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Committee on Information Services

Information technology and services are central to the mission and success of leading research universities as they seek to create and disseminate new knowledge in the information age. With multiple campuses and offices around the world, USC faculty, staff, students, and alumni represent a global community that depends on information technology and services for high-speed networks, research computing, educational software, and communications, along with administrative functions as diverse as student registration, grant administration, security, and the university’s global digital presence on the Internet. The role of the Committee on Information Services (CIS) is to facilitate faculty input on the services provided by Information Technology Services (ITS) and unit-based IT groups that are responsible for providing reliable, secure, cost-effective, and up-to-date services to meet current needs while building capacity for an increasingly information-based future. The CIS plays a vital role in providing faculty advice and feedback on USC’s current performance and future direction in this rapidly changing field and in helping to ensure that the university is well positioned to advance its expansive goals and strategic plans for 21st-century leadership.

Charge

The Committee on Information Services is a standing committee whose members are jointly appointed by the Office of the Provost and the Academic Senate to represent the information technology needs and perspectives of USC’s faculty. It is charged with advising the Academic Senate and the Provost on a variety of issues related to the academic technology infrastructure of the university community. The committee is meant to be forward looking by identifying and proposing priorities in the examination and evaluation of IT services in light of changing and emerging needs. The committee advises the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the Academic Senate on issues related to the university’s enterprise information technology infrastructure, information resources, services, and technologies and technology-related policies with an impact on academic matters, including research and teaching. The CIO apprises the committee of current issues and opportunities associated with these resources and endeavors, and committee members share this information with the university’s faculty through the Academic Senate on a regular basis. CIS also coordinates with the USC Libraries on matters of joint concern.

Members are appointed for a term of one year.

Meetings: Contact committee chair for the date/locations of the committee meetings.

Specific Charges for 2023-2024 Academic Year

The Committee on Information Services is tasked with the following two charges:

  1. LMS transition. With USC replacing Blackboard with Brightspace next summer, the CIS will play an advisory and oversight role in representing faculty’s interests and concerns during this transition.
  2. Academic Integrity in a time of Generative AI. The CIS launched a campus-wide survey at the conclusion of Spring 2023 asking faculty for their concerns and comments about academic integrity at USC.  The results of that survey will inform CIS’ activities this

Co-Chairs

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Clifford Neuman (Co-Chair) – bcn@isi.edu

Jen Bankard, bankard@usc.edu, Dornsife College

Committee members

Ex Officio Members

Reports