The ITC started our meeting off with receiving an update on the Learn@UW outage. The start of the semester is one of the busiest times for Learn@UW, as everyone checks out their course webpage. Unfortunately, on the first day of classes this semester, the extra load exposed a problem with Learn@UW, and in order to fix the system it had to be shut down. Service was restored that day, but Learn@UW serves the entire UW system, not just the
The UW is finalizing a contract for a mass text messaging system. This was already in the works before yesterday’s senselessness at NIU. This will add one more tool that the UW can use to get the word out to the UW community. A campaign to get people signed up for the service is being developed, and it’s something that ASM could get involved with. Other campuses that have text messaging systems don’t have a very high percentage of their students signed up – no campus is over 50%, and even Virginia Tech is only at about 35%. There is also an effort to look at the cellular infrastructure on campus, and how much load could it handle. At the Obama rally, some people could get through, and others couldn’t. Yesterday, cell call volume at NIU was 12 times greater than normal, which made a lot of cell phones useless. This summer the phone lines for the Twin Cities were jammed the night of the bridge collapse. I think part of any campaign should be getting people to think about how to shift the notification load to outside the immediate area. Instead of calling everyone in your family all across the country, can you get a hold of one person and ask them to call around for you?
The committee talked about information safeguarding. Recently, some UW IDs were exposed on the web, and some of those IDs were still based on social security numbers. Several years ago, all students were forced to switch to a non-SSN based ID number, but faculty and staff were not required to switch. The UW has done an inventory, and there are about 8,000 SSN-based ID numbers still active. (A few students still have SSN-based ID numbers, if they were previously a student and subsequently returned.) The UW is moving to finally force the elimination of SSN-based ID numbers once and for all.
In other ID card news, the current UW ID card is about to get an upgrade. The “One Card” will consolidate a number of existing UW ID cards into one. For example, many people carry a card for building access in addition to their UW ID. The “One Card” will be able to do both. The goal is to start issuing them by June 1st, so all incoming SOAR students will have the new card. Housing wants to start using the One Card for access to their buildings, instead of the current key frobs. This is going to present a challenge. I’m hoping that the new cards will be available this semester, so upperclassmen that live in the dorms won’t all have to get new cards on their first day back on campus next fall, but it doesn’t sound likely they’ll be ready before finals.
The agenda and supporting documents, along with past meeting minutes, are on the ITC website: itc.wisc.edu
2 comments:
I'm concerned about the fluidity of residence in Housing and what that means for the One Card. It would potentially require a lot of replacement One Cards for various reasons:
- many students switch dorms between SOAR and their arrival on campus in August
- switching roommates at the semester (or earlier/later) might result in a change in building and thus a change in card
- moving out of the residence hall after freshman year would require a change to the One Card (which also raises the question of whose responsibility is it to follow up on students who move from residence halls to change their One Card and prevent unauthorized access to Housing buildings?)
- Housing employees including non-residents often need access to the buildings and that is transient as well (I'm a chem tutor at Gordon Commons, and I pick up my materials from Sellery using a key fob. I don't want to get a new ID and then change it back if I don't work there anymore)
And then the ultimate question of who pays for it? I know replacement IDs are somewhere around $15. Where does the burden lie?
I'm definitely against using a One Card for access to Housing buildings.
First off, a disclaimer: The OneCard hasn't really come up in the ITC since I've been appointed to the committee, so I'm no expert on the exact details of how everything is going to work.
My understanding of the OneCard is that none of the scenarios you present require a change in your card. You'd carry your same OneCard for your entire career at the UW. As you needed access to different buildings, your ID would automatically be added to the list that can open the door, and when you don't need access anymore, you're removed. So, if you're a chem tutor and you need to be able to get into Sellery, it's easy, you can just be enabled for Sellery. If you switch dorms midyear, your card will automatically work at the new dorm second semester.
The OneCard would become the UW ID card. You'd use your OneCard to go to the SERF, check out books from the library, get lunch at the Union, all the stuff the current UW ID card can do. Once you left the dorms, there'd be no reason to get rid of your OneCard. If you're an upperclassman, and you never need building access, you may not ever need to upgrade to the OneCard.
Post a Comment