Office of Information Technology

Technology Appropriations Board
Minutes of the meeting June 20, 1997

Location: AHT 4th Floor Conference Room
Time: 1:00 - 3:00PM

In attendance:

A variety of policy issues were discussed related to departmental computing laboratories, including; purchase or lease of computer equipment, equipment to be funded, yearly continuation of software licensing, and appropriate means of modifying requests.

Computer Hardware

The issue of whether to purchase or to lease computer equipment for the departmental computing laboratories was discussed, and the consensus of the board was to pursue a leasing agreement for the basic computer equipment. A number of factors were considered.
Prior to implementation of the technology fee, annual equipment funding was not sufficiently secure to allow widespread use of leasing, whereas, the technology fee provides an on-going revenue stream that makes this possible. A major advantage to leasing is reducing the risk from technological change, enabling the renewal of equipment as products change. Although the total cost may be greater than for an outright purchase, it will not be more than actually replacing equipment in response to need and technological change. A flexible leasing agreement will allow the purchase at the end of the lease period, and thus, there is still the possibility of shifting equipment to areas with lesser requirements.
Leasing will significantly stretch the technology fee budget for this fiscal year, making possible the funding of additional departmental computing labs. It was noted that this has direct benefit to currently enrolled students, who will have available the new equipment during their academic career.

Policies for Expenditures

Policies regarding equipment eligible to be funded by the technology fee were discussed. The primary intention is to fund computer hardware, software, and printers. Scanners, digital cameras, and other peripheral equipment may be funded, if the request includes a compelling reason for inclusion in the laboratory plan. Space renovation costs and furniture costs (desks and chairs) will not be considered for funding by the technology fee. The policy was reaffirmed that all technology fee funds must be utilized for equipment for student use or in support of instruction.

Continuation of Funding

The need to provide on-going support for software selected for funding was discussed. It was agreed that license renewal will be evaluated annually, based on need. In general, technology fee funds will be utilized for basic and widely used software. For specialized software, technology fee funding will be made available for central coordination of the negotiation and administration of contracts and licenses, but the base cost will be transferred to the end user. There was consensus that the administration of software contracts and licenses requires significant effort and this service, coordinated centrally, is of benefit to the general campus community.

Changes in Requests

It is recognized that modifications may be made in the original equipment requests, based on technology updates or changes in curriculum. However, it was recommended that proposals not be considered for additional funding if the scope of the proposal has been significantly expanded, or there has been a major change in purpose. The rationale for all amendments must be fully explained and supported in a memo to the Vice Chancellor. The final funding grant will be confirmed by a memo of understanding from the Vice Chancellor to the department making the request.

Other Issues

• There continues to be interest in establishing a research facility for new technology, that would provide a test laboratory for software and hardware, and also would provide a learning experience for students and faculty.
• Networking plans are on schedule, including the Fall 97 activation of Internet connections in the on-campus student dorms, future plans for installation of an ISDN modem pool, and upgrade of the network in Perkins, Dougherty, and the University Center.
• It was suggested that a modified Technology Fee Sticker be placed on equipment that has been upgraded with funds from the technology fee, so that the Technology Fee Sticker will be not be utilized on previously existing equipment.
• There was a general discussion of the impact of the Technology Fee on Faculty Researchers and Graduate Student Recruiting. In both cases, it was agreed that this impact has been significant, but little has been said about it. There is a reduced cost for computing for researchers as they are able to purchase or lease computing equipment from contracts negotiated for the technology fee purchases. Faculty instruction is improved by student access to modern computing facilities. Graduate recruitment, in particular, is enhanced by the expansion and upgrade of departmental computing labs.
• The need to clearly identify the location of computing labs on campus was again emphasized, and there are plans to produce maps showing the location, and a proposal to add this information to the signs in front of buildings.