Information Technology Onboarding

Over the past several years, information technology has played an increasingly prominent role in public education. Systems that allow for communication, teaching and learning, assessment, attendance, scheduling, crisis management, hardware and software management and maintenance, and state-mandated data management routinely require information technology systems. These systems often require individualized accounts for staff or students or both. Often these systems also require that accounts are connected to other systems like scheduling systems, or communication systems, or systems that control access permissions. 

Due to the increase in demand for information technology systems and the interrelated nature of these systems, the following workflow was developed to help individuals in the system understand the complicated process that is involved in bringing on new systems, along with factors that will add to the “lead time” needed in order for a new system to become operational from the time it is first brought to the attention of the Data Specialist. 

For general timeline purposes, simple software programs only requiring teacher accounts that can be rostered through Clever can usually be implemented within 5 business days from notification. Each complication (such as the addition of student accounts or sharing of any student information which requires a Student Data Privacy Agreement or SDPA) adds time to the project, some of which is outside the control of the Data Specialist. For example, a signed SDPA may take weeks or more to get in place from some vendors, and any programs that do not offer a Single Sign On option means that rostering has to be done manually (by building spreadsheets or configuring direct exports from Aspen). As such, it is imperative that for large scale projects, the Data Specialist is included in the process early so that an appropriate timeline can be established.

Onboarding Information Technology Workflow