ISS
Year in Review
2026
2026
ServicePartnershipImpact
Enabling the work that supports our campus missions
Over the past year, Information Strategy and Services has remained focused on a service-first approach grounded in partnership, accountability, and trust. Our work has centered on strengthening the technology foundations our campuses rely on, removing barriers, and improving everyday digital experiences so faculty, staff, students, researchers, and partners can focus on what matters most.
ISS supports both CU Anschutz and CU Denver, in partnership with our CU Denver OIT colleagues, by providing reliable services, secure systems, useful data, and responsive support across complex, mission-driven environments. The highlights in this report reflect the progress we’ve made as an IT community through collaboration with our larger campus communities and the important role technology plays enabling education, research, clinical care, operations, and engagement.
We feel the momentum driving our accomplishments and remain focused on the work ahead: delivering forward-looking, responsive, and reliable services that meet evolving campus needs and help our institutions continue to thrive.
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- Christopher Smith
CIO and Vice Chancellor for Information Strategy and Services
Impact at a Glance
AI Readiness
users building confidence through our AI Hub
Service Delivery
service offerings supporting critical campus work
Systems Reliability
based on critical core campus system outages
Customer Support
of Service Desk calls resolved on first contact
Security Promise
threats prevented, protecting people, data and systems
Enabling Education
Supporting teaching and learning through improved spaces, systems and support.
Upgraded Learning Environments
What this means for you:
- Classroom technology you can rely on across campus, with 65 learning spaces upgraded to provide a consistent experience
- Greater confidence using classroom tools, supported by expanded training and hands-on support, with training materials earning an 87% NPS score and support dispatch tickets decreasing 15% from 2025
Learn more: AV Services at CU Anschutz, Hybrid Technology Improvement Project
Simpler Room Scheduling
What this means for you:
- Less confusion when scheduling instructional spaces across campuses, with a 41% reduction in required booking information
- Faster access to scheduling tools, supporting 59,000 instruction hours scheduled through EMS for CU Anschutz classrooms
Learn more: EMS Modernization Project
Expanding Digital Accessibility
What this means for you:
- Easy access to practical guidance through the Digital Accessibility website, with a 233% growth in visits this year
- A growing community of practice, now 150+ members strong, sharing real-world strategies
- Personalized support to improve your materials, backed by 150+ completed consultations
Learn more: Advancing Digital Accessibility at CU Anschutz
Improving Academic Technology
What this means for you:
- One consistent platform supporting teaching and learning across campuses, with 5,982 for-credit courses delivered through the university Learning Management System (LMS)
- Streamlined processes to manage non-credit offerings, including 134 co-curricular and 24 professional development courses delivered
Learn more: Canvas, CoCurricular Courses, CU Online Open Courses
Supporting Research
& Patient Care
Removing barriers to discovery and clinical decision-making through secure, scalable infrastructure.
“Knowing the patient story before reading the scan means the right care decisions get made faster. The secure environment that ISS built made that possible.”-Dr. Nikhil Madhuripan
Expanding High Performance Computing (HPC)
What this means for researchers:
- Supporting complex research with computing power, expanding HPC user growth by 43%
- Driving innovation research, helping researchers tackle complex questions and advance new discoveries
Learn more: High Performance Computing at CU Anschutz, Innovation Spotlights: Learn how HPC has advanced research at CU Anschutz
Enabling AI-Informed Patient Care
What this means for patients:
- Faster diagnosis through timely access to key patient information, enabled by a secure and scalable environment for clinician-led innovation
Learn more: New AI Tool Developed by CU Anschutz Faculty Helps Radiologists Maximize Efficiency
Strengthening Clinical Connectivity
What this means for clinicians:
- Reliable connectivity at remote CU clinics, with redundant network connections now in place at 90% of locations to support uninterrupted access to patient services
- Greater continuity of care, with no network-related outages reported since redundant connectivity was implemented
- Strengthened connectivity with key healthcare partners, including UCHealth, Children’s Hospital, CU Medicine and Denver Health
Elevating Service Delivery
Providing support that’s reliable, responsive and easy to access.
Delivering Reliable Support
What this means for you:
- A streamlined service catalog, reduced from 600 to 123 services, making it easier to find what you need
- Self-service resources available anytime, with 120+ curated guides and knowledge articles
Learn more: New Service Management Platform, TDX: The New ISS Ticketing Platform
Developing Our Workforce
What this means for you:
- Consistent, user-focused support from teams strengthened through tailored training, with 90% of leaders trained in industry-leading service practices
Learn more: Work With Us, ISS Leadership Team
Unifying the ISS Experience
What this means for you:
- One ISS website for services, support and information, consolidating 3 separate sites into 1
Learn more: New ISS Project Page
The ISS Business Essentials Track was highly engaging and relevant to real-world challenges. It's a great way to strengthen my business skills and build confidence in cross-functional projects.
- ISS employee feedback
Advancing Artificial
Intelligence Readiness
Building confidence and capability for responsible AI use through guidance, learning and approved tools.
Responsible AI Guidance
What this means for you:
- Clear guidance on using AI responsibly, supported by a growing set of approved AI tools
- Greater confidence using AI tools, with a 1117% growth in engagement with the AI Hub
- Practical training driving real adoption, with Copilot use reaching 4,300+ active users and licensed use increasing 65% from Oct 2025 to May 2026
Learn more: CU Denver | Anschutz AI Literacy Hub, AI Tools & Services
Securing University Environments
Protecting people, data, and systems across CU Anschutz and CU Denver – together
Building a Security Enabled Campus
What this means for you:
- More engaging security training experiences, reaching 1,350+ attendees at campus events, such as CU Denver and CU Anschutz block parties
- Increased compliance with required training across both campuses by 30%, strengthening campus-wide security posture
Learn more: Information Security Education & Awareness, IT Security and Compliance Consultation
Proactive Threat Protection
What this means for you:
- Fewer phishing and scam messages reaching your inbox, with over 108,000 malicious emails blocked this year
- More confident user behavior, with 91% passing educational phishing simulations
Learn more: Preventing Phishing
Faster Technology Risk Reviews
What this means for you:
- Faster approvals that keep requests on track, with processing timelines reduced by 63%
Learn more: Approved Software & Technology Assessments
Protecting University Computers & Devices
What this means for you:
- Stronger protection for your device and data, with a 90% increase in encryption across Windows devices to help prevent unauthorized access
Learn more: Endpoint Management
Building a Future-Ready Foundation
Making technology and data more reliable, better connected and easier to use.
Building Data Foundations
What this means for you:
- We’re building a shared data foundation that can deliver information to you as a consistent, reliable service rather than through disconnected one-off processes
- Work is informed by input from 60+ campus partners across 24 units, ensuring it reflects how you actually use and need campus data
Learn more: CU Anschutz Data Hub
Modernizing Campus Calling
What this means for you:
- More reliable calling across CU Anschutz and CU Denver campuses, with 100 departments and 1,960 users enabled on Teams Calling
- You can take calls from anywhere, without being tied to a specific desk phone
Learn more: Modernized Teams Calling Project
Enhancing Wi-Fi Across Campus
What this means for you:
- Significant improvements in Wi-Fi reliability at CU Anschutz, enabled by a 50%+ increase in access points in high-demand buildings such as AO1 and Fitzsimons.
- More reliable Wi-Fi at CU Denver, with improved connectivity in key buildings including the King Center, Auraria Library, Student Commons and Business School.
Learn more: Network Services
Streamlining Authentication Access
What this means for you:
- Faster and more seamless access to systems, supporting nearly 1 million successful sign-ins and 1.67 million+ application accesses in a 30-day period
- Less time spent signing in, with repeated prompts reduced by 15% -- returning an estimated 400-600 hours of employee time each month
- Quicker, more convenient access across systems, with 72% fewer authentication steps and a smoother sign-in experience.
Learn more: University Credentials, MFA with DUO
We Support the Work of Our Campus.
At the center of this work is a shared goal: to support the missions of our campus communities.
We remain committed to listening, partnering and continually improving how we deliver services that move our campus forward – together.