CCFIT > Discussion Topics > Web-based Business Services

Web-based Business Services

Campus Technology Services

3/13/2006: Jan Dickens, Director of IET-Classroom Technology Services, announced plans to discontinue HP printer repair services provided through her unit. Printer repair services were introduced on campus in 1985. A number of factors, from reduced demand for repair services to declining revenues and continuing yearly losses, have led to the decision to discontinue these services. Despite reductions in expenses over the last few years and marketing efforts, the unit continues to operate in deficit. Ongoing yearly deficits make it infeasible to continue offering printer repair services to the campus. The last day for submitting requests for printer repairs will be April 14, 2006.

A letter announcing the discontinuation of the repair services was sent to all existing clients earlier this month. Along with the notification, clients received a list of local alternative sources for HP printer repair services.

Caroline Bledsoe thanked Jan Dickens for her update. A member asked for the notification letter to be posted on the CCFIT site. Jan Dickens agreed to do this. Given the availability locally of similar service providers and the continuing loss of revenues, John Meyer applauded the decision to terminate the provision of on-campus printer repair services.

Faculty Merit and Promotion Project

Background information from 2003 - 05

12/12/05: Chair Bledsoe welcomed Connie Melendy, Assistant Vice Provost-Academic Personnel, to the Council. Melendy was invited back to provide an update on the Faculty Merit and Promotion System, a project that has been discussed several times with Council in the last couple of years.

Melendy pointed to the project team’s report, in which the project’s background, goals, participants, user feedback, and status are described. Melendy noted that since the launch of the pilot last year, a number of functional and technical enhancements have been made to the original MyInfoVault application developed by the Health System (see list of enhancements in the report). A recent enhancement occurred when the MyInfoVault application was transferred from the Health System to the main campus data center and was integrated into the campus Kerberos authentication schema, thereby further improving the security of the online system and data repository and providing the ability to further refine levels of authorization and roles.

Assuring customer satisfaction and delight is a key guiding principle for this project, according to Melendy. To meet this goal, the MyInfoVault project team consults regularly with individuals from the various schools and colleges participating in the Pilot. A Pilot Implementation Workgroup, with representatives from each of the participating schools and colleges, has been actively involved in reviewing feedback, identifying needs, and setting priorities for the project. An Oversight Committee is also in place.

Melendy reported that an increasing number of campus units are interested in an online system for the review and approval of faculty merit and promotion (75+ campus units are participating in the pilot), and several other UC campuses and the Office of the President have also expressed interest in MyInfoVault’s functionality and in its ability to re-use data beyond the faculty merit and promotion processes.

Jan Ilkiw, Associate Dean in the School of Veterinary Medicine, provided a demonstration of the School’s implementation of, and enhancements to, the MyInfoVault application (see her PowerPoint presentation). These enhancements include the ability to generate publication lists. Ilkiw suggested that additional enhancements could be made campus-wide to better support faculty and administrators’ needs. Examples include:

[1] Ability to import personnel and research data,
[2] Providing live links to bibliographic data and online publications via the California Digital Library and other sources,
[3] Providing support for online teaching and instructor evaluations.

Other Council members agreed that such functionality would be helpful. Other suggestions included setting up the system to provide a searchable repository of faculty's research and educational thematic interests (e.g., ability to search for collaborators both within the UC Davis community and elsewhere, ability to search on research themes or topics), and supporting the automated creation of online CVs and biosketches for various agencies (NIH, NSF, USDA, etc.).
Caroline Bledsoe asked about the strategy that will enable campus departments not already participating in the pilot to start using the system. Melendy noted that she’s working with the deans to identify a timeframe by which the remaining schools and colleges will have the functional and technical resources to join the pilot and make the transition to the online system. The schools and colleges’ unique needs will be addressed individually as they join. Bledsoe encouraged Council members interested in serving on the Oversight Committee for this project, to contact her directly.

Electronic Research Administration Project

Background information from 2003 - 05

5/9/2005: Doug Hartline reported on the project headed by the Office of Research to implement an Electronic Research Administration system. This project was the focus of various discussions with the Council last year. Once fully implemented, this system will enable electronic submission, review, approval, and tracking of research grant proposals. A contract has been signed with InfoEd International Inc. Hartline reminded Council members that this project has been broken into several phases, with systems and processes being implemented at intervals based upon the three InfoEd Contract & Grant modules.

• Implementation of the first module, Proposal Tracking, is underway. This module will replace the existing Office of Research Contracts and Grants database. Completion of this phase is scheduled for January 2006. This first phase will affect four major groups: Office of Research Sponsored Programs Group, deans offices with existing proposal tracking shadow systems, offices that provide reporting to UCOP (Tech Transfer, Graduate Studies, UNEX, Health Systems Contracting, Material Management), and remaining deans’ offices and Organized Research Units (ORUs) that request reports. Each dean’s/vice chancellor’s office will be invited to identify a representative to participate in key stakeholder workgroups to ensure that the system implementation addresses the functional requirements of the aforementioned groups.


• The second module, Proposal Development, will enable Principal Investigators (PIs) to create and manage proposals online and route them electronically for approval. Expected implementation: 2007.


• The third module, Project Management, will allow information stored in the InfoEd system to be linked to various campus systems (e.g. DaFIS, Faculty Merit & Promotion system, Cost Sharing and Effort Reporting systems, etc.). This module is scheduled to be implemented in 2008.

Effort Reporting and Cost Sharing

1/09/2006: Mike Allred reported on a project involving several UC campuses that are working collaboratively to develop a Web-based effort reporting system. This system will interface with the UC Payroll Personnel System and campus cost sharing systems, and will replace the current paper-based Personnel Activity Report (PAR) system. Allred indicated that a major driver for this project is that the federal government and its auditors have become much more active in their review of compensation charges on federal research projects (and related effort reporting certifications). There have been several whistleblower cases at major institutions that have resulted in a number of universities receiving large audit disallowances or agreeing to make significant settlements to address alleged overcharges. Additionally, the Personnel Activity Report (PAR) used at the University since the 1980’s to satisfy the effort reporting requirement is a paper-based, manually-intensive process that has become overly cumbersome, particularly as compliance standards have intensified.

Kathy Hass, project manager, provided a demo of the new Web-based Effort Reporting System (ERS). It was developed to address the issues mentioned above. It is also designed to satisfy effort reporting requirements and to introduce some additional improvements (e.g., interface with other systems, use of current campus security and access controls, etc.).
At UC Davis, the project team has spent several months testing the system and consulting with users and workgroups. A short pilot will be launched in February. Pilot users will include faculty and department research administrators from various colleges and schools. Each college and school was asked for volunteers. To participate in the pilot or for more information, contact Kathy Hass at kxhass@ucdavis.edu.

1/09/2006: Accounting and Financial Services launched a pilot project last Fall to test a new Web-based Effort Commitment & Cost Share Tracking System. Allred noted that effort commitments on sponsored projects must be captured and monitored to ensure that the commitments do not exceed the maximum level of effort that can be contributed.

‘Cost sharing’ refers to the portion of the costs from a research project or program that is not borne by the funding agency (i.e., all contributions, including cash and in-kind, that a recipient makes to an award). ‘Effort’ is defined as the portion of time spent on a particular activity; it is expressed as a percentage of the individual's total activity for the institution. Cost sharing effort is included in the calculation of total committed effort.

The new Effort Commitment & Cost Share Tracking System is expected to help bring UC Davis into compliance with various regulations and cost accounting standards. Failure to meet these requirements has costly implications for UC Davis (e.g., ~ $9 million for UC in cost share amount for FY2002). Prior to this pilot, UC Davis had no system to address the effort commitment and cost share tracking needs of the university. Cost shared effort was not captured in effort reports and therefore not certified. Cost share reports were prepared by individual departments and were difficult to monitor for compliance with federal regulations. In addition to reducing paperwork, the new system provides faculty with a mechanism to monitor their sponsored project commitments, and it provides deans and department chairs with a tool to monitor the magnitude of the cost share commitments of their respective schools/departments.

The pilot is expected to end this quarter. The project team will be analyzing key implementation issues and obstacles identified through the pilot, and finalizing communication materials and training before the rollout to all campus units. For more information, see the Effort Commitment and Cost-Share Tracking System Overview, visit http://accounting.ucdavis.edu/costshare/index.cfm, or contact Kathy Hass at kxhass@ucdavis.edu.

Caroline Bledsoe thanked Mike Allred for all these updates and reminded Council members to check with their constituencies to determine if there are topics that should be brought to CCFIT for discussion.

Travel & Entertainment

5/9/2005: This project proposes to streamline the travel and entertainment expense reimbursement and reporting process. The new Web-based system will incorporate existing business rules and approvals and will be integrated with DaFIS and meet other campus IT standards. Allred will provide additional information at the June meeting.

1/09/2006: Mike Allred reported on the new UC Davis travel and entertainment system, as system that has been discussed with various campus groups for the last two years. The primary goal behind this new system is to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of business processes associated with travel and entertainment expense reporting throughout campus. Allred noted that the current reimbursement process is laborious, and prone to duplication and error. The paper voucher, for example, is not user-friendly. It does not provide the traveler with corporate card charges, direct billed airfare or any travel advances, which makes the reconciliation cumbersome and time-consuming.

The new software will support the main steps in the travel and entertainment reimbursement process, from the pre-trip authorization to the actual expense reimbursement and receipt imaging process. It will capture required expense and accounting data, as well as policy and required receipt business rules. Additionally, the system will automatically link to the traveler’s corporate card charges and advances while providing better controls (e.g., enhanced fraud detection, reduction of losses) and compliance with policy and regulations.
This project was initiated in October 2005 and is now in the configuration phase. Testing will start in late February, and a pilot will be launched in mid-May with a broad cross-section of campus units. User feedback is provided through a group of campus units’ representatives nominated by their respective deans or vice chancellors.

Allred offered to do a demo of this system. In the meantime, for more information, see the Travel & Entertainment Expense Reporting System Overview. Inquiries about this project should be directed to the project manager, Radhika Prahbu, at rprabhu@ucdavis.edu.

Web Commerce Software

05/9/05: Status update.

People Admin

5/9/05: The campus is preparing for the implementation of the PeopleAdmin human resources Web-based application. This system will enable online application submittal, tracking, screening and status notification, as well as tracking of all employment and compensation actions beginning at the position description. AdMAN has a representative on the implementation committee and a representative that serves on the advisory committee.

UC Davis Institutional Review Board System

02/13/2006: Lynne Chronister, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, introduced the UC Davis Institutional Review Board System. She indicated that as part of its mission, UC Davis conducts approximately 2,000 research studies annually, many of which involve human beings. To protect the rights and welfare of human subjects involved in research studies, the federal government has put in place a number of regulations. One of those regulations stipulates that if an institution performs research studies that involve people, it must create an "institutional review board" (IRB). As a recipient of federal funds, UC Davis is subject to these regulations for any type of research involving humans (dead or alive). Chronister noted that some journals will not accept publications if their authors have not gone through, and obtained approval from, their institutional review board.

The IRB at UC Davis is a campuswide committee that reports to the Vice Chancellor for Research. The Board has the authority to approve, require modifications in, or disapprove all research activities that fall within its jurisdiction. Research involving humans at UC Davis span a number of disciplines including social sciences, engineering, nutrition, agriculture, and health sciences.

To support federal regulatory needs and to replace a cumbersome (and in some situations costly) paper-based process, Vice Chancellor for Research Bill Lacy, with support from Dean Silva, commissioned an electronic Institutional Review Board System (eIRB) for UC Davis. This eIRB was developed in house by the Office of Research. It automates the review of protocols, enables email-based status notifications to faculty, and serves as an educational program (required by the government) for anyone who conducts research on humans at UC Davis. It will be integrated into the Electronic Research Administration (InfoEd) system in approximately 3 years (Phase III of the InfoEd Project). Erol Layitek, the system’s principal designer, provided a demo of the eIRB, noting that the system is comprised of a number of modules (see eIRB System Overview). One module allows principal investigators and their proxies to collaborate on their protocol drafts and route them electronically as PDF documents. Once the protocol is routed, department chairs, faculty advisors, and others can access the system to review and sign off on the protocol. Other modules provide the ability for the IRB administration educational officers to create tests, and for users involved with a protocol to obtain certification. (For more information on the IRB, see http://research.ucdavis.edu/home.cfm?id=OVC,1).

Chair Bledsoe thanked Lynne Chronister and Erol Layiktez for their informative overview and demo.

Undergraduate Technology Needs

03/13/2006: Avi Singh and Kristen Birdsall, ASUCD representatives on the Council, presented the results of a survey they conducted recently of undergraduate students’ views on technology issues. The results they shared with Council members take into consideration highlights from the informal survey, as well as Avi and Kristen’s own experience as undergraduates. In addition, they conducted an online poll through the ASUCD student government. The results of this poll will be shared electronically and posted on the Council’s Web site when available.

Preliminary feedback from undergraduates focused on five areas (see Report to CCFIT re: Undergraduate Technology Needs):

• Online course evaluations: This topic elicited mixed reactions among survey respondents. Some felt that students would lack incentive to fill out evaluations if they were expected to fill them out outside of class; others commented that online evaluations would allow more thoughtful responses and better use of class time. No specific recommendation was made, but the topic elicited a fair number of comments. Caroline Bledsoe noted that a Task Group headed by Professor Roger McDonald has been formed to look into options and issues related to offering online evaluations more broadly on campus. The charge is available on the CCFIT Web site.



• Computer lab congestion. Two suggestions were identified to help improve students’ access to printers and to reduce lines at the labs:
  
  1) make wireless printing available, and
  2) increase the number of power outlets for laptops (and fix the outlets that are not working at the library).
  
  Peter Yellowlees indicated that Information and Educational Technology (IET) has been working with Reprographics to explore the possibility of offering on-demand printing. Jan Dickens explained that print-only stations and printers have been added to help address some of those needs. In addition, a real-time, Web-based system is available for students who want to check the number of seats available in each of the computer rooms, either from their computers or using cell phones (see http://clm.ucdavis.edu/rooms/available/). Marilyn Sharrow indicated that the malfunctioning power outlets at the library will be fixed, and that ninety (90) new ones will be installed over the summer.



• Allotted printing pages. Student respondents expressed concern over the number of allotted pages each undergraduate can print per quarter.
  o Dickens explained that all computer room users can print a maximum of 100 sheets (front and back) per quarter free of charge. This is a service that few universities offer. Beyond this quota, there is a 5-cent-per-sheet charge (compared to 16c/page at a popular copy/print shop downtown). Dickens also noted that there is a Web-based system that allows students to check at any given time the number of sheets they have printed (see http://clm.ucdavis.edu/rooms/printing/pages.html). Approximately 5.5 million pages are printed each year, and ~23,000 unique users log in every quarter (~18,000 of whom are printing at quota or below).


• Singh commented that there have been some definite improvements over the last year but students remain concerned generally about the increasing amount of printing they are expected to do for their classes. Council members discussed the shifting of printing costs over the last few years from departments to computer labs and students, and the increasing number of class materials instructors are posting on the Web for students’ viewing and/or printing. Singh noted that many students do not own a printer and some have expressed interest in increasing the number of pages they are allotted each quarter.



• Birdsall noted that ASUCD is interested in seeing wireless printing offered on campus but does not have the capital to implement it.



• Caroline Bledsoe suggested that the campus might want to revisit whether to require laptops for students (i.e., going beyond the existing statement of expectation regarding student computer ownership).



• Dickens'; group is planning an open session in the Spring to collect additional feedback and suggestions. They will also continue to work through ASUCD, attending at least one meeting a year with ASUCD representatives, and more as requested. Dickens invited the ASUCD representatives on CCFIT and other interested parties to meet with her and her group to further discuss needs, questions, and suggestions.


• Expansion of wireless. Survey responses confirmed students’ desire to see expanded wireless coverage around campus, including in lecture halls. Caroline Bledsoe reminded Council members that Matt Bishop is heading a Task Group that’s looking into IET’s wireless expansion plans. Recommendations from the group are expected in June.



• Audio access to lectures. Respondents expressed interest in accessing and using lectures in digital audio format as additional educational tools. They suggested involving Classical Notes, which a couple of Council members thought should be explored further (though there was some concern about how lectures would be controlled). Peter Yelowlees noted that IET is committed to making digital lectures available to students and instructors. A podcasting pilot was conducted in Fall 2005 and Winter 2006. The response from students and instructors has been overwhelmingly positive. The level of participation in the pilot grew from 3 courses in the fall to 10 sections in winter. Both permanent equipment and mobile podcasting devices were used to capture the lectures (see http://podcasting.ucdavis.edu). The registrar has recently approved the installation of digital recorders in ten general assignment classrooms this summer. All other classrooms will be prepped to receive the appropriate equipment when it becomes available.