Ad Hoc Technology Committee Meeting Minutes

Technology Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, April 30, 2009, 1:00 p.m. Cope Conference Room

Members Present: M. Gower, D. Robinson, A. Burks, B. Crabtree, T. Quinn, A. Tate, J. Burton, K. Smith, J. Gray, D. Sells, R. White, T. Quillin, D. Hong and L. Lea Ex Officio Members: W. Harris and M. Knox

1. The committee reviewed the minutes from the March 19, 2009, meeting and approved unanimously with one change to the adjournment time. 2. Updates from Department Representatives: 1. College of Education – The College currently has 21 master classrooms of which eight need equipment upgrades. The college predicted that they would need four more master classrooms to fill their needs and two plus master classroom carts. Education also has some software renewals that would be requested by TAF through both the master classroom and discipline specific categories. Other discipline specific items totaled approximately $230,000 for the college in the foreseeable future. 2. College of Basic and Applied Sciences – D. Hong referred to the email sent from the Chemistry chair regarding their need of discipline specific equipment. The statistics classroom lab proposals are important to the college. 3. College of Business – R. White commented on the staffing issues with the 24/7 computer lab and the maintenance issue on master classrooms. The College currently has 42 master classrooms. The college has few requests for discipline specific, but there is a concern regarding databases the college renews yearly. The college would like to look into Pod casting in the future and incorporate it into their MBA program. 4. College of Liberal Arts – T. Quillin said the college needs more master classrooms, but the college feels that master classroom upgrades should not have to compete with new master classroom renovations. He also said the college is not opposed to combining the discipline specific and master classroom categories together. 5. College of Mass Communications – B. Crabtree said the college is dependent on their discipline specific production facilities, but still needs technology in their classrooms. The fields of study in the college are technology intensive. The government has mandated that television be upgraded to digital by September making even more changes in these disciplines. 3. Motion to leave process and categories alone. 1. Discussion: Problems with the current process include: a. There is no category for the computing space in the new student union. Currently TAF funding is not available. The lab must be approved by the committee. b. Informal learning spaces are not included in any of the current categories. These types of spaces are becoming more popular and are included in the new Student Union and the College of Education Building. c. The regular maintenance and upkeep of master classrooms. Currently the department must submit a proposal and it is up to the department to prioritize their needs. The committee felt that the current system favors new classrooms versus upgrades to older ones and to let the R&R category fix/upgrade the older ones. Currently the intent of the R&R funds is not to upgrade master classrooms. d. The crossover between master classroom and discipline specific is becoming more blurred. 2. The College of Basic and Applied Sciences is concerned about combining the master classroom and discipline specific proposals into one category. 3. Motion failed with 12 nays and 1 abstaining to leave the process and categories alone. 4. K. Smith presented a sheet with items for the committee to discuss regarding the appropriateness for technology access fees funding (TAF). These items would start the discussion for the categories needed in the process. A. Infrastructure – Motion to include Infrastructure projects as a portion of funding through TAF. Motion passed unanimously. B. Emergency Repair and replacement - Motion to include emergency repair and replacement as a portion of funding through TAF passed unanimously. C. Scheduled replacement of student accessible workstations - Motion to include scheduled replacement of student accessible workstations as a portion of funding through TAF passed unanimously. D. Recurring costs –open computer labs - Motion to include the recurring costs of the open computer labs as a portion of funding through TAF passed unanimously. E. Recurring costs –Library databases - Motion to include the recurring costs for the Library databases workstations as a portion of funding through TAF passed unanimously. It was noted that these databases were for research and instruction on campus. F. Scheduled replacement of master classroom components - Motion to include the regular replacement of master classroom components to maintain the integrity of existing master classrooms. Discussion:  Items currently breaking are replaced through the emergency repair and replacement category.  The committee discussed having two categories, one for new master classrooms and one for upgrades to current master classrooms.  The committee discussed a yearly walk through of the master classrooms of each college and updating specific items that needed attention. It was explained that all items in a master classroom will not need to be replaced at the same time due to the use of each item in each different room.  The motion passed unanimously. G. Open student computer laboratories - this category would be for new proposals or upgrades to the existing computer labs on campus. Motion to include the open student computer laboratories as a portion of funding through TAF passed unanimously. H. Discipline specific equipment - Motion to include discipline specific equipment as a portion of funding through TAF passed unanimously. It was noted that this relieves the burden on the University to fund these items. I. Master Classrooms and other learning areas –  Motion to include new master classrooms as a portion of funding through TAF passed with 12 for and 1 abstaining. i. Discussion included the need for an updated list, all disciplines need access to master classrooms.  Motion to include technology based innovating learning spaces as a portion of funding through TAF passed unanimously. These requests would be included in the proposals the committee ranks each year. i. Discussion: Other learning areas are not open computer labs, master classrooms, or discipline specific items. The definition of an open computer lab could be modified to include these types of spaces. 5. The committee scheduled the next meeting for discussion of the changes to the TAF process for Monday, May 18, 2009, at 10:00 am in the Library conference room (LIB 475)

Meeting adjourned.