CCFIT > Calendar & Minutes > 1998-2003 Minutes > March 17, 2003 AC4 Minutes

Monday, March 17, 2003


3:10 - 4:30 p.m.
Academic Computing Coordinating Council
203 Mrak Hall
Agenda and Minutes

(PDF version of these minutes)

Agenda

  1. Approval of Minutes -- Chair Plant
  2. Announcements
  3. Update: UC Davis Strategic Plan Effort -- John Bruno
  4. Working Session: UC Davis IT Strategic Plan

Minutes

Present: Chairs Caroline Bledsoe and Richard Plant, John Bruno, James Chalfant, Jack Farrell, Andrew Jones, Barry Klein, Bill Lacy, Jay Lund, Harry Matthews, John Meyer, Ann Orel, Marilyn Sharrow, Dave Shelby, James Spriggs, Pat Turner, and Jason Wood.

Excused: Mike Allred, Jeff Gibeling, Julie Saylor, and Mani Tripathi.

Absent: James Case, Ellen Sutter, Pam Thomas, Neil Van Alfen.

Guests: Bill Cooper, Jeff de Ropp, Doug Hartline, and Rob Kerner.

Staff to the Councils: Randy Moory, and Babette Schmitt.

I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS- CHAIR PLANT

Chair Plant requested comments on the December meeting minutes. The minutes were approved as submitted.

Council member Jones asked for clarification regarding UC Davis student email accounts. Specifically, Jones inquired about how long a student can continue to access his or her UC Davis email account after graduating. Jones also inquired about the process for requesting an extension in the event that a student may need access to his or her account longer. There was some discussion that student email accounts can be accessed up to six months after graduation. Several members also commented that they thought departments could sponsor a temporary account extension for graduating students. Vice Provost Bruno indicated that he will verify the process for extending email accounts for graduating students and will return to the Council with more information.

Chair Plant introduced Caroline Bledsoe. Professor Bledsoe will assume the role of Chair of the Council starting with the next meeting, in April.

II. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Draft Policy for Using Email as an Official Means of Communication with Students
    Handout: Draft Policy

Vice Provost Bruno announced that the policy the Council previously considered for establishing email as an official means of communication with UC Davis students has been submitted to the Chancellor's Office for broader review and campus adoption. The structure of this new policy reflects an attempt to simplify campus policies and to separate procedure from the policy content, an approach consistent with New Business Architecture objectives.

Bruno identified a change in the policy that was made after the Council last reviewed it: the draft now includes a clause stating that email should not be used to distribute sensitive or confidential information. That information instead should reside on a secure Web page to which students will need to authenticate themselves.

Council asked about the possibility of encrypting email. Bruno replied that the campus cannot make the entire transmission secure when mail is forwarded. Bruno stated that email should be considered the electronic equivalent of a postcard, whose content can be viewed by both the intended recipient and others. Council also asked about graduate students' use of departmental email accounts. Bruno replied that, with this policy, all students will be required to establish a campus email account (the official UC Davis email account follows a mailID@ucdavis.edu format). A comprehensive communication approach will be developed to ensure that all students are aware of this policy and its implications for them.

Draft Policy for UC Davis Web Pages
    Handout: Draft Policy (PDF)

Vice Provost Bruno announced that a campus policy for Web pages is being drafted. The draft policy applies to campus official as well as personal and affiliated Web pages, and it addresses such issues as ADA compliance, the collection of personal information through Web pages, etc. Bruno noted that the policy is in its initial phase and needs additional discussion.

Council members asked whether graduate student Web pages would be considered official campus Web pages. Bruno replied that this and other issues will need to be discussed in more detail as part of the vetting process. The definitions in the policy need to be further refined.

Spam Filtering Service
    Handout: SPAM Analysis and Recommendation -- March 17, 2003 (PDF)

Vice Provost Bruno announced that Information and Educational Technology (IET), in consultation with campus groups, has been investigating possible spam-filtering solutions for campus email servers. Based on that investigation, IET proposes to address spam (i.e., unsolicited commercial email) by using an open source software product, SpamAssassin. IET will configure SpamAssassin to tag email messages that it considers spam so users can more easily filter them. Instructions will be provided, and no email will be deleted. The implementation of this new service is planned for early May.

Council members asked whether an expanded help desk would be needed to support users when SpamAssassin is implemented. Bruno replied that user support for this type of service will occur primarily through departmental or local technical support staff. In addition, a communication approach will be developed to inform users as well as technical support persons about how to configure email programs to use the information provided by SpamAssassin so they can filter out the spam if they wish to do so.

Copyright Issues

Vice Provost Bruno announced that the number of Digital Millennium Copyrights Act (DMCA) violations reported on campus is increasing. Media companies are putting more pressure on campuses to address DMCA violations, and have been requesting network scans as well as the names of the alleged violators. At UC Davis, several campus units are spending an increasing amount of time responding to violation notices to the point that this is becoming almost a full-time responsibility. Bruno also indicated that the Library has reported illegal sharing of copyrighted materials through open proxy sites. These issues have been addressed.

Bruno reported that he has met with Vice Chancellor Stan Nosek and Jo Claire Peterman, Manager of Business and Contracts, to discuss the development of a coordinated Web site to provide more information about copyright and the DMCA. Bruno indicated that the site will include a quiz to enable individuals to test their copyright knowledge. Bruno added that Information and Educational Technology and the Office of Administration will organize a communication effort to more thoroughly educate the campus about copyright.

Council asked about the breakdown between student violations and other violations, and whether the copyright violations were related primarily to entertainment media. Bruno replied that the campus has noticed an increase in staff violations. He indicated that some of the copyright violation notices were related to library materials.

III. UPDATE: UC DAVIS STRATEGIC PLAN EFFORT-- JOHN BRUNO
    Handout: Draft UC Davis Strategic Plan

Vice Provost Bruno provided an update on the Strategic Plan for UC Davis. Bruno reported that the current draft strategic plan (see http://strategicplan.ucdavis.edu/vision_draft.pdf) reflects the feedback received from deans and vice chancellors. The campus community is invited to read the document and offer comments and suggestions.

Bruno advised the Council that the strategic plan for the campus provides an important framework for the development of the IT strategic plan, which will be designed in large part to support the vision and goals outlined in the campus strategic plan. He reported that, during a recent visit to campus, the WASC review team also identified the need for clearer connections between educational technology activities and the campus strategic plan (see http://wasc.ucdavis.edu). Bruno explained that, once completed, the strategic plan will be used to guide the campus' technology resource allocations.

IV. WORKING SESSION: UC DAVIS IT STRATEGIC PLAN

    Handout: Draft UC Davis Information Technology Strategic Plan

  • Report from the Subcommittee on Educational Technology -- Andy Jones

    Andy Jones, Chair of the AC4 Subcommittee on Education, referred Council members to the section of the draft IT strategic plan that outlines an educational technology vision for UC Davis as well as draft goals and activities in support of that vision (see p.9).

    Council members discussed the draft developed by the subcommittee and offered suggestions for additions and revisions. Members discussed issues related to the scheduling of hybrid online courses (e.g., sharing the same classroom, scheduling and nature of final exams, teaching/learning evaluations, establishing measures of success, and class attendance). They also discussed the benefits of offering hybrid online courses, including to reduce enrollment pressure on classrooms.

    Members suggested that online classes and/or distance learning be added to the draft IT Strategic Plan. Members commented that distance education is becoming increasingly important but also acknowledged that educators have reservations about it.

  • Report from the Subcommittee on Research Computing -- Jeff DeRopp

    Jeff DeRopp presented an overview of the Research Subcommittee's work on the IT Strategic Plan. The research-related vision and goals identified by the subcommittee are:

    • Less time should be required for research grant administration
    • Need for fast, reliable, and secure access to networks
    • Need for enhanced IT security infrastructure
    • Improved access to software licenses by offering flexible and easy access and having processes to make specialized software available to others.

    DeRopp added that the highest priority identified by the Research Subcommittee is to provide an electronic research administration system that is streamlined, easy to use, and gives the faculty control over the administration of their grants.

    Council asked about the status of the Electronic Research Administration (ERA) System Project. DeRopp replied that the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, the Office of Administration, and Information and Educational Technology are reviewing possible ERA software packages (including GAMS, the University of Indiana's system, and the InfoEd system). It appears that GAMS would be a great system for the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research but would not serve the faculty well. The ERA component will be either built or integrated into DaFIS (the campus financial information system) so personnel data can be extracted and used to populate the forms principal Investigators (PIs) have to use. DeRopp noted this functionality would be very helpful for PIs to have. Members also commented that the front-end for DaFIS would need to be developed before it could serve as an Electronic Research Administration System.

  • Discussion

    Council discussed other topics for possible integration into the IT strategic plan. These include:

    • Improving the electronic distribution of graduate admissions information (to reduce delays and costs)
    • Developing a central electronic data repository for the campus (digital libraries, catalogs of data sources)
    • Support of grid computing
    The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
    • Modified: Wednesday, May 4, 2005