CCFIT > Calendar & Minutes > 2003-04 Minutes > April 12, 2004 Minutes

1. APPROVAL OF JANUARY MINUTES - CHAIR BLEDSOE
2. CLOSING THE LOOP: FMP AND ERA PROJECTS
3. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY (ITTP) COMMITTEE – CHAIR BLEDSOE
4. PLANNING FOR THE MAY AND JUNE MEETINGS, AND FOR NEXT YEAR – CHAIR BLEDSOE
5. OVERVIEW OF STAFF, FACULTY, AND STUDENT ID CARDS – STAN NOSEK (VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ADMINISTRATION) AND EBEN SUTTON (ASSOCIATE ACCOUNTING OFFICER, ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES)

Attendees:Caroline Bledsoe (Chair), Gil Apaka, John Bruno, David Bunch, James Chalfant, Lynne Chronister, Jack Farrell, Jeff Gibeling, Andy Jones, Rob Kerner, Barry Klein, Yvonne Marsh (for Judy Sakaki), John Meyer, Stan Nosek, Bob Ono, Ann Orel, Ning Pan, Marine Quinzii, Celeste Rose, Steve Roth, Brenda Ruth, Daniel Schwartz, Marilyn Sharrow, and Wes Wallender.

Excused:Mike Allred, Bill Lacy, Kathleen Moore, Bob Murta, Dave Shelby, Ellen Sutter, Pam Thomas, Mani Tripathi, Pat Turner, and Neal van Alfen.

Staff: Babette Schmitt

Chair Bledsoe announced that she has worked with the Academic Senate, Graduate Student Association (GSA) and the Office of the Provost to have additional faculty and student representatives appointed to AC4/AdC3. She was pleased to introduce three new faculty members: Wes Wallender (Professor, LAWR), Martine Quinzii (Professor, Economics), and Ning Pan (Professor, Textiles and Clothing). Chair Bledsoe was also pleased to welcome Daniel Schwartz, the representative from GSA, and noted that she was hopeful more student representatives could be added to the membership.

Chair Bledsoe asked for comments or revisions to the minutes from the March meeting. Council members voted to approve the minutes as submitted.

II. CLOSING THE LOOP: FMP AND ERA PROJECTS

Caroline Bledsoe called Council members’ attention to two packets in their handouts. One packet is for the Faculty Merit and Promotion (FMP) System, and the other for the Electronic Research Administration (ERA) System. Each packet includes three documents: a) a memo to Provost Hinshaw summarizing Council deliberations and recommendations, b) a summary report outlining the process Council followed and including answers to key questions asked of the project team, and c) supporting materials used in previous meetings. For each project, Chair Bledsoe asked members to take a few minutes to review the memo to Provost Hinshaw. Council members discussed the memos, and approved both. Caroline Bledsoe then circulated a copy of the memos and membership list. She asked all members in attendance to sign the memos and indicated that she would submit the signed version to Provost Hinshaw on the AC4/AdC3’s behalf.

Highlights from Council discussion:

• There was some discussion about the connections between AC4/AdC3 deliberations and the planning efforts underway with the Council of Deans and Vice Chancellors (CODVC) to identify major campuswide information technology projects. Caroline Bledsoe indicated that the AC4 and AdC3, like CODVC, are advisory groups to Provost Hinshaw. She explained that there is some cross-over between CODVC and AC4/AdC3 membership, but the Councils, by virtue of their diverse representation, provide a unique venue for faculty, students, staff, deans, vice chancellors, and vice provosts to exchange perspectives and opinions on information and educational technology issues of pertinence to various segments of the campus community. John Bruno, Vice Provost for Information and Educational Technology (IET), added that the process underway with CODVC is an attempt to build consensus around which priorities can be identified for the campus. The projects that have been proposed to date are in various stages of development. Some will be requesting campus funding while others won’t. He noted that the input from AC4/AdC3 members will provide a valuable perspective that will help inform the selection process. The list will evolve as more feedback and suggestions are submitted for consideration.
• Caroline Bledsoe asked Council members for their suggestions on how to best communicate the work of the Council, including the projects and topics under consideration, Council recommendations, etc. She is also interested in ideas for how to obtain suggestions and feedback from constituent groups represented on the Councils (e.g., Academic Senate, Academic Federation, Staff Assembly, AdMan, GSA, etc.) and others. Members suggested using existing campus communication venues (such as Dateline and the Web) to publicize the work of the Council, and recommended copying CODVC and the Academic Senate on each memo to the Provost. Chair Bledsoe could then submit the Council reports to the Provost and initiate a broader distribution of the materials. Chair Bledsoe agreed and noted she will make arrangements to meet with the Provost in the coming days.

Caroline Bledsoe announced that she attended the meeting of the Information Technology and Telecommunications Policy (ITTP) Committee as a UC Davis representative on May 12th. The ITTP is a UC-wide Academic Senate Committee that "represents the Senate in all matters of instruction and research policy involving the use of information and telecommunications at the University" (see http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/senate/committees/ittp/). She reported that a number of topics of interest to this campus were discussed at that meeting, including: instructional technology (what's happening across the UC system); the Sakai Project (an open source course management project by a consortium of universities (including UC Davis); wireless networking; coordination of activities across campuses (e.g., software purchase agreements; electronic systems for personnel, grant submission, tracking and reporting, merit/promotion; anti-spam measures); and video conferencing. She noted that the ITTP Committee is attempting to collect information on what each campus is doing with respect to these topics and issues.

John Bruno mentioned that he is a member of the UC-wide Information Technology Leadership Council (see http://www.ucop.edu/irc/itlc/). The ITLC is an organization of chief information officers (CIOs) and other senior information technology leaders (from all the UC campuses, the Office of the President, the medical centers, and the national labs). The group works together to articulate goals, strategies, and priorities for UC-wide investment in information technology and to coordinate the deployment of technology-based solutions. John Bruno noted that the ITLC, ITTP, and other such committees are very important, but close connections and collaboration among all those groups, and in particular between the Academic Senate and the IT leadership, both at the UC level and on our campus, are critical. Stan Nosek, Vice Chancellor for Administration, noted that the negotiating power of the UC system has already been leveraged successfully in many situations, often resulting in substantial cost-savings (e.g., for license agreements and hardware contracts).

Caroline Bledsoe asked if there is a Web site where more information about these UC-wide collaborative efforts might reside. Stan Nosek indicated he would find out.

IV. PLANNING FOR THE MAY AND JUNE MEETINGS, AND FOR NEXT YEAR – CHAIR BLEDSOE

Chair Bledsoe reminded Council members that there are two meetings left for this academic year (May 17 and June 14). She confirmed that Provost Hinshaw will attend part of the June meeting, and solicited suggestions from the membership regarding what to present to the Provost and what feedback would be helpful to get from her.

She indicated that one of the items to be shared with the Provost would be a tentative list of topics and issues AC4/AdC3 would propose to discuss next year and for which the group would summarize findings and/or develop recommendations. She drew members’ attention to the yellow packet in today’s handouts and went over the two documents in that packet: a) the list of proposed IT projects for 2003-05, compiled from discussions with deans, vice chancellors, and vice provosts (CODVC), and b) the list of discussion topics identified by AC4/AdC3 members in June 2003. She voiced her concern that very few of the projects on the CODVC list have a direct connection to technology in teaching. She asked members for their feedback on the list and more generally on next steps for the Councils. Highlights from that discussion follow:

• Members identified a few additional issues for possible consideration, including: IT security, the provision of a campuswide VPN service (Bob Ono, IT Security Coordinator, indicated that a firewall RFP is expected to make VPN services available in a few months). David Schwartz, the Graduate Student Association representative, suggested the following topics: online classes (esp. classes that count toward students’ GPA and can be taken in the summer); expansion of wireless networking; increasing the availability of computer rooms and labs; and subsidizing laptops and computers through the UC Davis Bookstore.
• On the subject of online courses, David Bunch reported that the Undergraduate Council is looking at issues related to offering classes online. John Bruno noted that University Extension already offers a number of distance education classes. Those are mostly business classes but University Extension has the experience and structure in place to expand those offerings if there’s sufficient faculty interest in online classes.
• Several faculty representatives commented that the educational technology needs to be met should be defined more specifically. As it stands, project #17 is too vague and not as compelling as it should be. Andy Jones, chair of the AC4 Subcommittee on Educational Technology, reported that the subcommittee is developing a survey to identify faculty’s technology needs and expectations. The results from that survey might yield new items to be added to the IT Projects list.
• Brenda Ruth, AdMan representative, noted that the main issue facing staff at the moment is their workload. Finding ways to alleviate staff workload should be a priority. For many staff and unit administrators, staying in compliance with various regulations is becoming increasingly challenging. She noted that the implementation of the ERA will be helpful in that respect.
• John Meyer, Vice Chancellor for Resource Management and Planning, suggested that the group review the original charge to AC4/AdC3 and discuss any changes that may need to be made to it so it more accurately reflects the nature and scope of the Councils’ activities, as well as the Councils’ role with respect to the information technology planning process for the campus. Chair Bledsoe and Council members agreed with that suggestion.
• Lynne Chronister, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and co-chair of the Electronic Research Administration (ERA) Implementation Workgroup, noted that holding joint meetings with both Councils has been very beneficial and convenient. Discussions moved along a lot more smoothly than when the AC4 and AdC3 were meeting separately.

Chair Bledsoe asked Council members to share the list of topics and questions with the groups they represent, and to report back to her or to the Councils on feedback they’ll be collecting.

V. OVERVIEW OF STAFF, FACULTY, AND STUDENT ID CARDS – STAN NOSEK (VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ADMINISTRATION) AND EBEN SUTTON (ASSOCIATE ACCOUNTING OFFICER, ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES)

Stan Nosek, Vice Chancellor for Administration, provided some background on the new ID cards that will replace the current ‘blue’ cards issued to faculty and staff. He noted that this project has been under development for the last 5-6 years. At that time, Student Affairs was looking at the possibility of using smart cards for students (cards that they could use as debit cards, for library-related purposes, for business transactions downtown, etc.). At the time, however, the technology was still evolving and the decision was made not to build a large system. This notion was revisited 2-3 years ago when smart cards started to proliferate throughout campus (e.g., to gain access into buildings) and the need to standardize those cards became more apparent.

Eben Sutton, Associate Accounting Officer and lead of this project, provided an overview of the functionality to be provided through the new cards. He noted that the new faculty and staff cards will be relying on the same underlying technology used in the current student ID cards (see Campus ID Card Programs) and that overtime, as resources and the technology evolve, more services will be added. For now, services will include access to buildings, check cashing, library circulation, and pre-paid lunch plans (“Sodexho Munch Money”). Faculty will be able to submit their photos electronically or have one taken at Dutton Hall.

The new cards will be issued to faculty and staff starting this summer.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.