What do you think the ITC committee does? How do you think we could function best?
admin April 15th, 2009
Before we break for the summer it would be great if everyone could take a stab answering the above stated questions. These answers could provide us with a great starting point next fall. And remember–no cheating and looking at our official charter. I think what we’re looking for here are opinions the represent your specific area or division. From these answers we can look to see how they fit with our official charter.
If people would feel more comfortable, I can make this a password-protected post which will prevent people not on the committee from seeing our answers.
–Jeff
The ITC committee is comprised of an all inclusive membership of the College.
I see our role as an information sharing resource and a way to share opinions
and expertise in matters of technology within the College.
When a matter is brought before us concerning technology we, collectively,
can discuss its potential and decide whether to endorse it and/or communicate
its role at the institution. If we see an issue that needs a policy adopted or a
change we can forward our suggestion to the the Coordinating Council for
their recommendation on forwarding it to a faculty/staff vote.
I believe our committee functions very well in communicating back to our
constituents.
Hello Jeff and all …
Ever since I joined this committee I have been seeking clarity about how we can effectively serve our role within the college community and address the Information Technology needs of students, faculty and staff. Although we have our ‘charge’ and a idea about our function, it seems that we do little more than report out to one another about initiatives that are under way or decisions that have been made without a central guiding impetus to move the institution forward and/or facilitate the dissemination of information within the college. There are many aspect to technology that we have not touched upon — can we find a way to serve our purpose and support he mission of the college more effectively?
Jill
Just wanted to piggy-back on Pat and Jill’s comments. I think Pat articulated well our role within the governance system. When Jill asks the question “can we find a way to serve our purpose and support the mission of the College more effectively”, a big question comes to mind. That question is “just how do we do that?”. I think that are some “gray” areas. Some folks feel that the Coordinating Council is the perfect place to bring up issues surrounding technology that affect the College. Other folks have the feeling that issues should be dealt with more locally, in and between departments and the individuals involved. Some folks are delighted that issues can rise to be looked at on a more global level. Other folks have that “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” thinking. This to me is the big challenge. Personally, I’ve been asked to bring issues forward to the Coordinating Council that I really had to stop and think–do they belong there? Will some people view these issues as “coming out the blue”? Issues that, perhaps, should have been looked at locally first. This is where I sometimes get stuck. Thanks for listening!
Hello all, having just completed my first year on the committee, I am not sure I have grasped the true picture, but the more time I spend at North Shore the more I realize that you can do almost anything in the way of process change or improvement, but failing to communicate clearly to all constituents will not bode well to your plans. I guess what I mean is, a big part of what we are is a an ear for our local constituents on broad technology issues that may or may not affect us locally. As their reps, we have the unique opportunity to hear about them before they are implemented, ask detailed questions to those who are in the “know” on the issue, communicate what we know back to our local folks and then return with additional questions that the local folks may raise. This iterative process ensures that decisions are sound, stakeholders have been identified and the communication should leave all parties informed and educated about the issue or direction the College is taking with technology. So David, you will probably continue to feel a little weird sometimes about communicating up what was discussed at our meetings, but doing it should allow those interested in any of the information shared to ask any questions they might have or follow-up in any way needed.