Rowan University faculty boost instruction time by up to 50% with reliable Microsoft Azure architecture

Founded in 1923 in New Jersey, Rowan University (Rowan) has been named one of the fastest-growing public research universities in the country for five years in a row and serves about 20,000 students. The university’s rapid expansion demanded more flexibility than the university’s legacy, on-premises IT infrastructure could support. Rowan required better accessibility, affordability, reliability, and security in its IT services. The university’s leadership team started strategically investing in a modernized network and embraced a cloud-smart strategy. Through these investments, Rowan now offers a seamless IT experience that helps faculty better prepare students for the workforce. Students, faculty, and researchers can access Rowan technology securely from anywhere in the world. 

Requiring smoother IT performance amid 50% student growth

Between 2013 and 2023, Rowan’s student population jumped nearly 50% to almost 20,000. The university also extended its physical footprint through mergers and partnerships, added two medical schools, and began developing a veterinary school. This accelerated growth began to exacerbate cracks in Rowan’s legacy, on-premises IT infrastructure. The university, like many higher education institutions, used disparate vendors and software services, and Rowan faculty spent considerable time troubleshooting technical issues in the classroom.

“We were trying to weave together various clunky technologies because we were growing at such a rapid pace,” says Darren Nicholson, Professor of Management Information Systems at Rowan. “We would lose connection between software applications, and as soon as we fixed one problem, something else would break.”

The onboarding of an osteopathic medical school and associated clinical sites in 2013 added another impetus to revamp the IT infrastructure, as the merger meant that Rowan required additional security to protect patient health data. “We had to regroup and figure out how to manage student administration and patient care,” says Mira Lalovic-Hand, Chief Information Officer and Professor at the College of Engineering at Rowan. The university understood that smooth IT performance in a higher education setting would allow faculty and students to focus on their studies rather than troubleshooting technology.

Embracing a cloud-based architecture for IT services

Rowan had migrated some services into the cloud prior to 2020, but the shift to remote work and learning in 2020 and 2021 prompted its leadership to rethink its approach to technology. In 2021, Rowan decided to migrate additional services to the cloud so that it could innovate, scale, and adjust IT services more quickly for students and researchers around the world.

As leaders sought input about the most used and trusted software at the university, faculty and staff consistently mentioned Microsoft products. Rowan’s IT leadership valued the embedded security of Microsoft solutions. “Microsoft has brought its A game in improving security in the cloud,” says Mark Sedlock, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Rowan. “The company is forward-looking, and that has made it an industry leader in security.”

The university began building a cloud-based architecture to standardize its IT infrastructure in the Microsoft ecosystem. Rowan migrated terabytes of data from its on-premises servers to Microsoft Azure to reduce storage and maintenance costs. The migration also streamlined updates to the Microsoft 365 technology stack. Rowan’s IT staff no longer had to worry about rolling out new versions of Microsoft 365 because the updates happen in the cloud.

The new architecture also incorporated Microsoft security tools. The university deployed Microsoft Intune for device and endpoint management, so employee laptops automatically receive updates. Rowan combined Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Defender to create a unified security operations platform to quickly identify security threats. As Rowan’s new IT infrastructure progressed, so did its relationship with Microsoft. “We need partners who will sit down with us and review our unique needs and adjust accordingly,” says Lalovic-Hand. “Microsoft listens to its customers, and we can build a long-term relationship with the company.”

Decreasing antivirus software issues by 90%

The transformation to a standardized Microsoft solution streamlined operations, and IT staff members have more time to focus on strategic initiatives because they have fewer software incidents to resolve. For example, after transitioning to Microsoft Defender in 2023, the need for security administrators to intervene in antivirus software incidents plummeted by nearly 99%, from 260 in 2022 to 3 in 2023. In the same time frame, overall performance issues caused by antivirus software dropped by 90%. 

Rowan’s new IT strategy is also delivering notable results for faculty, who report having more time to teach and interact with students. With more quality instruction time, professors can cover advanced topics and better prepare students for the workplace. Professors teaching management information systems, the intersection between business operations and technology, estimate that they have up to 50% more instruction time. “For the first time in 19 years at Rowan, I didn’t have an IT problem over the 15-week semester,” says Nicholson. “It has transformed the way we deliver content, and we’re providing a richer experience.”

Students use their personal laptops to access Rowan’s IT services, so they can study and do their work from anywhere. Faculty no longer need to schedule lab time for their students to have reliable technology. “Every room has become a lab for me because students bring their technology to the classroom,” says Nicholson. “It’s a very consistent IT environment for everybody, whether they are in person or online around the world.”

Advancing research with Microsoft capabilities

Rowan’s IT modernization offers a blueprint for how higher education institutions can improve services and instruction time for students and faculty while realizing cost savings. Rowan will continue adding features to boost internal collaboration and is exploring generative AI to enhance instruction and university operations.

As Rowan expands its footprint and pursues designation as an R1 research institution, a category that highlights universities with the highest level of research activity, it is looking to Microsoft capabilities to support its journey. “Over the next few years, our engagement with Microsoft will be about supporting our faculty and researchers with emerging technologies, like AI and machine learning,” says Sedlock. “We host researchers from across the country, and we want to bring together our community and Microsoft capabilities.”