Instructional Support Committee

Attending: Susan Ireland, Bob Cadmus, Katya Gibel Azoulay, Barb Trish, Shuchi Kapila, Mark Schneider, Bill Francis, Jon Chenette, Avram Lyon, Terri Phipps, Leonid Ivanov

Mark gave an update on the Library planning process:
Planning initially began with the Librarians wanting to renovate the Reference Desk area. The current floor plan does not allow the Reference Librarian on duty to help students on projects without leaving the desk, which they often need to do. This can make it difficult for students to find the help they need.

Discussions of this renovation led to a suggestion to update the Library entrance and first floor, both to make it more functional and more inviting. The College needs to consider the space and IT needs of the Library, both immediate and long-term, keeping in mind that there is increasing relationship between the functions of ITS and the Library.

Suggestions for ISC consideration:
* TDC - Should this be revamped in any way? Should it be housed in the Library?
* Media Center - Listening Room, some AV functions
* Reference Desk - Should this incorporate the Help Desk?
* Classrooms in Burling - What would the focus of these rooms be?

Mark asked the committee if they thought another member of ISC should be included on the committee as well. After discussion, the committee decided that another member was not necessary as we already have adequate representation on the committee: one classroom faculty member, one IT, and one Library.

ISC would like to reinforce that the College has a number of planning committees currently active. Members of these committees need to remember that they should bear in mind other planning committees' proposed changes when developing their own proposals.

Discussion of Faculty Development Proposals:
Proposal was made that a subcommittee of ISC make decisions on proposals requesting $1000 or less. Proposals requesting a higher budget or that the subcommittee feels the committee needs to discuss will be brought to the full committee for review. The SGA has used this approach with success. Bob will work with Jon as the two subcommittee members. The "Fast Track Proposal" system in use will now fall under the subcommittee's purview. Proposals will still be forwarded to Centers and Concentrations as appropriate. Decisions will continue to be based on College priorities. There is currently increased priority on inter-disciplinary projects.

One member raised the issue of funding expenses rather than paying stipends. This will be addressed at a future meeting.

Discussion of web-related issues
Leonid is planning to reformat the College website.

Things to consider in this process include:
" Who will maintain the site
" What restrictions are necessary
" What software to use (in house or commercial), specifically for calendaring and scheduling
" What standards users expect from the software
" The software should be multi-platform

Leonid is asking for feedback from all areas. He does not plan to make any changes until summer.

The College home page is the first view of the institution. Currently, the focus is on events and news. Academics are not usually featured. This does not give a balanced view of the College. Leonid hopes to create a more diverse presence on the home page. The College needs to consider the audience-who is navigating to our site-and create an easily navigated and appealing front page. One suggestion was to create an eye-catching graphic and incorporate user-oriented views, accessible through links such as, For Parents, For Current Students, For Prospective Students, For Prospective Employees, etc.

The Gallery, Athletics, and Alumni have pages with top items that are automatically included on the home page. The danger in implementing this campus-wide is that not every area will update their pages regularly.

One problem of our current web system is that not all pages underlying a department are searchable through internet search engines. This problem could lie in which server houses the files.

Leonid suggested creating an advisory board to informally talk about features, details, problems, etc. The campus needs to know who to contact for web-related ideas.