As in the preceding year, the 2000/2001 USHE Technology & Distance Education Initiative provided Weber State University (WSU) with funding in two categories:  (1) Student Support Systems ($90,035) and (2) Institutional Infrastructure ($117,519).  As usual, WSU's share of site licenses administered by the USHE Commissioner's Office were paid out of these amounts, including $24,169 for the NAI software contract, $15,000 for the statewide Oracle license, and $43,958 for the statewide Novell software license.  This left $75,035 in student support systems funds and $49,393 in institutional infrastructure funds to be used in the areas described in the proposal below.

Academic information technology needs are addressed at WSU through a combination of institutional funds and student fees.  The Academic Resources and Computing Committee (ARCC) engages in an extensive planning process.  The 2000-01 Academic Computing Status Report and Goals are described in detail on the ARCC web site. 

The following recommendations are proposed for the use of the USHE Technology & Distance Education Initiative funds in 2000-01:

1. Student Support Systems ($75,035). The university will continue to forge ahead in the implementation of web-based applications for students.  Web-based registration for students will be fully enabled in a Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Server environment by the beginning of Fall Semester, 2000.  These funds will be used to purchase the necessary servers and software licenses required to provide 7x24 reliable access.  In addition, during 2000-01 WSU will implement a new e-mail system for students incorporating a permanent lifelong e-mail address, using Novell Internet Messaging Service (NIMS) technology.  A portion of these funds will be used to continue laying the groundwork for a student portal integrated with the university's student information system (STAARS).
   
2. Institutional Infrastructure ($49,393).  These funds will be used to continue the development and expansion of the university's new Gigabit Ethernet data network (Phases II and III).  Phase II (primarily server, firewall and router upgrades) is estimated to cost approximately $83,747 and Phase III (building hub and switch upgrades) is estimated to cost approximately $325,000.  The TDEI funds will help, but will cover only a small portion of the total anticipated expenses.