Instructional Support Committee

Attending: Mark Schneider, John Kalkbrenner, Christopher McKee, Katya Gibel Azoulay, Cecilia Knight, Anatoly Vishevsky, Bill Francis, Margarita Pillado, Jon Chenette, Justin Abramson (SGA), Terri Phipps, Dean Jim Swartz

Jim outlined a proposal to move ITS into the Forum once the move to the Rosenfield Center is complete.

• Bill, John, Facilities Management, President Osgood, Marci Sortor, and Jim Swartz are looking at the feasibility of moving ITS to the Forum. There seems to be adequate space to house services and personnel who should be in one location. The AV Center, CTSs, and servers would remain where they are currently located.
• The strategic plan and plans for Burling call for improved support and space for technology needs.
• The 2002-03 ISC committee endorsed a proposal to have ITS located on central campus. The Committee made no recommendation concerning the Forum or group study spaces.
• The current ITS dispersion does not adequately support needs within the department or for the campus.
• The Burling planning committee recognizes that certain functions of the library and IT are complementary and invite collaboration and proximity.
• The Forum is not easily accessible and is not ADA compliant. There are no plans at present for a complete renovation, though minor changes will be made.
• South Lounge will remain a public space. The Grill area, North Lounge, Coffeehouse, and vacated offices will house administrative and support staff and the help desk.

In general, ISC's charge is to support instruction, and that charge should remain at the forefront of any issue presented to the committee.

Some issues to discuss:

• What types of spaces would faculty find useful in a technology center?
• It will be inconvenient for library patrons to go to the Campus Center for coffee, etc. Could this service remain at the Forum? Suggestion: Internet Café-style space.

Administration will need feedback early in the spring semester. February is the earliest time ISC could make any formal recommendations. If input is needed earlier than that, ISC may form a subcommittee to discuss the plans.

The current purpose of the Forum is to provide a public space to encourage interaction and dialogue. Some members of campus argue that moving ITS to the Forum does not fit this vision, even though South Lounge will remain a public space and ITS would create collaborative spaces for students and faculty to work together with or without CTS or ITS staff. Such spaces should take into account the needs and uses envisioned by students and faculty members.

Dean Swartz left the meeting. Discussion will continue next semester.

Minutes of last meeting approved.

There have been 15 Finding Interdisciplinary Common Ground lunches held so far, with more planned. So far, there have been 135 participants (80 individual faculty members, some attending more than once).

Plans for three classroom spaces in the Campus Center were reviewed by Margarita, Kara, Jon and Mark. The rooms are planned as seminar-style rooms. The proposed layout seems crowded. Comments were sent to Marci Sortor for consideration.

There is no obvious faculty committee to make recommendations concerning classroom design or renovation. The ARH/Carnegie Classroom committee was drawn into making recommendations during the Campus Center planning process, since it had the word "classroom" in its title, but has since dissolved. Is providing advice on classroom design and furnishings something that should fall to ISC, should another classroom committee be formed, or is there another option? Should ISC be a clearing-house for ideas only? ISC will be involved experimentally, recommending the decision-making structure appropriate for specific cases, recognizing generally that end users rather than the committee should be involved in designing details of furnishings. As a general model, representatives from ISC (including Jon and Bill [consistency of technology]) will meet with faculty who have a stake in the room under discussion.

The French and Spanish departments would like their departmental seminar rooms renovated similarly to German's. Events currently held in the Religious Activities Room (Steiner 305) will be moved to the Campus Center, leaving 305 available for another use. Jon, Bill, Anatoly, and Justin (student perspective) will meet with faculty from Philosophy, Education, and Religious Studies to discuss plans for Steiner 305.

Templates for PioneerWeb Courses: Templates can be customized. Courses are available after pre-registration is complete. Academic Support Assistants provided input regarding how they and the faculty use PioneerWeb as well as ways in which PioneerWeb could be made more user-friendly. Discussion will continue in the spring.

Respectfully submitted,
Terri Phipps