College of Arts & SciencesMississippi State UniversityACADEMIC COMPUTING NEEDSApril 1, 1999 Each faculty member at MSU needs a minimum computing capability in order to perform his or her teaching and administrative duties in an efficient manner*. The costs of providing these minimum capabilities have risen to the point that it is not feasible for departments to provide them from discretionary funds (release, development, overhead, etc.). The University should acknowledge and endorse this minimum requirement and work with the academic units to develop a strategy for funding them, long-term, university-wide. In addition to initial costs, computing tools have a life expectancy of three to five years before requiring replacement. The University central administration, not the colleges, schools, and departments, should assume the costs of replacing equipment. These minimum needs include: 1) The ability to send and receive email efficiently. Email is now the preferred mode of communication on university campuses. It is more efficient and convenient than telephone in many cases and provides an automatic record of the communication. 2) The ability to access the World Wide Web efficiently. Banner access should be quick and easy. Access to national and international resources should be provided. 3) The ability to access printing resources conveniently. This could mean a printer connected to the local machine or access to a networked printer nearby. 4) The ability to access backup resources conveniently. Regular backup must be encouraged by providing backup resources either locally or networked. 5) The ability to read CD-ROM media. The university needs to provide classrooms equipped with computers and/or computer networking that allow classes to be taught using computer-based interactive lessons and/or lectures. Faculty should have access, at the departmental level, to tools for preparation of materials to use both in the electronic classrooms and on the campus network. The university needs to provide a Center for Academic Computing which would promote the use of computers in those cases where they bring value to student learning. It would also act as a resource for faculty members who are interested in exploring new ways to use the computer and the Internet in their classrooms. Such a center would provide software options, programming services, training, web deployment and management of classroom materials, and, perhaps, even dedicated pedagogic servers. *It is understood that many faculty will need more than the minimum requirement as a result of particularly demanding course development or research requirements.
|