In his memo of April 29, 1998, the President called for the formation of "a broad-based working group responsible for developing an information technology strategic plan to be accomplished within the Goals 2005 parameters." Goals 2005 includes the following priorities relevant to information services at the college:

• Provide spaces and facilities that strengthen the connectedness of learning, student and faculty interaction, and reinforce the culture of equal access and use. (Priority 10)
  
• Support additional connections of research to teaching, as well as the value of research by faculty members and by students. (Priority 2)
  
• We should aim to put student responsibility more at the center, and encourage the engagement of teacher and learner. (Priority 1)
  
• Enhance learning and teaching by extending the traditional classroom, both on- and off-campus; create greater flexibility in the calendar, in new venues for learning, and in collaboration among institutions. (Priority 4)

President noted that the college vision and goals articulated in Goals 2005 call for "supporting faculty and student use of technology to enhance learning, by establishing electronic connections with other institutions, creating virtual learning communities at Bates, developing virtual classrooms, and otherwise taking advantage of evolving technologies."

Therefore, "because information technologies will play an important role in transforming and widening the scope of learning activities of faculty and students," we are to "consider and propose a comprehensive plan for the role technology will play in how learning happens at Bates." We should also "connect those plans to future space needs, including, but not limited to, the Library." (Appendix A lays out the detailed issues in our charge.

A. A Vision

Bates College aims "to provide, as an independent, coeducational, and residentially-based undergraduate college of national distinction, an education in the liberal arts and sciences that is valued for its exceptional quality and its transforming mission," as stated in our Strategic Plan for 1998-99. This statement emphasizes Bates devotion to providing an education that develops students long-term capabilities as learners, and helps transform their understanding of themselves and the world around them.

Information Services and the Library support this mission by providing information in many formats and media, by offering hardware, software, and communications technology, and by training community members in their effective use.

1. Bates College will strive for success in using information and information technology to help create and support our residential learning community, and in helping to link the community to the world. The aim is to use technology to promote the scholarship, critical thinking, communication, and information exchange that is central to the Bates mission.
   
   
2. Bates will be a place where creativity, effectiveness and experimentation in teaching and learning are valued, and where information and information technology can help foster these qualities.
   
   
3. Bates will use suitable new means of information technology to help create community.
   
   
4. Bates will strive to integrate and encourage sharing of College data through electronic means.
   
   
5. Bates will strive to make it easy for users to connect to information resources that are found in a variety of formats.
   
   
6. Bates will develop standards of competence in information technology skills for students, faculty and staff, and will provide effective training to support them.
   
   
7. Bates will set standards for computing hardware and software for administrative and academic users, in order to provide easy and efficient communication, but it will also support special requirements for other hardware and software significantly related to the academic mission of the College.
   
   
8. Bates will provide clear and predictable processes for budgetary decisions regarding information and information technology planning, and adequate resources to upgrade hardware, software, and the skills of community members.
   
   
9. Bates will effectively administer its Information and Library services, in clear communication with the user community, the staff of Information Services, and the administration of the College.
   
   
10. Bates will assess the impact of information services on the community, and learn from that assessment.

B. Implications of the vision for College planning

Information technology is rapidly becoming a primary tool in the education of students. Bates will use information technology to help educate students, opening up new opportunities for thought, action and self-awareness. Information technology has the capability to help students link specialized areas of knowledge to one another and to more general knowledge and skills. We will use information technology's new possibilities for bringing our community together, for promoting learning, and for allowing its members to access the outside world. Bates is also committed to bringing our teaching of critical thinking and evaluation to bear on information technology itself, as it becomes more and more a part of our daily interactions.

1. Bates will be a place where creativity, effectiveness and experimentation in teaching and learning are valued, and where information and information technology can help foster these qualities.
   
   

   Bates faculty and students constantly engage questions of new pedagogies, appropriate content and kinds of learning. Information technology is opening new possibilities for asking and answering some of these questions. Bates is committed to supporting creativity and experimentation in the uses of information technology in teaching, learning, research and administration.
   
   

   As our world becomes more tightly linked by new technologies, there is more information, more communication, more demands. Bates people will need skills and tools to cope with the quantity and quality of these demands and this amount of information. Bates will support investigations of new ways to clear spaces for critical discussion and evaluation, and effective ways to sift and evaluate information. Bates will also provide effective instructional programs to help community members learn skillful and critical use of these new tools.
   

   
   
2. Bates will use suitable new means of information technology to help create community.
   
   

   Information and communications technologies can help create connections. The College's Goals 2005 plan establishes the challenge to "provide spaces and facilities that strengthen the connectedness of learning, student and faculty interaction, and reinforce the culture of equal access and use." Information technology can help accomplish the task of providing multiple methods of communication and information exchange, and by extending the reach of these connections over time and space. Information and library services can also create physical and virtual spaces that can foster interaction and independent learning, in classrooms, laboratories, computer labs and libraries, where active learners from across the campus can learn from each other.
   
   

   Used wisely, information technology can touch everything Bates people do. Education at Bates depends on interaction. This is a residential institution, where phones, voice mail, and e-mail can reinforce the face-to-face exchange that is the core of the Bates community. New means of communication have the potential to increase the quantity and speed of interaction, encouraging multiple connections in less hierarchical patterns of communication. This makes new kinds of collaboration possible, which can be used to support new kinds of teaching, learning and effective administration.
   
   

   Technology can combine the advantages of a residential college with contact to a wider world. Increasingly, information and other educational resources will be available from many points on the globe. This enlarges the reach of the community, and will challenge Bates to guide students in accessing these non-Bates educational resources. Alumni will be able to stay in contact more easily, leading to more two-way sharing of resources and experiences. Bates students, faculty and staff engaged in off-campus study will remain more connected to the campus; this will enhance their experiences but challenge us to find other ways to preserve the educational effects of distance and separation. (See Appendix B for a discussion of Bates, as a residential college, and "distance learning.")
   
   

   Through ongoing educational efforts, as well as in its information and communications services, Bates will promote strong community norms regarding intellectual freedom, the ethical use of information technologies, and the protection of intellectual property rights. Bates does not censor information, nor limit its community members access to non-private information based on subject matter or authorship, and expects community members to make their own judgments of value. The College will emphasize policies and practices that protect copyright and privacy, and comply with requirements for disclosure.
   

   
   
3. Bates will strive to integrate and encourage sharing of College data through electronic means.
   
   

   The College has many stores of data about persons and activities; these will become more integrated with one another in order to improve access and facilitate communication. The Banner system will be the principal means of this integration, aided by new tools for presenting and delivering data, and Web access where it is appropriate.
   
   

   The Web is becoming a principal tool to integrate access to College information and to present and distribute information among College students, faculty and staff. The College will provide professional management overseeing the College's Web operations. These have grown enough that professional management has become essential. The Web is on its way to becoming the College's most important face turned toward the outside world, and it will assume a larger role in the College's internal communications. The Web has begun to deliver media of all sorts, and is becoming a two-way conduit for interaction. Through its ability to bridge computing platforms, Web technology expands opportunities for teaching, learning, administration and research. Bates will offer Web guidance and technical help to community members.
   

   
   
4. Bates will strive to make it easy for users to connect to information resources that are found in a variety of formats.
   
   

   The traditional functions of a library are no longer separated from the more general information environment and its technical means of access and storage. The College will continue to integrate these functions. Information comes in many formats and arrives from many sources. The College takes as a long-term goal to provide faculty, staff, and students easy access to information regardless of its location, with efficient presentation and manipulation regardless of the data's format or source. The College will support the acquisition of scholarly information in traditional and electronic forms, in an era of persistent price inflation for those resources. The College will continue implementing the plans for the Library building, which are part of Information Service's efforts to integrate information access on the campus.
   

   
   
5. Bates will develop standards of competence in information technology skills for students, faculty and staff, and will provide effective training to support them.
   
   

   While some universities and colleges have decided to require the purchase of standardized computer equipment by all students, and insisted that faculty and staff use the same equipment, Bates will not do so. Rather, Bates will invest in training, so that existing and future equipment can be used effectively and in novel ways. By setting standards of competence for each job, and making a major investment in training, Bates will bring everyone in the community up to a level that will support new ways of working together, thus allowing more effective exchange of information, and freer experimentation and innovation.
   
   

   Information technology continues to change and will increasingly transform the way people work in College offices. Some of these transformations will come from our own discoveries of more effective ways to work together and to handle data, but other changes will be mandated by outside agencies or industries. As information technology creates new possibilities for interaction and collaboration in teaching and administration, community members will be faced with the challenge of learning to carry out familiar tasks in new ways. New tasks and data manipulation will become more complex, even while more efficient and productive. Effective training will be needed for these ongoing changes, taking into account individual users' time and motivation.
   

   
   
6. Bates will set standards for computing hardware and software for administrative and academic users, in order to provide easy and efficient communication, but it will also support special requirements for other hardware and software significantly related to the academic mission of the College.
   
   

   The rapid pace of change in information technology encourages faculty and staff to use a great variety of equipment and software. When continued support for multiple versions of hardware and software would hamper collaboration and sharing of information, or would create unmanageable inefficiencies, the Information Services Advisory Committee will recommend which equipment and software should be supported by the College, and a process to phase out older software and hardware, as well as older ways of accomplishing some administrative and communication tasks.
   
   

   The College will encourage uniformity for administrative and academic users. Nonstandard needs will be supported when they are significantly related to the academic mission of the College. Because of the additional support and training burdens entailed by variant software and hardware, their support will require additional arguments beyond individual convenience or personal preference.
   
   

   This vision for Bates community use of information technology will require outstanding support and help operations, as well as effective training. Bates will provide these services to all users.
   

   
   
7. Bates will provide clear and predictable processes for budgetary decisions regarding information and information technology planning, and adequate resources to upgrade hardware, software, and the skills of community members.
   
   

   Our goals require hardware and software that is current, and an annual cycle that allows upgrade of outdated hardware and software. Rapid changes in the development of information technology create new possibilities for accessing information and organizing information; Bates is committed to making these possibilities available to its community members. The rapid pace of development also means that the use and repair of outdated equipment is time-consuming and costly. Besides the capital expenses for new initiatives as they arise, Bates should develop a recurring budget that provides for a predictable retirement of outdated hardware and software that is more than four years old. This will allow continual development of information technology and support at a pace comparable to industry standards. Achieving this will require that the College provide excellent support and training on new standard equipment, which should also bring some cost efficiencies for Information Services. The predictable investment required to keep the network robust enough to handle the increasing quantity and flow of information will also support this effort.
   
   

   Because of the increased importance of information technology, College planning for new construction or for the reuse of existing buildings needs to consider issues concerning technology infrastructure early in the planning process.
   

   
   
8. Bates will effectively administer its Information and Library services, in clear communication with the user community, the staff of Information Services, and the administration of the College.
   
   

   Bates will improve and clarify communications and decision making within Information Services, improve and expand its training operations, and improve the connections of Information Services to senior policy discussions at the College. The College will also take steps to make sure that it can recruit and retain a high-quality professional staff. (Appendix C contains the results of discussions regarding management structure.)
   

   
   
9. Bates will assess the impact of information services on the community, and learn from that assessment.
   
   

   As the College experiments with new ways of teaching and learning, new means for research, new administrative work patterns and processes, it recognizes that experiments do not always succeed, and new ways do not always turn out to be as effective as they seemed at the beginning. The computing and publishing industries will continue to press for rapid changes. The College will be alert for new means that can assist in its educational mission, as well as sensitive to potential problems with current ways and means. Bates will monitor its efforts and assess their effects on our educational and administrative activities, be willing to change course as a result of our assessments, and to look continuously for ways to improve.

C. Recommendations

• Set standard expectations for skills with information technology, and institute a comprehensive training operation. (Recommendation 5)
  
  
• Set standards for hardware and software that promote efficient and effective administration, and that support the broad range of uses essential to the academic programs of the College. (Recommendation 6)

• Encourage experiments with new ways for teaching, learning, and administering, and assess the results. (Recommendation 1)
  
  
• Begin unified management of the College's Web operations. (Recommendation 3.5)
  
  
• Improve communication within IS. (Recommendation 8)
  

• Establish a four-year replacement cycle for computer equipment. (Recommendation 7.1)
  
  
• Upgrade the capacities of the campus network. (Recommendation 6.2)
  
  
• Continue the process of providing classrooms with an appropriate set of audiovisual equipment. (Recommendation 6.8)
  

• Recruit and retain high-quality employees with technical skills necessary for their work. (Recommendation 8.4)
  
  
• Assess what data not currently in Banner should be linked to Banner. (Recommendation 3.3)
  
  
• Provide, when possible, electronic scholarly information in full-text format. (Recommendation 4)
  

D. Guidelines for future planning

• Bates is committed to providing excellent information services to all users at the College, but the educational mission of the College must be considered as the overriding priority when determining the meaning of excellent services, planning new initiatives, allocating financial resources and deciding among competing claims.
  
  
• Students, faculty and staff should be able to access up-to-date information software and hardware technology. But the College should not provide unlimited equipment, nor immediately adopt the newest technology. In adopting new technology the College should balance issues of experimentation and innovation with issues of support, compatibility, and cost. Equipment should be allocated so that users receive the appropriate level of hardware and software for their needs.
  
  
• Students, faculty and staff should be able to rely on excellent service and training to help them integrate information technology into their educational and administrative activities. The use of older software and hardware will be limited by their effects on sharing and collaboration, and the College's ability to support multiple versions of similar products.
  
  
• As information technology becomes more pervasive throughout the College's educational and administrative activities, it will become a factor in many more decisions about planning, building, purchasing and hiring. The established practices for coordinated planning of information technology thus become increasingly important. All departments and programs shall work with Information Services staff during the planning process to assure that new technology is integrated into the campus environment. Information Services and Library staff are expected to consult broadly within the community regarding the information and information technology required to support the curriculum and administrative activities of the College.
  
  
• Bates is committed to providing the infrastructure necessary for a College that is attempting to create collaboration and to move much of its communication by electronic means.
  
  
• Bates should use information technology purposefully in the administration of the College to coordinate services, share information, and make information readily available, seeking to streamline our administrative procedures and end duplication of effort.
  
  
• Information Services and the Library will engage in continuous planning and assessment, with annual review of long-term and short-term goals, and seek guidance and advice from administrative and governance structures to revise them.

E. Realizing the Vision: Projects and priorities for the next three years

1. Bates will be a place where creativity, effectiveness and experimentation in teaching and learning are valued, and where information and information technology can help foster these qualities.
   
   
   1.1 Extend and improve Library/IS programs for improving community members' skills in information access and assessment, providing basic instruction in how to obtain information, as well as skills to sift and filter and assess information. Consider both active teaching and self-help systems. Encourage the idea that learners take responsibility for their learning.
   
   
   (1.1.a) Conduct an inventory and evaluation of current programs. Explore possible alternative modes of delivery, course content, and changes (including one-on-one, small group, and customized teaching). Begin to review changes in Fall 1999. (IS User Assistance and Library Reference and Instructional Services staff)
   
   
   (1.1.b) Work with other administrative offices (e.g. Human Resources) to develop and improve user education programs. Begin Fall 1999. (IS User Assistance and Library Reference and Instructional Services staff)
   
   
   (1.1.c) Improve HelpDesk call tracking and communication with users regarding expectations and timetable for installations and service. Begin implementation Summer 1999. (IS Management, User Assistance, Infrastructure staff)
   
   
   (1.1.d) Improve IS Web site and Web-based self-help or self-guided training. Begin 2000-01. (IS staff)
   
   
   1.2 Support faculty in developing new pedagogies that make effective and academically-valuable use of technology.
   
   
   (1.2.a) Reorganize IS user assistance to provide more focused support for faculty, possibly using staff to discuss with interested faculty their needs, to inform them of appropriate and available software, and to provide support as faculty learn to use and integrate the technology into their teaching. 1999-2000. (IS Management, User Assistance, working with Dean of Faculty)
   
   
   (1.2.b) Involve faculty members in planning and implementation of faculty Web module for Banner (Integrated Applications, Registrar, others) Requires capital funding.
   
   
   (1.2.c) Support CBB collaborative faculty development projects. 1999-2000. (CBB User Education Group; Bates representative are Kirk Read, Linda Spugnardi, Paula Matthews, Maryann Hight, Andrew White)
   
   
   1.3 Develop ways of sharing expertise, information, and the results of experimentation.
   
   
   (1.3.a) Institute regular forums in which faculty, staff and students can exchange ideas and practices relating to information technology. Begin such sessions in 1999-2000 and assess for future. (User Assistance, Library Public Services staff, Dean of Faculty's office)
   
   
   1.4 Encourage risk taking and find ways to encourage the efforts needed and reduce the dangers of failed experiments. Find out what kind of support, especially in terms of time, will be necessary, and how the college can reward and encourage --- and avoid penalizing --- the kind of risk-taking inevitably involved in new technology and new pedagogy experiments that by their nature will not always succeed. Begin investigation, and discussions with faculty and administration, 1999-2000.
   
   
   (1.4.a) Work with Dean of Faculty's office to explore options (e.g. funding, course reductions, grants) for developing new pedagogies involving technology. (IS Management, IS Advisory Committee)
   
   
   (1.4.b) Work with President and Senior Staff to develop programs (e.g. funding, leaves, grants) to develop new administrative applications of information technology and/or new processes to improve work efficiency and effectiveness (IS Management, President's Council)
   
   
   (1.4.c) Be prepared to examine with the Dean of the Faculty's office the criteria for promotion and tenure to identify potential changes in publication and teaching standards that may be needed to encourage experimentation with new forms of teaching and scholarly communication. (IS Management, Personnel Committee)
   
   
   1.5 Assess the impact of experimentation on education, on campus resources, on campus services, on classrooms and information sharing, on civility and modes of interaction, and on the traditional roles of faculty and students.
   
   
   (1.5.a) Organize a periodic forum on the impact of technology in information and communication on the life of the campus. Work with appropriate agencies to find speakers, publicity, and support. Ongoing. (IS/Library administration, Dean of Faculty's office, Teaching Development Committee, Dean of the College office)
   
   

   Bates will use suitable new means of information technology to help create community. The technology can offer modes of communication which people can use for interaction and collaboration. Wisely done, these new forms of communication can enrich our community.
   
   

   2.1 . Extend access to computing services to all staff.
   
   

   (2.1.a) Work with Human Resources to identify any staff without regular access to e-mail and the Web, and provide this access. Begin 2000. (IS Management, ad hoc communications group members, department heads)
   
   

   2.2 . Provide support for faculty and staff to do some critical and basic functions from home, or on the road, especially as students, faculty, and staff come to expect constant accessibility and shorter turnaround times for communication and information processing. Evaluate what level of expectations are appropriate for each user community, and assess needed means of access.
   
   

   (2.2.a) Examine the feasibility, principles, values and priorities involved in deciding whether the College should continue to act as an Internet Service Provider, with and without upgrading the current technology. Evaluate possible arrangements with local and national ISP providers and explain the results of these deliberations to all users. 1999-2000. (IS Management)
   
   

   (2.2.b) Consult with administrative and faculty users regarding minimum expectations and capacity to deliver. 1999-2000 (IS Management, IS Advisory Committee)
   
   

   (2.2.c) Develop proxy server or other technology to provide access to off-campus users of electronic databases that the Library licenses for Bates use. 1999-2000. (Infrastructure)
   
   

   2.3 Encourage experiments with the CBB videoconferencing system for real-time research, expert presentations, and cross-campus collaboration. (IS Media Services and User Assistance, Library administration and public services staff; Dean of Faculty office, President's office)
   
   

   (2.3.a) Publicize and demonstrate system as soon as fully functional. (1999-2000)
   
   

   (2.3.b) Develop introductory sessions for Fall 1999. Publicize and make available for one-time and regular use during 1999-2000 academic year.
   
   

   (2.3.c) Make both equipment and expert advice available to faculty interested in exploring possible full-course experiments in Winter or Fall 2000.
   
   

   2.4 Besides strengthening internal communications within IS component organizations, strengthen communications with and support for technical staff in operating departments of the College. Avoid marginalizing technical staff who report to the departments rather than to IS. (See also item 8.2) Ongoing.
   
   

   (2.4.a) Assess options to decentralize some services (consultants assigned to academic or administrative departments, for example), and ways to support key technical staff in administrative and academic departments.
   
   

   (2.4.b) Strengthen communications between IS staff and technical staff throughout the College.
   
   

   2.5 Assure that policies and practices are in place that protect intellectual freedom, privacy and intellectual property rights, and provide for proper disclosure of operational information.
   
   

   (2.5.a) Develop College guidelines on Internet law compliance. 1999-2000. (IS and Library management)
   
   

   (2.5.b) Review and expand copyright compliance guidelines (currently in place for print materials) to include electronic and audiovisual media. Work with Dean of Students office to update and publicize the College statement and rules concerning plagiarism. Examine information screens on College on line services and consider whether compliance reminders are needed (e.g. copyright or license compliance on Library databases, FERPA compliance on Banner). 1999-2000. (IS and Library management)
   
   

   (2.5.c) Review computer use policy in light of review of copyright compliance issues. Provide needed training and orientation to all campus users on rights, responsibilities and liabilities. Ongoing. (IS Management, others)
   
   

   (2.5.d) Provide ongoing training for users in the importance of respecting the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act as more people have access to sensitive student records. Such training should be part of new employee orientation. Ongoing. (Registrar, others)
   
   

   Bates will strive to integrate and encourage sharing of College data through electronic means.
   
   

   3.1 Complete the installation and implementation of the core Banner software modules, and continue the process of enhancement of the software and training in its use. Expand the use of Banner as a means of conducting business and administrative activities.
   
   

   (3.1.a) Complete Banner implementation in Human Resources. April 2000. (Integrated Applications)
   
   

   (3.1.b) Work with Banner Users Group and others to implement enhancements as defined, prioritized and scheduled. Ongoing. (Integrated Applications)
   
   

   3.2 Find new ways to foster sharing of common data, common inquiry tools and common means for producing reports containing information from the College systems. The College also understands that requirements for reporting may require new data formats and a variety of summary reports. To the extent feasible, the College will promote standardization of the data and the tools for reporting it. The College will provide programs to develop users' skills in gathering information and analyzing data, as well as skills in reporting, reformatting, and using its data and information resources.
   
   

   (3.2.a) Conduct review of potential inquiry and reporting tools Summer-Fall 1999. (Integrated Applications, Banner users)
   
   

   (3.2.b) Acquire, implement and provide training for new package 1999-2000. (Integrated Applications, User Assistance) Requires funding.
   
   

   (3.2.c) Provide Web access to these Banner query and report generating tools when that is feasible. Ongoing. (Integrated Applications)
   
   

   3.3 Work with Banner Users group and others to assess what data not currently in Banner should be linked to Banner, and identify ways to make the links, or, if that is not possible, to promote other ways of sharing that data among appropriate offices and users. (Examples include additional databases in Physical Plant, Security, the Office of Career Services, Dining Services, the College Store, the Health Center, the Office of Special Projects, as well as the Museum, the Library and the Muskie Archives.)
   
   

   (3.3.a) Conduct review of needs in 1999/2000 in anticipation that some steps can be taken once Banner is installed in Human Resources. Ongoing. (IS Management, Integrated Applications, Senior Staff, others)
   
   

   3.4 Extend and improve Banner training for academic and administrative staff.
   
   

   3.4.a) Work with Banner content providers to develop regular schedule and curriculum of training for end users outside their departments . Work with Human Resources and others to provide administrative support to make program effective. Begin 1999-2000. (Integrated Applications, User Assistance, and Finance, Development, Registrar, and Human Resources staff)
   
   

   (3.4.b) Promote sharing of procedures and data through Banner Users Group and other means such as e-mail and a campus intranet. Ongoing. (Integrated Applications, Human Resources)
   
   

   3.5 Improve the administration of and technical assistance for its Web operations. The Web has developed from its initial function of delivering electronic versions of printed pages, into a medium for interactions and information of many kinds. The College's Web operations need to be updated to reflect this new reality, and then to be kept abreast of further changes. The College has also purchased commercially produced Web applications (Banner Web modules, the III Library Web module) that press the limitations of the College's current policies and methods of producing Web sites. The College needs to focus its Web operations and provide the guidance, support, training, and resources needed to keep the Bates Web presence effective both for communication with outside constituencies, and, increasingly, for information sharing within the College.
   
   

   (3.5.a) Develop a Web management structure that provides for the information needs of both the internal and external constituencies of the College. Such a system should provide overall coordination together with some latitude in individual Web productions.
   
   

   (3.5.b) Create a position of a professional Web manager who will be responsible for leading Web development at Bates. With full consultation with constituencies, develop position description and assign to appropriate administrative unit. This may require one or more net additions. 1999-2000. (IS Management, others). Requires funding.
   
   

   (3.5.d) Establish an advisory committee for Web issues, consisting of representatives from academic and administrative units with concerns for Web operations. This group will work with and advise the Web manager. The present CWIS group is a prototype of such a group. 1999-2000. (IS Management, CWIS Team)
   
   

   (3.5.d) Develop a fully functional college intranet, in order to make services and information available to Bates students, faculty and staff that should not be available to a worldwide audience on the Web. Begin 2001 after Web leadership is in place, taking about 18 months. (IS Management, Web administration, Infrastructure group, user groups)
   
   

   (3.5.e) Promote Web solutions for academic and administrative tasks, where appropriate, and hire and train people with the expectation that Web development and maintenance will be a component of many positions at the College. Ongoing. (Library and IS Management, Web management, Integrated Applications, working with administrative and academic departments)
   
   

   (3.5.f) Analyze the information and information services that are beginning to be requested by constituencies such as alumni, prospective students, parents of students, prospective employees, and friends of the College. Possible examples include directories of alumni, development support, lifetime e-mail addresses, parent access to information about grades and accounts, and so on. Decide which, if any, of these growing expectations should be met, and seek Web solutions where appropriate. Ongoing. (Library and IS Management, Web management, working with administrative and academic departments)
   
   

   3.6 Expand the tools for Web access to Banner data and to other forms of interaction such as surveys, specialized databases, and special forms for administrative and educational applications.
   
   

   (3.6.a) Acquire Web modules for Faculty and Employees. Implement Faculty module, 1999-2000, Employee module, 2000-01. (Integrated Applications) Requires funding.
   
   

   (3.6.b) Assess additional Web modules for Banner. Ongoing. (Integrated Applications, Banner Users Group)
   
   

   Bates will strive to make it easy for users to connect to information resources that are found in a variety of formats. Information will be presented in appropriate ways, but this does not mean that the College will continue to support any and all older ways of accessing information contents.
   
   

   4.1 Work towards developing unified and interconnected systems for providing data. The College will work to develop ways to find what is available in all formats, and ways to link users to information in a unified way. Through Library services, the College will strive to make print, microform, audio/visual, manuscript, and electronic media equally accessible and usable.
   
   

   (4.1.a) Promote the concept of just-in-time information for active, empowered, and inquisitive users with tools to meet their needs. Information that can be quickly accessed need not be "owned" on site by each of its users. Ongoing. (Library staff)
   
   

   (4.1.b) Continue review of periodical ownership. Explore improved accuracy of assessing use and impact, and make needed changes. 1999-2000. (Library staff)
   
   

   (4.1.c) Expand the availability of full-text electronic information sources to meet research and teaching needs. Ongoing. (Library staff)
   
   

   (4.1.d) Explore current state of electronic course reserves technology (to replace print) and establish pilot project 1999-2000. (Library staff)
   
   

   4.2 Explore tools and services for delivery of article-level documents for all campus users.
   
   

   (4.2.a) Convene CBB serials interest group to identify more effective ways to provide article delivery services. 1999-2000. (CBB library staffs)
   
   

   (4.2.b) Assess feasibility of extending CARL Uncover or similar services to students and staff. Ongoing. (Library staff)
   
   

   4.3 Assess to what extent additional collections of printed materials should be integrated into the Library catalog (for example, the slide collection, the collection of historical videos, the collections in the offices of Human Resources, Career Services, Information Services, the Muskie Archives).
   
   

   (4.3.a) Conduct review in 1999-2000. Identify needed resources and priorities. (Library staff, working with Library Committee, affected departments, Dean of Faculty)
   
   

   4.4 Provide facilities for archiving and preserving information in all formats. The archival functions of the Library can no longer be separated from Information Service's information functions.
   
   

   (4.4.a) Complete the planning for integrating archival functions with the library. Muskie Archives and the Library are developing plans for joint cataloging, joint point of service, and joint archival storage. Improve archives services for College records. Implement if approved. 1999-2000 (Library, Muskie Archives, and Dean of College)
   
   

   (4.4.b) Develop plans for archival management of those essential College records that are in electronic format (e-mail, financial information, etc.). Expand access to such data. Better preservation of such electronic information will ease the tasks of future historical investigations. Ensure that users will have the means to access and read materials stored in file formats that may not be supported by current hardware or software. Conduct basic assessment in 2000-2001. (IS, Library and Muskie Archives staff)
   
   

   4.5 Develop plans and programs to use electronic media to promote the preservation and increase the availability and use of archival print and image materials.
   
   

   (4.5.a) Work with administrative offices to identify records appropriate for digital preservation and/or enhanced availability through electronic means. (e.g.Registrar). Assess technological requirements for digitizing exemplary documents and the effort needed for adequate cataloging and indexing, and the systems needed for access and retrieval. Begin 2000-2001. (IS, Library and Muskie Archives staff)
   
   

   Bates will develop standards of competence in information technology skills for students, faculty and staff, and will provide effective training to support them. These expectations are likely to include, for everyone, ability to handle e-mail and use the Web, and for most people, appropriate access to Banner, and word processing and printing. Other skills will vary with people's jobs and tasks.
   
   

   5.1 Establish standard expectations for competence with information technology for Bates staff. Begin in 1999-2000. (IS staff, Human Resources staff, Senior Staff)
   
   

   (5.1.a) Work with Human Resources to determine appropriate technological skills for each job on campus.
   
   

   (5.1.b) Work with the Senior Staff and Human Resources to develop processes for training and ongoing skill enhancement in offices, in the use of Banner, and Web communication tools. This will be part of the overall increased training effort.
   
   

   (5.1.c) Designate technical mentors, experienced users, or key contacts for offices or areas.
   
   

   (5.1.d) Work with Human Resources to assess the impact of information technology skills on job requirements, classification and compensation.
   
   

   5.2 Establish standard expectations for competence with information technology for Bates students. Begin consultation in 1999-2000, for implementation beginning Fall 2001. (IS and Library staff, working with Dean of Students office, Faculty members and Faculty committees)
   
   

   (5.2.a) Work with students and faculty to determine appropriate levels of technological skills for all students. Examine general competencies as well as what student skills should be able to be presupposed by faculty in all classes.
   
   

   (5.2.b) Develop processes for training and ongoing skill enhancement for students for the relevant hardware and software, and in the use of Banner, and Web communication tools. Look for ways to incorporate into the College curriculum, or to provide extracurricular training as appropriate. This will be part of the overall increased training effort.
   
   

   5.3 Establish standard expectations for competence with information technology for Bates faculty . Begin in Fall 2001. (IS and Library staff, Dean of Faculty's office, Faculty committees)
   
   

   (5.3.a) Work with students and faculty to determine appropriate levels of technological skills for all faculty.
   
   

   (5.3.b) Develop processes for training and ongoing skill enhancement for faculty for the relevant hardware and software, and in the use of Banner, and Web communication tools. This will be part of the overall increased training effort.
   
   

   5.4 Provide College offices with consulting and technical support for changing the way work is done. Increasingly, work will be done in teams consisting of staff from multiple departments, working on new ways to conduct College business. If new methods prove successful, Bates users will be asked to stop doing things in old ways and support for the older methods will not necessarily be continued. (Human Resources, Senior Staff, Supervisors, with IS consulting support) This policy would require an increase in funding for training and support. Begin consultation 2000 2001.
   
   

   (5.4.a) Provide consulting services to analyze routine and repetitive tasks and functions among staff, faculty, and students. Develop recommendations for revising processes, or experimenting with new methods.
   
   

   (5.4.b) Study what new technology (software or hardware) might be useful to facilitate new methods of operation, and new modes of collaboration.
   
   

   (5.4.c) Work with Senior Staff to set expectations of change in work flow to take advantage of new systems and applications.
   
   

   5.5 Develop a definite plan to extend the hours of operation for Banner, and for systems oversight. More and more operations demand interaction with Banner, and network operations need to be assured because of student needs, as well as the needs of staff and faculty away from campus. Adopt a compensation model for staff who would be on call. (IS Management, Human Resources staff, Dean of Faculty, Treasurer, Banner Users Group, others) Requires additional staff.
   
   

   Bates will set standards for computing hardware and software for administrative and academic users, in order to provide easy and efficient communication, but it will also support special requirements for other hardware and software significantly related to the academic mission of the College. As much as possible, software and hardware used for routine tasks should be restricted to standardized options. At the same time, there will be special cases appropriate to some administrative tasks and to special academic needs.
   
   

   6.1 Strengthen efforts to standardize software and hardware in administrative offices, reducing the number of old versions and incompatible formats that currently discourage information sharing. (IS and Library staff)
   
   

   (6.1.a) Conduct review of existing hardware and software versions and recommend a schedule that limits the number of current platforms and versions at one time. Begin 1999-2000.
   
   

   (6.1.b) Develop schedule for ongoing upgrade/replacement of outdated software that brings all users to one of the supported versions. Begin 2001.
   
   

   (6.1.c) Develop a process through which individuals or departments can request consideration of needs for non-standard software or hardware purchase or support. Begin 1999-2000. (IS Management, IS Advisory Committee, Dean of Faculty)

   6.2 Upgrade the campus network as necessary to keep up with increasing standard and novel demands. Though not appropriate for recurring annual funding, this effort will require infusions of capital funding at regular intervals.
   
   

   (6.2.a) First phase is underway in installation in Pettengill Hall. Summer 1999. (Infrastructure)
   
   

   (6.2.b) Complete design and install remaining sectors of campus. 1999-2001. (Infrastructure; requires capital funding, estimate $600,000 - 900,000)
   
   

   (6.2.c) Continually assess infrastructure needs. Ongoing. (Infrastructure)
   
   

   6.3 Make basic computer equipment available in many locations on campus. Ongoing. (Infrastructure, User Assistance and Library staff)
   
   

   (6.3.a) Provide many widely located computers capable of basic tasks (e mail, Web connections, and basic word processing). Work with Dean of Students Office and others to identify potential locations for low end work stations or kiosks. (The cost for this is primarily space and furniture, as these locations would use older, slower computing equipment that no longer meets needs of high volume and high capacity applications in academic and administrative work). Initiate discussions about needs and possible locations. 1999-2000.
   
   

   6.4 Support specialized computing installations as they are needed for high end or highly specialized operations. Establish computer labs when they also function as teaching spaces and/or faculty research labs. Ongoing. (IS and Library staff)
   
   

   (6.4.a) Conduct review of needs for computer labs for faculty research.
   
   

   (6.4.b) Conduct review of computing equipment needs in administrative offices.
   
   

   6.5 Continue to provide more locations where portable equipment can be plugged into the campus network.
   
   

   (6.5.a) Expand plug-in capability in Library locations by activating existing wiring for new and renovated furniture. Summer 2000 (Library and Infrastructure staff)
   
   

   (6.5.b) Assess need for additional student/faculty wired work areas. Ongoing. (Infrastructure and User Assistance)
   
   

   6.6 Continue to assess whether additional steps, such as requiring students to purchase a standard computer, are needed to provide students the equipment needed to do their work. Changes in student patterns or computer use, or the likely future availability of inexpensive and basic "information appliances," may make a required purchase plan more appropriate than it is at present. Ongoing. (IS Management, Dean of Faculty's office)
   
   

   6.7 Actively engage in space planning for a media and multimedia center and implement it as feasible. Teaching and faculty research are increasing demands for a facility where digital imaging and multimedia production and editing can be done by individuals and groups. Connection and, if possible, proximity to the Library would be important for such a center. Ongoing. (IS User Assistance and Library staff).
   
   

   6.8 Provide an appropriate and predictable set of audio/visual equipment in every classroom, in connection with plans for classroom design, and provide facilities that enable users to develop and learn to develop multimedia products for research and teaching.
   
   

   (6.8.a) Work with faculty members to establish minimum expectations for AV support in classrooms, as well as full array of optional equipment that is needed. 1999-2000. (AV staff, Registrar, Dean of Faculty)
   
   

   (6.8.b) Complete inventory of classroom AV equipment, and establish minimum standard for each classroom. Install needed devices over several years, schedule depending on funding. Begin 1999-2000. (AV staff, Registrar, Dean of Faculty) Requires capital funding.
   
   

   (6.8.c) Set aside an amount of money to spend each year on renovating existing classrooms as necessary to install appropriate equipment. This includes installation of carpets and lighting which make AV equipment functional. The amount need not be large but it should be persistent. Begin 2001. (IS Management, Registrar, Dean of Faculty)
   
   

   6.9 Position the College for the anticipated convergence of telephonic and computing technology. These changes are not immediate but should be part of ongoing planning.
   
   

   (6.9.a) Upgrade cable plant when needed to provide needed added capacity. This requirement must be included in all campus space planning as several quadrants of the campus are at maximum capacity in terms of wiring for telephone and data network. Ongoing. (Infrastructure, Physical Plant)
   
   

   (6.9.b) Review funding model for campus telephone services and make recommended changes. 1999-2000; implement 2000-. (IS Management, Financial office)
   
   

   (6.9.c) Investigate wireless communication services either alone or in partnership with regional or national carriers. Consider the costs and utility to Bates. Ongoing. (Infrastructure)
   
   

   (6.9.d) Upgrade PBX (the central telephone switch) for required changes such as expanded 911 service. Expected 2002-. (Infrastructure)
   
   

   (6.9.e) Assess long-term needs for expanded voice mail services. 2001-. (Infrastructure, users)
   
   

   Bates will provide clear and predictable processes for budgetary decisions regarding information and information technology planning, and adequate resources to upgrade hardware, software, and the skills of community members.
   
   

   7.1 Develop a plan and schedule for 4 year replacement cycle for desktop equipment and put it on annually recurring funds. (IS Management, Treasurer, Dean of Faculty) Requires funding.
   
   

   7.2 Develop clear and effective means to manage financial decision making regarding information services projects, and work with Dean of Faculty, Treasurer's office and others to provide coordinated feedback to academic and administrative departments regarding their requests. Begin 1999-2000. (IS Management, Dean of Faculty, Treasurer's office)
   
   

   7.3 Coordinate purchases and replacement of equipment and software across departments, when possible. Ongoing. (IS Management, Financial Office, Purchasing)
   
   

   7.4 Develop clearer ways to request upgrade or replacement of lab equipment, that includes computing and non-computing equipment. Begin 1999-2000. (Infrastructure and User Assistance, Dean of Faculty's office, Treasurer's office)
   
   

   7.5 . Continue to work with the Treasurer and the President to provide adequate funding for the information content portion of the IS/Library budget, where annual price increases continuously exceed other inflationary guidelines at the College. Ongoing. (Librarian, Dean of Faculty) Requires additional funding beyond normal inflationary guidelines.
   
   

   Bates will effectively administer its Information and Library services, in clear communication with the user community, the staff of Information Services, and the administration of the College.
   
   

   8.1 Build on the strengths of the current team management structure, while improving the communication practices, both within IS and between IS and other parts of the College. Ongoing. (See Appendix C.)
   
   

   (8.1.a) Keep the current strong connection between the Library and Information Services.
   
   

   (8.1.b) Retain the team structure for the management of Information Services.
   
   

   (8.1.c) Increase the representation of Information Services issues at high-level discussions of educational policy and College planning.
   
   

   (8.1.d) Retain the current reporting structure through the office of the VPAA/DOF. Improve the supervision of Information Services through that office, and improve the communication to Information Services of educational policy and College plans.
   
   

   (8.1.e) Develop explicit plans to improve internal communications within IS. Begin 1999-2000. (IS Management and staff)
   
   

   8.2 As much as possible, assemble all IS operations in one location. Many IS staff now work in office environments widely dispersed on the campus. IS operations require regular, often daily, cooperation and consultation among groups, and would have the potential to become more efficient and better managed if as many as possible of the IS operations were located together. The College needs to consider the long-term need for IS and Library staff to be located near each other, as the services provided by each are increasingly related.
   
   

   (8.2.a) Work with Dober, Lidsky and Craig and others to assess need. Implement plans as approved. 1999-2000. (IS Management)
   
   

   8.3 Complete implementation of the building plan for the Library (furniture, special collections facilities), and seek solutions for outstanding issues (off-site storage, multimedia services). Summer 2000. (Library, Dean of Faculty, Treasurer, CBB librarians)
   
   

   8.4 Recruit and retain high quality employees with technical skills required to support the institutional information systems, the network infrastructure, service, and availability to users. The college's Human Resources office will assist the IS Management and other College departments in taking steps to improve staff recruitment and retention. Ongoing. (IS Management, Human Resources staff, other department staff as necessary)
   
   

   (8.4.a) Develop a plan to address the increasing market demand for critical technical staff.
   
   

   (8.4.b) Conduct frequent compensation surveys for technical professionals to allow review of compensation practices and alter salaries if needed.
   
   

   (8.4.c) As a matter of standard practice, review compensation and job descriptions as positions are vacated.
   
   

   (8.4.d) Define appropriate job classifications for positions that involve knowledge or competence with information technology, campus-wide, and pay attention to technical competencies that are coming to be required in many administrative and academic departments.
   
   

   (8.4.e) Implement aggressive recruiting strategies, e.g. use of professional recruitment agencies, more Internet advertising, tapping the alumni base.
   
   

   (8.4.f) Explore ways to increase the attractiveness of the College's work possibilities through means such as flex time, vacations, telecommuting opportunities, etc.
   
   

   8.5 Continue to offer and expand professional development opportunities for all staff. As part of the College-wide effort, envision possible internal career paths and skill development opportunities. Ongoing. (IS and Library management)
   
   

   (8.5.a) Create a technical staff development program that includes opportunities for increasing technical skills, but also opportunities outside the technical realm, such as human relations, communication, and customer service. Make information about sources of funding for travel and professional growth available to all staff. Use talents of existing staff, in IS/Library and in the rest of the College, when possible.
   
   

   (8.5.b) Encourage staff to showcase their work at technical conferences.
   
   

   8.6 Continue Library and Information Services collaborations with Bowdoin and Colby to extend information and resource availability through the Web and other means.
   
   

   (8.6.a) Revise the CBB strategic plan to include Library and Information Services goals. 1999-2000. (IS and Library administrations, working with CBB counterparts)
   
   

   Bates will assess the impact of information services on the community, and learn from that assessment.
   
   

   9.1 Develop and implement assessment tools to provide for continuous feedback of instructional effectiveness of educational programs and effectiveness of administrative changes. Ongoing. (IS User Assistance and Library Reference and Instructional Services staff, Dean of Faculty's office, Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis, others)
   
   

   (9.1.a) Develop and implement standard practices for assessment of Information Services and Library instructional programs.
   
   

   (9.1.b) Regularize practices for seeking and responding to feedback regarding IS and Library services to the user community.

Appendix A: Charge

• Develop a strategic plan for information and communication systems for the College, linked to Goals 2005.
  
• Focus not on technology itself, but the functions and needs that can be supported by information or communications technology. This includes support of information storage, retrieval and transfer, as well as tools that support interaction and creativity among members of the Bates community.
  
• Pay close attention to outcomes that relate directly to the core mission of the College.
  
• Recommend outcomes that promise to enhance learning, improve College operations, or result in competitive advantage for Bates.
  
• Make recommendations on what systems should be available, as well as how they should be distributed around the campus.
  
• Make recommendations regarding the management structure of Information Service and the Library.
  

• How do (should) the uses and functions of technology support teaching and learning at Bates?
  Is the environment for learning being enhanced by the technological structure and support?
  How are the specific goals of greater connections among learners and modes of learning being supported by the technology?
  What do our students, faculty and staff want beyond access?
  Is our infrastructure and networking operative and flexible?
  Are the platforms and architectures now used those that should be reinforced?
  
  
• How should the management of technology at Bates be structured?
  Are our technological and information initiatives aligned with the College's vision and key goals?
  Are we instituting technological advances that reinforce what the College aspires to be and do?
  Can we address issues of management and organization that include the connections among parts of the Library, Information Services, the telephone system (others?)?
  Are we organized in these areas to meet the objectives of our support services and other administrative offices?
  Are we exploring what technological- and information-based services will mean at Bates?
  
  
• How will we implement any needed technological initiatives?
  Is there a convincingly clear direction?
  Have we identified the resources, the agencies responsible for initiating projects, the criteria we'll use to assess what we implement, and a reasonable timetable for the implementation?

Much discussion of the educational impact of information technology centers around the phrase "distance learning." This term can have many meanings, only some of which are appropriate in the residential college context. In its most common usage, the phrase refers to entire courses delivered remotely. The pioneers of distance education, such as the UK's Open University, relied on audio and video tape, supplemented by occasional personal meetings. Now they have begun to employ the Internet as well. More recently established distance learning providers, such as the University of Phoenix or the Western Governor's University, use the Internet as their main medium.

Our intent with distance learning is to create connections that support a residential learning environment, and to connect the campus with wider intellectual resources. Bates does not intend to use this type of distance education to teach students who are not part of our residential college community. However, members of our community are frequently involved elsewhere, for instance on study abroad programs, at home using Web registration, e-mail advising and mentoring, and doing Web-involved theses. Such types of distance learning activities are likely to increase.

We cannot create all our learning resources here on campus, and we have never done so. The Library contains the results of centuries of shared intellectual collaboration. In the future, textbooks available in the Library may be supplemented by presentations or lectures online, or textbooks and their supplements may be available exclusively online. Distance learning may also allow individual students to learn certain skills on their own if and as they need them. Advising students about such endeavors is related to suggesting that they consult books in the Library. We will have to discover how to evaluate such sources, just as we try to teach students to both use and evaluate printed sources. Previous graduates were expected to be able to read and write well, and to understand the intricacies of library research and the evaluation of books and articles. Current and future graduates will be expected to have basic skills for navigating and evaluating within the wired world of information.

Not all shifts in our ways of teaching and learning and administering will result from our own planning and testing of new ways of acting; they may also be pushed at us because of innovations made by other organizations, or by changing student expectations, or by mandates from governmental or accrediting organizations. Shifts that encourage types of distance learning may be forced at us and we should be strategically positioned to respond carefully and critically to such pressures.

It is clear that the present management team structure has allowed a great deal to be accomplished in the past few years. The team has brought order into a chaotic budget situation; its members have coordinated sizeable groups that work fairly effectively under stressful conditions; they have discussed long range issues concerning technical changes in the network and the campus situation; they have dealt with some personnel problems within Information Services. They have assumed leadership roles in what is becoming a CBB information services and library consortium. They have moved the College considerably ahead of many of its peers with regard to the difficult task of integrating campus data into a single database system. Members of the Information Services staff who have worked elsewhere tell us that the Information Services operation at Bates is free from many difficulties and tensions routinely found in commercial operations and at other colleges. Bates should continue the connection of Information Services and the Library at the management level. On these matters the current management structure has been a success.

However, there are problems that need to be addressed. Information technology is increasingly important to the College's core mission and to its administration. Information technology issues need to be regularly considered by those most concerned with, and in the light of, the College's educational mission. It is important that Information Services issues be taken into account when the College is deciding on larger priorities and plans. Possible new ways of teaching and learning and administering need to be cogently represented in discussions with the President and at the level of vice-presidents and senior staff. The Information Services management team also needs some active person at a higher level who will relay large-scale policy decisions and college-wide priorities, keeping the team focussed and timely in its decisions.

The team also needs better communication with and more effective management of Information Services staff. More effective linkage with the office of the Dean of the Faculty could fill these needs, provided that the Dean of Faculty's office has the time and the background to do the job well.

The College should keep the current team management structure, with active links to the office of the Dean of Faculty, in order to keep the President and senior staff apprised of the educational and administrative impact of Information Services, and of its needs, and in order to communicate College priorities and goals to the Information Services team. The Information Services staff, along with the offices of the Dean of Faculty and of Human Resources, should work to improve communication and management within the Information Services organization.

1. Recognize the many organizational successes of the management team.
   
2. Keep the current strong connection between the Library and Information Services.
   
3. Retain the team structure for the management of Information Services.
   
4. Increase the representation of Information Services issues at high-level discussions of educational policy and College planning.
   
5. Retain the current reporting structure through the office of the VPAA/DOF. Improve the supervision of Information Services through that office, and improve the communication to Information Services of educational policy and College plans.
   
6. Work to improve communication and management within the Information Services organization.

Appendix D: Information Services at Bates: Organizational Structure and List of Groups

The Infrastructure group has responsibility for designing and running the campus network, for assuring that new applications work on the network, and for managing the College telecommunications systems.

The Integrated Applications group has responsibility for the administrative system, Banner, and all modules that feed data into and out of it.

The User Assistance group has responsibility for help desk, installation of software and hardware on campus, user support, training and user education, media services, computer sales and service.

The Library has responsibility for running the George and Helen Ladd Library. It manages content on the network, including subscriptions to databases and full-text files, and manages user education programs on information retrieval, assessment and use.

The Information Services Management Team includes the Directors for Infrastructure, Integrated Applications, and User Assistance, and the Librarian. It is a management group with full authority over content, hardware, software and help for computing and telecommunications at the College. Team members report to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty.

Representatives of offices that make use of Banner form the Banner Users Group that advises the Director for Integrated Applications on priorities and needs for the Banner system.

Information Services and Library staff are engaged in a variety of activities to coordinate services among Colby, Bates and Bowdoin colleges. This includes work supported by a recent grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for development of library systems, user education and training programs, and videoconferencing technology. The CBB Library and Information Services Web site contains detailed information about this collaborative activity.

The Campus Wide Information System Team is the group that develops the Bates Online Web site and its many links. It is convened by Tom Hayward from the Library, and includes representation from a wide variety of departments on campus, including the Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis, Information Services, Office of Career Services, Human Resources, the Faculty, the Library and others. Membership is voluntary.

The ad hoc Communications Committee was formed by the President to advise on ways to improve effectiveness and efficiency of communication on the campus. It is convened by Laurie Henderson, Director of Office Services.

The Information Services Advisory Committee advises the IS Management Team regarding matters related to computing and telecommunications services at the College. It was formed in the 1998-1999 academic year, and consists of three members of the Faculty selected by the Committee on Committees, two administrative members designated by the Dean of the Faculty, and two students recommended by the Resident Assembly. Members of the IS Management Team serve ex officio on the Committee.

A student/Faculty committee that advises the Librarian on matters related to the Library. Faculty members are selected by the Committee on Committees and student members by the Resident Assembly. The Librarian serves as an ex officio member.

The Personnel Committee of the Faculty makes decisions about hiring and promotion within the Faculty.

The Deans, Vice Presidents, Directors and others that meet monthly with the President to discuss administrative matters of College-wide interest.

The Deans and Vice Presidents who form the President's cabinet.

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