Frequently Asked Questions and Rumors

Home IT Transformation Program Frequently Asked Questions and Rumors

Frequently asked questions and rumors for the IT transformation program:

1) When did the division's IT staff become part of ITS?
On August 1, 2005 the divisional IT staff became part of the ITS organization. They report to and will begin working directly with their divisional liaison (DL) who reports to Bill Hyder, Director of Client Relationship Management in ITS. The divisional IT staff and DL will work together to create a transition plan that outlines how services and staff transition over time into ITS Global Services or Local IT Services (LITS).

2) How will the division's faculty, staff, and students receive IT support?
It's important to note that on August 1 and during this transition period, the division's IT staff continue to perform their current responsibilities. This includes support for the faculty, staff and/or students they currently serve.

3) Did IT staff relocate?
IT staff remain in the same office location as they do today. It may be necessary to move staff in the future, but for now, everyone remains in the same location.

4) How does the division's IT staff keep their time record?
IT staff continue the same process for recording time worked as they do now. Funds will be transferred to ITS in January 2006, at which time the time records will be processed by ITS.

5) Did ITS communicate to the division's IT staff?
The first communication to the IT staff was sent on August 3 welcoming new staff to ITS. IT staff were also invited to the ITS All-Hands meeting on August 10 / August 24 to learn more about the new organization, meet current staff, and to ask questions. IT staff will also be receiving a separate communication from the divisional liaison with an announcement about the transition planning effort.

June 27 , 2005
Lindsay Bass, Strategy & Planning Analyst, presented the ITS Governance model on June 16, 2005. The below link answers questions asked during the IT Town Hall regarding Governance.

• Governance Feedback "What We Heard" PDF

April 14, 2005
Question: My unit, like many others, is seriously under resourced in the area of computing and technology, yet we are required to conform to new processes and systems that assume a higher level of training and equipment. The IT transformation has been happening for 2 years now. What can you do to assist staff in the area of IT?

Response: One of the main reasons to consolidate IT services into one centralized division is to greatly improve the focus and leveraging capability of our campus IT resources. As the transformation progresses, Information Technology leadership is focused on these top three goals:

1. Putting in place the people, processes, and technology to create and manage the entire front line delivery experience for campus clients.

2. Leveraging technology in support of campus goals, helping to provide improved processes and services, and being able to scale efficiently.

3. Ensuring the protection of information and computing assets essential, and enabling the campus to be in compliance with legal and policy requirements.

In addition to the three goals, Bonita Sebastian, Training Manager for Information Technology Services, is now a part of the Division and is working on the ITS Training Plan. She is in the process of talking with senior managers and staff about ideas, requests, priorities, and recommendations.

March 23 , 2005
Question: Will the new ITS organization offer training?

Response: Yes. As part of Phase III: Transition Planning and Implementation, Client Relationship Management, under Bill Hyder and Warren Mikawa, is partnering with Training and Development on campus to offer new training specific to IT staff regarding change management and customer service.

In addition to partnering with campus Training and Development, Bonita Sebastian was hired as the new IT Training Manager, Program Management Office. Bonita will be responsible for managing the training and development of ITS staff as well as the coordination of client training to support the delivery of IT services. She will also manage the creation, sourcing, and delivery of training and development programs.

These efforts are currently underway.

February 28, 2005
Question: Do I have to apply for my current job and will others be applying for my job?

Response: If you are doing a job that is part of the new world – incumbency comes into play. We will match people up with the best possible job. We have no interest in displacing people with the job they are currently doing now and hire someone else. There will be new opportunities in the organization and people may wish to apply.

February 24, 2005
Question: Who is eligible for the new positions?

Response: IT Staff who are part of the transformation will be eligible. Limited status positions are being worked out.

February 24, 2005
Question: How do I know if I should apply for a recruited position or wait to be matched?

Response: Always put yourself out there and don't wait. Also, continue to develop your career and if there is a good position available, apply for it. Apply for open positions and express interest in other positions to be matched.

February 23, 2005
Question: I don't want my boss to know that I am looking around for a job when I attend the fair.

Response: Hopefully that stigma will go away. We want this fair to be inclusive and open, and you should feel comfortable going. Managers and Supervisors will also be part of the staff transition, so it is likely that your boss will attend the fair for self interest as well. All IT staff should attend the fair to further their career opportunities.

February 22, 2005
Question: Who can attend the job fair?

Response: We are now calling the fair the "ITS Career/Discovery Fair" and anyone can attend. The fair will focus on IT staff, job recruitments, and job matching. 

February 2, 2005
Question: How much influence will the Career Transition Advisory Group have in my employment placement in the new ITS organization?

Response: The group will not be making any decisions or recommending individual changes, so the Career Transition Advisory Group (CTAG) will not specifically influence your individual employment placement at all. The group will focus on reviewing and evaluating processes and activities that the senior managers and Staff HR have been developing to match people to positions. That focus will give the group input to, for example, ensuring that processes are generally fair, not input into who is selected for which position.  

January 28, 2005
Question: The ITS supplement to the Gartner Report dated January 2005 states, "realizing any net reductions in total IT costs to the campus will require a reduction in headcount." Is this statement true?

Response: The Gartner Report is intended to be a summary of Gartner's key observations during their study. The report only contains recommendations for the campus to consider and may not represent actions taken. The ITS supplement is intended to be a companion to the final Gartner report. It only contains the context in which Gartner's recommendations will be considered. http://its.ucsc.edu/transformation/gartner.php

December 20 , 2004
Question: Will someone with management skills receive higher compensation than a person with technical skills in the new organization?

Response: It's possible, though remember that compensation is driven by several factors, including: the required level of qualifications and the level of responsibility (and the corresponding classification and salary range), market factors and internal salary equity. Compensation is determined on a case by case basis.

December 20 , 2004
Question: Will hiring managers in the new organization have access to performance evaluation files and other personnel files?

Response:Yes. This is not special to this process, hiring managers (or in this case, transfer managers) can request relevant personnel information if they have an official need to know.

December 20 , 2004
Question: What if employees don't like where IT managers assign them in the new organization. Do we have an appeal process?

Response: Any appeal of an individual assignment within a fair and thoughtful process (i.e. one that follows policy, guidelines etc.), will be addressed by ITS managers in conjunction with Staff HR as part of the reorganization process. Such problems will be minimized up-front by multiple mechanisms for consideration of individual interests and abilities. ITS managers understand that nobody wins if there is a poor fit between people and their positions, so they will do their best to resolve problems equitably. However, flexibility and deference to the needs of the organization may be needed to make the reorganization successful.

December 10 , 2004
Question: Why aren't the recently recruited ITS positions being filled with current campus staff as part of the consolidation plan? Wasn't re-training a component of the campus wide agreement to proceed with consolidation?

Response: ITS expects to fill the new ITS positions with current campus staff.  It is our intention to look for people to fill these positions who are on campus, and who have the potential to be trained. We have been making that statement from the outset of this process at every opportunity, and we intend to continue on that course.  All positions filled to date align with that objective.

At my suggestion and with Staff HR's support, the selection committees will first look only at the on campus candidates, with Staff HR holding the files of external candidates so we cannot even know which external candidates applied.  In the event a person cannot be found from the campus who would qualify with training for the position, and only after I have discussed and agreed with the committee's assessment, the selection committee will then be allowed to look at the external files.

Our commitment to the IT community has been to preserve employment wherever possible, which is a statement included in the campus adopted guidelines that govern both the business and IT transformation processes.

Response: ITS is working with the EVC and Planning & Budget offices to understand what the ITS budget will be. The positions posted are considered essential to the effective management of a consolidated organization. Also, there are a few of these positions that are connected to the need to support the technology implementation parts of the business transformation process. It is expected that efficiencies will produce some level of savings, and that there would be some open positions that would provide a funding source to help deal with these new positions. EBC, which includes the EVC and Chancellor, has reviewed and approved these requests.

December 9 , 2004
Question: How can ITS know specifically what type of staff positions to hire when service types and levels have yet to be defined in the consolidation process?  Isn't there a risk of ending up with the wrong skill set for the IT service priorities that eventually emerge?"

Response: Only those positions where we are clear that associated services will be provided are being filled at this time. For example, one of the purposes of consolidation is to provide central help desk and tech support for the campus. Some of the posted positions are essential to being able to plan for and manage that process. To the extent that EBC and the IT governance process determine that other services are needed, additional management and specialist positions may be needed.

Response: Internal and external recruitment are happening at the same time. This is how Staff HR recommended it be done. The directors are only reviewing internal (campus employees) applications first to try and fill their positions internally. The initial review for internal applications starts on 12/17/04. If the directors are unable to fill the positions internally, then they will review the external applications. The directors can't review or even see the external applications until 1/7/05. Staff HR holds all external applications until that date and will only release them to the directors if requested after 1/7. Here is the wording on each job description online:

"PLEASE NOTE: Current UCSC employees will be given first consideration. After the initial review date, if it is determined there are not qualified UCSC applicants in the campus-only pool, all other applications will be forwarded to the ITS organization for consideration."

December 6 , 2004
Question: Great, more management (promotions) while the rest of campus are wondering what is going on. What is going on?

Response: Though the Senior Management Team has called this next-level of recruitments "middle management" these positions are not all manager recruitments and they are certainly not promotions for existing managers. Larry has mentioned all along that the senior directors are hired first, then mid-management. Together, this team of individuals will build out the new organization. The next-level of recruitments after the first of the year will most likely be analyst positions and other professional ITS positions. The directors are in the process of developing what that next level looks like. Phase III Update

November 16, 2004 - Town Hall Q&A with Larry Merkley

Q: How many middle manager positions are going to be recruited? What are the positions?
A: We don't have an answer at this point. Not resolved yet. In the next few weeks we should have that information available.

Q: Do I have to go through the assessment process if my job is going to continue and I want to stay in it?
A: No…but we need the assessment information to determine who will continue in the same position. It is helpful and important that all IT staff complete the assessment process.

Q: There is an IT job that someone has that I've always been very interested in that is at a higher level than my current position…are you telling me that I could bump that person out of his/her job if the assessment group determines that I am better qualified?
A: No, because it's not fair or the right thing to do.

Q: What alternative do I have if you decide to slot me into a position that I don't want or have me reporting to someone that I don't want to have as a supervisor?
A: We don't want people in positions they don't want because they won't do as well. We will take interests into account but organization needs come first. Can't promise everyone everything.

Q: What role will seniority play if two people are interested in the same position, and have similar backgrounds?
A: Seniority has no bearing. Experience will be taken into account.

Q: During the assessment phase, what do you see happening to student employment?
A: We will not hire students in place of staff. We still need students and the amount of student workers goes up or down depending on their schedules and the amount of help we need.

Response: Yes, definitely.  One of the primary tasks for Phase III is hiring the next level of management for the new ITS organization. All of the management positions will be announced and posted online for all UCSC staff to apply to within the next few weeks.

November 5, 2004
Question: How can we be sure that the internal recruitment process will be used as it is intended?

Response: The ITS Senior Management Team has a strong financial incentive to hire internally. The hiring committee won't interview external candidates unless we are unable to hire internally.

November 3, 2004
Question: Are you willing to hire people who don't necessarily have the experience, but the desire to learn a new job through training?

Response: The ITS Senior Management Team wants to find the most suitable candidate, not necessarily the best. Internal candidates may be put into a position and be trained, while an experienced external candidate won't be considered.

Response: The plan is for no one to be laid off because we need everyone in order to maintain the services we are delivering. Right now we have the full support of the Chancellor and EVC who are supportive of the plan, but the campus could make other choices in the future.

July 19, 2004
Question: I keep hearing about a "name the new IT organization contest" but I haven't seen anything on the ITS web site for name submittal, etc. Is this contest happening now or in the future?

Response: The Name the New IT Organization Contest is currently underway.

July 19, 2004
Question: What are the new IT senior management positions and how do I apply?

Response: There are six new IT senior management positions. With the exception of the Application Solutions position, all the positions are currently available and seeking interested applicants. Deadline to apply is July 26, 2004.

July 16, 2004
Question: Campus email has gone down.  The common request tracker is off line as well.  Hundreds of people start calling the help desk.  How will this be handled in the new IT organization?

Response: Here are a few ideas: 1) If the problem is extensive, and will not be resolved within 1 hour, a notification message may be placed on the campus voicemail system. 2) Status boards (either electronic or manual paper/pen/) giving information about IT services could be placed in heavily visited areas of campus, such as the Baytree Plaza. 3) IT Specialist, Divisional Liaisons and other IT client support staff would assist clients as needed. 4) Network status updates on the IT web site.

June 22 , 2004
Question: Are IT staff going to be laid off and then have to reapply for their own jobs in the new IT organization?

Response: IT staff will not be laid off and then have to reapply for their own jobs.  We will create a process that works to align peoples' skills and interests with the positions that are created. And, that many people will see no change at all. This process will be part of Phase III - Implementation that will begin July 1.

June 21 , 2004
Question: When will the new IT senior management be announced?

Response: At present we are still weeks out from having the new IT senior management identified as the details of a selection process are still being worked out. As well, we are still determining the principles around who exactly will be defined as an IT resource – the “who's in, who's out” question. As such, it is still too early to know when the reporting relationships and roles of IT staff across campus will change and how that will be accomplished.

Nonetheless, we are considering how to manage the transition of people from across the campus whose scope of work and reporting relationships will change, including those in the existing ITS organization. We will need to develop a fair and rational process that will align individual skills and interests with new and changed positions. This entire process will be part of Phase III - Implementation that begins July 1.

May 14, 2004
Question: How will you handle departments that have specialized IT needs?

Response: In the new services-based - client-focused IT organization, we will have a few very specialized staff members who will assist departments with specialized IT needs. We are in the process of designing a "blue diamond" area of specialized IT services, which you'll learn more about once Phase III - Implementation and Transition Planning begins in mid-June. It is important to know that we anticipate very little interruption in current IT services as we continue through the transformation process. Services must be maintained in local units through this transition.
Services-Based Model

May 13, 2004
Question: What is the possibility of being reassigned to an IT position in a department that I've already previously resigned from?

Response: It is unlikely that anyone will be placed in a departmental position that they once held because positions may change and most likely fall under the new IT organization - not a campus department. We anticipate that there will be plenty of new roles, plus roles that look very similar to what you are doing now just under a new organization. We have just begun the process of defining how to transition people into new roles. We do know that skills and interests will be matched and there will be opportunity for cross-training. Once we begin Phase III - Implementation and Transition Planning, (mid-June) we'll have a better understanding how IT staff members will move into the new organization.

May 11, 2004
Question: When we will start seeing the consolidation of IT services and people?

Response: The IT transformation teams and steering committees are still in the process of working on the future state vision plan which will contain ITTP deliverables from Phase II - Migration and Planning. Toward the end of May, the Executive Budget subcommittee will review the draft report. By mid-June, Executive Budget Committee (EBC) will review the future state final presentation. The final presentation will consist of the new IT program and cost structure. After EBC's approval to move forward, project teams will begin the transition planning process of Phase III - Implementation. EBC

May 10, 2004
Question: As the consolidation moves ahead, realizing there will be many changes, possibly moving folks around, when will new positions be posted and recruited for?

Response: We are not sure yet if folks will need to apply for new positions, reapply to existing positions, or how exactly positions will change. Please keep in mind that not everyone will have a position change. That has yet to be determined. Larry and the Organization Design Team are in the beginning stages of how to transition people. Nothing has been decided yet. His immediate goal for June is to have the senior management structure in place. Also in June, after EBC approval to move forward, project teams will begin the transition planning process of Phase III - Implementation. Organization Design Team

May 7, 2004
Question: How will you know what skills IT staff have for positions in the new IT organization?

Response: One of the possibilities is to conduct a skills set survey with the entire IT community. If we decide to go this route, it will happen during the transition planning process, Phase III - Implementation. All ideas will be reviewed. Nothing has been determined yet.

April 22, 2004
Question: How many IT employees will lose their jobs and when will we know who those people are?

Response: Given what we know about the current proposed state budget for FY05, and based on the campus's recognition of IT as an area of strategic importance, there are no current plans to lay off IT employees.

The Governor's office proposed a state budget in January that included substantial reductions in UC funding. Based on past experience, UC Santa Cruz Planning and Budget estimated the campus share of the proposed reductions. The proposed unit cuts, based on educated estimates, are preliminary and may change based on campus consultations, unforeseen alterations in the state's revenue projections for Fiscal Year 2005 and final legislative action.

The new IT organization has been asked to plan for a $90K reduction of permanent funds from its budget for next year and to realign the IT budget in support of campus priorities. No other division on campus was spared from cuts in this way; most have significant dollar targets to accommodate in their budget planning for next year. The $90K cut will be taken at the service level, therefore preserving IT jobs. Current IT planning efforts do not include layoffs, although that could change if the actual budget for 2004-05 is worse than current estimates and the campus assigns a larger cut than now anticipated.

Consolidating an IT organization will require realignment of some staff into roles they don't occupy today. That's inevitable. However, Larry Merkley has publicly and repeatedly stated his commitment to training opportunities for all staff going through this process. Some staff will transition easily. Most will have some degree of trepidation as the transition occurs. This is human nature. Regardless of how well the transition is designed, for some folks it may be a rough ride.

Larry intends to name his executive management staff by the end of May 2004. This will occur in tandem with IT Transformation Program teams providing feedback and input into a quickly evolving sense of organizational structure for the new consolidated IT organization. That new organization will be services based, client-centric, and will build upon a base of core technologies to offer suites of services as appropriate to the need of the campus and in a way that optimizes available resources.

Change is hard, even for people who like change. We know that the biggest fear factor many IT staff now face isn't the destination of the change, it's the process of transition itself. We are hopeful that the Culture, Values and Symbols team's work can help ease some of these concerns by reflecting values back to members of the IT community in a way that helps remind all of us that we're in this together, and that we're all responsible for contributing to the organization we end up working in. IT Organization

April 21, 2004
Question: Will School of Engineering and UCO/Lick IT staff be part of the new IT organization? Will departments with specialized IT functions and needs like TAPS, PP&C, Physical Plant, Bay Tree Book Store, Material Management, and IPMTS  be involved in the IT Transformation Project?

Response: We don't know the answer to this question yet. We know that some IT support staff are so specialized relative to research support, that they could possibly remain separate. We don't know exactly for sure. The ITTP teams will have to determine who is and isn't part of the new IT organization. We should know within the next few months.

April 7, 2004
Question: During the Town Hall, the web publishing team leader mentioned how there are 36 (or thereabouts) different academic departments on campus, and none of their web pages look the same. While I agree that it makes sense to have a general consistency among UCSC web pages, I think that seeing the style of a department's web site might be a good way for a prospective student to get a picture of what that department is like. I do not think that a move toward bland, generic departmental websites is in the spirit of UCSC, nor do I think this is the best way to attract students to the university.

Response: This is very good feedback while we are forming our Web Publishing Services. At this point the Public Information Office has been designated to be the steward of the campus web "look and feel" the first attempt at a template with standard user navigation, UCSC identity, and content taxonomies is very much in the early stages. The Web Publishing Team is actively working on how the governance of web content, publishing policies, styles guides integrate with the needs of the departments and the strategic needs of the campus for our overall web presence. As we formulate our governance model we will be including advisory input from key campus constituencies.

April 1, 2004
Question: What are IT Units across campus suppose to do if they wish to purchase equipment, software, hardware, etc. coming up on year end? Should we wait until we are consolidated?

Response: Keep going as business as usual. Don't stop your purchases or services to the campus community. For now, pretend that the consolidation won't happen. Keep services going!

March 29, 2004
Question: The series concepts for "programmer/analyst" are terribly outdated. Will these series concepts be examined during the transformation process?

Response: Yes. We will be considering these concepts along with other issues as we move through the transformation process.

March 25, 2004
Question: Any ideas about how the TI Building (Natural Bridges location) purchase might affect IT on campus?

Response: Once escrow closes on the TI building, (approximately end of May early June) a campus committee that has been newly formed will address campus needs to occupy the building. The TI building will not be available for occupancy until several months after close of escrow. Magge McCue and Larry Merkley wrote a letter to the committee regarding space for the new consolidated IT Division. At this point, we do not know who from the campus will occupy the TI building.

March 24, 2004
Question: Will IT staff who are currently off campus move there after current leases expire?

Response: This is being explored.

March 24, 2004
Question: What are the "value added" effects besides cost reduction?

Response: Not only is it our chance to provide IT leadership across campus, consolidation creates a career path for IT professionals and will give us a wider array of career skills over time. It gives us the opportunity to meet needs in a uniformed platform, provide a high level of service and leverage very smart people across campus.

March 24, 2004
Question: When will there be a central number/email/walk-in location for all users? Will this be at the Communications Building or at some other more central location?

Response: Currently there is a central number and walk-in location for all UCSC students, faculty and staff at the CATS Information Resource Center (IRC) located at Kerr Hall, Rooms 54 & 60. Support Center Hours: 8:00a.m. - 12:00p.m & 1:00p.m to 5:00p.m. M-F. Phone: 831-459-4357. IRC provides help desk consulting services to students, staff and faculty for supported hardware and software, computer accounts, network access, and first level problem resolution for campus administrative systems.

The Client Relationship Management ITTP team is working on these concepts for the new IT organization.

March 23, 2004
Question: What is Bronze Service level?

Response: A bronze level of IT service is in the process of being created as part of the new IT Services-Based Model. Bronze service will offer UCSC faculty, staff and students with consistent, quality support levels that are provided centrally without charge. Bronze level of service will include an IT environment that is secure, stable, reliable, recoverable and free from intrusion and nuisance, and that IT support, troubleshooting and repair are available promptly, courteously and in understandable language, throughout the normal working day. Bronze service will also provide IT equipment, software, networking and systems access to enhance classrooms, labs, research and instruction. Bronze service covers both the standard productivity computing that all users do as well as a wide range of ongoing specialty computing support services as well. Bronze Service level is currently being developed by the Client Relationship Management ITTP team.
More information about Bronze.

March 23, 2004
Question: What is the new IT organization going to look like?

Response: Approximately 62 IT staff members are directly involved with the IT Transformation Program (ITTP) project teams contributing from 1 to 3 days a week. ITTP teams are designing solutions to meet the specific objectives of a new IT organization. Each team is developing a work plan and implementation approach for the next phase of the project (Phase III - Implementation). Each plan will define the timeline and resources (people and funding) required for successful implementation. Most projects will begin implementation in the June-September time frame. So, it's too early to tell exactly what the new IT organization will look like, but 62 plus individuals are working on it.
More information: Phase II - Migration and Planning - Emerging Program View