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WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

MINUTES OF MEETING OF April 24, 2002

Gary Bornzin, Chair, called the Academic Technology Committee to order on Wednesday, April 24, 2002, in MH 210, at 4:08 p.m. Fifteen (15) people were present, including one (1) non-voting member. (See attached roster.)

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of April 17, 2002 were approved as amended.

Announcements and Reports

Vice Provost Jerry Boles announced that he will meet with LAN Manager representatives from CAS, CBE and Woodring to begin developing implementation guidelines for Microsoft Active Directory.

TJ Olney inquired as to whether the Active Directory empty root server that was scheduled to be running on March 17^th was operable. Steve Treloar reported that the server is still undergoing testing.

Chair Bornzin read an email from the Faculty Senate office concerning upcoming appointments for next year’s committee. Bornzin requested that members with terms expiring this quarter contact their appointing bodies if they wish to be re-appointed or if they would like to nominate someone else. He read from the email that Matt Jordan from CFPA and Eric McKell from CAS were both nominated for appointment. Bornzin noted that by the end of the quarter, the committee needed to hold an election for next year’s committee officers.

Constituent Concerns

Brad Johnson asked if it might be wise, considering the impending college reorganization, for some body, possibly the ATC, to develop guidelines for technical support staffing when the new colleges appear. Vice Provost Boles noted that it might be premature to develop such a policy and suggested waiting until the reorganization decision has been resolved. Johnson suggested that it still might be beneficial if the committee is at least prepared if the discussion were to be necessary after the reorganization announcement. Vice Provost Boles noted that there is no formula-based approach for any kind of support on campus, including technical support. He suggested that it was more of a resource issue to be decided between the college deans and the provost. He also questioned the wisdom of singling out technical support for policy definition without considering other areas of support.

Michael Meehan mentioned a concern regarding login difficulties in a mediated classroom in which he teaches, and that, if the problem was due to a change in faculty logins, a better dissemination of the information should be implemented. Larry Gilbert noted that ATUS recently changed the generic faculty account login password for security reasons, and that he would inquire further into Meehan’s login difficulty. Gilbert also assured members that next fall when faculty will be required to use their personal logins, ATUS intends to do everything possible to contact faculty members with this information to avoid any confusion or login problems.

TJ Olney requested that the “workstation only” option remain available when the switch is made for fall quarter. Gilbert said that for security reasons, the workstation only login option would probably not remain.

Discussion

Proposal to Define and Clarify Computer Lab Categories

Larry Gilbert distributed a draft “Computer Lab Categories and Criteria” document that outlined the different categories of computer labs available on campus (General University Labs, General University Labs with Preferred Scheduling, Shared Labs, Department or School Labs). (See Attachment A) He explained that the categories already existed, but in particular, the category called “Shared Labs” needed formal definition. The categories offer a range of responsibility sharing, from “all ATUS” to “all college/department.”  Gilbert indicated that the intention of the document was to clarify existing practice, not to initiate new policy.

Members also discussed potential reasons for a department to choose a particular lab category. These reasons included financial, scheduling, software, and administrative factors.

Larry Gilbert pointed out that lab classification is a mutual decision between the college, the department, and ATUS.

Members discussed whether all departments have chosen to use universal logins and noted that most departments (except for special security reasons or for smaller, older labs) have converted to the universal login system. Members noted that pressure to switch to universal logins came variously from students and faculty, as well as the deans and department chairs who requested that the switch be made.

Members also discussed the role of residence hall labs and noted that they operate separately from ATUS but do use universal logins.

Chair Bornzin concluded the lab policy discussion and asked members to contact Gilbert directly with any concerns regarding the computer lab categories document.

Disk Space Increases

Meehan suggested that the students be given an increase in home directory disk space, as their current quota, 30 megabytes. He indicated that the 30 megabytes could cost as little as three cents. Steve Treloar informed the committee of the student quota and that each home directory server (either Huey or Louie) has 51 gigabytes total. Vice Provost Boles requested that the discussion be postponed until further data was collected concerning student disk space usage.

Items for Future Agendas

·         Student email address options

·         Further discussion of disk space

·         Possibility of retaining email accounts after graduation

·         Olney Resolution

·         Tech Tours: ILN, CATV, ARS [Audience Response System]

Adjournment

Members adjourned at 5:05 PM.

Wendy Miller, Recorder

April 24, 2002

 Academic Technology Committee, Winter Quarter 2002 (w/ Attendance Roster —4/24/02)

Contacts: Gary Bornzin, Chair, ext. 4918

Rose Marie Norton-Nader, Senate Office, ext. 6808

Wendy Miller, Recorder, ext. 6808

ATTACHMENT A