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Technology Resolution
Presented January 22, 1998; Passed February 20, 1998
WHEREAS in August 1995, the Vice-President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) of the University of Southern Mississippi provided $200,000 for grants designed for improving faculty access to technology, and convened an ad hoc committee to write a Request for Proposals for Faculty Technology Grant applications;
WHEREAS, based on the response to the previously mentioned Technology Grant program, in December 1995, the VPAA and President Aubrey K. Lucas increased funding for basic computer access and for computer-assisted learning to a total of $347,052;
WHEREAS, at the time initial Faculty Technology Grants were made, it was recognized by the ad hoc committee that the total funding granted in no way totally accommodated the need for technology-assisted learning and for faculty "basic access to technology," this committee recommended that Technology Grant funding be made on a continuing basis (recognizing that all computer hardware becomes essentially obsolete within three years of purchase.) ;
WHEREAS, the VPAA provided funding for three individuals to attend the American Associaton for Higher Education (AAHE) Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable (TLTR) Regional Start-Up Workstop in Phoenix, Arizona in Summer 1995. Subsequently, in December 1995, twelve USM faculty and staff members attended an AAHE TLTR Start-Up Workshop at Nicholls State University in Louisiana, accompanied by Dr. Allen Lind, Assistant Commissioner for Technology for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning;
WHEREAS, subsequent to the Nicholls State workshop, USM faculty and staff assembled a tentative Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable (TLTR), which further refined plans for implementation of technology into the university learning process at a two-day retreat in February 1996, at the USM Gulf Park Conference Center;
WHEREAS, the TLTR has continued to meet to discuss technology issues, and to coordinate educational activities designed to implement utilization of technology in the learning process. These include formal instruction by "short-course" activities, an informal "Brown Bag Luncheon" series, and the "USM TechnoGras," held on the Mardi Gras Tuesday since 1996;
WHEREAS, the USM VPAA provided financial support which enabled the USM TLTR to host a Regional Start-Up Workshop on October 25-26, 1996. This Regional workshop was attended by 49 participants from universities and community colleges from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia, and by 33 USM faculty and staff. Training and discussion sessions were facilitated and moderated by USM faculty who had previously participated inAAHE TLTR workshops.
WHEREAS, Presiden Horace Fleming has recognized the importance of technology issues for USM, and has hired a Chief Technology Officer to supervise the USM Office of Technology Resources;
THEREFORE, the USM Faculty Senate does recommend:
- That the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable (TLTR) be formalized, added to the USM List of Committees, and procedures be incorporated for nomination of individuals to the TLTR;
- That funds be secured for future Faculty (and Staff) Technology Grants, that the Request for Proposals for these grants be developed by the TLTR, along with means to assess the efficacy of successful Technology Grant applicants in implementation of their proposed activities;
- That the TLTR serve as liaison between the USM Faculty and Staff, and the employees of the USM Office of Technology Resources;
- That the OTR and the Chief Technology Office also utilize the auspices of the Faculty Senate Technology Committee and the Staff Council to keep USM employees apprised in timely fashion of any changes in technology-related issues, including (but not limited to) hardware purchasing and support, software purchasing and support, educational short courses, campus networking and Internet access;
- That President Fleming be applauded for his expressed concern with technology-related issues pertinent to the USM mission of education, and that he be encouraged to seek continuing fiscal support for technology acquisition and support, to enable USM to become a leader in technology-assisted learning.