Academic Computing Committee
Meeting Minutes
November 8, 2004
Members Present:
University Senate Representatives: J. Alvares, M.
Heller
Faculty Representatives: A. Adarkar [CHSS Faculty
Rep.], A. Koeller (CSAM), S. Shapiro [Library Faculty
Rep.], R. Xing [SBUS Faculty Rep.]
Administrative Representatives (Academic Deans): A. Pemberton [SART
Faculty Rep.], A.J. Kelton [CHSS Administrative
Rep.], M. Mallery [Library Dean Administrative Rep.],
J. Hunt [Librayr Dean], K. Tighe
[CEHS Administrative Rep.], R. Salomon [Proxy for Dean Alan Oppenheim],
), J. Youn [proxy for M. Kruge,
CSAM Administrative Rep.], Ayesha [Graduate Student
Rep.]
Non-voting Members Present: R. Wolfson, Local 1904
Observer
Absent: M. Davidson [CEHS Faculty Rep.], J. Gaynor
[University Senate Rep.], K. O’Halloran
[Graduate School Administrative Rep], R. Julian Robinson [SART Administrative
Rep.], D. Stevens [Undergraduate Student Rep.], T. Devlin, Academic Coordinator
of Education Computing Network, VACANT, Associate Director of Information
Technology, Student Representatives: VACANT (undergraduate), E. Chapel,
Associate Vice president for Information Technology
Guest: J. Minier
Presiding: J. Alvares, Chair
Reporting: M. Mallery, Secretary
Distribution: ACC Web at http://frontpage.montclair.edu/acc
Convened: 3:07 p.m. [Library Special Collections
Room]
Adjourned: 4:56 p.m.
1. Call to Order: The meeting was
called to order at 3:07 p.m.
2. Minutes: Minutes for Sept. 13 and
October 18 were approved.
3. Announcements: On Friday,
December 10th, Montclair Sate U. is hosting the New Jersey Blackboard Users
Group.
4. Reports
• Chair's Report: Chair Alvares
introduced the new Graduate Student Representative. There was some
discussion about proxy voting and what to do to ensure that there is a quorum
present for moving on actions at ACC meetings. Kelton
noted that on the October 18 meeting date, many ACC members were attending
EDUCAUSE. Mallery reported that the last time
there was no quorum was when the ACC was scheduled for Easter Monday. The
decision was to continue with prior voting procedures, and Alvares
will contact members who are chronically absent to request that they find a
replacement.
Alvares attended the October 28th meeting of the MSU Blackbaord Advisory Group (BAG), where there was a demo of
the new Blackboard Content Management System (see http://www.blackboard.com
). Salomon reported that putting documents into the system is seamless
with the CMS, the editing feature is also easy, and it makes Blackboard more of
a portal. Storage space is still an issue with the CMS, however.
There was discussion as to whether it would be cheaper for Blackboard to be
hosted on MSU servers. Kelton noted that MSU
would need 24/7 technical support in place to host Bb. Heller said that
the SAN could be used to host Bb, and it is preferable for Bb to be hosted on
campus. Salomon noted that Bb was down the previous week because of
remote issues at Bb. Koeller asked for the
status of the SAN from OIT.
Alvares noted that Bb archiving issues were also
discussed at BAG. Minier said that currently
archiving is cumbersome, and the new CMS system would make it easier. Youn asked if there are policies and procedures for what is
appropriate for archiving on Bb. Alvares said
that the question of what to do with old courses is not clear.
Minier noted that BAG is a temporary advisory group
that will disband when its function is completed. Alvares
reported that the Faculty Senate has asked the ACC to establish a subcommittee
to address Blackboard procedures and questions. See below under New
Business for the Bb Subcommittee volunteers and further actions
recommended. Kelton said Bb complaints have
been building up over time and should be dealt with on a more
timely basis. This subcommittee could assess actions
recommended. Pemberton added that MSU needs a clearinghouse for
complaints about Bb.
• OIT Report: There was no representative from IT present to report.
• Ad Hoc Committee Reports:
a) Mandatory MSU NetID Registration and
Use: Heller (Co-Chair) and Youn (Co-Chair) will
present the Committee's report at the February 7, 2005 ACC meeting.
b) Wireless Implementation at MSU: Pemberton (Chair) presented the
results of the "Survey on the Future Use of Wireless Technologies at
c) Student Technology Survey: Kelton
(Chair) will report at the next meeting.
5. Ongoing Business:
a. Technology Initiatives for Persons with Disabilities Ad Hoc Committee:
Shapiro (Chair) posted the white paper approved at the May 10 ACC on the ACC
Web site. Shapiro has drafted the cover memo and will send the white
paper to the University Senate for their action on the ACC recommendations.
b. Meeting Dates and Times: Alvares requested
that the meeting time for the remaining 2004-2005 ACC meeting schedule be
changed to begin at 3:30PM at the October meeting, but ACC members noted that
their schedules for the Fall semester are already
set. ACC Meetings will continue to begin at 3:00PM.
6. New Business:
a. Blackboard Subcommittee: The following ACC members volunteered to be on
a new Subcommittee to discuss Blackboard implementation as well as mediated
classroom planning and implementation at MSU:
Jean Alvares
Roger Salomon
Michael Heller
Andreas Koeller
Rich Wolfson noted that the subcommittee membership
does not have to be limited to ACC members. It was also recommended that
Patty Kahn should be a resource person for this subcommittee. Alvares will invite Susan Hussein to become a member, and
send out an invitiation for subcommittee members on
the Blackboard listserv. Alvares will follow up
with the Faculty Senate on this initiative.
b. Computer Repair and Replacement Policy: Wolfson
distributed notes from the Faculty Senate Administrative Affairs Council for a
draft Computer Repair and Replacement Policy. The Senate requested that
the ACC develop a repair policy promptly. There was some discussion about
the policy the AAC drafted. Youn said that
“24-hour response time” needs to be clarified; also, the
applications supported should be listed. Wolfson
noted that the definition of negligence is not clear. Kelton
recommended that there are other institutions with a repair policy in place,
and that MSU might find a good model policy. Based on these comments, Wolfson will draft a revised Computer Repair and
Replacement Policy and send it to the ACC via the listserv for approval.
7. Adjournment: The meeting was
adjourned at 4:56 PM.