DeKALB — The University Council discussed the implementation of a shared service model to NIU’s Department of Information Technology (DoIT) at its meeting Wednesday in Altgeld Hall.
The shared service model is meant to consolidate departments with similar functions to increase efficiency and reduce costs of the organizational structure.
John Kearsing, a project manager for the Division of Administration and Finance at NIU, gave a presentation explaining the purpose of this system.
“A shared service model establishes hubs of subject matter expertise such as HR, finance, IT and payroll, that serve the entire organization,” Kearsing said. “By consolidating these support functions, departments are free from duplicating administrative tasks, enabling them to focus more fully on their core missions.”
He highlighted EAB’s collaboration with a working group of subject matter experts who recommended implementation of the shared service model in the IT department.
NIU Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Administration and Finance George Middlemist explained the desire to increase efficiency.
“The way the environment was, All the departments, all the divisions, all the colleges, they’d buy their own computers based on their budget availability, based on new employees — there wasn’t really a strategy behind buying those computers,” Middlemist said.
The goal is to roll the responsibilities of purchasing, deployment and inventory control of equipment into a single centralized management. This intends to improve security and reduce costs.
The proposed restructuring of DoIT’s equipment management is occurring alongside NIU’s device upgrades on campus as part of the approval of a $1.7 million contract with Dell Technologies.
500 devices were acquired in total, 83 of which are meant for classroom use.
“We believe that we’re going to actually need more computers,” Middlemist said. “500’s not what we normally procure during the year so we’re gonna figure out we work together to identify additional funding for fiscal year ‘26.”
The next University Council meeting will take place at 3 p.m. on Nov. 11 in Altgeld Hall, Room 103.
