IT Governance Council

Information technology is an integral part of SDSU, including classroom instruction, research activities, and every day business functions. IT decisions can vastly enable or hinder campus units (business and academic), and in a limited budget environment it is more important than ever that our technology enhance our capacity to do more, recognizing that tradeoffs often exist among competing demands in pursuit of our core educational mission.

For these reasons, IT priorities are set in partnership with campus constituents and stakeholders in concert with SDSU’s commitment to shared governance. The IT Governance Council Steering Committee and Working Group is the collective group responsible for moving our institution in this progressive direction.

IT Governance Council Charge

The goal of the Information Technology Governance Council Steering Committee (ITGCSC) is to initially have a tactical focus, and address key technology issues that currently present significant risk and gaps at SDSU. As progress is made in these areas, the ITGCSC will evolve to provide overarching governance for the strategic direction of information technology (IT) for SDSU and ensure alignment of IT services and operations with the university’s overall strategic mission, vision, goals, and needs of the SDSU community. 

During the initial period, the steering committee specifically will:

  • Oversee and direct the activities of SDSU IT Governance Council working groups and provide guidance as required.
  • Facilitate communication and change management for the successful implementation of the working group recommendations.
  • Facilitate coordination and feedback with the SDSU divisions to guide the alignment of IT resources with university IT priorities.
  • Review, interpret and develop action plans, if needed, to address changes in laws, regulations or policies as they relate to IT.
  • Promote compliance with laws, regulations and policies, and assume oversight of university assets, data, and stability of IT operations.
  • Review and provide guidance on requests for IT project specific funds. Prioritize and coordinate requests for the President’s Budget and Advisory Committee (PBAC).

The committee will deliberate and make recommendations on the alignment of IT strategies with university priorities, risk management, value delivery, performance measures and resource management. The recommendations will be sent for further discussions and approval by the Vice-Presidents and the President’s Chief of Staff.

The committee charge does not include oversight of SDSU IT and departmental IT operating budgets, IT hiring and appointments, and departmental IT priority setting, providing they do not conflict with university IT priorities or initiatives.

Guiding Principles

The SDSU IT Governance Council provides a mechanism for technology strategies to be identified, proposed, reviewed, endorsed, implemented, communicated and supported in order to further the mission of the university. The SDSU IT Governance Council embraces the principles of shared governance and leads with professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity, and excellence.

IT Governance Council Structure

  • Associated Students president
  • Analytical Studies & Institutional Research
  • Associate Dean
  • Aztec Shops representative
  • Business Financial Affairs - Finance
  • Business Financial Affairs - Human Resources
  • Chief Information Officer
  • Dean (1-2)
  • Director of Research & Innovation
  • Information Technology Security Office
  • Library
  • Mission Valley Enterprises representative
  • Student Affairs & Campus Diversity representative
  • SDSU Chief of Staff
  • SDSU Imperial Valley
  • SDSU Research Foundation
  • Senate Instruction & Information Technology Committee representative
  • University Relations & Development

Frequently Asked Questions

An IT governance structure at SDSU would help improve the current decentralized IT environment. For example, an IT governance structure that has representatives from all divisions would allow for:

  • Input from each divisional unit and core constituency of the campus community, including faculty, students, and staff.
  • Improved communication with the campus community related to IT initiatives, projects, and decision making.
  • The guidance and prioritization of IT investments.
  • The development of standards and the realization of economies of scale.
  • The development of IT strategic initiatives.
  • Organizational risk management. Proactive risk management ensures that IT managers and leadership are aware of the risk associated with the IT initiatives and provides the basis to implement risk mitigation strategies.
  • Shared/consensus understanding of resources available and process to attain them.
  • Clear execution and enforcement of new technologies and initiatives. Governance provides IT managers with the framework to manage all IT initiatives and demands, through a single point where they are prioritized and fulfilled. It allows standardizing technology platforms and helps managers make informed decisions on IT initiatives.
  • Accountability. Effective governance is about accountability. This enables managers to enforce the responsibilities that relate to IT program management.

One of the immediate goals of the IT governance steering committee is to identify urgent and pressing technology issues, as well as critical needs at SDSU, and identify working groups to address them.

The SDSU IT Governance Council consists of a steering committee with IT representatives from each division and co-chairs from each working group. The IT Governance Council steering committee also includes a representative from the faculty senate, a representative from the Research Foundation, and a representative from associated students. The purpose of the committee is to facilitate collaboration among divisional units in the prioritization, funding, design and use of IT to ensure cost effective support of SDSU’s teaching, learning, research, and administrative goals.

An effective IT governance structure at SDSU will focus on the overall strategic priorities such as:

  • Securing campus digital assets and safeguarding student and research data.
  • Investing wisely in core systems that serve the entire campus.
  • Providing shared IT services to students, faculty and staff.
  • Allowing for transparency for all budget allocation for campus technology efforts.

If you have questions or suggestions regarding the IT Governance Council, please email [email protected].