October 16, 2008
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Information Technology Committee

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Information Technology Committee (ITC) Minutes

September 11, 2008, 12:15pm-1:45pm, OM 304

Present: Rich Montague, Rona Gurkewitz, Lorraine Capobianco, Rebecca Woodward, Dan Goble, Kit Hinga, Ryan Shea, Fred Zarnowski, Edmund Breitling, Veronica Kenausis

Committee Membership

Lorraine thanked Hugh McCarney for representing Arts & Sciences during Mitch Wagener’s leave from the committee and welcomed Mitch back. Welcome to new member Edmund Breitling, SGA President.

ITC Meeting Schedule

Dan Goble will try to adjust his schedule with his students in order to attend the entire meeting. Lorraine suggested that we start the meeting at noon and asked the committee members if that would work for everyone. The committee members agreed to meet from 12:00pm to 1:30pm. The ITC will continue to meet on the second Thursday of the month in OM304. The next meeting will take place on Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 12:00 noon.

Start of the Semester

Lorraine asked the committee for feedback on the start of the semester processes/issues. Dan mentioned that course scheduling was a challenging and cumbersome process. Rich Montague mentioned that updated schedule information was not being entered into Banner by the Registrar’s office on a timely basis leading to inaccurate information being displayed on open/close. Was this because the Associate Registrar transferred to UC? Paul Prisco, Associate Registrar accepted the ERP/Academic Applications position in University Computing before the start of the semester. In this role, Paul will work with academic systems and new enhancements in Banner. Lorraine assured Provost Linda Rinker and Registrar Lourdes Cruz that Paul would complete the SP/09 schedule, help the office at the beginning of the semester, document processes and train other Registrar staff, and share the lead with the Registrar for Ad Astra Platinum implementation. The hiring freeze will not allow for a replacement for Paul. Rich also mentioned that there wasn’t enough time to get corrected schedules for SP/09 to the Dean. On the web, the registration schedule was available in pdf format with faculty names. Now you see “TBA.” Lorraine said she would speak to Provost Rinker and Bill Hawkins about these issues.

Rona Gurkewitz asked about last year’s ITC software requests. Lorraine will provide each technology committee chair and Veronica a list of last year’s software survey results by department for their respective schools. Through last year’s software survey, UC had hoped to gather two sets of information:  what software faculty/department currently use and what software faculty/department need to keep their discipline competitive in today’s marketplace. Lorraine assured the ITC that all urgent needs for software were addressed while survey information is being compiled.

Dan requested two new machines for the Midi Lab. Mitch requested that the technology in SB244 be upgraded. There are 10 pcs and 10 Macs and a printer in the lab. Dan requested technology for Sal Trapani, Theatre Arts once space is allocated. Lorraine said that Apple has offered an additional 10% discount off of the normal educational discount on iMacs. The Macs in the music lab and practice rooms and the Macs and pcs in SB244 will be upgraded. Additionally, the AppleCare will cover a 4-year period with this time-limited offer.    

On behalf of Hugh McCarney, Mitch requested to have the machines and software replaced in the Berkshire Video Editing classroom. In an email addressed to Lorraine, Hugh provided recommendations for both hardware and software. Lorraine will meet with faculty, Steve Veillette, Jason Esposito and Rebecca Woodward to put together a plan for the Berkshire Video Editing classroom.    

Lorraine sent an email to all users this morning about a Trojan/Virus email is circulating the Internet. It has a subject line like “UPS Tracking Number XXX” and has a zip attachment containing an executable. If you receive one of these emails, DO NOT open the attachment. Delete it immediately. Also, make sure that your anti-virus program is up to date and actively protecting your computer. If you already opened this email and your computer is already infected, please contact the help desk at 78467 for assistance. Lorraine asked the committee to inform faculty/staff.  

Rich suggested that Lorraine send an email to faculty reminding them to use their access code at the start of class and secure the room at the end of class. The incoming instructor should complete the same process and not enter the room without using their own code. Rich also mentioned that the tables in WS241 were taken out of formation and if this was done to suit to the purpose of the class or event, then another room should have used.

Lorraine discussed the hiring freeze declared by Governor Rell. Faculty positions were granted “exemption from hiring freeze.” ERP/Academic Applications Manager position and a vacant web developer position in UC were approved as “exemption from hiring freeze.” The interviews are scheduled for next week. Lorraine mentioned plans for the creation of the Academic Success Center for students and the plans for an Instructional Technology Center for faculty. Lorraine asked the school technology chairs to survey their committees for topics that they would like to see offered by the Instructional Technology Center.

Beginning Wednesday, August 27, all Macintosh computers on campus will automatically lock after 15 minutes of inactivity. You will need to enter your windows username and password to unlock the computer to resume use. The enforcement of this policy is required by system-wide security policies and brings the Macintosh computers in line with all other computers on campus.

Review of Summer Projects & Replacement Plan

Lorraine distributed and reviewed a list of summer projects to the ITC. The following is a summary of the accomplishments and approximate costs. 

				Approximate cost
WA 318 Psychology	30 desktops w 17” fpm			$25,500
WH 137 Nursing Lab	5 desktops w 17” fpm			$4,250
WS 219 Finance	30 laptops			$51,750
WH 301 Math	30 used laptops			$22,500
Founders Hall 205	25 laptops			$43,125
HI 114 HPX	Projector, HP, 17” fpm	Instr. Table, carpet	Sony DVD combo	$10,540
WS 208 tables				$10,000
MT & WS 24hr labs	18 used desktops			$9,000
MT & WS Comp Ctrs.	108 desktops w 17” fpm	Furniture		$103,800
MIS Security classroom	12 desktops 12 laptops	Tables, chairs	Servers, printers	$104,400
WSCC Computer Ctr (C4)	30 desktops w 17” fpm	Desks, chairs	Color and b/w laser prtrs	$58,100
Net Support School				$ 9,700
4 OpScan Scanners	@SB, WSCB, WA, WH			$20,500
13 New / upgrade servers				$99,205
VMWare Infrastructure				$16,298
Black/White and Color & HP4250 printer upgrades for labs				$16,900
OM Generator	UC balance after DPW			$100,000
Microsoft Campus Agreement				$152,125
Continue Wireless Implementation				$450,000
Total Summer 2008 Expenditure				$1,307,693

Wireless Update

Before the start of the semester, there were 8 buildings out of 22 left to complete wireless networking. Of those 8, 2 were being worked on and will be live shortly. All academic and ResHall buildings were complete by September 2, 2008. Administrative and ancillary buildings are left. The Science Building, Westside Campus Center, Westside Classroom building, Midtown Student Center, Warner Hall, Haas Library, Berkshire Hall, White Hall, Alumni Hall, Centennial Hall, Newbury Hall, Litchfield Hall, Pinney Hall and Grasso Hall are complete. Higgins and Fairfield Halls are being worked on for completion in early Fall. The following buildings need to be finished and/or started: Old Main (has hotspots on the 2nd and 3rd floor); University Hall (has hotspots in President’s Conference Room); O’Neill Center (has hotspots in Athletic Director’s office); Westside Athletic Complex; Observatory; and Boiler House.
Wireless printing is now available in the WS Campus Center Information Desk, Centennial Hall Lounge, Litchfield Hall Lounge, MT 24-hour lab (SC 214a), MTCC, Newbury Hall Lounge, Science Building 24-hour Lab (SB 127), STTC (SC 225), WS Campus Center Computer Center, WS 24-hour lab (WS 247c), and WSCC. To find out more about wireless areas are on campus go to http://www.wcsu.edu/technology/wireless/locations.asp 

C 4 – WS Campus Center Computer Center

As a result of requests by students for additional staffed computer centers, the C 4 was created. The ribbon cutting ceremony was September 10th. The C 4 has 28 new PC workstations, 1 24” iMac station, group workstation, 2 graphic stations with scanners, black/white and color laser printers, Wi-Fi and lounge area available for laptop users. For more information about the C4 go to
http://www.wcsu.edu/technology/c4-spotlight.asp or http://www.wcsu.edu/technology/techrooms/c4.asp

Machine Allocations and Desktop Funds

Lorraine asked the school technology chairs and Veronica to refrain from adding new machine allocations to their respective FY 05, 06, 08 Bond Money New and Used Machine Allocation Spreadsheet until Gail Walsh updates them. Lorraine distributed a document that lists current status on machine installations. Lorraine also provided that latest “Distribution of Desktop Funds FY0099 through FY0708” to the tech chairs and Veronica. Lorraine believes the FY09 equipment money for desktop and servers and technology in the classroom will be bonded and she will have move information later in the semester as the process continues.
Gail will email the July 2008 machine pricing spreadsheet to the school technology chairs and Veronica as a reference. Updated pricing will be provided as it is received.

PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PWC) and Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) Audits. Lorraine informed the ITC that WestConn’s four open audit issues with PWC are now closed. The APA software issue remains an open issue for all four universities. Among other regulations, the APA policy states that a physical inventory of all university-purchased software must be done which is not possible at this time.  

As of 6/20/08, in addition to being CIO at WestConn, Lorraine was appointed Interim CIO at SCSU by Chancellor Carter. Lorraine has been working 3 to 4 days per week at SCSU and the balance of her time at WestConn. The search committee for a permanent CIO at SCSU is actively pursuing a replacement. Lorraine hopes to return to WestConn shortly after the start of the semester. (UPDATE:  Lorraine’s Tenure at Southern ended September 19th and she has returned full time to WestConn)

ResponseCard Keypads (also known as clickers) – Update

Ron Drozenko, John Cronin and Steve Veillette are using clickers in their classrooms. To date, we have purchased 170 clickers (Turning Technologies Student Response System (SRS)) which is the hardware solution. The software solution will be looked at for possible future purchase for multistation classrooms. A SRS is a software and wireless hardware system that allows instructors/presenters to present questions via PowerPoint or Blackboard Vista and allows students/participants to submit a response using a ResponseCard keypad. Students will sign an on-loan form for the ResponseCard keypads and if it is not returned, a $35 charge will be put on their student account. The SRS will not interfere with the wireless technology at the university and can be used within 100 feet of placement of the receiver. If the clickers become popular, freshmen will buy them and use them for their stay at WestConn. That is how other universities have implemented this technology tool.

Next Meeting:  Thursday, October 9, 2008, 12:00noon to 1:30pm, OM304.

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March 13, 2008, 12:15pm-1:45pm, SC226

Present: Rich Montague, Hugh McCarney, Rona Gurkewitz, Lorraine Capobianco, Rebecca Woodward, Dan Goble, Michael Hebron. Guests: Jason Esposito, Stephen Veillette. Absent: Kit Hinga, Ryan Shea, Fred Zarnowski

Updates

Stephen Veillette provided a demo to the ITC and explained the benefits of using Citrix and how we will use it at WestConn. Citrix gives us the ability to offer software applications from any web browser for PC and Mac users. When logged into Citrix, less powerful computers can function at the same level of more powerful computers and various software can be accessed anywhere via the internet while honoring the software licensing agreement. Even though it is live, Steve is currently working on the web interface. Users will continue to use WestConn Remote Access for accessing their documents on the university’s file servers.  When using an application via Citrix, users will be able to access their documents on the file servers as if they were on campus (e.g. they can access files via H: and K: drives). The ITC discussed how Citrix can be potentially used in their schools. Veronica Kenausis asked how will we determine who has access to software. Lorraine said that most software offered in the student computer centers will be accessible to all users. Lorraine also mentioned that one of the reasons the Software Survey was conducted was to identify software. Only specialized software will have selective users and we will be able to limit access via Citrix. 

Jason Esposito provided a demo of Turning Technologies Student Response System (SRS) that was purchased for classrooms, orientation, etc. To date, we purchased the hardware solution. The software solution will be looked at for purchase for multistation classrooms. A SRS is a software and wireless hardware system that allows instructors/presenters to present questions via PowerPoint or Blackboard Vista and allows students/participants to submit a response using a ResponseCard keypad. One-hundred thirty-five ResponseCard keypads were purchased for pilots in technology classrooms. Students will sign an on-loan form for the ResponseCard keypads and if it is not returned, a $35 charge will be put on their student account. The SRS will not interfere with the wireless technology at the university and can be used within 100 feet of placement of the receiver. Lorraine discussed possibly using the SRS during orientation to collect feedback from participants. John Cronin and Ron Drozenko will pilot the SRS this semester. If the SRS becomes popular, freshmen will buy them and use them for their stay at WestConn.

Emergency Notification Services

MIR3 was awarded the contract for the emergency notification system for CSU for emergencies and weather alert. MIR3, a San Diego-based company that is well respected within the field, currently provides emergency notification services at colleges and universities across the country. The MIR system has the flexibility to generate alerts in almost any format i.e. voice, e-mail, text messages, SMS messages, and send them to any type of device including cell phone, PDA, telephone, computer, pager, fax, TTD/TTY. In addition to being flexible, the system has a user friendly interface for both message recipients and administrators. The Council of Presidents decided that the emergency notification system will include required opt-in with reminders for students, faculty and staff; weather-related notification; a separate field for parent/significant others contacts; installation of sirens at Midtown and Westside. Mike Lynch was very involved in the creation of the RFP through the award and will be WestConn’s lead.

The implementation team for WestConn is as follows: Michael Lynch, Paul Steinmetz, Lorraine Capobianco, Walter Bernstein, Neil McLaughlin, Charles Spiridon, and Roger Connor. The team will be responsible for tailoring the system to meet WestConn’s needs as well as engaging the user community, including students, faculty and staff. The system will be live for Fall 2008. 

WCSU – Laptop Policy

Lorraine distributed the final WCSU laptop policy which is located at http://www.wcsu.edu/technology/wcsu_laptop_policy_0208.pdf
Lorraine asked members to assist in raising awareness of laptop security along with securing our classrooms amongst students, faculty and staff. If a faculty/staff member cannot locate a laptop or another piece of technology and suspects that it may be stolen, they are being asked to notify UC (University Computing) as soon as possible. Please do not wait until you are sure something is stolen. The tracking process can start immediately and the location of the laptop may be identified by UC with software/hardware procedures already in place. Lorraine also asked the ITC members to again raise faculty’s awareness to shut/lock technology classroom doors and offices where technology is located. Lorraine asked if you walk by an area with technology that is not secured, please secure it if possible. If you cannot secure the area, please call the UC Help Desk at 78467 and we will secure it. UC staff routinely close and lock doors.

Next Meeting – Thursday, May 8, 2008 and possibly Thursday, May 15th in Student Center 226, 12:15-1:45pm.

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February 14, 2008, 12:30pm-2pm, OM 304

Present: Rich Montague, Hugh McCarney, Kit Hinga, Rona Gurkewitz, Lorraine Capobianco, Fred Zarnowski, Rebecca Woodward, Dan Goble, Ryan Shea, Michael Hebron

Verification of School Technology Committees Members

Please recall that ITC membership, rosters for school committees, bylaws, agendas, calendar and minutes can be found at www.wcsu.edu/committees/  Lorraine distributed the rosters for the school technology committees. The school technology chairs reviewed the lists and confirmed the memberships. No changes were made.  

ITC Representation on the Strategic Plan Implementation Team for Facilities

Beth Amyot, Chair of the Strategic Plan Implementation Team for Facilities requested a representative from the ITC serve on this team.  Lorraine asked faculty at the meeting to let her know if they would like to represent the ITC. Otherwise, Lorraine will be the ITC representative. To date, Lorraine is the representative.

Announcements/Updates  

The WS116 renovation was successfully completed over the intersession. Lorraine noted that all parties involved in the renovation stayed on the schedule created by Dan Costello, Associate VP for Facilities.  Lorraine would like to thank Gene Tosetti, Andy Jurgens, Karl Faulkner, Bob Jasinski, Frank Conte, Nedeljko Mikac, and all Maintenance staff who worked on the project for all their efforts. Lorraine believes that everyone is pleased with the WS116 renovations. The ITC members agreed that the Bose subwoofer should be mounted and the VCR/DVD combo unit would be better placed on the right side of the instructor station desk. UC (University Computing) and Media Services will address these suggestions. The projection for WS127 and the Ives Concert Hall will be completed during spring break. The plan for the MIS Information Security Lab has been finalized. Planning and Engineering must complete the design. The project should be completed by mid-June. The Westside Computer Center (WSCC) will receive a new row of 7 student computer stations. UC purchased Hewlett Packard small form factor desktops for these stations. We want to see how they compare to the Lenovo workstations. Wireless printing in residence halls is now available in Centennial, Litchfield, and Newbury Halls. The order for the tables for WS208 classroom is ready to be placed. Preventative maintenance contracts and if available, extended warranties have been purchased for two SimMan and one SimKid computerized manikins at Midtown and one SimMan at Waterbury.  Adobe Creative Suite 3 Professional has been ordered for WH305.  The ITC expressed concern about the process that Human Resources used for deploying security training. Some of faculty and staff thought it was spam and deleted the email. Others did not know who Lanier C was and others did not appreciate the mandate to complete the exercise by March 14, 2008. There was also confusion on whether one course or all red asterisk courses needed to be completed by March 14, 2008. Lorraine agreed that an email should have gone out first explaining the process and intent of the training. Lorraine said that Muhammad Ismail, our Network Security Specialist contributed to the content and stated that the purpose of the training is to raise awareness of various aspects of information security.

Outlook/Exchange 2007 is now live at the university. Jeff Postolowski and Patricia O’Neill, who were instrumental in the implementation, are currently using it. All University Computing will migrate from Lotus Notes to Exchange over the next few weeks. We will be testing the migration tools to migrate email/calendar events from Lotus Notes to Exchange. So far it is going well. Outlook 2007 is the email client for PCs and Entourage 2008 is the Mac email client. Exchange 2007 is the backend or server platform. Outlook Web Access (OWA) is the web version for both the PC and Mac. Lorraine noted that Office Mac 2008 was just released. The university will also move from using BlackBerry devices to window-based smartphones. During the months of March, April and May, UC will work to move faculty and staff to Outlook/Exchange. We will migrate existing email and calendar events to Exchange. Lorraine noted that training for faculty on Outlook will be offered before they leave for the summer.

CSU has signed a contract with Microsoft Live@Edu to host email for students. More details will follow. Students will move to Live@Edu over the summer and fall/2008. Email/calendar entries will not be migrated to Exchange.
  
The State Bond Commission approved the allocation of funds for Connecticut State University System capital projects and programs for FY08. Four million was bonded for the purchase of new and replacement equipment which includes Desktop Computing and Technology in the Classroom money.  Of that money, we will receive 80%.  Twenty-percent will go into the 2020 initiative. Western will receive $625,000 for improvements to academic buildings and $365,000 for auxiliary service minor capital projects program.  There will be no equipment money for FY07. Again, the FY07 money goes into the 2020 initiative. Moving forward, Lorraine asked the technology chairs and Veronica Kenausis to gather requests for machines from faculty and to focus on replacing machines that are 3+ years and older. Lorraine discussed the technology needs for Media Services with Rebecca Woodward.  Media Services at MT will receive a desktop computer and laser printer; Media Services at Westside will receive a desktop computer.  Media Services will also try a Tablet computer at MT. Kit Hinga asked what the plan is for technology for new faculty. Lorraine said that UC will pay for the machines for 15 new faculty lines/positions.  Lorraine will talk to Provost Rinker to find out as soon as possible what faculty the university plans to hire so we can plan for their technology needs. Kit asked what information she should be asking faculty who want machines. Staying within the standard technology we offer, faculty should request a desktop/laptop, pc/Mac, printer. The headcounts will be finalized based on fall 2007 faculty lists from Human Resources. Gail Walsh will send the headcounts to the school technology chairs and Veronica for review and approval.

Next Meeting – Thursday, March 13, 2008, STUDENT CENTER 226, 12:15-1:45pm 

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November 8, 2007, 12:30pm-2pm, OM 304

Present: Rich Montague, Hugh McCarney, Kit Hinga, Rona Gurkewitz, Lorraine Capobianco, Fred Zarnowski, Veronica Kenausis, Rebecca Woodward, Ryan Shea, Michael Hebron

Announcements/Updates  

Hugh McCarney noticed that the Academic Planning Calendar had the “First Day of Classes” but not the “Last Day of Classes.” Lorraine said there is a web team that works on the website and suggestions can be submitted to Paul Steinmetz or Steve Veillette. Academic Affairs maintains the calendar and will be asked to add the last day of classes. Rona Gurkewitz wanted to know if there were directions on the website on how to have an announcement posted in WestConnduit.  Lorraine said she didn’t think so but it was a good suggestion. Lorraine mentioned that the IT Strategic Functional Committee, which is a subcommittee of the University Strategic Planning Committee, is discussing what communication mechanisms the university will use in the future. In the meantime, Lorraine will see where we can add directions on the Website.

Lorraine discussed projects that are slated to be done over the intersession.  WS116 will be totally renovated. The room will receive new carpeting, a new ceiling, recessed indirect lighting, new power poles and telecom, 2 projectors, 2 electric screens, new tables and chairs. The computers are new.  The glass showcase will be removed from the back of the room and the wall at the front of the room will be renovated so that it is one even plane.  Rona mentioned that it is difficult to see what students are doing while standing at the instructor’s station. Lorraine provided a list of suggestions for Rona to address this issue.  Additionally, the new student station desks will be bi-level and the instructor station will be high like other instructor stations in the building.  The monitor will sit on the lower level.  The bi-level tables are in Hi210 and Lorraine suggested that Rona visit Hi210.  In order to start the renovation during exam week, Lorraine will contact Paul Prisco to find out who is using WS116 during exam week and try to find alternate classrooms. The timeframe is tight but we will make it work and the end result will be worth the wait.

Work on the MIS Security Lab will start in January 08.  The goal is now to complete the room by the end of June 08. Four faculty offices will be created on the right side of the area and the lab will be on the left side. Rona asked if the lab will be for Computer Science also.  Lorraine said she has not been given any information that the lab is for CS also CS should approach MIS if they wish to collaborate in the future. The projection for the WH325b Social Sciences lab will be complete ASAP. We are waiting for a few parts for the mounting bracket.   

Lorraine informed the ITC that Newbury Hall and Litchfield Hall are now wireless, as well as the remaining areas in the Student Center and Warner Hall. A site survey will be done on Grasso and Pinney with a goal of completion by the end of January 08.  Fairfield Hall will be wireless when the renovation is complete or soon after. This will depend on the contractors allowing us to enter Fairfield Hall during construction. 

Current Base Software Survey - http://survey.wcsu.edu/net/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=m2KH752

Lorraine distributed to each school and the library copies of the requests that were submitted by faculty in their school/area along with which faculty did and did not answer the survey. Lorraine will send out an email to the faculty who did not respond saying it is very important that they participate.  Faculty need to complete the survey to at least inform UC (University Computing) what software they are using. It is ok if they do not have new software that they need. Hugh McCarney requested a copy of the ITC software that was requested the last two years. Gail Walsh will send Hugh the spreadsheets. Lorraine mentioned that Select Survey software is available to faculty and staff to conduct their own surveys. To request the use of the survey software, an email needs to be sent to Request University Computing.

Security

Lorraine distributed a draft of the policy on laptop security to the ITC for their comments. Lorraine explained that the essence of the second paragraph cannot be changed because it was reviewed by the Assistant Attorney General’s office. But we do have some flexibility to make changes to the first paragraph. The committee agreed that even though student grades and DEC evaluations are not Class A Data, they should be added to the list of sensitive data not be stored on portable media. Lorraine will revise the draft, and share it with the committee. Along with the laptop policy, all laptop users will have to bring their laptops in so that UC can check for updates, barcode, serial numbers, etc., and have individual re-sign the on-loan form. Laptops are also going to be required to be put on the WestConn network every 1-2 months. Details of how often and how long are still being worked out and once settled, Lorraine will inform the ITC.

Auditors of Public Accounts (APA) and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Audits

PWC was here last week conducting an audit for the period 1/1/07 through 9/30/07. The audit included a review of documentation to see if we follow our processes when change occurs e.g., access rights when a person is hired, retires, transfers, security policy change. The APA audit issue that UC needs to address is regarding an annual software inventory, and the tracking of all software. Lorraine and all of the CIOs support the need to install and use freeware for faculty. 

Next Meeting - December 13, 2007, OM304, 12:30-2pm 

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October 11, 2007, 12:30pm-2pm, OM304

Present: Rich Montague, Hugh McCarney, Kit Hinga, Dan Goble, Rona Gurkewitz, Lorraine Capobianco, Fred Zarnowski, Veronica Kenausis, Rebecca Woodward, Ryan Shea, Michael Hebron

Greetings and Introductions:

The committee welcomed the new members and introduced themselves. Ryan Shea, MIS student representative and Michael Hebron, SGA representative were appointed to the ITC. Minutes from the last academic year will be sent to Ryan and Michael.  This year’s minutes are available at www.wcsu.edu/committees, itc committee. Lorraine shared with the committee past accomplishments that were based on student and faculty input. Improvements to the new technology website were a direct result of input.

New Technology Website – www.wcsu.edu/technology

The new technology website was projected for discussion. Lorraine highlighted the significant changes for the committee and asked for their feedback on how to improve it further. Lorraine also asked the ITC members to talk to their schools and areas for feedback on the IT website. How can we make information easier to find. Suggestions/recommendations gathered at the meeting included the following.  Place the software survey link ttp://survey.wcsu.edu/net/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=m2KH752 on the technology website page; put updates on Active Directory in the “Tech in the Spotlight” box; use “Tech in the Spotlight” for upcoming changes in technology at the university; put technology classroom help sheets on the IT website; list speakers on the technology room grid. Some faculty are having trouble operating the new speakers in the technology classrooms. Ryan Shea suggested sending the directions for the new speakers to all faculty. Lorraine noted that UC will review each technology classroom and make them as consistent as possible. It was noted that individuals, clubs, and groups can request a webpage on WestConn’s website by sending an email to Request University Computing. It was recommended that the availability of webpages be highlighted on the IT website. Lorraine wants to further develop the IT Help Desk part of the technology website. Additional recommendations/suggestions can be emailed to Gail Walsh, walshg@wcsu.edu.

Rich Montague asked if the plan was to implement Active Directory department by department.  Lorraine will get a list of departments that have been moved to Active Directory for the minutes. She stated that the goal is to have all faculty completed by the beginning of December 2007 and everyone else by the first of January 2008. Mike Hebron suggested that signs be put in the labs encouraging students to obtain their W-WCSU-LOCAL account. Rona Gurkewitz noted that when students sign on to the local domain for the first time, it takes awhile to get to their H drive. For students that move to W-WCSU-LOCAL from the WCSU_USER domain, they may experience a lag of up to 30 minutes for migrating their H drive. At some point UC will post signs that force a migration to the active directory accounts. As of now, the default domain for the Clean Access login box is set to WCSU_USER. Students have to manually drop-down to W-WCSU-LOCAL. Lorraine will give more information as it is available.

Lorraine offered to attend an open session with the SGA to talk about technology; questions, concerns, etc.  

University Computing Annual Report – IT Goals for 2007/08

Lorraine distributed the IT Goals for 2007/08 from the University Computing Information Technology Annual Report 2006-2007 to the ITC.

IT Goals for 2007/08

Identify IT projects and priorities to support WestConn’s Strategic Plan:
actively participate in the IT Strategic Functional Team;
act as the liaison between the  IT Strategic Functional Team and the ITC;
work with the President and Vice-Presidents to integrate and prioritize the projects identified by the IT Strategic Functional Team with the other projects identified by senior management.

Maintain a robust and flexible IT infrastructure:
continue to identify and address “at-risk” issues;
investigate new technologies;
research and implement best practices for an academic environment;
address audit concerns.

Manage within University Computing budgets, always looking for ways to decrease costs and seek out efficiencies:
purchase servers, computers, projectors, toner, cables, etc. in bulk;
collaborate, when appropriate, with sister universities and system office to bundle purchases and write RFPs so that they can be used by all agencies;
explore with career development the establishment of student internships;
continue researching and implementing virtualization;
explore the use of open source software;
keep instructional technologist position vacant for FY08.

Maintain excellent customer service to students, faculty, and staff:
deliver more web-based self-service applications to students, faculty and staff so they can receive identified services from on or off campus;
continue to formalize policies and procedures and make them available on our website; 
enhance user support tools and resources;
deliver training workshops to students, faculty, and staff;
provide, as appropriate, infrastructure support to academic departments so that faculty can spend more time on teaching and learning.

Continue to work with the Information Technology Committee (ITC) to “Deliver a    World of Technology”:
expand the ITC replacement plan to include projection and create a preventive maintenance plan for projection;
maintain and implement the replacement plan;
upgrade desktop computers, printers, scanners, etc. for faculty and staff ;
act as the University’s eyes and ears to foster communication, input, and feedback;
recommend new technologies and encourage the use of instructional technology;
continue to implement wireless access until full coverage is achieved at both MT and WS.

Provide an Information Technology environment that will build and retain a strong University Computing team:
keep staff motivated and challenged;
work with Human Resources to provide an upward mobility path for staff;
continue to improve communication and customer service within the department;
set realistic individual goals and assist staff in achieving their goals;
fill four vacant full time UC positions.

Improve the IT assessment process:
survey students and faculty on various technology initiatives;
participate in Educause surveys;
establish, with the help of the ITC and Institutional Research and Assessment, a formal IT assessment tool.

Collaborate on system-wide initiatives while representing the needs of our university:
WebCT Vista;
Banner 8 upgrade;
Security Policies and Procedures;
Security Standards Team next steps;
Banner Information Asset Inventory and Risk Assessment Worksheet next steps;
Continue Information Asset Inventory and Risk Assessment for other systems;
Banner Server/Architecture/Manager Groups;
Tk20 Professional Software (act as technical consultants for sister universities);
Email Standardization Team;
WAN Optical Network implementation;
SWAT (Banner Managers);
DBA Team;
CIT;
Others, as appropriate.

Lorraine asked the committee to share the goals with their respective schools. Are we missing any goals or subgoals? Are some listed not relevant?

Current Base Software Survey - http://survey.wcsu.edu/net/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=m2KH752

Lorraine shared with the ITC the requests for software submitted to date. The committee will review all the requests at the December meeting. The target date for all the software to be installed by is Fall 2008. It was recommended to Lorraine that a reminder be sent to all faculty or place a reminder on the IT website in addition to putting the link on the IT webpage. Lorraine also asked for feedback on the directions for the survey. 

Security

As a result of four stolen university laptops, Lorraine discussed the need to tighten security of university technology and sensitive data (Class A). A campaign on security will be implemented to educate the university community. Laptops will be “recalled” in an organized fashion to update security patches and software and for users to sign a responsibility policy and guidelines. A list of the different types of Class A Data was distributed to the ITC. The list is as follows Social Security Number; Tax ID (TIN, EIN); State Employee ID; PIN (Personal Identity Number); Driver’s License Number; Bank Account/Routing Number; Credit Card Number; Date of Birth; Student/Parent salary information; International documents (Visa, etc). People who receive laptops will have to agree not to put Class A Data on hard drives. Lorraine also noted that if Class A Data is placed on USB drives, they will have to be password protected.  For those who have a BlackBerry, a password must be put on them. Additionally, the university will work to put access control on all classrooms and routinely monitor access.

Other Additional Agenda Items

Lorraine advised the ITC that she met with the VPs to review their IT priorities as well as system-wide, infrastructure and CIO projects.  

FY0607 and FY0708 equipment monies have not been bonded.

ITC Meeting Schedule for Fall 2007

The remaining meeting dates for Fall 2007 are November 8th and December 13th.

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September 13, 2007, 12:30pm-2pm, OM304

Present: Rich Montague, Hugh McCarney, Lorraine Capobianco, Fred Zarnowski, Veronica Kenausis, Rona Gurkewitz, Kit Hinga, Dan Goble, Rebecca Woodward, Kit Hinga. Guest: Steve Veillette

Greetings and Introductions:

Lorraine welcomed the ITC members at the opening meeting. Hugh McCarney has resumed his role as the Arts & Sciences School Technology Chair as a result of Mitch Wagener becoming the Biology Department Chair. Kit Hinga joined the ITC in the official role of the School of Professional Studies Technology Chair.  Dan Goble is now officially the School of Visual Arts Technology Chair. Imran Qazi, SGA President was asked to appointment student representatives.  Imran spoke to Lorraine and said he would discuss this issue at the next SGA meeting.  In the meantime, the agenda and minutes will be emailed to Imran and he may attend the October meeting.

Fall 2007 Opening Comments

Lorraine asked the ITC for feedback on the start of school. Richard Montague asked when WS127 will have projection. Rich noted that when Jody Rajcula teaches in WS127, she needs a temporary projection set up from UC (University Computing). This arrangement will continue until the room is completed. The projection for WS127 as well as the Ives Concert Hall will be done by an outside contractor. The pricing for the Ives Concert Hall was high and UC is working with Laura Tittemore to do the area in stages. Rona Gurkewitz noted that the remote for the projector in WS116 doesn’t work. It will be looked at. Rona requested Eclipse and TextPad software applications for WS116. Steve Veillette will get pricing for the software and it will be ordered.  Rona pointed out that there are no floppy disk drives in the new desktops in WS116. Lorraine said that floppy drives are not available on new computers. Rich suggested that Lorraine send an email to all faculty and staff notifying them that as we replace computers at the university, they will not have floppy diskette drives. Rich also suggested that Lorraine provide simple, economical alternatives to saving data on floppy diskettes for students, faculty, and staff in the email. Jump drives are an economical alternative. Rona suggested that a network drive be created for students to save their homework. Lorraine said that students can save documents on their H drive. The N drive is a shared drive for faculty and students. Veronica Kenausis asked if faculty have to request access to the N drive. Lorraine said she would review the policy. Kit Hinga noted that the network drives provide an affordable, easy solution for students to save their work. Dan Goble noted that the license for Pyeware Ware will expire soon. Dan praised University Computing staff again in doing a great job of setting up new faculty with their technology at the start of the semester. Veronica Kenausis noted that students like using wireless laptops, available for loan in the Library.  As a direct result of having wireless connectivity, students are asking for wireless printing capability. Lorraine said that wireless printing will be available in approximately a month. Rebecca Woodward noted that Media Services is phasing out support for 35mm slide projectors. Rebecca said replacement parts for 35mm slide projectors are too difficult to find and the projectors themselves are no longer available to purchase. Support will continue through this academic year. As an alternative, Media Services will offer assistance to faculty to scan and save images. 

New Technology Website- www.wcsu.edu/technology

Lorraine showed the ITC members the new and enhanced technology website at the meeting. Many of the changes were the direct result of feedback UC received from the university community. The Faculty/Staff Technology Guide; Student Technology Guide and other documents located on the website were distributed to the ITC members for their review and feedback. The ITC members were asked to save and review the documents for further discussion at the October 11, 2007 meeting. Lorraine would like to hear what other enhancements the ITC would like to see added to the technology website. Two initial suggestions were made. Faculty would like it to be easier to find “Open/Close”.  Rich Montague suggested that the ITC agendas and minutes be posted on the technology website.

University Computing Annual Report

Lorraine distributed the University Computing Information Technology Annual Report 2006-2007 to the ITC and asked them to spread the word on what has been done. The committee can review the report in more detail at the October ITC meeting. The UC IT Annual Report FY0607 is available at http://www.wcsu.edu/technology/annualreport . Lorraine asked Rebecca and Veronica to email their respective annual reports to her. The Media Services annual report is available at here. The Library Systems annual report is available here .

FY0607 ITC Software Install Status

The status report was distributed to the committee. Just about everything was distributed.

Technology Update

The attached Technology Update – September 2007 document was distributed to the ITC.  Lorraine discussed in detail the accomplishments attained over the summer and the projects that are currently underway. 

The FY0405 & FY0506 Bond Money NEW & USED MACHINE Allocation Spreadsheets were distributed to the school technology chairs and Veronica.  All new faculty have been received their technology and UC will continue to complete open installs. Lorraine asked the school technology chairs to continue to inform UC of priority installs.

Lorraine noted that bi-level tables were installed in Hi210 for student stations. The level of the front top panel is lower than the back top panel. The student’s view of the front of the room is less obstructed. Lorraine invited the ITC members to look at the tables and provide Lorraine with feedback. WS116 will be done with these tables.  With regards to technology classroom instructor stations, Lorraine said that UC will go back to all the technology classrooms to insure that there is a laptop connection for faculty who want to connect their laptop.  The instructor station desktop is for connecting to the internet and shared drives. The laptop can be used as another computer that connects to the projector only. It will not be on our network so only local resources can be displayed on the projector.  Rebecca said the 37 VCRs will be replaced with VCR/DVD combo units by the end of the Fall 2007 semester.  Rebecca asked for feedback from the ITC on rooms that should be given priority.

The 8/31/07 Bond Commission Meeting was again cancelled.  To date, equipment monies for FY0607 and FY0708 have not been bonded. Therefore, we are slowly using up the FY0506 bond monies. Lorraine mentioned that because we do not know when more equipment monies will be available, we need to upgrade or replace computers and peripherals in an “emergency or critical” situation.  

Current Base Software Demo and FY0708 $20k and $7k ITC Software

Steve Veillette provided a demo of the “Current Base Software” Survey that will be used to collect data from faculty.  Dan Goble asked if the $20k and $7k funds for ITC software will be available this year.  Lorraine said that the ITC will review the results from faculty to determine what software will be purchased.  The goal is to have 100% funding. Lorraine also said that she is committed to funding the software requests that faculty identify as essential to make or keep their academic disciplines competitive in the marketplace. An email will go out soon to all faculty with the URL, survey directions, due dates and final commitments to purchase and install. Please spread the work so that we have 100% response from academic departments.

Other Items and Future Agenda Items

Lorraine suggested that the ITC might want to ask faculty for proposals for new technology they want to pilot and integrate into their curriculum. Last year, UC funded robots for the Computer Science Department. Ruth Guyre is using podcasting and UC is in the process of arranging a demo for student response hardware and software for interested faculty. Nursing wants to use PDAs when they go into the hospitals. The library digitized audio for the Music Department. Lorraine mentioned that Dr. Rinker and the other provosts and the system office are purchasing E-tutoring service from CTDLC. UC is also looking into blogging software as well as e-portfolio software or web-based e-portfolios. The Distance Ed subcommittee of the University Senate also looked into e-portfolios and wrote a report.

Lorraine distributed two documents to the committee, eLearning Platform Study Project and Connecticut to Get New Laptop Security Rules.  Fred Zarnowski will provide a list of Information Security classes in Banner data that was developed by a system-wide security group. Rich Parmalee and Muhammad Ismail represented WestConn. Lorraine mentioned that she receives many electronic newsletters and will forward them to the ITC. 

School Technology Committees

Lorraine will attend the 9/26/07 Ancell Instructional Resource Committee (AIRC) meeting at 2:30pm in WS241.The 0708 AIRC Committee members are Richard Montague, MIS and AIRC Chair; Emilio Collar, MIS; Duane Moser, ACC; Sara DeLoughy, FIN; Anthony Markert, JLA; Stan Bazan, MGT; Arlene Kreinik, MGT; Ron Drozdenko, MKT.

Lorraine will attend the Arts and Sciences (A&S) School Technology Committee meeting on 10/1/07 at 2:30pm in SB281. The A&S Technology Committee members are Hugh McCarney, Communication, and A&S School Technology Chair; Kate Allocco, History; Galina Bakhtiarova, World Languages & Literature; John Briggs, English; Bill Joel, Computer Science; Rondell Khoo, Psychology; Maureen Maguire, English; Zuohong Pan, Social Sciences; Chuck Rocca, Math; Paula Secondo, Chemistry; Linda Vaden-Goad, Dean, A&S; Mitch Wagener, Biology.

School of Professional Studies (SPS) Technology Committee members are Kit Hinga, Social Work; SPS Technology Chair; John Caruso, Education; Laurel Halloran, Nursing; Jeffrey Schlicht, HPX. Kit will let Lorraine know when a date has been set for the meeting.

School of Visual & Performing Arts (SVPA) Technology Committee members are Dan Goble, Music, SVPA Technology Chair; Sal Trapani, Theater Arts; Terry Wells, Art. Dan will let Lorraine know when a date has been set for the meeting.

Lorraine would like to review the following issues at each school’s technology committee meeting.

1. Role of the school technology committee and role of each department IT representative
2. School Technology Committee rosters are on the IT website
3. How departments and school chairs work with their school IT representatives with regard to ordering faculty IT hardware and software and approximate deadline dates
4. Role of the university-wide ITC in relationship to the school IT committees
5. Enhance the technology website in reference to the ITC
6. Procedures for faculty with regard to returning their computers, etc. upon their retirement or leaving WestConn
7. All technology purchases must first be submitted to the CIO regardless of the funding source (department, desktop money, etc.)
8. New laptop polices

ITC Meeting Schedule for Fall 2007

The ITC will meet on the second Thursday of each month from 12:30pm-2:00pm in OM304.  The dates for Fall 2007 are October 11th, November 8th, December 13th.