Data critical to the administration of Illinois State University, whether maintained by administrative or academic units, are strategic assets and contribute to the collective knowledge of the entire University community. While these data are stored in different database management systems that are housed on a number of different platforms and are maintained by several custodians, they collectively form the University's Enterprise Data Repository (EDR). The following Procedures identify the roles and responsibilities of those committed to ensuring the EDR effectively serves the needs of the University.
Data Stewardship and Information Technology Services Council
The Stewardship Council provides oversight for Enterprise Information Technology activities to ensure they are aligned with objectives stated in Educating Illinois, the University's Strategic Plan. It manages and balances the demand for Enterprise Information Technology needs by identifying priorities, overseeing data access, establishing performance metrics, and evaluating and monitoring progress on Information Technology activities.
The Stewardship Council defines the standards for the Master Data Access Plan including:
Data Stewards
Data Stewards are individuals who have planning and decision-making responsibilities for data, related to their functional area, contained within the EDR. Responsible for:
Functional Owners
Functional Owners are operational managers in a functional area with day-to-day responsibilities for managing business processes and establishing business rules for production transaction systems A Functional Owner normally reports to a Data Steward. Responsible for:
Data Custodians
Data Custodians are information technology staff with day-to-day responsibilities for the capture, maintenance, and dissemination of data within the EDR. Responsible for:
Data Users
Data Users are individuals who access university data in order to perform their assigned duties or to fulfill their role in the university community. Responsible for:
Unit Security Liaisons
Unit Security Liaisons (USLs) are the primary point of contact for academic and administrative units for all matters relating to data security. The USL is appointed by the dean, director, or department head. A USL coordinates with the Information Security Officer to implement the University's data security policies and procedures within the unit. Responsible for:
Deans, Directors, Department Heads
Deans, Directors, and Department heads are responsible for appointing Unit Security Liaisons and for validating user security roles within their unit, at least annually.
Information Security Officer
The Information Security Officer (ISO) is the individual, assigned to the Business Intelligence and Technology Solutions (BITS) department, responsible for developing and maintaining procedures for promoting security and uninterrupted service for University Enterprise Data Repository (EDR). The ISO works cooperatively with the Data Stewards, Functional Owners, Data Custodians, and other University security teams to implement and maintain appropriate data security controls over data contained within the EDR. The ISO identifies and addresses exposures to accidental or intentional destruction, disclosure, modification, or interruption of information that may cause serious financial and/or information loss to the University. Responsible for:
Information Architecture Team
The Information Architecture team, housed within the Business Intelligence and Technology Solutions (BITS) department, cooperatively works with the University community to maintain an Enterprise Data Warehouse environment (EDW) and operational data stores (ODS) that collects, structures, and delivers University data to support timely decision-making.
Knowledge Management Team
The Knowledge Management Team, housed within the Business Intelligence and Technology Solutions (BITS) department, cooperatively works with the University community to map and create solutions to support the University's need for enterprise knowledge.
Information Technology Security Incident Response Team (ITSIRT)
The Information Technology Security Incident REsponse Team (ITSIRT) includes technology and functional specialists from various disciplines who are brought together during an IT security incident to investigate contain, eradicate, recover, and perform follow-up.
Data Administration -- The function of applying formal guidelines and tools to manage the University's information resources is termed data administration. Responsibility for data administration activities is shared among the Data Stewards, Functional Owners, Data Custodians, and the Information Security Officer. Where data is shared among systems, the Information Security Officer will document the process and identify the responsibilities for data administration.
Data Definition -- Data Stewards and Functional Owners provide data descriptions so that Data Users know what shareable data are available, what the data mean, and how to access and process the data. These descriptions about the data are referred to as data definitions and sometimes called metadata. Data definitions may be stored in an integrated or complementary database known as a Metadata Repository. Data definitions should be based on actual usage, documented and modified only through procedures established by the Data Stewards, and periodically reviewed for currency.
Data Integration Model – Business Intelligence and Technology Solutions collaborates with Data Stewards, Functional Owners, and Data Custodians to establish and maintain a university-wide Data Integration Model that describes all major data entities of the EDR and the relationships among those data entities. Included in the model are the linkages among data collected or maintained by the various organizational units of the university.
Data Security Administration -- The function of specifying, implementing, and maintaining access control to ensure that Data Users have the appropriate authorized access needed to perform assigned duties or to fulfill university roles. Data Stewards, Functional Owners, Data Custodians, Unit Security Liaisons, and the Information Security Officer share responsibility for security administration activities.
Enterprise Data Repository (EDR) – An aggregate collection of data stored in different database management systems forming a single logical University resource. Individual units or departments have stewardship responsibilities for portions of the data contained within the EDR.
Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) -- A query-only database containing historical point-in-time data and summary information from University operational systems. The Enterprise Data Warehouse is used to support business analysis and decision-making.
Metadata Repository -- A database system containing descriptive information about the University's enterprise data. The repository provides the definitions for data contained within the Enterprise Data Warehouse.
Last Review: July 2013