Information Technology Committee
Minutes
April 26, 1999
Present: Alison Baker, Lowell Ballard, Arnold Bradford, Doug Bracey for Barbara Wyles, Tom Butler, Gen Chu, Sue Hintz, Gail Kettlewell, Robert McGrory, Neil Reynolds, Dan Riley, Steven Sachs (chair), Judd Sage, John Sener, Lionel Sylvas, Charlotte Wilhelmi   Absent: Max Bassett, Nancy Gleeson,   Guests: Cathy Simpson
  1. Minutes Approved

    2. Minutes of the March 22, 1999, ITC Meeting were approved.
     

  2. Home Use of Software

    3. Mr. Ballard and Dr. Sachs gave an overview of the Microsoft license agreement that will allow faculty and staff to use College purchased software on home computers. The ITC members voted to approve home use of college purchased software as allowed by the licenses. TSS is to work with the LRC Directors to make the software available. The plan is to produce CD ROMS with the Microsoft software and other useful software that allows distribution to faculty. It will be available for checkout through the LRCs sometime during the Summer.
     

  3. Approval to Use Excess Technology Plan Funds to Purchase PCs

    4. Dr. Sachs requested ITC approval to use unspent 1998-99 Technology Plan funds to purchase PCs. These PCs will be distributed according to the final 1999-2000 Technology Plan. Purchasing them at this time will make 1999-2000 funds available for other uses. The ITC approved this request. Final distribution will be determined when the Technology Plan is approved.
     

  4. Cabling Plan and Upgrades

    5. A discussion was held concerning who was responsible for the cost of new cabling on the campuses. In the past, the ITC decided that additional cabling or relocation of cabling would be a campus expense. Concern was expressed during the meeting about the cost of cabling for new employees or additional student computers required by the Technology Plan. A motion was made to establish a centralized cabling account for each campus, college staff and ELI. The motion passed. This item will be included in the 1999-2000 Technology Plan.
     

  5. Web Page Steering Committee

    6. A discussion of the membership and name of the Web Page Steering Committee was held. This is the Committee that oversees issues related to the official College web site and top level pages. A motion was made and approved to change the name of the committee to The College Web Site Committee. It was felt this more accurately described its function. A motion was made and approved to change the membership as follows: add a representative of the LRC Working Group, add the Webmaster, replace the Associate Dean of Information Technology with a representative of the Dean of Information Technology, and replace Mrs. Wilhelmi with a representative of Marketing and Public Affairs. It was suggested that the College TLTR appoint the faculty member of the Committee instead of the College Senate. This motion was tabled pending official approval of the College TLTR by Administrative Council. Dr. Sachs will arrange to have the appropriate members appointed for 1999-2000.
     

  6. ITC Membership

    7. Membership on the ITC was discussed. Several groups had requested representation, and the overall make-up of the ITC had not been reviewed since it was originally established. The issue was tabled after a good discussion.
     

  7. Training

    8. Mr. McGrory reported that the basic campus technology training was winding down, but four of the five campuses had requested additional sessions. The contract with CSS&T includes upgrades to Microsoft Office. The Technical Applications Center continues to provide upper level training. Technical staff training is on-going in NT Security, SMS, CISCO and Proxy Server. Each campus will be sending staff to each course.
     

  8. TSS Update
  1. Mr. Ballard reported that the Virus Software Update had been sent out to everyone with instructions to make the update process automatic.
  2. Within the next 2-3 months, a complete inventory of all PC's Y2K readiness will be done through the automated SMS software.
  3. Voice mail has been installed and will be implemented soon. This is a basic system. The fully featured version is due out later this year. It will take a month or two to fully implement the voice mail on all campuses and for College staff.
  4. On-line forms and digital signatures are being implemented. The digital signatures will make it possible to eliminate printing the forms just to allow official signatures. The digital signatures require purchasing full versions of Adobe Acrobat software. Therefore, only those with actual signature authority will receive copies.
  5. Recent e-mail system crashes have been the result of the server running out of space. The solution is to have users implement auto-archiving of their email. This process automatically transfers older mail from the server to the user's PC for storage. This frees up space on the server. TSS will be sending out instructions in the near future.
  1. Office of Information Technology Updates
  1. It is time for all faculty to test their on-line grade passwords. Problems should be reported to the IT Help Desk.
  2. Work is continuing on the 1999-2000 Technology Plan. It will be sent to ITC members prior to the June meeting so it can be finalized for submission to the VCCS by July 1.
  3. The College SIS has been upgraded to accommodate Y2K issues. The renovated version will be installed the weekend of May 1.
  4. Staff is investigating a offer by a vendor to provide students with free voice mail and email. Students can get the voice mail to read them their email if they do not have a computer at home.
  5. Cathy Simpson reported on the upgrade to the Compressed Video System that will be made over the Summer. She also reported that Pat Hunt was leaving to take a new position in Missouri.
  6. Cathy Simpson also reported on the new wireless network they are testing to allow a portable computer lab to be created.
  7. The following training opportunities are being provided this Summer through the Technical Applications Center: a demonstration of textbook publisher's content-centered web sites, a multimedia certification workshop for two people per campus (8 weeks, 2 afternoons per week), two Summer Institutes (one on basic web applications for 40 NVCC faculty and up to 26 VCCS representatives, and one for 20 intermediate/advanced users).
  1. Technology Council

    2. Dean Baker reported that the next VCCS Technology Council meeting will be May 26-27 in Roanoke. She will share information from the meeting with the ITC members. She also reported that she is a member of a VCCS task force looking at e-mail and hard disk storage policy issues.
     

  2. Request to Use Lab Support Funds for Computer Upgrades

    3. Doug Bracey presented a request from the Alexandria campus to use some of their Lab Support funds to upgrade computers. The motion was defeated.
     

  3. Next Meeting
(Revised from the originally scheduled date.)The next meeting of the ITC will consider the final draft of the 1999-2000 Technology Plan. It will be held on June 14, 1:00 pm, in the Brault Building Board Room.

 

 
 

Notes prepared by:   ___________________________________
Steven G. Sachs   Acting Dean of Academic and Student Services
And Acting Committee Chair  

pc: Dr. Wheelan