Theme 2: Becoming a Safe, Supportive and Welcoming Campus Community and Physical Environment

Reflective Essay on Theme II, Issue No. 4: Availability of Technology to Assist Students and Operations

The Technology Strategic Planning Committee (TSPC) was established in Fall 2000 to advise the President on strategic directions for technology in support of the University's mission. As a result of the committee's recommendation, the Technology Advisory Council (TAC) was formed a year later that would continue the work of the TSPC by recommending technology directions and policies for CSUSB and serving as a conduit for keeping the campus current on information technology issues. The TAC worked diligently during AY 2001/02 to develop a comprehensive technology strategic plan that would address the technology needs of students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Campus senior management approved the plan during Summer 2002. The full plan is available on the CSUSB IRT-TAC Web-Site

The vision established by the TAC is that CSUSB will become known as a regional comprehensive university with highly effective, state-of-the-art technologies to facilitate the University's vision for achieving and sustaining academic leadership and excellence in teaching, learning, and scholarship; to empower people of the region by facilitating the understanding and effective use of technology through partnerships and other community support activities. The CSUSB mission for technology is to provide a robust, secure, and reliable application of technology in support of the educational (institutional) goals and objectives of the University by offering a flexible learning environment through efficient, effective, and timely access to information and services.

The TAC established a number of General Recommendations (to be carried out over a period of two to three years) and Immediate Action Steps (to be carried out in AY 2002/03) by the campus community in support of the technology vision and mission of the campus. Briefly summarized, the campus will continue to develop digital information and replace paper distribution. The campus will continue to maximize the benefits of collaborative decision-making and student services that technology makes possible. Faculty, staff, and students shall have equal opportunities to access and use technologies. CSUSB has a diverse student population with varying needs. Each technology decision needs to address these issues of diversity. This may range from adaptive technologies to time and geographical restrictions, to socio-economic and cultural contexts. The campus technology infrastructure shall maintain parity with like institutions. CSUSB shall monitor like institutions and maintain parity in IT equipment and personnel. All university information systems shall be integrated and maintained with reasonable system security, redundancy, and disaster recovery measures. All university information systems should recognize individual privacy rights. Students, faculty, and staff will be provided with opportunities to develop technology competency and information literacy skills. Technology has become a part of every aspect of the university's mission. Every member of the university community must meet standards of locating, evaluating, organizing, and communicating information for problem solving. This requires that policy-makers, administrators and staff be technologically literate and support exemplary adoption of academic technologies; that all faculty are able to use appropriate educational technology; and that students and faculty learn to become critical users of information technology. As the major provider of the region's teachers, CSUSB must commit itself to preparing teachers to use technology for effective teaching and learning. Programs such as the "Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology" are an important first step. The University will strive to distinguish itself in its monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of technology in teaching and learning in all colleges on campus. Information technology has blurred the distinction between classroom-based education and distance education. On-site campus learners and remote learners should be insured of equal quality of instruction, although the array of teaching and learning technologies may vary.

While the first draft of the Technology Strategic Plan was written in Spring 2002, the campus has made much progress in meeting the teaching and learning needs of faculty and students. A large number of accomplishments are available on the IRT Division web site , and highlights are outlined as follows:

• The campus currently has 121 Smart Classrooms, with another 10 planned for availability Fall 2003.
• CSUSB is leading the CSU in the development and implementation of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Initiative (TII). This project will provide 100mb connection, and enable the campus to move to voice, data, and video over a single line (VoIP).
• Wireless technology is now available in Student Housing Residence Halls, the Student Union Events Center, and throughout several academic departments.
• The campus operating system was upgraded in December 2001 to improve the speed, performance, and reliability of the campus network.
• The campus hired an Information Security Officer in July 2000, and through US Department of Education Title V funds, the campus infrastructure and information is being secured and staff members are being trained in information and network security.
• Remote Learning Centers (RLC) are being established at several community colleges in remote places throughout San Bernardino County through a US Department of Education Title V grant. This grant allows CSUSB students to take part in classes via distributed learning from remote sites, saving them time and gasoline.
• The Office of Distributed Learning (ODL) is committed to the development of programs leading to degrees or certificates and delivered through distributed learning avenues.
• CSUSB was the first of 11 CSU campuses to go live with a Common Management System (CMS) that provides more effective human resources information management and financial records. The student records project is on hold; however, an interim solution is being implemented which will expand the capabilities of the current SIS+ system.
• The Assistive Computing Resources Center was established (2001) to meet the needs of students, faculty, and staff with disabilities and make recommendations for assistive technology solutions to their needs.
• The Teaching Resource Center, University Librarians, and faculty are working collaboratively to develop information literacy among faculty and students.
• More than 250 courses are now available on-line through Blackboard and Web CT; over 100 faculty were engaged in pedagogical review of course material and worked with administrative staff to design and prepare course materials.
• The Pfau Library has made a number of enhancements that provide additional benefit to the campus community. Students and faculty may reserve materials electronically, remotely; students may renew materials online; and access to 2,417 on-line databases offer 16,000 full text periodicals. PHAROS, part of the Unified Information Access System of the CSU Libraries, will expand access to all CSU resources, and is expected to be implemented Fall 2003.
• A feasibility study is being conducted for renovation of original Pfau Library building and addition of a second wing.
• Students may access their class confirmations, grades, and PAWS reports electronically via a secured server.

A number of key issues continue to be addressed by the campus. These are summed up nicely by the BATS Committee in their report to the TAC:

"First, the campus climate for change involves not only providing access to equipment, but also educating faculty, staff, students. Second, a perennial campus problem is inadequate technical support for technology (too few staff and/or too little staff training) in many areas. Third, students use campus computer labs primarily for convenience while on campus, followed by access to specialty software/hardware, and about half of them would bring or buy laptops, if campus resources/wireless networking were readily available. Fourth, the majority of students want campus technology dollars to go to supporting student labs, not to assist them in purchasing their own computers. Fifth, smart classrooms are widely popular with faculty and with students, and most students believe they learn more with the assistance of a 'smart' facility. Sixth, successful technology initiatives include a well-designed and evaluated 'pilot' phase."

The new Technology Strategic Plan attempts to provide solutions to address these and other key issues related to technology on the CSUSB campus.

See the Full Report on Technology Issues with links to data and other reports.