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Moving toward a managed environment, including high-tech classrooms, a top priority for trustees By
Jennifer Brennan Vice President of Information Technology and CIO Barbrara White put an emphasis on the transition from an existing highly decentralized environment to a "managed" one at the USU Board of Trustees meeting Friday. Classroom Technical Services has been organized to provide a more focused technical support for mediated classrooms on campus. Three areas of focus for the transition are the classrooms, high performance computing and student services. There are 34 "media-enhanced," general assignment classrooms out of 111 classrooms, White said. "We need more resources available," said Fred Hunsaker, USU vice president for administrative services. President Kermit L. Hall asked what the pressing, strategic issues were surrounding the transition. First, White said. the technology today "will not survive at Utah State University within the next three years. We're talking a complete change," she said. She also said the transition will cost about $5 million to $6 million. White said the next issue of importance was the need for "high-performance computing capability." USU would be able to build on the capabilities for other areas, such as a genomic center, she said. The third reason the transition is needed is for the "security of our network," she said. More security would mean more virus protections. It is a multi-step process to have more media-enhanced classrooms. "Generally the entire process will take three to four months to complete once the classroom has been identified and the resources made available," according to an Information and Learning Resources' Classroom Technical Services packet distributed at the meeting. There are five classroom levels of design. Level one is the "simplest and least complex" consisting of ceiling-mounted video projectors and sometimes an interface for a computer or notebook, according to the packet. A two-bay cabinet with local switching can be found in a level two classroom. However there is no local monitor or touch screen media control system, which can be found in a level three classroom. Level four contains a high intensity projector, and there are no classrooms of this level on campus. The Eccles Business Building Auditorium's design demonstrates level five, with a "fully interactive system for mediation and learning," according to the packet. Criteria for the development of the mediated classrooms include funding, priority for general assignment classrooms, classroom scheduling flexibility and availability of construction and administrative priorities, according to the packet. White has met with Associated Students of Utah State University to assess the students' needs. ASUSU President Steve Palmer said White has been informative about the transition. By looking at student needs, White said USU's Student services on the Internet, QUAD, operates six days a week, 17 hours a day. The transition would allow students to access Student Services seven days a week, 24 hours a day. White also said there have been six demonstrations of portal work. Patricia Terrell, vice president for Student Services, said the portals would provide a "wonderful opportunity" to connect the students. Students would also be able to see researcher's graphic models on a Web page. The goal is to have a "very robust network," and a faster capacity to carry data, White said. In other business, the trustees approved a request made by Brent Miller, vice president for research, for the name "Research and Technology Park" to be changed to "Innovation Campus."
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