The College of Letters and Science Information Technology department will merge with the Office of Academic Programs’ Instructional Computing on May 1 to streamline the university’s electronic resources.

The consolidation will not affect employment or available technological services in either department. Instructional Computing Director Bill Koseluk will lead the collaborative institution.

Koseluk said the convergence will allow the university to manage its IT responsibilities more efficiently.

“The transition is largely completed and it has gone very smoothly so far,” Koseluk said in an e-mail. “While there are a few minor details to smooth out in such a transition, we foresee no major difficulties. There has been a need to align our two departments so that we can be united in a single planning process that more directly and coherently serves our users.”

According to Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts David Marshall, the online resources of students will likely benefit from the merger.

“An example of leveraged resources would be using LSIT staff and infrastructure to support lab services and the continued growth of GauchoSpace,” Marshall said in an e-mail. “An example of the planning advantages would be optimizing the design of labs and services to accommodate specific departmental and divisional teaching needs.”

Head of College and Letters and Sciences Instructional Technology Alan Moses said the move will also help facilitate the integration of the campus’ technical services.

“The main goals of the merger are to ensure that strategic planning for technology services is aligned with the rest of the instructional planning process,” Moses said in an e-mail. “The staffs of both organizations are excited about the potentials for service enhancements and expect a smooth transition.”