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Kansas State University

 

IRMC
Academic Services
Kansas State University
204 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-4392
785-532-5039 (fax)
rowlett@k-state.edu

IRMC MEETING MINUTES
January 29, 2004
Room 204 K-State Union

 

Members Present

Erik Ankrom, Al Cochran, Tony Crawford, Yar Ebadi, Kurt Gartner, Mike Haddock, David Hillier, Ron Semarge (for Bryan Kraus), Gary Leitnaker, Laurel Littrell, Beverly Page, Jane Rowlett, Gail Simmonds, John Streeter, Roger Terry, and Harvard Townsend.

Visitor

John Wu

Members Absent

Terry King, Larry Moeder, Keith Ratzloff, Cheryl Strecker, Dean Zollman, and Sue Zschoche.

 

  1. Chair Littrell opened the meeting at 1:30 p.m.   Minutes of the December 18th meeting were read and approved.

  2. Announcements

    1. Townsend reported that password changes were to be completed by February 11, 2004.

    2. Rowlett reported that K-State will participate in a live Satellite conference April 22, 1:30 – 3:00 CST from the University of Maryland entitled “Making Online Teaching and Learning Accessible.”

    3. Townsend and Ankrom provided an update on the free (up to $10) laser printing now available to students.  At the start of the fall and spring semesters each student will be allowed to print 100 copies (single-sided), then there will be a charge of 10 cents per page (single-sided).  It has not yet been determined whether the summer semester will be included in this program. 

    4. Ron Semarge announced that Commerce Bank’s contract with the Wildcat Card will expire June 30, 2004.  A contract with a new bank is being negotiated and will be announced at a later date.

    5. E-mail spam controls – Townsend indicated an announcement will be made within the next week (February 3) regarding the control of spam.  This announcement will be made by iTAC.
  3. Discussion/Update Items



    1. Electronic dissertations and theses – Crawford reported that a taskforce has been created under the direction of the Graduate School to establish a policy that would require students to submit an electronic copy of their completed dissertation and theses.  John Wu pointed out potential obstacles that need to be addressed, such as, unavailability of paper copies and the necessity for alternative format availability.  Littrell discussed policy issues that need to be addressed, i.e., control, access, and security.  The committee will invite Carol Shanklin to provide an update on this issue.

    2. Accessibility of online courses and distance education courses – Rowlett provided information on ADA requirements for online courses.  OCR, which enforces the ADA, recently ruled that education resources must be designed to afford students with disabilities access without the need for outside assistance (i.e., sign language interpreters, aides, etc.).  Courses should have built-in accommodations where possible (i.e., closed captioning, descriptive narration).  It is not enough to act on an ad hoc basis to individual requests for accessibility.  Before we can develop policy to require courses and other educational resources be made accessible at the time they are created, we need to develop technical resources and technical assistance to the creators.  Rebecca Gould, director of the iTAC is working with a committee to develop recommendations.  Satellite Conference, April 22, 2004, will provide additional information on how other campuses have dealt with this issue.

    3. Recent malware incidents – Townsend provided an overview of the recent worms that have attacked the e-mail system.  A discussion was had regarding the effects of these worms and the precautions that need to be taken.  One important precaution is not to send executable zip files.  Townsend recommends that the current block be left in place.  Committee members agreed to adopt a resolution in support of keeping current block in place.

    4. Management for removal of outdated eIDs – Townsend announced that outdated eIDs will be disabled soon and have most privileges removed.  Students and former employees can keep their K-State eIDs forever, but they will have very limited privileges. For example, the only e-mail service they will receive is to have their K-State e-mail forwarded to a non-K-State e-mail account. They will not have access to their regular e-mail after the account is disabled. They will also be able to access KATS as long as they keep their eID password up-to-date. Other privileges will be revoked. This is part of the normal clean-up of accounts for people who have left the university.



    5. Privacy rights of state employees – Towsend provided information he received from Cheryl Strecker, University Attorney, regarding employees right to privacy.  A recent opinion filed in the Haynes v. Attorney General of Kansas Phil Kline action lends support to some K-State employees having an expectation of privacy for personal files stored on university computers, but each case must be evaluated individually. This ruling underscores the importance of K-State's Electronic Mail policy where it states limitations on any expectations of privacy and outlines the specific conditions by which system administrators can access electronic mail and data stored on University's network of computers.

    6. CD-RW and USB Thumb drives in InfoCommons and UCLs – Townsend reported that the uses of these devices will be available to students by mid-semester and that the benefit out weighs the detriment.

    7. Other Items – Townsend provided an update on the K-State student that hacked into the computer system on campus.  This student went before the Student Review Board on January 30, 2004.  The student was charged with felony computer crimes and received a diversion and must complete community service.

  4. Committee Updates and Assignments

    1. Web Issues – no report given
    2. Security – no report given
    3. III – no report given

  5. Other Business - none

  6. Adjournment – The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m.

 

Future IRMC meetings (1:30 – 3:00)

  • March 18, Union 205
  • April 15, Union 205