Nebraska Information Technology Commission: Meeting Minutes

EDUCATION COUNCIL

Nebraska Information Technology Commission
October 13, 2000, 9:00 a.m.
University of Nebraska-East Campus Union, Goldenrod Room
37th & Fair Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska

APPROVED MINUTES

MEMBERS PRESENT
Keith Bartels, Boards of Education	Dan Navrkal, Pierce Public Schools
Michael Beach, NETC	Thomas O'Neill, Independent Universities
Dr. Dean Bergman, Department of Education	Dr. Harvey Perlman, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dr. William Berndt, UN Medical Center	Dr. Joseph Preusser, Central Community College
Brenda Decker, DAS Division of Communications	Al Schneider, Educational Service Unit 5
Dr. Jack Huck, Southeast Community College	Art Tanderup, Tekamah-Herman Public Schools
Jeff Johnson, Centennial Public Schools	Alan Wibbels, Educational Service Unit 10
Dr. Don King, Chadron State College (via telephone conference)	Dr. Robert Ziegler, Madison Public Schools
Joe LeDuc, K-12 Private-Parochial Education	Dr. Woody Ziegler, Doane College
Dennis Linster, Wayne State College
MEMBERS ABSENT: Dr. David Powers, Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education
OTHERS PRESENT: Don Vanderheiden, Galaxy Cable; Rod Bates, Paul Sautter and Dara Troutman, NET; Sarah Cunningham, Central Community College; Jim Emal, Beth Birnstihl, and Alan Moeller, UNL; Yvette Holly, UNMC; Jamison Lucchino, DAS Budget; Sid McCartney, DOC; Roger Hahn, NIN; Linda Mannering, UN; Paul Jacobsen, WNCC (via phone); and Rick Becker, Anne Byers, Jen Soucie, Lori Lopez Urdiales, Michael Winkle, and Tom Rolfes, CIO/NITC

ROLL CALL, NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

Co-chair, Dr. Huck, called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. Dr. Huck stated that the meeting notice was posted to the NITC and Public Calendar Web sites on September 19th and that the meeting agenda was posted on October 11, 2000. Roll call was taken. A full quorum of voting members was present to conduct official business.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Mr. Tanderup moved to approve the agenda as presented. Mr. Bartels seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Bartels-Yes, Berndt-Yes, Navrkal-Yes, W. Ziegler-Yes, Perlman-Yes, Huck-Yes, Johnson-Yes, O'Neill-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, King-Yes, Schneider-Yes, Preusser-Yes, Linster-Yes, Tanderup-Yes, Wibbels-Yes, and R. Ziegler-Yes. Motion was carried.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Ms. Decker indicated that in the TINA update section in the text of the second bullet under the issues, the wording should be corrected to read "the Division will need assistance to include private education and entities in the RFP".

Dr. Preusser moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Mr. O'Neill seconded the motion. Roll call vote: R. Ziegler-Yes, Wibbels-Yes, Tanderup-Yes, Linster-Yes, Preusser-Yes, Schneider-Yes, King-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, O'Neill-Yes, Johnson-Yes, Huck-Yes, Perlman-Yes, W. Ziegler-Yes, Navrkal-Yes, Berndt-Yes, and Bartels-Yes. Motion was carried.

PUBLIC COMMENT

There was no public comment.

ORIENTATION TO THE PRIORITIZATION PROCESS & PRESENTATIONS

Mr. Rolfes informed the Council that institutions were invited to give a 5-minute presentation on their project. Council members will have an opportunity to ask questions for clarification. After the presentations, the Council will begin the prioritization.

Presentations were given on the following projects:

#83-01, Nebraska College System. Sarah Cunningham presented and was available to entertain questions.
#51-01 & #51-02, University of Nebraska Projects. Beth Birnstihl and Dr. Berndt presented and were available to entertain questions.
#47-01 through #47-19, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission Projects. Rod Bates and Michael Beach presented and were available to entertain questions.

Mid-Plains Community College was scheduled to present but declined prior to the meeting.

COUNCIL DISCUSSIONS

Mr. Rolfes distributed a handout listing the NITC Mission Statement and Goals, the Education Council's priorities, and key considerations to guide discussion. Members were also given copies of the Interpretation of New or Additional Funding handout with a definition of "what constitutes a project". The definition was as follows: "The Statewide Technology Plan (Section 4, page 8) defines an information technology project as "a specific series of activities involving the implementation of new or enhanced IT systems for the sponsoring agency. This definition does not include on-going operational costs of information technology such as replacement of computers, operating system upgrades, routine data processing costs, existing support personnel, or application maintenance. Only when information technology investments represent a new or enhanced information technology system does it require NITC review and prioritization pursuant to Section 86-1605(8). Agencies should contact their budget analyst with any questions about whether specific projects constitute an information technology "project." The Budget Division will consult with the Office of the CIO/NITC on these questions."

Mr. Winkle informed the Council that at the State Government Council prioritization meeting on October 12, the Council chose not to prioritize projects that did not meet the definition. These projects were acknowledged with appropriate commentary. The NITC will also have an opportunity to comment on these projects. Discussion followed regarding the terminology of replacement versus enhancement. It was suggested that there be a different review process for programmatic projects.

After discussion, the Education Council did not rank the following requests because they did not meet the definition of "project" and were therefore outside the scope of the ranking process. This fact should not reflect negatively on the merits or value of such proposals.

#51-01, Public Service/Engagement, University of Nebraska
#51-02, Extended/Distance Education, University of Nebraska
#47-01, UNO Equipment Increase, NETC/Omaha Production and Origination Center (KYNE)
#47-02, DTV Operating Costs, NETC
#47-03, KUON-TV NTSC Replacement Transmitter, NETC
#47-04, KPNE-TV NTSC Replacement Transmitter, NETC
#47-06, Replacement, Fiber Transport System UNL to NET, NETC
#47-07, Upgrade UNMC's NEB*SAT Operations Center (Router), NETC
#47-08, Move Network 3 Dish in Hastings, NETC
#47-09, Upgrade Sandhills Technology Education Project (STEP) Broken Bow, NETC
#47-10, Upgrade North Platte Microwave Video and Audio Transport, NETC

The Council members were directed to send any additional comments to Mr. Rolfes. Mr. Rolfes will get information out to members as to an established deadline for comments.

The council broke for lunch at 11:50 and reconvened at 1:00 p.m. Dr. King and Dr. Perlman were not present.

PRIORIZATION OF EDUCATION INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS (PDF 140k)

Mr. Winkle gave a short orientation to the process of prioritizing projects. After the orientation and brief discussion, Mr. Linster moved to put Project 83-01 "Serving the Needs of Rural Nebraska" from the Community College System as the first priority followed by the NETC projects #47-11-#47-13. Dr. Preusser seconded the motion. Discussion followed regarding the NETC Projects.

Mr. O'Neill arrived at the meeting at 1:15 p.m.

Dr. Berndt offered a friendly amendment to put NETC Project #47-05 Remote Control Software as the first priority ahead of Community College System project. Discussion followed.

Mr. Linster withdrew his original motion and moved to approve the following prioritized list of Education Information Technology Projects:

#47-05 Remote Control Software, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission
#83-01, Serving the Needs of Rural Nebraska, Nebraska Community College System
#47-11, Add DS-3, 45MB circuit connection at Grand Island and Kearney, NETC
#47-12, Add additional DS-3, 45MB circuit connection into NET, NETC
#47-13, Extend DS-3, 45MB to Scottsbluff, NETC
#47-14, Add third CODEC at North Platte, NETC
#47-15, Add additional fiber optic channels between UNO & UNL/NET, NETC
#47-16, Install NEB*SAT Network 3 Uplink dish at Valentine, NETC
#47-17, Install NEB*SAT Network 3 Uplink dish at WNCC, NETC
#47-18, Add second CODEC at Columbus, NETC
#47-19, Add DS-3, 45 MB circuit connection at Wesleyan, NETC
#83-02, MPCCA Distance Learning Outreach & Classrooms, Mid-Plains Community College Area

Dr. Preusser seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Bartels-Yes, Berndt-Yes, Navrkal-Yes, W. Ziegler-Yes, Huck-Yes, Johnson-Yes, O'Neill-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, Schneider-Yes, Preusser-Yes, Linster-Yes, Tanderup-Yes, Wibbels-Yes, and R. Ziegler-Yes. Motion was carried.

Questions and concerns were expressed regarding the projects and the TINA project.

Mr. Schneider moved that the following comment apply to the Community College System, NETC and the STEP unranked project: "Project management should coordinate with the Technical Panel and the Division of Communications so that the projects are congruent with the TINA project and process." Mr. O'Neill seconded the motion. Roll call vote: R. Ziegler-Yes , Wibbels-Yes, Tanderup-Yes, Linster-Yes, Preusser-Yes, Schneider-Yes, King-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, O'Neill-Yes, Johnson-Yes, Huck-Yes, W. Ziegler-Yes, Navrkal-Yes, Berndt-Yes, and Bartels-Yes. Motion was carried.

Co-chair, Mr. Wibbels, wanted to acknowledge the letter from Shirley Schall and the Council's interest in also looking toward the future for distance education.

NEB*SAT SCHEDULING PRIORITIES

Mr. Rolfes reminded the Council members (and their staff) are charged with review of the proposed policies from the state’s perspective. The Operations Work Group will be meeting to review these at the end of this month. The projected implementation for the policies is the summer of 2001. Members were instructed to get comments and feedback to Mr. Rolfes as soon as possible.

UPDATE ON NIDCAC PROPOSAL FOR IT TRAINING TO THE DESKTOP

Mr. Rolfes will be sending this document to Council members for their review and input. Members are to provide information regarding training opportunities and resources information available at their institutions. At the November meeting, there will be a discussion of information collected, as well as to determine next steps.

EDUCATION COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP CHANGES

The following nominations for membership have been submitted for recommendation to the NITC.

New members:

Dr. Harvey Perlman, Interim Chancellor to replace Dr. James Moeser representing Public Universities
Joe LeDuc to replace Tom Korta representing Private-Parochial Education
Dr. Roger Koehler to replace John Muller representing Private and Independent Universities
Mr. Al Schneider to replace Dave Myers representing K-12 Educational Service Units

New alternates:

Tom Korta will serve as an alternate for Joe LeDuc
Dr. Dennis Baack for Dr. Jack Huck and Dr. Joe Preusser
Dan Navrkal for Larry Bock
Thomas O'Neill, Jr. for Dr. Roger Koehler
Dr. Woody Ziegler for Con Dietz

Dr. Preusser moved to approve the membership recommendations to the NITC. Mr. Johnson seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Bartels-Yes, Berndt-Yes, Navrkal-Yes, W. Ziegler-Yes, Huck-Yes, Johnson-Yes, O'Neill-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, Schneider-Yes, Pruesser-Yes, Linster-Yes, Tanderup-Yes, Wibbels-Yes, and R. Ziegler-Yes. Motion was carried.

OTHER

Mr. Rolfes reported that the meeting with representatives from the Education Council and NOL (Nebraska On-line) regarding the Education portion of the state home page web site was very productive. The Council representatives gave recommendations from the user perspective. NOL is working on a draft of the Education section of the State Home page and will have a prototype for the Council's review in the near future.

NEXT MEETING & ADJOURNMENT

The next meeting of the Education Council will be held on November 10, 2000, 9 a.m. Staff will work on confirming a location.

Co-chair, Dr. Huck, adjourned the meeting at 1:44 p.m.

Minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by Tom Rolfes, Office of the CIO/NITC.

Meeting Minutes