Academic IT Committee Minutes
September 10, 2004
Revised and Posted After Committee Review
Members Present: Gary Langer, Barry Dahl, Mark Peterson, J.C. Turner, John Truedson, Sandy DeMontille, Niels Jensen, Joel Peterson, Dick Johnson, John O'Brien, Lesley Blicker, Teresa Thiesen, Terry Weiseth, Betsy Draper, Kwesi Tandoh, Mike Condon, Rhonda Ficek, David Bahn, Eungmin Kang
NEW CO-CHAIR. John Truedson. John was selected by consensus of the campus members of the committee.
MATHEMATICA. John O explained that legal counsel has determined we may proceed with a systemwide contract for Mathematica because we already have many campuses that use them and would benefit from a better pricing. The committee agreed that it is also acceptable to negotiate contracts with other products of this kind if campuses are interested in doing so. John O will proceed to work with the vendor to move this contract forward.
D2L PERFORMANCE. John O reviewed the current status of the D2L implementation. The committee noted that there were considerable problems with WebCT and other vendors before; however, D2L is more responsive than the other vendors we have worked with in the past. Campus representatives reported that campus faculty and students are frustrated but nonetheless, by and large, understanding. It was agreed that D2L is responsive and that we represent the company's next phase of growth/demise. The committee discussed the need for strong project management for these and other IT projects. It was also noted that campuses have borne significant costs and staffing burdens resulting from the transition to D2L. John T reported that BSU had a faculty meeting on Wednesday, and that generally speaking faculty are pleased with D2L. Students like the software, and faculty like working with it. There are some features/functionality that are not yet up to par. He said that D2L is clearly the best product all-in-all. It was noted that Macintosh users are frustrated due to limitations in supported browsers. Barry noted that some part time faculty on his campuses have used many other systems and they like D2L. One faculty member, he said, only had one technical question from students after week one - where normally there would be many, many student questions. Qwesi T said that there are frustrations resulting from a lack of local control.
The committee discussed one member's suggestion that we should put a hold on system course development (i.e. incentives/ grants) until problems are resolved. Other members suggested that this was not to be advised and that growth cannot be constrained even if desired. Others suggested that growth must be increased, not slowed. No consensus was reached on this recommendation.
Joel P noted that the breadth involvement in the decision-making process has made users more patient. He has not seen significant grumbling on his campus. He said that OOC ITS staff have done a great job of making campuses feel confident that things will be worked out soon. He said that it may be a downside of the communication from ITS staff that people think things are worse than they are (discussion of the "unacceptability" of performance).
Teresa T said that she appreciated the work happening to resolve problems and the communication being stressed; however, critical issues do NEED to be addressed to provide faculty the tools they need. We need to dig out of early challenges but also not return to more trouble. We need to be sure that increased growth will not cause problems. What happens if growth increases 20% this semester? What happens if all faculty start to use assessment tools much more often? John said that significant efforts are underway to address exactly these concerns.
Rhonda F observed that she does not understand why growth in e-learning should be tied to a single platform - the U of Phoenix does not even use an IMS system, she said. They encourage being independent of a platform. We need, she said, to be prepared for change.
Niels J said that we don't have the luxury of slowing things down. Communication has been excellent; people are frustrated, but not angry. In fact, they are hopeful and see a steady progression of challenges being resolved.
Barry D noted that LSC growth is tied to collaboration with other organizations beyond the 32 institutions.does the current or predicted hardware/software allow for expanded collaborations? Taking logins to the next level are critical.
Mark P said that the problems we are having are what we saw coming. On the other hand, the vendor's responsive approach is also what we anticipated. It is just a matter of time until problems are resolved.
It was suggested that D2L "doesn't know what they don't know" and needs to rely more heavily on Microsoft consultation.
David B suggestion that D2L lacks a clear concept of enterprise software, and that someone could be brought in (e.g., a vendor) who understands application scaling to work with them to resolve our concerns. He suggested that John O consider making this demand of the company. He also suggested that this situation with D2L is a powerful illustration of the need for making sure that future software enhancements and related projects include an explicit breakdown of the actual costs involved, including faculty and IT transition costs).
Recommendations: The AITC believes the D2L project is a mission-critical initiative that must succeed. We recommend that the Office of the Chancellor provide whatever it takes, including adequate resources and staffing, as well as training, to continue growth in e-learning and ensure a positive experience for faculty and students in the online environment.
RESPONDUS/PROJECT X. John explained that D2L will not be providing the Respondus-equivalent product as originally hoped. It was agreed that we should wait and resolve unresolved quiz issues and then decide on whether to purchase a Respondus site license.
Action Item: John O'Brien will confirm that Project X is QTI-compliant [He requested this information from D2L on 9-24-04 ].
FERPA. John O explained that he hopes to work with the vendor to address any FERPA issues. Discussion of how we might promote best practices on campuses for dealing with FERPA issues will be considered at the next meeting.
IMPERSONATION. The committee discussed the use of the impersonation tool. Campuses have used impersonation tool, but with role switch tool impersonation is not needed. It appears that use of this feature is very limited - usually only to help desk or site administrators at most. As with FERPA above, this topic may have policy or best practice implications and should be considered at the next meeting.
Possible Items for Next Meeting Agenda:
- Mathematica
- D2L Update
- D2L Policy issues and Best Pratices (e.g., FERPA, Impersonation, etc.)
- Report and Discussion of Role of D2L Advisory Committee
- Discuss Charter
