Faculty Senate
Academic and Information Technology Council
This page contains the role statement and council charges.
Role statement
The role of the Academic and Information Technology Council is to:
- Assist in the development and continuous revision, as appropriate to changing needs, of the University’s strategic plans for information technology (IT), including computing, telecommunications and multi-media;
- Facilitate the location and implementation of the technology faculty use to solve problems (current or future) in the areas of teaching, research and service;
- Assist in the identification of technology needs of faculty;
- Develop and recommend needed policy revisions and new policy proposals relative to academic IT (Note 1);
- Coordinate the application and review process for distribution of funds earmarked for academic and administrative IT;
- Ensure appropriate coordination and participation by working closely with ad hoc and standing committees in colleges, departments and other university units dealing with campus IT.
The work of the council is accomplished through its standing and ad hoc committees, which act on behalf of the council, subject to review by the council.
It is suggested the following matrix be used to guide the activities of the council:
| Teaching | Research | Service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Infrastructure includes such things as e-mail; phones; accounting (e.g. project support); data storage; security; scheduling (class offerings / times provided in advance). | |||
| Communicate and coordinate faculty technology needs | |||
| Provide education for the use of technology | |||
| Review technology opportunities | |||
| Finance technology (to include costs for maintenance and security) | |||
| Support infrastructure* development and application | |||
Note 1: Academic Information Technology Policies are those which directly affect the work of the faculty in teaching, research, and service. Examples include policies surrounding the e-learning system, use of information technologies for funded research, faculty home pages and course pages, policies for distribution of student tech funds among the colleges for the operation for instructional labs, and policies regarding classroom technology.
Relationship of AITC to the Office of Information Technology
- The Office of Information Technology will consult with the Academic and Information Technology Council while developing other information technology policies, as appropriate. This consultation will be at the draft stage whenever possible. Other consultative groups may include, but are not limited to the following:
- Local Area Network Managers in the various colleges and administrative units
- Provost’s Council, which includes the provost, vice provosts, and deans
- Academic Forum, which includes college and departmental academic administrators
- University Advising Council
- Collective Bargaining Units
- Employee Associations (Professional Support Staff Organization and Administrative Professional Association)
- The President’s Senior Leadership Team
- Western Student Association and Graduate Student Advisory Committee
- PeopleSoft Change Control Committee
- Student Information System Integration Team
- Other groups, as appropriate
- The Academic and Information Technology Council will have two representatives on the Campus Security Committee. These representatives will be chosen by the council. This is a committee that has representation from various vice-presidential areas and which formulates information security policies for the University.
Charges
2011-12
Delores Walcott will serve as the Senate Executive Board representative on AITC.
In addition to its six specific responsibilities listed in the Academic and Information Technology Council’s role statement, the Faculty Senate Executive Board charges the AITC to consider, as a committee of the whole or through the appropriate sub-committee or task force, the following issues:
1. Review the scope and description of the role statement and standing charges and assess the effectiveness of council practices. Add emphasis on transparent communications from the AITC to its constituencies and the Faculty Senate Executive Board.
2. Serving as a consultative body on security policies, continue to evaluate data security and existing policies related to mobile devices. Increase emphasis on cloud computing.
3. Formalize membership on the Educational Technology Committee with a distinct charge.
4. Review the D2L transition team’s role in the D2L migration.
5. Develop an E-Book pilot experiment in consultation with the WMU Bookstore. Increase pilot studies and give final report in AY 2011-12.
6. Work with the offices of Information Technology and Extended University Programs to create a change management committee/steering group that oversees implementation, issues and pedagogical needs of faculty within the new LMS on an ongoing basis.
7. Address any continuing or outstanding issues or initiatives as deemed necessary by the council. To the extent possible conclude any outstanding initiative by producing a memorandum of action, report or resolution.
Note
It is understood the AITC will seek information from the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and maintain communications with that office on issues directly related to them. The AITC is expected to keep the Senate Executive Board apprised of progress, especially in connection with any MOA it may develop and to give advance notice of any action the AITC seeks to place on the Senate agenda, including the final text of any proposed MOA, report or resolution. The Executive Board should also be notified of substantive procedural issues addressed by the AITC. The AITC shall provide a written summary of its progress on the above charges and any other activities undertaken no later than June 30, 2012.