Academic Computing Committee
Meeting Minutes
October 18, 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.], E. Mayfield [CHSS Administrative Rep.], M. Mallery [Library Dean
Administrative Rep.], J. Hunt [Library Dean], L. Jenkins [CEHS Administrative
Rep.], R. Salomon [Proxy for Dean Alan Oppenheim]
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), VACANT (graduate), M. Kruge [CSAM Administrative Rep.], E.
Chapel, Associate Vice president for Information Technology
Guest: J. Minier
Presiding: M. Heller, Chair Pro Tem; J. Alvares, Chair
Reporting: M. Mallery, Secretary
Distribution: ACC Web at http://frontpage.montclair.edu/acc
Convened: 3:08 p.m. [Library Special Collections
Room]
Adjourned: 4:40 p.m.
1. Call to Order: The meeting was
called to order at 3:08 p.m.
2. Minutes: There was no quorum, so
the approval of the minutes for Sept. 13 were deferred until the next meeting
on November 8.
3. Announcements: No announcements.
4. Reports
• Chair's Report: Chair Pro Tem Heller reported
that Jean Alvares was appointed as a Faculty Senate Representative to the ACC
and accepted the nomination for ACC Chair. The election was carried out
over the ACC listserv, and the results are unanimous that Alvares is elected as
Chair. Alvares had a class and could not arrive until 3:30PM.
Alvares reported that the Provost announced at the October University Senate
meeting that he was forming a Blackboard Advisory Group (BAG), which consists
of 3 faculty members appointed by the University Senate, 3 faculty members
appointed by the Provost, the Director of Instructional Technology, a
Technology Coordinator, the Chair of the ACC, the Chair of the Carnegie
Committee and an undergraduate representative appointed by the SGA. The BAG met
for the first time on Oct. 14 to discuss policy issues.
Wolfson suggested that MSU could have a Town Meeting on Technology and Pedagogy
in the future.
Alvares attended the Oct. 14th BAG meeting and reported that they addressed the
following six points that the Provost presented:
How should MSU BlackBoard handle:
1) old course information,
2) course availability requirements,
3) cancelled and inactive courses,
4) incomplete grades,
5) additional media, and
6) training for new faculty.
There was some discussion of the onsite storage for old Bb information; Alvares
recommends permanent storage for all Bb information. Salomon noted that there
are some new applications in the next level of Bb release that should be
considered in this discussion.
Heller recommended that Alvares take back to the BAG (next meeting Oct. 28th):
*MSU should leverage its institutional investment in the SAN (Storage
Architecture Network) to archive Bb file systems daily; and
*Bb should have SCORM compliance for interoperability with other course
management systems (including open source systems).
Minier noted that several of these issues have been ongoing for many
semesters. Some of these issues require an answer before the end of the
semester because they are contractual, and some will be addressed in the next
release of the Bb software. Alvares said that he has invited Patty Kahn
to come to a future ACC meeting to demo the next Bb release.
Alvares requested that ACC members email Bb issues to him, and he will
summarize for the BAG and the next ACC meeting.
• OIT Report: There was no representative from IT
present to report. The members of the ACC asked for an update on the Help Desk
Support Survey, conducted last Spring, with attention to any follow-up actions
taken on the recommendations from the Survey. Adarkar requested that OIT report
on the status of the campus cell phone project. Koeller noted that that
in the Montclarion of Oct. 7th there were articles on iPrint and netDrive
applications on campus, and he asked for a report on these initiatives also.
• 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. Heller will convene a subcommittee to write a cover memo for
sending the white paper to the University Senate in hopes that it will inform
next year’s budget.
b. MSU Web Guidelines: The MSU Web Standards and
Guidelines at: http://www.montclair.edu/msuweb/
were discussed. Alvares recommended that the Web standards should also include
Blackboard standards. Pemberton asked about hosting student films on the MSU
Web. Koeller noted that the Computer Science Department uses
cs.montclair.edu. Heller suggested that there should be a way for
departments at MSU to use the motnclair.edu domain.
c. 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. Adarkar Moved for the change, and Koeller
seconded. Since there was no quorum, the vote was deferred to
email. Discussion will take place on the ACC listserv. The proposed
change is:
* Nov. 8 3:30-5:30PM: Library Spec. Collections Room
* Dec. 13 3:30-5:30PM: Library Spec. Collections Room
* Feb. 7 3:30-5PM: Library Spec. Collections Room
* April 11 3-5PM::30 Library Spec. Collections Room
* May 9 3:30-5:30PM: Library Spec. Collections Room
6. New Business:
Alvares asked that ACC members come to the next meeting with
suggestions for new items for discussion with an emphasis on a proactive
approach to technology issues. Some suggestions were:
* Reports on EDUCAUSE from ACC attendees;
* Follow-up on EdTeXPo demos and discussion, e.g., David Pogue
spoke about instant messaging use in classrooms;
*Koeller suggested discussion of NAB planning for instructional
technology safety and security, such as laptop use;
*Wolfson asked for an update on the laptop initiative proposed in
the MSU Strategic Plan. Salomon noted that SBUS has a laptop
initiative. Alvares suggested that we have representatives from Seton
Hall come and speak to MSU faculty about the benefits of their laptop
initiative. Hunt suggested that the ACC address the need for training students
who have never used a computer; could this be part of the laptop initiative?
Alvares noted that all academic computing questions should have planning and
asked that the ACC try to stay a step ahead of issues that will come up with
systems as OIT proposes them.
7. Adjournment: The meeting was
adjourned at 4:40 PM.