Present: Arlene Allen, Britt Andreatta, Debbie Anglin, Art Battson,
Larry Carver, Glenn Davis, Jim Dewey, Chuck Haines, Rick Johnson, Bill
Koseluk, Elise Meyer, Ed Melschau, Bruce Miller, Joan Murdoch, Larry Murdock,
Alan Moses, Stan Nicholson, Glenn Schiferl, Kevin Schmidt, Deborah Scott,
Vince Sefcik, Jason Simpson, Jamie Sonsini, Bob Sugar, John Vasi, Paul
Weakliem
Jim Dewey from Facilities Management brought us up to date on the electrical
power shortage. At the time of the meeting we were facing rolling
blackouts. (The campus has since received an exemption from blackouts
– see FM's UCSB Energy
web page for latest news.) Jim described various programs under which
UCSB might receive early notice or exemptions, if we are able to cut our
usage by a target amount. For example, the Demand Relief Program
(DRP) specifies that we must reduce consumption by 10% within 35 minutes
of notice from CAL ISO to avoid various penalties. The baseline for
such cuts is a rolling average of the previous ten days. After discussion,
ITPG decided not to produce a separate guideline for use of computer equipment;
sufficient information is available on the FM website and in local media.
DECAF reported a re-evaluation of their original charter to coordinate
administrative systems issues. Given that most of those attending
currently are interested in student systems, that will be the focus of
the group for now. This focus might shift with the appointment of
a new VC of Administration.
One topic under discussion by DECAF is the decision of whether to buy
or build a portal. In a conference call with Gartner the group leaned
that several commercial portal products are tied to other student information
or e-learning suites. The Java-in-Administration SIG is collaborating
with IBS on a common portal framework while some campuses are building
their own portals with acquired components. The DECAF group plans
to do some initial development on its own while keeping an eye on developments
in the market. A handout describing progress on a prototype Authentication
and Session Management (ASM) service and a Mainframe Data Broker (MDB)
service was provided. A Mini-Portal prototype is also being developed
with the goal of demonstrating "proof of concept" in hopes of garnering
long term funding.
An issue for student portals is the definition of "student." Some
instructors permit students to participate in their classes while they
negotiate through issues in the registration process. These students
do not appear in the Student Database and are not eligible to participate
in courses unless special arrangements can be made. It was noted
that such exceptions might be managed via the UCSB Directory.
The next item on the agenda was a review of topics to be presented by
ITPG at the ITB meeting later in the day. Topics included updates
on NGB and IBW and planning for a new Network Funding Model. New
ideas regarding a campus archive server and high performance computing
facilities were also introduced. An update on progress toward a new
telephone switch was presented and interpretations of previously
collected survey data were reviewed.
A status report on email@ucsb.edu was provided. One software fix
and an upgrade to the hub machine remain before roll out.
A draft copy of Wireless
Guidelines was circulated by Communications Services.
Britt Andreatta and Bill Koseluk presented a proposal for addressing
issues related to the Digital Divide, the differences in access to technology
resources experienced by those from differing socio-economic backgrounds.
A handout was circulated presenting five components of the program.
Outside funding is being sought for support. (Subsequent to the
ITPG meeting the Executive Vice Chancellor agreed to fund the teaching
of ID-15 and pledged to support the other components of the proposal
with the exception of the online modules.)
It was noted that OIT planned to host a technology forum on June 19.
The group ratified a proposal to answer the EDUCAUSE Satisfaction Survey
reflecting our satisfaction.
Auth/Dir reported progress on the UCSB
Directory, including the delete/purge functions and the Communications
Services extract for updates. Experimentation with commercial packages
for security, authorization and portal support is in progress.
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