| LINKS | Administrative
Computing Steering Committee Minutes of Meetings: September 20, 2000 Present: Adey, Cossey, Gleason, Klein, Manchester, DR, Smith, Wolf. Review last meeting minutes: 1. DR reviewed the status of the Colleague 16 conversion. The campus has been notified of the conversion schedule, and is aware that the conversion is job #1 for OCS between now and December. Transcript is nearly done; required I-Descriptors were due earlier this week. Departments should notify OCS if there are any descriptors needing upgrades and also if they use i-descriptors but believe that they do NOT need upgrades. The conversion is on schedule. 2. OCS has provided the administration with a detailed timeline and budget for implementing web advising. The schedule is:
3. Tom Smith, Union's webmaster, reported on the launch of the newly redesigned Union web site in late August. He will be making available graphics and templates for others to use. Working on a new faculty, staff, student e-mail directories; working on internal front pages for use by faculty, students, staff on campus. 4. Penny Adey raised the issue of excess demand for electronic classrooms. Especially at the 9:40 and 10:55 MWF time slots, there is considerable excess demand, and faculty have not been forthcoming in their willingness to switch time slots. Doug Klein pointed out that some courses, like Gen Ed history courses, are locked to the 9:40 time slot. Several solutions were discussed. Additional electronic classrooms cost about $75,000 each, and we have no budget for more conversions this year. Several other locations on campus where classes could be taught were discussed, and Dwight Wolf will explore their availability. In addition, he will raise the issue in the weekly Deans meeting. 5. Penny Adey and Dave Cossey reported that with the departure of Sylvia Nozney from the Central Scheduling Office, campus scheduling has been a mess. In particular, OCS is not receiving notification of events booked into electronic classrooms. Since those rooms are kept locked after normal business hours, there have been several incidents of irate users booking rooms only to find them locked. OCS staff have been suffering the brunt of the complaints. Datatel has a strategic alliance with Universal Algorithms, Inc., makers of a product called Resource25 and Resource25 Webviewer. According to the company's website, Resource25 is: "a graphical, multi-user scheduling system that provides a unified environment for scheduling and managing events, rooms, equipment, staff, and related services." Tom Smith will work with others on campus (OCS, Registrar) to see if this is a product which could help. In the short-run, we need to insure that OCS is notified of all events scheduled in Olin and other electronic classrooms so that someone can be on hand to open the rooms. 6. The excess heat in the Olin Building has been noted (and complained about) by faculty, students, and staff. Dave Cossey explained that after Physical Plant switches from cooling to heating mode, there is no way to go back and run the air-conditioning. Several points were raised: - Given that there are more complaints about heat than about cold, perhaps air conditioning should be allowed to run later. This would help not only the people, but the expensive and sensitive computer equipment in the Olin Building (and other campus buildings affected). - At the very least, an explanatory memo or other method of notification should be distributed by Physical Plant so that faculty and staff know what has happened and why. Next meeting: TBA. |
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