Faculty Senate
Academic and Information Technology Council
This page contains the role statement and council charges.
Role statement
The role of the Academic and Information Technology Council is to:
- Assist in the development and continuous revision, as appropriate to changing needs, of the University’s strategic plans for information technology (IT), including computing, telecommunications and multi-media;
- Facilitate the location and implementation of the technology faculty use to solve problems (current or future) in the areas of teaching, research and service;
- Assist in the identification of technology needs of faculty;
- Develop and recommend needed policy revisions and new policy proposals relative to academic IT;
- Coordinate the application and review process for distribution of funds earmarked for academic and administrative IT;
- Ensure appropriate coordination and participation by working closely with ad hoc and standing committees in colleges, departments and other university units dealing with campus IT.
The work of the council is accomplished through its standing and ad hoc committees, which act on behalf of the council, subject to review by the council.
It is suggested the following matrix be used to guide the activities of the council:
| Teaching | Research | Service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Infrastructure includes such things as e-mail; phones; accounting (e.g. project support); data storage; security; scheduling (class offerings / times provided in advance). | |||
| Communicate and coordinate faculty technology needs | |||
| Provide education for the use of technology | |||
| Review technology opportunities | |||
| Finance technology (to include costs for maintenance and security) | |||
| Support infrastructure* development and application | |||
Charge
2008-09
In addition to the six specific responsibilities specified in the Academic and Information Technology Council’s role statement and the work of the AITC standing committees, the Faculty Senate Executive Board charges the AITC to consider, as a committee of the whole or through the appropriate sub-committee or task force, the following issues:
1. Review the scope and description of the role statement and standing charges and assess the effectiveness of council practices.
2. Evaluate data security and existing policies related to mobile devices. Based upon these discussions develop a memorandum of action (MOA) for a policy to address mobile devices and security specifically.
3. Assess the use of “clicker” technology in classrooms and develop recommendations for making the technology available to a wide campus audience.
4. In accord with specific task #5 in the role statement to “coordinate the application and review process for distribution of funds earmarked for academic and administrative IT,” develop recommendations on funding of initiatives to replace faculty laptop computers on a sustainable and recurrent schedule.
5. Assess information related to faculty and staff use of email including the results of the prior survey to develop recommendations for email services.
6. Address any continuing or outstanding issues or initiatives as deemed necessary by the council. To the extent possible conclude any outstanding initiative by producing an MOA, report or resolution.
Note
It is understood the AITC will seek information from the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and maintain communications with that office on issues directly related to them. The AITC is expected to keep the Senate Executive Board apprised of progress, especially in connection with any MOA it may develop and to give advance notice of any action the AITC seeks to place on the Senate agenda, including the final text of any proposed MOA, report or resolution. The Executive Board should also be notified of substantive procedural issues addressed by the AITC. The AITC shall provide a written summary of its progress on the above charges and any other activities undertaken no later than June 30, 2009.