Ohio Higher Education Computing Council

Call For Proposals Deadline February 23

The Bowling Green State University Office of the Chief Information Officer invites you to help make 2007 Ohio Higher Education Computing Council (OHECC) the most rewarding and memorable conference yet by sharing your experiences, best practices and/or challenges.  2007 OHECC will take place on April 18 - 20 and the Call for Proposals deadline is February 23.   Please share this opportunity with your university groups and colleagues.

OHECC 2007 (http://ohecc.bgsu.edu), An Eye on Technology, continues an exciting new era for OHECC conferences.  This conference is being planned by a cross-university program committee dedicated to creating a program with content of value to every IT professional in higher education in Ohio and neighboring states.  The conference will provide a forum for sharing best practices and expertise as well as exploring legal, environmental, and technology challenges we all face.

Please submit your presentation proposal at http://ohecc.bgsu.edu/page26208.html.  The submission deadline is February 23.

The focus will be on "An Eye on Technology:  Looking to IT to Enhance the Quality of Higher Ed in the Midst of Ohio's Economic Challenges".  All higher education institutions in Ohio are dealing with budget cuts, rising costs and heightened expectations in the quality of education.  How can IT contribute to assist universities in "doing more with less"?  The breakout and roundtable sessions will be organized around the following five tracks:

• Management, Leadership, and Soft Skills
• Teaching and Learning
• Support and Training
• Technology and Infrastructure
• Security

Security

In addition to faculty, staff, student and administrative expectations, security concerns pose a significant challenge for higher education IT professionals.  Incorporating risk management processes as well as responding to security threats and evaluating legal imperatives are all at the forefront for those charged with providing technology and infrastructure to meet the needs of the institution.

Idea Starters -- a few suggested topics:

• Electronic/Digital Signatures
• Encryption
• Wireless issues including WAP authentication and VPN
• Intrusion detection
• Spam filtering
• RIAA/MPAA policies/responses
• Firewalls
• Disaster recovery
• E-mail policies
• Virus Protection (client and server tools)
• Risk Management
• CALEA

Client Services

As technology becomes increasingly interwoven with all aspects of higher education, support and training resources are being pushed to their limits.  Many times the focus is on pushing out the technology without consideration for the impact of these changes.  This track will focus on support and training strategies, tools and new approaches to an age-old problem.

Idea Starters -- a few suggested topics:

• Remote support tools
• Online support delivery (knowledge bases, self-service password mgmt., etc.)
• Technology training approaches (instructor-led, e-learning, blended training)
• The challenge of keeping support staff ahead of the curve
• Knowledge transfer: from help desk to development team and visa-versa
• Does supported mean forever? ...when to say no….
• Library support
• Student Technology Center
• Distance Learning support challenges
• Workstation management (pushing Windows and virus protection updates)
• Residential network support challenges

Leadership/Management

Ask any higher education IT organization what its key challenges are and you're likely to hear answers like; managing effectively in an environment of increasing demands and decreasing resources; aligning IT with the institution's strategic direction to maximize IT's impact; and communicating with increasingly diverse and demanding constituencies. Management, leadership and "soft" skills (like communication and time management) are pivotal to meeting these challenges.

Idea starters -- a few suggested topics:

• 'Need to Know Basis'-managing information distribution on campus
• 'State of the Art' technologies
• Ethics of change
• Project management skills
• IT funding strategies
• IT strategic planning and governance structures
• Collaboration with other units and with other institutions
• Emerging network technologies

Applications and Systems Support

Those responsible for academic technology support are often faced with providing the means as well as the tools and support needed to meet rising expectations.  This track will focus on innovative approaches to using technology for system support as well as in teaching and learning.  Models for effective academic technology integration and support will be provided.

Idea Starters -- a few suggested topics:

• ERP: shared services
• Web-enabled student or administrative systems
• Software licensing
• Data Warehouse / datamarts
• Digital asset management
• Digital streaming
• Packaged software - how much to customize?
• The portal experience (student and administrative experiences)
• Workflow (automating previously paper-intensive processes)
• Open Source learning objects (ex: Wisconsin Online, Merlot, MIT)
• Learner-centered course design principles
• Taking technology to the classroom
• Building engaging courses with technology
• Emphasizing good teaching in addition to good technology
• Instructional strategies for the use of wireless in learning environments
• Focusing on applications as well as construction
• Making course development a team effort
• Bring training to faculty
• eLearning/Distance education support activities
• Online Chat & Instant Messaging -- a new tool or just another buzzword?

Vendor presentations will be held on Wednesday, April 18.  Please submit your proposals using this link:  http://ohecc.bgsu.edu/page26208.html