1. Approval of Minutes
2. Announcements
3. Course Management Pilot report
4. MyUCDavis Update and Demonstration
5. Report from the Research Subcommittee
6. WASC Update

Excused: Angela Cheer, Zack O'Donnell, and Dave Shelby.

Absent: Cristina González, Lamar Heystek, Dorothea Howe, Peter Jay Salzman, Kevin Smith, Remington Stone.

Guests: Victoria Cross, Safa Hussain, Sandra Stewart, and Vicki Suter.

Staff to the Council: Ian Blake, Randy Moory, Donna Olsson, and Babette Schmitt.

The meeting commenced at 2:15 PM.

1. Approval of Minutes

   Chair Matthews asked for comments from the Council regarding the minutes from the July meeting. The minutes were approved as submitted.

    
   

2. Announcements

   Chair Matthews introduced and welcomed new members to the Academic Computing Coordinating Council. New members were Paul Singh, Academic Senate Committee on Educational Policy representative; Mani Tripathi, Academic Senate Committee on Research representative; and John Meyer, Vice Chancellor Resource Management and Planning.

   Chair Matthews referenced the New Business Architecture report from the Office of the President, included as a handout (http://uc2010.ucsd.edu) in the Council package. Council members are encouraged to read the report as it will inform some of the Councilâs discussions this year.

    
   

3. Course Management Pilot report
   Handout: Course Management System Pilot Project Summary

   Victoria Cross and Vicki Suter reported on the Course Management Pilot project. The project evaluated two course management systems, WebCT and CourseInfo, for faculty use. Pilot participants overwhelmingly selected WebCT as the tool they felt would be most appropriate for campuswide deployment.

   Course management systems come with security features, such as User ID and password protection. An instructor can limit access to class information to only those students registered in a class. The systems do not use Kerberos, the authentication system used on campus.

   The CAIT evaluated 50 other products. Some provided local control, others used offsite servers and systems to provide course management services. The project team based its choice of the 2 chosen products on a survey of 50 Research I universities.

   On the issue of scalability the project team reported that the largest "known" user is the State of Georgia with 50,000 students and 1,500 courses. The Council would like to have additional information about the usage rate. The statistic of total users does not in itself demonstrate scalability.

   The Council requested information about the extent to which WebCT would be compatible with existing systems, including MyUCDavis and the student information system. WebCT does not interface, but the company is willing to develop the interface to BANNER and UC Davis could serve as a beta site for the testing. An interface to MyUCDavis had not been pursued in depth.

   Another Council question focused on the infrastructure requirements for WebCT, including the requirements for centralized file space and distributed file space. Council members commented that the infrastructure requirements were large and needed addressing.

   There is also concern about the level of support faculty would need. Use of the tool requires the user to be familiar with html programming. The project team noted that faculty would need a 2-to-4 week online course to learn to use the tool.

   The project team recommended that the Campus implement one central course management product, which would be simpler for students than having different systems in use by different units across Campus.

   The Council accepted the report and the Steering Committee will recommend further action to the Council.

    
   

4. MyUCDavis Update and Demonstration
   Handout: Course Management Software in MyUCDavis

   Sandra Stewart and Safa Hussain presented an update on the MyUCDavis portal project and demonstrated the portal's main course management features. MyUCDavis is constructed on dynamic database extraction and does not use static html links. To use the portal, users do not need to know html programming. Access to MyUCDavis is secured through Kerberos authentication. The course management tools integrate with existing campus databases (e.g., Banner Student Information System and PPS).

   A Guest login option is available from http://my.ucdavis.edu should Council members or campus affiliates wish to familiarize themselves with the portal, including its course management features. In response to whether the project supports electronic grading, Sandra replied that the project integrates existing Registrar processes and databases. Doreen Meyer is working on a mechanism for students to upload their homework, available. Unlike WebCT, the portal does not support interactive quizzes.

   Council members questioned the integration with WebCT and the differences between MyUCDavis and WebCT. Integrating MyUCDavis with WebCT would require a link, but this link would take you only to the top page of WebCT. WebCT's tools cannot be broken out and incorporated individually into MyUCDavis. Council members commented that integration of WebCT features and MyUCDavis is desirable.

   Regarding where Web files reside the information displayed on the Web is dynamically generated from existing databases. Information is stored on the Andrew File System (AFS) server located in the Data Center.

    
   

5. Report from the Research Subcommittee
   Handout: Memo to Provost Grey from Chair Matthews

   Richard Plant presented the work of the AC4 Research Subcommittee on Faculty Computer Ownership. The Subcommittee recommends that the Provost conduct a survey of the deans requesting information about faculty computer needs and fulfillment of that need. To determine the extent of a problem, the deans need to provide information on the status of faculty computer ownership and support available.

   Departments are the decision points on this issue. The problem may be less urgent now since ITF and other technology funds from the State have been allocated to departments. Council members noted that these funds often go to support departmental needs and not the needs of individual faculty. In addition, extramural funding sources do not provide funds for computers since the funding authorities assume computers are covered by infrastructure funds. A Council member recommended that the Council not endorse a policy that automatically provides computers to faculty.

   Action: Noting the mixed opinion of the Council on the issue, the Chair indicated that the item will be presented to the ITPB.

    
   

6. WASC Update
   Handout: WASC Institutional Proposal, June, 2000

   Pat Turner updated Council on the status of the WASC re-accreditation process. The campus sent WASC a proposal in June. WASC accepted the campus proposal without modification. The campus will now begin the proposed assessment. A handout summarizes the proposal submitted by UC Davis. (See http://undergraduatestudies.ucdavis.edu/wasc/wasccvr.cfm.)