QUESTION:
What are the ways colleges can classify technology use and prioritize for equipment upgrade / replacement / recycling? How can costs of software, upgrades, and human support be tied to capital purchases?

e.g. levels of users, locations of use (lab, office, mobile)

IDEAS:

1. Continuously evaluation of need cyclical process of replacement
2. Match level of user to level of equipment for perfect ratio
3. Communication between ITS and Instruction
4. Prioritize people and their need. Also prioritize functional needs e.g. classroom, library, office, labs. People: students, faculty, admin support
5. TLTR be supported to make more of an impact on decisions re: software and memory, upgrades, re-allocations
6. Survey students for feedback on their needs for technology increase communication access/avenue
7. For every dollar of capitol allocate, say .25 cents towards operation/support/staff/software
8. Tie it ratio of computer unites = related to # of support staff
9. Ratio of # of 'technology using' classes to support staff
10. Trickle down upgrades each 3-5 years. Use a cost benefit analysis to categorize based on need
11. Clarification of technology use vs. prioritization of equipment upgrades are not necessarily tied together
12. Centralized the prioritization for technology capital decisions e.g. Dean of IT responsible for all technology computer decisions.
13. Tie Fees to capital requests
14. Upgrade only when needed
15. Classify - computers for student needs first - faculty who teach computers - faculty who use computers to enhance instruction
16. Build an operational budget plan that ties technology allocation to support, training, and software
17. Classify on core values - goals
18. Holistic approach; look at requests as packages equipment, support, software, etc.
19. Allocation by needs based on individuals capacities
20. Faculty who are doing things for students
21. Replacement cycle vs. cost long eye/how cost
22. Student fees reflect cost of technology
23. Restrictions on admin/faculty use by needs who determines
24. Technology users group t" hat decides and assess technology needs throughout the group and allocate resources through this plan
25. Program growth that includes certificate programs, facility growth, new classrooms and remodels
26. Low technology must be assessed and replaced everyday!
27. Holistic approach to planning that would related to capital requests to technology plan, support needs
28. Mostly new computer hardware/software to courses that need state of art systems. Prioritizing labs/classrooms scheduling to software needs
29. Costs such as security, training, support and maintenance may need to be calculated into true costs of obtaining "new" capital
30. Move students to computers- not computers to students
31. Don't always let district "standards" drive all decisions
32. Faculty should be provided with hardware and software prior to expending on facilities and students (course development)
33. Adequate compensation
34. Capital bond for technology should include technology personnel and all hard resources (a separate pay category for technicians for which capital funds can be used)
35. Create a master technology plan; prioritize user levels as high/medium/low
36. Capital expenses tied to campus strategic plan
37. Categorize by functional groups and rate user type by high/medium/low
38. Revise budgeting process - make more flexible - systems approach to budgeting so as to consider personnel needs and software when purchasing capital
39. Classify by use: lab, classroom, instructional; driven by curriculum applications
40. Administratively by responsibility or task instructional priority, guideline driven
41. Formula for support per desktop
42. Capital expenditures should be tied to the strategic plan
43. Automatic commitment of operational dollars per capital expenses
44. Prioritize based on function, need for standards
45. Prioritize based on academic program e.g. Microsoft certification
46. Manage resources, target specific application computer installations e.g. Word and Netscape ... only
47. Conduct "functional audit" of technology to determine priorities and support costs
48. Purchase or lease options include: Training, set-up, configuration
49. Classify by criticality of need
50. The criticality of needs to capital
51. Develop common annotated cost matrix
52. Consider total cost of ownership for technology budgeting. Include life cycle technology budgeting and support
53. Consider "buy low $ end and turn over faster" to ensure average quality of computing environment vs. buy high dollar and keep forever
54. Strategize to developmental planning -- instructional technology plans
55. Plan for growth in base of computers
56. Consider facilities implications of increasing technology available (e.g. networking old buildings without conduit)
57. Classify based on: learning, teaching, administrative, training, skill level of user, user friendliness and relevant for task
58. Prioritize: needs of students, remain current with internal and external entities
59. Bundle purchases "hardware and software". Develop ratios ex: for every 10 computers purchased hire one support person ex2: for every three people hired, hire one person for recruitment and selection
60. Organize / recycle based on type of use. Distinguish between high end and low end users
61. Bundle equipment with software and technical support
62. Bundle individual purchases from different colleges to ?? better prizes or higher quality
63. Assess the support cost associated with equipment and software purchases
64. Trade equip and software with other college
65. Set priorities that match the colleges priorities - tie measures to institutional measures
66. Replacement - needs to be formula driven; 1/5 of total is not realistic since you may not have capital dollars to do this
67. Technological happens so fast, we are planning for something we don't know what to plan for
68. Tie increases and operational support to capital purchases
69. Examine job placement system purchased than afterward ask who will run the system
70. Evaluate user/usage requirement; Establish standard set of software tools and desktop platform; appropriate for learning outcome (job); Low cost PC, define standard cycle of upgrades (phased approach)
71. Desktop shouldn't be capital; concurrent software (mentoring)
72. Tie costs to headcount just like benefits; total cost formula based on capital expenditures to people, equip, software,
73. Capital is wrong place to tie it - rewarding for spending more money
74. Prioritize by rewarding the productive users; Leverage cost of capital expenditure through centralized purchasing
75. Criteria for upgrades: competency-based, classroom instruction
76. Electronic survey of usage
77. Prioritize job skills vs. tools for teaching/learning
78. If technology is used to learn job skills than this should be given highest priority
79. Older versions of technology can be recycled to classes where technology is used for learning purposes i.e. word processors
80. Be sensitive to impact of technology acquisition related to staffing, classrooms, space, supplies, infrastructure, etc.