Hope College | Computing and Information Technology

^top



	hope college > campus offices > cit

Students

Services		<
CopyWorks	<
Resources		<
Policies		<
Work Order		<
Tips and Techniques		<
Contact Us		<

Computer Allocations

While Hope College's Department of Computing and Information Technology (CIT) strives to be an enabling resource in the use of technology for academic study, office productivity, and other areas of college life, there occasionally comes a time when expectations and limits must be set in the form of policy.

It is not the intention of CIT to develop and enforce policies to bureaucratically offend and limit the people it serves; rather, these policies exist to ensure reliable, secure and fair technology solutions continue at Hope College.

Therefore, as you read the policy statement below, please keep in mind that its intention in the larger scope is to maintain an excellent technology infrastructure and not to limit creativity, academic freedom, or other appropriate and welcomed activities.

Introduction:

Because technology requests normally outnumber funds available, it is important that they be evaluated against each other so that priorities can be properly understood. While a rolling request process would be ideal, it is impractical when requests exceed funds available. Therefore, the college uses a semi-rolling process to ensure that requests are quickly and fairly evaluated and approved. Under this system, the time from request to installation should range from six to eight weeks.

Computer Requests:

Requests are routed from individual faculty or staff member to department chair or director to divisional head (Dean or Vice President). Requests are evaluated jointly by divisional head and the Director of Computing, and approved, denied, or deferred according to justification and funds available.

General timelines for requests are as follows (exact due dates are set by divisional head each year):

Arts, International Ed	October
Natural Sciences	November
Social Sciences	January
Humanities, Libraries, Archives	March
Administrative Departments (not reporting to Provost)	April
New Faculty, Registrar, Provost	June

Before divisional heads set exact due dates for requests, approximate budgets will be set to provide an idea of the amount of money available. Department chairs or directors are strongly encouraged to meet with CIT staff to discuss technology strategies and determine accurate budget amounts for requests. These strategies (justification) and budget amounts should be included in detail in the requests.

Notes

The Standard Computer:

Due to the rapid change in computer development, it is impossible to define a standard computer in lasting detail. However, CIT establishes a standard several times a year. This standard computer is capable of meeting the personal productivity needs of faculty and staff. These needs generally include word processing, spreadsheet, e-mail, WWW, and other software along with sufficient excess capacity to meet expansion for the next several years. If a faculty or staff member needs more capacity than this standard allows, he/she must either request additional funds or supply them from departmental, divisional, or grant funds. These additional expenditures must be approved by the divisional head and Director of Computing.

Computers for New Faculty:

New tenure-track faculty receive a new standard computer package, and are expected to use the departmental laser printer or local draft-quality printer. Any costs above the cost of the standard package are to be paid for by departmental and/or divisional funds, with approval from the division head and Director of Computing.

New term-appointed faculty are given the best available equipment, as determined by the divisional head and Director of Computing. It is important to request equipment as soon as a term-appointed faculty member is hired.

Computers which were used by departing faculty are reallocated according to the decision made by the divisional head and Director of Computing. These computers do not necessarily remain in the same department or division.

Computers for New Staff:

New staff are expected to use the computer left by their predecessor. In the event that the new staff member is filling a newly-created position, it is up the department director to make a new computer request to his/her division head.

Sabbatical and Library Carrels:

Faculty on sabbatical and/or using a Library carrel are expected to leave their office computer for their replacement, unless other arrangements are made.

Using Departmental Funds to Purchase Technology Equipment:

For technology hardware (computers, fax machines, printers, etc.) purchases over $200, approval from the division head and the Director of Computing is required.

Advance Approval:

If it is necessary to purchase a computer outside of the normal timeline, the following procedure is to be followed:

The request be made in writing to the divisional head, with a copy to the Director of Computing.

If approved, the department purchase the computer out of their own or divisional resources.
This purchase be consider a "loan" of funds to be repaid at the normal request time, when other divisional decisions are made

At the normal request time, the department list the computer need that was purchased early as top priority request for computers (if not then the "loan" would not be repaid).