On March 2, a new homepage greeted the Yonsei community with a friendlier, graphics-based interface and a more comprehensive structure. But beneath this new face lies greater change that will transform the flow of information and communication in the University. The significance of ‘U-Campus’ based on the concept of IT governance “There are three functions to a university--education, research and service. For these three functions to operate smoothly, I think at this point that the development of the ‘U-Campus’ system is crucial. This unified on/off-line IT system is designed to integrate the University’s management, communication, and strategic planning.” Jung In-Kwon, Dean of the Office of Information and Communication (OIC), emphasizes that the key to attaining competitive edge is ‘information management.’ “IT governance is a concept that is readily applicable to a university. The most important factor in managing and making decisions is correct data. Therefore it would be useful if we could construct a database that gives us accurate statistical data and predictions, which can then be easily translated into graphs and charts. Analyzing the right data is the key process in making quick, accurate decisions.” In the existing system, getting information on the state of our University’s research, for example, is a herculean task because it involves contacting each individual office, department, and research institute for information. And if the data needed is for the last five or ten years, the same chores need to be done all over again. However, if the ‘U-Campus’ system is successfully established, the information will be just a few clicks away, along with changes from previous years, graphics and charts. The University can save a lot of time and money in getting the relevant information and making decisions. “Every university is rushing towards building the U-Campus, but there is no university to benchmark, not even at a global level, not even in the U.S. Korea leads the world in IT and can compete with the best in the world. This is a chance for Yonsei to be the front runner of the U-Campus system, and this is why the OIC is stretching itself and putting so much effort into building it.” Realization of a ‘Paper-free University’: electronic document based administrative service In addition to the new look of its home page, OIC is also introducing an electronic-document-based administrative service through its ‘Groupware system.’ This new system will minimize paper use in Yonsei’s decision-making process. The groupware system ‘Yonsei Ubiquitous Desk’ has four major functions - electronic approval, internal community, document management, and search engine –which can be used in both the Shinchon Campus and Wonju Campus, as well as by the educational foundation. Documents are processed real-time and may even be circulated to all organizations with electronic document delivery systems registered at the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs. The main advantages of the system are its speed of operation, efficiency, cost savings, and the resulting growth in productivity. Dreaming a Ubiquitous Campus Although the effect of IT is very large, it has a short cycle, and the system needs constant maintenance and upgrades. The Office of Information and Communication is proud to be responsible for Yonsei’s information system because the level of U-Campus in Yonsei is very high. OIC will never rest and will continually strive to provide a faster, more efficient, and more user-friendly U-Campus system.