At its last meeting of the semester, the Student Technology Fee Committee approved $39,156.67 worth of new software and multimedia funding for the University.
From that amount, $32,000 was allocated to Information Technology Services to purchase a new site license for LabVIEW software. LabVIEW is a system design and development software from National Instruments.
LabVIEW is the standard for engineering in multiple countries, said Department of Chemistry instructor Kresimir Rupnik.
“My students got jobs because they know how to deal with problems through LabVIEW,” Rupnik said.
Rupnik said without LabVIEW, the quality of education at the University would decrease.
The second passing proposal, from the Office of the University Registrar, called for $7,156.67 to give Room 2147 in Patrick F. Taylor Hall multimedia capabilities.
The workstation-based room is listed as a general classroom.
“This will not provide individual PCs for workstations, just multimedia equipment,” said University Registrar Robert Doolos.
Michael Smith, director of ITS, said the equipment may be ready for use by next semester and definitely by summer.
After digesting results from its recent technology use survey at Monday’s meeting, the STF Committee expects to make changes to the University’s Public Access Labs and Wi-Fi capabilities.
According to results, more than 60 percent of the 2,339 student survey participants reported rarely or never using the University’s Public Access Labs.
About 94 percent of the survey participants reported owning a laptop, which may account for the low usage, said Graduate College Council President Thomas Rodgers.
The majority of those survey participants, 44 percent, use the labs for printing purposes, and 23.9 percent use the labs for access to academic-related software. Less than 2 percent use the labs because they do not own a laptop or tablet.
If the committee elected to decrease Public Access Lab funding, some labs, or parts of labs, could be closed to save space and money.
“To see big savings, you have to actually close a lab,” Smith said.
ITS is surveying nine campus buildings for wireless access points and is planning to work the improvements into its budget, said Brian Nichols, ITS chief information officer.
The STF Committee has remaining funds of $22,986.33 and will meet again within the first two months of next semester.
“These are big and strategic decisions. We need to have further analysis and incorporate it into the 2014-15 financial plan.”