SUNY-Geneseo has been remarkably successful at building technological infrastructure; putting effective computing facilities in the hands of students, faculty and staff; and, providing facilities for integrating technology into the classroom. The view of technology that one gets walking around the Geneseo campus contrasts dramatically both in scope and use with that seen on many other campuses of our size and mission. Our appearance in Yahoo's most wired campus list attests to this, and we should take pride in what we have been able to accomplish.
Technological responses to date have in great part developed with little global or institutional planning. As each unit of the college was faced with change, it responded. Visionaries at the departmental, administrative and facilities levels have each, in their own fashion, sought to integrate and make the best use of technology. This often involved the need for local cooperation. The "grow your own" development of our campus network with its vision that directed periodic expenditures was one very successful example of such an interaction. But campus-wide technological advancement has generally been done in fits and starts.
We now enter a new period, where a much more structured approach to campus technology needs to be developed. There are many factors that demand we do this. It is, however, important to note that these problems are faced by the vast majority of colleges and universities (see the attachment from the Chronicle of Higher Education).
Technological Advances. We are in a historical period where issues related to Information Technology (IT) will profoundly affect every activity at Geneseo, changing not only how we do our jobs but even the work we will be asked to do. These changes extend beyond just classroom-related activities into everything that takes place in a small city sized organization such as ours. Because there are so many venues on a campus that are involved in these changes, there is a need to bring them together into the decision making process.
Cost. Because the institution is facing an ever increasing demand for IT services ranging from faster Internet access, high-tech classrooms, access to new services, better hardware, new software, etc., technology is consuming a significantly increasing portion of all budgets. Some expenditures are apparent (computers) and some invisible to the average user (network costs). Also, time and effort are both resources of the college, and the cost of training and the time lost when a system is down also need to be considered. At present, we have little feeling for the magnitude of these costs. We do not even know that cost necessary to maintain the college at its current technological level, let alone provide new services.
Personnel Development. Technology is changing rapidly, but faculty/staff often have little free time to be come proficient in using it. The college needs not only competent users, but must have individuals that can continually upgrade their skills and meet the more demanding task of being effective teachers, users, innovators, and supporters with this technology.
Campus Mission. The institution needs to evaluate its responsibilities to its clientele and determine how it will meet these responsibilities. If, for example, we are to train our students to be effective citizens in the 21st century, we will have to teach them to effectively and wisely use the technology they will face both in their lives and in the workplace. The Geneseo Mission/Goals Statement has recognized the importance of IT in education, although integration into the curriculum has yet to be fully realized.
While some institutions have begun to address this situation, it is clear that long term planning is unusual. In a recent survey (http://campuscomputing.net) 55% of private institutions have a planning mechanism, but only 10% of public institutions have done so.
Planning is difficult because it is a remarkably complex process, involving all sectors within the institution (i.e. it is not just academic). The process requires bringing together students, faculty, staff and administrators, groups of individuals with different needs and outlooks. At the same time, there is little history of global or institutional planning in this area so that we are required to organize new structures and use different approaches to problem solving.
In order to assist the College in meeting the challenges of the 21st century, a campus-wide committee called the "College Technology Planning Board" has been formed that will address technology issues and make recommendations to the appropriate individuals and enabling groups. The scope of the use of the word technology for this purpose means all aspects of college activities that involve information that at any time passes through a wire. The majority of this information is in digital form, and the committee will address all issues relating to its production, distribution, transmittal, storage, and use.
Because there is no distinct border that separates one type of information from another, and because all information moves within an integrated campus infrastructure, the committee must have broad representation. Committee membership will be drawn from:
Administration and Finance
Campus Auxiliary Services
Campus and Student Life
College Advancement
Computer Information Technology
Enrollment Management
Faculty
Library
Office of the Provost
Student Government
The committee will initially assume the following five tasks:
I. Strategic Planning: The committee
will prepare a four-year strategic plan for technology development
on the Geneseo campus. This will consist of a specific set of recommendations
regarding not only the directions we will take but also the priorities
we will use to meet our goals. The plan will be constructed so that it
specifically relates to campus expenditures and purchases. The committee
will make recommendations about the expenditure of monies in the regular
campus budget and hopes to have a detailed enough plan in place so that
unplanned sources of revenue can be used wisely.
Only by knowing the facts and being able to make relatively accurate predictions can we hope to make the best use of limited resources. Therefore, in order to construct the plan, the committee will carry out the following:
Inventory Campus Resources. While there already are inventories of campus resources related to technology, these cover only limited classes of hardware, are often not up-to-date, and the information contained in them (in summaries for example) are generally unavailable at times strategic or purchasing decisions are made. The committee will examine the inventory mechanisms in place and suggest procedures to establish and maintain an information database about campus technology resources, including space/facilities; infrastructure; hardware; software; faculty/staff Expertise.
Needs Assessment. The committee will determine the internal perception of the demands on technology, by conducting a thorough needs assessment in the areas of infrastructure, facilities and support, faculty/staff development, and in the teaching program. This will be done by having discussions with those concerned with prime technology points (both on campus and in wider SUNY-related areas), promote campus-wide technology discussions (see below), and conduct user surveys.
Evaluation of Best Current/Future Practices. No institution exists in isolation, and many have faced the same problems that now face us. The committee will look outside the institution to determine the current best technological practices. Each area of the institution, as represented by the individuals on the committee, will look to provide an assessment of the most advanced usable technology in their area - and present that information to the committee as a whole.
Because technology changes so fast, no plan, however ingenious, will be successful over a long period of time. And, by all measures, "technology time" is much faster than standard time. Therefore, the Strategic Plan developed by the committee will have to be a dynamic (rolling) document, something that is always in the process of being modified and brought "up-to-date". Regular evaluation of the Strategic Plan needs to be built into the committee’s activities. At the beginning of each academic year, the committee will: (1) evaluate the previous years' activities; (2) solidify the current years' plan, and (3) review the overall Strategic Plan, including adding another (fourth) year.
II. Promote Campus-wide Technology Discussions. The committee will act as a promoter of the campus-wide discussion about technology issues. Users are a much greater resource that what is available only on the committee, and this discussion will inform the process of Needs Assessment (see above). It will also serve as a primary way to encourage new technology uses on campus. As such, it is an important beginning step in the process of faculty/staff development. People who are asked to use new technology need to feel involved in that process and have some control over what is happening. No major change of direction can come from administrative decisions alone because no technology will be used in the classroom or anywhere else on campus for that matter unless users buy into the process.
The committee will consider such things as sponsoring open forums to promote campus discussion. It is important for the campus community to think about and discuss such questions as:
What improvements in technology infrastructure are needed to keep Geneseo competitive as a high quality undergraduate institution?
Are current facilities adequate?
What levels and types of staffing/support will enable all campus users to make the best use of technology?
What are the needs in the area of faculty/staff development?
What do faculty see as the changing role of technology in the educational process?
III. Promote Personnel Development in the Area of Technology. In addition to promoting technology through open forums (see above), all campus employees need opportunities to learn and use new skills that will enhance their job performance, make their lives better, and give them the time and encouragement to explore new approaches to meeting their college responsibilities. The college needs to aid in the development of its personnel, and in ways that work even in the face of the reality that technology is changing rapidly, but faculty/staff often have little free time to be come proficient in using it. Only in this way can we encourage innovation and enhance the critical educational functions of the college.
The committee therefore will implement a systematic program of faculty/staff development in the area of technology. The program produced will use of a wide variety of learning modes: providing local short courses; synchronous/asynchronous distance learning; sending faculty to specialized courses, etc. Additionally, the committee will establish local users groups (both electronic and real time) in a variety of technical areas where individuals with similar needs/problems can meet to learn, exchange ideas, and which can act as a significant resource for problem-solving.
IV. Act as a Resource for Policy Decisions. Because of the widespread influence of technology on campus, there will be an ever-increasing need for decisions regarding policy issues. The college will need to have policies covering issues such as privacy rights, copyright protection, and access to information, etc. The committee will serve as a resource to gather information about and make recommendations about such policies to the appropriate individuals or enabling bodies.
V. Examine Issues which Impact Student Use. Over the past four years, the number of students who bring their own computers to campus has increased significantly. Some campuses require every student to bring their own computer when they enroll as a freshman. As the committee examines the best and future practices, they will investigate the practices of comparable institutions and make recommendations regarding the best way to insure students receive the highest quality experience with technology.