Current Issues Roundtables

Administrative Information Systems

Wednesday, October 02, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI14

Richard N. Katz, Vice President, EDUCAUSE

Daniel A. Updegrove, Consultant

The EDUCAUSE Advisory Group on Administrative Information Systems and Services (AGAISS) was created in 1999 to focus on issues related to administrative systems. AGAISS has sponsored sessions with CUMREC, the higher education administrative technology conference, plus forums and symposia. Join Richard Katz and Dan Updegrove, chair of AGAISS, in a roundtable discussion of topics ranging from portals and e-business to enterprise systems integration and Web Services. Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Postconference Resource

Assessment of Technology: Can You Document Return on IT Investment?

Thursday, October 03, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI07

H. David Todd, Associate Vice President and CIO, University of Vermont

How much did you say you'd save by implementing that ERP system? And they believed you? This roundtable discussion is intended to give higher-education technology leaders the opportunity to share ideas for and examples of documenting the "return" on IT investments. The "return" need not be financial--we'll also consider improved customer service, standardized and integrated processes, increased productivity, and so on. Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Bandwidth Management

Thursday, October 03, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI06

Alan McCord, Executive Director, eLearning Services, Lawrence Technological University

This current issues roundtable will focus on how colleges and universities manage their Internet bandwidth in today's environment of peer-to-peer applications, streaming media, and advanced network applications. How are we monitoring and tracking the use of Internet bandwidth? What tools and techniques do we use to measure, monitor, or allocate our Internet bandwidth? What usage policies or chargeback systems are we using to help shape demand? What practices have emerged over the past year that hold promise for better managing bandwidth on our campuses? What do we foresee in the future as new technologies and usage patterns develop? Come share questions, success stories, and challenges with your colleagues. Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Postconference Resource

Courseware Delivery Systems: Coping with Meteoric Price Increases

Thursday, October 03, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI11

Kris A. Biesinger, Associate Vice Chancellor, IIT Services, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

Leading courseware delivery systems have released enterprise-level products promising greater flexibility and functionality, but accompanied by enormous price hikes at a time when institutions are cutting dollars directed toward technology expenses. How are institutions responding? Are there cost reduction opportunities? Participants in this roundtable will share approaches, results, and issues. Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Postconference Resource

Digital Preservation: The Issues Aren't Going Away

Thursday, October 03, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI10

Michael Neuman, Sr. Fellow for Scholarly Initiatives, Georgetown University

If digital preservation is "the storage, maintenance, and accessibility of a digital object over the long term"(CEDARS), then in terms of storage, what standards, formats, compression, media, methods, and redundancy are needed? For maintenance, what handling, refreshing, migration, and disaggregation of multimedia should we use? For accessibility, what metadata models, interoperability, rights management, and user requirements are relevant? Participants will select emphases of the discussion. Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Postconference Resource

Directory Services and Single-Sign-On Environments

Wednesday, October 02, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI03

Michael R. Gettes, Senior Consulting Technical Architect, MIT

Directories are fundamental to almost all middleware services, containing key institutional and personal data for use by many campus applications. In designing, developing, and operating directory services on our individual campuses, we encounter technical, policy, and funding issues. But we also have an opportunity to configure and populate campus directories in ways that will foster a more cohesive approach throughout higher education. Share your challenges and solutions at this roundtable discussion and learn about national initiatives on which Internet2 and EDUCAUSE are collaborating. Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

How to Effectively Assess Student Learning Outcomes in Online and/or Hybrid Courses

Wednesday, October 02, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI13

William J. Ryan, National Leader of Curriculum & Technology Solutio, Humana, Inc.

Ruth M. Sabean, Assistant Vice Provost, Educational Tech, retired, UCLA

This roundtable session will explore and discuss experiences with various metrics that can be used in the assessment process. Examples will include attrition rates, grade point average, and the use of pretest to final grade range of improvement, among others. Examples and current research being conducted will be shared with participants.Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Postconference Resource

IT Funding Strategies that Work

Thursday, October 03, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI02

John C. Meerts, Vice President for Finance and Administration, Wesleyan University

With constantly changing demands for new services, where can cash-strapped IT directors find new and innovative funding strategies? This current issues roundtable will examine that issue from all perspectives; we will revisit capital and non-capital funding, charging for services, leasing and borrowing, and any creative suggestion the participants may have. If you have a creative idea that you would like to share with your colleagues or would like to hear how to address the funding crunch, join us. Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Managing Costs of Large Administrative Applications: Where to Focus Attention

Thursday, October 03, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI01

Indy Crowley, Director of Administrative Systems, ITS, Yale University

This roundtable will focus on postimplementation strategies to minimize the costs and risks of maintaining large commercial software packages. The very features that make them attractive--high integration and distribution/segregation of processes--make self-support difficult and expensive. Consequently, schools depend on vendors with the corresponding costs and risks. Among the options are joining consortiums, customizing to reduce reliance on vendors, replacing components with best-of-breed solutions, and vendor application hosting. Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Postconference Resource

Network Security: How Much Is Enough?

Wednesday, October 02, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI08

Kathleen R. Kimball, Senior Director, ITS Security Operations and Services, The Pennsylvania State University

Given tight budgetary constraints, how can one justify expenditures whose success is largely gauged by what doesn't happen? The session will explore the evolving network threat environment for colleges and universities, plus potential security strategies and their ramifications (to include cost impacts). Also, will external legislative action drive the answer? Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Portals for Believers

Thursday, October 03, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI04

Darrel Huish, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology Services, Maricopa Community College District

As with any newer technology, portals can be fact or fiction, thrilling or chilling. This discussion will attract those with successful secrets to share. How did they sell the portal concept, what are the keys to success, and what pitfalls can they advise others to avoid? Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Postconference Resource

Status of New Data Exchanges with the INS (SEVIS)

Wednesday, October 02, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI09

Patricia W. Croom, Associate Director for International Admissions, Michigan State University

The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) requires institutions to report to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) demographic, academic, and program information on international students, scholars, and their dependents. What progress are institutions making toward SEVIS? What is the experience of those already using SEVIS? Where are major software vendors in releasing SEVIS-compliant software? What problems are institutions encountering and how are they addressing them? Learn more about SEVIS and discuss how to leverage shared experiences. Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Student Portfolios: Will it Happen and How Soon?

Wednesday, October 02, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI05

Kari Branjord, Director, Enterprise Application and Web Development, University of Minnesota

Have you heard the hype about electronic student portfolios? Is your dean putting pressure on you to implement a portfolio system? Are your advisors and faculty clamoring for a portfolio process? Learn about systems that are in use and discuss implementation issues. Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Systemic Teaching and Learning Strategies: Is This An Oxymoron?

Thursday, October 03, 2002
4:55 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. CI12

Malcolm B. Brown, Director of ELI, EDUCAUSE

Experience tells us that most current support strategies for the use of technology in teaching and learning do not scale when the majority of faculty require assistance in adapting their pedagogy to more student-centered, active learning modalities. Discussion will explore strategies for the efficient use of scarce resources while acknowledging the importance faculty place on custom and independent practice. Attendance at roundtable sessions is limited.

Postconference Resource