The Office of Information Technology recently formed an Information Technology Student Advisory Group to allow students to share their thoughts and ideas about the ways technology is implemented at the University.
The founding of the group is expected to improve IT governance on campus and ensure input and collaboration on decisions for IT.
According to the recent IT Governance draft, many existing IT governance processes and structures at the University involve a confusing hybrid of centralized units, autonomous colleges, departments, independent research teams, individual leadership and committee consensus, resulting in conflicting policies and an inefficient use of resources.
Marc Hoit, vice chancellor for information technology and CIO, said the idea is to create a single representative body for each group to which any and all committees can present ideas and proposals and receive feedback, advice, recommendations and concerns.
“The goal is to bring services that have real impact on students,” he said.
According to Hoit, historically it has been difficult to recruit faculty or student membership in IT committees. A single member to a committee often does not represent the full diversity or needs of the respective groups.
By creating a standing committee for each, a diverse and representative group can be developed to provide the full spectrum of ideas and input.
Hoit said one of the major failings of current structure is communication between students, faculty and OIT.
“Part of my dilemma is that I don’t have much student contact and I have to hear through second and third parties,” he said. “The idea of this committee is to give me and my staff more connection with students and to hear from them.”
Hoit said a group of students has the ability to make better decisions than staff and faculty.
“Research shows that students do make good decisions if the proper information is put in front of them,” he said.
By having a student group, Hoit wants to find out what IT issues are priorities for students.
“One of the challenges I have is understanding the needs of everyone on campus and trying to meet those needs within our budget,” he said. ”We have limited money, and we can only make certain decisions. We want students to help us make the decisions that will impact their learning and time here on campus. It’s a more collaborative solution process.”
Hoit said, however, there is a little apprehension that students will not take the effort seriously.
“The fear on our side is that students will go with the latest craze or whim,” he said. “The faculty and staff on the other hand tend to make decisions that are rooted in their beliefs of what is needed and don’t always reach out to get the information of what students need. The dilemma is that acting on it isn’t always easy.”
The IT Student Advisory Group held its first meeting March 4 where it addressed a number of topics including student computing labs, the use of the Educational Technology Fee and the new Google e-mail system.
Many students attended the meeting to see what their ETF was being used for.
According to Hoit, the ETF is a separate fee students are charged in addition to tuition and it goes specifically to technology and lab related facilities for student education. Some of the resources that benefit from the fee are software applications, supplies for educational materials, laboratory expenses, student computing labs, connectivity infrastructure and services to support student learning.
Starting this fall, students will have to pay an additional $9 for the ETF. According to Hoit, this was the only fee approved by the student referendum.
“We want more wireless. We want more support for our walk-in service. We want more classrooms to have technology in there. It’s specifically for [students] and that’s what the funding will go to,” he said.
Benjamin Kinneer, a freshman in computer engineering, said he went to the Advisory Group meeting to find out more about how the ETF were allocated.
“I came to find more about how they handle our fees and to provide feedback from a student point of view,” he said.
Michael Helms, a software engineer and part-time sophomore in English, said he came to voice his suggestions.
“I find the MyPack portal a little difficult to use, and I’d like to see the course catalog and degree audit integrated together. I’d like to see a more consistent computing experience in the computing labs across campus,” he said. ”I’d also like to see a push for more quality online learning and to see the University explore cloud computing options for different student services.”
Victoria Earl, a senior in English, said she wanted to have an influence on how the University made its technological decisions and hopes the advisory group will serve as a link between students and the University.
“I would like the group to be a source of information for the students about how the University makes their technological decisions as well as a source of information for the University about what students want out of their tech related experiences,” Earl said.
The group will meet once a month during the fall and spring semesters.
