Final Report for 2004-2005 from the

Academic Computing & Telecommunications Committee

 

The Academic Computing & Telecommunications Committee (ACTC) is a diverse group that includes 17 members representing students, faculty and staff. The charges to this committee (Exhibit I) are even more diverse, ranging from providing input to the Provost’s Office on Information Technology and Management to staying informed about library developments. Through the years, SenEx has added random responsibilities, charging this committee to become involved in everything from distance learning and intellectual property to the online payment of parking tickets.

 

In order to refocus the committee’s efforts onto actionable goals, the 17 members of ACTC formed the following subcommittees. Much of ACTC’s work took place in these subcommittees, which then reported and presented to the committee as a whole. ACTC also maintained a website in Blackboard to facilitate discussion. These subcommittees and their results are as follows:

 

Research Computing Subcommittee: Chair: Hume Feldman, Physics. Members: John Stobaught, Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Weizhang Huang, Mathematics. Bill Carswell, Architecture. Donna Liss, Information Services.

 

This subcommittee’s charges include:

·        Provide feedback to Information Services on the metrics needed to measure the reliability and satisfaction of technology services provided to the campus.

·        Assist Information Services as appropriate in defining the scope of technology services.

 

The subcommittee began in Fall 2004 to collect information and solicit the opinion of faculty members regarding research computing in various areas such as computation, communication, bandwidth, etc. On December 15, 2004 the subcommittee met to discuss these topics. On February 10 we reported our findings to the ACTC and discussed our recommendations. At the committee's request, a recommendation went forward to governance. On March 1 ACTC chair Bob Basow and Hume Feldman were invited by Marilu Goodyear to present their findings to the Information Services Planning Council. On March 17 Bob Basow, Paul Johnson and Hume Feldman met with Susan Twombly (University Governance president) and Joe Sicilian to review the situation and hear their suggestions. The attached recommendation (Exhibit II) was submitted to governance in April, summarizing those recommendations.

 

Library Subcommittee: Chair: Becky Schulte, Libraries. Members: Bill Comer, Slavic Languages; Paul Johnson, Political Science; Mike Rusche, Libraries.

 

This subcommittee primarily addressed Charge D.  Digital Library:

·        Consult with Information Services on the continued implementation of the KU Digital Library.  Collect reference to draft or final documents, timelines, plans.

 

During the ACTC meeting on Nov. 4, 2004, Deb Ludwig, Director, Enterprise Academic Systems and Richard Fyffe, Assistant Dean, Scholarly Communications gave a brief PowerPoint presentation on Digital Library initiatives http://kudiglib.ku.edu/ 

 

Key discussion points with committee members included the following Digital Library Systems:

·        ENCompass – A new gateway scheduled for release during Spring 2005 will provide for single searches across multiple databases;

·        Luna Insight – A system which provides for the storage, management and presentation of images scheduled for public roll-out in Spring 2005;

·        KU ScholarWorks – A “self-service” digital repository for scholarly work created by KU faculty and staff;

·        Digital Collections – An index of digital collection projects done at the Spencer Research Library, the Museum of Anthropology and the Paleontology Lab can be found at http://kudiglib.ku.edu/digcoll/index.shtml

 

Wireless/Security/Online Services Subcommittee: Chair: Preeti Krishnan, student. Members: Thelma Simons, Academic Computing, John Hoopes, Anthropology; Ross Black, Geology; Ryan Faulconer, student; Mike Willems, student; John Cornish, student.

Charge 6. Provide input on policy and procedural issues related to computer security on campus, including the need for wireless access nodes.

·        This charge contains two different issues. Wireless access nodes are currently being installed in locations across campus. A current listing of the locations can be found at http://www.technology.ku.edu/internet/wireless/.

·        Current IT policy, including computer security issues, can be found at http://www.policy.ku.edu/it/. Providing input on policy and procedural issues is a broad charge. We could review the current security policy and determine if there are any particular items that we need to research further.

Charge 8. Determine the policy and software implications of recent problems with security.

·        Several approaches have been taken to help protect our campus from security issues, including intruder attacks and infected email messages. Security devices have been installed at many locations across campus. Staff in the IT Security Office (ITSO) have worked with Sophos, the vendor for the workstation antivirus program in use at KU, to insure that program is configured correctly and updated frequently to provide the best protection for campus users. Another antivirus program is installed on the Exchange email servers. User education is another area that is being enhanced. The ITSO Web site (www.security.ku.edu) has recently been revamped to provide accurate and timely security information for users. The IT Security Awareness Program will help inform users about safe computing practices.

Charge 9. Investigate the security issues associated with wireless networks on KU campuses.

·        Wireless networking is inherently insecure, but KU does provide users with an option to encrypt wireless traffic. When users log into the KU wireless network they are presented with a link to instructions on how to use the L2TP/IPSec encryption. This solution, also known as Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), requires a KU Wireless certificate and a Personal Certificate be loaded on the user’s computer. There is also some basic information about wireless security provided in the FAQ section on wireless use at http://www.technology.ku.edu/internet/wireless/wireless_security.shtml. This text is currently under review.

Charge 11. Explore wireless concepts for the University.

·        KU is quite a ways down the road toward implementing wireless across campus. This charge is moot and should be deleted.

Charge 13. Explore changing Information Services’ policy on networking computers and thereby not allowing faculty to have administrative privileges on their own computers.

·        There is no current IS policy that prevents faculty from having administrative privileges on their departmental computers. Restricting privileges to the lowest level needed is part of computing best practices. Some units on campus have adopted this best practice.

Charge 15. Monitor the implementation of the IT Security Policy and the IT Security Awareness Program

·        The IT Security Policy was formally adopted in May, 2003 and is available online at http://www.policy.ku.edu/it/security.shtml. Deans, directors, chairs, and departmental technical support staff have been notified about this policy. Further implementation of this policy is tied to the IT Security Awareness Program.

 

·        The IT Security Awareness Program is still in the early stages. Most departmental technical support staff (known as tech liaisons) have already attended a security training session. A CyberSecurity Awareness day was held on November 1, 2004, to promote awareness of computer security issues. Other methods of communicating security issues to campus users are being discussed.

 

 

 

Exhibit I.

ACTC Charges for 2004-09-01

 

Standing Charges

 

1.   Meet with the Provost and/or the Provost’s representative to offer the Committee’s assistance on Academic Computing and Telecommunications matters.

 

2.   Provide faculty, students and staff input for the strategic initiatives in the KU Information Technology Management and Budget Plan to the Office of the Vice Provost for Information Services.

 

3.   Serve as a forum for discussing distance learning, online instruction, intellectual property and other issues relating to academic use of information technology.

 

4.   Provide input into the development and updating of information technology policy and provide recommendations to the Vice Provost for Information Services.

 

5.   Submit to Senex: a) the approved minutes of each meeting; b) recommendations approved by the committee, and c) a final report by April 1, 2004. The final report should outline the committee’s accomplishments and make recommendations for the following year(s).

 

Additional Charges

 

6.   Provide input to the Office of the Vice Provost for Information Services on policy and procedural issues related to computer security on campus, including the need for wireless access nodes.

 

7.   Monitor the implementation of online enrollment and make suggestions for improvement.

 

8.   Determine the policy and software implications of recent problems with security.

 

9.   Investigate the security issues associate with wireless networks on KU campuses.

 

10. Gather university-wide information on units using various software packages to determine if a cost-sharing policy is feasible.

 

11. Explore wireless concepts for the University.

 

12. Explore additional on-line services for students, enabling them to pay parking tickets, order transcripts, etc. online.

 

13. Explore changing Information Services’ policy on networking computers and thereby not allowing faculty to have administrative privileges on their own computers.

 

14. Review the implementation of portal services for faculty, staff and students, including the implementation of online enrollment services. Recommend services to be included in the portal environment.

 

15. Monitor the implementation of the IT Security Policy and the IT Security Awareness Program.

 

16. Consult with Information Services on the continued implementation of the KU Digital Library.

 

17. Provide feedback to Information Services on the metrics needed to measure the reliability and satisfaction of technology services provided to the campus. Assist Information Services as appropriate in defining the scope of technology services.

 

Exhibit II.

Recommendation from the Academic Computing & Telecommunications Committee

It is recommended that the Provost create a central technology group that supports faculty research needs in the same manner in which IDS supports faculty teaching needs.  This should be initiated by appointment of a  faculty task force to identify key priorities and guide the formation of the technology group.

 

Background: Charge #1 to ACTC states: Meet with the Provost and/or the Provost’s representative to offer the Committee’s assistance on Academic Computing and Telecommunications matters. In August 2004, Prof. Basow (ACTC chair) met with the Provost’s representatives, Marilu Goodyear and Donna Liss, to review the Research Computing Review dated 8/15/2004 conducted by Information Technology Associates. This report made several observations regarding faculty governance, including:

·        Communications between the Information Services and the faculty needs to be improved. A more effective faculty advisory structure needs to be established. (Page 1).

·        While there is a faculty advisory committee organized by the Faculty Senate, the faculty [members interviewed] appeared to be either unaware of its existence or had little faith in its effectiveness. (Page 9).

 

Prof. Basow explained to the Provost’s representatives that ACTC is a university committee of 17 members including students, faculty and staff. While its several charges are broad, the committee’s primary purpose is to provide a forum in which students, faculty and staff can discuss common needs and concerns. The committee does well to meet for an hour-and-a-half for 2 to 3 three times per semester. Each meeting includes a presentation on one area of responsibility, such as the Digital Library.  At ACTC’s first meeting last fall, the committee organized into subcommittees, each including students, faculty and staff. A separate subcommittee consisting only of faculty members focused on Research Computing.

 

Reasons for this Recommendation:

The Research Computing subcommittee gathered input from faculty members outside ACTC to identify several areas of critical need including email constraints, bandwidth limitations, network connectivity and cybersecurity. Several problems focused on the need for infrastructure support. Essentially, faculty members expressed the need for a central technology group that supports faculty research needs in the same manner in which IDS supports faculty teaching needs.

 

In its February meeting, ACTC asked Hume Feldman and Bob Basow to meet with faculty governance leaders to surface the need for a stronger organization outside of ACTC to focus on faculty needs for research computing. This organization would include key faculty members in the natural and social sciences whose research needs depend on adequate computer support. Initially this faculty organization would function as a task force to identify key priorities.

 

A decade ago, ACTC helped guide the formation of ASTUTE (Academic Systems Teaching the Uses of Technology in Education), ASTUTE evolved into IDS, which helps faculty members improve their teaching by becoming more skilled in using computers. Today the need is critical in Research. Perhaps in the future there might even be a Center for Research Excellence to complement KU’s Center for Teaching Excellence.