IRC
News
Minutes provided by Sue Ellen Richey, Recording Secretary
IRC Regular Voting Members: Ginny Anderson, Fiscal Affairs;
Walter Bowen, Academic Administration; Bill Buntain, Communications Program
Group; Carolyn Cunningham, Student Affairs; Paul Dworak, College of Music; Steve
Grant, UNT Health Science Center; Don Grose, Libraries; Jenny Jopling, Instruction
Program Group; Joneel Harris, Administrative Program Group; Mike Kozak, Faculty
Senate; Allen Livingston, Student Association; Steve Miller, Human Resources; Dennis
Mueller, Research Program Group; Ramu Muthiah, School of Community Services;
Robert Nimocks, Director, Information Technology,UNTHSC; Jim Poirot, College of
Education; Don Schol, School of Visual Arts; Kathleen Swigger, College of Arts and
Sciences; Neal Tate, University Planning Council; Philip Turner, Associate Vice
President of Academic Affairs for Distance Education and Dean of the School of Library
and Information Resources (Chair, IRC); Chair)Virginia Wheeless, Chancellor; John
Windsor, College of Business;. IRC Ex-officio Nonvoting Members: Jim Curry,
Microcomputer Maintenance Shop; Richard Harris, Computing Center; Coy Hoggard,
Computing Center; Maurice Leatherbury, Computing Center; Sue Ellen Richey,
Computing Center (Recording Secretary); Rondel Stevens, Telecommunications.
October 21, 1997
Distributed Computing Support Management Team
Maurice Leatherbury reported for the Distributed Computing Support
Management Team that they are evaluating several different brands of laptops and
working with a couple of vendors to set up a program through which laptops can be
purchased and maintained for the whole campus. In response to a question from Dick
Vedder, Maurice replied that they are specifying removable hard drives for any laptops
that will be purchased.
Instruction Program Group
Jenny Jopling reported that in an earlier meeting of the Instruction
Program Group, they discussed the classroom access policy because the classroom
upgrades that will be occurring will necessitate taking measures to insure the security of
those rooms. Don Schol has agreed to contact other institutions to gather information
about their classroom access policies. Jenny distributed a memo outlining UT Austin's
classroom access policy, for information purposes.
Administrative Program Group
Coy Hoggard reported that the Administrative Program Group has
met, at which time Susan Pierce reviewed security issues as well as discussed the time
line of some upcoming reports, including the Biennial Operating Plan and the Strategic
Plan. Administrative Computing and the Financial Aid Office are implementing a new
version of FAMS, with an eye toward having it in production the first week of November.
ManageWise and Video Conferencing
Dr. Turner reported that he and Richard Harris had met with the IR
Steering Committee, at which time the Vice Presidents approved the ManageWise
proposal that was presented and approved at the September 16th IRC meeting.
Dr. Turner also announced that GTE was awarded the contract on the
video conferencing network equipment installation. They are scheduled to begin
installation on November 1 with a completion date of December 1, 1997. They are now
dealing with issues such as how to handle text book orders, registration and admission off
site, as well as how to market the courses. There are already a full slate of courses
scheduled at all three sites (PDI, Dallas Education Center, and LaCroy Technology
Center), plus some in Lubbock, Houston, and Nacogdoches in Spring of 1998. They have
met with the DCSMT and assigned members of that team to take care of the logistics of
this project for each faculty member who will be teaching on the conference network.
Computer-Based Training
Bill Buntain made a presentation on a new computer based training
program that the Computing Center is licensing for campus-wide use. He distributed a set
of presentation slides, an Alliance Consortium Pricing Program, and a CBT Systems
Course Listing. Bill explained that what spurred an interest in establishing this license is
the training program for Novell certification that the Computing Center provided for
some of its people so that they could then train network managers campus-wide. The
Computing Center has been looking for an alternative method of training network
managers, and this CBT vendor was highly recommended. Bill explained the multiple
benefits of leasing the CBT software and reported that the Computing Center has already
leased 50 course titles for which he anticipates full reimbursement from the various
departments that will participate in the training program. The cost of these courses
represents a large savings to the university, over having to send employees to off-site
classes for the same training. In addition, there is a web-based component which enables
distribution of the courses over the web; as well as a course management utility. What
CBT is offering UNT now is a consortium pricing program through the Alliance for
Higher Education, which will involve several institutions of higher education in Texas.
This will provide an even larger cost-savings for UNT.
In the discussion that followed, a question was raised concerning the
cost to UNT in terms of staffing and technology to support this program, as well as a
question regarding security procedures with the web-based courses. It was pointed out
that the University Library has already received some of the titles and is working on
getting them deployed. Bill stated that he will be meeting with the CBT Systems users'
group on Oct. 22 to clarify some details and get ideas. A motion was passed, pending
development of an administrative plan, stating that the Computing Center should go
forward with this project and at the same time study how to best distribute the
courseware. After continued discussion, Dr. Poirot amended his motion to state that the
Computing Council endorses continuation of discussion about this program, and endorses
the implementation of the CBT Systems project, upon satisfactory findings of the
Computing Center and others involved. Following a vote on the amended motion, the
Chair stated that it is the consensus of the Council that Bill proceed with this project.
Bill asked for input and guidance from the committee as to how to
recover the cost of this program as well as how to structure the program and choose the
titles. Bill pointed out that the Health Science Center can be included in this, and could
provide some of the funding. It was suggested that the Standards & Cooperation Program
Group work with Bill to develop a plan for administration of the program; Paul Dworak,
Chair of that program group, agreed to have his committee work with Bill. The Chair
asked for a progress report at the November IRC meeting and answers to the questions
pertaining to staffing and technology costs. The Chair also asked Bill to send out
information about what titles are now available through the Library.
Standards & Cooperation Program Group
Paul Dworak reported that the Standards & Cooperation Program
Group drafted a letter for Dr. Brownell to send out to all of the Vice Presidents,
concerning the campus-wide computer upgrade project, and which included instructions
developed by Jim Curry and Susan Pierce.
Paul also reported that the program group has looked at the
Supported Computing Items List and has decided to develop a collection of successful
solutions in the work places across campus, and distribute a document that details
recommended platforms and applications in place of the current SCIL (Supported
Computing Items List). In addition, they would like to develop a list of software that is
available through site licenses.
Innovative Projects?
Dennis Mueller asked Dr. Turner the status of the IRC's
recommendation on the funding of the Innovative Projects proposal. Dr. Turner reported
that nothing has been determined by the IR Steering Committee at this time. Turner said
he would bring it up again at the next meeting.
Scurfy Awareness
Richard Harris stated that the security awareness flyers that were sent
out recently were an effort to meet minimal state requirements on security awareness
training. Human Resources has agreed to add a statement to the Employee Bibliographic
Update form in order that every employee has a signed form on file stating that they are
aware of the security laws. He told the group that Susan Pierce and Charlotte Russell
have developed a training session that they are conducting for all staff and faculty. These
training sessions are aimed at increasing employee awareness of the need for computer
security. Donna Asher commented that a security awareness document will be included in
all the new-hire packets that are given out at the new employee orientation sessions. Paul
Dworak stressed that employees really need to understand the concept of computer
security, so he recommended that steps be taken to actively inform people. Susan Pierce
stated that there is quite a bit of material on the web.
November 18, 1997
Change in Minutes
Virginia Wheeless moved to accept the minutes of the October 21,
1997 meeting, with the following correction:
Page 2, paragraph 5: Delete "for which he anticipates full
reimbursement from the various departments that will participate in the training
program."
Add "Under the original funding arrangement it was expected that the
cost of the software would be fully recovered by a $150 charge per sequence to the
departments for each employee enrolled."
The minutes were approved as corrected.
Distributed Learning Team
The Chair proposed that a member of the newly formed Distributed
Learning Team become a member of the IRC. This committee's duty is to look at
distributed education in terms of administration, faculty and training issues, as well as the
infrastructure. The faculty side has been meeting to resolve some critical issues before
courses begin in the Spring. By having a member of that team on the IRC, the Council
can stay apprised of what is going on in that arena. This proposal will be voted on at the
December meeting.
Desktop Application Software Guidelines
Maurice Leatherbury asked that a draft of Desktop Application
Software Guidelines be distributed, in his absence, to be discussed and voted on at the
December IRC meeting. Virginia Wheeless asked how this information will be
distributed to faculty. She stated that all members of the IRC should share the document
with their constituents. Joneel Harris asked that it be distributed electronically as well.
Virginia expressed concern about the timeline for the transition to the proposed new
desktop software standard. There was some discussion on the possibility of holding
another university-wide forum on this issue.
Kelly Wood, a member of the DCSMT, commented that the
committee has had quite a bit of discussion on the subject of desktop application
software. People seem to have the impression that there is an attempt to do away with
WordPerfect 5.1; however, among the heads of distributed computing in the different
colleges, there is a strong opinion that whatever their users want is what will be
supported. The DCSMT, by way of these guidelines, is trying to establish a new direction
toward a newer product that they feel integrates well with the operating system and that
will, in the future, most likely be supported by the operating system. The guidelines being
presented do not presume to tell the distributed areas which word processing platform
they have to use. It is simply trying to set a standard of preference. Logically, the users in
each area will communicate their needs and preferences to the heads of the distributed
areas.
Joneel pointed out that in the Administration Building, there is no
user's group to provide a forum for discussion of these issues. Bill Buntain commented
that there have been several attempts to form a user's group in the Admin. Building.
Richard Harris commented that most colleges have computer user's groups. More
discussion followed.
Dennis Mueller suggested that the Deans be requested to circulate
these proposed guidelines to their faculty for their input. The Chair agreed to write a letter
to the Deans,listing IRC members, to accompany copies of the guidelines, and ask them
to share the document with their faculty and give input on the subject to their IRC
representative.
There was some discussion about the timing of the release of these
guidelines. It was agreed that if there is no consensus about this issue at the December
IRC meeting, the guidelines will not be considered final, and will be presented again at
the January meeting.
CBT Systems project
Jenny Jopling reported for the Instruction Program Group, that they
have been discussing the CBT Systems project. The committee has met with SLIS, BCIS,
CSCI and Art, the potential users of the CBT courseware, and find that they have chosen
345 titles they would like to use. Jenny expressed her concern over one of the titles she
previewed, and distributed a document that outlined her objections to the course. Jenny
felt that the courses should all be previewed before they are ordered, although there is not
enough time to do that before this contract goes into effect, around the end of December.
It is not certain whether or not courses can be reviewed before ordering; however, Bill
Buntain stated that the company has been pretty flexible about things up to now.
There was some discussion about how the CBT Systems courseware
will be funded. Bill pointed out that if an arrangement can be made with PDI, then the
cost could be partially recovered by the fees collected by PDI for courses distributed by
them. The Health Science Center is also interested in the courseware, so there could be
some cost sharing there. Bill stated that there are a lot of issues regarding funding that
still need to be worked through. Bill pointed out that the main advantage to the CBT
Systems courseware is the CNE training and Microsoft certification training, which will
be provided at a much lower cost than sending people off campus to be trained. The cost
of purchasing all the titles that have been requested will be around $30,000. Richard
Harris commented that there is some question about whether HEAF funds can be used.
Ginny Anderson stated that she would have to review all the information about the
product contract before ruling on whether or not HEAF funds could be used. John
Stanton, of the Libraries, commented that the Library is quite interested in this
courseware. It was pointed out that this courseware was written for corporations and is
reviewed and revised annually, and that CBT Systems is the best provider of this type of
courseware on the market today. Neal Tate asserted that this would be a small investment
to provide this much needed resource.
There was some discussion about how the courseware will be
distributed and managed. John Stanton pointed out that there is an integrated overlay in
the product that is set up to manage the software. He also commented that the contract
with CBT Systems, negotiated through AHE, will provide for an unlimited number of
users, which is a big advantage over the initial contract. Another advantage of this
contract is that UNT will be allowed to burn CD's and sell them to users, which is
another way of recovering the cost. Bill Buntain stated that UNT already has a server
purchased for the purpose, which is housed in the Library.
Neal Tate made a motion to charge the Chair to see that an
implementation plan is developed, including financing. The objective should be to make
resources available to the greatest number of people in the simplest possible way. Dennis
Mueller seconded the motion. There was further discussion on who should develop the
plan. The Chair stated that he would take this to the IR Steering Committee. The motion
was passed with one abstention.
Innovative Projects?
Dennis Mueller asked about the status of the request for funding of
the Innovative Projects program. Dr. Turner reported that as far as he knows there have
been two sets of funds established, one for distributed learning grants and one for
innovative teaching projects grants $125,000 in each fund. There is a separate
committee doing the selection.
Meeting Adjourned
There were no Program Group reports; and with no further business,
the meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m.
December 16, 1997
General Access Lab Software?
Dr. Swigger reported having had a problem that she felt needed to be
addressed at some level. She has attempted to have some software made available in the
general access labs for her students and to do so has had to contact every individual lab
manager to request assistance in getting that software installed. The lab managers then
referred her to their respective deans for approval. Swigger suggested that she should
have been able to contact one central person to accomplish this. Another problem she
found was that in the general access labs there were duplicate IP addresses and other
technical problems that prevented her software from running. One aspect of the problem
is that there is no information available as to how to accomplish what she wanted to
accomplish, such as who to contact, what committee is in charge, etc.
Discussion followed, during which it was pointed out that the
General Access Lab Committee would have been the appropriate forum in which to
present Dr. Swigger's request. It was also noted that the IRC no longer has a
representative from the General Access Lab serving on it, but probably should. It was also
pointed out that the Distributed Computing Support Management Team (DCSMT) was
established to coordinate distributed support centrally. The Chair suggested that some
action needs to be taken, perhaps to have the General Access Committee Chair speak to
the IRC regarding these issues. Maurice Leatherbury spoke to the issues Dr. Swigger
raised and commented that the way the distributed computing support management team
works is that all of the LAN managers work together in a group to resolve issues, but no
one is really in authority over them. Paul Dworak suggested that if the bureaucracy is too
complex then it needs to be changed. Paul further commented that the Computing Center
should sort out what they will do centrally; and a user should be able to go to one person
in the Computing Center with a request and have that request carried to the appropriate
distributed area or areas.
Bill Buntain explained that the Computing Center has central DNS
servers, but the address spaces are sub-allocated to distributed areas for them to manage.
It is the responsibility of the network managers to manage the devices in their area within
those sub-areas. Bill suggested that the technical problems experienced in Dr. Swigger's
report are not an issue of the management of the DNS servers and the registration of
devices in that server the problem lies in the configuration of the workstation.
The Chair asked Maurice to take these issues to the DCSMT and
report to the IRC, bringing an action item if needed.
Biennial Operating Plan
Susan Pierce presented the Biennial Operating Plan (B.O.P.) for
Information Technology for Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999, and distributed a condensed
version. The Plan details expenditures in the current biennium, the two prior years, and
the two future years. Although the plan shows how much UNT plans to spend, the figures
are only an estimate which can be changed at any time.
Paul Schlieve moved that IRC rules be suspended so that approval of
the B.O.P. could be brought up for a vote at this meeting, rather than waiting a month to
vote on its approval. Ginny Anderson seconded the motion, and it passed. Schlieve also
moved for acceptance of the B.O.P; Don Grose seconded, and the motion passed.
Laptop Purchase Plan
Maurice Leatherbury reported for the DCSMT that the laptop
purchase plan is progressing. Four vendors have been sent a Request for Offer on five
different brands of laptops, with response requested by January 23, 1998. It is hoped that
by late February or early March the plan will be in place. The plan is to provide one or
two standard models of laptops and maintenance for those through the Microcomputer
Maintenance Shop, except for IBM who will not allow UNT to provide its own support.
The other brands that have been evaluated are Dell, Acer, Toshiba and Compaq.
Desktop Application Software Guidelines
Maurice also presented the Desktop Application Software
Guidelines, which were distributed at the November meeting. The DCSMT had several
lengthy discussions about the guidelines which recommend adoption of the Microsoft
Office Suite for a desktop standard, while at the same time allowing distributed areas to
use and support other word processing and spreadsheet products if their users want them.
Maurice pointed out that by the middle of next year, Microsoft will be the preferred
software for sharing of word processing files across campus, and will receive the highest
level of support. WordPerfect 6.0 will continue to be installed and supported across
campus as long as it is needed.
Virginia Wheeless objected to a vote on these guidelines until all
local area network managers have had time to consult with their users. Further discussion
followed, in which it was noted that the upgrade to GroupWise 5.2 will be phased in, with
the Computing Center being the first to upgrade in January. It was agreed that there
would be no harm done by tabling a vote on the guidelines until a later meeting.
Wheeless made a motion to table the vote on these guidelines; Dennis Mueller seconded.
Paul Dworak commented that if there is an area where communication is not taking place
between users and network managers, area supervisors need to deal with that situation as
a personnel issue, and this should not hold up a vote on the guidelines. Dworak stated that
if the motion were amended to include a deadline, he would not object, so Virginia and
Dennis accepted a friendly amendment adding the time limit of the February IRC meeting
for communication between LAN managers and users to have taken place. The amended
motion passed.
Distributed Learning Team Representation?
The Chair called for a vote on possible representation on the IRC
from the Distributed Learning Team (DLT). He explained that the DLT is a group of
UNT staff who have something to do with supporting faculty in the development of
distributed learning courses. Mike Kozak moved approval of IRC representation from the
DLT; Ginny Anderson seconded and the motion passed.
Instruction Program Group
Jenny Jopling reported that the Instruction Program Group has met
with Jim Curry concerning his new classroom support services division. They are
working on a classroom access policy. They recommend that any request for renovation
or new construction of classrooms be routed through Jim Curry so that he is aware of all
construction activity in classrooms. Discussion followed, during which it was suggested
that Jenny visit with Ray McFarlane before any new procedure is started. Joneel
suggested that when classroom scheduling is concerned that David Kesterson be included
in the loop. Paul Dworak suggested that some sort of planning and reporting process
should be put in place, headed by Dr. Kesterson with information passed on to Jim Curry.
This seemed to be the consensus of the group.
CBT System Software
Jenny continued by bringing up the subject of the CBT System
Software contract, and deferred to Bill Buntain to discuss it. Bill explained that the AHE
contract was supposed to have been put in place by the end of November, but they
extended it for one month. It is to UNT's advantage to be included on the AHE contract
because it will give UNT a much larger number of titles to use, and will provide a large
savings in training costs. At the present time, the contract is being reviewed by the
University Attorney. Bill Buntain will be the point of contact for assistance in using these
training courses, and he will work with the Instruction Group on the details.
Communications Program Group
Bill also reported that the Communications Program Group would
meet and visit with GTE at their DFW Airport Technical Solutions Center for a
presentation of emerging communications technologies on December 18th. Bill expressed
a need for additional members for that program group and asked that the IRC Chair send
out a letter asking for nominations from the various academic areas' computing
committees. The Chair agreed to do that.
Bill also reported on the directory services initiative and stated that
he anticipates bringing a final report to the Council in January.
Standards & Cooperation Program Group
Paul Dworak reported for the Standards & Cooperation Program
Group that the procedure for the campus-wide workstation upgrade is in place and Jim
Curry has been contacting individual departments personally. The committee is looking at
the role of the program group and has decided to try to provide information centrally on
suites of applications that work together successfully on the various platforms. This was
proposed to the DCSMT and approved; Paul intends to present the idea to the LAN
managers, as well. They intend to develop a list of software site licenses available on
campus, as well as a list of frequently asked questions and their answers. Another idea
they had was to create a flow chart of Computing Center operations to facilitate
communication. They are open to doing whatever would be useful to the campus to
enhance cooperations and standards.
Research Program Group
Dennis Mueller reported for the Research Program Group that they
met and would like to recommend that the word "innovative" be removed from the title
of the Teaching With Technology Grants, so that those grants will not be confused with
the Innovative Projects grants, which were not funded.
Maurice Leatherbury explained that $250,000 was given to Teaching
With Technology grants this year, divided into two categories, with one category being
for distributed learning projects and the other category being open to any innovative
teaching project.
The Chair explained that a form was sent to the Provost, putting
forward the recommendation to fund Innovative Projects, and was returned to the IRC
with the response that Innovative Projects would be placed on the list of items to be
considered for funding.
The Chair stated that he and Maurice would discuss a way to correct
the communication.
Administrative Program Group
Joneel Harris reported that the Administrative Program Group met
and discussed the CBT Proposal and the desktop standards guidelines. She stated that
Financial Aid is interested in the authoring tool product that is offered by CBT Systems.
Joneel also commended Susan Pierce for her work on the Biennial Operating Plan.
Meeting Adjourned
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m.
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