| "MLC Business Hours" by: carterd | @ 10:47:17 am on August 24, 2008. |
| Why not have the MLC business hours the same as the Library business hours for working full-time students. I work 8 am to 5 pm; and take math class on my lunch break (TR) and computer class (TR) at 5:30 pm - 7 pm. My math course requires 3 hours per week in the MLC; the best time for me to complete the required 3 hours of lab time is doing the weekend; but the MLC is closed. Why not have the MLC open on the weekend? |
| "Need a new arena" by: westlp | @ 08:33:53 am on August 25, 2008. |
| A new covered arena adjacent to the ball fields would be an outstanding addition to the campus. It could be used for graduation ceremonies, staff picnics, hockey games and convocations. Concerts could add student spirit and raise funds for the university. Thanks,<br />
<br />
Lionel West<br />
Network Analyst<br />
Computer & Network Services<br />
University of Alabama in Huntsville<br />
VBRH Annex B5, PH: 824-2626 |
| "Ice Machines" by: edc0018 | @ 10:24:22 am on August 25, 2008. |
| Put ice machines in the dorms. |
| "Pedestrian Friendly Campus" by: lsb0005 | @ 09:37:07 am on August 27, 2008. |
| Why not...make the campus more pedestrian friendly? Complete the existing sidewalks (some of them stop abruptly) and add some new ones. |
| "Reason to live on campus" by: groffz | @ 04:03:35 pm on August 27, 2008. |
| I have lived on campus for 4 years and do so because I like being where the "action" is. It would be helpful, however, to have "action" on the weekends and night. Requiring students to live on campus will help with having people around to go to events and eat/sleep/meet on campus however now that we have the attendees, it would be helpful if there were things for them/us to do. |
| "...call it UAH." by: chalouj | @ 09:35:29 pm on August 27, 2008. |
| Just like the old days. I've heard the stories about marketing; but I am beginning to wonder if proper marketing just wasn't being done with UAH. Little things could have been/could still be done. Like getting the Alumni Association involved with homecoming...getting Alums to come back to campus, not just on trips to Arizona. Make alums say hey! I graduated from UAH. <br />
<br />
Further, the new UAHuntsville thing I've heard is already backfiring. Web articles that include links are linking "UA" in UA Huntsville, to, you guessed it, that other school in the system. Is the new "marketing" scheme really going to give UAH a name? Or in the end is it really just gonna further help UA and make UAH look like a dinky extension school of UA?<br />
<br />
I've said this before...how about allowing outside retailers, not just the bookstore, sell UAH apparel? A student can buy a UA or Auburn t-shirt for a few bucks, but geez, a UAH shirt they first have find in the bookstore and then it's not all that inexpensive. Which shirt is the student gonna wear? Well, probably one from another school. If they wear it alot and it gets wrecked, well, they can just go buy another one for a fraction of the cost of one UAH shirt. Helping get the name out -- even on apparel -- that's part of marketing, too, isn't it? |
| "recycling" by: zacg | @ 06:29:12 am on August 28, 2008. |
| Why not have designated recycling locations at all/most of the buildings? This way we know where to go and will thus encourage people to recycle by making it easy. |
| "Outsourcing University Email Hosting" by: Matt | @ 08:46:02 am on August 28, 2008. |
| Why not let the experts host our email … Microsoft and Google offer enterprise-level email hosting to colleges and universities – free of charge. Google offers the Google Apps Education Edition:<br />
<br />
http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/index.html<br />
<br />
and Microsoft offers Microsoft Live @edu:<br />
<br />
http://get.liveatedu.com/Education/Connect/<br />
<br />
Google currently offers an email inbox of greater than 6.5GB – which is more than 14 times the size of the sum of "inbox" and "home" folders offered by the current UAH email system. This is not a criticism of the current UAH email system – I think that they’re doing a great job with their limited resources and budget. However, in a digital world, and on a high-tech campus that is trying to go paperless, a 49MB inbox (with 391MB for home folders) is simply not adequate. Furthermore, some universities estimate that locally hosted email costs between $5~$10 per account in hardware, maintenance, and power – this will add up fast, especially if we want to give alumni access to their UAH email accounts. All email accounts would still remain @uah.edu<br />
<br />
Google has posted case studies from some of their partner universities:<br />
<br />
http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/admins/customers.html#edu<br />
<br />
which includes universities like Northwestern, Utah State, and Arizona State (with its 65,000 students). This is a Google site – admittedly biased – and I’m sure that in reality, everything isn’t sunshine and roses; however, this site lists each university’s CTO, so a follow-up on the status of Google-hosted university email would be pretty easy. I should also note that in all of the Google case studies, no university staff lost their jobs – they were simply re-trained and reassigned to use the Google system.<br />
<br />
Thanks! Matt Turner |
| "UAHuntsville Apparels - Purchase at Local Retail" by: carterd | @ 08:19:19 am on August 29, 2008. |
| WHY NOT………..offer and sale UAH Charger’s apparels (T-shirts, license plates, key-tags, gifts, pens, clocks) and GIFT CARDS at our local Huntsville areas retail stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, etc. I’m able to purchase other colleges’ (A&M, Alabama, & Auburn) apparels at Target and Wal-Mart , but not UAHuntsville. WHY NOT offer for purchase UAH Chargers’ apparels at our local shopping areas? |
| "Bicycle Racks" by: jwb0001 | @ 08:03:50 am on September 2, 2008. |
| Why not add in bicycle racks to buildings where the bike parking is already overcrowded? At Frank Franz, the racks are always packed with maybe 30-40 bicycles but there's no way the bicycle rack outside the UC or the Materials Science Building are able to hold even half that amount. This would help free up car parking because people could actually park their bicycles in a secure location. |
| "Engineering Dorms" by: aet0001 | @ 09:34:54 am on September 8, 2008. |
| There really should be a dorm close to Tech Hall and Engineering Building. I currently live in North and its just too far away from my classes since they are all in Tech Hall. I can't walk to class in time and who would want to walk that far. This would help tremendously!!! |
| "Energy Independence" by: Nate Bailie | @ 09:34:53 am on September 10, 2008. |
| Why don't we pursue the leading edge on energy<br />
independence with the installation of solar panels on the many, many flat<br />
roofs that dot our campus. Right now, the UC has 3 tiers of flat roof that<br />
are currently absorbing heat. With the recent announcement of stores like<br />
Wal-Mart, Kohl's and Sam's club to explore outfitting their roofs with<br />
solar panels, I see an opportunity to use the sheer number of surfaces<br />
available to the University as an opportunity to not only offset energy<br />
costs for years to come, but to also help brand the university as being on<br />
the leading edge of eco-research and application. If we can be the first<br />
in the state to implement such a policy, that honor will be with us for<br />
generations and could boost enrollment as students become more eco-minded<br />
when they begin looking for a University that suits them.<br />
<br />
I have attached a New York Times link with a story of how major retailers<br />
are beginning to look at solar as an alternative.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/business/11solar.html?em">NY Times Article</a> |
| "Ceremony Dresses" by: Juanita Owen | @ 09:51:45 am on September 10, 2008. |
| I wanted to remind you about the changing the dresses from Black to Blue or blue/black and white for official UAHuntsville ceremonies. Similar to Toni Morgan’s dress. The afternoon was great and hopefully, the tradition of a fun and exciting convocation will continue. One more tidbit of information I wanted to share. While walking over to convocation, quite a few of the students were asking about the time frame of the convocation festivities because they wanted to make sure they knew where their classes were to be held the next day. We did keep them busy on Sunday afternoon and evening. I know next year we will begin classes on Wednesday, so there should be plenty of time to look for classes and even walk the route between classes. My idea is to set a specific time during the day on Monday or Tuesday for a “Charging to Class” session. Incorporate the activity in the Froshmosh schedule. Student leaders, faculty and staff take posts in each building to help students locate their classrooms, and make the walk from class to class to determine how much time it will take to get to their classes. This would accomplish three things, 1-the students would not leave the picnic or events to go scout out classes; 2-reinforces the message the University is committed to freshmen success; and last but not least, it may save a student from the embarrassment of sitting in the wrong class or missing a class. |
| "Cafe" by: Kimberly Phillips | @ 10:00:08 am on September 10, 2008. |
| This is my second year at UAH and recently I have been experiencing problems in the cafeteria. On most days I do not get out of class until 6:50 or 6:55 so from there I go to the cafeteria and there is no food. If the cafeteria does not close until 8:00 there is no reason for me to go in at 7:00 and not be able to eat. If you do not mind could you tell me the reasoning behind this. It is not like your staff does not know how many students have meal plans; there is no excuse for lack of food because it is paid for! |
| "UFC Pool" by: Laura Stewart | @ 10:17:12 am on September 10, 2008. |
| I am a swimmer and love the UFC pool. This week has been extra hot and i have decided to mail you to see if there could be anything done about the heated air inside the pool area. Considering the fact that the pool water temperature is kept between 84 and 86 degrees, I feel that there is no need for HEATED air to be pumped into the aquatics arena. This not only makes it HOT in there for those not in the water, but it also makes the exercise not enjoyable as one trying to get a workout, swimming laps, has to breath HOT air. Please help, I know that many would appreciate it. |
| "General Thoughts" by: Scott Royce | @ 10:26:49 am on September 10, 2008. |
| I have enjoyed attending your town hall meetings since your inception at UAH. During these meetings you have challenged the staff to come up with ideas to help with the Power of 10 plans. An idea that a lot of universities do to bridge the gap with the local community is to offer our service of knowledge and experience. Each of the schools could incorporate curriculum to assist the local community with various problems through our undergraduate and graduate programs. For example, other universities have capstone courses in which students, with professor guidance, are provided a “client”. The students then meet with the client to determine the issue, set up a timeframe and produce a solution in the end. This becomes a win-win situation for the client, the university and the student(s) by providing a solution to the client, a service from the university and experience for our students. |
| "Cafeteria" by: longaj | @ 11:33:19 am on September 10, 2008. |
| I do not live on campus, but I am in the nursing program and When we get a lunch break sometimes it is only for 30 minutes. Is there not a way to change the lay out of the Cafe to be able to enter and sit with friends for a few minutes and not have to pay if you don't want to eat lunch. |
| "Crossing Sparkman and Holmes" by: westlp | @ 02:00:54 pm on September 16, 2008. |
| Crossing Sparkman is dangerous for pedestrians. Why not buy the bridge that Huntsville Hospital is replacing and put it across Sparkman to connect SKH and Tech Hall with the rest of the campus. This would encourage more exercise for faculty and staff while reducing automobile traffic. Also Holmes Ave is very dangerous for students to cross. The Greenway and overpass for pedestrians needs to be put on the front burner. |
| "sidewalks on campus" by: anna | @ 10:59:54 pm on September 20, 2008. |
| the sidewalks on campus seem to go no where. everywhere i walk, i'm walking in the grass. is there anyway to fix this problem? |
| "Covered Bicycle racks" by: Jim | @ 01:29:01 pm on September 25, 2008. |
| As a full-time bike commuter, I love that I just saw a bike rack in front of the new parking garage. But I really wish the racks were _inside_ to protect the bikes from rain and rust.<br />
I would like to see more bike racks that had overall coverings to protect them from the weather. I'm fortunate enough that the building I work at has an okay covering, but feel bad for students who have to lock their bikes at the University Center, whose rack is some distance from either of the entrances and not covered for protection from the rain.<br />
<br />
I understand it's probably too late for restructuring current racks due to budget constraints, but why not take bicycle rack coverings into consideration when planning future construction projects?<br />
Thanks. |
| "Extend Intermodal Shuttle bus route" by: westlp | @ 09:58:50 am on October 1, 2008. |
| If the Intermodal Shuttle bus route to Bridge Street could be extended to Hughes Road, it would encourage many students, faculty and staff to park and ride the Shuttle to UAH. The route would connect Hughes Road with Bridge Street via Old Madison Pike. The Krogers parking lot would be the park and ride termination and Krogers would end up with customers at the end of the day. |
| "Why Paper Form for Maint?" by: Jim Swain | @ 03:09:47 pm on October 10, 2008. |
| The UAHuntsville website includes the following URL<br />
<br />
http://www.uah.edu/admin/Fac/Facilities.htm#Forms<br />
<br />
from which a "work order request" can be filled out and emailed to Facilities. If that is done, the following will be obtained:<br />
<br />
Subject: Re: Work Order Request<br />
<br />
Please fill out a Physical Plant Maintenance Service Order form for this work.<br />
You can get blanks at the copy center.<br />
Thanks,<br />
Jorgy<br />
<br />
It seems strange that the form can be filled out (it's not complicated) and sent but only paper form can actually be used. Why not add to Banner (if approval is needed)? And if the carbon copy form is the only way to do this, why have the form available online at all? Doesn't that lead to the impression that a request can be made in this way? <br />
|
| "Why Paper Form for Maint?" by: Jim Swain | @ 03:09:47 pm on October 10, 2008. |
| The UAHuntsville website includes the following URL<br />
<br />
http://www.uah.edu/admin/Fac/Facilities.htm#Forms<br />
<br />
from which a "work order request" can be filled out and emailed to Facilities. If that is done, the following will be obtained:<br />
<br />
Subject: Re: Work Order Request<br />
<br />
Please fill out a Physical Plant Maintenance Service Order form for this work.<br />
You can get blanks at the copy center.<br />
Thanks,<br />
Jorgy<br />
<br />
It seems strange that the form can be filled out (it's not complicated) and sent but only paper form can actually be used. Why not add to Banner (if approval is needed)? And if the carbon copy form is the only way to do this, why have the form available online at all? Doesn't that lead to the impression that a request can be made in this way? <br />
|
| "Saving money on gasoline" by: Gary | @ 02:23:49 pm on October 15, 2008. |
| I heard on NPR yesterday that for every 5 miles per hour one drives over 60 mph, it is the equivalent of adding 30 cents per gallon to the total fuel costs. They also said that allowing a vehicle to idle for 5 minutes can add as much as 50 cents per gallon to the total fuel costs. Drivers of UAH vehicles should be made aware of this. |
| "paying for print jobs at the library" by: jonesm | @ 06:51:53 pm on October 19, 2008. |
| I would like to see print jobs become free for students. Many of the large campuses near UAH allow their students to print for free. I am not saying abuse the idea but at least let there be some way we can print without having to pay. The ten dollars on the prepay account has done nothing for my slides every week. I am a student using DSS and this is a requirement for me. We already pay enough in tuition so please hear us out. Also, thank you for the cafe in the library. Its good to go somewhere for a cappucino and get a pick me up. |
| "plasic recycling" by: zacg | @ 06:12:20 pm on October 21, 2008. |
| Recently, the recycle bends for plastic in Frank Fronds are removed; don't know condition else where, but WHY NOT have 'em? Plastic is just as important for the environment to recycle as cans, as they're non-biodegradable.<br />
We need to recycle plastic too! |
| "Veterans Day" by: gentryk | @ 02:58:09 pm on October 22, 2008. |
| Why doesn't UAHuntsville observe Veterans Day? Being a veteran myself, and I know I speak for other veterans employeed by UAHuntsville, this is a holiday that should be upheld by our institution, especially in lieu of our nations current situation. We honor Martin Luther King, but can't do the same for our vets? Veterans Day is observed both by the Federal and State Government and is a paid holiday for all state employees, shouldn't that include UAHuntsville? |
| "Why not make students first?" by: kts | @ 06:42:21 pm on October 23, 2008. |
| Why don't we concentrate on making students a priority as opposed to research and grants? If we focused on improving the quality of education and making students feel like they are the MOST IMPORTANT part of the university, as opposed to an afterthought, then word of mouth would increase our student population and bring in revenue from tuition.<br />
|
| "email accounts and storage" by: db | @ 06:53:48 pm on October 23, 2008. |
| Switch email server to GMAIL. Many universities are doing this. Pros: large storage space, integrated calender, reduce university IT costs as the university does not physically store email on campus or manage the accounts.<br />
Example<br />
http://gmail.vanderbilt.edu/ |
| "email accounts and storage" by: db | @ 06:53:48 pm on October 23, 2008. |
| Switch email server to GMAIL. Many universities are doing this. Pros: large storage space, integrated calender, reduce university IT costs as the university does not physically store email on campus or manage the accounts.<br />
Example<br />
http://gmail.vanderbilt.edu/ |
| "Budget" by: StillAnOptimist | @ 08:16:31 pm on October 23, 2008. |
| It is good to see the budget, public and easily available. The collective intelligence can be brought to bear IF there is some additional help. <br />
<br />
Unless people are laid off OR salaries are reduced OR benefits are reduced, we cannot do much about the 67%. Looks like there is already a policy of allowing attrition (perhaps selective). It may help, as long as it does not reduce the impact on students through effect on morale on staff/faculty or reduction in key areas. This requires proper feedback from the trenches, that remains a problem. There is feedback, it is not clear if it reaches where decisions are indeed being made. There must be a way for people to feel that opinions are being received and something being done about it (this "WhyNot" is a good idea)<br />
<br />
For getting feedback on how we can deal with budget shortfalls/change in state appropriations, it would be useful to have some way of identifying expenditure categories that have some slack - where can we NOT spend what we spent last year (e.g. converting some windows based software to open source alternatives) (difficult to figure out how much we spent on software). There needs to be campus wide/system wide strategies for using/purchasing software.<br />
<br />
It would be useful to have additional summary budgets for each college/unit in such a way that one can easily identify items/groups that are not easily changeable (personnel) and ones that can be cut with less pain and ones that can be cut easily. <br />
<br />
Attitudes towards putting information on class/course websites needs to improve. Leadership at the college level is seriously lacking in understanding what it takes to improve courseware and how to help interested faculty/staff. The starting page for UAH is an improvement, but the pages are still too cluttered, we can learn from other universities. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
|
| "Student Solutions" by: LisaB | @ 10:33:04 pm on October 23, 2008. |
| Why not offer a prize for students who can come up with creative solutions to the constraints UAHuntsville is now facing. Perhaps free tuition for the next semester - it doesn't cost the University anything out of pocket.<br />
Perhaps faculty can be invited to offer this as a project option in some of their classes? |
| "Budget, II" by: StillAnOptimist | @ 06:45:50 am on October 24, 2008. |
| Finance and Administration expenses are more than 50% of expenses for Academic Affairs (better in 08/09 than 07/08, yet it is HUGE).<br />
<br />
Nationally, there is some discussion about reducing the growth of healthcare costs through control of "administrative" costs and aggressive use of technology. I can imagine there are ways to reduce the administrative overhead that just seems incredibly large, for a university of this size. The devil may be in the details, buried in other pages. Perhaps someone can ferret some useful nuggets out that can help.<br />
<br />
|
| "recycle" by: ex-student | @ 08:10:19 am on October 24, 2008. |
| recycling can be a money-making venture as well as showing the university's commitment to the furture of Alabama and the world. We can recycle cans, plastic, "mixed paper" and cardboard boxes. Although not all of these can bring in money, they will help everyone see the waste they create. We should also look to alternate sources of power, both wind and solar. |
| "Parking Spots" by: FindASpot | @ 08:57:00 am on October 24, 2008. |
| Why not let faculty/staff or students pay for a reserved parking spot, say in the new parking garage? Many would pay $$$ for an assigned parking spot. With security and police housed in the garage, violators could be caught quickly. <br />
<br />
Or why not have graduated parking permits? You pay x dollars for certain lots. There is alot of money to be made on something we already have on our campus. |
| "paper wastes" by: savethetrees | @ 09:16:13 am on October 24, 2008. |
| I don't know if its already in the plans but think about how much UAH spends on paper each year without electronic timesheets. Each department uses 1 sheet of paper per employee to have a copy of the time sheet, then another copy is sent to payroll. With PAFs, copies are also sent to HR, thats up to 3 sheets of paper every two weeks for EVERY student worker, on-call, part-time, and full time worker of UAH. I don't know how many people are employed by UAH but I'm assuming that if we can move to electronic time cards it would save UAH a tremendous amount of money each year. |
| "paper wastes" by: savethetrees | @ 09:16:13 am on October 24, 2008. |
| I don't know if its already in the plans but think about how much UAH spends on paper each year without electronic timesheets. Each department uses 1 sheet of paper per employee to have a copy of the time sheet, then another copy is sent to payroll. With PAFs, copies are also sent to HR, thats up to 3 sheets of paper every two weeks for EVERY student worker, on-call, part-time, and full time worker of UAH. I don't know how many people are employed by UAH but I'm assuming that if we can move to electronic time cards it would save UAH a tremendous amount of money each year. |
| "paper wastes" by: savethetrees | @ 09:16:13 am on October 24, 2008. |
| I don't know if its already in the plans but think about how much UAH spends on paper each year without electronic timesheets. Each department uses 1 sheet of paper per employee to have a copy of the time sheet, then another copy is sent to payroll. With PAFs, copies are also sent to HR, thats up to 3 sheets of paper every two weeks for EVERY student worker, on-call, part-time, and full time worker of UAH. I don't know how many people are employed by UAH but I'm assuming that if we can move to electronic time cards it would save UAH a tremendous amount of money each year. |
| "Lighting Energy" by: Nick Jones | @ 10:35:28 am on October 24, 2008. |
| One way to reduce energy costs on classroom lighting is to install motion sensor lights in each classroom. (Maybe there are some on campus already; it seems that there are none in Morton Hall, at least, and that lights are often on in classrooms when the rooms are not in use.) Perhaps the appropriate kind is an occupancy motion sensor; these cost about $30 each and require minimal effort for installation. |
| "Cost Saving Paper Towel" by: Nate Bailie | @ 10:52:13 am on October 24, 2008. |
| The automatic paper towel dispensers that were recently installed in the University Center, as well as other locations have recently been left to empty. I was told unofficially that this was because the dispensers were being removed as the cost of the white paper towel rolls was too expensive. Nadean Heard, a Custodian at the University Center demonstrated that the existing dispensers could be used with the significantly less expensive rolls of brown paper towels if one were to simply insert a longer tube into the shorter brown rolls. She did this, and showed me the result. The machine does work, and uses the less expensive towels. Would it be more cost effective to leave the current machines in place and implement Mrs. Heard's adaptation of the inexpensive towels?<br />
-Nate Bailie<br />
UC 100a<br />
2721 |
| "Budget, III" by: StillAnOptimist | @ 03:53:58 pm on October 25, 2008. |
| Expenditures tied to specific contracts may be difficult to impossible to reduce/alter. On the expenditure side, we can examine what fraction can be changed (reduced) and what cannot. I wonder if we can get rid of more land (office) lines (since most faculty/staff carry cell phones and price per call continues to go down. <br />
<br />
It may be necessary to ready the campus for an across the board pay cut, with everyone sharing the pain and the pain shared in some reasonable manner. The biggest reduction in expenditures can only be achieved through direct, salary reduction. I can imagine those supported on contracts may be spared that pain (or will insist that they be). <br />
<br />
Unless we can raise several million dollars in endowment/gift/?? from friends/alumni in the next few months, salary reduction seems inevitable. It will be a difficult sell and pose enormous difficulties for all but a few recent hires.<br />
<br />
|
| "Budget, IV" by: StillAnOptimist | @ 07:05:30 pm on October 25, 2008. |
| The people/groups assembling the budget and watching the income/expenditure have the best idea of what can be cut/adjusted and what cannot (easily anyway). <br />
<br />
Plan A was to cut a few positions, eliminate all (most) open positions, add resources to a few areas on campus. Plan B cannot be more of the same - or can it? <br />
<br />
Also, the curious want to know.<br />
<br />
if a tree falls and no one hears it, how do we know it fell? If comments are made and no one reads it, how would we know? if ideas are being generated, how would this forum know? |
| "Paper towels 9th round" by: rlc | @ 04:17:55 pm on October 27, 2008. |
| I walked into a restroom in the Engineering Building and was shocked to see that the paper towel dispensers were gone, as if a "force mayeure" had ripped them out of the walls. Now we are not just poor, we also LOOK poor. If we are trying to save money, why spend money taking the dispensers away? If we ever recover from the budget blues and decide that we also want to be healthy, we will need to spend money to put the dispensers back in place! Is this part of a calculated plan or we are trying to look like we do not know what we are doing? |
| "Paper towels 9th round" by: rlc | @ 04:17:55 pm on October 27, 2008. |
| I walked into a restroom in the Engineering Building and was shocked to see that the paper towel dispensers were gone, as if a "force mayeure" had ripped them out of the walls. Now we are not just poor, we also LOOK poor. If we are trying to save money, why spend money taking the dispensers away? If we ever recover from the budget blues and decide that we also want to be healthy, we will need to spend money to put the dispensers back in place! Is this part of a calculated plan or we are trying to look like we do not know what we are doing? |
| "Budget, V" by: StillAnOptimist | @ 04:38:07 pm on October 27, 2008. |
| The summ of a large number of small numbers can be large (or at least significant). Yet the drip, drip, drip of small cuts here, there in what appears to be random can be unsettling. Would it not be best to find the bitter medicine and consume it quickly as opposed to getting a slow, feed? If the Amendment does not pass, there is no doubt that things will get uglier. <br />
<br />
The 120+ page budget is full of overlapping elements - Budget, expenditure and revenues. Difficult to understand.<br />
<br />
In almost every unit/department/?? the fringe has gone up (health care, retirement, etc) - perhaps it is time to consider alternatives to some benefit plans. Higher deductibles for catastrophic care coverages, lobbying for change in health care reimbursement accounts where the monies do not disappear at the end of a calendar year, reduction of benefits (so reduction of premiums), <br />
<br />
My homeowner's insurance does not pay for replacing a leaky faucet or minor repairs - Why not consider medical insurance that way? Coverage for catatrophic events and not for anything/everything. The distortions induced by employer provided health care costs that are tax deductible has made us a wasteful society when it comes to "consumption" of healthcare. We may not be able to do much about it, unilaterally. But since we are self-funded, it may be worthwhile for us to consider a system wide approach to dealing with spiralling "fringe" costs and start the lobbying process at the State level and nationally to fix the problem. <br />
<br />
For now, a sensitivity analysis of different budget elements (120+) will help. Where can the cuts be made, where is the biggest bang for the buck? Instead of a pdf file, if the budget were available in spreadhsheet format, experiments can be run, simulations studied to see what else can we do (than just removing paper from bathrooms, or charging students for paper or charging more for parking or ...)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
|
| "Strategy" by: StillAnOptimist | @ 08:22:44 am on October 28, 2008. |
| The nation as a whole is changing, it may be time for us to consider what long term strategic decisions we have to make NOW to keep us viable as a university and as a center for learning and scholarship. Can we support all of our programs? Do we need to consider alternate models for this university? Is our long term survival primarily dependent primarily on proximity to NASA and the Army? Do we have the resources, vision and the strength of personality to not just follow, but leapfrog into viable opportunities? Opportunities for "distance learning" are popping up everywhere, students do not (or do not want to) differentiate the quality of the education they receive from some remote location versus a classroom. Perhaps the differential in quality is not significant to those that view us as a product, and that would be sad. We cannot compete with "get your degree for less" operations. The job market has not sent clear signals on the value of a degree earned through distance learning or otherwise. For us to compete on the turfs of those that make a living on distance education is not smart. There is (seems to be) tremendous goodwill towards the campus and a genuine appreciation of the rigors of many of our programs, we must build on that, instead of trying to be something we may not be. <br />
|
| "Paper towels" by: LH | @ 09:51:14 am on October 29, 2008. |
| The economic factor of removing paper towel holders, etc. may be good for the momentary savings, but may hurt in the long run. Our family stil jokes that my aunt and cousin chose her college, because of clean bathrooms. During the college tours of several campuses, my aunt realized that all were about equal in their programs, cost, campuses, etc. What set one apart from the rest was the cleanliness of the bathrooms in several buildings. They had given up trying to make the decision by normal means, but figured that the extra time and effort at Samford for the bathrooms made the difference. |
| "Paper towels" by: LH | @ 09:51:14 am on October 29, 2008. |
| The economic factor of removing paper towel holders, etc. may be good for the momentary savings, but may hurt in the long run. Our family stil jokes that my aunt and cousin chose her college, because of clean bathrooms. During the college tours of several campuses, my aunt realized that all were about equal in their programs, cost, campuses, etc. What set one apart from the rest was the cleanliness of the bathrooms in several buildings. They had given up trying to make the decision by normal means, but figured that the extra time and effort at Samford for the bathrooms made the difference. |
| "Paper Towels (or the small things)" by: StillAnOptimist | @ 12:09:14 pm on October 29, 2008. |
| The symbolic value of attention to small details like bathrooms, how the phones are answered, someone/somewhere being helpful at times of need or being given directions to somewhere on campus or a student being bailed out of some snafu through personal attention and so on can be huge. Far too much time is often spent on senseless meetings and deliberations about issues of minimal consequence while ignoring the larger, more difficult problems to deal with. If our budget problems can indeed be cured by fringe decisions that seem inconsequential to some, we may indeed be in much deeper trouble than we think. The culture of thinking cannot be changed overnight, decentralization of some decision making will lead to occassional strange outcomes, yet the tone can be set by ones that have the bullhorn. Managing a diffuse campus is challenging but can be made easier if the right information goes in the right direction to the right person. |
| "cost savings/money generating/fairness" by: Ted Rogers | @ 12:22:23 pm on October 29, 2008. |
| I have 3 ideas for cost savings/money generating:<br />
1. Increase Out-of-State students by allowing a discounted tuition for nieces and nephews of UAH employees, much like for spouses and kids of employees.<br />
2. It seems that much of the non-used research and test equipment could be sold to companies like Bid-Service which specialize in used lab equipment in lieu of going to surplus where I believe it is solda at auction. <br />
3. This last comment concerns Employee Benefits. I have previosly submitted the following to the Staff Senate and HR 3 years ago and never heard yeah, nah, or even that it was reviewed. The dollar figures are from November 2005. I understand times are tough but lets share the cost burdens equally and feel these proposals do that. <br />
Proposal for Benefit Changes<br />
Suggested by Ted Rogers 23 November 2005<br />
We are fortunate to work at an academic university, where new ideas, methodologies, and technologies are born. Likewise, we, as university employees, should also lead our society in trying and adopting new ideas and methods in areas outside research and academics. <br />
No one will disagree that increases to insurance premiums are a fact of life. It is also agreed that UAH has an outstanding benefits package. However, in my opinion, insurance premiums are not shared fairly throughout the UAH community and revisions are needed. In light of our university environment, the following 3 items are proposed to better equalize the premiums within our community and allow others to learn by our lead. <br />
Item 1: Empty nesters, young or childless couples are being unfairly charged to supplement the insurance premiums. Medical expenses for a multi-dependant family far exceed those of a couple but yet the couples are paying the same rate. <br />
I propose one additional rate category as follows:<br />
- Single <br />
- Couple or Employee plus 1 (NEW)<br />
- Family. <br />
Item 2: The family salary categories (less than 20K, 20K to 40K, 40K and above) have not increased with across the board pay increases. <br />
I propose that the family and couple rate categories should increase the same as any yearly blanket pay increase. Example: If there was an across the board pay increase of 5%, then the salary categories should increase by 5%. <br />
Item 3: Percentage wise, lower wage earning UAH personnel are paying up to 10 times more than higher earning UAH personnel for premiums. I realize there needs to be a certain dollar amount in the insurance pot to fund the program but I also believe obtaining this amount should be shared equally. <br />
This will be shown using the latest increases.<br />
Family – salary $20,000 and less<br />
(67.63/20000)(100%)=0.34%<br />
Family – salary $20,001 to 40K <br />
(107.31/20001)(100%)=0.54%<br />
Family – salary $40,000<br />
(107.31/40000)(100%)=0.27%<br />
Family – salary $40,001 and more<br />
(135.92/40001)(100%)=0.34%<br />
Family – salary $150,000 (avg for faculty/senior administrators/researchers)(135.92/150,000)(100%)=0.09%<br />
Family – salary $250,000+ (even several in this category)<br />
(67.63/20000)(100%)=0.05%<br />
I propose insurance premiums be based upon a fixed percentage of an employees salary. From my estimates, I think it would be on the order of 0.25% or less to fund the program. <br />
|
| "Faculty Helping Recruit New Students" by: johnsomw | @ 04:41:12 pm on October 29, 2008. |
| I am wondering how faculty can be more involved in the recruitment of new students. I would be more than happy to speak with students (and their parents) who are interested in majoring in my field. I could talk to them on the phone or in person. (I know many students don't go to Campus Visit Days.) I also think it would be helpful for prospective students to attend a class and see how we teach here -- small class size, discussion and lecture, one-on-one attention, instructional technology -- a product these students won't get at Auburn or Tuscaloosa. Many faculty would like to be more involved in admissions; we just don't know how. |
| "Faculty Helping Recruit New Students" by: johnsomw | @ 04:41:12 pm on October 29, 2008. |
| I am wondering how faculty can be more involved in the recruitment of new students. I would be more than happy to speak with students (and their parents) who are interested in majoring in my field. I could talk to them on the phone or in person. (I know many students don't go to Campus Visit Days.) I also think it would be helpful for prospective students to attend a class and see how we teach here -- small class size, discussion and lecture, one-on-one attention, instructional technology -- a product these students won't get at Auburn or Tuscaloosa. Many faculty would like to be more involved in admissions; we just don't know how. |
| "Green Competitions -- Help the Environment and Save Money" by: johnsomw | @ 04:41:12 pm on October 29, 2008. |
| I read an article a few months ago about universities and colleges that are creating "green" initiatives (as we are seeking to do ourselves) and involving students through competitions. For example, students in the dorms will compete to see which dorm can use the least energy This helps draw attention to the environment and conservation (issues very important to many young people) while also saving the university money. It also takes what can seem like deprivation and transforms into something proactive, forward looking, and political. Who doesn't want to help the environment? I don't know how we track utility use, but I assume figures for individual buildings are available. Perhaps classroom buildings could also compete? (Of course, some buildings are much larger or smaller than others. Age is also a factor. So perhaps this won't work....) |
| "Green Competitions -- Help the Environment and Save Money" by: johnsomw | @ 04:41:12 pm on October 29, 2008. |
| I read an article a few months ago about universities and colleges that are creating "green" initiatives (as we are seeking to do ourselves) and involving students through competitions. For example, students in the dorms will compete to see which dorm can use the least energy This helps draw attention to the environment and conservation (issues very important to many young people) while also saving the university money. It also takes what can seem like deprivation and transforms into something proactive, forward looking, and political. Who doesn't want to help the environment? I don't know how we track utility use, but I assume figures for individual buildings are available. Perhaps classroom buildings could also compete? (Of course, some buildings are much larger or smaller than others. Age is also a factor. So perhaps this won't work....) |
| "Re: Faculty/Recruiting/Students" by: StillAnOptimist | @ 09:43:46 am on October 30, 2008. |
| I have a feeling that this is an area that has received more attention (i.e. funding) to try and improve what we do. It is not something one office does, yet how that office operates and involves faculty will determine our future enrollment. There are so many variables that it is all but impossible to assign blame or apportion credit to decrease or increase in enrollment. We need to increase student interest (internet, other marketing campaigns) and at the same time watch carefully to those elements that these students may be looking for once they get here. We then have to do what we can to keep them interested in their education while experiencing enormous change in their lives. As someone noted, having more campus activity during evenings/weekends will help us become that residential campus we seek, and not just a place for people to drive and leave. |
| "Reduce Energy Costs Further" by: Energy Saver | @ 11:25:33 am on October 31, 2008. |
| Is there a way to turn off the cooling in the water fountains? I realize most everyone likes cool water, but most who use the water fountains would drink it as long as it wasn't hot. Turning the cooling system down or completely off in every water fountain on campus could cut down energy costs as well. |
| "Open standards for documentation and Open Source Software" by: Jim | @ 09:24:10 am on November 1, 2008. |
| Why not use Open document standards like the Open Document format (.ODT) to prevent the University from having to convert many documents from one closed form of documentation to another closed form of documentation as software changes?<br />
This will save on licensing fees, especially if using Open Source software like OpenOffice.org. I understand that the Windows and Macintosh operating systems are necessary for many classes and research software requirements, but why not use an Open Source software Operating System like Linux (Ubuntu is a good and easier distribution to use than most) or BSD for day to day administrative needs? That would enable a lot of older equipment to be used instead of gotten rid of, save on licensing fees, and keep the university from having to buy more than necessary CPUs every year. |
| "OpenSource" by: StillAnOptimist | @ 09:56:05 am on November 1, 2008. |
| The idea that there is a better alternative than Windows has been a hard sell. The problem may not be just the issue of software purchases (for Windows and the few Macs) but of the many people who cannot (or will not) learn or be retrained to deal with non-Windows related computers. We have to first find out how much we (and the system as a whole) pays for Windows/related software. Linux and it's variants are much more popular elsewhere than here in the US, certainly in Europe, India and parts of the Far East. I would imagine however that it may be far easier to do many things on campus than work to remove the stranglehold Microsoft has on the campus in many ways. Oh, it IS possible to run "Office like" or "Excel like" or "Whatever like" programs without Windows/Microsoft and yes have a stabler environment. In addition, as someone noted, we can lengthen the life of many systems that are just not sufficient for the ever demanding newer versions of Windows/Office. One can take a 3 or even a 3 year old system and have it running Linux/alternatives better and faster than the recent version of Windows and yes, updated automatically. I will wait however for the water to freeze in that really hot place, before we see a change in thinking about the stranglehold of Microsoft. |
| "OpenSource" by: StillAnOptimist | @ 09:56:05 am on November 1, 2008. |
| The idea that there is a better alternative than Windows has been a hard sell. The problem may not be just the issue of software purchases (for Windows and the few Macs) but of the many people who cannot (or will not) learn or be retrained to deal with non-Windows related computers. We have to first find out how much we (and the system as a whole) pays for Windows/related software. Linux and it's variants are much more popular elsewhere than here in the US, certainly in Europe, India and parts of the Far East. I would imagine however that it may be far easier to do many things on campus than work to remove the stranglehold Microsoft has on the campus in many ways. Oh, it IS possible to run "Office like" or "Excel like" or "Whatever like" programs without Windows/Microsoft and yes have a stabler environment. In addition, as someone noted, we can lengthen the life of many systems that are just not sufficient for the ever demanding newer versions of Windows/Office. One can take a 3 or even a 3 year old system and have it running Linux/alternatives better and faster than the recent version of Windows and yes, updated automatically. I will wait however for the water to freeze in that really hot place, before we see a change in thinking about the stranglehold of Microsoft. |
| "Student Recruiting/Faculty" by: johnsomw | @ 12:46:38 pm on November 1, 2008. |
| I posted something earlier in the week about faculty getting involved in helping recruit new students, and I discovered Thursday some initiatives in which my college is participating. So, it looks like more is happening on this front than I had realized. I do agree with StillAnOptimist that recruiting and retaining students both involve many variables. And both are incredibly important, not just in terms of the bottom line, but also in terms of the very essence of why we are here in the first place: educating students. |
| "Student Recruiting/Faculty" by: StillAnOptimist | @ 07:10:13 pm on November 3, 2008. |
| As one travels from the classroom upwards, it seems to be that information quality degrades. What is left are numbers obtained through anonymous collections of information from students for whom there is almost no penalty for savagery through words or rewards for realistic assessment. When there is too much to pay attention to, the difficult issues get short shrifted. "Educating students" does not mean simply the presence of students who spend 4 or 5 years happily and leave. I do not know why we sometimes worry some students are unhappy, sometimes. Ideally, we should be worried about the impact they make AFTER they leave, if we can somehow assess that. I am always worried that, well intentioned it may be, when we spend too much time worrying about how to prevent students from dropping out, we may send the wrong signal. Not many 17 or 18 (or perhaps 19) year olds know about expanding their minds in college. Do most know why they attend college? "To get a job" or "My parents told me to" or "Did not have anything else to do" or some such. It is true that it is far easier to pass the buck to the High/Middle/Elementary schools. Yet, is that off the mark? A scant 20 or so years ago, when students dropped out of college, the assumption was that they could not hack it. Today, the hand wringing starts and there is scurrying all over to find out what the campus has done wrong and less on what the problems with the students may have been. This translates into "teaching scores" and "teaching effectiveness" so blame (or credit) can be apportioned to some quarters. Yes, just as there are poor students, there are poor instructors and those that unfortunately may not care as much as they should. Yet, these factors are hard to measure and so they are not. Does anyone believe that there has NOT been a subtle but significant shift in both generational and attitudinal changes in the students entering college? Universities can do a lot to adapt to the changes, but not in the essence of what universities do. To all but a few, the 4 or 5 years in College, beyond High School is the most difficult time one can imagine - as one grapples with the ever expanding world of knowledge, a larger pool of smart or smarter students than the High Schools they came from and a "life" that is very different than living at home. We must not try and do what everyone does, but think outside the box. The honors program on this campus is a good example of what may be possible, if adapted in some form for all students. The idea of throwing together students from different colleges and havign them interact to a number of different topics during the semester, makes for excellent instruction and education. Perhaps we should consider a campus wide core curriculum - improve the technical content for non-science and engineering majors, the non-technical content for the techies, but under one roof/classroom. The usual arguments can be made of course - articulation agreements and so on with 2 year colleges and so on. But, I believe that we must try something unique and original AND educational for our growth and reason for existence. |
| "What NOT to do (or how to destroy morale)" by: TurningIntoAPessimist | @ 06:52:30 pm on November 7, 2008. |
| It was quite astonishing to read about a piece of email to some faculty and staff about how they are all supposed to attend some meeting about proposal budgets and how to manage such budgets if the proposal were to be funded. The astonishment was about how someone will be taking names and watching those that attend and those that do not. Wow. Perhaps, the word Provost does mean someone who is a Warden and that the Faculty and Staff are residents of a prison. It is simply astonishing that language such as what I saw can be delivered to faculty and staff with impunity. |
| "Sidewalk from Shelby to Library" by: Dr. Leahy | @ 10:42:38 am on November 12, 2008. |
| I do not know what the future plans are for the construction of sidewalks on campus, but it is clear that we have a need for a walkway from Shelby Center "diagonally" directly towards the library. Since the opening of Shelby, we have see many students walking back and forth on this route, but there is no walkway and they are forced to walk through the grass. It is desirable, of course, to encourage students to walk more and drive less, and the construction of new walkways along established "routes" would certainly help.<br />
<br />
I'm aware that the time frame for such projects is often years, but I wanted to propose this now to see if we could have the construction of the aforementioned sidewalk inserted into future plans.<br />
<br />
Students - it would probably be a good idea to post here if you know of other "trails" on campus that merit construction of a sidewalk. Please provide a detailed description of where the sidewalk is needed. |
| "Interesting article" by: LH | @ 02:23:01 pm on November 12, 2008. |
| I thought this was an interesting article about students in the age of wireless:<br />
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/education/story/756174.html <br />
|
| "iis this forum full?" by: johnsok1 | @ 09:29:07 am on December 30, 2008. |
| or cosed? |
| "painting studio clock" by: Erin | @ 07:49:09 pm on January 5, 2009. |
| Can someone fix this please? It hasn't told the correct time since the middle of last semester. |
| "VP Salaries" by: crossh | @ 12:38:55 pm on January 30, 2009. |
| How about instead of creating new Vice President positions that must have salaries in the 6+ digits (Are we to believe the newest left NASA for a reduction in pay?),we use the resources and people we have and give them a slight raise with the money that has been "found/allocated" for all these new positions? Or ask that the new VPs reduce their salary by 25%. |
| "IT Equipment Matching Service" by: UAH-no-untsville | @ 05:35:14 pm on February 2, 2009. |
| Many departments on campus with large budgets seem to upgrade their computers every two years or sooner, while lower-budget departments and some administrative cost centers often cobble together PCs and use them for 6 or more years. If UAH were to establish some central authority to manage and track the lifecycle of PCs and allocate unneeded equipment as a sort of hand-me-down to other departments, we could boost efficiency and lower total cost. This could be operated through a web-based matching service, where departments post their surplus equipment and other departments can request what they need. |
| "parking" by: alittleconfused | @ 10:27:50 pm on February 2, 2009. |
| Curious... If I come home from work at midnight and park in front of SECH on John Wright, why do I recieve a ticket at 2am? This is a 20 minute spot. Shouldn't I recieve a ticket at 12:20am? And perhaps another at 12:40 and so on. My point is, if there are going to be enforced parking rules, then ENFORCE them. Don't allow me to park there for almost 2 years without recieving a ticket and then start ticketing at 2 in the morning. It is also confusing when I park there during the day and I can still remain there all day WITHOUT getting a ticket. Very confusing stuff. (not to mention that I am a little concerned about walking 500 yards to my dorm at midnight.) |
| "parking" by: alittleconfused | @ 10:27:50 pm on February 2, 2009. |
| Curious... If I come home from work at midnight and park in front of SECH on John Wright, why do I recieve a ticket at 2am? This is a 20 minute spot. Shouldn't I recieve a ticket at 12:20am? And perhaps another at 12:40 and so on. My point is, if there are going to be enforced parking rules, then ENFORCE them. Don't allow me to park there for almost 2 years without recieving a ticket and then start ticketing at 2 in the morning. It is also confusing when I park there during the day and I can still remain there all day WITHOUT getting a ticket. Very confusing stuff. (not to mention that I am a little concerned about walking 500 yards to my dorm at midnight.) |
| "Re-evaluate executive compensation" by: Common Sense | @ 05:10:57 pm on February 4, 2009. |
| ...Well, someone had to say it. Does anyone really expect it to happen? Ha! Layoffs at the lower ranks feed extravagant spending at the arrogant, elitist top of the food chain. Enjoy that new wine cellar, Dr. Williams! I'm sure it does the university a lot of good. (And watch this post be removed, or this whole charade of a suggestion box shut down) |
| "Sanction of the Victim" by: John Galt | @ 12:57:07 pm on February 5, 2009. |
| There is logic in wanting feedback from those that are affected - students, faculty - even when decisions may already have been made. I mean, how do we know? We do not.<br />
<br />
There are multiple instances of decisions that had already been made (so it seems) yet there was the appearance of asking for advice/input from several people, committees. <br />
<br />
To the ones holding the reins of power (re: money) these are difficult times. To everyone else - The politics of envy can only get us so far. <br />
<br />
The deeper issue is are the right people being fired, are those in positions of responsibility delivering appropriately for what they are being paid, are the right decisions being made, are people actually being listened to, are their concerns taken into account. <br />
<br />
There are no magic bullets and I do not think anyone expects miracles during these difficult times. Yet, things can be made worse through the inability to communicate properly, by using the pretense of listening and worse - by doing the wrong things. <br />
|
| "Sanction of the Victim" by: John Galt | @ 12:57:07 pm on February 5, 2009. |
| There is logic in wanting feedback from those that are affected - students, faculty - even when decisions may already have been made. I mean, how do we know? We do not.<br />
<br />
There are multiple instances of decisions that had already been made (so it seems) yet there was the appearance of asking for advice/input from several people, committees. <br />
<br />
To the ones holding the reins of power (re: money) these are difficult times. To everyone else - The politics of envy can only get us so far. <br />
<br />
The deeper issue is are the right people being fired, are those in positions of responsibility delivering appropriately for what they are being paid, are the right decisions being made, are people actually being listened to, are their concerns taken into account. <br />
<br />
There are no magic bullets and I do not think anyone expects miracles during these difficult times. Yet, things can be made worse through the inability to communicate properly, by using the pretense of listening and worse - by doing the wrong things. <br />
|
| "Re: IT Matching" by: Henry Rearden | @ 09:06:09 am on February 6, 2009. |
| "Upgrade computers every 2 years or so"?? I would surely love to find out who can do this. PC's/Computing hardware bought on research grants is one thing, to be able to replace/buy on non-research funds is another. I am sure the "Chief Information Officer" will implement a top down strategy to solve the problem of hardware obsolescence (I do have a bridge to sell). I am also sure that there will soon be a strategy to solve the problem of software purchases and upgrades that will provide a boost to Microsoft and their products (this, i am sure of)<br />
<br />
The deliberate ignorance of computing trends and acknowledgement of alternatives to expensive Microsoft products is computing malpractice. Unfortunately, there is no credible defense that can be mounted, the horse has left the barn.<br />
<br />
|
| "How to Destroy Morale, II" by: Francisco D'Anconia | @ 06:20:57 pm on February 6, 2009. |
| 1) Act like the corporations that you like to criticize - e.g. when letting someone go/laying them off/whatever, bring the police in and demand that they get out in a few minutes.<br />
<br />
2) Form committees to ask them for opinions when you already know what you will do, and do them.<br />
<br />
3) Instead of flattening reporting requirements, add layers and complexity between the ordinary folks and ones that make the decisions - e.g. insulate yourself.<br />
<br />
4) Say things like "We listened to everyone and these decisions reflect the genuine feelings of the campus and surrounding community" - but do what you would have done anyway.<br />
<br />
5) In a university environment, keep adding people to positions which do not involve any teaching, advising, writing research proposals, advising those that write research proposals - but those that keep busy by dealing with mountains of paperwork.<br />
<br />
(There are so many other ways to do it. Collateral damage? Oh well, the ones that are left will do even a better job worried about their jobs) |
| "Who loots, who works, who gains" by: Ken Dannager | @ 12:46:19 pm on February 9, 2009. |
| Why am I holding on? Why do I think that feedback may matter? Do I love what I do so much that I am willing to help someone else destroy that which I hold dear? Do I really expect that the ones attempting to listen are only looking for fodder or ideas that they can pass as their own? How do I know a carpetbagger from one that is not? When the ones in the trenches feel disconnected from the ones making all the decisions, often arbitrarily and senselessly, the trenches can be a difficult place. Why are there so many drawing on public funds when they do not teach or otherwise contribute in a direct way to benefit students? How many people do we have who sit in offices where students either are not welcome or do not deal with students in anyway? Do all those that draw from the public payroll do what they are supposed so? Are they worth the money they are earning? How do we know? It all starts from the top, the distance from facts on the ground to the minds of those that direct, demand, bewilder is quite large. The ones that are supposed to represent specific groups seem only interested in what may be in their own group's best interest - How do we know otherwise? It does not really matter - does it? Is anyone listening? Perhaps I should. |
| "Blow off steam, that's it" by: Eddie Willers | @ 06:23:40 am on February 10, 2009. |
| Perhaps people have already given up, knowing that they cannot influence the process. If there are good ideas out there, it is a well kept secret. Many may be reading, few seem intent on contributing - afraid that big brother may be watching? Yes, that is always a possibility. The campus has many senior faculty that can and should speak up, knowing fully well that their concerns may well be ignored. There is a line of communication from the bottom to the top - this forum, if paid attention to, is a way to break through the clutter. It is also useless if all this serves is as a way for some to blow off steam. I can imagine someone saying - "Well, we had never heard about those concerns. Your leadership did not bring that to our attention" Ignorance and aversion is bliss. Is anyone out there? |
| "WikiNomics" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 08:22:23 am on February 11, 2009. |
| The world has woken up to the realities of group collaboration. Even the FEDS talk about transparency in budgeting and allocations and show how monies will be spent. Access to the UAH Budget for 2008/2009 is a very good start, but it is not in a form that is useful for simulations or "what if" calculations (I have seen/heard such comments from others). There should be a way to make a "spreadsheet" available (with any sensitive, personnel information redacted) so we can all see how big the problem is. How can we achieve a 20% cut if we cut around the edges? We cannot. The budget in pdf form is difficult to understand and quite unintelligible. There seems to be a lot of confusion about how we can achieve specific reductions when budget allocations themselves are not so clear - at least not well explained to those that may be in a position to help. What sort of reductions can we achieve if we were to eliminate some/most/all colleges and some/most/all departments without eliminating faculty/staff positions? What if we were to eliminate ALL landline phones and have everyone use cell phones? What if were to sell off TechHall and Shelbie King Hall and regroup around an integral campus? yes, things will be crowded, but we may gain a few things back in academic verbal traffic (and not all of that may be infuriating). What if we were to go to a model where all we have are individual departments and NO colleges or other academic units? Each department will then have a specific budget that they will be responsible for (Tulane had something like that). There may be 999 reasons not to get rid of Deans or Provosts or other administrators, perhaps 1 reason to examine everything. That NOTHING is sacred, that everyone's position will be (and SHOULD be) considered open to reexamination. |
| "Wikinomics, II" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 07:27:50 pm on February 11, 2009. |
| No matter how many computer systems we may have and the kinds of records we may be keeping on a) courses offered b) students enrolled, we in individual departments are asked about how many courses were offered in some semester past and how many were enrolled and so on. Why not look it up? Why ask the departments? What is the purpose of having spent lots of money on software for registration and so on if everytime someone needs some information, it has to come from individual departments? The model of a campus being a collection of individual departments makes a lot of sense. Eliminate all other offices, units. Make it clear that any/all information related to any/all courses offered by the departments and their faculty shall reside within each department and subject to instant recall by anyone who needs such information. At least then we will know that we ARE responsible for information about our own department and that no one else keeps track of such. Liberation indeed. |
| "Wikinomics, III" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 06:47:53 am on February 12, 2009. |
| Collaboration without boundaries, the free flow of information without having to depend on anyone person to understand and pass it along, openness. Barriers are down, no one can (nor should be able to) hold onto information sensing that somehow it gives them leverage. I hear discussions going on about several ideas for realignment, I would ask that they be posted for discussion before final decisions are made. Yes, the process can be messy and confusion does reign - given that information does not seem to flow, it is best to err by posting still-to-be-decided-on-ideas than to keep it close for leverage. My guess is that when ideas have to be posted, written down, those coming up with such ideas may discover remarkable clarity in thinking and it will appear less muddled. A blog like this is one way (very useful) http://sites.google.com/ is yet another way to get a wiki going, where EVERYTHING can be posted and thrashed about. No need to worry about limits on diskspace or someone to worry about maintaining the systems or about some Information Obfuscator making it difficult for interested people to post and read. |
| "Cost Recovery" by: gaeder | @ 04:19:54 pm on February 12, 2009. |
| For faculty with 25+ years service and who are not actively engaged in research, instead of a workload increase, give them the option of entering the DROP program. Then, give them a 5 year contract to teach a normal load at roughly half their current salary while allowing them to collect their retirement from DROP. This approach allows experienced emeritus faculty to continue to teach and saves the university money. Because many of these people are highly compensated, the amount of money recovered can be considerable. |
| "Cost Recovery" by: gaeder | @ 04:19:54 pm on February 12, 2009. |
| For faculty with 25+ years service and who are not actively engaged in research, instead of a workload increase, give them the option of entering the DROP program. Then, give them a 5 year contract to teach a normal load at roughly half their current salary while allowing them to collect their retirement from DROP. This approach allows experienced emeritus faculty to continue to teach and saves the university money. Because many of these people are highly compensated, the amount of money recovered can be considerable. |
| "Re: Cost Recovery/DROP" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 06:05:26 pm on February 12, 2009. |
| Anyone with 25+ years can enroll in DROP - collect retirement benefits (diverted to a savings a/c) and their regular salary for 5 years. I wonder if the incentive to NOT raise their workload yet halve their salary while being in the DROP program is sufficient. The larger question is to define and understand workloads in general, across departmental and college lines, and at administrative levels. Perhaps it is time we have a structure where everyone (yes, EVERYONE) on campus is required to be a teacher and a scholar and that contact with students should be the highest principle. My favorite example is that of Norman Hackerman, who as President of Rice University, taught and had graduate students, all while being President. Yes, Rice is a private school and State schools have a lot more insanity to deal with, yet the example he set was inspiring. |
| "Change the Paradigm/An Inflection" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 07:04:40 am on February 13, 2009. |
| We are at a critical crossroad. One recipe for survival is to cement our role as a key extension of what the Army, NASA needs and has supported - a key signal about this choice came from the selection of the VP for Research. Is that our only option? (We certainly do not want to kill the goose that lays the egg). We need to make changes that will keep us viable for the future that is coming and not just the present we have. We need to think broadly about who our students are, what we would like them to be, how well we prepare them for the market (not just North Alabama, which will always remain as important). Can all of our students leave with a set of scientific, technical and liberal art proficiencies that can somehow enable them to stand apart from students at other universities? They can, if we throw out all preconceived ideas and examine curricular ideas that reflect the changing economy. It may be time for us to consider campus wide curricula that can help us educate, define, in some unique manner, a student that is uniquely from our campus reflecting our strengths and how we have always adapted. Alabama (Tuscaloosa) and Auburn have football and a huge alumni base that they can rely on during very difficult times, we have to rely on our ability to adapt. |
| "Pay Cuts - How do we feel about them?" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 05:13:24 pm on February 16, 2009. |
| "The rich have never paid their fair share" (so it has gone for 2+ years, and we now have an income redistributor as President) - So I guess, what will apply Nationally can apply locally - if we institute paycuts for all on campus, we can do it regressively. What worries a lot (it does me too) is that we will never, ever know how pay cuts are actually implemented and how revenues are allocated - so it will breed resentment among many. Thus, transparency is needed when (if) cuts are implemented. If we expect a leaner campus in the future (fewer faculty members for e.g.) with more revenues being generated through the ethernet cable, then the campus should know. I, personally, hope that THAT would not be the case - that the reverence to the personal presence in the classroom is not diminished. It may come as news to some on campus to find out that the distance learning paradigm is changing and that students everywhere have access to outstanding, open courseware from traditionally strong programs and that we cannot offer a "we too". |
| "An Idea: Abolish Colleges" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 05:21:56 pm on February 16, 2009. |
| The idea of a campus as individual departments, all reporting to someone<br />
like a President (or a council chosen by the President) makes a lot of sense<br />
and is what we need today. Can anyone tell me how a "Dean" of "any college"<br />
has made a program any better? Do many "Deans" really know and understand what many in their departments do? The short answer is no, the long answer is also no. There is a lot of paper pushing and meetings and discussions and all that. I have neither seen or heard words indicating a vision for a "College" in a way that indicates that<br />
the different units (departments) are not just individual units, but part of a<br />
larger whole. Most of the activity happens within departmental boundaries<br />
and having someone be the leader among equals helps us all become better. I do speak from experience. p<br />
If the President/his council/representative wants information pertinent to a department, he can get it directly - without the information being massaged to oblivion and becoming meaningless. Let individual departments be innovative as they meet, discuss, argue, and come up with ideas.<br />
Departments can come up with ideas to propel us forward and not just have us standing still. Money will ALWAYS be a problem, the dearth of ideas is even worse.<br />
<br />
So, get rid of ALL Colleges/Deans, make them start teaching within their home departments. We will struggle, but if we can come up with better ideas for courses,<br />
curricula, we will emerge stronger. |
| "TARP (Terror Amid Realignment Plans)" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 12:57:46 pm on February 17, 2009. |
| Uncertainty causes turmoil - not just in the markets. Geithner took the place of Paulson, the markets keep sliding downwards, the market value of bank stocks seem to have vanished, right into the US treasury. What may be left of morale on campus is slowly disappearing due to the tornadoes around us, the uncertainty of what will stay, what will go, how we will ride out this storm. Where is the eye of the storm - who is part of the storm team - are they able to see beyond their own parochial interests to see what the storm is doing? Perhaps this TARP will be followed by TARP II, as we have seen Nationally. TARP II under Geithner remains muddled - it is worse. I hope our own TARP II gets better - Tranquil After Realignment Process. |
| "Change MW to MWF classes bad idea" by: student | @ 03:53:41 pm on February 18, 2009. |
| Have you read the exponent's news section lately? how about actually LISTENING to the students and see their outrage at this bad idea that is somehow supposed to "save" money. There is a facebook group with at least over 300 people angry at the idea of changing MW classes to MWF. |
| "MW to MWF" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 07:52:51 pm on February 18, 2009. |
| This seems to be the first issue that has unified the campus - that MWF is a BAD idea. A number of graduate classes (and many undergraduate ones) are offered MW and TTh for students who try to balance work/family/jobs. We have adjusted our own schedules to lessen the conflicts our students may have with classes in other departments, colleges - it was not easy - it will be challenging again to rearrange everything to lessen conflicts. Friday has always been a work-day - allowing many to catch up on faculty contacts or seminars or long stretches of time to pursue experimental or theoretical ideas leading to to theses and dissertations. For many, it has also offered the opportunity to stay closer to home and not have to travel to campus for classes (Many do travel 30+ miles to come to campus/classes). If by rearranging the schedule, we can figure out a block of time that will allow ALL on campus to attend events/talks/seminars, that would be a great idea. For example if the ENTIRE campus were to NOT have any thing on say a Wednesday between 12 and 2 PM, we can use that block of time to schedule events of interest to the entire campus. But I digress. "Facebook" back tracked when the users complained vigorously when they changed the ownership policy - perhaps the MWF issue may yet be reexamined and the impact reassessed. I cannot imagine part time graduate students eager to sign up for a class that runs MWF from 5:30 to 6:25 or even 6:40 to 7:35. Yes, we should figure out how to better use Fridays on campus, but changing ALL MW to MWF seems like a bad idea. But is this a case of "So let it be written, so let is be done"?? Or can we expect a Facebook like scenario where this issue will be reexamined? |
| "Electronic Time Cards for Multiple Accounts" by: dms0003 | @ 01:37:40 pm on February 19, 2009. |
| Currently, the University is implementing electronic timecards for employees who charge to a single account. I would love to have electronic timecards, but from what I have heard so far, I remain unconvinced that us research staff will have them in the near future and that if we do, they will be implemented in a way that actually reduces the workload of PIs. <br />
<br />
It is my understanding that the problem of having multiple accounts to charge to is still unsolved, but that this task was in the future. While I’m thrilled at the prospect of getting away from the paper time cards, I don’t know enough about the implementation to know if getting them will actually solve all of our issues with the paper ones. The following are concerns with paper time cards:<br />
<br />
1. The volume of paper generated by every time card. We each fill one out, and then it is faxed to multiple locations. <br />
<br />
2. Manual entry means we have to fill out time cards in advance. This past holiday season, we had to fill out 2 time cards of projections of what we would be working on weeks later with the near certainly that we would be submitting retros once we had actually worked those days. <br />
<br />
3. Manual entry leads to occasional mistakes being introduced when time cards are transcribed. <br />
<br />
4. Banner is always out of date for actual expenditures. Typically, the data I get from banner is two pay periods old. As a PI, I have to keep duplicate accounting records to ensure that I am on budget. <br />
<br />
I am certain that my concerns are not unique and that there are likely other concerns for researchers of which I am unaware.<br />
<br />
Will these concerns be addressed as electronic time cards are introduced? How is input from us end users being collected? Who is our advocate in the process? When can we expect changes? Can we volunteer for beta testing the system? |
| "Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes (NY Times, Feb 18, 2009)" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 09:07:12 pm on February 19, 2009. |
| http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/education/18college.htm<br />
<br />
The article ends with <br />
“College students want to be part of a different and better world, but they don’t know how,” he said. “Unless teachers are very intentional with our goals, we play into the system in place.”<br />
|
| "Beggar Thy Neigbor, I" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 07:27:49 pm on February 26, 2009. |
| The education of the next generation through classroom teaching and research is the goal of any university - yet it is difficult to ignore the realities of the marketplace. As the OpEd piece in the NYTimes noted, many students consider themselves as customers in the sense of customers in the retail marketplace - and so there is a tendency to play into the system in place or one that is evolving. This is indeed dangerous, yet the movement seems unstoppable - after all, if we cannot pay the bills, what good are ideals? (I can almost hear that cacophony). I understand there are groups examining ways to reduce the time it will take to get a Master's degree by allowing for double-dipping or double-counting (i.e. courses taken at an advanced undergraduate level also listed as a entry level graduate class, but the same class). This may also allow someone to get a PhD in less time. The idea of reducing course loads is a good one - certainly towards a PhD (we have an ungodly number of courses that are required) - but double counting? Why not do the honorable thing and simply reduce the requirements? Why pretend it will take 33 hours when it may take 33 minus whatever was already taken at the undergrad level? Is this a response to "market forces"? "I'll lower my requirements to match yours"?? |
| "Beggar Thy Neighbor, II" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 08:05:49 pm on February 26, 2009. |
| There always seems to be a shortage of engineers - there are movements afoot to create an associates degree in engineering in community colleges since the regular engineering programs do not seem to be generating sufficient engineers. So, if we lose students who find some of the engineering programs difficult and are unable to find an appropriate programs that they are happy with, they may gravitate towards the associates degree. What do we do then? Lower the credit hour requirements so that it will become easier to get a degree in engineering? Adjust the standards so many more can navigate through difficult curricula and grab that piece of paper called a diploma? (Students, like water, do find their level and in some cases adjust their goals and find a program that they can manage to work through - but what if we were to relax the criteria so that no student feels the academic pressure of learning and becoming proficient in a field of engineering? Is that where we are headed? In response to competition? The pressure to erode standards will mount, it will be difficult to impossible for many to resist. It will however be easy for some to insist on such changes since they may yet not have to face the consequences of such changes or may not even understand why getting a professional degree should not be easy for anyone. |
| "An Issue of Independence" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 07:26:10 am on February 28, 2009. |
| How can anyone expect to get independent, unbiased opinions and ideas about cutting budgets when those that are forced to do will look after their own first, no matter how destructive that may be to the overall goals of the campus? At least at the department level, the process is transparent and within such a real group, we can resolve our differences. It is time we give serious thought to an outmoded, inefficient structure that places someone at the "College" level authority to make changes and allocate resources that reflect narrow thinking and not about the larger, bigger picture. Question is will we? |
| "Beggar Thy Neighbor, III" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 12:10:34 pm on February 28, 2009. |
| Starting very soon, students can keep taking the SAT's for as many times as they want and elect to send only their best score to the schools they are interested in. Pretty soon, those schools will (I hope) start ignoring SAT scores since it may be impossible to figure out what it actually means. So, I can imagine someone recommending that students be able to take courses as many times as they want with only the highest grade being recorded AND that information about how many times the courses were taken or when they were taken be stricken from the records. So, we can have many more students get 4.0's. Pretty soon the employers will have NO idea as to who they are getting when they hire a 4.0 student. Fascinating trends indeed. Wonder which school will jump first into the "elect to use only the highest grade" scenario. |
| "Transparency" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 09:20:10 am on March 2, 2009. |
| The first casualty of war is the truth. Our campus is in a serious budget crunch, crisis - and so the ones holding the most information seem determined to do whatever they can to obscure, obfuscate and make it impossible for us to understand the difficulties. Yes, it is true the state has cut the budget and things are really bad. What makes this really bad to worse is that there ARE reallocations within colleges for which the ones holding the information refuse to divulge - presumably because they are protecting their own interests to the detriment of others within the college. Or perhaps there are others elsewhere who are determined NOT to let many know how they are allocating scarce resources so as to prevent the uproar that will ensue. The more I think of it, the more the idea of eliminating colleges makes a lot of sense. We have too many chiefs who seem only interested in protecting their turfs and their jobs. Unlike politics, where we can vote to throw the bums out, in academia it seems impossible to do anything to those that are stuck in the mud and refuse to change. What a shame indeed. Here again a shout from the wilderness, hoping that someone, at sometime will care sufficiently to intervene when ordinary faculty, educators seem helpless to do so. Is there anyone that can? |
| "Abolish Colleges, II" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 07:02:30 pm on March 9, 2009. |
| It is true, that change comes slowly (if at all) to educational establishments. I can imagine it being incredibly difficult to think of making fundamental changes in the way we are structured or govern ourselves - after all, "it has always been done that way" (or some such). We are at a true inflection point in the country and the fiscal emergency should prompt us to examine everything, there should be no sacred cows - the only constant should be keeping the rigor in the classroom for the students and providing them with the best we have to offer and help students rise to the challenges. Technology has come a long way since the punch card and time sharing systems - yet learning and education remain, at the core, a direct result of what transpires between the teacher and the student in a classroom. Other than the fact that we have always had departments assembled into colleges, why else should colleges as we know exist? Imagine if there were no turfs to protect, departments across the campus may figure out it is to their advantage to reach across the campus for improving what they offer their students. The world has changed, much for the better. Chemistry departments house material scientists, at some campuses, biologists roam some departments in engineering - after several decades MIT now offers their newest undergraduate program in biological engineering - an amazing collection of interdisciplinary talent teaching the next generation of bioengineers. So, other than some book/record keeping, throwing obstacles every so often ans saying no to matching funds (when absolutely required), is there any reason anyone thinks that Colleges, as we know them, should survive in the way they have? Is there a reason to support a bunch of people who do anything but teach and pursue advanced research all the time? I see not. Imagine if we were to abolish the college structure and figure out how to interest ALL of our entering students such that more of them stay on, finish their course of study and leave to do bigger and better things. It is time we think of such things and not about supporting old, outmoded, inefficient structures. I imagine that it will not be easy. Then again, anything that is worthwhile doing will be tough. |
| "test" by: test | @ 02:28:09 pm on March 26, 2009. |
| test |
| "Does one opinion count?" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 06:06:20 pm on April 2, 2009. |
| That is like asking if one vote makes a difference. Imagine now summing up millions of individual votes and you get a large number. So, it does. It is easy to toe a line, say what is expected or what one thinks someone else may want to hear. It is substantially more difficult to express opinions that are not quite conventional, yet may need to be expressed with the hope that there is an audience out there, listening, cogitating. There are a few who are in the driver's seat (as it were) - making decisions that affect the entire campus - for now and for the future. If there are ideas (conventional or not) they better be expressed - who knows, such opinions may actually be read and listened to. If not, at least one has the satisfaction of making the attempt to do the right thing - for this is our home in many ways that we would like to preserve and protect. A cacophony is far better than silence - having a signal to noise ratio that is greater than zero. |
| "Technology in the Classroom" by: J J Weimer | @ 07:20:01 pm on April 5, 2009. |
| As quoted from our President ...<br />
<br />
"... If our students arrive at UAHuntsville learning via the web, Wikipedia, Google Earth, team projects, etc., why should we be surprised if they don't relate to teaching in our old ways? If we fail our students because they can't learn the way that we teach, who's responsibility is this, within the professor-student compact?<br />
<br />
I believe it is the professor's responsibility."<br />
<br />
I can understand and agree that, as a well-intentioned instructor, staying on top of current and best technologies for teaching is my responsibility. One distinction to make in this testament is, not all current technologies are best methods. In my opinion, the chalk board and eraser will always have as much a place to claim, albeit perhaps as a white board and markers, as do multi-media presentations in the "teaching arsenal" of a well-intentioned instructor.<br />
<br />
A fair companion to this statement also is to ask, what technologies should the students have in their "learning arsenal". Interestingly, my experiences are generally that science and engineering students arrive at UAH well behind me in their ability and desire to apply current technologies to educate themselves. That does not say, they do not have their share more than me of iPods and phones with cameras, and that they do not know what the Web and email are. Just that, in terms of using these resources to help them LEARN things, they are generally ... clueless and disinterested.<br />
<br />
Witness my endevour nearly two years ago to introduce spreadsheet use to perform routinue and repeatable calculations in an undergraduate chemistry lab. You would think, for the time savings it can provide, for the foundation it builds for use in later studies, and for the knowledge that such a tool is "state-of-the-art" in industrial chemistry labs today, my endeavours might be if not applauded at least acknowledged as such. Yet almost resoundingly a strong complaint by the students was that this took away from them being able to use their standard written lab notebook page to do their calculations.<br />
<br />
Witness my ongoing development and posting of solution keys to all my homework assignments in a symbolic math package (Maple) as a way to provide clean and clear templates from which students might also expand their own efforts. Similar efforts are undertaken across many of the departments in science and engineering with other computer tools. You might imagine, the availability of such resources would spark a ground-swell of improvement in the clarity of homework submissions by the senior years. Yet, homework assignments in my senior classes continue to be done over-ridingly by hand, with a consensus of grumbling to wild-eyed looks should any request be made that a "computer tool" be used for a particular problem on a homework assignment.<br />
<br />
Witness my common endeavours to ask students when doing certain homework assignments to search for information not provided in their textbook. From the general responses to such requests, you would think, I am asking them to do something inherently wrong. For the most part, students want all the resources they need to do a problem to be right in front of them when they attack it.<br />
<br />
Witness my current setup of on-line office hours, late-night instructor chat rooms, always open discussion forums, and always open drop boxes on the Angel system for my current chemistry and chemical engineering classes. You might imagine, as "plugged in" as kids today are supposed to be to blogs and Facebooks and YouTubes, such resources would be a-buzz with activity. Yet, they are mostly silent, with the exception of the one or two diligent or occasionally desperate students.<br />
<br />
Witness the number of CD's included with current textbooks that contain multitudes of multi-media experiences and that sit unopened at the end of the semester.<br />
<br />
In summary I would say, as you ask us to take responsibility for using the newest technologies in our classrooms, you should be aware that such efforts are a two-edged sword. No doubt, every student wants to have a razzle-dazzle, YouTube-like experience in the classroom. We can do our level best (in the framework of the technology we have at hand -- the subject another thread in itself) to provide such. It is however sometimes only like giving the student a meal of cotton-candy by comparison to the real tasks we must ask of them to do to learn something properly. At the end of the day, most students are hard pressed when they are asked to learn or use that same technology in order to further their educational skills, especially when such is not an explicit requirement of the curriculum at hand. The backlash from demanding a similar level of technological competence from our students in their learning that you ask of us in our teaching works itself out in the evaluations we get for teaching despite the razzle dazzle they have had in the classroom -- our SIE scores can suffer terribly.<br />
<br />
Therefore, for we faculty not only to use new technology to teach in the classroom but also in all fairness demand our students use it correspondingly to learn, we must see payoffs that go well beyond a simple readings of standard SIE scores as metrics of how well we are doing at our jobs. |
| "Technology in the Classroom" by: J J Weimer | @ 07:20:01 pm on April 5, 2009. |
| As quoted from our President ...<br />
<br />
"... If our students arrive at UAHuntsville learning via the web, Wikipedia, Google Earth, team projects, etc., why should we be surprised if they don't relate to teaching in our old ways? If we fail our students because they can't learn the way that we teach, who's responsibility is this, within the professor-student compact?<br />
<br />
I believe it is the professor's responsibility."<br />
<br />
I can understand and agree that, as a well-intentioned instructor, staying on top of current and best technologies for teaching is my responsibility. One distinction to make in this testament is, not all current technologies are best methods. In my opinion, the chalk board and eraser will always have as much a place to claim, albeit perhaps as a white board and markers, as do multi-media presentations in the "teaching arsenal" of a well-intentioned instructor.<br />
<br />
A fair companion to this statement also is to ask, what technologies should the students have in their "learning arsenal". Interestingly, my experiences are generally that science and engineering students arrive at UAH well behind me in their ability and desire to apply current technologies to educate themselves. That does not say, they do not have their share more than me of iPods and phones with cameras, and that they do not know what the Web and email are. Just that, in terms of using these resources to help them LEARN things, they are generally ... clueless and disinterested.<br />
<br />
Witness my endevour nearly two years ago to introduce spreadsheet use to perform routinue and repeatable calculations in an undergraduate chemistry lab. You would think, for the time savings it can provide, for the foundation it builds for use in later studies, and for the knowledge that such a tool is "state-of-the-art" in industrial chemistry labs today, my endeavours might be if not applauded at least acknowledged as such. Yet almost resoundingly a strong complaint by the students was that this took away from them being able to use their standard written lab notebook page to do their calculations.<br />
<br />
Witness my ongoing development and posting of solution keys to all my homework assignments in a symbolic math package (Maple) as a way to provide clean and clear templates from which students might also expand their own efforts. Similar efforts are undertaken across many of the departments in science and engineering with other computer tools. You might imagine, the availability of such resources would spark a ground-swell of improvement in the clarity of homework submissions by the senior years. Yet, homework assignments in my senior classes continue to be done over-ridingly by hand, with a consensus of grumbling to wild-eyed looks should any request be made that a "computer tool" be used for a particular problem on a homework assignment.<br />
<br />
Witness my common endeavours to ask students when doing certain homework assignments to search for information not provided in their textbook. From the general responses to such requests, you would think, I am asking them to do something inherently wrong. For the most part, students want all the resources they need to do a problem to be right in front of them when they attack it.<br />
<br />
Witness my current setup of on-line office hours, late-night instructor chat rooms, always open discussion forums, and always open drop boxes on the Angel system for my current chemistry and chemical engineering classes. You might imagine, as "plugged in" as kids today are supposed to be to blogs and Facebooks and YouTubes, such resources would be a-buzz with activity. Yet, they are mostly silent, with the exception of the one or two diligent or occasionally desperate students.<br />
<br />
Witness the number of CD's included with current textbooks that contain multitudes of multi-media experiences and that sit unopened at the end of the semester.<br />
<br />
In summary I would say, as you ask us to take responsibility for using the newest technologies in our classrooms, you should be aware that such efforts are a two-edged sword. No doubt, every student wants to have a razzle-dazzle, YouTube-like experience in the classroom. We can do our level best (in the framework of the technology we have at hand -- the subject another thread in itself) to provide such. It is however sometimes only like giving the student a meal of cotton-candy by comparison to the real tasks we must ask of them to do to learn something properly. At the end of the day, most students are hard pressed when they are asked to learn or use that same technology in order to further their educational skills, especially when such is not an explicit requirement of the curriculum at hand. The backlash from demanding a similar level of technological competence from our students in their learning that you ask of us in our teaching works itself out in the evaluations we get for teaching despite the razzle dazzle they have had in the classroom -- our SIE scores can suffer terribly.<br />
<br />
Therefore, for we faculty not only to use new technology to teach in the classroom but also in all fairness demand our students use it correspondingly to learn, we must see payoffs that go well beyond a simple readings of standard SIE scores as metrics of how well we are doing at our jobs. |
| "About Technology in the Classroom" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 03:59:45 pm on April 6, 2009. |
| There is much that I agree with. I disagree with the fundamental premise that many of our students do not learn because we do not teach them the way they learn. Technology can be enormously helpful, but it is not just about webpages and wikipedia or some such. Most of our students know how to "browse" - but are clueless when it comes to using the computer for computing and calculations (till we teach it to them). Even fewer have written original programs that make the computer do what they want the computer to do. There is no doubt that WE CAN GET BETTER at what we do, but we MUST acknowledge that the students carry with the responsibility to learn - that drive which is purely internal, the will to learn and understand. No amount of technology can change the attitude of students who appear as receptacles to be filled with random pieces of information or even organized data while expecting the highest grades for their work (or non-work). We have had (and will continue to have) outstanding students who blaze new trails when they leave us - such students are our reward as we struggle often with mediocrity that refuses to change. We MUST instill in the students that desire to learn and struggle - with minor exceptions, all of us have to struggle to learn - with or without computers, with or without backward operating systems, with or without computer algebraic systems, with or without having to create GUI's or powerpoints or whatever. Oh, and this is not about having Luddites in the teaching faculty, but about the principles and approaches for learning that have always depended on that amazing rapport that develops between the teacher and the student in a classroom (yes, even in that electronic classroom) |
| "Fait Accompli? Trial Balloons? Clueless?" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 07:47:20 pm on April 7, 2009. |
| There are committees all over the place - departmental, college, campus wide, senate ... looking for ways to realign, reorganize. One hopes that somewhere in all that noise is some signal that will emerge - OR has that signal always existed only to show up when all that has been said and done? There is no such thing as "decision by committee" (particularly on a university campus). Thus, I wonder - how does consensus emerge? How do we really know that there has been consensus? The far more important question is - Does there have to be consensus? If one expects to get consensus among university faculty on anything, then I have a bridge to sell. What would help, is for us to know what if any of the suggestions, ideas that may have bubbled up make sense to those that "arrive" at the "consensus" (or "adjust" the final result to achieve "consensus"). Having the opportunity to participate in the decision making process helps, only if those that participate in it feel that they are truly being listened to, some feedback on how what they say or write or share was useful in some way as the decision making progresses. These are indeed tough times, opacity can make it tougher, being obdurate can make it impossible. |
| "Followup Technology in the Classroom" by: J J Weimer | @ 09:00:14 pm on April 8, 2009. |
| As you say, learning is a struggle. One usually learns nothing (ie, has no struggles) when being merrily entertained. Yet one can often be reasonably entertained while learning (ie, struggling) quite a bit. To what extent does the use of technology play a role in any differences between the two experiences? Before demanding of instructors the sole responsibility to adopt technology and adapt teaching methods when students fail to learn, at least bring such questions into consideration in the evaluation of our teaching performance. |
| "Followup Technology in the Classroom" by: J J Weimer | @ 09:00:14 pm on April 8, 2009. |
| As you say, learning is a struggle. One usually learns nothing (ie, has no struggles) when being merrily entertained. Yet one can often be reasonably entertained while learning (ie, struggling) quite a bit. To what extent does the use of technology play a role in any differences between the two experiences? Before demanding of instructors the sole responsibility to adopt technology and adapt teaching methods when students fail to learn, at least bring such questions into consideration in the evaluation of our teaching performance. |
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| "Website presence" by: HAC | @ 08:45:42 pm on April 27, 2009. |
| Why not feature students and images of student achievement on the web page home page. Every time I've opened it in the last few weeks I see another image of Dave Williams grinning and shaking hands with someone or accepting an award. He is NOT the face of UAH. Show scholarship winners, or senior presentations or students interacting. I'm tired of Dave. Take that how youwill. |
| "Bicycles on Campus" by: J J Weimer | @ 09:34:52 pm on April 27, 2009. |
| Why not make it required that any bicycle used on the UAH campus must have working front and rear LIGHTS (not just reflectors!) and a working bell (these are standard requirements for even owning a bicycle in Germany from 30 years ago!). This request comes from just having nearly run into two guys on bicycles absent any rear reflectors wearing completely dark clothes and crossing Sparkman on Technology Drive at 9pm to head to Tech Hall. Having ridden a bicycle for over thirty years now and done so in major US and European cities, the stupidity of this incident not that far from a bicycle parked as a memorial to a recent tragedy leaves me rather dumbfounded. |
| "Bicycles on Campus" by: J J Weimer | @ 09:34:52 pm on April 27, 2009. |
| Why not make it required that any bicycle used on the UAH campus must have working front and rear LIGHTS (not just reflectors!) and a working bell (these are standard requirements for even owning a bicycle in Germany from 30 years ago!). This request comes from just having nearly run into two guys on bicycles absent any rear reflectors wearing completely dark clothes and crossing Sparkman on Technology Drive at 9pm to head to Tech Hall. Having ridden a bicycle for over thirty years now and done so in major US and European cities, the stupidity of this incident not that far from a bicycle parked as a memorial to a recent tragedy leaves me rather dumbfounded. |
| "Re: Bicycles on Campus" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 07:40:45 am on April 28, 2009. |
| Yes, it would be a good idea for cyclists to be visible. The problem is one of culture - we are simply not used to sharing the road with cyclists who also seem unaware of simple rules to coexist. Huntsville, as a city is remarkably unfriendly to cyclists, it is something we need to work hard to change while educating the cyclists to remember the rules of the road and to make themselves visible to all others. |
| "Health and Hand Washing" by: Swine Flu | @ 09:10:45 am on April 30, 2009. |
| Yeah, it sure would be nice if we had paper towels in our bathrooms, during an outbreak of the Swine Flu in Huntsville/Madison. The CDC has recommend hand washing as a primary way to prevent the spread of this disease, but this university has done a great job discouraging hand washing, by eliminating paper towels. (And one hand-dryer for a full bathroom is woefully inadequate.)<br />
<br />
I dream that, one day, UAH will be the caliber of university that has paper towels. One day ... one day ... |
| "Health and Hand Washing" by: bringyourown | @ 10:29:39 am on May 4, 2009. |
| Paper towels are not expensive. Bring a roll from home. Paper towels for the dispensers cost 26K per year. I can help the university in these times (and myself) by simply bringing a roll to work with me. |
| "Health and Hand Washing" by: bringyourown | @ 10:29:39 am on May 4, 2009. |
| Paper towels are not expensive. Bring a roll from home. Paper towels for the dispensers cost 26K per year. I can help the university in these times (and myself) by simply bringing a roll to work with me. |
| "The glass is twice as big as it should be" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 07:06:42 pm on May 9, 2009. |
| It is always a delight to watch students march confidently across the stage and proudly accept proof of their having earned their diploma. Every graduate has a story, one of transformation through personal and professional struggles - and of their own growth as they navigate their chosen program of study. I am amazed every year when I reflect back on how much these students change - for the better - and how much they change us by their presence and persistence and their drive to learn and achieve. It is important that we remind ourselves of our success - the enabling of the success of our students. Just as the education of our new graduate enters a new phase, so do we, or I should say we MUST enter a new phase - we must get even better. We must always remember to honor those that struggled to achieve their goals by making sure that we will keep our standards high and keep shrinking the boundaries of our ignorance. |
| "Supply Side Economics" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 11:22:01 am on May 10, 2009. |
| Conventional wisdom can be turned upside down if we assume that demand can be elastic and will respond to incentives. Revenue will depend not just on tuition/fees, but also the number of students. Models that assume that demand (students) will be steady or increase when tuition/fees go up may need to be examined closely. Nationwide, all universities are dealing with significant cutbacks in their revenue stream and the universal approach seems to be to increase tuition - hoping that any loss of revenue from possible drop in enrollments can be made up by increasing tuition. This may be our time to do the unconventional - Announce that we will drop or hold our tuition/fees while spreading the word of what a good deal we offer. I can almost hear the howls (perhaps even laughter). Yes, there is plenty of evidence to support the idea that static economic analysis can often lead to incorrect predictions - that the public does respond rationally to economic incentives. And yes, it does depend on where we are on the economic/price scale. We cannot simply assume that revenues will increase proportionally to increases in tuition. I realize however that accepting the data from a dynamic analysis depends to a large extent on which side of the political spectrum one lies. Are we willing to examine all options? Do we believe that the ratio of quality to price we offer will allow us to do the unconventional and come out ahead? Price does matter, the ratio of quality to price matters even more. <br />
|
| "Buck the Tide? Naah - too difficult" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 09:05:00 pm on June 16, 2009. |
| Narendra Karmarkar changed the world of optimization with his interior point algorithm - and took a leap beyond simplex. Once, as he was interviewed in his office at Bell Labs, he was told of the many programmers who were working hard to translate his ideas into code. The interviewer then asked him as to what kind of computers he used and what language he wrote his programs on. His reply was - paper and pencil. What was incredibly complex to many and required thousands of man hours was incredibly straightforward to him - he could think. Innovation is NOT about doing following the crowd, but doing something INNOVATIVE. The world may be onto something new in X, Y or Z and most universities behave like lemmings - "We must do this or else we will be left behind". Balderdash. If we do something because "everyone is doing it" - it only serves to show the poverty of ideas - that all we can do is become second raters. The only sure fire way to grow snd survive is to BUCK THE TREND and show that WE have something unique to offer - if not, we may as well just quit and become automatons and blind followers. |
| "Why bother?" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 07:48:23 am on June 17, 2009. |
| Someone recently said that "Words Matter". I'd translate that into "Ideas Matter" (someone else said that before I did). "Protests Matter" - I would like to think. Yet, too often they do not - it depends all too often on the audience and the structure and support that surround such audience. There may be a lot of yelling and screaming directed at an audience that supposedly can do something, yet much of it dissolves into random noise - not by chance, but by deliberate design of appearing to listen while doing everything to degrade the signals into background noise. Are we in for a summer of content? Naah - that would imply that things will actually happen in the right direction. Why do I even bother to write? I ask that often. I am writing for myself with the faint hope that some of these "Words" do matter, some of the "Ideas" do matter. |
| "How Things get Done" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 06:41:46 pm on June 20, 2009. |
| The internet has changed everything, some good, a lot for worse. The meaning of words like "discussion" and "consultation" and "advice" and "consent" have changed, for the worse. Watch for example how "discussions" often happen. a) An email is sent by person A to B b) B sends email to C, D, E etc c) C, D, E etc send emails to B, A and everyone else. d) Repeat (a), (b) and (c) a few times. e) A and B will then claim that there has been "vigorous" discussion f) A will them implement the policies he/she wants. <br />
The delta time between (a) and (f) may be all of a few hours to perhaps a day or so. As "evidence" of "asking for input" will be a voluminous stack of emails that are lengthy and from different people. Yet, often such emails lack depth and clarity, yet "A" will take that as "evidence" of "consultation". <br />
twitter, facebook, myspace, blogspot, twiki, mediawiki are all wonderful - except that they "taste great" but are "less filling" (as that famous Beer Ad claims). Clifford Stoll wrote a book titled "Cuckoo's Egg" about how he caught some hackers from Europe as they attempted to break into some systems at UCBerkeley. Great book. In the preface, he writes that while he weclomes contact with readers, he asks that they send him a POST CARD and not email (!) ... This is from a certified hacker (THE HACKER of ALL HACKERS) superior user of real computer operating systems! |
| "More is better than Less (or so they say)" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 06:26:15 pm on June 21, 2009. |
| And what do they say?<br />
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124545278041532805.html<br />
<br />
(Degrees - come one, come all) (or so they say) |
| "Curious" by: Anonymous poster | @ 09:23:32 am on June 24, 2009. |
| What is being installed in the roundabout in front of the Shelby Center? |
| "Re: Curious" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 09:04:13 am on July 4, 2009. |
| I do not think anyone monitors these posts regularly. So, in answer to your question, someone knows as to what is being installed and why. This website offers a way for venting or asking questions or making suggestions for one's own sake - Some of us may just feel better, for writing or asking. I remember hearing Thomas Sowell (and other writers) expressing an opinion as to why they (and others write - They do for their own sake, not because they know that someone will read and listen and perhaps do something because something is written. One of these days, perhaps someone will answer the question or redirect you to someplace which has answers to campus goings on. |
| "Re: Curious" by: LisaB | @ 01:14:50 pm on July 8, 2009. |
| Apparently, 3 flagpoles are being installed there. |
| "...inform the students?" by: sarahg | @ 07:31:55 pm on July 14, 2009. |
| I didn't get an email about the new "liberal arts fees" that are being tacked onto tuition bills this summer and fall. <br />
I was just wondering what the money was being used for??? |
| "...inform the students?" by: sarahg | @ 07:31:55 pm on July 14, 2009. |
| I didn't get an email about the new "liberal arts fees" that are being tacked onto tuition bills this summer and fall. <br />
I was just wondering what the money was being used for??? |
| "What non-freshman dorm is best?" by: New Girl | @ 07:21:52 am on July 15, 2009. |
| Right now i have the choice of staying in SECH or NCH...which one would you prefer? This will be my first year at UAH and I havent visited the campus. Also where is the cafe located? |
| "What non-freshman dorm is best?" by: New Girl | @ 07:21:52 am on July 15, 2009. |
| Right now i have the choice of staying in SECH or NCH...which one would you prefer? This will be my first year at UAH and I havent visited the campus. Also where is the cafe located? |
| "What non-freshman dorm is best?" by: New Girl | @ 07:21:52 am on July 15, 2009. |
| Right now i have the choice of staying in SECH or NCH...which one would you prefer? This will be my first year at UAH and I havent visited the campus. Also where is the cafe located? |
| "How long does it take to walk across campus?" by: New Girl | @ 07:58:46 am on July 15, 2009. |
| Like i stated in my previous post i have never visited the campus and im not sure how long it takes to walk across campus. For instance how long does it take to walk from the SECH to the cafeteria? O and can you drive to and from classes? |
| "Re: Campus" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 10:15:32 am on July 17, 2009. |
| I am sorry that no one seems to be monitoring these pages to help newcomers like you.<br />
<br />
Start here <br />
<br />
http://www.uah.edu/map/<br />
<br />
The "University Center" is where the main dining area is (for now). In addition, there are places close to campus (need a car or a bike).<br />
<br />
SECH is a longer walk to the dining area than NCH for sure. |
| "Re:Re: Campus" by: New Girl | @ 01:47:15 pm on July 17, 2009. |
| Thanks a million Dr. Chittur. Yea I wish more people would monitor this site. But again thanks for your help and see you in the Fall(Im a CPE major). |
| "Re: Campus" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 10:13:44 am on July 18, 2009. |
| Welcome to the campus. Have fun as you stretch your mind and capabilities (I know we do what we can to make sure you work hard(!)) (I teach Chemical Engineering, not CPE - but still Welcome!) |
| "A better discussion forum that actually gets a timely response (albeit controversial at times)" by: Master Opie Wan | @ 02:51:49 pm on July 22, 2009. |
| New Girl - You might try the uahunderground forum for answers to your questions about the UAHuntsville campus. http://www.uahunderground.com Many students and alums post there and discuss anything and everything including what are the best dorms. It might help you make a few new friends before moving in. And like Dr. Chittu stated earlier, welcome to UAHuntsville! |
| "A better discussion forum that actually gets a timely response (albeit controversial at times)" by: Master Opie Wan | @ 02:51:49 pm on July 22, 2009. |
| New Girl - You might try the uahunderground forum for answers to your questions about the UAHuntsville campus. http://www.uahunderground.com Many students and alums post there and discuss anything and everything including what are the best dorms. It might help you make a few new friends before moving in. And like Dr. Chittu stated earlier, welcome to UAHuntsville! |
| "New Students" by: LH | @ 09:17:04 am on July 23, 2009. |
| The underground forum is usually a good place for students to share, vent, etc., but new students don't always know about it. Maybe a student version of this forum needs to be added to the campus pages/Chargernet. |
| "New Students continued" by: LH | @ 09:38:50 am on July 23, 2009. |
| I forgot to add that I know students use this forum, but since it's designed to be an electronic suggestion box, maybe the student forum would be more of an open campus guide to the best housing, places near campus, etc. That way new students who don't yet know about the uahunderground will have some answers before they get to campus. |
| "UAH auto tags" by: Jerry Mebane | @ 08:55:25 am on July 28, 2009. |
| Why not allow a credit toward a parking sticker for those who have UAH tags on their cars? I'm afraid that we are going to lose a lot of publicity that comes from the many tags I now see on automobiles. |
| "Re: UAH auto tags" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 11:55:40 am on August 4, 2009. |
| That change in parking sticker policy seems short sighted. There are many ways to increase revenue - ticking off the well wishers is not one of them. There were many who willingly forked an additional $50 to have the privilege of having a UAH plate - recognizing such people as the parking sticker fees were hiked, should have been something I wish we had done. Oh well ... Stuff happens. |
| ""Why Not" Layout and then some..." by: RB | @ 04:24:46 am on August 5, 2009. |
| First off, I find the layout of this page horrific. Nothing personal to the designer of the page, I'm just surprised at how badly it hurts my eyes to read and follow. <br />
<br />
Some spacing between comments would be nice and would make it easier to read. That's really all a sidenote, though.<br />
<br />
I've read quite a bit on here about switching over the campus email over to someone like Gmail and I have two things to say about this: 1) I agree with all stated "Pros" such as increased storage, better equipped staff [as Google is a much larger corporation than UAH and Google has a whole branch devoted solely to massive email management so no offense meant to the email management] and I think it might be an overall better interface [that's just me seeing as I'm a big Gmail fan] but I will say that 2) I wonder what kind of access Google would have to our emails. I know that "sensitive" information should not be sent via email anyways but I'd worry opening a 3rd-party [such as Google] up to handling our emails we might risk a security breach. <br />
<br />
I'm not saying Google would snoop but it's just something to take into account when weighing Pros and Cons. <br />
<br />
Overall, I vote for switching over to Gmail. It also comes with a handy application for my PPC so I can check remotely from the road. <br />
<br />
Another issue I have is with the Wifi access. I understand WHY UAH would put the Cisco agent into play but it means I can't access the Wifi via my phone like I can anywhere else Wifi. It would be nice to have either an unencrypted Wifi spot or an encrypted one w/o the need for the Cisco agent. <br />
<br />
On car tags: I too would like to see UAH car tags counted as credit towards the decals. I would personally love having a personalized UAH plate (call me nerdy and/or sentimental lol) but don't feel like forking over the money for both the tag AND the decal at their current rates. <br />
<br />
I like the idea of covered bike racks seeing as I'm the proud new owner of a bike I plan to ride to and from class. <br />
<br />
In reply to the comment about making lights and bells a requirement for bike riders, in Alabama you are required to have both a front light (that shines 500 ft) and a rear light if you are to ride on any street in the state so technically the two folks who the poster claims they nearly ran over are in the wrong and if they were to have been hit then they would have been in the wrong there.<br />
<br />
I'm new to UAH but with the vast amount of technology in Huntsville I'm disappointed at the pay-per-print at the library and the lack of campus-wide Wifi and the need for the Clean Agent for EVER internet access.<br />
<br />
I toured JSU, UAB and UAH before deciding on UAH and now I wonder if UAB wouldn't have been better on the technology side of things. I don't question UAH's standards as far as teaching goes but I see that the technology isn't quite keeping up with the times. <br />
<br />
Anyways, I'm done commenting and complaining. Maybe if someone reads this then they will perhaps actually do something about the complaints and will be happy with the comments.<br />
<br />
That's about all I've got.<br />
<br />
Thanks<br />
-RB |
| "Re: Why not Layout and then some" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 08:22:21 pm on August 5, 2009. |
| I guess your first suggestion is to improve this page. The transition to gmail does require answers to issues of privacy and perhaps confidentiality for project sponsors - Company/Agency A funding a project may require secure communication with faculty/staff - wonder if google can guarantee that and if the sponsors will buy that. The GUI interface is a minor issue, I can imagine slapping any GUI with the ability to set/choose smtp/imap servers and read the INBOX from typical unix servers. Yes, access to WiFi can be a pain, there must be a better way. The change in policy about car tags (UAH plates) is puzzling at best. A bad idea to tick some supporters off - I wonder if the Campus police become more active in writing tickets - could become a significant revenue generator. This is a place to offer suggestions and comments to make UAH better - the problem is that it is impossible to know if any of these comments have made a difference and improved the campus or not. There does not seem to be anyone/any group that monitors these comments or add notes here to suggest that specific actions were taken based on something written here. Well, welcome to UAH - we are glad you chose us over UAB and JSU. We ARE the best, I'll speak for myself for sure (OK, a few others may not mind if I speak for them!) |
| "Google/Microsoft as college email providers" by: LH | @ 03:14:00 pm on August 14, 2009. |
| Here is a link from Time about using Google or Microsoft as campus email providers: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1915112,00.html?cnn=yes |
| "Save Money" by: dht | @ 07:34:00 pm on September 3, 2009. |
| How ridiculous is the "information desk" in the UC? The University (our tuition dollars) are paying a person roughly $8 an hour to sit on a office chair and do their homework or surf the web. A worker is there from open-close daily. Even if a new student or visitor had a question to ask, the workers hardly ever have the correct information for people. This position needs to be evaluated. |
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| "Re: Save the Money" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 03:28:49 pm on September 24, 2009. |
| $8 is chump change. It's a drip compared to the gushers that seem to sprout every so often. The problem is with the bigger picture and the lack of control over such. |
| "Blah Blah Blah" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 09:39:06 am on September 26, 2009. |
| Why post at all? |
| "Comedy on Campus (Or is it Tragedy?)" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 03:58:20 pm on September 29, 2009. |
| It is pretty comical to watch the campus goings on. Groups stand around arguing about this/that, angry at something the administration did, writing letters expressing their anger/disappointment (whatever) and yet the administration does what it wants. There is a disconnect between what some segments of the campus think, feel and what those that control the purse strings do. It is clear that what a lot of the faculty think is irrelevant to the administration - Faculty be damned. Too bad. Perhaps we are reverting to that model for the campus - an extension to serve the needs of the Army and NASA. Faculty are an unruly bunch (it seems) and so there is no such thing as discussion - decisions by fiat. There is just way too much talk and not enough guts on the part of many to do something about what they are upset about. (Me? Oh, no, I am a voice from the wilderness occupying some space on a building on campus). |
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| "Defining Down" by: Krishnan Chittur | @ 10:03:44 am on November 12, 2009. |
| The recession continues to inflict pain so widely, with no real end in sight. Education can clearly help many, but prices keep rising even faster than inflation. So, I heard recently a drive to reduce the time it may take to get that "College Degree". But it will help if and only if cost per unit time in college remains steady - or does not rise faster than the reduction in the time to graduate. N (time to graduate in years) multiplied by C (cost per year to graduate) can decrease only if N or C decreases and will remain the same if N decreases even as C increase. It's all about dynamic analysis of the cost benefit equation and as to who bears what cost for what benefit. What about the impact of reduction in N? Are we to pretend that even as N is reduced, the quality will remain the same? Really? In that case, I am impressed. We may have stumbled on a great formula to pull ourselves out of the recessionary pain indeed. |
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