Eastern Oregon University

Tech-Fee Committee Minutes

November 16, 2005

Members Present:  Frederick Pratter, Anna Cavinato, Linda Fratzke, Steffany Long, Jessica Zimmerer, Bob Larison, Bryan Pearson, Darren Hendrickson

Resource Members Present:  Anna Maria Dill,  Paul Rowan, Shirley Roberts

Guests Present:  Steve Kalb, Curt Whitacre, Kevin Roy, Anna Bacon

Tech Fee Committee met on this date at 7:00 am in Pierce Library.

Curt Whitacre presented additional information to the committee regarding the Blackboard proposal.  He stressed that there are about 1200 students currently enrolled in classes that use Blackboard.  Questions were raised regarding how this proposal benefited on-campus vs. off-campus students.  Curt answered that this request was primarily to provide Blackboard to on-campus students, but that it would also streamline the administration of registration and use of the program for off-campus students.  Curt also stressed that Blackboard could help attract new students to the campus.  Options of partial funding and issues about on-going costs were also discussed.  The committee agreed that this is a worthwhile project but, primarily because a majority of the members argued that it should be an institutional expense and should not be funded by student fees, the committee reaffirmed its previous decision not to recommend funding.  (The vote was two in favor of and six opposed to recommending funding.)

Helen Moore reported that Gary Kiemnec said he had used laptops (without special cases or covers) in the field in the past without damaging them.  However, he would appreciate receiving protective covers and/or cases with the laptops if that were possible.  Helen stated that the covers and/or cases could probably be purchased with the laptops without going over the approved budget.

Paul Rowen reported that the there is currently no Smart Classroom equipment available to move into Library 114, but that the equipment could be installed next summer.  Darren also reported that it would be very difficult and expensive to install a projector on the east side of the Library General Purpose Lab.  Helen relayed complaints from students who had been asked to leave the lab while the lab was used for teaching.  There was concern that outfitting the room as a classroom would result in more students who need to use the General Purpose Lab being displaced while the classes were in session.  A suggestion was made that one of the Multimedia or Computer Science Labs might be a more appropriate location for the classes where students need hands-on computer access.  Darren, Paul and Shirley Roberts will work together to find a solution to the issue.

The remainder of the proposals were discussed and approved / not approved to recommend funding as shown below:

• Kevin Roy, Kerry Loewen, Neil Gustafson (the two related proposals were considered as one) “HD Video Cameras, Tripods, Cases” and “HD Video Editing/DVD Authoring Software/Final Cut Pro Studio”

  After receiving additional information from Kevin Roy and Bryan Pearson, the committee agreed to consider the two separate proposals as one and to partially fund it.  Professor Roy assured the committee that students would not be disadvantaged if fewer pieces of equipment were purchased than had originally been requested.  Committee left it up to the discretion of Professor Roy, Professor Loewen and Professor Gustafson to determine what quantity of equipment would be purchased with the approved funds.  Approved as amended - $22,500.00

• Darren Dutto “Human Performance Lab: Muscle Function & Force Measurement”

  Darren Hendrickson reported back that this was the third phase of a tech fee project that had been previously funded and that the equipment purchased under the first two phases had been used to build a “very nice” lab that was regularly used by a significant number of students across a variety of disciplines.  Approved as submitted - $38,080.00  

Professor Pratter will prepare a document with the committee’s recommendations and submit it to the Provost prior to the first of December.

Helen Moore relayed a question from the Safety Committee regarding funding of an Automated External Defibulator.  The Safety Committee wondered if the Tech Fee committee thought it would be appropriate to submit a proposal for this type of equipment to the Tech Fee committee.  The Tech Fee committee agreed that this is an institutional expense (similar to first aid kits and band aids) and should not be funded out of student technology fees.

Additional meetings of this committee for the remainder of this academic year will be scheduled on an as needed basis.

Minutes submitted by Helen Moore.