成人大片 IT Services

成人大片 Us

A Message from the CIO

As Queen鈥檚 advances on its vision, mission and values to make a tangible difference in the lives of others, I could not be more excited to explore the ways in which digital technologies can be used to address old problems and facilitate new opportunities. Times of challenge also bring rich opportunities, and with our deeply talented workforce and ever-growing culture of collaboration, I am confident that together we can build a brighter future and make a lasting impact.

- Marie-Claude Arguin, Chief Information Officer and Associate Vice-Principal (Information Technology Services)

Our Mission

To strengthen student success and research impact through enabling information and technology services.

Our Vision

A Queen's community that is empowered and enriched by evolving digital technologies, and experiences first-rate service.

 

A close-up of an old-fashioned scale where each side is equal. A blurry gavel is in the background.

Our Values

  • We are professional, curious, forward-looking, and open to new ways of working.
  • We are responsive and transparent to the community, and demonstrate awareness of their business needs.
  • We exercise leadership at all levels and build strong stakeholder relationships.
  • We collaborate effectively with people of diverse perspectives and experiences, and create safe space in which to share ideas.
  • We adopt an informed and risk-aware approach to timely decision-making.
  • We continuously invest in ourselves to grow competences.
A person's hands in action on a desk. One hand is moving the mouse on a laptop on a desk and one is holding a pair of glasses.

Design Principles

  • Student experience comes first.
  • Institutional outcomes before technology.
  • One identity.
  • Enter data once.
  • Intuitive, accessible, and secure.
  • Self-service and automation.
  • Fiscally responsible.

The Road Ahead

provides direction to strengthen student success and research impact through enabling information and technology services at Queen's. We encourage you to  to learn about the projects that IT Services' has planned over the next three years.

The roadmap includes six enablers that build the foundation for digitalisation at Queen's:

Relationships are the wealth of our institution. Providing meaningful experiences, customised to our constituents' unique needs and aspirations, is how we build impactful, strong, and lasting connections with our communities.

The benefits of an institutional CRM are to:

  • Bring growth in areas such as recruitment, research funding, donations, registrations for life-long learning, and commercialisation opportunities;
  • Create efficiencies such as shortening time-to-degree for graduate students, reducing manual processes, and trimming time needed to consolidate and manipulate data;
  • Enhance the student/constituent experience, improve targeted personalised communications, and bolster interaction between constituents;
  • Strengthen our brand with modernised and better-synchronized interactions; and
  • Mitigate risks by improving data quality in support of data-driven decisions.

A decision support program will provide secure, governed and well-described access to Queen鈥檚 data by pulling from multiple sources and systems:

  • A data and analytics platform is already built within our Azure Cloud environment, and we have deployed a campus-wide reporting solution (MS Power BI) to facilitate the easy creation of visual reports and drive informed decision-making. A Queen鈥檚 data store, as well as API channel capability, are coming soon.
  • A data governance framework will enable information-based decisionmaking, provide common approaches to resolving data issues, build standards and repeatable processes, increase effectiveness and transparency, and reduce operational friction.
  • Improved data quality will be achieved by reducing the use of shadow systems across Queen鈥檚 and by enhancing the usability and access features of our Peoplesoft HR environment, as well as by deploying templates and guides for more accurate data entry.
  • A multi-year data literacy and proficiency program will enhance users鈥 ability to leverage tools and interpret data.

Queen鈥檚 is making a deliberate effort to move current services hosted in the onpremises campus datacentres to public cloud providers, seeking to satisfy the following goals:
  • Improve the student learning experience through the increased availability of remotely accessible computing platforms;
  • Accelerate research by providing access to cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) platforms that provide capacity on demand;
  • Increase work velocity through streamlined technology, processes, and agile approaches;
  • Increase cost transparency with comprehensive billing and accounting capabilities;
  • Reduce technology barriers to focus on achieving academic and research excellence; and
  • Improve service availability, reliability and performance using managed services that are capable of massive scale and financially-backed service guarantees.

Digital business transformation demands greater reliance on the network, necessitating the launch of a strategic network roadmap executed over the next four years to include:
  • Architecting a modular and quickly scalable network that鈥檚 supportive of externally-hosted University applications and responsive to unprecedented growth in access points;
  • Replacing legacy campus network infrastructure to deliver reliable, agile and high-performing solutions in support of hybrid cloud IT architectures;
  • Transforming network operational readiness from 鈥渂est effort鈥 to a service-driven, intent-based, software-defined network; and
  • Developing cost optimisation and investment strategies to deliver new on-demand consumption models, seeking to meet business requirements within a flat network budget.

Enterprise Service Management (ESM) applies a customer-oriented approach to the way an organisation works by introducing service delivery best practices and leveraging a universal technology tool to:
  • Increase end user satisfaction and productivity: provide a one-stop-shop for all Queen鈥檚 services and information, granting faster access;
  • Automate processes and enable functional excellence: reducing wait time for customer requests, optimising use of resources;
  • Manage service workloads: allowing services to be measured, managed and optimised, identifying opportunities for streamlining; and
  • Break down silos: departments work together, streamlining service processes across departments to reduce a customer鈥檚 touchpoint or handoff.

The goal of the cybersecurity program is to provide a secure digital information environment that enables members of the Queen's community to fulfill the university's mandate with confidence.
  • Protect the digital information environment
  • Detect events and maintain situational awareness
  • Respond to incidents promptly
  • Recover from incidents efficiently and effectively
  • Adapt to changing threat landscape
  • Conduct sustainable and secure operations
  • Foster a security-aware and informed community

IT Services Operating Plan

The IT Services Operating Plan focuses primarily on what will occur during the current fiscal year. Its purpose is to provide high-level direction to all IT Services staff members on activity prioritization and expectations for 2024-25 while maintaining a three-year planning horizon. The Operating Plan also functions as an external communications means. 

IT Services Operating Plan

IT Services Business Intake Resource Planning SOP

The IT Services Business Intake Initiative (PDF, 2.08MB) and Resource Planning process documented in this standard operating procedure (SOP) enable IT Services to act on the emerging business needs of Queen's faculties, departments, and shared services in a standard, transparent, and effective manner.

View the SOP (PDF, 2.08MB)

Our Drivers

Relying on our core values and reminding ourselves of our true mission has allowed us to successfully overcome this past unique and challenging year. This is a testament of how strong and relevant those foundational organisational elements are to IT Services. Our drivers are the core ambitions which allow us to advance towards our vision.

Student Experience

Queen鈥檚 students鈥 lives are enriched and deepened by their learning journey, by experiencing an extraordinary sense of community, and by a desire for a better humanity, while also growing the knowledge, professional skills and digital literacy for the workplace.

To be achieved through:

  • Timely insight though integrated analytical data into their progression and pathways;
  • Easy-to-use and seamless integration of learning tools and campus life resources;
  • Student-centric service design and delivery across the institution with self-service, on-demand, and customised services and resources for different personas鈥 needs;
  • Mobility and equity: anywhere, anytime, any resource, any device and any accessibility need met;
  • connected, participative, and informed through meaningful personalised notifications, customizable feeds and integrated web presence, contributing to a happy, healthy, home experience whether on campus or online; and,
  • outcome-driven adoption of teaching technologies with first-rate support for faculty.

Queen鈥檚 researchers are empowered to pursue opportunities and to conduct impactful research through digital support services closely connected with research success.

To be achieved through:

  • Enhancing and integrating faculty, graduate and post-doctoral supports across the institution with a research-centric view;
  • Facilitating access to world-class computing services that advance research outcomes, collaborations, and impacts;
  • Facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations;
  • Promoting research at Queen鈥檚; and,
  • Creating a dynamic environment for all researchers.

Queen鈥檚 fully capitalises on its opportunities.

To be achieved through:

  • Reinforcing enrolment strategies through data-driven decisionmaking; through building quality, well-managed constituent relationships, and through presenting a modern web presence;
  • Assisting advancement efforts with high quality data on all Queen鈥檚 constituents鈥 engagements across the institution and throughout their lifetimes;
  • Enabling the expansion of on-campus, remote, online and hybrid delivery of exceptional teaching and learning experiences for credit and non-credit courses, including revenue administration automation and efficiency; and,
  • Supporting reporting to funding organisations through automation of performance metrics.

Optimising and transformative measures continuously support a culture of high performance across all levels of the University.

To be achieved through:

  • Fostering equity, diversity, inclusion, indigeneity and accessibility by design through the thoughtful implementation of digital resources;
  • Active community engagement that recognises the University as a human institution that exists for a planetary good;
  • Including digital literacy and profiency planning and activities throughout our digital journey;
  • Facilitating informed decision-making through the development of business intelligence capabilities, including data governance, data literacy, data integration, data analytics and AI;
  • Continuous improvement through the ongoing evaluation of betterment opportunities, through process re-engineering, and by seeking synergies across Queen鈥檚;
  • Modernising service delivery to respond to the journey toward a pervasive digital curriculum.
  • Supporting reporting to funding organisations through automation of performance metrics.

Queen鈥檚 has achieved a dynamic state of continuous evolution within its digital environment, seamlessly adapting to change and encouraging its community members to pursue opportunities.

To be achieved through:

  • Continuously evolving the digital environment to fulfill the University鈥檚 aspirations as they emerge:
    • Modernised core capabilities and robust infrastructure set the foundation for Queen鈥檚 digitalization journey;
    • People are skilled, connected across communities, united around a common understanding of Queen鈥檚 values, vision and goals; and
    • Adaptive governance is in place to allow for rapid innovation while maximizing value for the institution.
  • Mitigating cyber risks by cultivating risk-informed communities, maturing cybersecurity practices, ensuring regulatory security compliance, practicing responsible asset management, and enhancing continuity planning.

Our Team

To download our full organizational chart, please use the following link: IT Services Organizational Chart (PDF, 196.9 KB)

A simple version of the org chart showing directors and the units they represent.

Our Directorates

IT Services is comprised of five directorates all working together to achieve our common goals. The organizational chart above outlines each directorate. The containers to the right provide information about each unit within the directorate.

The Office of the CIO includes our Executive Assistant, our Data Strategy and Governance Director, our Senior Strategic Engagement Advisor, and our Information Security Office.

An image showing hierarchy of the Office of the CIO

Data Strategy and Governance

The Data Strategy and Governance Team develops, executes and promotes Queen鈥檚 data strategy to enhance the value of institutional data for innovation and informed decision-making, while also fostering operational efficiencies through standardization and collaboration within the data community. Our team develops strategic data capabilities such as data governance and management, data quality measures, supporting analytics, and the ability to utilize data for advanced analytics and artificial intelligence applications. We establish data accountability (such as data trusteeship and stewardship), create policies and standards for data access, compliance, and lifecycle management, set data quality standards, and support effective data management.

Office of the Information Security Officer

The Office of the Information Security Officer safeguards the 成人大片 community and digital assets by identifying, assessing, and managing information technology and information security risks. We develop policies, standards, and other governance instruments to guide the treatment of risk while delivering awareness and training opportunities to help community members protect themselves from cybersecurity threats. Our team protects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of university digital assets by establishing the frameworks and mechanisms for effective information security decision-making, fostering a cybersecurity-aware community and culture.鈥 

Strategy and Partnerships is responsible for aligning IT Services鈥 direction and functional operations to Queen鈥檚 objectives and strategy, and maximising the return on Queen鈥檚 investments in IT solutions against institutional expectations for value.

 

An image showing hierarchy of the Strategy and Partnerships directorate.

Delivery Management Office (DMO)

The Delivery Management Office (DMO) enables strategic success through integrated project, portfolio, and organizational change management services. Our experienced project managers and change practitioners leverage tailored industry best practices. Our team ensures successful project execution and seamless change adoption by providing tools, templates, coaching, and expert support. We manage IT Services鈥 work packages through portfolio management, offering reporting metrics that improve decision-making, governance, and risk management. Our team focuses on aligning strategic goals, delivering successful project outcomes, and supporting the people side of change with strategies to minimize resistance and enhance engagement. The DMO supports IT Services, the university community, and external partners fostering collaboration and enabling sustainable change across Queen鈥檚 University.

Business Relationship Management

The Business Relationship Management (BRM) team serves as the strategic interface between IT Services and Queen鈥檚 departments and faculties. Understanding the strategic direction of the university and our departmental drivers, the BRM team engages with community groups to understand their business needs and challenges. We then work with them and the broader IT Services team to ensure technology-related initiatives that will support their needs are properly aligned, prioritized and planned against other university demands. Establishing clear communication channels and providing ongoing engagement allows our team to identify opportunities to continuously move Queen鈥檚 Digital Governance forward. 

Constituent Relationship Management

The Enterprise Constituent Relationship Management (eCRM) team creates and manages a centralized constituent engagement platform to support the strategic goals of Queen鈥檚 University. Our team provides the resources and expertise to deliver and support innovative solutions for all Queen鈥檚 business partners and constituents, improving the quality of engagements throughout their respective journeys. We advance institutional collaboration, knowledge, and growth with secure, shared access to enterprise-level capabilities such as marketing, event management, social media management, recruitment, admissions, and case management. 

Enterprise Architecture

The Enterprise Architecture team supports the implementation and retirement of systems and platforms, promotes innovation, and enhances operational efficiency at 成人大片. It does so by creating technology transition strategies and facilitating a comprehensive enterprise IT architecture blueprint. By aligning systems and processes with business capabilities, the team ensures IT processes and artifacts within the university are recognized and transparent, enabling educated decisions in support of academic excellence, research advancements, and administrative effectiveness.

Service Delivery and Innovation is responsible for the design, build, test and transition of new services and solutions into production including program/project management and solution, data and technology engineering. They are also responsible for ongoing management, maintenance and support of services, solutions and technology assets, and transitioning new ones into production.

 

An image showing hierarchy of the Service Delivery and Innovation directorate.

Identity and Access Team

The Identity and Access team creates, manages and protects the NetID identities for all students, employees, guests, alumni, applicants and service accounts. The team maintains all aspects of the Queen鈥檚 identity platform including lifecycle management, entitlement provisioning and role management. The access team manages components for authentication including directories, authentication and authorization and security options such as MFA and conditional access policies. The team provides integration services for department and enterprise applications using single sign on services (SSO). The team ensures that secure authentication and access is maintained to Queen鈥檚 enterprise systems and services.

ERP Technology

The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Technology Team supports and develops solutions for core administrative systems at Queen鈥檚. In collaboration with key members of HR, Finance, Student Services, and our faculties, we work to improve and develop new functions for business processes, reporting, system integrations, and student and employee self-service. We develop and maintain integrations from the HR, Finance, and Student ERP systems to dozens of key external applications.

Data Platform Services

The Data Platform Services team delivers data and analytics services in response to the university's evolving needs. We develop and manage cutting-edge cloud-based technologies and services to enable the efficient and effective use of data in support of teaching, learning, research, and university operations. Our team actively collaborates with faculty, staff, and administrators to foster a culture of data-driven decision-making, empowering our community to make informed choices and optimize operational excellence.

Education Technology (EdTech)

The Education Technology (EdTech) team optimizes the teaching and learning experience at Queen's. We do so by implementing and maintaining a range of tools such as learning and course management systems, program-specific licensing, web development and support, and administrative software in support of admissions, financial aid, and faculty onboarding. By streamlining processes and providing the right technical solutions, we empower students, faculty, and staff to achieve their goals.

Hosting and Platform Services

The Hosting and Platform Services team ensures the reliability, scalability, and security of our server infrastructure, application hosting environments, and cloud operations. Our mandate encompasses on-premises server infrastructure (including virtualization, DNS, and backups), cloud infrastructure (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), application hosting platforms, and disaster recovery and business continuity for hosted services. We aim to consistently meet our uptime targets for critical services while maintaining security and compliance with relevant industry standards.

Security Engineering

The Security Engineering Team protects the institution鈥檚 digital infrastructure and data from potential threats. Our mission is to design, implement, and enhance security technologies and measures, ensuring a secure environment for faculty, staff, and students. We achieve this by proactively implementing controls to address potential vulnerabilities, assessing the operational and architectural risks associated with these controls, and applying best practices and standards tailored to the academic community. Our approach balances the need to safeguard the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information systems at Queen鈥檚 with the operational requirements of the institution. Doing so fosters a culture of trust and confidence in our digital ecosystem while maintaining an open and collaborative environment.

Service Delivery and Innovation is responsible for the design, build, test and transition of new services and solutions into production including program/project management and solution, data and technology engineering. They are also responsible for ongoing management, maintenance and support of services, solutions and technology assets, and transitioning new ones into production.

 

An image showing hierarchy of the Service Delivery and Innovation directorate.

IT Service Management (ITSM)

The Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) team promotes best practices, manages service quality, and prioritizes continual service improvement for our ITSM solution. Our team adopts standardized methodologies such as the Information Technology Information Library (ITIL) to boost service efficiency and consistency while promoting collaboration among constituents. We use data-driven metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate service quality and operational effectiveness, which allows us to identify improvement opportunities and drive ongoing service enhancements. 

Network Services

The Network Services teams continually enhance wired and wireless network connectivity on the Kingston campus and Queen鈥檚-leased premises in Kingston. We strive to deliver an exceptional networking experience to students, faculty, staff, and guests through appropriate technology planning and selection, timely hardware and software upgrades, and product life-cycling. We also monitor and maintain campus internet connectivity to provide users with a dependable, easy-to-access network that supports their research, teaching, learning, and operational needs.

Digital Productivity and Collaboration

The Digital Productivity and Collaboration (DPC) Team implements and provides support for tools that allow the Queen鈥檚 community to communicate, collaborate, and seamlessly access information necessary to their functions. We work closely with both external vendors and internal partners to provide guidance, expertise, and service excellence to our community to enhance and enrich the teaching, learning, and administrative experience at Queen's. 

Digital Classrooms

The Digital Classrooms Team delivers cutting-edge technology and outstanding support for centrally booked classrooms used for in-person instruction. We strive to cultivate an engaging and interactive learning environment through the seamless integration of advanced audio-visual resources. Our team empowers faculty and students with reliable, user-friendly access to innovative tools that enhance teaching and learning to support a dynamic university community where education thrives.

IT Support Centre

The IT Support Centre (ITSC) delivers exceptional and responsive IT support services that enhance the academic and administrative experiences of students, faculty, and staff. Our team provides first-line technical support, efficient incident management, user training to enhance IT literacy, proactive system monitoring, and close collaboration with departments to align support with university initiatives. Guided by principles of user-centricity, efficiency, professionalism, and confidentiality, we are committed to creating a supportive and inclusive environment that prioritizes the needs of the university community.

Security Operations Centre

The Security Operations Team protects the Queen鈥檚 University community and digital infrastructure through a proactive and comprehensive approach to cybersecurity. Our responsibilities include continuous monitoring, detection, and real-time response to cybersecurity incidents using advanced tools and methodologies. By effectively responding to, containing, and mitigating threats as they arise, we ensure a stable and secure environment. To strengthen our security posture, we implement security controls based on threat intelligence advisories, we manage vulnerabilities in collaboration with the Security Engineering team, we maintain comprehensive monitoring systems and we foster collaboration across teams and decentralized IT teams. Our efforts are aligned with industry standards, ensuring continuous improvement and maintaining trust in our digital environment.

Operational Oversight is responsible for overseeing and communicating the quality and value of the catalogue of IT services, ensuring strong vendor relations and financial, human capital and IT asset management.

An image showing hierarchy of the Operational Oversight directorate.

 

Our Engagement Groups

Below is a list of the approved committees, planning groups, and other special engagement groups that IT Services staff take part in.

Group Group Mandate/Purpose
CUCCIO (Canadian University Council of CIOs) Through CUCCIO, members will advance best practices, share information, explore new ideas, and celebrate accomplishments. They will Collaborate with colleagues to achieve shared objectives.
OUCCIO (Ontario University Council of CIOs) OUCCIO aims to enhance its members' ability to strategically and effectively lead information technology support for Ontario Universities. It is a member-run organization that provides a provincial voice on information technology use supporting teaching, learning, administration and research leading to the achievement of the mission of Ontario Universities.
CANARIE Summit (Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research Industry and Education) CANARIE and its twelve provincial and territorial partners form Canada's National Research and Education Network. CANARIE strengthens Canadian leadership in science and technology by delivering digital infrastructure that supports world-class research and innovation.
ORION Orion is a not-for-profit organization supporting Ontario's progress with essential digital infrastructure.

Group Group Mandate/Purpose
Queen's Digital Planning Committee (QDPC) This group aims to establish a digital planning framework that will enable the development of a digital strategy for Queen's.
Cybersecurity Advisory Committee (CSAC) The committee's purpose is to advise, monitor, assist, support, and advocate for the information security program. The group serves as the communication channel for departments' and faculties' strategic and operational direction.
Enterprise Information Technology Advisory Committee (EITAC) The committee advises on direction, planning, priorities, and investment for the University's enterprise-level IT services for communication, collaboration, and information management.
Risk Management Steering Committee A multidisciplinary team that takes an enterprise view of the risks facing the university and assists the Executive Director, Risk and Safety Services in the identification and ranking of risks and development of risk reporting for senior management and the Board of Trustees.
Provost's Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee (PTLAC) TBD
Interfaculty Collaboration, Communication, and Coordination Committee TBD
Resources for Research at Queen's (R4R@Q) The purpose of this committee is to promote research and support services offered at Queen's.
Centre for Advanced Computing (CAC) Strategic Advisory Committee This committee acts in an advisory capacity and makes recommendations on the strategic plan for the CAC, and its direction to the Vice-Principal (Research).
Queen's Research Data Centre (QRDC) Advisory Committee TBD
Records Management Committee TBD
Arts and Science ITAdmin Rep Meetings To inform the Faculty of Arts and Science's ITAdmin reps about upcoming changes, maintenance, outages, or information.
Data Platform User Community This committee discusses issues relevant to the data platform project (gather requirements, ensure early feedback from key users is integrated into the development of the platform).
Accessibility Framework - Information and Communications Working Group This committee supports the Accessibility Framework by making and reviewing the status of recommendations to improve accessibility at Queen's and to take on small projects.
Card Payment Processing Steering Committee (CPPWG - PCI) This committee provides direction and support to the Card Payment Processing Working Group in their role to provide a core level of service and support to merchants to facilitate the processing of debit and credit card transactions.
PeopleSoft User Right Steering Committee This committee reports the progress of the PeopleSoft User Access Right Working Group.
Teaching Space Planning Working Group This committee addresses the ongoing refresh of the classrooms budget and planning with the Provost's allocated spending.
Classroom Renewal Committee This committee reviews the outcomes of recommendations from Teaching Space Planning Working Group.
Teaching and Learning Space Planning Committee This committee determines the principles and procedures that direct planning and decision-making with respect to teaching and learning space on campus.