University Computing Standards Committee
July 17, 1996
Meeting Minutes

Committee members in attendance:

Steve Keto, Associate Vice Chancellor, Finance and Information Systems, co-chair
Bill Willis, Associate Provost for Academic Computing, co-chair
Bill Bayley, School of Design
Leo Buckmaster, Administrative Computing Services
Joe Flowers, College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Sherry Kappel, Administrative Computing Services
Brian Kemerait, Management Information Resource Center
Charles Kneifel, College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences
Ron Melbourne, Administrative Computing Services
Carl Malstrom, Computing Center
Samuel Moore, College of Textiles
Molly Munro, College of Education & Psychology
Bill Padgett, Computing Center

Absent:

Sam Averitt, Computing Center
Siamak Khorram, Computer Graphics Center/Forest Resources
Tom Miller, College of Engineering
Dan Steen, College of Management
John Ulmschneider, University Libraries
Andy Wasilewski, College of Veterinary Medicine
Eric Wiebe, College of Education & Psychology
Dan Willits, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

Overview:

May minutes were approved with minor changes and new committee members were welcomed. The WWW Subcommittee said the new home page, implemented the day before, has been very well received; also, the campus map and calendar pages are now linked in. The Data & Data Access Standards Subcommittee has forwarded a report on a standardized authentication mechanism for web applications. The E-mail Subcommittee said Z-mail has been sold but they don't know the implications. The Data Communication Protocols Subcommittee had nothing to report. User Authentication will report in September; it was estimated that there will be at least partial implementation of DCE on campus by next summer . There was nothing to report re: Target Delivery, the Desktop Standards Subcommittee, or IRMC and UNC-GA. Steve Keto distributed information for discussion on a policy for faculty/staff use of NC State Computing resources; the committee generally agreed with Texas A&M's policy but felt it needed clarification regarding consulting. Next meeting is Wednesday, September 18.

Discussion Detail:

Steve Keto noted that Bill Bayley has replaced Wayne Godwin on the Committee as the School of Design representative, and Dan Willits will be replacing Ken Esbenshade.

  1. May minutes were amended to clarify item #6 so that instead of reading "no passwords," it will read "...and no need for multiple reentry of passwords during one session.." Also, in item #5, the E-mail committee will work on a report (they haven't started yet). Minutes were passed as amended.

  2. WWW Implementation: Molly Munro reported that the newest home page is now implemented (as of the day before) -- it is much faster, has school colors, and all of the mail has been extremely positive; the Standards Committee agreed that it was a big improvement. The new directory program went live awhile ago, the campus map and calendar programs are now linked in, and some other links have been added, as well. The new web guidelines are nearly completed, and the committee is revising the mailback page. Last, Harry Nicholos is continuing to evaluate different search engines.

    Bill Willis said the new directory program is very good but it needs to be clearer that it's an NC State page. Also, someone (the Provost's office?) suggested to him that Admissions be on the home page; the Web Committee will consider this suggestion.

  3. Data and Data Access Standards: Ron Melbourne said their proposal regarding a standardized mechanism for authentication when building WWW applications has been forwarded to Leo Buckmaster and Carl Malstrom.

  4. Data Communication Protocols: Carl Malstrom said the BellSouth partnership is now in high gear, and there should be a significant presence on campuses this fall. The cost for unlimited access will be $19.95/month, and 60 hours will cost $12.95/month, which he noted are very competitive rates. It was pointed out that faculty and staff can get home accounts with departmental approval, and Bill Willis said it might be possible in the future to work out a deal for family accounts. He also said they're working on the ATM backbone and it will be primarily an IP network; he wasn't sure of the schedule.

  5. Electronic Mail: Charley Kneifel said there was no report except that Z-mail had been sold; they weren't sure yet what that would mean for the University. They've discussed the possibility of e-mail via browser.

  6. User Authentication/DCE: Leo Buckmaster said there was no report but that they'd provide the information requested at the May meeting in September. Sam Moore asked if there were any estimates yet of when we would move to DCE, how this would be accomplished and what the cost might be. Leo said they're all still under discussion. Bill Willis added that DCE will probably be implemented at least in part by next summer; he also noted that Apple is starting to bundle some of the components, which will put pressure on some of the other companies.

  7. Desktop Standards: No report.

  8. Target Delivery: No report.

  9. IRMC and UNC-GA: Bill Willis said IRMC has been meeting and there's been lots of political wrangling, but nothing to report.

Non agenda item: Steve Keto distributed a list of potential issues regarding a "policy for faculty/staff use of NC State Computing resources" for discussion, as well as a sample policy from Texas A&M. There was a question regarding faculty use for consulting; currently there is no clear statement regarding this, although consulting is certainly part of their professional activity. Students definitely can't use equipment for personal gain, with the exception of their resumes. Non-profit relationships such as building a web site for one's church were discussed; they will have to come up with some scenarios and flush this issue out. Bill Padgett said he'd like the policy to be as flexible as possible, and Ron Melbourne said he saw two main issues: that the use not be on state time or for financial gain. Bill Willis added that there couldn't be any increase in fixed costs. The committee generally agreed with the Texas policy but the consulting component needs clarification.

Next meeting will be Wednesday, September 18.

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