Present: Eric Brewer, Robert Buchele, Glenn Ellis, Nicholas Howe, Kamille King, Thomas Laughner, Eric Loehr, Alan Marvelli, Katwiwa Mule, Herb Nickles, Nicholas Russell, Charles Staelin
Minutes of April 13, 2007
The minutes of the April 13th meeting were approved as written.
Updates on ETS issues
a.) Bannerweb default to current semester: The A.T.group contacted the Registrar’s Office and was told that it is not possible to change the default dates.
b.) Photos with Bannerweb class list: The AT group have a test version up and it is going well; there should be 2-3 variations of photo lists available to faculty for the fall semester.
c.) CET recommendation for computers in electronic classrooms: Tom Laughner provided the committee with a handout and said that he would propose equipping 53 classrooms over a period of 4 years. The cost would be about $28,487.50/year for 4 years and then $17,887.50/year for maintenance & upgrades. The committee was in full agreement with this plan of action. Tom said that the current budget of $50,000 allows for 5-6 rooms/year and that we will need about $100,000/year for upgrades on existing equipment. Herb suggested that the committee write a strong statement to the Provost regarding the request for computer equipment, upgrades, and ongoing maintenance as well as justifications for the costs to do this. The committee agreed that in the future all classrooms should be fully equipped, including seminar rooms, in such a way that Smith is providing “learner-centered education”. Tom Laughner agreed to draft the letter to the Provost and circulate it to the committee via email for their comments.
Evaluation of remaining faculty initiative grant requests
1) Fraser Stables & Paola Ferrario’s request for funding to purchase a high resolution large format film scanner was approved for $10,795.00.
2) Rodger Blum’s request for funding to purchase equipment for use in hybrid dance/theater performances was approved for $7,573.55. The committee asked that the minutes show that these approvals are a “windfall” for the Art & Dance departments because there was ample equipment funding remaining at year end, but that going forward departments should be increasing their budgets.
3) Kim Bierwert’s request for funding to purchase a 50” plasma screen monitor, mounting cables & brackets was approved for $2,960.00.
The committee asked that these funding letters include a statement encouraging these faculty members to work with their departments to increase their equipment budgets to cover ongoing maintenance and upgrades to this equipment. It was unanimously agreed that the balance of the CET budget for equipment for FY07 (approximately $25,000) may be used to purchase classroom computer equipment for the first year. The committee felt that this would make a statement about their commitment to improve technology in the classrooms.
Update on revising the Faculty Initiative Grant process
The committee suggested the handout Tom Laughner had provided be revised as follows:
Grants would not be available for faculty research.
The statement on copyright should clarify clearances.
Tom said that he would email the committee about ongoing requests for equipment in rooms that really can’t support the technology, usually for events. He asked for their input and comments on this email. He said that a statement about equipment availability will appear on the website under event space requests.
This will be the final meeting for CET this academic year. The committee thanked those faculty members who assumed 1 year roles as replacements for those on sabbatical.
Next fall the committee members from the faculty will be Nicholas Howe, Katwiwa Mule, Chris Gole, Sam Intrator, Mary Ellen Birkett, and Gary Lehring.
The next meeting will be in the fall and Connie will communicate with the returning committee members to establish a schedule. The meetings will be held in Stoddard Hall G4 as usual.
Respectfully submitted,
Constance McGinn, recorder