University Times

Faculty Assembly members urged Pitt's administration to provide copies to University Senate committees of a draft report on University-wide computer usage before the next Assembly meeting on Jan. 25.

Provost James Maher chairs the Information Technology Steering Committee (ITSC), which is preparing final recommendations on policy for computer support, equipment and facilities, and infrastructure at Pitt.

Susan Sereika, co-chair of the Senate computer usage committee, asked assembly members Nov. 30 to add to a list of questions she was compiling on the report for Provost Maher. Sereika said faculty had contacted her and co-chair Irene Frieze with computer-related questions over the past few months.

Sereika and Frieze have updated Faculty Assembly and Senate Council on computer usage issues facing the ITSC. (See University Times, Sept. 16 and Oct. 14.)

Sereika said that a draft of the policy proposal was with Chancellor Mark Nordenberg for his review; however, she noted that the Senate's computer usage committee had not seen the most recent draft of the ITSC recommendations.

Assembly member Philip Wion said it made no sense for faculty to prepare questions concerning a draft that had not been reviewed beforehand.

"I understood the provost to say that the model [for the approval process] would be the 10-year facilities plan, where various [Senate] committees, BPC (budget policies committee) and educational policies and others, have a crack at it. Where is our opportunity for feedback, comments and recommendations on the plan itself?" asked Wion, who chairs BPC.

Maher told Senate Council Sept. 13 the ITSC would seek the input of faculty and the appropriate Senate committees. "Like the Facilities Management [10-year] plan, it is our intention to bring this plan, when completed, to the Senate for input of the appropriate subcommittees before presenting it to the chancellor," Maher said.

University Senate President Nathan Hershey said the provost had planned to come to the Nov. 30 Faculty Assembly, but was unable to attend. "He said he will be here on Jan. 25, but I would remind us all that after that meeting, there are only the February and April meetings before [the spring term ends]." Faculty Assembly does not meet in March.

Hershey asked George Klinzing, vice provost for Research, to comment on the progress of the report in the absence of the provost.

Klinzing said, "I can't give you a time-frame. I do know the provost is trying very hard to get this out."

Assembly member Thomas Metzger said, "This has been going on for more than two years. We need someone to take control of these policies. I feel like we're moving in sand."

Metzger volunteered to ask Maher about the time-frame and approval process for the report at the Dec. 6 Senate Council meeting. But Maher was out of the country and unable to attend that meeting.

The provost returned to Pittsburgh yesterday, Dec. 8, but could not be reached for comment before the University Times went to press.

In response to a question about the ITSC draft report at Senate Council, Chancellor Nordenberg confirmed that he was still reviewing the document. "I had some questions about the financial end," the chancellor said, "but I should be finished with it soon." Nordenberg said he expected there would be time for Senate committees to review the draft prior to the Jan. 25 Faculty Assembly.

Among the issues expected to be covered in the ITSC report are:

* recommending an optional usage fee for off-campus computing by faculty to offset the cost of contracting with an outside Internet service provider.

* addressing remote access problems during peak evening hours.

* formulating policy on copyrighted materials used in teaching, specifically regarding course web sites.

* setting policy regarding paying for the Ubiquitous Network Access program, which supports the computing needs of faculty.

* exploring ways of providing more classrooms with ports for computer access.

–Peter Hart