Directions in Computing
at Potsdam College
(1988)


Contents of this page:

Introduction

With the publication of its Strategic Plan in 1988, Potsdam College outlined a number of important strategies, goals and objectives that are critical to the fulfillment of its mission and its competitive standing as an institution of higher learning. Computing plays a major role in meeting the needs of this plan, particularly in the areas of academic support systems and student services, faculty development, the enhancement of teaching, research, scholarly and creative activities, administrative support and public service.

Over the past three years, members of the Computer Center staff have conducted a rigorous, detailed survey of the computing needs and concerns of Potsdam College. Directions in Computing at Potsdam College is the first attempt at articulating these campus-wide computing concerns in a way that responds to the expressed needs of faculty, students, staff and administrators. The campus plan for computing, as outlined in this document, has been reviewed extensively by the Academic Computing Advisory Committee and the Computer Resources Committee. In this process of review, it became clear that our plan would never provide all of the "right" or even best answers for meeting our campus needs; rather, it could only describe, as in the Potsdam College Strategic Plan, those strategies, goals and objectives which provide our campus with a sense of direction in the acquisition of computing resources and the design and development of computing services. It is critical that we continue to learn from the educational process we have begun through this planning process, and that the process of planning for computing at Potsdam College itself be continued and refined.



Campus Computing Goals


The following goals are proposed to meet the computing needs of the campus over the next five years (1990 - 1995) and to address those strategies, goals, and objectives outlined in the Potsdam College Strategic Plan (1988):

  1. Provide timely, comprehensive access (local and remote) to computer resources for enabling the efficient collection, analysis and interpretation of information for instructional, institutional and research needs.

  2. Maximize the personal productivity of faculty, staff, students and administrators through access to computing tools.

  3. Support computing requirements of the College curriculum.

  4. Provide student access to computing for the improvement of computer literacy and enhancement of personal productivity.

  5. Encourage efficient use of computer acquisition funds in order to minimize equipment, training, and maintenance costs for information systems and their users.

  6. Establish an ongoing process for planning computing needs of the campus which allows for annual review and updating.

  7. Provide computer-related public service as time and resources allow.



The Potsdam College Computing Plan is designed to meet these goals by establishing objectives that fall under the following four major components of computing resources and services:

  1. Local Resources and Services

  2. Centralized Resources and Services

  3. Communications/Networking Resources and Services

  4. Public Service


Following the detailed description of each of these major components of the plan is the staffing and budget plan which outlines the assignment of responsibilities for implementing and managing the plan as well as the cost of those resources which must be acquired.



Campus Computing Strategies

To effectively meet our computing needs we have developed the following computing strategies which draw upon principles and strategies widely supported in the computing industry and in leading institutions of higher learning:

1. the end-users and their desktops "...should become the center of a network universe consisting of concentric spheres of information access". [1] That is, from their desktops, which are connected to the campus network, individuals at Potsdam College will have access to personal productivity tools and information that may reside on their personal computers, elsewhere on-campus, within SUNY or at any one of thousands of remote sites around the world;

2. computing resources should meet the standards set by our campus hardware and software policies; [2]

3. the logical and physical support infrastructure for end-users should be their departments; [3]

4. commercial software products should be used wherever possible to minimize development costs and ensure adequate support; [4] and,

5. the location of information in centralized and local databases should be transparent to the end-user. [5] That is, individuals may not know where the information they are using is stored, but they should be able to access and use it as easily as if it were stored on their desktop computers.

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Document prepared by Robert Jewett. Email: jewettrj@potsdam.edu