The 2 percent technology fee is helping to provide OU students not only with visible changes such as the Alden Library Learning Commons and a completely wireless campus, but with more behind-the-scenes upgrades as well.
Upgrades are being made to the Student Information System and OAK e-mail accounts.
Associate Director of Computer Services Duane Starkey and Assistant Vice President of Administration Dale Tampke are taking on the multiple-year task of upgrading the Student Information System.
The system is used on a daily basis by the Bursar, Registrar, Admissions and Housing offices. The information stored within the system also is used to keep track of academic records and course schedules, Tampke said.
The University would not be able to function efficiently without a student information system
Starkey said. Basically all the information all the students that have flowed through Ohio University and their academic records are maintained within the system.
The system, provided by a company called Informs, was installed approximately 12 years ago and is now outdated, Starkey said.
One of the big problems we have now is people who would like to see new features with our student information system and it's difficult to enhance the existing system with the resources that we have because it is based on outdated technology.
Our goal and hope is we will be able to really enhance the functionality and usability of the system for the students
faculty
administration of the University
he said.
Tampke said that when the upgrade is complete it will perform better, make student Web-page-making easier and also just look better.
It'll look different
it'll feel different
it'll perform differently
he said.
Computer Services currently is conversing with system users and Informs in order to create a solid idea of what the upgraded version should include, said Starkey and Tampke.
No price or date has been set on completion as of now, they said.
We are starting down a relatively long road
but we are on the road and we know where we are headed
Tampke said.
Also now covered by the technology fee is an upgrade in OAK accounts. Tom Reid, Director of Communication Network Services, says that a $500,000 upgrade will increase e-mail and personal Web space, make spam and virus filtering more efficient and make using OAK at least 10 times faster.
Reid said CNS requested funding from the technology fee after the money made from telephone services declined over the past couple of years.
[Telephone services] still pays for itself
