A Technology Fee Committee, consisting of five students, five faculty, and a faculty chairperson that votes only in the event of a tie, solicits, reviews and selects proposals to fund. Proposals are submitted each semester by academic departments/programs and recognized student organizations on campus. Documents relating to technology fee guidelines and proposals are available through the technology fee web page (CSM Home Page->Academic Affairs->Technology Fee Committee) or from the Computing Center.

Twenty-two proposals were submitted requesting a total of $471,189 for Spring semester, 1999. Seventeen were approved for full or partial funding totaling $224,712 as listed above. Any student or faculty member wishing to read the proposals submitted through the current semester may do so weekdays between 8am and 5pm at the Computing Center by making arrangements with Marge Arnold (x3433; marnold@mines.edu).

#01  The Physics Department requested $7,722 to replace the NeXT machines in the Physics Graduate Student area.. Full funding was recommended.

#02  The Music Program requested $25,836 for laptop and desktop computers and software to support music appreciation classes and other components of the music program. Concern was expressed about how the use of computer resources in the program would really be implemented. The committee felt that a more concrete mechanism needs to be developed to get well-defined groups of students involved with using technology in the music program. A limited trial was recommended by the committee with the suggestion that a restructured proposal be submitted in the future. Funding of $7,060 is recommended to acquire 2 desktops, 2 MIDI adapters, wiring for the lab, and 2 copies of all software. The equipment is required to be in laboratory, not offices.

#03  The Mining Department requested $26,000 to acquire workstations and do some rewiring. The committee recommended not funding this proposal because the request was too vague. It did not provide enough specifics about resources to be purchased or a detailed budget. The committee recommends a more complete, restructured proposal be submitted in the future.

#04  The Chemical Engineering department requested $37,174 to replace Unix workstations in their student laboratory. The committee recommended funding of $23,571 towards the items requested.

#05  The Chemical Engineering department requested $14,448 to upgrade two rooms in Alderson Hall to become electronic classrooms similar to the two already implemented. The existing rooms appear to be scheduled heavily but priority is not given to classes that need the projection equipment and network resources. While the committee believes that it would be a good idea to equip additional rooms, it was felt that the existing rooms should be scheduled more effectively and the Registrar should develop a priority system for scheduling rooms with special resources. Consideration was given to funding one room but it was rejected by a 4 to 3 vote. Future requests should include documentation that students and classes cannot access existing rooms when needed.

#06  The Chemical Engineering department requested $29,234 to equip the CR unit operations lab w state-of-the-art computer-based data acquisition. The committee felt this request had a relatively low impact on students and mission of the department. It was also felt there was a low utilization of equipment, being used primarilyfor field camp during the summer months. This proposal was not funded.

#07  The Engineering division requested $16,188 to upgrade instrumentation and computerized data acquisition in the electric machines lab. The committee felt that the prototype implementation funded previously has been successful and recommended full funding for this proposal. This proposal was awarded $16,188.

#08  The Physics department requested $10,084 to support the acquisition and installation of a dedicated server for CAPA (Computer Assisted Personalized Assignments) for every PH1 and PH2 student. While the committee felt this was pedagogically an excellent idea, there was mixed opinion about implementation and its true operation in practice. The committee recommends the Physics department pilot the idea, possibly working with the Computing Center to provide server resources if appropriate resources are not available in the department. A future proposal should provide the results of the pilot study. The committee did recommend up to $3,000 in funding for an upgraded printer, however. It should be a higher end printer than the one proposed and be network ready.

#09  The Chemistry department requested $15,102 for computer integration of the Physical Chemistry Lab. The committee felt funds applied to this project in the past have been well spent and that further support is warranted. Good match through donations. Committee feels the indicated 10 to 20 year lifecycle is unreasonable, however. This proposal was fully funded.

#10  The Engineering division requested $4,168 to purchase a Linux server for the Electronics Lab computers. The committee felt this proposal should be funded but that the hardware specified may not be configured appropriately for the proposed purpose. The committee also expressed concern about the support required for this server. Up to $4,250 was recommended to acquire an appropriately configured server.

#11  The Computing Center requested $8,231 to purchase two additional portable computers and one additional LCD projector to add to the checkout pool for use by the campus community. This proposal was fully funded.

#12  The Meallurgy and Materials Engineering department requested $10,238 toward the purchase of a Unix server for the material science program. The server will replace an existing server which will migrate to other uses in the department. This proposal was fully funded.

#13  The division of Economics and Business requested $12,698 to purchase a new server, memory upgrades, and software upgrades. Concern was expressed by the committee that no matching funds were available. After considerable discussion, the committee recommended funding of $11,293 to fund all items requested except the requested software.

#14  The department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences requested $19,093 to upgrade the computer network and rewire the first and second floors of Stratton Hall. The committee continues to express concern about funding such basic infrastructure but also understands these needs, especially as they relate to student laboratories. After much discussion, the committee recommended funding of $10,000 be awarded toward the wiring of the student lab on the first floor and graduate student offices on the second floor. Other wiring is to be funded by the department.

#15  ASCSM requested $3,522 to purchase an appropriately configured Macintosh system to be used for desktop publishing to develop electronic copies of the Prospector yearbook, which will be distributed on CD-ROM in the future. There was an error in a previous technology fee request where a PC-based system was requested and funded for this purpose as part of a larger proposal. The system was not requested nor configured correctly and an appropriate replacement is now sought. This proposal was recommended for full funding.

#16  The Geology department requested $34,150 for a new NT server to support the student computer lab, a high-capacity tape backup system, and upgrades to the student computer lab. Funding of $22,300 was recommended to purchase a new server and tape backup system.

#17  The Petroleum Engineering department requested $10,150 toward the rewiring and upgrade of the computer network on one floor of Alderson Hall. This amount represents ½ the cost of wiring the entire area and approximately half the connections to be installed will be in the student lab and library area. Therefore, the committee recommended full funding since the department will provide equal matching funds to complete the project.

#18  The Environmental Science and Engineering division requested $2,600 for increasing the Environmental Science and Engineer's GIS computer lab capabilities. The committee recommended funding of up to $3,000 to purchase a configuration that is to be approved by the Director of the Computing Center.

#19  The Library requested $97,000 toward the purchase of a new Integrated Library System (ILS) and 23 personal computers for use by patrons with the new ILS. There was extensive discussion about this proposal with concern expressed about funding a speculative match. The committee felt that acquisition of a new ILS should be an important priority for the campus, however, decided it was appropriate to make a speculative match (with the condition that selection and purchase of a new ILS should occur within 18 months or the funds will revert to the technology fee pool for future distribution.) The optimal configuration of the 23 client workstations cannot be determined until an ILS is selected. The current need for additional client access stations was recognized, however, and four units were recommended. The committee recommended $53,000 in total funding (ILS: $45,000, Client Access Stations: $8,000).

#20  A group of faculty from across the campus, coordinated through the Engineering division, requested $17,000 to upgrade current departmental and local Labview software licenses to a campus-wide educational site license. Concern was expressed about the expense of the license and the complexity of using LabView in the classroom. Some committee members felt that better applications are available for educational use. This proposal was not funded.

#21  The Engineering division requested $60,212 to support a variety of needs including backup systems, software upgrades, and additional computers for MEL. There was extensive discussion about this proposal. The committee requested that assessment information (student evaluations, feedback, etc.) about the effectiveness of MEL courses be included in future proposals. Better justification is needed about where and how some items (such as Visual Studio) fit into the program. Concerns were raised about adding new computers in Engineering where there is such a support crisis. After much discussion, the committee recommended that $16,085 in funding be awarded to support some items in the proposal including backup systems and software, open lab computers, ZIP drives, and software.

#22  The Engineering division requested $9,800 for resources to obtain a data acquisition workbench for Engineering Dynamics. Good cost sharing in this proposal was noted and students noted that implementation will help make the connection between equations and reality. It affects a small number of students, however, and seems to be expensive for what it does. The committee recommends that a future proposal include prototype assessment data and information about effectiveness. The committee rejected funding for this proposal.