The 1999/2000 USHE Technology & Distance Education Initiative provided Weber State University (WSU) with modest funding in two categories:  (1) Student Support Systems ($90,034) and (2) Institutional Infrastructure ($117,519).  WSU's share of site licenses administered by the USHE Commissioner's Office were paid out of these amounts, including $36,455 for the SCT MIS software, $15,000 for the statewide Oracle license, and $50,552 for the statewide Novell software license.  This left $38,579 in student support systems funds and $66,967 in institutional infrastructure funds to be used as outlined in the proposal below.

It should be noted that 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.  Academic information technology priorities and goals for 1999-2000 are described in detail at http://www.weber.edu:80/arcc/acadplan.htm.  

In keeping with the long-term goals of the WSU Information Technology Plan, the following recommendations are proposed for the use of these funds in 1999-2000:

1. Student Support Systems (2-15827 - $38,579). Construction and maintenance of modern, accessible voice/data/video communications systems for both Internet [World Wide Web] and Intranet access" remains a high priority (see Long Term IT Goals).  In four short years, web-enabled applications have revolutionized the way students, faculty and staff interact with our computer systems.  These funds will be used to create a scalable, reliable and secure web environment for access to admissions, registration, and course enrollment data by WSU students, faculty and staff.
   
2. Institutional Infrastructure (2-15828 - $66,967).  WSU has experienced a significant increase in network use over the past two years, including a substantial increase in on-line instruction.  Bandwidth and network reliability have become critical issues.  To improve manageability of the network approximately $25,000 of these funds will be used to acquire new network management software and to train individuals in its use.  Another $10,000 will be used to convert the existing network database from Paradox to Oracle and to create a compatible Oracle-based network connection database.  The balance will be used to begin to equip a new Network Control Center and provide needed enhancements to the WSU server farm.