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The University's drive to have all students own a computer will take another
step forward on June 23, when companies that want to supply the computers
submit their bids.
The bidding calendar was part of an update on the Carolina Computer Initiative
that Marian Moore, chief information officer, gave to the Board of Trustees on
May 28.
Moore explained that the computer effort will require all students starting
with freshmen entering in 2000 to have a laptop personal computer. The effort
also will provide a more efficient system for acquiring and upgrading computers
for faculty and staff, Moore said.
The chance to win Carolina's computer contract drew 25 vendors to a May 26
conference, Moore told the trustees. Such stiff competition will help the
University achieve its goal of getting quality computers at the best possible
price for students, faculty and staff, Moore said.
"We are a name school, the largest public institution attempting to do this,"
Moore said in an interview. "Every vendor wants this contract, and I'm going to
take advantage of that to get the best price possible."
A University panel will evaluate the bids for meeting the technical
requirements and then submit all passing bids to the State Board of Review,
said Mark Sillman, a University purchasing agent. The University has no control
over how long the State Board of Review will take to select the winning
computer company, a process that could take a couple weeks or a few months,
Sillman said.
Moore's presentation also addressed two frequently mentioned concerns that
faculty, staff and students have had about the initiative: Why require a PC
(vs. a Macintosh) and why require a laptop (instead of desktop)?
PC vs. Mac
Regarding the PC vs. Macintosh debate, Moore presented a variety of
statistics pointing out that PCs vastly outnumber Macs in terms of popularity
and software availability.
Moore said more than 80 percent of students who already own computers own
PCs.
PCs also have more software available, Moore said, citing an independent study
of the nation's top 100 software firms that showed that only one firm developed
software exclusively for Macs. That's opposed to 54 firms developing software
exclusively for PCs. Another 43 served both Macs and PCs while two firms
provided software for other platforms such as UNIX.
"I would be irresponsible if I had students bring computers on campus that
would not be able to run over half the software," Moore told the trustees. "The
Mac market is so small that the PC is becoming much more of the standard. It's
an issue of availability."
Having students buy PCs does not mean that other types of computers will be
banished from campus. Moore told trustees that departments needing other types
of computers for specialized tasks still would get those computers. For
example, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication uses Macintosh
computers for layout and publishing and many researchers uses UNIX machines for
tasks involving scientific and technical calculations.
Why laptops?
Laptop computers were chosen to provide students with portability and to cut
down on the amount of space needed to house computers, Moore said. She told
trustees that computers soon will be thought of as textbooks and already are
replacing some books. As an example, she showed one computer compact disk that
holds all the information in five standard nursing textbooks. Those textbooks
weigh three times as much as the laptop computer.
"I submit to you that if this is a textbook, do you want it stapled to a
desk?" she asked trustees.
Moore added that having students armed with portable computers saves space,
especially in keeping the school from having to set up more computer labs.
Another benefit of the Carolina Computer Initiative remains bringing greater
efficiency to the University's system of acquiring computers so that faculty
and staff can have not only more computers, but better computers, Moore told
trustees.
Moore said that of the 3,400 computers purchased last year, 68 percent were
acquired in lots of less than 10. By standardizing not just the type of
computer purchased but the process for updating computers, Moore said, the
University will be able to buy computers in bulk and significantly cut the cost
of each computer.
Students will be required to buy a computer that meets the University's
specifications. That doesn't mean students will have to purchase a computer
from the company selected by the University. School officials hope that the
winning company's bid will be so low that it enables students to get an
exceptionally good deal from the winning company.
Just as each new freshman class will bring a new generation of computers,
thereby upgrading the computer supply every year, Moore said the University
plans to upgrade one-fourth of all faculty/staff computers each year.
That systematic replacement of computers will prevent problems such as can be
found at the College of Arts and Sciences, where an examination in the fall
showed that 51 percent of the faculty had either no computer or an inadequate
computer. A similar survey of teaching graduate students showed 77 percent had
either no computer or an outdated one.
Unlike students, faculty and staff are more likely to get desktop computers
instead of PCs. Moore said that is because faculty/staff have offices to work
in whereas students move about campus all day to go to classes, the library and
other study points.
Work remains
The Carolina Computer Initiative remains far from complete, Moore said. She
explained to trustees that eight teams are working on different parts of
implementing the effort.
That effort focuses not only on students getting computers, but on
establishing an efficient system for providing faculty and staff members with
computers.
"In our minds we are just at the beginning of this process," Moore said. "This
is a process that will take six years until we get to the point where all
students have computers."
Those eight teams are addressing specific issues such as how to distribute the
new computers, making sure the faculty and staff feel comfortable using the new
computers and creating a response center where people can call 24 hours a day,
seven days a week to get computer questions answered.
In related news, the Employee Forum approved a letter to Chancellor Michael
Hooker expressing the group's support for the initiative, which it described it
as "a bold move." (See above.)
Other trustee news
In other business at its May 28 meeting, the Board of Trustees:
Effective August 1998, permit fees will range from no charge in park-and-ride
lots to $405 for a space reserved at all times.
For eligible employees, free parking and bus transit will be available from
six park-and-ride lots: Eubanks Road, Southern Village, Carrboro Plaza, N.C. 54
East, P and PH (Hedrick Office Building).
Located south of Jones Ferry Road and east of Old Fayetteville Road in
Carrboro, the six-acre tract would accommodate 150 spaces. According to Carolyn
Elfland, associate vice chancellor for auxiliary services, the lot would open
no later than fall 1999 and would be a part of the University's network of free
park-and-ride lots.
Under the terms of the lease--which still must be approved by the Chapel Hill
Town Council--the University would rent the land to the town for $1 for 20
years. The town would be responsible for building and maintaining the lot.
While David E. Pardue Jr., chair of the board's Finance and Business
Committee, said the project sounded "wonderful and worthwhile," he recommended
delaying action until campus planners decide how the Y building will fit into
the Master Plan being mapped out over the next 18 months.
An architectural study estimates that the renovation would cost $2 million,
funds that would be raised through private donations. Proposed work includes
installing an elevator, appropriate stairwells, sprinklers and handicap-access
measures.
Under proposed plans, the building would house the Y, and the first-floor
snack bar would become a faculty lounge.
The board postponed action with the understanding that the project would be
put on the "front burner" in the Master Plan.
Planners will consider either a renovation and addition to Medical Building C
or demolition of Medical Building C with a new facility to be built on the
site.
Just south of the Health Affairs Parking Deck, Medical Building C now is
vacant. It used to be leased to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Employee Forum sent this letter to Chancellor Michael Hooker expressing
support for the Carolina Computer Initiative:
June 3, 1998
Dear Chancellor Hooker:
The Employee Forum heartily supports the Carolina Computing Initiative. The
initiative is consistent with the Forum's December 3, 1997 "Resolution
Advancing Computer Literacy and Training for UNC-Chapel Hill Staff." We
applaud your leadership in advocating the principles of the CCI, and we ask for
your continuing strong support for those aspects of the CCI that assure staff
access to information technology and electronic information resources,
specifically:
* Convenient access by all to electronic mail, WWW and other electronic
communications and technology resources used to distribute information
important to staff work;
* Support for staff IT training to allow for new skills acquisition in support
of existing job tasks and in pursuit of career enhancement;
* Adequate desktop technology and network connectivity for those staff whose
jobs require or benefit from access to various information systems and
technology resources.
We believe that the CCI is a bold move that will help assure that UNC-CH
continues to benefit from the highest quality faculty, students and staff in
future years. The Employee Forum is committed to working with you and your
staff to make this vision a reality.
The Employee Forum
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