Chapter 4
Resources

 

4.5 Information Technology

In 1999, SVSU’s comprehensive self-analysis prior to Next Steps 2000-2005 identified several key concerns in the use of technology at SVSU:

• 70% of faculty were not proficient in the use of technology
• The College of Education (COE), with roughly 40% of all SVSU students, did not require technology proficiency of its students (future K-12 teachers), nor did it integrate technology into its curriculum
• The university was deficient in its use of technology in both the academic and administrative areas: staff resources, infrastructure and software.

Based on this analysis, the Next Steps 2000-2005 plan identified three primary objectives for technology:

Objective 1: Increase academic utilization of technology to enhance teaching and learning
Objective 2: Upgrade the computing infrastructure to improve institutional efficiency
Objective 3: Upgrade administrative systems to expand access to educational opportunities.
To accomplish these objectives, SVSU created a new division of Information Technology Services (ITS) and a new position of Executive Director reporting to the President. The new ITS division is responsible for the following:
• Administrative systems: Computer Operations, Programming
• Academic Support: ITD Training Lab, Classroom Technology Support
• Multi-Media Support: Broadcast Technologies and Video Editing
• General Support: Support Center (help desk, computer classrooms, open computer labs, all desktop support)
• Network Services
• Web Services (web pages and Content Management Systems)
With this new structure, ITS has been strategically aligned to undertake technology initiatives and to coordinate and allocate resources related to planning objectives.

In addition to Next Steps 2000-2005 initiatives, a 2001 subcommittee of the Teaching and Learning with Technology Roundtable (TLTR) developed a number of recommendations for the improvement and expansion of academic technology applications. This effort resulted in what is now known as the Academic Technology Plan, and the university allocated resources to fund this plan. SVSU subsequently received significant grant funding through a U.S. Department of Education Title III grant to support additional infrastructure upgrades. The combined Next Steps 2000-2005, Academic Technology Plan, and Title III grant serve as the current strategic plan for ITS.

ITS Capital Budget Overview for Fiscal Year 2003-2004:

ITS Capital Budget
Academic Technology Fund
$283,000
Title-III US Dept of Education Grant (grant year 3)
$350,000
ITS - Ongoing Capital Budget
$275,000
Total
$908,000

These resources have enabled the University and ITS to achieve the goal of Next Steps 2000-2005, the “qualitative step forward in employing technology to enhance teaching and learning, improve institutional efficiency, and expand access to educational opportunities,” accomplishing the three objectives:

Objective 1. Increase academic utilization of technology to enhance teaching and learning:

• Academic Equipment has been upgraded. Implementation of a technology fee established a replacement cycle for student lab computers. The university also regularly replaces faculty computers. The annual ITS classroom technology maintenance budget is $37,600.
• State-of-the-art presentation technology has been installed in 94% of general classrooms (79 of 84). (Equipment is available for faculty to check out for the remaining classrooms.) A central broadcast system provides satellite broadcast and video feed capabilities.
• Additional student micro-computing labs have been opened; the total number of labs now is 55. With 1,042 microcomputers available to students in labs, classrooms, and kiosks as of September 2003, SVSU currently has a student-to-microcomputer ratio of 6.12:1.
• A Student Technology Center, located on the second floor of the library, was created in 2002 to provide student technology training, similar to the model of the Writing Center and the Math Resource Center.
• A web-based course management system, Blackboard, was adopted. Regular surveys of both faculty and student users report creative faculty applications leading to increased student engagement. As a result, the usage of Blackboard has grown dramatically, as the following chart demonstrates:

Blackboard UsageBlackboard Usage
Figure 4-13
(Enlarged Graphic)

• Technology training efforts have been expanded for faculty and staff. An instructional training lab for faculty was created in 1997, and a faculty/staff development calendar offers 30-40 different technology workshops each semester. Resources have been allocated to enhance the skills of ITS staff.
• A Multipoint Conferencing Unit (MCU) to bridge or synchronize ITV sessions significantly reduces the cost of distance education classes.
• A state-of-the-art Regional Education Resource Center (RERC) for faculty and students in the College of Education and K-12 teachers in the region was made possible with support by a 3-year (2000-2003) PT3 Grant: Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology. This grant fostered collaboration among three colleges: Education, Arts & Behavioral Sciences, and Science, Engineering & Technology, enhancing technology skills of many faculty, current K-12 teachers, and students in 145 school districts.

Objective 2: Upgrade the computing infrastructure to improve institutional efficiency:

• A help desk provides telephone technical support and dispatches technicians to offices and computer labs.
• A variety of initiatives have been undertaken to upgrade network capabilities, such as replacing network servers, upgrading the campus fiber background to a higher speed, upgrading the main campus network switch to Internet2 standards, and connecting all dormitory rooms to the network.
• All administrative and student systems programs are regularly upgraded to the current software release.
• A cable modem discount agreement with Charter Communications, SpeedNet, and Air Advantage provides home internet access for the entire campus community and alumni.

Objective 3. Upgrade administrative systems to expand access to educational opportunities:

• Web-based course registration and financial aid applications, as well as employment information, have been developed.
• The university website was recently re-designed; staffing for web development has been increased.

Measures of Progress Toward ITS Goals

Constant upgrades during the past four years have made it difficult to quantitatively measure specific progress toward all ITS Technology Goals. During the fall of 1999, ITS conducted a customer satisfaction survey of staff and faculty to determine where perceived customer service problems were. Another survey to include students, using the new Remark software, is being conducted at the end of the Fall 2003 semester.

Overall, ITS can point to multiple measures that indicate progress toward its goals as laid out in the Academic Technology Plan, the Title-III grant, the Next Steps 2000-2005 university plan, and the ITS Mission Statement:

• In the last three years, the university has doubled the number of microcomputers available to students; as a result, the student-to-microcomputer ratio is one of the best in the state of Michigan.
• All campus residences are connected to the campus network; 95% of all students have a microcomputer available to them in their residence hall rooms or at home.
• The university has made a substantial investment in classroom technology; 94% of general classrooms have state-of-the-art presentation technology.
• Students are successfully registering for classes, and students and staff are conducting business with the university, via the internet. (The old telephone registration system has been decommissioned.)
• The Student Technology Center provides technology training for individual students as well as many classes, to develop student technology expertise for required class work.
• Faculty and staff have attended over 29,000 hours of technology training during the last 2.5 years.
• In three years, web-based content delivery via the Blackboard course management system has grown from an academic experiment to an integral part of nearly 30% of all academic course-sections. In addition, many university committees, clubs, and organizations use Blackboard as their basis for communication. A migration to Blackboard 6, the most current version, occurred at the end of the Fall 2003 semester.
• The university has allocated a student technology fee and General Funds to ensure student labs and faculty microcomputers are updated every four years.
• In 1.5 years, close to 1,000 student, faculty, and staff accounts have been opened with ISPs for discount home broadband services. The university now has access to four active ISP connections, has dual homing with two ISPs to ensure fail-safe access to the internet, and during the last year has increased its internet bandwidth by 43% with a 25% cost savings.
• Faculty and staff are accessing their e-mail, M drive, and Blackboard servers from around the world via the internet.