Technology Policy and Procedures for the College of Education

Revised December 2009.

Hardware and Software Purchases for Departments and Offices

As we rely increasingly on technology for communication, record keeping and data gathering, the College benefits from efforts to keep our hardware and software as uniform as possible and from cost savings realized as a result of bulk purchasing and license agreements. As a result, all requests for purchases of hardware and software should be made through the Director of Information and Instructional Technology (Lori Bailey) who will advise departments and individual faculty about technology that will meet their needs

Office Computers - Hardware

Each faculty member is entitled to a new desktop computer every five years. To facilitate support, faculty will be offered a standard system configuration in-line with the current recommendations by Computer Services. Requests for non-standard hardware, including different brands/models, alternate or additional peripherals, or additional memory or storage will be approved by the Director only when shown necessary to conduct research or for the advancement of technology use in the classroom. See “Requesting Non-Standard Hardware” below.

Grants, Research, and Special Projects - Hardware

Hardware requested for grants, research, or other special projects will also be reviewed by the Director to insure requests meet the needs of the project and to assess any support and maintenance that will be required of the College as a result of the purchase. Where possible, special hardware requests will also conform to standard configurations established for Office computers.

Ownership: What You Should Know

All equipment purchased through the University – whether through Departmental, College, Grant, or Start-up funds – remains the sole property of the University. All technology equipment is maintained and inventoried by the office of the Director of Information Technology. Any new purchases will receive a "Temple Tag" with a unique inventory number and will be tracked by the Director's Office including where it is deployed, primary user, date of purchase, and other maintenance information.

Grant Equipment, Software, and Data

When a grant ends: all equipment purchased under the grant should be either:

returned to the granting entity or disposed of by specified methods, as required under the grant contract, OR
returned to the College for redistribution elsewhere in the College

Upon leaving the University, the grant P.I. can request to retain equipment and materials. Requests must be approved by the Department Chair and the Office of the Vice President for Research. See http://www.research.temple.edu/ovpr/date_retention.html for specific guidelines on data and materials retention.

Office Equipment Software, and Data

When faculty leave the university: all office equipment purchased by the University, College, or Department must be returned to the office of the Director of Information Technology for assessment and possible redistribution. Data will be archived for a period up to six months and then destroyed. Computer hard drives are securely overwritten before being redistributed or surplussed.

Office Computers: Hardware

Each faculty member with an assigned office is entitled to a new desktop computer every five years. To facilitate support, faculty will be offered a standard system configuration in-line with the current recommendations by Computer Services. Requests for non-standard hardware, including different brands/models, alternate or additional peripherals, or additional memory or storage will be approved by the Director only when shown necessary to conduct research or for the advancement of technology use in the classroom.

Current Configuration of Standard Hardware for Faculty Offices includes:

Dell PC Desktop with a minimum of an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB SDram, 80 GB hard drive, sound card with speakers, internal network card, and DVD player.
Dell Flat-Panel 19" Monitor
Black & White Laserjet printer (HP 1320 or Brother HL-5250) with duplex printing.
USB optical mouse with scroll wheel
USB Keyboard

Requesting Non-Standard Hardware

Except where negotiated with their Department or the Dean's Office in support of specific research projects, teaching, or as accommodation for a documented disability or medical condition, faculty requesting non-standard hardware (such as MAC instead of a PC, a color printer instead of the standard black and white laser printer, or additional peripherals, such as PDAs, external drives, high-quality speakers, or a personal scanner) must cover the additional cost of the non-standard hardware using Start-Up, grant, or personal funds. This includes the additional costs for adapters or software required to make the hardware compatible with existing systems or networks. Any non-standard hardware should be purchased in consultation with the Director of IT to insure compliance with University networking standards and security requirements. Non-standard office equipment will not be included in the College replacement cycle and must be replaced/upgraded using additional Start-Up, grant, or personal funds.

Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis and requests should be directed first to your Department Chair. Wherever possible, faculty will be encouraged to take advantage of existing shared resources (such as departmental scanners and printers), rather than designating equipment for individual use.

LiveScribe Pens [Addendum August 2010]

A LiveScribe pen and accompanying notebooks may be requested for any Dean’s Office staff at the Director level or above with the approval of his/her immediate supervisor. The pen will be replaced every three years, provided it is being actively used to record and store notes and improve efficiency and effectiveness. A written justification may be requested, at the discretion of the supervisor or the Director of IT, before a new pen is issued or an existing pen is upgraded or replaced. Pens no longer in active use must be returned to the Director of IT’s office for re-assignment or surplus.

Requesting a Laptop INSTEAD of a Desktop

Desktop computers remain the most cost-effective option for the College to provide faculty with office computing. Desktop computers offer a longer life cycle (5 years for desktops versus 4 years for laptops). In addition, desktop computers are used for redistribution to graduate and adjunct offices after their initial use in faculty offices, which extends their lifespan an additional 3-5 years. Laptops, on the other hand, typically are not suitable for shared offices, such as graduate and adjunct space, and tend to have a limited life span beyond their initial 4-year deployment, due to extended wear and tear and lack of upgradeability. Therefore, the College cannot currently offer a choice of laptop or desktop to our entire faculty. However, the College also recognizes that laptop computers represent a required tool for certain types of research and teaching. Therefore, the College will offer the CHOICE of a laptop OR a desktop for the following faculty offices:

The Dean, Associate Dean(s), and Chairs of each Department for the duration of their term of service.
- The laptop will be replaced every 4 years for the duration of their term of service.
- Upon leaving a qualifying position, the laptop will be "passed-down" to the next person in the office. If the outgoing faculty member remains in a full-time position in the College, he/she will then be provided a desktop in his/her designated office. The laptop will continue to be replaced on the 4-year cycle established by its original date of purchase.
- Faculty who hold joint appointments that require the use of more than one designated office will be provided with an additional "docking station" to allow the laptop to travel easily between offices.

Faculty who require a laptop to collect research materials (interviews, scanning, data input, etc.) at an off-campus site for equal to or greater than 20 hours per week (50% load) for at least two consecutive semesters; OR faculty who teach at two or more campuses for equal to or greater than 20 hours per week (50% load) for at least two consecutive semesters.
- Off-campus sites do not include personal residences or vacation sites. Qualifying data collection sites include such locations as schools, district offices, and government agencies. Additionally, faculty must be conducting work for a College-approved research project funded through Temple. Private consulting work or personal projects would not be counted towards the required 20 hours.
- Where possible, alternatives to laptops such as external hard drives, PDAs, digital voice recorders, video cameras, or web-based storage solutions will be used to provide researchers necessary tools to collect on-site data.
- The laptop will be replaced every 4 years, provided the faculty member continues to qualify under the requirements listed above (20 hours/week of approved off-site research or teaching).
- If at the time of replacement, the faculty member no longer qualifies for a laptop under these guidelines, the laptop must be returned to the College and a desktop computer will be installed in the faculty office, which will return to a 5-year replacement cycle.
- Requests under this provision must be approved by both the Department Chair and the Director of IT's office.

Faculty who require a laptop for off-site data collection for less than 2 semesters may negotiate for a long-term loan of a laptop from the loaner pool (subject to availability).
Additionally, any Faculty member, who is not included in either category above, may choose to request a laptop instead of a desktop as their primary office computer, provided they are able to assume the cost of the laptop "premium" and any additional peripherals and accessories (docking station [required], cases, etc.) using either Start-Up or grant funding.
- Faculty members choosing a laptop instead of a desktop under this provision:
  - Will continue to be included on the 5-year replacement cycle. Laptops that become unusable before the end of 5-year period will be replaced only if faculty Start-up or grant funds are available. If funds are not available, the faculty member will receive the best-available desktop and monitor from current College inventory installed in his/her office until the end of the replacement cycle.
  - Cannot exceed more than 20% of offices for any given replacement cycle. That is, if 100 computers are scheduled to be replaced in 2012, then no more than 20 laptops can be purchased in 2007. This is to insure that, at each replacement cycle, enough desktops will be available for redistribution to graduate and adjunct offices.
  - Must again assume the cost of the laptop "premium" using additional grant funding (or qualify under the guidelines above for a replacement laptop provided by the College) in order to receive a replacement laptop at the end of the 5-year replacement cycle. If additional funding is not available, a desktop computer will be provided for that replacement cycle.
  - MUST purchase a docking station that allows the faculty member to connect external devices (printer, network, etc.) without interfering with the portability of the laptop. This additional expense will be included in the laptop "premium."
  - MUST purchase a minimum 4-year extended warranty (5-year warranty recommended) comparable to warranties provided for desktop office computers.
  - Will receive a "credit" towards the initial purchase of the laptop and at the end of any future replacement cycle, equal to the cost of a standard desktop (system only) that the College would have assumed. The credit will be offered provided the College is not otherwise required to purchase a new desktop computer for the faculty member and/or the desktop computer currently installed in the faculty office is returned to the College for redistribution to other offices/purposes.The current credit as of Fall 2009 is $800. Thus, if a faculty member chooses a laptop that costs $1700 (including docking station and warranty), he/she must cover the additional $900 using Start-up or grant funds.

Requesting a Laptop IN ADDITION TO a Desktop

Faculty may use "Start-Up" or grant funds, where appropriate and allowed by the guidelines of the funding institution, to purchase a laptop that will be used in addition to their standard desktop computer available in their office.

Under no circumstances, regardless of the provisions outlined above, will the College assume responsibility for purchasing and replacing more than one computer per office for each full-time faculty member. If a faculty member maintains both a laptop and desktop computer for office use, only the desktop computer will be included in the regular replacement cycle. The additional laptop must be replaced at the expense of the faculty member either through Start-up or grant funding.

How to Request New/Upgraded Equipment

As we rely increasingly on technology for communication, record keeping and data gathering, the College benefits from efforts to keep our hardware and software as uniform as possible and from cost savings realized as a result of bulk purchasing and license agreements. To avoid duplication and insure that technology purchased meets the needs of users and can be properly maintained by the College, all requests for new technology will be reviewed by the Director of Information and Instructional Technology, who will advise departments and individual faculty about available options for purchase, as well as existing resources already available in the College.

How to Request Replacement/Updated Equipment

For replacement of existing technology*, faculty should make their request for new equipment to their Departmental Office Manager, who will work with the Director of IT to arrange for either replacement from existing inventory or the approval/purchase of new equipment.

*For office computers: your office computer will be automatically included in the appropriate 4-or 5-year replacement cycle. You do not need to request a computer at each replacement cycle. You only need to request new equipment if your computer fails or experiences hardware issues prior to its scheduled replacement date.

How to Request New Equipment

For new equipment for grants and special projects, faculty should arrange for a consultation with the Director of IT, who will assist with

identifying needs
assessing any support and maintenance that will be required of the College as a result of the purchase specifying equipment
gathering quotes
creating and processing electronic Purchase Requests.

Where possible, special hardware requests will also conform to standard configurations established for Office computers. Purchase Requests are then approved by the faculty's Department (to verify availability of funds) and the Dean's Office (to approve the expenditure).

Office Computers - Software

Each faculty and staff workstation is provided with the following software: an operating system (Windows XP), virus software (Symantec) and the latest available version of Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, Publisher, and Outlook).

Systems will also include these free tools:

Adobe Reader
PrimoPDF (create PDF documents)
An alternate browser (FireFox, Opera, Safari)
Flash/Shockwave player

Requesting Additional Software Titles

Temple University holds low-cost site-licenses for some other popular software titles. Because there is a fee per license, the College does not automatically provide a license for each faculty member. However, requests are generally granted. Faculty may be asked to provide a short justification of why additional software is needed.

Inspiration/Kidspiration (free under grant from Inspiration) – request from the Director of IT's office. Free copies are limited and there may be a delay in installation if additional licenses are required.
SPSS ($30-65/year – request from your department; renewed every January by your department)
SAS ($65/year – request from your department; renewed every April by the Director of IT)

Other specialized titles must be approved by your Department Chair.

Managing Software Licenses

For the past several years, various colleges and departments within Temple University have been audited for compliance with the University's Software Policy. Therefore, the College must be diligent in managing software use and distribution and maintain detailed documentation. The College maintains a centralized database to store and track available licenses. However, each individual user is considered fully responsible for insuring that all personally installed software is accompanied by the appropriate and current license agreement. The unlicensed duplication or use of any software program is illegal and can expose both you and the University to civil and criminal penalties under copyright law. The following excerpt from the Temple University Software Policy, clarifies the potential consequences of using unlicensed software:

"Any user who violates the Software Policy will be subject to (i) suspension or revocation of his/her computer account, (ii) disciplinary action as described in the Student Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures including suspension, dismissal, or expulsion, (iii) disciplinary procedures of Temple University under the relevant policies and rules for faculty, staff, administration, and students including suspension or termination of employment (employees), and/or (iv) civil or criminal prosecution under federal and/or state law. Noncompliance with certain provisions of the Software Policy may also constitute a violation of federal and/or state law. Penalties under such laws include fines, orders of restitution, and imprisonment.

The Software Policy applies to all software acquired by or on behalf of Temple University and all software (however acquired) used on Temple University resources. Each user is individually responsible for reading, understanding, and adhering to the Software Policy, Computer Usage Policy and all licenses, notices, and agreements in connection with software, which he or she acquires, copies, transmits, or uses."

Temple University's Software Policy and Computer Usage Policy and a number of resources available to assist you in understanding software licensing and ensuring compliance with these policies including Instructional Course on Software Licensing and Related General Copyright Law and Software Management and Compliance Guidelines are located online at: http://www.temple.edu/terms

Hardware and Software Purchases for Classrooms and Labs

Requests for New Software for the Classroom

The TECH Center - student technology center – is open 24/7 with the latest in technology and digital media equipment. To support this resource, Computer Services asks each College to insure that any and all software used in the classroom or student labs is made available in the TECH Center. Thus, faculty can no longer request software titles installed for a particular class meeting or on a limited basis in a classroom or lab, unless additional licenses are made available for the TECH Center. In addition, all software must be compliant with the TECH Center operating systems. For this reason, additional software titles for classrooms and the ECC (and corresponding licenses for the TECH Center) will not be approved, unless:

Specific functionality provided by the new software cannot be replicated in our current software

AND the specific functionality cannot be replicated using readily available freeware or shareware.
UNLESS a particular title is understood as the predominant choice across a wide-spectrum of institutions (e.g., a majority of educational institutions decide to switch from Word to WordPerfect as the primary word processing tool. Even though duplicate functionality is available in Word, the College would follow with the prevailing consensus). Given that, if two or more titles are requested that duplicate functionality (and no specialized functionality is understood to exist with any particular title), then the College would give priority to the more prevalent title, as determined by the Director's Office in consultation with the ECC Coordinator.
ALL new software purchased must be complaint with the most current operating system available in the classroom or lab and be supported by the TECH Center configuration. Software supported under key-server deployment will also receive precedence.

Getting Approval for New Software

New software requests for classrooms or labs should be submitted in writing to the Director's Office. Requests will be evaluated first by the Director's Office, in consultation with the ECC Coordinator, for compliance with these standards. The Director's Office will then work in consultation with Faculty Advisors identified as specialists in the field related to its purpose to evaluate the perceived/potential added value to students and instructions.

Advancing Teaching through Technology

The College will offer peripherals, laptops, new software and other technology as incentives to faculty who integrate technology into their teaching. The Director will be available to assist faculty interested in using technology more effectively in their teaching. For more information, see Classroom Support Services.

Loaner Equipment: Classroom and Research

Classroom Media and Software

Instructional Support Services provides a variety of technology, including "Smart Carts" and other media, as well as software for use in the classroom. Early reservations are appreciated (at least two weeks in advance). For more on requesting classroom equipment, see Classroom Technology Support (CTS).

Laptops

The College maintains a small loaner pool of laptops and projectors available for faculty to borrow for classroom use or when traveling to conferences or meetings. They can be reserved through the Director for up to two weeks at a time. Reservations are filled on a first-come-first-serve basis. Faculty wishing to learn to use particular software or hardware should speak with the Director about arranging a tutorial.

Other Equipment

Document cameras are available from each department for classroom use. Other available equipment includes digital voice recorders, projectors, digital video cameras, photo cameras, student response systems (clickers), wireless pointing devices, and wireless mice. Other hardware purchased by various departments and no longer in regular use will be collected by the Director and offered for classroom use and research. Faculty who wish to acquire new or experimental technology to "try out" in the classroom should contact the Director with a proposal. Following the trial implementation, equipment not adopted for regular classroom use will be added to the loaner pool for other applications.

Office Technology Maintenance and Repairs

Getting Help: TUHELP - http://tuhelp.temple.edu

One reason for bringing our systems in line with other Temple departments and programs is to insure that Computer Services can offer full support for your office computers. Thus, for problems with office computers, including access to email or the Internet, corrupt or problem files or programs, or error messages and system failures, your FIRST call should be to the Computer Services Help Desk (204-8000 or 1-8000). Faculty can expect priority assistance when using the online request system at http://tuhelp.temple.edu. During peak times, such as the start of the semester (particularly Fall semester), you may expect a response in 48-72 hours. All other times, the Help Desk usually offers same day or next day response.

Walk-in Help

For immediate assistance, laptop users and users with access issues (email, network, etc.) may also take advantage of the Help Desk walk-in service located on the ground floor of the TECH Center in the existing Bell Building on 12th St. and Montgomery Avenue.

Resolving Delays or Continued Problems

If Computer Services does not resolve your issue or does not respond within the time frames identified above, you may ask the Director to intercede on your behalf. You will be asked to provide copies or records of correspondence with the Help Desk.

Your Responsibilities

Faculty and staff are expected to help maintain their hardware and software.

Maintaining Your Hardware

Hardware should be securely placed to avoid damage, and wires and cables should be stored out of walkways and work areas.
Never open your system or alter or remove any factory-installed hardware - doing so may void the warranty.
Avoid placing liquids on or near equipment and use covered or self-closing containers.
Periodic dusting will help extend the life of your electronics.

Maintaining Your Software

Keep your system up-to-date. Allow automatic updates for Windows to complete, as scheduled, and be sure your virus definitions are current.
Avoid non-standard software. Freeware and shareware titles are more likely to include viruses and spyware along with their installations. This includes screen savers, desktop themes, backgrounds, and other software used to customize the look of your desktop.

Contact Information

Lori Bailey
Director of Informational and Instructional Technology
College of Education
1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Ritter Annex 232
(215) 204-6263
lori.bailey@temple.edu