Introduction

The purpose of this Technology Master Plan is to establish technology guidelines that will help to direct Columbia College as we move into the 21^St century. This Plan contains procedures, visions and recommendations for technological enhancement within Columbia College that will occur over the next five years. However, this Plan should be viewed with a degree of flexibility since it is impossible to account for rapidly evolving technology and funding issues.

The Columbia College' Instructional Technology Committee served as initiator and primary source of information for this Plan. The Committee's makeup allowed for easy access to several of the most technological dependent areas on campus and provided a significant source of information and recommendations for the structure and body of this Plan.

Understanding that this Plan focuses on three major elements that are crucial for the success of any technology master plan - organization, processes, and technology - this Plan examines the current status of technology on the Columbia College campus. It contains administrative procedural recommendations that should be implemented and supported if the College intends to continue to maintain the high standard of education it currently provides. It outlines budgeting requirements that facilitate currency in technology and infrastructure. It includes future staffing needs that require consideration to support the College's growth in technology. In effect, this Plan should become a "living document" that serves as the strategic guide for current and future technology for Columbia College.

A review of this Plan should be conducted every other year and a report submitted by the Instruction Technology Committee to the College Council on the status of the implementation progress and success of this Plan.

Committee Membership:

Melissa Colon, ITC Coordination

Gary Mendenhall, Interim Dean of Technology

Kathy Schultz, Faculty Senate – Distance Education Committee

Patricia Harrelson, Arts and Sciences

KC Marshall, Student Services

Wendy Link, Media Services

Ryan Brady, Technical Services

Doris Goldson, Library and Technology

Larry Steuben, Library Services

Ida Ponder, Vocational Education

Student, rotating by semester

Mission

The Technology Plan for Columbia College is intended to center on our mission that states, in part, ”… Columbia College is committed to offering a comprehensive range of transfer, vocational, cultural, and community education, and to facilitating community and economic development. The College provides support programs and services to assist students and the broader community in gaining access to higher education and achieving success in their chosen endeavors…”

The Technology Plan details the expansion of technology within Columbia College and establishes the current environment and future plans to be implemented. The Plan must work in conjunction with the Facilities Master Plan, the Educational Master Plan and the other documents created by the college. To that end, the following goals were established:

· Provide direct, universal and comfortable access to information and instructional technologies by students, faculty and staff to facilitate improved teaching and learning.

· Promote students’ success in their educational and career goals.

· Improve communication, collaboration and coordination among those who enable students, faculty and staff to make the most effective use of technology resources.

· Sustain and improve instructional, student and administrative support services

· Promote alternative methods of education that integrate technology into instruction.

· Invest in staff development to increase use and application of technology resources.

The successful implementation and completion of this Plan will establish a strong technological presence at Columbia College and give the faculty and staff the necessary tools to incorporate technology into instruction and day-to-day operations. It is imperative that Columbia College remains committed to the advancement of technology in order to provide a productive workplace and an exemplary educational environment where our students receive an education that is current both in content and in technology.

Technical Support

Current Environment

Columbia College’s Technical Services Support consists of: an Electronic Specialist, an Electronic Technician, a Media Services Technician and an Administrative Secretary, lead by the Dean of Instructional Services currently serving also as the Interim Dean of Technology.

The College's computer information system is growing across campus. Probably the most striking omission from technology plans has been a realistic model of technical staffing. While staff for business operations, purchasing, curriculum, human resources, building and grounds have been maintained, few planning teams have recognized that a large network of computers will require a substantial group of trained professionals to cope with its many demands.

The College's technology infrastructure now includes over 600 networked computer systems, 10 administrative and instructional servers, eight aggregate T-1 lines via microwave link for data, two T-1 lines for voice and one for video, providing a comprehensive network that includes most of the buildings, offices and classrooms on campus.

Successful implementation of technology into education is obviously dependent on a number of variables. While technology supporters are quick to advocate the benefits of technology, the requirements for adequate technical support are slow to be understood and funded. It should, however, be fairly easy to appreciate the frustration teachers face when a piece of "technology" doesn't work or requires the skills of a technician just to make it work.

Another important aspect of technical staffing is compensation. The College should establish a market-based approach to determine competitive compensation for key positions in the Technology Services department. The current salary schedule does not take into account the current high demand for skilled network and computer managers and technicians, thereby causing the pay scale to be inadequate.

The College has come a long way in a short period; but, as with any other dynamic organization, there is always room to improve. For instance the California Community College Chancellor's Office released a report in 2000 that advocates the concept of Total Cost of Ownership in technology and includes technical support staffing as follows:

Position Assumptions

Technical Management 1 staff per 500 Computers

Web Administration 1 staff per 12,000 FTES

Technical Support Staff 1 staff per 150 Computers

Network Technical Support 1 Staff

Application Development 2 Staff

Network Systems Admin and Wiring 1 staff per 300 Computers

The College can purchase the most technologically advanced equipment, but without adequate support staff to install, operate, train, and maintain the equipment, it will never be fully utilized.

Future Plan

Columbia College can can purchase the most technologically advanced equipment, but without adequate support staff to install, operate, train, and maintain the equipment, it will never be fully utilized.

It is unlikely staffing needs will decrease in the future as new, more challenging things are attempted. It is mentioned within this specific Technology Plan, Columbia’s technology infrastructure appears to be well-positioned for the next five years. The same cannot be said for the technology support staff.

It is recommended the following positions be re-evaluated or established:

New Permanent Administrator (i.e. Dean of Technology and Learning Resources), 100%-12 months.

Re-evaluate Administrative Secretary (increase from 11 month to 12 months)

New Software Network Analyst, 100%-12 months

New Webmaster

Inclusion of the above positions are immediately important so the level of Technology support is not compromised as the student population and the faculty and staff needs grow.

Re-evaluate technology Staffing

Determine New Positions
Software Network Analysis
WebMaster
100% Administrative Secretary, 12 months
Dean of Learning Resources or
Dean of Technology

Computer Replacement, Upgrade and Maintenance

A major challenge of any institution or business in this rapidly changing technological age is developing a plan for keeping its technology up-to-date. Over the last ten years it has become apparent that computers and their respective peripherals maintain a functional life of three to FOUR years.

Current Environment:

Technology Services provides all faculty and staff with a computer for their work area. The College operates in a standardized PC environment that supports administrative and instructional applications employees who require a PC platform, The current standard of the College provides for a minimum configuration of a Pentium II, 300 MHz computer system with most faculty, staff and student labs possessing systems with a Pentium III, 733 MHz processor or better. The College has been able to maintain currency in student computer labs by purchasing newer technology for these labs and taking the older machines, which in most cases are newer than those used by the College's employees, and passing them on to College employees based on need.

The part-time employees and adjunct faculty have access to campus computers in a variety of ways. The Tamarack Hall Adjunct Faculty area offers EIGHT computer stations and a networked printer for use adjunct faculty. Both adjunct faculty and part-time employees have access to computers in most of the open labs within the College.

As for printers and other peripherals, the College has developed procedures that identify the type and capacity needed based on location and intended use. A networked printer is placed in those areas where multiple users can benefit and in all student computer labs. Individual printers are limited to employee offices where a larger workgroup printer would not be cost effective.

Future Plan

Equipment must be replaced on a regular cycle to maintain a standard level of service to end-users.

A preventative maintenance program is needed to ensure that current equipment meets the three year functional life as set forth by this Plan.

The College must establish a replacement cycle for older machines.

Utilize fund replacements through the capital outlay budget rather than relying on passing a bond issue every five years.

Media Equipment Replacement and Maintenance

Current Environment

Most classrooms have basic media equipment, overhead projector, screen, and TV & VCR. Video/Data projectors have rapidly become a standard in classrooms as well. Technology/Media Services consistently plans to upgrade equipment as funds are made available.

The College has embraced the idea of smart classrooms with the creation of two lecture halls with the capabilities mentioned above. Cedar 1 and Dogwood Forum are the two “smart” classrooms. Both rooms are equipped with a computer access for the instructor, Internet access, projection systems, sound system and the ability to play different media ranging from videotape to DVD.

Currently, not all College classrooms have video/data projectors. Upon request, Technology/Media Services will place video/data projectors & and laptops needed for multimedia presentations across campus. This service is provided to all faculty, staff and students.

Future Plan

Technology/Media Services will continue to replace overheads, 35mm slide projectors and screens and convert from video to DVD capabilities.

A goal of Technology/Media Services is to mount video/data projectors connected to computers, VCR/DVD’s, and document cameras at specific teaching stations.

All media equipment should be capable of showing closed caption media if required. Currently digital computer projectors do not have the capability to show captioned material, so special captioning decoders should be purchased to allow the use of captioned material through the use of digital computer projectors.

Procurement Procedures

Current Environment

The College continues to require approval from Technology Services for all technological purchases made with College funds. This will allow the College to maintain compatibility and standardization with existing technology. Student-use computers are purchased as needed depending on available funding. The majority of student use computers are part of computer labs located throughout the campus. The College supports 350 student-use computers campus-wide. Approximately 100 of these systems are available as open-lab machines on a regular basis. The remaining machines are available when not being used for classroom instruction.

Future Plan

The College should continue to provide all employees with technology where and as needed.

Multimedia

Background

Multimedia is a broad term used to describe any combination of two or more of the following elements: text, image, animations, sound, speech, video, and computer programs. The elements are digitally controlled and enhance the information for better communication and understanding. As the need for technology in the classroom has grown over the years, Columbia College has attempted to keep pace with the development and usage of multimedia on campus evolving to include video conferencing, full-motion video, the Internet and satellite connectivity.

Current Environment

Columbia College provides basic support for campus-wide use of multimedia as a medium where instructors can enhance student learning outcomes with Internet access, PowerPoint presentations, a CMS (Course Management System), and videos. Since not all college classrooms have video/data projectors, Media Services will set-up video/data projector & laptop for multimedia presentations anywhere on campus. This service is provided to faculty, staff and students.

Columbia College recently embraced the idea of offering more advanced multimedia capabilities and access with the construction of the Instructional Technology Center in the new Learning Resource Center. The newest capabilities provide faculty, staff and students, under supervision of a staff member an opportunity for multimedia production. The room is equipped with modern desktop computers, 4 video-editing computers, Internet access, digital and video cameras, projection and lighting systems, an audio system, cassette players, multimedia software applications and the ability to play and produce different media ranging from VHS to DVD.

The IT Committee currently maintains protocol and provides support for the ITC, Instructional Technology Center. The goal of the committee is to develop a strong dialog concerning instruction and technology on the Columbia College campus and how to use both to meet faculty and student needs. In addition, the Technology Support Services provides limited checkout of technology equipment to faculty and staff. The hope is to perpetuate multimedia technologies and make it possible to address instruction among students with diverse learning styles and increase student motivation for class work and assignments.

Future Plan

Staff will need continuous training and support as they integrate technology into the curriculum such as multimedia and presentation software in order to prepare demonstrations and colloborative projects with their students.

As the College renovates, upgrades and constructs both new traditional classrooms and computer labs, investment in the equipment is necessary to create additional multimedia classrooms for a more functional technological infrastructure that focuses on current and emerging information technologies.

The College needs to staff the ITC with a full-time permanent position to allow for maximum use of the facility.

Distance Education

Background

Distance education means instruction in which the instructor and student are separated by distance and interact through the assistance of communication technology according to California Community Colleges Distance Education Regulations and Guidelines. These regulations continue to allow California Community Colleges to explore and develop educational initiatives using advanced communication and computing technologies to address student access issues related to geographical, cultural, disability or facility barriers. These regulatory changes will assist in mainstreaming DE and fully integrate DE into the community college system.

Over the years, a few attempts were made for distance learning development. During 2001-02, Columbia College’s Distance Education Committee was formed and recommendations by the Academic Senate Committee were given to help further interest and support for distance learning on campus, though there was no college-wide program. At the time the Committee was formed there was an offering of one Web-based online course. The nursing program is delivered to Columbia College via MJC through one way video-conferencing equipment located in Fir2. This program has been active since 2000/20001.

A handful of staff met and worked on the Mission Statement and charge for the Committee. The Distance Education Committee also sent out a survey to gather feedback from the faculty to help the efforts. The following focal points were adopted as the goals of Columbia College’s Distance Education Committee to help promote and support a future Distance Education Program.

Seek policies and procedure standards conducive to the district’s Master Distance Education Plan
Provide online developmental opportunities and resources for Columbia College staff
Develop programs for equitable compensation and support for those interested in development of Distance Education technologies
Utilize CVC4’s Programs and Services through continued education and training

The committee members helped to encourage and train a cohort of interested staff to use WebCT, a Course Management System to develop online course content and hybrid offerings. The CVC Campus Mentor over the past few years at Columbia College, through the efforts and existence of the California Virtual Campus, Region 4 has helped to bridge the gap by providing online programs and services to support distance education growth. The California Virtual Campus Region 4's charge is to assist faculty, administration, and institutions within the region in the development of online courses and online programs. Many online services, training opportunities, and online infrastructure support have been provided by the CVC for Columbia College.

Current Environment

Currently, all faculties are encouraged to have a Web presence for their courses and to use online technology to facilitate teaching/learning. The Distance Education’s progress at Columbia College is moving forward with the development of increased hybrid and online course offerings. A Technology Mediated Instruction (TMI) form was formulated and approved by the Curriculum Committee. Protocol for requesting WebCT shells and curriculum approval is in place. In 2003-04, the Instructional Technology Committee took over the technology driven decisions and continued to develop distance educational goals for the campus. Columbia is fortunate that many of our faculty have adopted the use of online technology in many ways. However, there is a further need for training and support in the use of the technology that is available. This support is critical for the College to move rapidly into more distributed learning modes.

Future Plan

Maintain continued support and training for alternative modes of distance education such as video-conferencing and Internet courses.
In the area of synchronous distance learning, the College will continue to maintain interactive videoconferencing classrooms, used in co-operation with partners such as Advanced Technology Training Center, (ATTC) MiWuk Tribal Counsel, Tuolumne County Office of Education (TCOE), Calaveras Center, and MJC's Patterson site.
Concerning strategic planning and policy recommendations for campus distance education and instructional technology and multimedia applications and access, both the DE (Distance Education) and IT (Instructional Technology) Committees will work concurrently to plan the future goals for distance learning opportunities.
As the Distance Education offerings grow a Design Media Specialist is required to support faculty in their training and course development needs.
Distance learning moduals should be created in a format that is accessible to students with disablities. The distance learning modules should be designed to be capatible with the state and federal guidelines on accessiblity standards.

Online Student Services

Current Environment

In 1996, the touch-tone registration system was implemented. This allowed students to register over the telephone rather than on-campus. Registration lines were greatly reduced and the convenient method of registration contributed to an increase in enrollment over previous terms.

Over the last five years, the touch-tone system has been upgraded and now includes active phone lines and the ability to pay fees electronically. This has greatly reduced the congestion in the Admissions area and provided an invaluable service to our student population.

1998 marked a major transformation in Student Information Systems for the College. After several months of evaluations, the College chose Datatel's Colleague software for its enterprise relational database. The first phase of the Datatel System went live July 2004.

With a Datatel Web schedule, students can now get up-to-date information and search the schedule in a variety of ways. Since its inception, the online schedule has been made available before the printed version, and students can access up to three semesters of schedules online.

Online student services includes applications, registration, student educational plans, counseling, tutoring, transcripts, and access to grades, financial aid and fee payment. In addition, students should be able to look up their schedules, collaborate with instructors and students, and access library catalogs and resources over the Internet. Online services should meet or exceed those services available to students who come onto the campus to conduct business.

Web-based service system called WebAdvisor was implemented Summer 2004. WebAdvisor is supported by Datatel and would allow students to not only register on the Web, but also retrieve information including schedules, financial aid and transcripts. Web registration in conjunction with touch-tone will greatly increase access to Student Services.

Future Plan

The college should Implement the degree audit process online. This would allow students to retrieve information on demand based on their major and the courses they have completed. It will be a valuable tool for students to use when planning their class schedules and will help to reduce traffic in Admissions and Counseling.
A virtual counselor needs to be established in the form of a chat room, video conference or even automated degree audit using "fuzzy" artificial intelligence technology to make course suggestions since not all students have time or do not attend counseling appointments.
The College needs to convert the paperwork in Student Services to a digital format. This would dramatically increase productivity by reducing the time spent searching through trailers full of records while at the same time providing backups to protect against record loss.

Telecommunications Network

A telecommunication infrastructure is a combination of physical connections, hardware, and software that provide for the transmission and reception of voice, data, and video information and services. Planning for expansion of the telecommunications network is critical if the College continues to grow in both technology and facilities. A strong telecommunications infrastructure is essential to ensure that students and faculty have the best opportunities available for teaching and learning and that staff has the latest in technology to help streamline the administrative process.

Current Environment

The College's telecommunications network is separated into voice, data, and video. Each currently operates as an autonomous unit with the capability of future integration.

The data network consists Cisco BFR 4507 & 7206 routers and Cisco Catalyst 2950 series switches which provide the backbone for a Fast Ethernet network. WAN access to YCCD in Modesto is provided via an eight T-1 multilink PPP connection over a 45 mile, two-hop microwave link. Internet access is supplied to YCCD by a dedicated DS3 connection to CENIC. The network encompasses all of the primary and ancillary buildings on campus and totals over 25 pieces of network equipment. Connection between the buildings is established through Single and Multimode fiber and category 5 cabling is used within the buildings to provide connectivity to end-user locations. Data lines and Internet access are provided to all student labs, faculty, staff work locations and classrooms. A Cisco PIX firewall is in place at YCCD to protect the systems from outside intrusion and virtual LANs are used within the campus to segment the student access machines from those used by employees.

To ensure reliability of the data network, battery backups are installed in key locations to reduce downtime in the event of a power outage. The campus network backbone and all related network equipment necessary to maintain our network are attached to battery backups that will provide several hours of uninterrupted run time. Barring a protracted event, this system should be sufficient to outlast most planned or unplanned power interruptions.

A CCTV network is available in many classrooms for distribution of satellite and off-the-air television reception. A T-1 line is installed in the Teleconferencing Classroom (Fir 2) for teleconferencing purposes.

The College has two off-site locations for instructional purposes. Our Calaveras site is connected to Columbia College by a T-1 line and there are plans to connect ATTC East Sonora to the main campus in the same manner so that all access is routed through the College firewall thus maintaining the integrity of the data and the security of the transmission.

The College's voice system infrastructure consists of a NEC NEAX 2400 IMX IMGx phone switch with Centigram voicemail system. The voicemail system is incorporated into each full-time end-user's work location. The voicemail system has several advanced features including selective greetings and phone trees. The campus receives phone service via two T-1 lines used for both inbound and outbound trunks. 400 DID (Direct Inward Dialing) lines are in place to allow direct calling of extensions from off-campus bypassing both the main number and switchboard

A battery backup is provided for both the telephone and voicemail systems. This backup will run for about 8 hours depending on the system load. Backups of the telephone system settings are done weekly by backing up the settings to disk. The telephone and voicemail systems are backed up monthly and stored in an off-site location.

One Electronic Specialist supports the College's voice network and the cabling infrastructure for data. The Electronic Specialist works in the Columbia College Technology Services department in close coordination with the YCCD Electronic Specialist who supports the District telecommunications.

Currently, all calls to 911 from within the campus display the main campus address to the 911 operator. To help identify which specific location is calling 911, all 911 calls are monitored by YCCD security on a 24-hour basis. YCCD security is able to identify which specific extension is calling 911 and then, with a extension to location database, are able to alert Columbia Security personnel which location is actually calling 911.

Future Plan

The College's telecommunications network will continue to support the College's mission by providing opportunities for teaching and learning with access to the voice, video, and data network (including Internet access and the latest technologies).

All off-site locations maintained or leased by the College

To support the increased number of online class offerings and distance education, the College's data network has to be expanded to include a gigabit Ethernet backbone and additional fast Ethernet access to desktop users.

Wireless networks will be deployed for areas of the campus where multiple connections are needed in various locations. YCCD should increase the bandwidth between Columbia College and YCCD in Modesto. Our WAN is presently an aggregate of eight T-1’s and should be upgraded to at least a DS3 connection between Columbia College and YCCD.

Streaming video is fast becoming a standard in some industries and our college data and video network needs to be in place to support such bandwidth intensive applications.

Ensure that off campus sites are connected so that all access is routed through the college firewall for security purposes.

The voice network on the Columbia College campus is sufficient to accommodate some growth on campus. However, should newer hardware become available that would increase the functionality of the telephone system, the college should consider functionality over expansion of the current system.

Remote Access for Faculty and Staff

Remote access to the electronic resources of the College has been limited to use by the Administration via modem. Most end-users and other employees were only able to retrieve email from off-campus through Microsoft Outlook Web Access.

Current Environment

Currently, Information Services maintains a Remote Access Server (RAS) that allows full-time employees of the College dial-in access to the campus. Once connected, the user can perform tasks as though they were on campus. Employees are allowed to use the modem to access email, retrieve files. Internet access is available but due to limited phone lines its use is not encouraged. The current RAS server is limited to eight phone lines. The RAS modem offers only local access numbers consistent with those in the Columbia Area.

Faculty and staff can retrieve their email while off-campus through a Web server running Outlook Web access. This server allows access to their Outlook schedule, contacts, and email information.

ConnectColumbia’s WebAdvisor will allow faculty and staff access to information while off-campus. WebAdvisor will provide class rosters, leave accruals, contact information, and budget reports. This will provide end-users with information in an easy-to-use Web format.

Future Plan

The voice network on the Columbia College campus is sufficient to accommodate some growth on campus. However, should newer hardware become available that would increase the functionality of the telephone system, the college should consider functionality over expansion of the current system.

Virtual Private Networks (VPN) should be implemented utilizing our firewall so those authorized employees could use their own ISP to access College resources. VPNs are an effective, secure way to allow limited access to College resources while still maintaining data security and integrity.

Electronic Mail

The use of electronic mail (email) as a means of communications has expanded rapidly over the last decade. Electronic mail allows for the efficient exchange of information regardless of the distance between the parties. It has become a collaborative tool that allows colleagues to stay in touch, teachers and students to easily communicate, and is an excellent way to provide information to large groups of people such as the employees within the College.

Current Environment

College email is provided using Microsoft Exchange server with Microsoft Outlook clients. All full-time faculty and staff have Outlook mail accounts and access is provided for adjunct faculty and part-time employees.

Microsoft Outlook is currently deployed campus-wide. Outlook provides collaboration options, calendar, contacts, and tasks. In addition, the Web client for Outlook that allows an employee with an email account to check their mail anywhere in the world that has an Internet connection.

The College email system is setup with a domain name of "yosemite.cc.ca.us". A standard naming convention for all users has been established as last name and first initial.

The College has adopted policies for acceptable use of the College's computing facilities. Currently, there is a policy governing use of computers by students and another similar policy for staff. These policies were strong first steps in providing guidelines and structure for overall use of computing resources. A copy of the current policies is located in Appendix B.

Future Plan

The College should be prepared to register in the .edu domain if and when the district decides to do so.

Columbia College will continue to participate in district discussions concerning decisions and improvements throughout the evolution of our Email system.

Backup Procedures and Disaster Recovery

Contact Central Services Information Technology Department at 575-6970.

Web Site Access and Development

Just as electronic mail has revolutionized the office memo; the World Wide Web (WWW) has revolutionized nearly all other aspects of the work place. The World Wide Web serves as a medium that allows the College to store, present, and gather information to and from audiences on campus, in our community, and around the globe. Due to the popularity and universality of this means of information exchange, the World Wide Web is by far the most significant move the College has made toward a "paperless" campus. Furthermore, as the World Wide Web grows, the College's dependence upon it will grow as well.

Current Environment

The College, using Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0 running on a single server, provides World Wide Web services. WWW access is provided to College employees, students and community members using Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Access to create Web sites on the Web server is provided to all faculty, academic departments, and administrative offices using FTP clients or Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions.

The College's World Wide Web address is currently: http://columbia yosemite.cc.ca.us

Currently, Columbia College offers several courses in an online format. Some of the course material is provided as Web pages on the server mentioned above, but a large majority of the courses are provided on third party equipment and software. The College has adopted policies for acceptable use of the College's computing facilities. The World Wide Web is part of this computing facility and should be considered when making changes or additions to these policies.

Future Plan

In order to assure reliable, 24-hour, seven day-a-week Web service, the College must invest in additional backup hardware and software.
Columbia should continue to work with the YCCD programmers to customize our program interfaces to integrate our Web services with our student information system.
Columbia College should hire a full-time Webmaster.
Since the Web is a public medium and the easiest way for the general public to assess the College's level of technology, Columbia College should make a concerted effort to keep the technologies in use on its Web site as current as possible.

Web cameras that provide real time views of the campus and events
Virtual tours that invite potential students to “visit” the campus

o The Web should also be designed with accessibility to persons with disabilities and be compliant with current state and federal accessibility standards.

Software Replacement, Upgrade, and Maintenance

Software applications are constantly adding new functionality and opening new opportunities that users are eager to adopt. Software is also limited by the hardware that it is run on. Continuing developments in the technologies of information storage and retrieval, open the door for increased opportunity for improved software development. Software instruction and multimedia applications will continue to be of intense interest to educators and the community. Furthermore, as computing networks evolve so does the ability and need of transmitting data more accurately and more quickly. To stay compatible with the newer systems, the College is often forced to upgrade software applications, as well as the operating system software that run them.

Compatibility is one of the main issues that all computer users and the College face. From different hardware platforms to different file/data formats, being able to share reliable/secure information is key to a successful organization, and so are the tools that enable cross platform compatibility. Having a single platform with standardized software reduces compatibility problems.

Software licensing is a concern with so many employees, students, and computers, as the risk of having unlicensed software increases dramatically. Due to faculty, staff, and students bringing in software from home and campus-wide network/interest access, controlling who installs software and what software is installed is impossible without the proper tools. Not all software is licensed equally. By installing software the College is agreeing to abide by its terms and conditions. Everyday the College enters into license agreements unbeknownst to them.

Current Environment

The College supports applications that run on DOS/Windows systems and limited support of Macintosh systems. Present support levels for these applications are as varied as the applications themselves. This is a common occurrence in a distributed computing environment where the user of the application is generally the most knowledgeable about its functionality. At the same time, all new faculty and staff computers and all office computers come equipped with a standard package of Microsoft Office and Microsoft Outlook.

Currently within the College, there are single-user licenses, multiple-user licenses, and site licenses. Some monitoring and tracking of campus licensed software occurs, but no standard procedure for dealing with copyright violations exist. Individual departments may purchase and license any software package they choose provided that Technology Services has reviewed and approved their request. Specific needs for specialized applications can create a dizzying variety of software. Individual departments and divisions with appropriate expertise may assume responsibility for the specialized software that they utilize; or, if not, they may expect support to come from Technology Services. Occasionally, the users' current hardware will not support their newly purchased software packages. In addition, software patches and upgrades are continually becoming available and need to be installed College-wide. This presents a logistical problem considering the College's current topology.

Future Plan

· The College should strive for further standardization of general-use, College-licensed software. The basic setup should include:

o MS Office,

o Norton AntiVirus

o Web browser

o Accessibility software necessary to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations

Upgrades and new applications should be evaluated for functionality, system requirements, investment value, and feasibility of cross-platform operation. The expertise for selection resides with the department requesting the software.

Computer Support Services and other staff must continue to receive training to support installed applications.

Additional positions should be added as necessary to ensure the level of support is not compromised as the number of application programs and the overall end-user base increases.

The compatibility of assistive software programs and campus wide programs for students should be considered when new software, upgrades and maintenance are considered. The college should responsible in keeping the assistive programs upgraded to the level of compatibility when new software upgrade and maintenance is considered. If the current assistive software is not compatible with the campus wide software being purchased, upgraded or maintained, the compatible assistive software upgrade cost will be included in any purchasing, upgrading or maintenance.

Library and Learning Resources

Current Environment

The Library maintains a web “Gateway to Information” to facilitate access to the online catalog, electronic databases, and links to important academic & reference websites. The Library provides a web-based catalog of materials shared with Modesto Junior College. Eight online databases are available for student use; included are approximately 5,000 full-text journal and magazine titles. Ninety computer stations are available in Library for student use; 30 are in Demonstration Area which can be reserved for individual course instruction in library database use. Two computers are outfitted with adaptive technology to assist disabled users Printing from computers to the one networked student printer is uncontrolled; payment for prints is voluntary

Future Plan

Hire technology/computer lab assistant to help students with computer hardware/software problems

Expand accessibility with adaptive technology: Kurzweil reader/scanner, additional voice reading licenses (e.g. Dragon Speaking)

Acquire print control system & stations

Set up referring URL or other method for remote student authentication for database use

Overhaul Library website & pages for greater ease of use

Training

Training is vital to provide exemplary service and support, education and technical expertise required to establish and maintain information technology systems for Columbia College. The college recognizes that the purpose of technological training is to align the framework of campus technology support with institutional goals, directions, and priorities and to bring about an ongoing process that will continually assess the relationship between these two. The process is an endeavor to identify how we use technology at the college, how we wish to use it and, lastly, how to make a successful transition from one to the other. The scope and creation of the training plan is not limited to the Information Technology and Services department. The scope is college-wide, with the focus on what student's need and how to foster student success through the use of technology training.

A first task to move the college along this ambitious path was for the technology–related committees at Columbia College to develop comprehensive plans for Instructional Technology. CampusWorks led the first phase of this planning process, with the intent that the college committees would take over the later phases. Part of the charge of these committees was to establish a technology training strategy. In the past, Columbia has maintained an as-needed and just-in-time basis training philosophy. Technology training funding at the college has historically been a distributed model - investment in training was invested if perceived as value-added to the classroom and instructor.

Current Environment

The IT committee is working towards building a solid training plan to interface the technology acquired in the USDA grant with other technology resources already on the campus. The training objectives will be aligned with ongoing campus instructional programs and the goal of offering distributed learning via video-conferencing. Staff that are currently involved in technology have had the opportunity of training opprortunities through funding from the USDA grant and the commitment of the college’s President.

Surveys were distributed to staff and faculty requesting technology training needs that were needed. Several Inservice and ongoing training opportunities are provided in-house by the staff for short periods of time to address some of the needs. The new Learning Resource Center will host multi-faceted training opportunities in order to prepare students and staff to use the new technology.

There are several groups of individuals and their training needs that are currently being assessed:

Staff – managing Email accounts, basic word processing, college-wide technological systems such as Datatel

Faculty – managing Email accounts, basic word processing, updating Web pages, online content, multimedia production, and online grading and student database

Students – basic word-processing, ConnectColumbia, a Web-based student/college portal, Internet skills.

Future Plan

The College should continue to support the professional development of employees in areas of technology.

Train-the-trainer program

Technical support staff and Professional Development trainers should be readily available and current on new technologies to provide on-demand support to both faculty and staff.

The College will offer ongoing opportunities for assistance in the development of classes that integrate technology into curriculum and how to use technology in the classroom.

It is important that the College develop a system of incentives, rewards and institution-wide recognition for the successful infusion of technology into teaching and the continuing education of faculty and staff

Train and motivate other faculty to integrate accessible technologies into the curriculum

Assistive Technology

Background

The College population of students requiring assistive technology has grown dramatically over the last ten years. Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSP&S) has been able to meet the needs of this population. Through its "High Tech Lab", the staff of DSP&S has provided assistive technology that allows students with special needs to effectively complete their educational goals.

Current Environment

Currently, the majority of the students with disabilities who take classes within the College receive services and support through the DSP&S Program. Accommodations have been made in several computer labs to ensure accessibility in terms of facilities and furniture.

The staff of the College's DSP&S Lab is trained on the proper use of assistive technology and provides information when needed to other faculty and staff.

Future Plan

The College should maintain a funding source to purchase required assistive technology, specialized software, and ergonomic support equipment to accommodate all users.

DSPS will be responsible for ensuring that assistive technology is deployed College-wide; all instructional media is produced in alternative formats upon request; the faculty/staff are educated on the needs of the disabled population and the College stays within compliance of local, state and federal laws pertaining to students with disabilities.

The College will ensure that signage is provided for accessible classrooms and computer labs and restrooms. Directional signs should be provided in areas where wheelchair accessibility is other than a regular classroom door.

Furniture in all classrooms should allow for wheelchair access, as well as accommodate persons of short stature. Lab staff or wheelchair users should easily be able to adjust table height either manually or automatically. Visual fire alarms should be positioned throughout the campus to ensure that hearing-impaired students are notified in emergencies.

Facilities

Current Environment

The physical plant that encompasses all of the structures and equipment owned or leased by the College is vital to the success of this Plan. Certain technological considerations must be included to support the future technology growth of the College. Since the facilities of the College fall under their own master plan and it would be redundant to go into great detail, below is a list of requirements necessary for this Plan to be successful:

· Adequate power supply to smart classrooms, server rooms, and data closets.

· Power receptacles that meet building and fire codes in type, quantity, and location.

· Proper environmental conditions for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

· Security measures such as secured classrooms, key control, and video surveillance.

· Sufficient storage facility to house computer equipment and peripherals.

· Office locations for Technology Team Staff

· Smart classrooms and computer labs built to ensure functionality and mobility.

· Proper accessibility for persons with disabilities that either meets or exceeds ADA requirements.

Just as all of the master plans of the College should be focused on the same goal, each department within the College must work together to achieve these goals.

Future Plan

Continue to address facility issues through the Facilities Master Plan keeping in mind the above requirements for the success of the Technology Plan.

Review Process

As mentioned throughout this Plan, technology is constantly changing. In order for this Plan to maintain currency and effectiveness it must be reviewed bi-annually. The Technology Committee will schedule a review of the Technology Master Plan during one meeting each fall. During that meeting the Committee will review current trends in technology and education, evaluate the progress the College has made since the last review, and make recommendations for modifications or additions to any part of this Plan.

Once the review is completed, all modifications will be submitted by the Technology Committee for review to the College Council before being submitted to the President of Columbia College.

Conclusion

The College's Technology Master Plan is intended to focus on the technology needs of Columbia College over the next five years. This document will assist in the planning and sculpting of the information technology efforts to an end that is both beneficial and functional for the College.

The Master Plan is a comprehensive view of technology within the College and how technology supports our mission. The Plan breaks down several important issues and lists recommendations for future enhancements and changes. While some of these issues are already in practice, others require serious planning, preparation, and budget. Overall, the College's technology infrastructure is well positioned for the next five years.

In support of this Plan, the College needs to establish a consistent funding process. Funding should be based on a percentage of the College's capital outlay, maintenance, and operational budget. A minimum of 3 percent of the total operating budget should be set aside for technology, maintenance, upgrades, and changes. The College must accept the fact that computer technology has a built-in obsolescence period and must be upgraded regularly. The simple analogy is that computers are like chalk, only more expensive.

It is also important to remember that this Plan should be viewed as a living document. The annual reviews are imperative to the success of this Plan and the technological health of the College. This Master Plan, if properly executed, should provide a dynamic, structured view of technology as it pertains to education and the business services of the College. The College should continue to rely on and support the Technology Committee and Computer Support Services as they monitor the success of this Plan, continue to investigate emerging trends, and update the Plan accordingly.

Should the Columbia College Board of Trustees and administration maintain and support the technological growth as they have in the past, this College should be well poised to support the academic and administrative goals of the students, staff, faculty and administration throughout this Plan and beyond.

SUMMARY OF FUTURE PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS

	Equipment	Training	Support	Staff
Equipment must be replaced on a regular cycle to maintain a standard level of service to end-users.
A preventative maintenance program is needed to ensure that current equipment meets the three year functional life as set forth by this Plan
The College must establish a replacement cycle for older machines.
Utilize fund replacements through the capital outlay budget rather than relying on passing a bond issue every five years.
Technology/Media Services will continue to replace overheads, 35 mm slide projectors and screens and convert from video to DVD capabilities.
A goal of Technology/Media Services is to mount video/data projectors connected to computers, VCR/DVD’s, and document cameras at teaching stations.
All media equipment should be capable of showing closed caption media if required. Currently digital computer projectors do not have the capability to show captioned material, so special captioning decoders should be purchased to allow the use of captioned material through the use of digital computer projectors.
The College should continue to provide all employees with technology where and as needed.
Staff will need continuous training and support as they integrate technology into the curriculum such as multimedia and presentation software in order to prepare demonstrations and colloborative projects with their students.

Summary of Future Plan Recommendations (Cont)	Equipment	Training	Support	Staff
As the College renovates, upgrades and constructs both new traditional classrooms and computer labs, investment in the equipment is necessary to create additional multimedia classrooms for a more functional technological infrastructure that focuses on current and emerging information technologies.
The College needs to staff the ITC with a full-time permanent position to allow for maximum use of the facility.
Maintain continued support and training for alternative modes of distance education such as video-conferencing and Internet courses.
In the area of synchronous distance learning, the College will continue to maintain interactive videoconferencing classrooms, used in co-operation with partners such as Advanced Technology Training Center, (ATTC) MiWuk Tribal Counsel, Tuolumne County Office of Education (TCOE), Calaveras Center, and MJC's Patterson site.
Concerning strategic planning and policy recommendations for campus distance education and instructional technology and multimedia applications and access, both the DE (Distance Education) and IT (Instructional Technology) Committees will work concurrently to plan the future goals for distance learning opportunities.
As the Distance Education offerings grow a Design Media Specialist is required to support faculty in their training and course development needs.
The college should Implement the degree audit process online. This would allow students to retrieve information on demand based on their major and the courses they have completed. It will be a valuable tool for students to use when planning their class schedules and will help to reduce traffic in Admissions and Counseling.

Summary of Future Plan Recommendations (Cont)	Equipment	Training	Support	Staff
A virtual counselor needs to be established in the form of a chat room, video conference or even automated degree audit using "fuzzy" artificial intelligence technology to make course suggestions since not all students have time or do not attend counseling appointments.
The College needs to convert the paperwork in Student Services to a digital format. This would dramatically increase productivity by reducing the time spent searching through trailers full of records while at the same time providing backups to protect against record loss.
The College's telecommunications network will continue to support the College's mission by providing opportunities for teaching and learning with access to the voice, video, and data network (including Internet access and the latest technologies).
To support the increased number of online class offerings and distance education, the College's data network has to be expanded to include a gigabit Ethernet backbone and additional fast Ethernet access to desktop users.
Wireless networks will be deployed for areas of the campus where multiple connections are needed in various locations. YCCD should increase the bandwidth between Columbia College and YCCD in Modesto. Our WAN is presently an aggregate of eight T-1’s and should be upgraded to at least a DS3 connection between Columbia College and YCCD.
Streaming video is fast becoming a standard in some industries and our college data and video network needs to be in place to support such bandwidth intensive applications.
Ensure that off campus sites are connected so that all access is routed through the college firewall for security purposes.

Summary of Future Plan Recommendations (Cont)	Equipment	Training	Support	Staff
The voice network on the Columbia College campus is sufficient to accommodate some growth on campus. However, should newer hardware become available that would increase the functionality of the telephone system, the college should consider functionality over expansion of the current system.
Virtual Private Networks (VPN) should be implemented utilizing our firewall so those authorized employees could use their own ISP to access College resources. VPNs are an effective, secure way to allow limited access to College resources while still maintaining data security and integrity.
The College should be prepared to register in the .edu domain if and when the district decides to do so.
Columbia College will continue to participate in district discussions concerning decisions and improvements throughout the evolution of our Email system.
In order to assure reliable, 24-hour, seven day-a-week Web service, the College must invest in additional backup hardware and software.
Columbia should continue to work with the YCCD programmers to customize our program interfaces to integrate our Web services with our student information system.
Columbia College should hire a full-time Webmaster.
Since the Web is a public medium and the easiest way for the general public to assess the College's level of technology, Columbia College should make a concerted effort to keep the technologies in use on its Web site as current as possible. Web cameras that provide real time views of the campus and events Virtual tours that invite potential students to “visit” the campus. o The Web should also be designed with accessibility to persons with disabilities and be compliant with current state and federal accessibility standards.
Summary of Future Plan Recommendations (Cont)	Equipment	Training	Support	Staff
The College should strive for further standardization of general-use, College-licensed software. The basic setup should include: · MS Office, · Norton AntiVirus · Web browser · Accessibility software necessary to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations
Upgrades and new applications should be evaluated for functionality, system requirements, investment value, and feasibility of cross-platform operation. The expertise for selection resides with the department requesting the software.
The compatibility of assistive software programs and campus wide programs for students should be considered when new software, upgrades and maintenance are considered. The college should responsible in keeping the assistive programs upgraded to the level of compatibility when new software upgrade and maintenance is considered. If the current assistive software is not compatible with the campus wide software being purchased, upgraded or maintained, the compatible assistive software upgrade cost will be included in any purchasing, upgrading or maintenance.
Computer Support Services and other staff must continue to receive training to support installed applications.
Additional positions should be added as necessary to ensure the level of support is not compromised as the number of applications and the end-user base increases.

Summary of Future Plan Recommendations (Cont)	Equipment	Training	Support	Staff
Hire technology/computer lab assistant to help students with computer hardware/software problems.
Expand accessibility with adaptive technology: Kurzweil reader/scanner, additional voice reading licenses (e.g. Dragon Speaking).
Acquire print control system and stations
Set up referring URL or other method for remote student authentication for database use.
Overhaul Library website and pages for greater ease of use.
The College needs to continue to provide ongoing training for employees on the use of information technology.
The College should continue to support the professional development of employees in areas of technology. A train-the-trainer program.
Technical support staff and Professional Development trainers should be readily available and current on new technologies to provide on-demand support to both faculty and staff.
The College will offer ongoing opportunities for assistance in the development of classes that integrate technology into curriculum and how to use technology in the classroom.
It is important that the College develop a system of incentives, rewards and institution-wide recognition for the successful infusion of technology into teaching and the continuing education of faculty and staff.
The College should maintain a funding source to purchase required assistive technology, specialized software, and ergonomic support equipment to accommodate all users.
DSPS will be responsible for ensuring that assistive technology is deployed College-wide; all instructional media is produced in alternative formats upon request; the faculty/staff are educated on the needs of the disabled population and the College stays within compliance of local, state and federal laws pertaining to students with disabilities.

Summary of Future Plan Recommendations (Cont)	Equipment	Training	Support	Staff
The College will ensure that signage is provided for accessible classrooms and computer labs and restrooms. Directional signs should be provided in areas where wheelchair accessibility is other than a regular classroom door.
Furniture in all classrooms should allow for wheelchair access, as well as accommodate persons of short stature. Lab staff or wheelchair users should easily be able to adjust table height either manually or automatically. Visual fire alarms should be positioned throughout the campus to ensure that hearing-impaired students are notified in emergencies.
Continue to address facility issues through the Facilities Master Plan keeping in mind the above requirements for the success of the Technology Plan.