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Information Technology in Higher
Education:
Enabling Change at
The University of Texas at Austin
Long-Range Planning for
Information Technology
Steering Committee
August 27, 1997 Revision
W.C. Bard
N.L. Birdwell
L.D. Carver
D.D. Cline
G.H. Culp
W.A. Danielson
R.E. Ebeling
T.F. Edgar, Chair
K.E. Foote
C.W. Goldsmith
D.W. Hardy
M.H. Knox
C.M. Maziar
P.A. McQuesten
J.T. Oden
S.K. Phillips
R.H. Richardson
J.L. Rishling
B.E. Roberts
T.B. Rowe
T.W. Ruefli
P.S. Schmidt
K. Sepehrnoori
J.M. Slatin
C.D. Stout
R.S. Sullivan
C.H. Warlick
J.B. Wheat
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: An Overview
Executive Summary
"Society is undergoing a fundamental transformation from the Industrial Age to the
Information Age. Those who realign their practices most effectively to Information
Age standards will reap substantial benefits."
Transforming Higher Education: A Vision for Learning in the 21st Century.
Dolence and Norris, 1995 [1].
The University of Texas at Austin is confronting a critical juncture in its history.
Throughout the world, information technology (IT) including digital telecommunications
are liberating the flow of information, expanding the possibilities for collaboration across
distances, and accelerating the pace of change in virtually every field of human endeavor.
This emerging digital society represents a new environment in which universities must
compete and renders ineffective many of the organizational structures, strategies, and
practices which have been successful until now. In this period of rapid change, the
riskiest possible strategy is to continue operating as before. If The University of Texas at
Austin is to retain its institutional stature and position of academic leadership, it must
- chart an innovative and daring new course and install an agile, responsive, and
decisive organizational structure for information technology planning
- support and encourage new and improved modes of instruction, research, and
administration
- re-direct resources to the electronic tools which maximize academic productivity and
exploit the opportunities of the incipient digital age.
The Context of the Times
The combination of broad-based economic, social, and political conditions which
comprise the environment in which UT Austin operates is changing rapidly. State
funding is stagnant, if not in outright decline in real dollar terms. Nationally, the tuition
and fee costs of a typical college education are increasing faster than the rate of inflation.
In addition, students, parents, and political leaders are beginning to question the cost-
effectiveness of the traditional university model and its relationship to quality of
education in an era when most other types of institutions have reengineered themselves.
At the same time, the expectations and needs of incoming students for digital facilities
and curricula are being shaped by a world of pervasive microprocessors and
telecommunications which is foreign to the formative educational experience of most
faculty and administrators. The job market is transforming rapidly to demand a trained
work force which is technologically literate and able to engage in continuous, lifelong
learning. As Governor George W. Bush indicated in his Vision Texas document, the
State must “provide a cost-effective system of higher education which prepares
individuals for workforce demands and furthers the development of knowledge through
instruction and research.” According to the Back to Basics planning document prepared
by a coalition of higher education leaders in Texas (U.T. System, Texas A&M System,
University of Houston System, and Texas Tech University), Texas must increase the
Chapter 1: An Overview
recipients of bachelor’s degrees by 22.5 percent to equal the U.S. average of
baccalaureate degrees per population aged 18 to 34, or about 15,200 additional degrees
per year. Instruction and basic research are increasingly dependent on access to and use
of networked information resources. One EDUCOM report predicts that the demand for
information technology-based teaching and learning programs will probably grow
exponentially over the next decade.
Austin, along with Silicon Valley in California, is now recognized as a preeminent center
of high technology. It is not the University of Texas, but companies such as Dell and
Motorola, that are generally perceived as setting the high tech pace in Austin. In contrast,
Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley are often credited with
being the driving forces behind Silicon Valley’s success. UT’s IT program can rapidly
achieve world class status through strong institution-wide planning and commitment of
resources. Indeed, the continuing vitality of Austin’s high-tech industry and the Austin
economy in general depends upon The University’s success in providing cutting-edge IT
facilities and training for all UT students and faculty. In return, making UT a high-
profile leader in IT will attract increased investment from Austin’s high tech companies.
In conclusion, UT Austin is faced with a set of external forces which
simultaneously constrict the flow of additional funds while demanding substantially
increased expenditures for information technology resources which have become central
to the mission of the institution. We believe that this dilemma can best be resolved
through the adoption of an innovative vision for the use of technology at UT Austin, and
an aggressive plan to transform that vision into reality.
The Vision for UT Austin
Faculty, staff and students at The University of Texas at Austin must have
ubiquitous and seamless access to a collaborative, knowledge-based learning environment
that supports instruction, research, service, and administration at any time and place. In
partnership with business, government, schools, and alumni, this environment extends
beyond the campus boundaries and expands the virtual campus community to students at
all stages in the lifelong learning process. Information technology can enhance The
University experience by increasing the scope, breadth, richness, and variety of interactions
among faculty, staff, and students, as well as affect the structuring, organization, and
presentation of information and the production of knowledge. UT Austin will be a leader
in higher education in the integration of IT in support of the institutional mission in order to
remain a university of the first class and function at its maximum potential in the face of
limited resources.
The Plan
To achieve the vision articulated here, The University administration should approve and
adopt the following implementation plan by formally establishing the Information
Technology Coordinating Council called for in Item 1 and immediately charging it with
producing the detailed recommendation, plans, and budgets necessary to implement the
remaining items.
Chapter 1: An Overview
- implement universal student, faculty, and staff computer and network access as an
integral part of the information technology infrastructure;
- develop standards and purchasing programs for hardware and software that ensure
a manageable and least cost maintenance program campus-wide;
- aggressively pursue resolution of the Year 2000 problems;
- provide extensive computer training opportunities for the university community;
- acquire an integrated library management system and increase digital library
information holdings;
- develop goals and policy for the use of e-mail for official university business,
academics and research.
Recommendation 5
Infuse information technology into appropriate areas of University teaching and learning.
- offer monetary and professional incentives for faculty to develop courses
delivered by instructional technology and conduct strategic pilot experiments with
technology-based courses to assess their effectiveness on learning outcomes;
- establish a first-class system of training and facilities to support faculty in the task
of authoring digital instructional materials;
- implement widely accessible delivery systems, both in and out of the classroom,
to permit digital instructional materials to be used effectively;
- provide instructional design support and appropriate tools and facilities for
multimedia and distance education;
- institute an aggressive program to equip and support technology-enhanced
classrooms campus-wide;
- develop goals and supporting policies for technology-enhanced learning and
online course delivery;
- establish standards for delivery systems in technology classrooms.
Recommendation 6
Pursue advantageous external alliances with other universities and the private sector.
- develop strategic alliances with other universities (including those in the UT
System) in the development of business and academic software and courseware,
and in library services and systems;
- leverage outreach programs (alumni, K-12) with effective use of information
technology;
- introduce smart card technology through business alliances.
Recommendation 7
Support leading advanced computing programs with appropriate funding.
- participate in national and regional consortia sponsored by state and federal
agencies and industry;
- acquire specialized equipment to give faculty researchers access to advanced
computing tools and capabilities.
Chapter 1: An Overview
Information
Technology and Higher Education:
Enabling Change at The University of Texas at Austin
The digital revolution driving societal change is as significant as the invention of the printing press or the Industrial Revolution. Since the introduction of the transistor and the integrated circuit, people have not just been doing things differently; they have been doing vastly different things. Nicholas Negroponte [2] of MIT's Media Lab describes it as the difference between atoms and bits. Atoms are about physical things and bits are about intangible information. As the emphasis shifts from one to the other, almost every aspect of society is altered.
In manufacturing, business, and finance, such structural change has already transformed workplaces and marketplaces. In research, developments in areas such as molecular biology and computational finance (fields which owe their existence to information technology) are generating an explosion in which knowledge in some fields is doubling every five years. Now universities, always grounded in information, stand at a digital crossroads, confronted with a rapidly changing environment and a growing realization that ignoring change is no longer an option. The challenge facing higher education is to prepare for an uncertain future and to provide a technology-rich environment where students can obtain the continuously changing knowledge and skills needed to shape that future.
Over the next decade, many R1 research universities will assess broadening their current student clientele to include degrees, courses, certifications, and training made more easily available and customized through information technology. Competing for students, faculty, and especially financial resources in this environment will require a richer vision of education and a restructuring of the organizations, strategies and policies required to achieve it [3].
In order to successfully navigate through the institutional transformation, this vision requires a shared understanding of three key concerns:
- The increasing impact of external pressures on higher education institutions that we cannot control.
- The growing importance of information technology to the mission and practice of higher education.
- The interdependence between organizational structure and effective information technology funding.
Without such a shared understanding, and a commitment to plan for a future that reflects these concerns, information technology efforts on this campus will fall short of what is required to maintain The University of Texas at Austin as a first-class institution.
Old Paradigm New Paradigm
Take what you can get Courses on demand Academic calendar Year-round operations University as a city University as idea Terminal degree Lifelong learning University as ivory tower society University as partner in society Student=18 to 25-year-old Cradle to grave Books are primary medium Information on demand Single product Information reuse Student as a responsibility Lifelong revenue resource Competition is other universities Competition is everyone Student as a responsibility Student as a customer Delivery in a classroom Delivery anywhere Multi-cultural Global Bricks & Mortar Bits & bytes Single discipline Multi-discipline Institution-centric Market-centric Government funded Market funded Technology as an expense Technology as differentiate Adapted from [4]
Chapter 1: An Overview
- One year ago the University of California at Berkeley decided to outsource its Internet dialup program to a commercial provider. Nine months later, UC-Berkeley revised the outsourcing agreement due to unsatisfactory quality of service and assumed partial control of its network service
- University of Minnesota has requested $147 million from the State for new information technology projects over the next four years.
Centrality of Information Technology
The days of considering technology simply as an enhancement for the instruction of students, a tool for computational academic scholarship, or the means to the efficient operation of the institution are past. Today, information technology is becoming a mission-critical, central foundation to the future of higher education. While The University’s prestige will rest on teaching research, and scholarship, these activities cannot be carried out without an equally strong foundation in information technology. Nearly every significant change in the learning environment requires some application of information technology, from distributing instruction beyond the classroom, providing access to knowledge too recent to be available through traditional publishing, or creating simulations for student manipulation.
The ability to provide a “custom fit” to the needs of individual students within the context of a large, complex institution requires linked networks of information and resources that address both process and product. Over the next ten years, as personal computers, fiber optics, and digital networks expand into homes and businesses, prospective students and faculty will expect the ubiquitous availability of information technology in higher education. The technological advances of the past five years — widespread use of e-mail; the World Wide Web for delivery of content and services by business and academe; networking across home, school, and work environments; home computing for all members of the family; the increasing diffusion of networking and computing throughout the K-12 sector — have permanently altered the environment for institutions of higher education [6].
The University of Texas at Austin is already participating in that altered environment. Networked computers now outnumber telephones on campus. Over 400,000 e-mail messages are delivered daily to and from the university community. Eighty percent of UT students have access to a personal computer in their own residence. The University was selected in 1997 as one of the top 25 "wired" universities in the U.S. by Yahoo! Internet Life magazine. Key attributes influencing a high ranking for UT Austin included wired dormitories (completed just several months ago), on-line course registration and advising, on-line transcript viewing, and student Web pages. With over 37,000 subscribers to Telesys, and many additional users on campus, UT Austin has become one of the largest Internet service providers in the state.
Information technology is central to achieving the mission of UT Austin. Long-term, on-going, strategic planning for technology is essential, and it must be integrated with all other forms of major planning in the institution: physical, academic, fiscal, and human.
Organizational Structure and Funding
Like many other institutions ranging from corporations to government agencies, higher education confronts a growing agenda of needs, issues, and questions about the use of digital technologies. Every aspect of The University, from faculty, students, staff, and alumni to libraries, classrooms, research laboratories, offices, and dormitories, is touched and transformed by the information age. Yet, because large public universities have traditionally operated in a decentralized fashion, information technology policies, resources, and funding are too often addressed in a fragmented and myopic way.
Chapter 1: An Overview
A strategic institutional perspective on the information technology environment is essential for managing that environment. A strategic perspective is required because information technology is increasingly complex, connected, and systemic. Connectivity no longer means connecting a few desktop machines together; it requires linking the budget section of a grant proposal to the campus accounting office, to the management information system in the dean’s office, and to a projected spreadsheet in the researcher’s conference room. Multimedia content, involving real-time, nonlinear navigation through multiple sources of information, presents real opportunities for delivery of instruction and services to the campus community. Production of that content and the requisite technological requirements will increasingly be beyond the capabilities of any one campus unit to address. No institution can afford to support large numbers of vastly different computer platforms, information systems, and communication networks. Standardization, where possible, provides opportunities for more services at lower cost.
The organizational structure for information technology services on the UT Austin campus has evolved over the past thirty years. Table 1 depicts the reporting relationships for the various information technology providers, all of which have separate budgets under the control of five different vice-presidents.
Table 1. Organizational Structure of IT Entities (1997)
Organization Reports To
1. Academic Computing and Instructional Executive VP/Provost
Technology Services (ACITS)
2. Administrative Computing Services (ACS) VP-Business Affairs
3. The UT Austin Libraries VP-Graduate Studies
4. Telecommunication Services Division (Utilities) VP-Business Affairs
5. Texas Union Micro Center VP-Student Affairs
6. Faculty-staff DISC Committees VP-Research
In addition to the units listed in Table 1, many individual information technology units of varying size and functions are operated by individual colleges and departments (and they report to deans, assistant or associate deans for technology, or department chairs). Developing relationships with technology vendors, including equipment donations, is now managed by the vice president for development. Individual colleges are responsible for distance education programs, although recently, central coordination was established under the aegis of ACITS.
The President’s Quandary
In 1994, Vartan Gregorian, President of Brown University, offered the following observation about the quandary of a university president in leading this transformation:
On some days the president will be beset by the prophets of the new technology. They will grab you by the arm and feverishly press upon you the revelation that "things are completely different now!" Then on other days you will be dogged by the self-styled protectors of ancient wisdom and old ways. "What is good is not new and what is new is not good," they will whisper darkly. You will think your faculty and advisors have all become Pre-Socratics: "Everything is changing!" announce the breathless Heracliteans; "Nothing changes!" warn the gloomy Parmenideans. To both you will give the same Aristotelian answer: some things change, and some remain the same -- our identity, values, principles, and goals are the same; the technological accidentals we use to exemplify these values in the late 20th century will vary. In fact these must vary, for we cannot remain the same in our essentials unless we change, in our accidentals, to meet the new circumstances.
Chapter 1: An Overview
Building on these strengths, while addressing the perceived weakness, we
propose a modification of our current IT management arrangement.
Because it spans both Academic and Administrative Computing, an
integrated management structure is required. An effective information
technology strategy will require a complete rethinking of The University's
budget for information technology. We therefore recommend that one
person be appointed, reporting through the Executive Vice President, with
the following responsibilities: 1) would be responsible for information
technology planning and budgeting; 2) would prepare a long range planning
strategy for information technology, including information technology
delivery through the General Libraries; 3) would provide an annual
evaluation of University progress toward the long range goals; 4) would
identify new information technology opportunities and their effect on The
University's long term plan; and 5) would manage and provide oversight for
only those financial resources provided centrally for Academic and
Administrative Computing. Responsibility for the management of
resources allocated to or generated by colleges, schools, and departments
would remain with the respective Deans, Directors, or Chairs in conformity
with campus-wide policy. This person would work closely with an
Advisory information technology Budget Committee of faculty and staff
charged to address the formulation of an information technology business
model for The University.
The recent appointment of an Associate Vice President for Academic Computing and Instructional Technology Services, reporting to the Executive Vice President and Provost, satisfies many of the recommendations of the DISC committee. A rationalization of the information technology committee structure should be subsequently carried out, under the leadership of that office. Further, in line with the DISC recommendations and with issues raised earlier in this report, it is expected that UT organizational structures will need rethinking and modification in the future in order to develop and maintain an information technology environment that addresses all of the needs at The University. Examples of future areas that might require organizational changes are given below:
- Data and voice networks will soon find packet video traversing the same physical channels, and increasingly being integrated at higher levels. Internet telephony is on the horizon. The University should integrate the administration and operations of its Utilities and Energy Management Department’s Telecommunication Services Division with ACITS’ Telecommunications and Networking Services group. This integration should be done to improve the quality of service, increase operational efficiency, and promote the effective application of the telecommunication infrastructure in The University’s mission of instruction, research and service. An integrated telecommunications organization would manage the complete lifecycle and functional spectrum of this increasingly critical infrastructure - from planning and design, through installation and operation, to cost recovery and investment. This type of integration also mirrors the service convergence that is inherent in modern digital communication technology: voice, video, and computer communications have converged upon common digital representations, transmission systems, and terminal equipment.
- The development of networked, high-speed laser printers has eliminated many of the technology differences between mainframe laser printing, printing services, and copy centers. A customer-focused approach would promote convenience and ease of use. Should each organization including departmental labs operate disconnected facilities, or could one organization perform all of these functions in a distributed fashion?
Chapter 1: An Overview
- Various departments, museums, and libraries hold responsibility for the historical records of the institution. When these archives were populated by paper files and pictures, the distinction between the archivists' role and the computer center's role in maintaining archival computer files of administrative data was clear. But what is the role of the modern archivist and the computer center (digital library) when most of the historical information (and in the future photographs and video) is in computer files?
- Media service units are responsible for audio-visual support for instruction, currently provided by slides and movies. Now that audio-visual support is increasingly digital and delivered through workstations, is there a need for separate media groups operating under the old training paradigm? How does The University design, construct, and manage technology classrooms?
To keep information technology support and networking costs low across The University, ACITS and ACS should promulgate standard hardware and software configurations that must be used in order to receive fast, low-cost service. Non standard systems will not receive priority service because of the difficulty of keeping staff trained for a wide range of platforms. This policy is being adopted at other universities and in industry. Bulk purchasing of faculty and staff equipment (as was done in the Faculty Computer Initiative) should help ensure a de facto standard. ACITS should also advise new undergraduate and graduate students of recommended standard configurations for each college. The feasibility of establishing standards for research equipment should be investigated as well.
The Texas Union MicroCenter is another information technology service on the UT Austin campus, and, since 1985, has served as the computer sales outlet providing students, faculty and staff quick access to computer hardware and software at good prices. Because both University department financial accounts or personal funds may be used to make purchases there, the Center also establishes de facto standards. In addition, the Center’s sales provide a source of revenue to the Texas Union itself to fund such projects as student activities. Several years ago, the revenue to the Texas Union amounted to as much as $1 million. However, with increasing competition from the private sector (especially discount computer brokers), the annual return to the Union now averages around $300,000 on $12 million in sales. Since the Texas Union MicroCenter has been a separate (and private) auxiliary enterprise of The University, achieving alignment with campus needs and coordinating functions with other information technology service providers on campus is increasingly problematic. The Texas Union MicroCenter operates a help desk, equipment repair, training classes, and software sales, which are functions also provided on campus by ACITS and ACS. Further, ACITS is now involved in bulk purchasing of computers for department labs and faculty. The main obstacle to integration of the Texas Union MicroCenter with other campus information technology providers is the annual income it provides to the Union. If the Texas Union MicroCenter were combined with academic computing (ACITS), as it is at most major universities, the Union would need another source of income to replace the funds now generated from computer sales. The net gain to The University would include a cost-effective consolidation of information technology sales, support, repair and training.
Consolidations take on increasing importance as acquiring and retaining qualified staff for the increasingly complex digital operations of departments and colleges becomes more of a challenge. The growing demand for support and services at the confluence of communication and computing (networking), coupled with a nationwide shortage of qualified personnel, poses a significant risk for the successful integration of information technology on this campus. The University must strike a balance between centralized, expert support and department-level service. UT Austin must also find career paths for staff across campus and provide training and certification. The Technical support contacts program initiated by ACITS in 1997 is a good first step. Some departments have contracted with ACITS for technical support services. ACITS hires and trains the staff, who are located on-site in the department in order to give prompt service. ACS also hires and provides six-month training for its interns, who are then employed by departments and other offices on campus. With the distributed computing model adopted at UT Austin, ACS and ACITS increasingly rely on staff outside of their organizations to provide front-line service, creating a symbiotic alliance with such staff. However, there should be no misconception: the “virtual university” cannot be sustained by “virtual staff” compensated with “virtual “salaries.
Chapter 1 - Overview
Table 2
Current Funding Model for IT Providers
Organization 96-97 Total Budget Income Sources Income - Amounts
Comments
ACITS $10.0 UT Budget (AUF) $4.0 (1) Operates training, help desk, computer repair, software distribution, bulk purchasing of PCs. Telesys $1. Software Distribution $0.6 (2) Telesys income will double in 97-98. Printing $0. ITAC (Operating) $0.7 (3) NSF grant (97-98) to cover some costs of High Performance Computing Facility (PRC) ITAC (Equipment) $0. Facilities Management $0.
ACS $6.3 UT Budget $3.5 (1) Mainframe upgrade required in 1999 ($1.5M). Contracts with UT Offices $1.3 (2) Operates training, help desk, computer repairs. Session charges to depts, offices (line usage) $1.5 (3) UT System components pay to use UT Austin administration software.
UT Austin Libraries (General Libraries, Law, HRC, CAH)
$21.3 UT Budget $16.9 (1) UT Austin 1996/97 E&G budget for library materials is $4.5M; all expenditures for Liberia materials expected to be over $7.2M.
Student library fee $1.2 (2) Student Library Fee of $2 per SCH initiated 1/97. Revenue of $2.4M anticipated for 1997/98. UT System $1.6 (3) UT System appropriations vary year to year. Other $1.5 (4) Other includes grants, gifts, revolving funds, and similar sources.
OTS $2.0 UT System $0.8 (1) Originally an arm of UT System but the actual enterprise has grown much larger due to THEnet. Some staff shared with ACITS. THEnet subscriptions $1. (2) UT System plans to increase funding of OTS in 97-98. (3) Operates help desk, parts storeroom.
Telecommunication $7.0 Telephone Billing $5.2 (1) Full cost recovery operation. Services Division Long Distance $1.8 (2) Operates help desk, parts storeroom. of Utilities (3) Subcontracts building wiring installation on campus.
Texas Union $12.0 Hardware, software sales $12.0 (1) computer sales to departments and individuals. MicroCenter (2) operates help desk, computer repair, training, software distribution. Budget numbers are expressed in $ millions (M)
(3) full cost recovery operation including utilities, debt service, and building custodial, and maintenance.
Chapter 1 - Overview
Historically, UT Austin has made computation and communication freely available to faculty, staff, and students. During the 1970s and 1980s, The University made significant annual investments in computing, especially in areas deemed to be at the cutting edge, i.e., research computing in science and engineering. However, with the advent of inexpensive personal computers in the 1980s, computing on campus moved to a dispersed model, and the needs for and usage of computing broadened considerably beyond the original science and engineering base. Because of the emerging computational needs of areas like liberal arts, and tightening capital budgets, such as that from the Available University Fund, the budget for computing not only declined but also was spread over a broader group of users.
This led to regents approval in 1993 of an information technology fee of $6 per semester credit hour. This fee provides over $7 million per year to fund campus computing infrastructure (such as the Student Microcomputer Facility) as well as departmental and college computing labs and services. Because most of these funds (about 75%) were generated from undergraduate students and were to be used for their benefit, the focus of the Faculty Computer Committee expenditures changed from supporting research computing to supporting instructional computing (although Information Technology Advisory Committee funds could be used for graduate-level individual instruction or research, since graduate students pay the same fee of $ per SCH). Since 1993, colleges have been required to develop vision plans describing their information technology expenditures. Plans are submitted to the FCC and then to ITAC for approval.
During the past five years, the ultimate oversight of campus-wide information technology fee expenditures has moved from the FCC to ITAC, and in fact, the composition of the FCC has changed from committee whose members were primarily interested in research to a more democratic representation by every college and school. As a result, the capital equipment needs of research computing have no established funding source. Instead, the acquisition and maintenance of high-performance computing equipment is accomplished through unpredictable, ad hoc sources such as individual faculty startup packages and grants from the National Science Foundation. Without a dependable source of operating funds, the usefulness of the equipment is severely compromised. The ITAC funds are also inadequate to meet the growing information technology needs of colleges and departments. Consequently, the colleges and departments have responded by instituting of a variety of separate information technology and learning resource center fees (total for 1997-98 estimated at $5 million campus-wide). Before the fees are approved, student input is solicited and the proposed fees must be approved by the Provost's office to ensure that they are commensurate with cost requirements. Still, research computing remains an orphan: colleges and departments are scrambling to obtain needed resources, and private gifts of capital equipment may be rejected because of a lack of operating funds designated for meeting campus-wide needs.
The provision of funds for telecommunications equipment suffers from a similar difficulty, although beginning in 1997-98 a partial funding model will be established that matches revenues with expenses from a specific enterprise, namely the Telesys dial-up service. UT Austin has become the Internet service provider for approximately 60,000 faculty, staff, and students, with roughly two-thirds of the users with an off-campus connection. Access to the Internet from on-campus is free, but off- campus, users of Telesys are charged approximately $3.50 per month (to be increased to $7 per month in 1997-98, well under the commercial ISP rates). The income from Telesys services will be used to fund enhancements to UTnet for improved Internet access and for the staff to operate UTnet on a continuous basis: 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. However, the Telesys funding model for telecommunications infrastructure may be insufficient three years from now, due to changes in the commercial environment.
The University also benefits from other telecommunication services it provides. The Office of Telecommunication Services (OTS) manages voice, data, and video traffic for the UT System and is partially funded by the UT System. OTS also operates THEnet, which provides Internet connectivity to over 350 educational and public sector institutions (school districts, universities, colleges, and libraries) throughout the state. By having this infrastructure operated by staff at UT Austin, we imbed UT Austin’s costs into the larger group of users, achieving a significant economy of scale. Clearly OTS and THEnet are of great strategic value to UT Austin, and it is in The University’s interest to retain these operations and the corresponding staff expertise. Without expert networking staff, UT will be at the mercy of the commercial telecommunication companies.
Chapter 1 - Overview
of $1.8 million. The FCI was perhaps the first recognition that the institution should provide essential productivity tools to the faculty, but it was a one-time investment. A similar program should be implemented to upgrade and purchase equipment for UT staff as well. Operating in a digital environment requires that everyone have access to the technology required to do their jobs. A hidden benefit in instituting a regular program of hardware replacement is campus-wide standardization. This in turn reduces the range of expertise and lowers the cost of technical support. Lower costs for software and hardware are another benefit of bulk purchasing. ACITS recently implemented a bulk purchasing program offering large discounts to department for computer hardware. The life cycle costs for faculty and staff computers would be around $1000 per year per person for the equipment, with support costs and software expected to be about the same or higher each year. (This is still lower than the Gartner Group estimate for true computer support costs of $3000 per computer per year.) Even though some of these costs are already imbedded in MO&E and other University financial accounts, the total additional cost commitment would be substantial for UT Austin.
Teaching and Learning in the Virtual University
The 1997 report by the Kellogg Commission (carried out under the auspices of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges which UT Austin is a member) on the future of state universities, recommended that "our learning communities should be student-centered, committed to excellence in teaching and to meeting the legitimate needs of learners, wherever they are, whatever they need, whenever they need it." This anytime/anywhere environment is desirable goal for UT-Austin and its current customer base and it can be utilized as a springboard to serve other learning constituencies in the State of Texas and beyond in the future.
Integrating information technology at UT Austin will require careful planning and experimentation over the next decade to effect a major change in teaching, learning, research, and public service. This will not be an easy process. Universities exhibit many of the same impediments to change seen in businesses before they are reengineered: lack of speed, inflexibility, lack of corporate will, archaic business models, focus on internal processes, entrenched habits and skills, and a desire for perfection. Many faculty members and administrators will believe that gradual evolutionary change over a period of thirty years or so is the best path to transformation. However, responding to evolutionary technological change may be an inefficient way to manage a comprehensive research university. Simply adding technology in an incremental way to curriculum and instruction will not reduce costs, although it may slightly enhance the classroom experience. Automating student educational services without a commitment to improving the quality of the student-institution interaction will not produce long-term positive outcomes.
Robert Heterick, President of EDUCOM, asserts that “when a revolution is brewing, a focus on the past as a way to extrapolate the future can be misleading”. Instead he suggests that university leadership should create a scenario for the future and then set the course. Ten years from now, the vast majority of students in the U.S. will not be pursuing a degree program; instead they will seek to update their skills and knowledge base in response to changes in the economy. While this process is often referred to as "lifelong learning”, Dolence and Norris [1] have labeled it with the imperative phrase "perpetual learning”. The nontraditional student population in Texas will increase significantly in the future, and UT Austin must decide whether and how it will serve this group in addition to, or in place of, the requisite number of 18 to 23 year olds.
Using a Virtual Classroom
A nationally renowned scholar, a leading figure in the movement to broaden access to university education, is visiting the UT campus. She sits down at a computer in a windowless room in Parlin Hall and logs into a "virtual classroom," where she joins a discussion already in progress between students enrolled in a lower-division writing course at UT and a group of high school honors seniors in a parallel-enrollment class at Roma High School in the Rio Grande Valley. This is the first time the students from Roma High School have had the opportunity to converse with a living author and to make the connection between something they have read and a living person.
Chapter 1 - Overview
Over half of the colleges at UT Austin have educational programs underway or in planning that are focusing to a certain extent on the non-residential professional education market.
Indeed, The University of Texas at Austin has already begun moving toward creation of a “virtual university”, a parallel structure arising alongside the existing physical one. The traditional modes of teaching and research of R universities such as UT Austin will still dominate ten years from now, but changes at the perimeter can and should occur [5,8]. The paradigm shift offered by the Virtual University can be illuminated by comparing two models of student learning:
- Traditional (linear) model: a sequence of topics are covered in a series of lectures, held in classrooms at weekly intervals, with homework practice in between. All teaching is done synchronously. Everyone proceeds at the same pace, regardless of their interests, prior experience, talents, or demands on their time. At the end, grades indicate the level of achievement attainable in the fixed time period for the course.
- Hyperlearning (nonlinear) model: there are a series of check points (learning stations) with a starting point and ending point for each, which is guarded by a certifier to assess student competence against well-defined standards. The student can visit any station to learn certain topics in an order consistent with his or her current knowledge. Trial certifications and self-assessment tests are elected by the student periodically to check progress. Everyone who completes the course and passes the certification test gets the same grade ("competency"). This approach is called nonlinear because of the ability to jump to different topics and take different paths enroute to the final objective. Learning can take place asynchronously where the instructors and student may be separated by time and place. The analogy to hypertext, now the standard in multimedia and Web-based education, is obvious. In this model the richness of the latest instructional technology tools will need to be exploited in order to ensure learning outcomes and student satisfaction comparable to the traditional approach.
Not every course or cohort of students will benefit from the latter approach. However, the hyperlearning model may figure prominently in addressing new issues that education customers are now raising, e.g., requests for post-baccalaureate professional education, access to asynchronous Internet-based learning, distance education, wider ranges of student preparation, certification of practical specialized competencies, collaboration in education and research, and competition with private organizations entering the education market. In addition, UT Austin should:
- reconsider faculty rewards and incentives (e.g., promotion and tenure, salary) especially given the extra time and effort required to develop courses delivered by technology,
- find resources to provide technical support (infrastructure), classroom facilities and training/release time to faculty who want to adopt new methods,
- find the appropriate balance between productivity increases, faculty overloads, and quality of education, including the incorporation of off-campus students into residential classes.
Given the decentralized nature of education at UT Austin, colleges and departments should formulate plans to deal with these topics as part of their compacts and performance-based instructional systems with the Provost's office. Colleges should also assess the need for distance-education courses and work with the
Video Conferencing and Virtual Instruments
Three professors and their graduate students are huddled over the workstations in their respective offices. Dr. Williams at Lehigh University is working with his colleagues at UT Austin and Oak Ridge National Labs; on their screens are the working draft of their paper and the presentation slides for the upcoming national colloquium. The final copies are due in this week and they are using on- line video conferencing and shared documents to work out the final details. Also on screen are live images from a high resolution transmission electron microscope at Oak Ridge National Labs, clearly showing the atoms in their super thin metal experiment, with each participant able to position the view and magnification. The lively debate as to how best to present their findings continues over the Internet late into the night
