CCFIT > Calendar & Minutes > 2006-07 Minutes > June 11, 2007 Minutes

Excused: Kathleen Moore, Bruno Nachtergaele, Dave Shelby.

Absent:Rick Catalano, Ravi Deepak, Tom Kaiser, Karim Salem, John Stachowicz.

Guests: Provost Hinshaw, and Interim Provost Horwitz

Support: Lisa Chance, Babette Schmitt

I. Welcome and Approval of Minutes – Chair Bledsoe
Chair Bledsoe invited comments on the minutes from the May meeting.  The minutes were approved as submitted. 

II. CCFIT Annual Report and Recommendations – Chair Bledsoe
Chair Bledsoe distributed the CCFIT Annual Report and Recommendations (see: http://ccfit.ucdavis.edu/AnnualReport.06.07.pdf).  The document is a representation of the work the committee has completed throughout the year, as well as recommendations for 2007-08.  Chair Bledsoe thanked the committee for their hard work and congratulated them on the significant amount of contributions representative in the report.  Provost Hinshaw stated that in collaboration with the efforts of the CCFIT, the Nimbleness Committee now established will be relying on CCFIT for system and data integration recommendations.

Educational Technology Subcommittee
Tor Cross, EdTech Subcommittee Chair reported the following recommendations for next steps and assessments for moving forward:

• Instructional Resource Planning Tool proposal is to develop a web-based portal to include teaching tools and resources available for faculty use in the classroom.
• Educational Technology Teaching Assistants proposal is to develop a technical support program within departments.
• Provost Hinshaw stated that due to the loss of students graduating, this program may want to consider using Teaching Assistants to help build consistency within departments.
• Classroom podcasting systems proposal is to expand the ability and sustainability of podcasting throughout the classrooms on campus.
• Provost Hinshaw inquired if the students really use the existing podcasting services.  Liz Gibson, Director of Mediaworks/Classroom Technology Services stated that the statistics are tremendous and would be able to send out statistics to CCFIT, as requested.
• Matt Bishop commented that the existing podcasting technology is cumbersome for distance learning tools and is looking forward to the availability of new technology tools.
• Mediaworks/Classroom Technology Services merger recommendations were sent to Vice Provost Siegel in early May. The subcommittee emphasized the need to focus on continued evaluation of educational technologies in sustainability, and retirement of technology.  There is also a strong need to widely broadcast the services the merged department will offer the academic community.

Wireless Expansion Subcommittee
Matt Bishop, Chair of the Wireless Expansion Subcommittee reported that the subcommittee has been meeting weekly to determine buildings and areas for wireless recommendations.  The committee will meet through the summer to develop a proposal for CCFIT to review in the fall.  The priorities the subcommittee is using for developing their recommendations are:

First: Public safety
Second: Locations that would have a high-level impact, with low level resources required
Lastly:  Residence halls as lowest priority, as this is being addressed in other venues.

Bishop stated that the wireless network needs to be viewed as part of the campus network.  Provost Hinshaw added that the events at Virginia Tech exemplified the need for wireless broadcasting, and is a concern the campus Emergency Operating Center (EOC) is also discussing.

Online Teaching Evaluations Work Group
Chair Bledsoe discussed the recommendations of the work group on behalf of the Chair Roger McDonald.

The work group learned there is a tool being developed within the open source community that will allow an online evaluation tool to be incorporated into SmartSite.  The work group has decided to watch the development of this tool for the possibility of incorporating into UC Davis’ SmartSite system.  Veterinary Medicine is successfully using an evaluation tool within SmartSite; however, in today’s system, there are very limited resources in scaling the VetMed system for campus-wide use.

Provost Hinshaw commented that it is important to the Senate Committee to have a strong campus-wide implementation and straightforward usability.  Vice Provost Pete Siegel concurred that the Senate Committee is critical, and stated that a pilot program would be a good way to evaluate the tool and to gain feedback for a broader implementation.  Connie Melendy mentioned that it would be incredibly helpful if the tool had the ability to upload into the MyInfoVault system.  Brenda Ruth also stated that an online teaching evaluation tool is one of AdMAN’s top five priorities, as staff currently re-type hard copy evaluations into an electronic format.

GRAD SMAART Work Group
Chair Bledsoe announced that a new CCFIT work group has been created to collaborate in the development of the GRAD SMAART system.  GRAD SMAART will include four components: (1) Application: a new on-line admission and fellowship application system; (2) Review: an electronic admission review database; (3) Student Tracking: a student tracking database; and (4) Alumni Tracking: an alumni tracking database.  CCFIT can anticipate an update from GRAD SMAART Work Group in fall 2007.

III.  MyInfoVault – Connie Melendy, Academic Personnel
Connie Melendy provided an update to the MyInfoVault project.  Version 2 was to be released April/May timeframe; however, as the date drew closer it became apparent that there was a significant misunderstanding of the features to be delivered as well as an under-estimation of development time required for the project.  It was decided to hold the release of version 2 until the following academic year.  While this was a disappointment, the oversight committee didn’t want to release an inadequate product to the campus community.

Moving forward, Melendy stated that version 2 will have additional components added to it that was not initially part of the project but have been strongly suggested by users and the oversight committee.  There will be a campaign to reach out to the departments to learn their needs and create a greater collaboration within the campus community.  Siegel added that departments have innovative ideas and the importance to reach-out to the departments for team discussions and partnerships is important.

IV. Electronic Research Administration (eRA) Project: Progress report & changing guidelines – Lynne Chronister, Office of Research
Lynne Chronister provided an update to the eRA project.  In way of background, Chronister stated that the InfoEd system purchased for eRA consists of three modules:
          Module 1 – Reporting and Tracking
          Module 2 – Project Development and electronic submission
          Module 3 – Project Management

Module 1 has been implemented in a pilot environment; however, it was determined to pause continued development for the remainder of the project, for the following reasons:

1. budgetary considerations
2. Grants.gov is a new federal system for grant submission that is still under development.  First release was to be in April 07, but is now postponed until early 2008.
3. Understanding the potential possibilities of the emerging Community Source Kuali Research Administration (KRA) initiative as an alternative to InfoEd.

Chronister stated that is was decided to pause the eRA project for four months to allow time
to research and analyze the above factors before determining next steps for this project. Further information will be brought forward to CCFIT, as the assessment information is developed.

V. Tech innovation: Demo of virtual private network with Library - Bob Ono (IET) & Dale Snapp (Library Systems)
Bob Ono discussed the Virtual Private Network (VPN) with the Library, and Dale Snapp provide a demonstration on how the VPN works. Please see http://vpiet.ucdavis.edu/init_ucdvpn.cfm to access the VPN project web site.

Ono stated the VPN allows for students, staff and faculty to be off-campus, but still access online Library resources, while avoiding the duplicity of logins.  Since the VPN is web-based, there is no hardware installations required for the users computer systems.   Additionally, this project allows users to leverage local resources as well as online resources.  Project testing will continue through the summer with a roll out scheduled for fall 2007. 

Jon Wagner commented this project allows for faculty to schedule more routine assignments using library resources, while overcoming tremendous issues for students accessing those resources.  Marilyn Sharrow stated that she has been asking for a solution for accessing library resources for years and is delighted to see it come to fruition.  Ono encouraged the committee to review this recommendation and provide feedback for finalization.

Meeting adjourned at 4:40pm