties will lie with the person conducting the performance review. And what happens when the department’s IT goals don’t align with the DUEE or CIO? The ITO is in the position where s/he is tasked with, and reviewed on, providing services to the areas they are representing yet in the case of a conflict, the ITO can be put in a position where s/he must fight for what’s best for the department, therefore going against the DUEE and CIO. It’s a no-win situation. Policy 3215 Personnel Management Section 5 lists Insubordination (defined as defying authority) as proper/just cause for a personnel action. Some people might say that sounds extreme but as someone who is fiercely loyal to our constituencies, if I’m faced with doing what’s right for the law school but it’s in opposition to what the DUEE and/or CIO direct me to do, I’m probably going to risk my job in favor of the department I’ve worked with for so many years. Additionally, the model of pooling money and allocating it based on FTE puts the Deans in a position of having to ask for the funding to support services (new or old) that might benefit “just” the law school and therefore could conceivably be seen as a lower priority as a service that support multiple departments. Significant financial and operational staff and resources will shift away from Academic Affairs and over to Administration by moving all IT reporting to the CIO. As an alternative, consolidation of IT staff in Administrative units may be the most natural first approach. At the very least, the solid and dotted lines for the ITO reporting need to be swapped.
Cyndi Johnson
School of Law