Campus Computing Resources
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The principal strategy for our campus computing plan is to expand and
enhance the effectiveness of our campus information technology for the ultimate
user (the end-user). This strategy not only recognizes the prevailing trends in
industry and higher education, it acknowledges the need to develop and support
the personal skills and effectiveness of our students, faculty, staff and
administrators. Students will be introduced to up-to-date resources and will
use them to enhance learning. Faculty will use their new skills and resources
to improve their instructional and research activities. Staff and
administrators will use these resources for efficient processing of information
and enhanced service to students. Most users will enjoy better communication
and will become more self-reliant in meeting their own computing and
information needs. As a result, individuals, working groups and departments
will not only have greater control over their use of campus information
technology, there will be broader opportunities for creativity and
innovation.
Individual computing resources provide the fundamental means for
students, faculty,staff and administrators to effectively and efficiently
utilize campus computing resources, services and electronic communications.
These resources currently include a personal computer, access to the campus
network and a set of personal productivity tools such as a wordprocessing,
spreadsheet and client-based network applications. However, as these computing
resources continue to shrink in size and cost, while becoming faster and more
powerful, it will be possible to achieve ubiquitous access and to support the
concept of anyplace/anytime computing and communications. Our choice of
personal computing resources must fulfill our overall campus computing strategy
while meeting those standards established by our campus computing hardware and
software policies. While cost will always be a limiting factor, we cannot
afford to invest in technology which is not flexible nor powerful enough to
grow with our evolving skills, interests and capabilities.
Goals:
- To provide individual computing resources that meet campus hardware standards to every administrator, faculty and staff member requesting them.
- To provide personal productivity tools as described above, as well as client-based applications for campus network and Internet services.
Computing resources which can be shared efficiently and effectively
enhance the value of all campus personal computing resources at minimal cost by
providing access to expensive resources, such as specialized software, local
databases, large data storage areas and high-quality printing services.
To ensure that users realize the benefits of shared resources, access to, and
use of, them should be a logical extension of the personal computing
environment they are already familiar with. That is, shared resources and
services should look like, and work like, any other resource and service that
end-users have become accustomed to using on their own personal computer.
- Goal:
To purchase computing resources that are capable of being shared over the campus network.
Centralized computing resources and services should be viewed as an extension
of local computing resources, services and needs. Resources and services, that
are clearly a college-wide necessity which cannot be effectively met with
shared or personal resources and services, should be acquired and managed at a
centralized campus level. Many computer and information technology services
such as the Campus-Wide Information System (CWIS), the computer purchase
program, technical support, planning, evaluation and development, are clearly
suited for centralization in order to provide an institutional perspective--one
of the chief concerns of the College's Strategic Plan. The principal strategy
we propose in this plan for the acquisition of any centralized campus resources
combines a broad perspective with flexibility; that is, to invest only in those
hardware and software products which can be purchased in a modular fashion and
added incrementally as appropriate. This strategy allows us to minimize our
financial commitment and risk in the always volatile technology market while
remaining flexible enough to respond to changing needs.
Goals:
- To purchase centralized computing resources that adhere to the campus-wide computing strategy.
- To purchase only that centralized computing equipment necessary to meet the computing and information needs of the campus.
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This document prepared by Robert Jewett. Email: (jewettrj@potsdam.edu).