Mobile Computing Task Force - January 21, 2009 Minutes

Members Present:

TJ Urbanski, Mike Dickson, Richard Chamberlain, Bill Knox, Bradley Dilger, John Cooper, Paul Kreider, Bill Howard, Jill Myers, Sean Cordes, Theresa Roegge, Betsy Hommel, and Sumesh Philip

Newsletter

• Thank you to Cathy Null and Khaing Saw who created the Mobile Computing e-news and blog. Much kudos to them and please send them your appreciation. The blog will be up in the next day or so. Dilger suggests informing Teresa Koltzenberg in U-Relations about the blog.
• TJ Urbanski reports that he and Dawn are creating a Pod/Vodcast and working T. Koltzenberg from University Relations. They are trying to get this done for inclusion in the next enews. The audience for this podcast is university administration and faculty. It is suggested to invite Teresa Koltzenberg to join this committee. Kreider will inquire.
• It is suggested to invite Joe Rives to next meeting to discuss mission. Kreider will extend the invitation.

Vision Statement

Lots of discussion ensued regarding a mission and vision statements. What they should include and for whom do the statements speak – the committee or the campus. Kreider brought drafts of statements received on email from members.

The committee created and passed mission and vision statements. Mike Dickson will consult with administration regarding these statements.

Mobile Computing Vision Statement

Western Illinois University will integrate mobile information technologies for curricular and non-curricular use to promote its values of academic excellence, educational opportunity, social responsibility, and personal growth.

Mobile Computing Mission Statement

• The Mobile Computing Task Force at Western Illinois University assists in establishing the framework for using mobile information technologies to promote the University’s core values: academic excellence, educational opportunity, social responsibility, and personal growth.
• Kreider reports that he spoke with Dr. Judi Dallinger regarding the FYE program and possible inclusion and collaboration with our efforts. She will meet with the FYE committee and discuss.
• Sean Cordes is working on a survey of IT use through Educause. He reported what he has found in researching ETS and other services. He is trying to create something to make research more longitudinal and a multi-year effort. He will talk with Judi Dallinger about possible collaboration with FYE in survey implementation and development.
• Dickson lead a discussion about the need for a campus survey to be done regarding mobile devices and their use and support on campus. We need to understand what’s out there and what we need to support. One reason is that Blackberry in particular difficult to support and expensive to support; RIM charges a lot for email client.
• Committee members support the idea of a survey and offered suggestions. Dilger suggests a clear delineation between evaluation of current use and potential for the future. Several note need to survey not just phones but PDAs, netbooks, etc.

Sub-Committee Report

• Bill Bushaw – Financial Aid – submitted in writing and read by Kreider
• Terry Roegge and I met and discussed items on the subcommittee’s charge. Eric Campbell, Admissions, was briefed on the Task Force’s activities. He had no specific concern at this time regarding implications for the cost guarantee or the effective date of any possible program changes. He, however, wants to follow the Task Force’s work through the updates that are planned.
• Janice Owens was also briefed on Task Force activities. Her concern was the financial impact it might have for students. She was asked if there might be any financial support possible through the Foundation. She did not think so. However, donor support might be a consideration in the future.
• The Credit Union remains interested in providing loans for computer software and hardware. The interest rate is based on the individual’s credit score. Currently, the best rate is 8%. There is a $20 UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) filing fee required. This fee is paid by the individual.
• Finally, Terry mentioned that the University could do a formal contract with banks to determine if there is any interest in providing computer loans for students. Banks would be contacted through the University “bid” process. Terry could describe this a bit further.

Meeting adjourned at 4:20pm