2009-2010

2009-2010

Student Technology Fee Report 2009-2010

During spring 2008, the BMCC Student Technology Fee Committee approved the technological projects listed below for funding during the 2009-2010 academic year.  Following is a summary on the progress/completion of those projects.

  • Library e-Subscriptions/Electronic Resources:Thirty eight (38) database subscriptions on all subjects were renewed.  The usage statistics were carefully monitored.  In 2009, we recorded 128,150 searches and 152,039 articles were downloaded by students.
  • Library Walk-up Scanning Station: This scanning system accommodates both color and black and white materials up to 17 by 24 inches.  The scanned files can be sent by email to the students.  One unique feature is scanning from text to speech.  This will be helpful to print challenged students.  This is a free service to BMCC students.  The equipment was received and installed and library staff members were trained on its use.
  • Patron-Initiated E-book Purchase Program:This program was been launched since January 2009.  Currently, we are collecting on-going usage information.   EBL, based in Australia, offers a patron initiated purchase option.  E-books are available for a loan period at a cost of a fraction of the retail price.  At the third loan the title is automatically charged as a purchase to the library.  Not only does this program save the cost of buying e-books that may never be used, it also allows the librarians to exercise control over the process o meet our goals, while being fiscally responsible.
  • Scheduling Software: In order to improve faculty access to technology resources for instruction, the college purchased licenses in the spring of 2010 semester for Netsimplicity Meeting Room Manager software. Staff members have been trained and the system is being populated with information on rooms and equipment. The system’s configuration is being fine tuned by the College Computer Center.
  • Student Equipment Loaners: During the spring 2010 semester the student equipment loaner program was substantially upgraded with the addition of equipment to support student work.  New HD camcorders were purchased allowing for the complete phase out of non-HDTV cameras for student work in media related programs.  Also, equipment was purchased to support liberal arts, education and fine arts curricular needs. Evaluation of this project will take place using a Likert-type survey.
  • Kiosks for Main Campus and Off-Site Locations: To better support student access to administrative applications eight (8) new touch screen kiosks with integrated printers were purchased to replace older models that had reached end of life. They were installed during the spring 2010 semester at high traffic areas such as the Registrar’s Office, the main lobby at 199 Chambers Street, the Learning Resource Center and the Testing Office. These kiosks allow students to register for classes, obtain transcript information, pay bills, and register for the CPE. They are installed at the points of service with the intent to save students time and improve overall efficiency and student satisfaction.  Evaluation of this project will take place using a Likert-type survey. 
  • Lecture Hall Upgrade and Enhancement:  Room N402, the largest dedicated instructional facility on campus, was upgraded over the 2010 spring break.  Equipment upgrades included the replacement of standard televisions with new flat panel displays, a new 2K better than HD quality projector, a new digital electronic whiteboard and Blu-ray DVD playback unit. The lecture halls were also made more instructor-friendly with the addition of a secondary control panel in two of the rooms.   The lecture hall was upgraded during the spring 2010 semester.   Evaluation of this project will take place using a Likert type survey.
  • Technologically Enhanced Classroom Conversion:  The number of TEC rooms has increased from 12 to 108 over the past year.  A survey of faculty who use these technologically enhanced classroom indicates the following:
  • Easy access to the facilities via proximity locks –73%.
  • Internet generally available — 90%.
  • Very effective teaching tool — 85%.
  • Computer Lab Workstations Replacement:  We have replaced 200 workstations in the college’s computer labs, Learning Resources Center, library areas and the Office for Services for Students with Disabilities lab. The workstations replaced were five (5) years old and did not permit students to complete their assignments in a timely fashion.

Assessment of the project is based on surveys completed by students who use the different labs and support areas.

  • The open lab computer facilities survey indicates the following:
    • Computers are suitable for completion of class assignments -88%.
    • Lab hours convenient – 92%.
    • Comfortable environment – 92%.
  • The Office of for Services for Students with Disabilities’ student satisfaction survey conducted with 52% of OSSD students suggested that ¿more computers¿ be made available at the Assistive Technology Center.  As a result, in 2009-2010 Academic Year seven (7) computers were replaced.  A follow-up student satisfaction survey was conducted in fall 2010 and one will be conducted in spring 2011 to determine the success of the project.
  • The Library received 25 replacement PCs, constituting about 25% of all computers used by the students.  Assessment observations were deduced from a CUNY student survey and Google Analytics.  According to last year’s CUNY Bi-annual survey, 80% of BMCC students were very satisfied or satisfied with library facilities; 78% of BMCC students were very satisfied or satisfied with BMCC library service.  It can be suggested that these new workstations contributed to this high level of student satisfaction.   Based on an embedded data mining tool (Google Analytics,) using the month of March 2010 as a snapshot, 75,412 patrons accessed the library website, including the databases, viewed 459, 829 pages.  The collected statistics show that 44.2% were on-site users.  The new workstations under this program provided the necessary condition for effective use.

10.      Tegrity License:  The Tegrity license for lecture capturing was changed to licensing Adobe CS5 software as the university was in discussion with Tegrity regarding licensing.  In order to minimize confusion the nature of the project was changed to upgrade the college’s Adobe CS3 licenses to version 5.  The software will be in place for the upcoming fall 2010 semester and assessment of the project will be conducted by a faculty survey in fall 2010 and spring 2011 semesters.
11.      Technologically-enhanced Classrooms (TEC)/Computer Lab Furniture Replacement: The computer tables in TEC rooms were replaced with 30¿w x 36¿l tables, where practical, to permit suitable space for instructors to place instructional materials while discussing course/online content during class lectures.  In addition, damaged tables in the student computer labs were replaced.   The student lab survey indicates that 92% of the respondents are satisfied with the environment of the open labs.
12.      Federal Work Study (FWS) Online Job Placement System: The FWS application was ¿soft¿ launched during the 2010 summer FWS placement to allow for implementation issues to be addressed and corrected.  During spring 2010 campus FWS supervisors and staff received one-on-one training.  Beginning fall 2010, the application will be officially operational.   The assessment phase of the project will be implemented when full online activities commence in the fall semester.

13.      Coordinator of Financial Aid E-Services: The search for the coordinator of financial aid e-services concluded and the successful candidate was hired in spring (May) 2010. With this added staff member, the financial aid office will better manage its extensive portfolio of management systems and e-services.  Assessment will initiate in late fall 2010.

14.      Dynamic Digital Signage Information Kiosks Maintenance and License Renewal – Multi-track Multimedia Kiosks: Technical/content planning is underway.  Work proceeds with the expectation that the kiosks will come online by fall 2010.

15.      Upgrade of Career Development Resources:  The career services management system (CSM/NACElink) is upgraded automatically. In the past two years a total of 12 system enhancements have been implemented.  The automated enhancements have added new features to the office manager, student and employer interfaces of the (CSM/NACElink) system. These updates have improved the usability of the system, making it easier for students and employers to navigate through the site and complete the intended tasks.
Following are usage numbers to date:

  • Five hundred and fifty-one (551) employers utilized the career services management system (CSM/NACElink) to create an account to post their internships and employment opportunities.
  • Nine hundred and fifty-seven (957) students have activated their account on the CSM/NACElink system.
  • The on-line career videos (CareerSpots) have been accessed 938 times hits since January 1, 2010.
  • The Films Media Group DVDs are utilized by students in our office. Our career advisors, faculty from General Counseling, College Discovery, and the Cooperative Education department utilize the dvd’s as a resource for classroom presentations.
  • Upgrade of Digital Media Lab:  The upgrade of the digital media lab with dedicated media database servers and software is completed.  As full implementation of this system required adaptation of curriculum and significant changes in operation of the lab, this process will take place at the start of the fall 2010 semester. Assessment will be done during the fall 2010 and spring 2011 semesters.
  • High Speed Backup Connectivity for Murray Street: The college successfully concluded the installation of land-based IT network communication between the main campus and the Murray Street building. This connectivity provides more reliable IT communication between the two buildings and greatly supports the instructional infrastructure by providing additional failover options to the current two Free Space Optic (FSO) links.
  • Network Core and Edge Switch Replacement at Murray Street: All edge and core network switches were replaced at Murray Street and the building now has an integrated IT architecture with current life Cisco switches. The IT infrastructure at Murray Street is now more robust, stable and both the core and edge switch technologies have been upgraded to current industry standards.
  • Upgrade of the Wireless Network at Murray Street: BMCC completed the upgrade of the entire Wi-Fi network located at Murray Street. The college replaced the old system with 802.11n. technology that has increased throughput speed and access reliability in the building. This upgrade has greatly improved ease of student access and instructional use of wireless technologies at Murray Street.
  • Network Edge Switch Replacement at 199 Chambers St.: The college completed the replacement of end- of-life edge switches located in the student labs in the main building. This successful upgrade and equipment integration completes the student technology fee project begun in the previous academic year. Completion of this upgrade also gives the network operations staff better monitoring capability to maintain network stability and services.
  • Network Assessments of BMCC’s Network Topology: BMCC has already made use of the Cisco Network Optimization Solution (NOS) with positive results. The use of the Cisco benchmarking metrics has provided the institution with another set of performance standards for comparison and analysis. The college will continue to use this new measuring tool on a continuous and regularly scheduled basis to improve IT support for the instructional enterprise.
  • Novell Licenses for Students: The college completed this project and its evaluation will be ongoing. As a result of this project, BMCC now has the ability to better manage student access to the college portal and cybercafé workstations. The Helpdesk can now better support students by synchronizing passwords for student e-mail. The college will continue to monitor student satisfaction in order to better assess this authentication process.
  • Student Lab Authentication and Network Security: This on-going project will not be fully implemented and assessed before the end of the 2010¿2011 academic year.  The implementation design of the pilot program required that the college carefully choose the student labs that would incorporate the ID Enforce appliance. BMCC is now satisfied that it can pilot more student workstations without changing current student lab procedures or installing a new security client to those units. The principle student labs involved will include the Learning Resource Center, another open lab unit and workstations in the Library. The assessment of this project will continue through the academic year.
  • NextGen Scholarship Management Software: BMCC Foundation Inc. Scholarship on-line application (Scholarship Manager) was launched in the fall 2010 semester to allow students to apply for the BMCC scholarship on-line.  Students access the application through the BMCC portal.  After logging on to the BMCC portal, Scholarship Manager recognizes them as a current BMCC student, and grants them access to complete the on-line application. Through this software, the student is able to apply for scholarships, upload their essays, letters of recommendation and search for scholarships external to the college in our database by using keywords to find scholarships that match their profile.

Scholarship Manager automatically matches the students’ academic records to their application making packaging the submitted applications faster and easier to manage. The Scholarship Committee is then able to review and rank the completed application on-line.  A total of seven hundred and eighty (780) students have applied for the scholarship during the fall 2010 semester.

  • IT Faculty Production Support for New Media and Podcasts Instruction:  After an extensive competitive search, the position of digital media producer was filled for the 2009-2010 academic year.  The incumbent has worked with various constituencies to produce 43 videos to support student success. These videos have been distributed by iTunesU, the BMCC Web site, via YouTube, and on CD and DVD media.  Topics include the CPE, use of the BMCC portal, Nursing curricula, assessment and a new online student orientation. Evaluation of this project will take in the fall 2010 semester using server logs and usage reports.
  • Reserve Funds for University-wide Enterprise Initiatives: On-going university-wide technology projects
  • Staff for Student Technological Support: This on-going project continues to fund the employment of technological staff for student assistance, faculty training, and instructional design.