McNeese State University

Call to Order
Mike Graham called the meeting to order at 3:02pm. Members present were
Morgan Verrette, Tim Rye, TJ Moore, Kyle Anderson, Dr. George Mead and
Michael Graham.
Members absent were Kevin Goode, Dr. Todd Furman and Chad Thibodeaux.
Others in attendance were Bobby McLean and Brenda Gallow.

Mike Graham asked the committee to nominate someone to chair the TASC meetings.
Tim Rye nominated TJ Moore to chair the TASC meetings. Kyle Anderson seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

Minutes
TJ Moore approved the 25April08 minutes by acclamation.

CITO Update
Mike Graham submitted the proposed estimated TASC Budget as follows:
$1,500,000 - Beginning Balance (based on final revenue figures—may need to be adjusted.)
   $242,000 – Previous Commitments
   $225,000 – Salaries
   $100,000 – Summer Operations
     $58,000 – Operating (Labs, Printing)
   $875,000 – TASC Request (Estimate Fall Revenue not finalized and Spring Enrollment unknown.)
Mike explained each figure and requested the committee approve the submitted budget by the next meeting at the latest.

Mike Graham asked the committee to think about partnering with the university to fund the Help Desk. He guessed, for about $100,000 – $150,000/year the Help Desk could be outsourced for 24/7/365 help desk service. TASC would be funding 50% of the cost. Mike said he is aware of two (2) companies, and there may be one catch---the company may want a 3yr commitment. Dr. Mead asked who would be serviced by the helpdesk? Mike answered all of campus; i.e…faculty, staff and students for hardware and software needs. Mike said basically the service would handle basic trouble-shooting, password resets and diagnosing the simple problems. After that they would generate the work orders. Most of the work orders would get fulfilled by the next day with all physical work being done by existing personnel. Mike asked the committee if they would like for him to investigate more. After some discussion, Morgan Verrette motioned to have Mike Graham investigate and get firmer numbers. Kyle Anderson seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

Mike Graham stated, he would like to walk the TASC committee thru Luminis and its different components at the next meeting. Mike said one of the things he is working on, is to bring in some folks to do some large scale training. This will not be hands-on, but more of an introduction of what is there. He said he is trying to get this done before the end of the semester. Mike said technically he knows the students had some issues in the first week, but since then it has been working pretty well. He said the one thing that needs to happen is to expand the content to make it more of an intranet, and the starting point for a lot of what happens with the university in terms of functionally. Morgan Verrette moved to have Mike Graham give the TASC committee an overview of Luminis at the next meeting. Tim Rye seconded.
Dr. Mead asked Mike if Luminis has an instant messaging component. Mike said, not yet, but that’s an improvement being worked on and once it is available it will be added automatically to our system. Morgan Verrette informed Mike of some email and calendars issues they are having. Mike responded he would bring Wendell Jones to the next meeting to answer questions.
After discussing, the committee voted to approve and motion carries.

Mike Graham asked the TASC committee in what direction do they want to go in with the One-Card System. Mike stated if the committee intends to proceed in this direction then the campus must be staffed 24/7 and the university will not be able to fund. Mike said this would be a 2-year process with approx. 6-months planning. Dr. Mead wondered if there were any examples of other campuses using the One-Card System. Mike responded, LSU. Dr. Mead suggested the committee may want to go and visit the campus to view the One-Card System. Mike agreed. Mike said LSU handles the system themselves. It is not outsourced. The committee discussed. Morgan Verrette stated she loves the idea but feels this is not the right time to ask the students for another fee. She said a committee member could present the idea to the Senate, but does not feel this is a good time.

As a side note regarding Blackboad, Mike said one of the things they will continue to do is to keep up with existing alternatives. He said there is not a lot out there, in terms of choices; one choice being Moodle.

Mike Graham said there is nothing written in the constitution about when to purchase equipment after proposals have been approved. As a result, there is money being carried from past proposals that submitters are expecting to spend. This could potentially become a problem in keeping up with un-used money. Mike suggested, with the TASC committee’s approval, closing the proposal after a year, unless extended by special request and granted by the TASC committee. Dr. Mead suggested requiring a time-line to expend the money in proposals submitted to the TASC Committee. Mike said this is a good idea. The committee discussed briefly and Mike Graham offered to bring back a motion to be reviewed at the next meeting. The committee agreed.

Old Business
TJ Moore (2007-2008 TASC Committee Chair) read the letter he wrote to last year’s TASC Committee concerning their motion to draft a letter to succeeding committees regarding what “Big Ticket” items are. TJ said he felt the succeeding committees should be allowed to “express their own right of judgment regarding “Big Ticket” items and how they should spend their money.” Therefore, out of respect and fairness to future committees, he decided to cancel the last meeting.

New Business
After a short discussion, Morgan Verrette moved to approve the estimated 08-09 TASC Budget (with the amendment that Summer Operations is spelled correctly). Tim Rye seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

Dr. Mead asked if there are any plans to get software licenses for students.
Mike said this is not something that past committees have wanted to do, but he would be
happy to address the matter, and bring back to the table. Dr. Mead said this would be a good way for students to offset some of their costs. The committee discussed briefly.

CoTASCO Update
Bobby McLean reported updating the Axis TV System in the summer; i.e…tuning the channel players that talk to the TVs to make the picture, upgrading the software and performing low-level technical stuff with the IP addresses to make it more stable. He said there are a few small issues left to address. Along with that some faculty and students have gotten more involved by creating more content to go on the TVs. Bobby said there are plans in the public areas that are commercial, such as Einstein Bros. and the Library coffee shop to have split screens.

Bobby reported the Print Management System was working approx. 98%. There is a problem with some image files. He said, he’s been troubleshooting with the vendor “Go Print”, who has been very forward in trying to help. He also had to involve the printer manufacturer “Xerox” for help with compatibility issues.

With regard to last year’s TASC proposals, Bobby reported receiving and delivering equipment. He is continuing to work on the last few open proposals.

Next meeting to be held on Friday, 10/03/08 at 3:00pm in the McNeese Room of the Library.

Adjournment
A motion to adjourn was made by Tim Rye and seconded by Morgan Verrette.
The committee voted to approve and motion carries.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:10pm.

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