MINUTES
University Technology Committee
November 19, 2007
Members Present:
Lance Taylor, Chairperson
Michael Biagini
Peter Braza
Katharine Brown
Dale Clifford
Ann Crook
Richard Crosby
David Jaffee
Faye Jones
Michael Kucsak
Deb Miller
Tom Van Schoor
Mark Smith
Others Present:
Jeff Bowen
Rick Buck
Jeff Durfee
Tom Erdal
Kathy Hughes
Garry Houser
Doug Leas
Steve Lyon
Tom Mills
John Sharp
Terry Smith
Fred Sudler
Tony Turrin
Troy Whittaker
Chairperson Taylor called the University Technology Committee meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
in Bldg. 15 Room 1105.
Approval of Minutes - October 8, 2007
Chairperson Taylor asked if the UTC members had any changes, additions, or corrections to the
Minutes from October 8, 2007. No changes were noted and the Minutes were approved as
submitted.
Introduction of New Members
Taylor introduced the following new UTC members: Ann Crook from Institutional Advancement
who is replacing Rod Grabowski on the Committee; Faye Jones of Student Government,
representing the USPA; and Michael Biagini, Director of Financial Systems, representing the
A&P Association. Kathy Hughes introduced Doug Leas, new Assistant Director, for Systems
Engineering in Information Technology Services.
Announcements
No announcements.
Update: Blackboard Performance Issues
Tony Turrin stated there have been Blackboard server issues due to the growth in load balancing.
He and his team are addressing the issues and working closely with Blackboard consultants and
engineers here on campus. We are planning a reinstall and will be making changes to the system,
checking configurations and placing necessary patches on the system.
Turrin informed the group that Blackboard will be unavailable due to maintenance upgrades and
for patches to be applied over the holiday intercession. This unavailability will begin at noon,
Wednesday, 12/19/07 and end by the New Year. Messages will be sent out directly to
Blackboard users and announcements will be posted in Campus Update, etc.
Update: Content Management System
Garry Houser distributed the Content Management System Coordinating Committee Monthly
Status Report. He will be providing this report monthly to parties across campus so they are
aware of the progress being made with the system install, etc. He stated the team has a kick-off
meeting tomorrow with 352 Media Group to begin Phase 1 of the project. This phase includes
setting up the initial software, hardware, and database.
Houser is currently working on a fact sheet for departments and asked the group to forward him
any questions they may have. Questions can be sent to webmaster@unf.edu. He hopes to have
the sheet completed and sent out to the Web Advisory Committee (WAC) by November 29,
2007 to provide further distributions.
He reminded the group that on January 14, 2008, Ektron will conduct a five (5) day onsite
training session for the .net programming developers. This training is very technical and will
prepare the individuals in charge of creating the templates that will be used as a foundation for
UNF Web pages. CMS user training will begin at the end of January 2008.
Report: Campus Technology Committee
Katharine Brown informed the group that the Blackboard Course Retention Policy was addressed
at their last meeting. This policy addresses removing courses on Blackboard that have been on
the system for a long duration and old or obsolete classes. To date, no classes from the year 2003
to the present have been deleted unless manually requested. This policy was proposed, but since
that time, they are still having a few issues that need to be addressed. One such issue for example
is in regard to the University's accreditation. In many cases, classes must be retained for us to six
to ten (6-10) years. The CTC feels these issues need to be addressed by the department chairs
first and then submitted back to the Faculty Association for approval. Brown hopes that the
policy can come up for a vote at the January 2008 Faculty Association meeting, but this will
depend on the department chairs agreeing on the final proposed policy before the January faculty
meeting.
Brown stated that an emergency meeting was called regarding the Windows Vista program and
Office 2007 upgrade. The departments in attendance were Center for Professional Development
and Training, Center for Instructional Research and Training, Information Technology Services,
the Campus Technology Committee and the Library. Based on this meeting, it was determined
that the faculty would like to have both programs rolled out at the same time. They requested that
this roll-out happen at the start of the Summer Term so that their training needs can be met
before the roll-out. CPDT is willing to provide this training for faculty in the spring so they are
ready for the summer semester.
Hughes stated that the current plan calls for new currency machines being loaded with Vista and
Office 2007 and with an initial December roll-out, would prefer not to make Windows XP an
option on new machines. John Sharp said a new client design would need to be developed in
order to accommodate this if necessary.
Taylor recommended that the Client Committee meet with their departments again to discuss the
issues and options before making this decision.
Report: GOT
Deb Miller updated the group on the following issues:
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Respondus LockDown Browser - This tool is a custom browser that locks down
the testing environment within Blackboard and blocks source codes. When
students use it they are unable to print, copy, go to another URL, or access other
applications. It will be piloted this spring in the Coggin College of Business and
the Brooks College of Health for proctored testing. Doug Titus is coordinating the
pilot and CIRT will advertise to other Blackboard instructors that may want to use
for this for non-proctored testing.
Backpack - This is another Blackboard local software tool. It allows students to
download course materials, take notes, and provides organizational capabilities.
The connection to use it is now available in our system. A student may purchase
the software for approximately $20.00. The licensing model is not yet clear. We
have had a request from one (1) faculty member from the Coggin College of
Business who will be informing (not requiring) students about it for spring
semester.
SafeAssign - This is a plagiarism prevention tool available in Blackboard. We are
looking at implementation for the spring semester after legal review. Rick Buck
of the UNF Office of General Counsel is reviewing copyright and FERPA issues
that need to be clarified.
Collaborative Tools - There has been interest expressed from several departments
on campus in having online collaborative tools such as file sharing. One such tool
is a program like Elluminate. The GOT is working to identify these needs and
possible solutions. They are looking at a few pilots and Miller asked that any
ideas be forwarded to her attention.
Report: IT Security Action Team
Jeff Durfee will be covering this information under the Windows Vista Login Screen Demo
(Item #12) listed below.
Report: Campus Information Display Action Team
No new business to discuss.
Report: Portal Committee
Taylor stated that committee plans to roll-out an upgraded appearance for the portal in midJanuary 2008. Currently the committee is getting with the portal content providers to make sure
that all information is correct and up-to-date. He reminded the group that an individual's
channels will not be going away, but may be placed in a different location.
Technology Currency
Hughes distributed and reviewed the Currency Thresholds for 2007-2008. She stated that
currently the approximate funding available is $1,300,000, but there might be a possible loss of
$65,000 if additional budget cuts are brought about.
Hughes requested an endorsement of this plan from the UTC. The Motion to Endorse was moved
by Dale Clifford and seconded by Katharine Brown. None opposed and the Motion was
approved by the Committee.
Windows Vista Login Screen Demo
Durfee and Troy Whittaker provided a demonstration of the new login screen for the Vista
program. This program does not recognize our current login banner. If we were to continue using
the banner, it would void our warrantee with Microsoft. Therefore, the only approved method
now is to have a click-through screen. This screen will be required when the user initially logs
into his/her computer for the day. It does not apply when the computer has been locked or timed
out.
New Business
No new business to discuss.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:53 a.m.