Academic Computing Committee
Meeting Minutes (Approved Oct. 13, 2003)
September 22, 2003
Members Present
E. Chapel, M. Davidson, J.L. Hunt, L. Jenkins
[proxy: A. Cutler], A.J.
Kelton [proxy: R. Gigliotti], M. Kruge [proxy: R.
Prezant], A. Koeller,
R. Salomon [proxy: A. Oppenheim], R. Sharps [proxy:
G. Newman],
S. Shapiro, D. Stevens, R. Wolfson, R. Xing
A. Adarkar, T. Devlin, C. Narrett, A. Pemberton
J. Minier, K. Tighe, J. Youn
Presiding: M. Heller, Acting Chair; Reporting: M. Mallery,
Secretary
Distribution: ACC Web
Convened: 4:06 p.m. [Library Special Collections Room]
Adjourned: 5:46 p.m.
1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 4:06 p.m.
2. Minutes: The minutes of the May 5 meeting were approved by
Chair's
prerogative and will be posted to the ACC Web page.
3. Announcements:
· EdTeXPo 2003 Annual Conference (September 24): Kelton announced
that there is a day of programs planned and 33 vendors will be in the Student
Center Ballroom for this collaborative campus-wide event; registration is
online.
4. Reports
· Chair's Report: Past Chair Kelton reported that the ACC was
restructured and two new seats added. Acting Chair Heller invited Committee
members to introduce themselves. The following is the current list of Committee
members with their status and affiliations:
******
Voting Members
Two Representatives of the University Senate: Michael Heller,
Vacant
Five faculty reps. (1 per college or school): CHSS-Aditya Adarkar,
CEHS-Michael Davidson, SBUS-Ruben Xing, CSAM-Andreas Koeller,
SART-Anthony Pemberton
One Librarian: Steven Shapiro
Two Undergraduate Students: Drew Stevens, Vacant
One Graduate Student: Vacant
Seven Academic Deans (or Alternate): CHSS-Richard Gigliotti (AJ
Kelton), CEHS-Ada Beth Culter (Leslie Jenkins), SBUS-Alan
Oppenheim (Roger Salomon), CSAM-Robert Prezant (Michael Kruge), SART-Geoffrey
Newman (Ronald Sharps), Library-Judith Lin Hunt (Mary Mallery), Graduate-Carla
Narrett (Kristin Cohen)
Associate Director of Information Technology: Vacant
Non-voting Members
Associate Vice-president for Information Technology: Edward Chapel
Academic Coordinator of Education Computer Network: Thomas Devlin
One AFT Observer: Vacant
*******
· OIT Report: Chapel reported that IT installed an entirely new
hardware infrastructure. The SCT Plus system is now on 2 Alpha servers giving
better performance for FRS, HRS and SIS users. The Storage Area Network is
being installed; it will have 16 TB of storage and include automatic backup for
all users data. Leased computers were delivered; G5 Mac delivery will occur
later. Although it was reported that the number of computer labs has been
reduced, in fact, OIT has consolidated resources and increased the hours for
campus computer labs so that there is more availability of monitored, available
computer use on campus.
5. Ongoing Business
a. Elections (Chair, Recording Secretary, Web master)
* Chair: Kelton described the position and duties. Wolfson asked
for discussion as to whether the Chair position should be held only by a
faculty member. After prolonged
discussion for and against, Heller asked that ACC representatives discuss this
question with their constituencies to determine how they feel on this question.
Discussion can continue on the ACC listserv. Election was deferred until next
meeting.
* Secretary: Mallery described the position and duties and offered
to stay another year. Election was deferred until next meeting.
* Webmaster: Heller described the need for someone to update the
Members Directory and Meetings Agendas and Minutes by posting information to
the ACC Website on the Frontpage server. Kelton asked if the Webmaster must be
a member of the ACC. Jenkins and other members agreed that this was not necessary.
Heller will come back to the ACC with names of people interested in being ACC
Webmaster.
b. Vacancies
Heller noted there are still ACC membership vacancies that should
be filled.
Kelton moved that the position of "Dean" on the ACC be
revised to
"Administrative Representative" with the explanation:
This would allow the Deans to send a proxy OR to permanently assign someone to
the ACC in their place. The five academic units have "Faculty Representatives,"
and so therefore should also have "Administrative Representatives."
Stevens seconded the motion. Davidson noted that this decision could be
referred to the Faculty Senate. There was discussion on the role of the Faculty
Senate. Heller called a vote on the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
c. Listserv membership
Kelton moved that membership to the ACC listserv be limited to the
19 voting members and 3 nonvoting members of the ACC. After some discussion, he
clarified the motion to include Administrative Representatives that the Dean
has indicated in the ACC listserv membership. Jenkins seconded the motion.
Wolfson spoke against the motion and noted that ACC has always had
an open-door policy, and people with technical expertise need to participate in
ACC discussions. He recommended that ACC should continue the current practice
of including anyone who attends meetings to be a listserv member. Heller noted
that because discussion at the ACC meetings had time limits, the members often
extend discussion via the listserv and it allows closure for discussion.
Minier asked if this motion meant that a Guest such as herself or
the
Provost would be precluded from the listserv? Kelton suggested
that the Provost's office could have an Administrative Representative position
on the ACC.
Jenkins asked if there could be two listservs, one for ACC-members
only and one for extended discussion of campus technology topics? Davidson
recommended that the ACC start fresh each year and add guests as they come.
Wolfson called the question. Motion failed with two abstentions.
6. 2003-2004 Action items:
· Blackboard Campus-Wide Enterprise Project:
Chapel noted that the campus moved to Blackboard release 6.0 over
the summer and extended Blackboard templates as a result of the success of last
year's SBUS pilot project. He addressed the problem of current periodic
interruptions of service in Blackboard. IT is pushing hard for Blackboard to
address these questions. If we do not get better results, the campus may return
to release 5.5, but faculty have invested time in content development in 6.0
and handling multiple sections and assignment in 6.0 are incentives to stay
with this release. IT requests a week to ten days more to allow Blackboard to
address the problem.
Blackboard training issues were discussed. Salomon noted that
faculty are confused and incorrectly posting information to the Blackboard 5.5
site. Kelton agreed, but noted that CHSS faculty also like Blackboard. Salamon
added that everyone loved the "Doctor Is In" program and there was
good participation, but faculty do not go to training classes.
Koeller asked if there is a legal problem with copyrighted
material residing on the Blackboard server. Are faculty documents secure?
Chapel assured him that MSU has a contract with Blackboard that covers
copyright and security of documents.
Minier thanked Chapel for the Blackboard update and asked for
statistics on use of the program.
· Mediated Classrooms
Kruge and Youn inquired about technology mediated classrooms that
were not ready for the first day of classes. Specifically they noted that OIT
staff did not know how to operate the equipment, and in turn, train faculty
teaching in these facilities. Chapel noted there are 101 mediated instructional
spaces around campus with a diversity of equipment. He will direct his training
and media staff to prepare instructional materials on LCD projectors, document
cameras and a/v equipment and these instructional materials will be similar to
the LTA, low-threshold applications, training currently provided. Chapel asked
for any additional input from the ACC members to be directed to him.
· Power Outage Procedures:
Wolfson asked about power outage procedures on campus to protect
servers and computers. Chapel noted that because of the aggressive construction
schedule at MSU, power outages may be a way of life for us. He said there is a generator outside of
College Hall, and that servers that may be at risk should be moved. He offered
space in College Hall where OIT has a UPS with 45 minutes of power. On Thursday
when Hurricane Isabel knocked out power in the area, IT kept the MSU Webserver
and mailserver up overnight. Also, Chapel noted that over Thanksgiving upgrade
will be made to enable better back up generation on campus. Kruge said that Science Hall currently has a
backup generator.
Wolfson asked if MSU can credential technology liaisons to come on
campus during a power outage and enable them to get to their servers in a
timely manner. Currently they have to go to the Police Department before they
can go to their buildings and servers. Chapel said that when the MSU Access
Control Program is in place, technology liaisons could be given security
clearance using access cards.
· Due to time constraints, discussion of other items was deferred
until
next meeting:
* Laptop ownership requirement (Strategic Plan),
* Mandatory MSU NetID Registration and Use (email, SAN/remote
desktops, print accounting)
* SPSS/SAS/Required Software -- Lab Fee,
* Microsoft Office versus Star Office (Windows versus Linux desktops),
* Support for other non-standard software (WordPerfect),
* Physical security of facilities and hardware
7. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn was made by Kelton; seconded by
Kruge. The meeting was adjourned at
5:36 p.m.