Computing Services Annual Report, 1997-98

Michael R. Sherer, Director of Information Technology
October 12, 1998

The 1997-98 academic year will likely be remembered as the year GC's technology fortunes turned around from the student's perspective. While some faculty and staff had to deal with aging hardware, students encountered new computer hardware in all labs, dorms were wired for internet and cable tv, key classrooms were equipped with multimedia and computer projection capabilities, and key services were modernized. The advancements and momentum in the technology area were such that we were able to market technology to prospective students as an institutional strength and did a campaign for high school seniors called "Take the GC Technology Challenge" encouraging them to compare GC with any of their top college choices. We see indications this fall that this campaign was successful. The Business Information Systems program and the Computer Science program have both seen their number of majors double in the past year, an indication that many of those who were most interested in technology compared and came here.

I. Achievements

The computing services staff has accomplished a significant amount over the past year. These achievements included the following:

Networking

• ResNet Wiring Project was completed on time and within budget
• Nine classrooms were wired for computer projection and multimedia.

• The main campus network switch was upgrade to a Cabletron SmartSwitch 9000, capable of full-duplex 100 mbs speed. Ad building, Union and Newcomer also received network upgrades.
• Ad building was upgraded from Category 3 to Category 5 wiring
• KM Lab Upgraded from Category 3 to Category 5 wiring
• Completed networking of all primary campus classrooms
• Added East Hall to the campus network.

Services

• Deployed Netscape Directory Server 1.03
• Netscape Mail Server replaced the popmail server on the VAX, resulting in improved mail service and faster VAX performance for administrative purposes.
• Ran Netscape Calendar Server in test mode for much of the year, attempting to work towards production quality service.
• Migrated to Netware 4.11
• Upgraded our Netware server hardware to faster processors and RAID, fault-tolerant disk
• Introduced a listserv service to the campus, with lists like fsannounce.
• 56K Dial-up Internet Access was rolled out with installer CD's for Mac and Windows.
• Introduced CourseInfo to the campus, a web based service for publishing course content
• Brought email, the web server and news into the LDAP name space.
• Implemented Mac Backups.
• Shut down gopher.goshen.edu
• Introduced WebMail and WebCalendar to the campus in prototype form

Computer Upgrades

• Approximately 250 computer systems were upgraded in Summer of 97.
• The transition to Windows 95, Netware Client 32, and MacOS 8 was completed during summer of 98.
• Office 97 and Windows 95 became campus standards for PC users during Summer of 98.

ResNet

• Installation Fairs got students on ResNet in short order. Approximately 30% of students in the dorms had computers on ResNet, with these computers often being used by two or more people.

• Training, Support and Staff Development

• Lilly grant money funded a second the on 'Teaching with Technology' seminar, which trained 12 faculty members on the use of web development technologies and the use of CourseInfo.
• Taught 30+ training classes for DCC's and other faculty/staff.
• ITS Staff have retrained and adapted to meet new support challenges posed by the rapid addition of new services and an increasingly sophisticated computing environment.

Labs

• KM Lab was renovated
• KM Lab staffing increased evenings and weekends
• Schertz Lab hours were extended to midnight, and weekend

• and holiday hours were expanded to accommodate DCP students

• The lab standard PC was upgraded to a 300 MHz Pentium II multimedia system with 64 MB RAM running Windows 95. This is up from a P200 with 32 MB RAM. The lab standard Macintosh was upgraded to a 266 MHz G3 PowerPC with 96 MB.

Administration

• Submitted a totally formulaic budget that will serve as a model for future years.
• IMC and Computing Services Merged to become Information Technology Services (ITS).
• Completed a strategic plan for technology that was submitted to the ITC and Strategic Planning Committee.
• Drafted the Career Path for Technical Staff document
• Along with Lyle Miller from PR, drafted the Web Governance Proposal for the provost
• Bought an AlphaSmart keyboard for more efficient note and minute-taking.

Web

• Computing Services web pages were redone.
• The look of the GC Web site was overhauled.
• Communicator began to be published daily on the on campus web page.

• Press-releases are published to the GC home page several times a week.

Data Systems

• Administrative Modernization Task Force met for several months and recommended going with internal modernization.
• Created DevCorps, a team of student programmers working on web-based administrative application development.
• Oracle 8 on NT was deployed in test mode.
• Admissions data systems were improved, including management reports, better contact-management and less printed output.
• Prototyped GC Online, a new suite of authenticated Administrative Services.
• Retired Birch VAX.
• Put student resumes and job postings on the web
• Made course information available via the web
• Delivered View Accounts, the first authenticated web application, for use by Department heads.

Public Relations

• Invited High school seniors to "Take the GC Technology Challenge."
• Made presentations at several Campus Open Houses
• Prototyped a Welcome Center Kiosk in Macromedia Director.

• Entering academic year 98-99, Goshen College is in an enviable position technology-wise, relative to most liberal arts colleges. Our basic Information Technology infrastructure is in place, along with mechanisms in place to maintain and upgrade it on an ongoing basis. This year, for the first time, we are having faculty comment about their experiences with technology at other schools and how appreciative they now are of what we have here. The primary concern from last year's report, dial-up access to the campus network, has been addressed.

II. Challenges

Despite this generally upbeat report, there are some areas of concern:

0. Doing Information Technology well at a small institution is a difficult task. We are exploring ways, such as mennonite.net, to do more IT at Goshen College so that we benefit from certain economies of scale.
1. Expectations are rising quickly. The rapid addition of services and software over the past year has meant that users are doing more with their computers and thus have increased need for training and support.
2. The user base is expanding rapidly. The addition of ResNet has increased the expectation among students for general computing support. The addition of dial-up network services has increased expectations among faculty/staff and retirees for support at home. The expanding enrollment in the Degree Completion Program and rising expectations for technology use in the curriculum is driving increased support demands among these students. The expansion of the installed base of computers also increases the support burden. To deal with this increased support demand, we are implementing a student-run help desk. While this may help offset the load, there are ongoing concerns about the quality of support we are giving and the cost is to the institution of using student labor for support.
3. 98-99 promises to be both an exciting and difficult year for administrative computing. On the plus side, we will be bringing on some very exciting applications through GC Online. On the down side, many of the people in the executive office who knew the old system well are gone, thus there are many places where modernization will be urgent throughout the year.
4. Staff changes and absences are a concern. John Glick is scheduled to take a sabbatical during the first half of 1999. Steve Birky returned to France at the end of summer 98. Bryan Falcon is due to leave at the end of the calendar year. Also, in the departments, Tony Yoder will be leaving College Relations and DeLane Graber will be on leave from Accounting. It will be important to provide adequate coverage in each of these areas.
5. The Computing Services/IMC merger will present some new challenges as we integrate the two organizations and contend with differing cultures and differing missions and responsibilities.
6. Security and ethics in a networked environment are consuming increased amounts of time. We are working towards being proactive, but are often put in the position of being reactive.
7. Relations with Microsoft are going to be complicated by Microsoft's new licensing program which eliminates concurrency, a licensing approach we use extensively here at GC. Costs will rise substantially, on the order of $20,000 per year, because of this. Some broader campus discussion about what our response should be will likely be necessary because of this change.
8. Space issues are approaching a critical point in ITS. As we do more and make greater use of student labor, we are quickly running out of space. Also, the addition of mennonite.net and the exploration of entrepreneurial IT models hold significant possibilities for expansion. Moving a lab out of Schertz Computing Center into the library would alleviate the space problem, but also create a
9. Adequate funding and staffing will continue to be an issue. IT demands are driven by the institution's departments and students. These demands must be moderated by the institution's overall strategic objectives in the face of finite resources. ITS must either find ways to secure those resources from alternate sources, find more efficient ways to deliver services, or find ways to reduce services in acceptable ways.

III. Goals for the Coming Year

ITS has identified numerous goals for the coming year. They are, by category:

Networking

0. Begin migration to switched ethernet
1. Make the campus "laptop-friendly"
2. Improved network management and monitoring using SNMP and other utilties.
3. Improve IP address management.

Services

0. Reduce printing in general in favor of on-line access to data. Replace central printing with local printing in or near each department.
1. Test and possibly deploy Netware 5
2. Provide dial-up access to the M: drive
3. Move toward a central printing budget
4. Add color laser printing to our suite of services
5. Single ID and password access to all services
6. Deploy production quality Calendar Scheduling services
7. Authenticated Online phone directory
8. Tighter integration between campus services and corporate data
9. Deploy GC image database
10. Deploy Web/Email Kiosks
11. Improve our client management capabilities using utilties like Novell ZenWorks.
12. Deploy Welcome Center Kiosk
13. Explore Winframe, X Windows thin client solutions
14. Explore Linux on the desktop and on the server

Labs

0. Expand software holdings and functionality in the labs

Administration

0. Continued refinement of the ITS formulaic budget
1. Explore entrepreneurial IT models as a means of improving and expanding IT at Goshen College.
2. Refinement of Technical Staff Career Path document.
3. Write and receive one or more grants
4. Revision of the Centralized Hardware model to include technical computing applications.

Training, Support and Staff Development

0. Continue to leverage the DCC program to train peer consultants
1. Deploy and develop a student run Help Desk.
2. Build a problem tracking database and knowledge database
3. Increase the quality and availability of Macintosh Support
4. Increase the quality and availability of Linux/Unix Support
5. Continue to evolve the training program.

Media

0. Refine ITS Media policies and rate structures with an eye to improving service quality and minimizing unnecessary late requests.
1. In cooperation with the Music Department, define recording methodologies and microphone placement standards for all performance spaces and all ensemble types.
2. Define A/V equipment standards and lifecycles for budgetary purposes and for creating a centralized A/V equipment management program comparable to the one in place for computing hardware and software.
3. Document current and propose new Multimedia classroom planning and equipment acquisition procedures.
4. Review technical problems with current campus cable television infrastructure and propose a plan for restructuring.
5. Develop a web-based workorder request and tracking system to provide customers with a better interface and ITS with a better way to assure requests are being processed.
6. Deploy a video server.

Data Systems

0. Deploy and expand GC Online
1. Continue progress on administrative modernization, particularly in areas with significant staff turnover.
2. Y2K compliance
3. Complete migration to Oracle 8 and Windows clients
4. Phase out Cedar VAX

Web

0. Create a useful, comprehensive, ITS web site.
1. Development of WebCorps and mennonite.net
2. Improve Admissions web applications form.
3. Develop and deploy www.mennonite.net

Public Relations

0. Leverage mennonite.net to strengthen college/church relations
1. Build on "Take the GC Technology Challenge" campaign from last year.
2. Highlight applied learning programs like WebCorps, DevCorps, TechCorps

ITS has done much to strengthen Goshen College over the past year. An infrastructure is now in place which fosters collaboration, communication and innovation. The college's strategic plan calls for ITS to apply technology in innovative and effective ways. To achieve this objective, we will continue to expand and improve the college's IT infrastructure over the coming year in new and exciting ways. Furthermore, we will work with members of the community to use that infrastructure in ways which further the academic and administrative goals of the college, build relationships, attract and retain students and differentiate the college from competing institutions.