University Deploys Campus-Wide Collaboration

Project Overview

A state university system with multiple campuses needed to standardize collaboration tools across all departments while maintaining FERPA compliance for student data protection.

The Challenge

The university faced collaboration chaos:

- Tool Sprawl: Departments using 15+ different collaboration tools

• Security Risks: Sensitive data in unsanctioned cloud services
• FERPA Concerns: Student data protection not consistently enforced
• Budget Waste: Multiple overlapping software subscriptions
• Support Burden: IT supporting dozens of different platforms
• No Collaboration: Cross-department projects difficult to coordinate

  Our Solution

  SharePoint Support delivered a unified collaboration platform:

  Platform Design

• SharePoint hub structure for colleges and departments
• Microsoft Teams integration for real-time collaboration
• OneDrive for personal storage and file sharing
• Stream for video content management

  Governance Framework

• Site provisioning policies and approval workflows
• Naming conventions and classification standards
• External sharing policies by data sensitivity
• Retention policies aligned with university records requirements

  FERPA Compliance

• Sensitivity labels for student data
• Data Loss Prevention for PII
• Conditional access for sensitive sites
• Audit logging and monitoring

  Training Program

• Self-service learning paths
• Live training sessions by role
• Champions program across campuses
• Ongoing support resources

  Implementation Strategy

  Discovery (4 weeks)

• Stakeholder interviews across all campuses
• Current state assessment
• Requirements gathering
• Compliance analysis

  Design (6 weeks)

• Information architecture
• Governance policies
• Training curriculum
• Migration planning

  Pilot (8 weeks)

• Selected departments pilot
• Feedback collection
• Process refinement
• Champions recruitment

  Rollout (16 weeks)

• Phased campus-by-campus deployment
• Department site creation
• Content migration support
• Intensive training delivery

  Results Achieved

  The deployment exceeded expectations:

  - 25,000 users onboarded across all campuses

• 500+ department sites created and active
• FERPA compliant with full data protection controls
• 70% adoption rate within 6 months
• Eliminated 12 redundant tools saving $400K annually
• 90% reduction in shadow IT incidents

  User Adoption Success

  Adoption metrics demonstrated success:

  - 85% of faculty using Teams for communication

• 75% of staff using SharePoint for documents
• 60% increase in cross-department collaboration
• 50% reduction in email volume

  Long-term Benefits

  The university continues to benefit:

  - Consistent experience across all campuses

• Simplified IT support and management
• Reduced licensing costs
• Enhanced security posture
• Better student data protection