ACAC is the faculty advisory committee for the Academic IT program. The committee's two on-going projects, Community Building and Online teaching, are progressing nicely. In the spring 2002 the Community Building subcommittee will begin a series of brown bag meetings for those who are already using technology. Professor Christopher Toulouse, the subcommittee chair, has many good ideas for these sessions. In his words:
David Bloomfield (Chair) Education Malgorzata Ciszkowska Chemistry Fabio Girelli-Carasi Modern Languages & Literatures Mark Gold (ex officio) Information Technology & Services Nicholas Irons (ex officio) Library & Academic IT Howard Spivak (ex officio) Library & Academic IT Lilia Melani (ex officio) English Jennifer McCoy Art Steve G. Little Vice President, Administration & Finance KC Johnson History Jeffrey Taylor Music Mark Tomita Health & Nutrition Sciences Christopher Toulouse Sociology Vanessa Yingling Physical Education & Exercise Science
As for online teaching policy, Mark Tomita and Fabio Girelli-Carasi have prepared a document that outlines how support for Web-assisted teaching can be strengthened at Brooklyn College:"The style of our sessions will set them apart: less didactic and more discursive; a conversation about the pros and cons of using particular Internet-based teaching tools--forums, quizzes, course administration forms, and new tools."
| Issue | Individual Concerns | Recommendations |
| Need for transitional planning for online teaching support services at Brooklyn College.
|
1. Internet connection very slow from campus computers in offices and computer labs 2. Not enough computer labs on campus for teaching 3. Students have difficulty completing computer assignments because they cannot get a computer in student computer lab with the specialized software needed by their program 4. PDF downloads from Brooklyn College Web site slow 5. Students unable to obtain software needed to complete assignments on campus 6. No system in place to evaluate and plan for expansion of computer services to faculty and students |
1. A well-publicized, transitional plan should be written and disseminated. Faculty, students, alumni, and community representatives should be recruited as part of a community organization process. These representatives should take part in writing this transitional plan. Recruitment of representatives from these populations will increase the likelihood of adoption of the changes being proposed.
|
| Need for long-term goals and objectives for the expanded role of the Web at Brooklyn College.
|
1. Need Brooklyn College official forms on the Web to download in Word or WordPerfect templates 2. Need all Brooklyn College publications in PDF on Web to download 3. Could use keyword search for forms and publications 4. Need a hassle-free electronic mailing list for department chairs/administrators to make announcements |
1. A full complement of Web-based services should be provided, including remote ISP, software plug-ins on disk or on the Web, and easy navigation of Web-based e-mail. 2. Formulate long- and short-term goals and specific objectives for faculty, staff, and student computer literacy consistent with the Brooklyn College Strategic Plan and Middle States Report. |
| Need for faculty input into determining computer hardware and software needs on campus.
|
1. No WordPerfect license on campus 2. Faculty don't have cgi-bins to develop their courses 3. Frustrating to get new versions of licensed copies of software for faculty 4. Faculty are forced to use only e-mail software such as Outlook on on-campus computers rather than their own 5. Faculty are discouraged from using Macintosh in their offices because of the limited support services on campus 6. Not enough e-mail storage space for faculty, private ISPs provide more for free accounts 7. Need schedules for the replacement of faculty computers and peripherals 8. Need a coordinated software upgrade policy that has faculty input 9. Faculty are forced to use several user IDs and passwords rather than only one set for all functions such as e-mail, ftp, e-mail list, log in. Why not have only one or two sets? 10. A joint faculty-AIT standard committee needed for campus wide purchasing decisions 11. Need faculty input into how announcements are sent out by Office of Public Relations to campus lists 12. Need survey by departmental Tech Reps to evaluate what hardware and software needs in each dept. |
1. Include faculty and user population on all ITS policy-making bodies that will affect online teaching and faculty communication.
|
| Need for reliable network services.
|
1. E-mail not accessible from off campus in the evenings 2. E-mail not accessible from off campus on the weekends 3. FTP not operating from on campus computer 4. FTP not operating from off campus computer 5. List server has had problems delivering messages this past year
|
1. The extent of interruptions in network services should be examined to determine if they were avoidable, and policy changes to be implemented according to findings. If the interruptions in services are due to obsolete hardware and software, then the facility should be upgraded. Perhaps inclusion of faculty to support ITS upgrading would be helpful to the process. 2. A voice recording linked to the Help Desk informing users of system irregularities (evenings, weekends, and holidays also) would be helpful, and would also prevent unnecessary interactions between frustrated users and Help Desk personnel. When dialing the Help Desk, users can be informed by the voice recording of system irregularities and then be presented with menu options. 3. Help Desk personnel should be informed of existing network irregularities and trained to respond appropriately to user problems. Extensive training may help to avoid unnecessary troubleshooting and wasted time by users. |
| Computer support services not always available while classes are in session in the evenings, weekends, and holidays.
|
1. Unable to speak to someone in the evening about the network being down or reboot system 2. Unable to speak to someone on the weekend about the network being down or reboot system.
|
1. It is recommended that ITS and the Administration consult with ACAC and Faculty Council Computer Utilization Committee to determine what services are needed in the evenings and weekends to assure that faculty have the necessary support services in the event there are computer-related problems occurring in their classrooms during these times. It is doubtful that the existing financial resources allocated to ITS for staffing will are sufficient to implement extended ITS services for evenings, weekends, and holidays. 2. Develop a well-publicized process for faculty teaching in the evenings, weekends, and holidays in campus computer laboratories to contact an ITS representative if they are experiencing computer-related problems. |
| Accountability of services provided by ITS.
|
1. Help desk does not follow-up on user phone calls
2. ITS personnel refuse to accept responsibility for service deficiencies and become defensive 3. ITS explanation of service problems result from users not being able to use system correctly 4. ITS minimizes service problems as equipment malfunction rather than personnel problems 5. ITS attributes problems to lack of resources rather than better trained personnel 6. Long delays in service from Help Desk to send technician to do a job 7. Need to make several calls before Help Desk responds to request 8. No mechanism to file anonymous complaints at ITS Web site 9. Arbitrary decision making by ITS (size of distribution list) 10. No Customer Service attitude at ITS 11. No published agreement or guarantee on service level promised by ITS to campus consumers |
1. Develop written ITS employee guidelines for dealing with the Brooklyn College campus community. 2. The Brooklyn College Administration should commit to developing service policies based on systems such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma approaches to ITS services. Brooklyn College management faculty may serve as consultants to such a project and conduct in-service training to optimize ITS services. 3. Develop written standards or "promises" to ITS customers regarding the level of service they may be guaranteed, not only of work performed by technicians in their offices and labs, but also network reliability. More meaningful interpretations of data obtained through user satisfaction surveys will be possible when there is a standard for comparison. 4. Establish a consumer orientation by ITS to reduce a troubling "us and them" perception unfortunately growing in the user community. |