Chabot College Technology Plan

Spring 2008

Prepared by the

Institutional Technology Committee

 

Final draft: May 29, 2008

Table of Contents

 

Introduction 3

Mission 4

Technical Support 5

Computer Replacement, Upgrade and Maintenance 6

Procurement Procedures 7

Media Services 8

Distance Education 12

Online Student Services 16

Telecommunications Network 18

Remote Access for Faculty and Staff 20

Electronic Mail 21

Backup Procedures and Disaster Recovery 22

Website Access and Development 23

Software Replacement, Upgrade, and Maintenance 25

Library and Learning Resources 27

Training 29

Assistive Technology 33

Open Labs 35

Review Process 37

Conclusion 38

Appendix A: Acceptable Use Policy 39

Appendix B: Three-page Condensed Interact Communications Plan 49

 

Introduction

The purpose of this Technology Plan is to establish technology guidelines that will help direct Chabot College as we move into the 21st century. This plan contains procedures, visions and recommendations for technological enhancement within Chabot College that will occur over the next five years. Of course, this plan should be viewed with a degree of flexibility since it is impossible to account for rapidly evolving technology and funding issues.

This plan examines the current status of technology on the Chabot campus, focusing on three major elements that are crucial for the success of any technology master plan: organization, processes, and technology. It contains administrative procedural recommendations that should be implemented and supported if the College intends to continue to maintain the high standard of education it currently provides. It outlines budgeting requirements that facilitate currency in technology and infrastructure, and future staffing needs that require consideration to support the College's growth in technology. In effect, this Plan should become a “living document” that serves as the strategic guide for current and future technology at Chabot.

A review of this plan should be conducted every other year and a report submitted by the Institutional Technology Committee to the College Council on the progress of the plan’s implementation and success.

Members of the Technology Committee who contributed to this plan include Kathleen Allen, Norman Buchwald, Tom Clark, Arlene DeLeon, Steven Piatetsky, Catherine Powell, Mark Schaeffer, Mike Seaton, Katherine Tollefesen, Rachel Ugale, Lisa Ulibarri, Gordon Watt, Minta Winsor, and Abdullah Yahya. We also received valuable input from Scott Hildreth, Jeannine Methe, and Kip Waldo.

 

Mission

According to the Chabot College mission statement, the College pledges to “prepare students to succeed in their education, progress in the workplace, and engage in the civic and cultural life of the global community.” As education, the workplace, and civic life become more dependent on digital technology, the College must keep its own technology up to date in order to fulfill that pledge.

This Technology Plan details the expansion of technology within Chabot College and describes the current environment and future plans to be implemented. The Institutional Technology Committee, which prepared the plan, is a representative group of staff, faculty, and administrators who not only contributed their own technology-related expertise and insights, but also strove to incorporate input from their constituencies in all sectors of the College. With an eye toward making the Technology Plan mesh with the Facilities Master Plan, the Educational Master Plan, and other documents created by the College, the committee established the following goals:

• Provide direct, universal and comfortable access to information and instructional technologies by students, faculty and staff to facilitate improved teaching and learning.
• Promote students’ success in their educational and career goals.
• Improve communication, collaboration, and coordination among those who enable students, faculty, and staff to make the most effective use of technology resources.
• Sustain and improve instructional, student, and administrative support services.
• Promote alternative methods of education that integrate technology into instruction.
• Invest in staff development to provide training in effective use of technology resources.
• Provide for innovative and cutting-edge opportunities while keeping in mind that proven technologies are usually better investments.

The successful implementation and completion of this plan will give the faculty and staff the necessary tools and resources to incorporate technology into instruction and day-to-day operations. It is imperative that Chabot College remain committed to the advancement of technology in order to provide a productive workplace and an exemplary educational environment where our students receive an education that is current both in content and in technology.

 

Technical Support

 

Current Environment

Chabot College’s Computer Support consists of three Computer Network Support Specialists II and one Computer Network Support Specialist I, under the supervision of a Senior Instructional Network Systems Specialist (a position not currently filled), led by the Vice President of Business Services. The College's technology infrastructure now includes over 1700 networked computer systems, 26 administrative and instructional servers, one aggregate T-3 line, and two T-1 lines for voice, providing a comprehensive network that includes most of the buildings, offices and classrooms on campus.

 

Future Plan

Chabot’s technology infrastructure appears to be well-positioned for the next five years, but the same cannot be said for the technology support staff. As the Measure B Bond increases the number of buildings, Technology-Equipped Classrooms, and computer labs, the College will require increased staff to support the new technology in these facilities. We therefore recommend that the following positions be established:

• Permanent Administrator (i.e. Supervisor of Chabot Computer Support), 100%-12 months
• Computer Network Support Specialist II, 100%-12 months

There is an immediate need to create and fill the above positions in order not to compromise the level of technology support as the student population and the faculty’s and staff’s needs grow.

We also recommend that the College train a small number of faculty or staff members around the campus to have administrative authority to install software. This would provide faculty and staff with a more immediate response to software installation requests and minor maintenance, which would allow IT to focus on more important needs. IT would have final authority to decide who is given administrative rights and under what conditions.

 

 

Computer Replacement, Upgrade and Maintenance

 

Current Environment

Technology Services provides all faculty and staff members with a computer for their work area. The current standard of the College provides for a minimum configuration of a Pentium IV, 3000 MHz computer system with most faculty, staff and student labs possessing systems with a Pentium IV, 3000 MHz processor or better. Faculty also have the option of using Apple Macintosh computers, and some student labs in the Arts and Humanities Division are stocked with Macs as well.

The College has been able to maintain currency in student computer labs by purchasing newer technology for these labs and taking the older machines, which in most cases are newer than those used by the College's employees, and passing them on to the offices of College employees based on need. Part-time employees and adjunct faculty have access to campus computers in the faculty/staff training room and computer lab (known informally as The Hub), which offers eight PCs, three G5 Macs, and a networked printer for use by both full-time and part-time employees. Full-time and part-time employees also have access to computers in most of the open labs within the College.

Networked printers are placed in student computer labs and in other areas where they can serve multiple users. Individual printers are limited to those employee offices in which a larger workgroup printer would not be cost effective.

Chabot IT has been certified to repair Gateway computers that are under warranty and to receive payment from the vendor for doing so.

 

Future Plan

Over the last ten years, it has become apparent that computers and their peripherals maintain a functional life of three to four years. Equipment must be replaced on a regular four-year cycle to maintain an adequate level of service to users. A preventative maintenance program is needed to ensure that current equipment meets the four-year functional life set forth by this plan. The College must establish a replacement cycle for older machines, funding replacements through the capital outlay budget instead of relying on passing a bond issue every five years.

 Procurement Procedures

 

Current Environment

 The College requires review from Computer Support Services for all technological purchases made with College funds. This requirement allows the College to maintain compatibility and standardization with existing technology.

Student-use computers are purchased as needed depending on available funding. The College supports 1100 student-use computers, most of which are in computer labs around the campus. Approximately 200 of these computers are regularly available in open labs; the remaining computers are available when not being used for classroom instruction.

Currently, procurement of repair or supplemental parts requires a Purchase Order process that does not lend itself to “just-in-time” repair or parts procurement. This purchasing process is also costly in labor due to the number of persons needed to process these orders.

 

Future Plan

The College should continue to provide all employees with technology they require. We recommend developing a credit card system that can provide parts and software as needed. This will minimize over-ordering of parts to keep on hand (cost savings), cut the lead time on systems awaiting parts, and allow Chabot to leverage its funds in a more efficient manner.

 

Media Services

Media Services supports the diverse media-related needs and requirements of the Chabot campus and the District by providing the following services:

• Audiovisual equipment to support classroom instruction, class projects and campus events
• Videoconferencing and teleconferencing to support Distance Education, conferences and meetings
• Graphic design and desktop publishing to support faculty, staff and administrators with instructional and promotional materials
• Digital reproduction & offset printing (including finishing/binding options) to transform duplication requests into finished documents
• Custom course readers to support faculty and students with affordable supplemental teaching materials
• Media duplication of VHS tapes, audio cassettes, CD’s, and DVD’s

 

Current Environment

Media Systems

Multimedia has become an essential, integrated component to the delivery of course content for many classes. Chabot College provides two options to support the campus with products and services.

• Permanent or semester-long installations, depending on the needs and requirements of faculty and staff. Overhead transparency projectors are installed in approximately 55% of our general classrooms. Technology Equipped Classrooms (aka “smart classrooms”) account for approximately 18% of general assignment classrooms. Televisions, VCR/DVD players, carousel projectors, and other media equipment are deployed as required.
• Circulating equipment is dispensed for short-term use as requested. We support a “lending library” of audiovisual equipment including computer carts (containing a Windows or Macintosh computer, a projector, a closed-captioning-capable DVD or VHS player, and speakers), data projectors, laptop computers, VCR/DVD players, cameras (both still and motion), public address systems, and more.

 

Teleconferencing

Teleconferencing technology provides an opportunity for faculty and staff to communicate face-to-face with people anywhere in the world. It allows parties to interact via motion-video and high-fidelity audio as if both parties were in the same room. In addition, PowerPoint presentations, computer images, movies, and other devices can be added to the multimedia experience.

Chabot College currently has three systems for this purpose. Two of these facilities are located in the Nursing department, and are dedicated to supporting Distance Education for their curriculum. The third system, in building 100, is used for meetings, demonstrations, and classes.

 

Digital Reproduction & Offset Printing

Our campus supports the diverse and demanding needs of faculty, staff, administration, and students. We currently support a campus-wide convenience copier program, the centralized print/copy center, and a pay-for-print program for student use in the Library, WRAC Center, and the computer lab in 3906.

 

Future Plan

Media Systems

In the short term, Media Services will continue to maintain and replace overhead projectors, 35mm slide projectors, and screens, and gradually convert from VHS video to DVD capabilities. All newly purchased media equipment will be capable of showing closed-captioned media. Current digital computer projectors do not have the capability to show captioned material, so in the interim, we recommend that decoders be purchased to allow the use of captioned material with these projectors.

Our long-term goal is to have all general assignment classrooms be Technology Equipped Classrooms. The presentation systems in these classrooms will include a ceiling mounted data projector, motorized projection screen, networked resident computer, VCR/DVD player, closed captioning, a document camera, inputs for guest laptops, and a user friendly control system, all incorporated into an ADA-compatible instructor station desk. As the Bond-initiated renovations and construction of new buildings progresses, Technology Equipped Classrooms will be phased in as budgeting allows.

As more equipment becomes permanently installed, the process surrounding the circulating lending library will be revised. Delivery and pickup of equipment will shift to the requestor. Media Services technical staff will be more focused on providing support services rather than pickup/delivery services.

Equipment must be replaced every five years to remain up to date. The College must fund and implement a regular five-year replacement cycle for all media systems.

 

Digital Reproduction & Offset Printing

We recommend doing the following in the next two years:

• Design third-party contracts with the flexibility to accommodate both current technology and technology of the future. For example, features and functions of copiers increasingly depend on computer support as the need for software applications and networking become standard processes.

• Implement an on-line system for requesting and managing print jobs done by Media Services. This system would replace the manual, analog submission of print/copy request forms utilizing hard-copy originals with a robust, electronic, web-enabled interface.
• Replace the offset printing press with a networked, digital duplicator. Advantages of this migration include:
  • eliminating the photographic chemistry involved in the plate-making process, thereby making us more “green”
  • providing a common digital front-end for receiving document masters and providing a higher quality finished product
  • gaining productivity by streamlining and simplifying the printing process

 

Training

The College must provide funding for us to create and produce instructional videos to train faculty and staff on the operation, use, and applications of multimedia equipment. Videos would be available in multiple formats, including hard-copy, DVD, and online at the Media Services website. Training modules might include:

• how to operate and use a computer cart
• how to operate and use a Technology-Equipped Classroom
• how to operate and use the Boardroom presentation system
• how to set up and operate a laptop
• how to set up and operate a document camera

 

Website Upgrade

In conjunction with a general redesign of the College website, Media Services should establish a central, always-accessible, online location that will allow users to be informed and knowledgeable about all the support services and processes Media Services offers. Employees should be able to submit printing and copying requests, download training videos, and access room-view software via the website.

File submission of print/copy requests, training videos, room-view software, interactive forms, and other information naturally lends itself to having a dynamic, interesting, and informative web portal.

 

Distance Education

According to California Community Colleges Distance Education Regulations and Guidelines, distance education is defined as “instruction in which the instructor and student are separated by distance and interact through the assistance of communication technology” (www.cccco.edu/SystemOffice/Divisions/AcademicAffairs/DistanceEducation/RegulationsandGuidelines/tabid/767/Default.aspx). Chabot now offers numerous distance education courses to meet rising demand from students.

 

Current Environment

To jump-start a significant increase in online course development, the DE curriculum committee streamlined the course review and approval process and implemented a faculty incentive for teaching online. The distance education program is continuing its first program review, which began in 2007. The Distance Education Committee created ambitious goals in terms of learning about our current and potential online students and their needs, improving student success and retention, motivating and providing support to faculty to teach online, and tackling the question of student learning outcomes in online vs. on-campus courses. Through the continuous growth in courses using Blackboard, online learning is becoming more prevalent.

           

In the effort to assist current and prospective DE students, a website was created to provide more information about DE courses.. The site (www.chabotcollege.edu/DistanceEd/) includes information regarding the differences between online classes and hybrid classes, any on-campus class meetings of online courses, technology requirements for online students, and an information page where instructors can provide customized information about their online courses.

During the first few weeks of Spring 08 semester, DE faculty and the Instructional Technology Center (ITC) staff offered an orientation to online learning for all Chabot online students. The nine orientation sessions provided Blackboard log-in instructions and help, an overview of the Blackboard course management system, and tips on netiquette, time management, and study skills for the online student. Students who struggle with logging in or with using required Blackboard tools are far more likely to drop or to fail, and these meetings were intended to improve both student retention and success rates.

With the support of a Basic Skills grant, an interactive online tutorial has been created to provide instruction in library research for our online students. To quote from the grant proposal: “The tutorial covers techniques in selecting a topic, searching the library catalog, finding articles in databases, searching and evaluating the Distance Education Committee sites, and properly citing sources. In addition, there will be an assessment tool—a test implemented in Blackboard on basic information skills that would refer back to the skills mentioned in Searchpath—that instructors can use to determine if students have online research know how for their courses. Students would then have the basic skills necessary to perform a research assignment, effectively using library resources in an online format.”.” This tutorial was piloted in the Fall 07 semester prior to full implementation in Spring 08.

A new film about our online students entitled “Going the Distance” was completed in early fall of 2007. It explores why students take online courses, how they view the workload and participation as compared to traditional campus courses, how they interact with instructors, and what they believe it takes to succeed in an online course. The Distance Education Committee has offered several forums to share this video, which was developed by our “Reading Between the Lines” student filmmakers.

In addition to these student-focused efforts, the Distance Education Committee also develops programs for those considering teaching online, such as an online tutorial—introduced in December 2007—that guides faculty through the process of developing an effective DE course. It’s the first of a projected series of courses for faculty that will enable them to develop a proposal, learn online teaching pedagogy, and build a course in Blackboard. The Distance Education Committee is also exploring potential Blackboard upgrades and other new technologies for online teaching.

 

Future Plan

The major focus of the DE Committee so far has been to help online students succeed. The committee’s longer-term goal is to improve the quality and scope of distance education offerings to meet student demand.. Online courses enhance accessibility to education for many students and helps students attain their educational goals in a more flexible learning modality. The Distance Education Committee also plans to develop a series of mini-modules that DE faculty can insert into their online courses as they see fit, including library research skills, online study skills, Blackboard tutorials, and more.

The following focal points were adopted as the goals of Chabot College’s Distance Education Committee to help promote and support a future Distance Education Program.

·       Provide online developmental opportunities and resources for Chabot College staff

·       Develop programs for equitable compensation and support for those interested in development of Distance Education technologies

In support of these goals, the Distance Education Committee plans to:

1. Work with faculty to develop, approve, and offer at least 25 new, high-quality online courses (or new sections of existing online courses) each year. This will require:
   1. An ongoing incentive plan to motivate faculty to make the significant upfront investment of time to develop new online courses.
   2. Availability of the hardware and software necessary for faculty to teach online.
   3. Availability of training for new online faculty to develop online teaching skills, and for current online faculty to continue to build their skills.
   4. Training for all faculty in Blackboard, as the Distance Education Committee believe this is an “on-ramp” to stimulating interest in teaching online.
   5. Recognition of the significant role that adjunct faculty are playing in the development of our online offerings, via stipends for adjuncts to complete Blackboard training, and to join the DE Committee.
2. Develop a series of mini-modules that DE faculty can insert into their online courses as they see fit, covering library research skills, online study skills, Blackboard tutorials, and similar topics.
3. Develop an online orientation course for students and provide extended Blackboard support hours to enhance student retention and success.
4. Complete an analysis of the gaps the Distance Education Committee has to close in order to offer our most popular degrees and certificates fully online. Students can already earn a “transfer oriented” AA degree online at Foothill, and Las Positas has this as a stated near-term goal.
5. Develop an overall distance education strategic plan including key initiatives to make the college fully accessible to online students (tutoring, counseling, financial aid, bookstore, library, etc.).
6. Work with faculty and staff to ensure smooth transitions to upgraded versions of Blackboard.

With upcoming changes and additions in Distance Education, we are focused on the expansion of student support. While students have additional options for online courses, they may be lacking in the foundation needed for success in a distance education course. This need sparked the expansion of Blackboard student support services for the initial weeks of the term. However, the growing number of distance education courses demands additional permanent support. We hope to address this need with the addition of full-time student support personnel who can better address the on-campus and resource needs for the growing population of distance education students.

 

 

 

Online Student Services

Online Student Services is part of the Admission and Records Department. Student Services personnel maintain student records and advise students online, and provide online self-service tools for registration and enrollment.

 

Current Environment

The College uses a web-based common application developed for the California Community College system and a District-maintained web-based registration system for registration and retrieval of academic records. Financial aid information is also available through the registration system.

Student Services employs a document imaging system to maintain any paper documents that are relevant to a student’s enrollment at Chabot College.

Departments that do academic advising use an appointment system from which state matriculation data is gathered, stored and eventually uploaded to our student information system. Students can schedule appointments during off-hours by means of a self-service appointment system. A system will soon be implemented that will automatically notify the students by phone and/or e-mail of upcoming appointments and can also be used to broadcast important messages about deadline dates and upcoming events.

English and mathematics assessments are web-based, and their results are obtainable online via the registration system.

An attendance tracking system, which interfaces with the District student information system, is used in all instructional labs.

The District is currently implementing an advising and program evaluation tool to be used by counseling faculty that will also include a self-service component for students.

 

Future Plan

An increasing number of online systems will include a self-service component, giving students 24/7 online access to their academic records.

As offsite and online course offerings increase, there will be new student services online, mainly relating to new student enrollment. In addition, we are exploring online counseling methods in conjunction with the implementation of the advising and program evaluation tool, so students can make informed decisions when registering for classes.

 

Telecommunications Network

 

Current Environment

The College's telecommunications network is a combination of physical connections, hardware, and software that handles voice and data. Voice and data currently operate as separate, autonomous units with the capability of future integration.

The data network consists of Cisco BFR 6509 routers and Cisco Catalyst 3950 series switches, which provide the backbone for a Fast Ethernet network. Internet access is supplied to Chabot College by a dedicated DS3 connection to CENIC. Connection between the buildings is established through Single and Multimode fiber, and category 5 cabling is used within the buildings to provide connectivity to end-user locations. Data lines and Internet access are provided to most student labs, faculty, staff work locations and classrooms. A Cisco PIX firewall is in place at Chabot to protect the systems from outside intrusion and virtual LANs are used within the campus to segment the student access machines from those used by employees. To ensure reliability of the data network, battery backups are installed in key locations to reduce downtime in the event of a power outage. The campus network backbone necessary to maintain our network are attached to battery backups that will provide one hour of uninterrupted run time. Barring a protracted event, this system should be sufficient to outlast most planned or unplanned power interruptions.

The College's voice system infrastructure consists of a Fujitsu 9600 and a new Avaya System phone switch with AVTS voicemail system. The voicemail system is incorporated into each full-time end-user's work location. The voicemail system has several advanced features including selective greetings and phone trees. The campus receives phone service via two T-1 lines used for both inbound and outbound trunks. 1100 DID (Direct Inward Dialing) lines are in place to allow direct calling of extensions from off-campus bypassing both the main number and switchboard.

A battery backup is provided for both the telephone and voicemail systems. This backup will run for about eight hours depending on the system load. Backups of the telephone system settings are done weekly by backing up the settings to tape. The telephone and voicemail systems are backed up monthly and stored in an off-site location.

Chabot Computer Support supports the College's voice network. The District supports the cabling infrastructure for data and is the only entity allowed to install new data lines.

The campus 911 emergency system has been upgraded to provide the actual location of the caller to law enforcement and the 911 operator. All 911 calls are monitored around the clock by the Chabot Campus Safety Department.

A minimal number of wireless access points have been installed on the campus. Currently, the only public wireless access points are the Disabled Students Resource Center, Library, Boardroom, and Cafeteria.

 

Future Plan

The College's telecommunications network will continue to support the College's mission by providing opportunities for teaching and learning with access to voice, video, and data networks (including Internet access and emerging technologies).

To support the increased number of online class offerings and distance education, the College's data network must be expanded to include a gigabit Ethernet backbone and additional fast Ethernet access to desktop users.

Wireless networks will be deployed for areas of the campus where multiple connections are needed. Our WAN is currently an aggregate of one T-3. We need to install a wireless management system that will allow the IT department to better service and control the wireless infrastructure.

Streaming video is fast becoming a standard in some industries and our college data and video network needs to be in place to support such bandwidth intensive applications.

We need to ensure that off campus sites are connected so that all access is routed through the college firewall for security purposes.

The voice network on the Chabot College campus is sufficient to accommodate some growth on campus. However, should newer hardware become available that would increase the functionality of the telephone system, the College should consider functionality over expansion of the current system.

 

Remote Access for Faculty and Staff

 

Current Environment

Faculty and staff can send and retrieve their email while off-campus through a secure Web server running GroupWise Web access. This server allows access to their GroupWise schedule, contacts, and email information. A secure interface called CLASS-Web allows students to register for classes, check schedules, find open classes, and other related services. It also allows faculty to access rosters and run reports. All employees can use CLASS-Web to check their paystubs, leave balances, tax information, and benefits.

 

Future Plan

As the network infrastructure at Chabot improves during the Bond construction, we should explore ways to increase remote access for all faculty, staff, and administrators. With the District’s collaboration, we should explore ways for faculty and staff to work from home when appropriate, by providing them a means to transfer files over the internet, and providing secure access to their “home” folders and web sites.

Electronic Mail

 Electronic mail allows for the efficient exchange of information regardless of the distance between parties. It has become a collaborative tool that allows colleagues to stay in touch, teachers and students to easily communicate. It also is an excellent way to provide information to large groups of people or to all the employees of the College.

 

Current Environment

College email is provided using a Novell server with GroupWise clients. All full-time faculty and staff have GroupWise mail accounts, and access is also provided for adjunct faculty and part-time employees. GroupWise is currently deployed district-wide. GroupWise provides collaboration options including calendar, contacts, and tasks. In addition, the Web client for GroupWise allows employees to check their email anywhere in the world where there is an Internet connection.

The College email system is set up with the domain name “chabotcollege.edu.” A standard naming convention for all users has been established as first initial and last name. In the case of duplications, the user’s middle initial is added.

The College has adopted policies for acceptable use of the College's computing facilities. Currently, there is a policy governing use of computers by students, faculty and staff. This policy (Board Policy and Administrative Rules and Procedures 2311) was a strong first step in providing guidelines and structure for overall use of computing resources. A copy of the current policy is located in Appendix A.

There are also “Student Conduct and Due Process Policies” published in the College Catalog (pp. 162-163) which state that a student may be expelled, suspended or placed on probation if they: commit a computer-related crime; or use computing facilities to send obscene or abusive messages.

Future Plan

Chabot College will continue to participate in District discussions concerning improvements to our email system. In response to the need for faculty to have a more efficient way to communicate with their students, the District is in the process of implementing a Web portal that will allow students to have email accounts. Since all college staff will continue to use GroupWise email, the two email systems will interface seamlessly from the user’s perspective.

 

Backup Procedures and Disaster Recovery

 Current Environment

The purpose of a data recovery plan is to be able to recover most data within a relatively short time frame. The loss may range from one file on an instructor’s home directory, to loss of the entire data center.

Tape backups are performed weekly, at night. People who need to recover lost data can contact the Chabot/Las Positas District Information Technology Department at 723-6966.

 

Future Plan

We need to develop a procedure/process for moving tapes to a remote location for storage in the event of a disaster. One possible site would be the District office in Pleasanton.

Website Access and Development

Chabot College has a website to serve many purposes, including but not limited to:

• Providing 24/7 information to students, faculty, staff and visitors
• Providing a medium where students, faculty and staff can interact with one another (e.g. fill out forms, apply online, register for classes, communicate and collaborate with one another)
• Marketing the College

As more and more people—especially students—use the web more often, reliance on Chabot’s website has become greater than ever before.

Chabot currently hosts its website on its own servers on campus. The purpose of the web servers and software is to host Chabot’s website and provide the functionality we need for the website to work according to our needs.

 

Current Environment

Chabot’s website is primarily a static website with useful information but few interactive capabilities. Responsibility for the website is divided among several parties, including the webmaster, the marketing manager, the College administration, and the District.

 

Future Plan

We plan the following improvements to Chabot’s website:

• Replace paper forms with online forms

The extent to which we can do this is limited, since most forms are issued by the District. Moving toward online forms will help us achieve a “greener” campus and environment, save time and trees, and simplify our business processes.

• Redesign the website to focus more on students’ needs and easier navigation

The Board of Trustees has commissioned two studies that point to significant shortcomings in the College's web presence. (A three-page condensation of the Interact Communications Plan can be found in Appendix B.) The recently introduced Web Portal addresses one of the plan's recommendations by splitting internal communication among faculty, staff, and students (which will be handled by the web portal) from marketing and external communication (which will continue to be handled by the website). The College's website should be redesigned in a timely manner to conform with the remaining recommendations of these studies.

• Ensure website meets accessibility requirements.

An easy 10-point checklist is available at www.csun.edu/accessibility/checkpoints.html, and additional resources are at htctu.net/divisions/webaccess/main.htm.

• Automate wherever possible

To conserve economic and human resources, Chabot should automate as many tasks as possible. For example, providing an online “wizard” for building faculty websites, similar to those provided by many commercial web hosting services, would reduce the need for IT staff to train each user on how to build their own website.

• Reorganized authority and decision-making

As web standards and technologies change, the College website needs to stay up to date. A web advisory group representing marketing, IT, the Technology Committee (on behalf of faculty and staff), and other concerned representatives of the District and College should meet regularly with the College webmaster to plan and implement changes to the website in a timely manner .

• Online community

With the growth in social networks and online communities, it is clear that students spend much time and are attracted to networking and communicating online. According to a 2007 report by the National School Boards Association (available at www.nsba.org/SecondaryMenu/TLN/CreatingandConnecting.aspx), online networking can help students improve their skills in reading, writing, and conflict resolution. The Web Portal is intended as a first step toward facilitating communication and collaboration among students, faculty, and staff. The College and the District should continue to evaluate the potential benefits and risks associated with online communities to determine what role (if any) they should play in student learning.

• Explore possibilities for improving service and support

As Web 2.0 and other emerging technologies place greater demands on the College's online infrastructure, investigate ways to optimize the College's delivery of web services in ways that will increase staffing resources and reduce maintenance costs.

Software Replacement, Upgrade, and Maintenance

As software applications acquire new features and capabilities, Chabot continually faces the need to upgrade its software. Some upgrades are driven by the desire to improve support of student learning, while others are dictated by the need to keep pace and maintain compatibility with other institutions. Software upgrades place a heavy demand on College resources, because upgrading a single application often requires upgrading the operating system or even the hardware that supports it.

Like all computer users, the College also has to deal with compatibility issues. From different hardware platforms to different file/data formats, being able to share reliable/secure information is key to a successful organization, and so are the tools that enable cross-platform compatibility.

As the number of employees, students, and computers increases, so does the risk of having unlicensed software. As a result of faculty, staff, and students bringing in software from home and having campus-wide network access, controlling who installs software and what software is installed becomes more difficult. Whenever software is installed on its computers, the College is agreeing to abide by the software maker’s terms and conditions. Thus, every day, the College unknowingly enters into license agreements.

 

Current Environment

The College supports applications that run on Macintosh and Windows systems. Support levels for these applications are as varied as the applications themselves, as is to be expected in a distributed computing environment where the user of the application is generally the most knowledgeable about it. At the same time, all new faculty and staff computers and all office computers come equipped with a standard package of Microsoft Office and GroupWise.

Currently within the College, there are single-user licenses, multiple-user licenses, and site licenses. Some monitoring and tracking of campus­licensed software occurs, but no standard procedure exists for dealing with copyright violations. Individual departments may purchase and license any software package they choose provided that IT has reviewed and approved their request. Specific needs for specialized applications can create a vast variety of software. Occasionally, the users’ current hardware will not support their newly purchased software packages. In addition, software patches and upgrades are continually becoming available and need to be installed College-wide. Chabot Computer Support is performing centralized patch management for Microsoft products and Norton Antivirus. Chabot Computer Support also maintains System Management Server Services to remote install and maintain computer systems on the instructional portion of the campus.

 

Future Plan

The College should strive for further standardization of general-use, College-licensed software. The basic setup should include accessibility software necessary for compliance with federal and state regulations.

Upgrades and new applications should be evaluated for functionality, system requirements, investment value, and feasibility of cross-platform operation. The expertise for selection should come from a combination of the Chabot Computer Support staff and the department requesting the software. Procedures need to be established and adhered to for procurement of software. These procedures will reduce the waste and delays to classes due to software incompatibility with hardware and other software already in use in the desired labs.

Computer Support Services and other staff must continue to receive training to support installed applications. The compatibility of assistive software programs and campus wide programs for students should be considered when new software, upgrades and maintenance are considered. The College should be responsible in keeping the assistive programs upgraded to the level of compatibility when new software upgrade and maintenance is considered. If the current assistive software is not compatible with the campus wide software being purchased, upgraded or maintained, the compatible assistive software upgrade cost should be included in any purchasing, upgrading or maintenance.

 

 

 

 

Library and Learning Resources

The Library is the center of learning where students can gather information from books, magazine, newspaper and journal articles, and a wide variety of audiovisual sources. Individualized help from a librarian enables students to formulate paper and speech topics and find appropriate research sources. The librarians provide instruction individually and in class sessions in specific skills to increase students’ information literacy and give them the confidence to become lifelong learners. In this day and age, busy community college students need online access to Library resources 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Current Environment

The Library maintains a web “Gateway to Information” to facilitate access to the online catalog, electronic databases, and links to about 1,000 important academic & reference websites. The Library also has an online interactive tutorial called “Searchpath” that is especially geared toward Distance Education students. It also has a blog where current Library related news is posted, and it maintains a Google custom search engine that is able to retrieve pages from over 150 academic web sites.

Both Chabot and Las Positas libraries use the SIRSI Library Catalog for their book and audiovisual collections. The catalog sits on a server hosted by the SIRSIDynix Corporation, and records are updated by Chabot librarians and classified staff.

Twenty online subscription databases are available for student use; included are 6,335 full-text journal, magazine, and newspaper titles, as well as selections from over 20 reference book series. Access to these databases is available off-campus through the District’s proxy server, using the EZProxy software.

94 computer stations are available in the Library for student use; 12 are in the reference area for library research purposes only, 24 are in Room 119 which is the site for Library Skills courses, and can be reserved for individual course instruction in library database use, and 58 are in the Mezzanine as the Student Computer Lab where students can work on their homework assignments, whether it be on Blackboard or Microsoft Applications. Two computers are outfitted with adaptive technology to assist disabled users. Printing from computers to the two networked student printers is controlled; payment for prints is mandatory utilizing GoPrint.

 

Future Plan

We plan the following improvements to the Library’s technological resources:

·       Continue to refine, tool, adapt, and maintain the Library website.

A website must always grow and change in order to adapt to students’ needs.

·       Offer brief screencasts and other tutorials on library research (outside of Searchpath)

The main challenge is to find time to do so, but this can be achieved if planned far enough in advance. Additional screencasts could help students with different learning styles and allow remote assistance when a librarian is not available to help by phone.

·       Have an E-books database

An e-books database is necessary for the growing number of Distance Ed courses, and it would give all students remote access to books 24/7, and from home. The Library is currently reviewing such a database to determine whether it truly meets our students’ needs, and if so, how to finance it.

·       Set default margins for printing that use paper more efficiently.

For example, the current default .75 margins for printing in Internet Explorer are wider than what the Library subscription databases currently estimate for articles in HTML format. With students currently paying ten cents per page, a large document in HTML format could end up being quite expensive for them. The default print setting should have smaller margins.

·       Hire a technology/computer lab assistant to help students with hardware and software problems.

The only supervision our student computer lab has is by one part-time audiovisual tech person. This isn’t adequate to students’ needs.

·       Expand accessibility with adaptive technology such as a Kurzweil reader/scanner and additional voice reading licenses (e.g. Dragon NaturallySpeaking).

These improvements are essential to meet the needs of our disabled students.

·        Consider purchasing software that makes reserve articles available by remote access.

If we get such a product, we have to work out technological and personnel solutions in addition to covering the cost of such a platform or server.

·       Implement control software such as Public Web Browser to ensure that students use Library computers for research purposes only.

This is necessary to guarantee that students are not using the reference room computers for non-academic purposes such as chat, email, online social networks, and games.

·       Provide a bigger computer classroom with at least 50 computers for library instruction sessions.

This is being proposed as part of the Bond construction. Right now, classes bigger than 24 students do not get hands-on training for a library orientation.

·       Investigate solutions that student lab and reference computers will have better privacy and security safeguards.

A financial commitment and approval from computer support people is what’s needed. For now Microsoft controls are not adequate enough, especially on the privacy issues for students. It’s easy to get into a browser’s history, or change it back to automatic passwords, etc. Browser history is set up at twenty days, etc. A public computer should erase anything linked to a student’s private searching habits.

·       Investigate and work with campus computer support so that reference, student computer lab, and the library classroom computers have customizable computer profiles.

This would allow browsers to contain preset bookmarks and other options that are specific to that particular service area. For example, a reference computer could have its browser permanently set to the Library home page. A permanent “favorites” toolbar could lead to common reference links such as database pages and the library catalog., allowing students who are elsewhere on the Web to easily access Library resources when needed.

Training

Ongoing training is vital to maintain and update the knowledge and skills of faculty and staff. To be effective, training must be based on the needs, learning styles, and objectives of the learner. When designed effectively, a mix of various media can enhance learning and understanding, as well as meet the needs of various learning styles. Figure 1 (below) illustrates the process for designing effective training, making use of an instructional systems design (ISD) training model. “The ADDIE model is a systematic instructional design model consisting of five phases: (1) Analysis, (2) Design, (3) Development, (4) Implementation, and (5) Evaluation” (www.learning-theories.com/addie-model.html).

 

Figure 1: Designing Effective Training

What teaching strategies & media (online? in-person?) best suit the objectives?

Current Environment

Technology training is provided primarily by the Instructional Technology Center (ITC) staff. Instructional Technology is defined as the theory and practice of design, development, utilization management and evaluation of processes and resources for learning. The Instructional Technology Center (ITC) was intended to be a group of support services to include training, resources, and administrative services that are designed to enable faculty and staff to effectively use technology in the workplace to support classroom instruction to ultimately enhance student learning and success. Instructional resources are evaluated not only on how to use effectively, but whether to use them at all, even if a non-technological method will suffice.

However, the intended “group” is hindered by separate physical spaces—for example, the faculty/staff training area / computer lab (known as the “Hub”) is in an entirely different part of campus from the staff offices. Yet, despite the lack of a convenient, state-of-the-art training facility, faculty, staff, and administrators continue to take advantage of the one-on-one training and step-by-step guides offered by the ITC staff. An Instructional Assistant in the Hub provides training in various software, while the Instructional Designer provides training and instructional assistance to the growing number of faculty requesting Blackboard. There is also a need for further training in Media Services, which is dependent upon staff availability and proximity (refer to “Media Services” for more information). The expansion of training offered is dependent upon budget, current needs of the faculty, staff, and administrators, and availability of staff to provide training.

 

Future Plan

While ITC staff offer frequent workshops and one-on-one training in Blackboard, Microsoft Office, and other software, truly effective training requires substantial changes to the current staffing and physical setup of the ITC staff office and the Hub, all of which should be addressed with the campus remodel.

Until that time, ITC staff will revise current training strategies to best meet the needs of the campus. This requires increased availability of online training as well as increased and improved face-to-face workshops. In addition to the use of software, training should also focus on effective use of technology in the creation of quality courses. The ITC staff and a representative of the Institutional Technology Committee will work in conjunction with the Staff Development Committee to develop training, using technology training funds.

The ITC staff will also work to stay current with emerging technologies by working with faculty and Computer Support Staff to perform a needs assessment. Such an assessment will help to determine the technologies that are most useful for the campus and the degree of need for additional lab space.

Implementation Grid

Goal/Desired outcome	Strategies/Activities	Dependencies
Provide ongoing and increased training and support opportunities for faculty and staff to effectively use technology.	Work with Computer Support, Staff Development, and related entities to create training for upcoming software upgrades and new technologies.	Sufficient staff to provide the training.
Provide faculty training on the best pedagogical use of instructional technology.	Develop training using an instructional systems design (ISD) training model such as ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate).	Sufficient staff to provide the training.
Promote and recognize effective teaching and learning strategies; showcase effective teaching and learning strategies.	The Instructional Designer will continue to research best practices for teaching online and incorporate those practices into training.	Compensation for faculty to showcase their effective teaching and learning strategies.
Ensure technology capabilities are state-of-the-art.	Perform a periodic campus needs assessment and work with Computer Support, Staff Development to evaluate, select, and implement software for developers to run tests and develop training before it is released for general use.	Sufficient funding for software; Sufficient staff to provide the training.
Provide ongoing training for staff in use of job-appropriate technologies.	In order to attempt to stay on top of “state-of-the-art” technologies, the ITC will continue to utilize its newly established software budget.	Sufficient funding for software; Sufficient staff to provide the training.
Provide training modules for faculty and staff in the use, functions, and features of technology tools (see Media Services section).	Collaborate with Media Services staff to create and produce instructional materials depicting the operation of multimedia equipment.	Sufficient staff and funding.

Assistive Technology

Chabot College provides equal access to an education to all persons registered in classes, participating in college programs, and employed by the Chabot Las Positas Community College District. Our goal is to encourage students and staff with disabilities to become independent and assertive participants in their own educational and career process. Accessibility in classes, facilities, extracurricular activities and in all student support services is our ultimate objective.

Chabot College is committed to insure that technology hardware, software and equipment utilized by students and staff with disabilities in classes, in student services, and during college activities are compliant with Title V, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973- PL 504 & PL 508, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Current Environment

• As of the end of the Spring 2008 semester, all student computer stations on the campus have access to a screen reader and screen enlargement provided by Dolphin’s SuperNova software.
• As of the end of the Spring 2008 semester, all student computer stations will have access to the Dolphin Easy Reader software, which reads DAISY books, books from Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D), and digital books.
• DSPS-funded assistive technology (scan/read and speech recognition) software is installed by IT staff on computers in labs around the campus upon student requests.
• Science and math labs have designated accessible stations.
• The Library and Learning Resource Center has two accessible stations with assistive technology.
• DSPS has a Kurzweil 3000 20-user license to go software that is installed on students’ personal laptops by the Alternate Media Technology Specialist.
• All printed materials are converted to alternate formats (Braille, large print, e-text, tape, and so on) by the Alternate Media Technology Specialist upon request.
• The Library and Learning Resource Center has a policy to purchase only closed-captioned videos. For videos that are not closed-captioned, the library staff seeks permission from the producer of the video to caption the video upon purchase.
• The Alternate Media Technology Specialist captions videos for use in the classroom or College programs upon request.
• The State Chancellor’s Office has made web evaluation tools available to California community colleges through a contract with HiSoftware. Their AccVerify and AccRepair tools assist the Chabot College user to check a website for accessibility and assist with making the corrections.
• Distance Education instructors knowledgeable about accessibility issues assist other instructors on how to make their DE courses accessible to students with disabilities.
• An increasing number of videos, podcasts, and other media developed on campus for use in DE courses are accessible to students with disabilities, closed-captioned, and compatible with assistive technology.

 

Future Plan

• Before purchase of new software, hardware and equipment the ITS and the DSPS staff should form a committee to evaluate the software to insure that it is accessible with assistive technology and accessible for use by students and staff with disabilities.
• Ten percent of all computer stations throughout the campus will be accessible with assistive technology and furniture to students with disabilities.
• All electronic and technical equipment used on campus will be accessible to students and faculty with disabilities as identified in the Rehabilitation Act, PL 508.
• Real-time live video courses produced on the campus will be captioned in real time.
• DE instructors will have access to training and workshops on how to make their courses accessible to students with disabilities.
• The ultimate goal is for an Assistive Technology and Accessibility Plan not to be a separate entity, but to be incorporated by each unit into its technology plan. The College Budget Committee should establish a budget to purchase assistive technology, ergonomic hardware and furniture to be placed in all computer labs throughout the campus. This budget should include the cost to upgrade software when site licenses expire.
• The Budget Committee should establish a budget to support the captioning of videos produced on the campus and viewed in the classroom when they are not available for purchase closed-captioned.

Open Labs

 

Current Environment

College learning requires students to study beyond the scheduled lecture and lab class experiences. The Carnegie “unit” is based on a minimum of three hours of homework for every hour of lecture, and lab work often involves protracted study and work outside the scheduled lab meeting time. An additional challenge comes from courses that require the use of specialized software like AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut Pro, and others that are normally not covered with campus-wide licensing agreements. Even though the majority of households now have computers, students might not have access to specialized software and colleges are reluctant to suggest that students need to purchase expensive software.

Chabot currently has three types of open labs: those open to all students (Library), those open to all students when no classes are scheduled (WRAC Center) and those open only to those registered in software specific classes when no classes are scheduled (digital arts lab, Autocad lab, etc.). As an increasing number of courses incorporate digital content, we need to increase student access to computers and specialized software. Budget will drive the size and scope of access, but there will be access.

Factors that impact student access to open computer labs:

• Facility design (Larger multi-use computer “malls” tend to have better efficiencies for staffing costs)
• Operational budgets (Staffing, hardware/software, server maintenance)
• Rising popularity of web-based activities
• Curriculum and syllabus requirements

Online class growth along with the expansion of software for traditional courses has led to some courses requiring students to shoulder the burden of computer and software access. Some help comes from:

• Publisher-provided software (sometimes included with textbook purchases)
• Freeware and introductory software packages
• Educational pricing

The wireless environment and the increasing number of students bringing laptops to school help somewhat, but students wishing to print from their laptops must access a lab computer in order to print. During peak times, this lack of access is an issue.

 

Future Plan

• Campus remodel will reserve adequate space for student access to open computing
• Budgets will be optimized to provide staffing, software, and hardware
• Faculty will balance course requirements for specialized open access with alternate solutions
• Open labs will employ a variety of solutions to maximize student access such as dedicated servers, reserved stations, and close management during peak use

 

 

Review Process

As mentioned throughout this Plan, technology is constantly changing. In order for this plan to maintain currency and effectiveness it must be reviewed biannually. The Technology Committee will schedule a review of the Technology Master Plan during one meeting each fall. During that meeting the Committee will review current trends in technology and education, evaluate the progress the College has made since the last review, and make recommendations for modifications or additions to any part of this Plan.

Once the review is completed, all modifications will be submitted by the Technology Committee for review to the College Council before being submitted to the President of Chabot College.

 

Conclusion

The College's Technology Plan is intended to focus on the technology needs of Chabot College over the next five years. This document will assist in the planning and sculpting of the information technology efforts to an end that is both beneficial and functional for the College. The plan breaks down several important issues and lists recommendations for future enhancements and changes. While some of these issues are already in practice, others require serious planning, preparation, and budget. Overall, the College's technology infrastructure is well positioned for the next five years.

In support of this plan, the College needs to establish a consistent funding process. Funding should be based on a percentage of the College's capital outlay, maintenance, and operational budget. A minimum of 3 percent of the total operating budget should be set aside for technology, maintenance, upgrades, and changes. The College must accept the fact that computer technology has a built-in obsolescence period and must be upgraded regularly. The simple analogy is that computers are like chalk, only more expensive.

This plan should be viewed as a living document. The annual reviews are imperative to the success of this plan and the technological health of the College. The College should continue to rely on and support the Technology Committee and Computer Support Services as they monitor the success of this plan, continue to investigate emerging trends, and update the plan accordingly.

Should the Chabot College Board of Trustees and administration maintain and support technological growth as they have in the past, this College should be well poised to support the academic and administrative goals of our students, staff, faculty, and administration throughout the period covered by this plan and beyond.

 

 

Appendix A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix B

Three-page Condensed Interact Communications Plan (ICP)

(From the “Chabot College Web Plan”, Interact Communications, Inc)

Introduction

Has little or no marketing or outreach capabilities. In fact, there is very little content at all which is addressed to the viewer. Rather, part of the clarity of the site is due to its lack of user focused content.

There is no clear path for the new student or interested community member to explore what the college has to offer. Instead the assumption is that the visitor knows that they need a schedule of classes, and that they must apply and register.

The site is primarily focused on meeting information needs for current students and faculty and staff. What it is not is a website that explains to visitors the many ways in which Chabot College can play a role in their life. Prospective students are not addressed directly, and neither is there recognition of the different informational needs of traditional versus non traditional students.

It is a solid site if you are an insider. It is a maze if you are on the outside of the organization looking in.

Perhaps the most obvious gap is marketing language. There is nothing that speaks to a high school student or their parents…..nothing that speaks to a working adult….to business….nothing that reminds the community that Chabot is an important part of the social life …

Structure and Design

Home page is a solid sorting page, but has very little content, 90% of the information is not of interest to groups or individuals outside the college

Core information is too deep and assumes you are an internal individual

Recruitment Function

There are 15 bullet items that point out major weaknesses (Note: District CLASS-Web adds to confusion and detracts from the ability to short-cut navigation)

                Recommendations

1.       Create a “pod” for perspective high school students with information on why choose Chabot, why a community college, unique programs, connections with current students, unique faculty, and alumni who are successful

2.       Allow for text messaging contact (rather than simply face-to-face and phone)

3.       Remove all information from that pod that is focused on other audiences (business, community, etc.)

4.       Consider creating a parents area or a high school guidance counselor area in the high school pod

5.       Create this area with graphics, photos, and small flash areas that do not damage the 508 compliance of the site

 

Retention Function

Seven bulleted items point out a lack of student “social” content and meaningful presentation of information in non-academic jargon

                Recommendations

1.       Create a “pod” for current students with information from student publications

2.       Provide an area where students can manage their own content

3.       Consider a student blog with information on events for students by students

4.       Work to create a sense of commitment to Chabot while students are there (rather than waiting until they are alumni)

5.       Infuse communications in this area with a sense of fun and emotional richness

6.       Consider providing an area for student portfolios or areas where students can post their own materials

7.       Give student life a prominent role in the student area

8.       Allow areas where current student successes can be promoted

9.       Create a focus on services that encourage students to stay in school (short term loans, tutors, etc.)

 

Design Parameters

Last Four pages discuss design parameters and focus on how distinct users need different designs and presentation of information. Provides core information that should be on each page and makes key recommendations for interactivity.

Interactivity Recommendations

All groups:

Searchable data bases faculty and staff information, catalog (programs), and classes

Email addresses, forms, PDF downloads, powerful search engine, downloadable forms (Word)

High School & Current Students: Live chat (instant messaging), video streaming

Business: Searchable data bases of business services, downloadable forms

Overall Findings

1. Website is an internally focused tool
2. As a recruitment tool it is ineffective as external audiences are almost an afterthought.
3. There is no persuasive messaging in the site. It is a “Dragnet” site (Just the facts, ma’am)
4. Core content is too deep within the site, typically requiring three clicks to arrive at any real information.
5. The list structure is very effective for faculty and staff but less so for all other users.
6.  There is no easily accessed community information that reminds the public of the role Chabot College plays in the community.
7. There is no distinction in the types of prospective students the college might attract (traditional, non-traditional, professional development, lifelong learning, economic development)
8. There is no content, structure, or design aimed at creating a sense of community among current students
9. The site is consistent and does not send users offsite to a non-brand focused URL.
10. There are no color cues within the website to indicate you are in a different section. This makes it easy to become disoriented and lose your way.
11. There are few email links and this site assumes that users will want to call rather than email
12. There are numerous broken links to important individuals at top levels of the site. (VP)
13. The site functions as a online catalog with important “contact information” but no depth or human elements.
14. There is nothing on the site that would allow a member of the community to emotionally connect with Chabot.

 

Overall Recommendations

1. Implement a content management system that allows for the development of marketing information.
2. Refocus the website on its marketing (recruitment) functions
3. Remove the externally focused and student information from the website, and make it the current website for faculty and staff.
4. Immediately implement a new high school student pod, a new community pod (which serves the general community and working adults), and a new current student pod.
5. Develop new content for each of these areas and implement the navigational structure suggested in this report
6. Develop a comprehensive design for these pods that creates the Chabot College brand but has graphics, functions, and interactivity levels appropriate for each group.
7. Consider sub-pods that allow for an athletics area and a performing arts area
8. Realign the web management function so that the content development and management functions report to marketing (Note: Tried this for a year)
9. Redesign the external pods so that they are more graphical, with photos that are representative of the target audiences
10. Create cookie trails to aid in navigation, and consider using color cues to signal the pods
11. Implement parallel web structures for external pods (High school students and community pods) between Chabot and LPC so that the community can easily navigate both.
12. Allow the internal pods (current students and faculty and staff) to have unique content that represents the internal functions and organizational structure of each college

 

 

Selected data from CLARUS marketing report

 

Preferred Information Sources

Web Site (93%)

Course Descriptions (88%)

Campus Visits (87%)

College Catalog (79%)

College Information Nights (78%)

Class Schedule (78%)

College Guides (75%)

Go To Web Site (50%)

42% Chabot Region And 58% Las Positas Region

MyPage Development On Colleges’Web Sites

95% Have Internet Access

Online 32 Hours Per Week (Average)

Surf For Information (90%)

School Research (89%)

Send E-Mails (77%)

Instant Message With Friends (73%)

Download Music (62%)

Play Online Games (37%)

Shop Online (31%)

Take Classes (13%)