Vision and Strategic Plan
University Technology Services (UTS) Strategic Direction 2026 – 2031
Our Mission
UTS advances Oakland University's mission as a public doctoral institution by enabling the full potential of its diverse and inclusive community through secure, reliable, and innovative digital capabilities that support education, research, scholarship, creative activity, student success, and institutional excellence.
Through strategic partnerships, responsible stewardship, and continuous innovation, we cultivate an accessible and resilient digital ecosystem that empowers discovery, enhances institutional effectiveness, and advances the ethical and responsible use of technology in service to our university, the State of Michigan, and the global community.
Our Vision
UTS envisions Oakland University as a digitally empowered institution where every member of our diverse and inclusive community is inspired and equipped to realize their full potential through transformative, secure, intelligent, and accessible digital experiences.
As the university's trusted strategic partner, we will foster a resilient and adaptable digital future that seamlessly connects people, ideas, and opportunities, advancing student success, research excellence, discovery, innovation, institutional effectiveness, and lifelong learning, while cultivating a culture of collaboration, creativity, integrity, inclusivity, and responsible stewardship.
Our Principles
As one University IT team, we're guided by the values that shape how we work together — and how we work with the campus community we serve.
- Teamwork: Achieving shared goals by working side by side, not in isolation.
- Collaboration: Bringing different perspectives together to solve shared problems.
- Communication: Keeping each other, and the campus community, informed and heard.
- Trust: Relying on one another to follow through on what we say we'll do.
- Respect: Valuing every voice and every role across UTS and the university.
Strategic Plan
For each pillar of Strategic Vision 2030, UTS has multiple strategic areas of focused improvement that directly (and indirectly) address the established strategic pathways. IT operations have critical interdependencies, and all facets of the UTS Strategic Plan affect the Oakland experience at some level, but the most directly impactful areas of strategic alignment are highlighted below.
| Pathway | UTS Alignment | Supported by |
|---|---|---|
| Our People | UTS is committed to building partnerships across campus to gain input on ongoing technology projects, as well as to engage campus in the decision-making process surrounding technology investment – fostering a collaborative community to support the foundational principles of higher education. | Cross-Functional Collaboration Project Management Office Audit Compliance |
| Student Success | UTS is focused on supporting student-facing technologies found in the classroom and through IT support, but the team is also prioritizing the foundational infrastructure that underlies the university's ability to provide experiences that challenge and prepare students for a lifetime of learning and success in a global economy. | Identity & Authentication Secure IT Infrastructure Classroom Technologies Campus Technology Services Campus Connectivity Unified Communication Research Technologies AI Infrastructure |
| Discovery | In alignment with Oakland's renewed focus on the pursuit of knowledge through scholarship, research, and creative activity, UTS will coordinate efforts across all areas to facilitate and enable advanced research on campus. | Secure IT Infrastructure Identity & Authentication Research Technologies AI Infrastructure Data Strategy Cloud-Smart Strategy |
| Stewards of Place | UTS is proactively working to partner with users across campus and strengthen classroom, research, and other education-supporting technology to continuously advance the excellence of the Oakland education, which in turn aids in Oakland's mission to serve as a catalyst for the ongoing development of the region's workforce, culture and economy. | Cross-Functional Collaboration Campus Connectivity Unified Communications Classroom Technologies Campus Technology Services |
| Sustainable University | IT is instrumental in achieving the standard of Technical Excellence outlined in this initiative. Each of the strategic initiatives outlined will operate in service of | All Pathways — primary alignment with Strategic Vision 2030 |
Strategic Focus Areas
Oakland University's IT Strategic Plan is intended to serve as a guide for driving UTS into the future and propelling the institution towards its long-term goals.
A critical component of moving into a successful technology future is making data-driven strategic investments, while also maintaining careful coordination of existing technology staff, infrastructure, and resources. This plan provides strategic guidance for each of these considerations and will serve as a “North Star” for technology decision-making at OU.
The first step to accomplishing Oakland’s strategic IT objectives requires laying a strong foundation of governance and project management, to act as an operations and communications framework for sharing project prioritization across campus. Once established, this will facilitate the realization of each subsequent focus area.
Governance and Operating Model
|
Identity, Security, and Resilience
|
Compliance, Risk, and Audit
|
Infrastructure and Connectivity
|
Research, AI, and Advanced Enablement
|
Data, Cloud, and Enterprise Infrastructure
|
Classroom and Support Services
|
Please note that broad strategic topics such as governance are addressed by multiple strategic focus areas and/or have cross-dependencies with other areas. |
UTS Annual Reports
UTS Annual Reports can be found on the UTS Employee Resource Network (ERN) page.
Users will need to login with their NetID and password to access the ERN website.
OU Technology Center
312 Meadow Brook Road
Rochester, MI 48309-4479
(location map)
(248) 370-4357 (HELP)
Office Hours: M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm
support.oakland.edu
