In 1997-98, regional demographics, aggressive recruiting, the announced statewide conversion from quarters to semesters, clogging of the main transportation arteries to Salt Lake City (I15 construction) and a growing interest in online education combined to produce significant enrollment increases for WSU.  After several years of enrollment declines and resulting budget cuts, this was a very welcome change.  The State Board of Regents mandate to convert to semesters by Fall 1998 helped motivate students to complete their programs, resulting in a record number of WSU graduates in the 1997-98 academic year.  At the same time, an enormous amount of faculty and staff effort was required to meet semester conversion requirements.

One of the brightest achievements in this difficult period was the exciting success of WSU Online.  With the help of HETI funding and enthusiastic faculty participation, WSU Online grew from a few hundred students in 19 courses in the Fall, to over 40 courses and approximately 800 students enrolled in Spring 1998.  National recognition came in the form of a tie (with Pennsylvania State University) for the coveted Peterson's Award for innovation in distance learning from the University Continuing Education Association.   In this context, the following HETI-related progress was accomplished:

1. Student Support Systems. Hardware upgrades included a new server and four new hard drives to improve reliability and accessibility of student systems.  A lengthy internal process resulted in a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the new uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for the university's main computer systems and award of the contract.   Because of the substantial delays in the process, the new UPS will not be installed until summer 1998.  Likewise, the planned System 1032 training for university staff from within and without Computing Services will not take place until July 1998.   However, if everything goes well, the planned improvements and training will be complete before the beginning of the Fall 1998 Semester.
   
   
2. Institutional Infrastructure/Equipment Maintenance. As indicated above, the continued development of WSU Online was a key priority that paid off in increased enrollment and national recognition.  The bulk of the HETI funds in this category were spent on a Web Applications Developer (approximately $28,000), hourly wages for Communications Arts & Technologies technical support staff (approximately $35,000) and wages and benefits for WSU Online tutors (approximately $10,000).  Equipment maintenance expenditures included hardware and software upgrades and a new network server (approximately $8,000).  The remaining funds (as of June 30, 1998) will be used for ongoing maintenance of high-tech classroom equipment and other related hardware and software needs, primarily over the summer, when ongoing use is limited.