Computer help will be just down the hallway in many academic departments this year thanks to an additional $2 million in funding for informational technology. Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Robert Grey allocated the money to deans this fall to hire technology support staff and buy instructional-technology equipment. Meanwhile, a proposal, requested by Grey, would create a new unit to provide instructional technology and media services to the faculty. And undergraduate and graduate-student leaders are considering whether to ask students to increase their fees to improve remote access to the campus network. Such actions come in response to a report last spring that concluded the Division of Information Technology was being pulled in too many directions to fully serve the campus. The report, the result of a 10-month administrative unit review, called for academic and administrative departments to take more responsibility for providing their own basic technology support. Other recommendations included: reorganizing some units to eliminate duplication of services and customer confusion over their functions; improving campus intranet security; reviewing the use and distribution of administrative computing, instructional computing and media funds; improving student access to the modem pool; improving customer service; reducing turnover of technology support staff; and improving communication, both within Information Technology and between the organization and the rest of campus. While many recommendations awaited the new vice provost for information and educational technology, John Bruno, who started his job this fall, the Information Technology division proceeded in making numerous changes in the meantime. A point-by-point response to the report was published in the July issue of the IT Times. The action plan also can be found on the Web at http://it.ucdavis.edu/adminrev/AUR_Response.html. Of the technology-support funds, $1.69 million were permanently allocated according to a formula recommended by the campus Academic Computing Coordinating Council and based on the size of faculty and courseloads in each college, school and division. Allocations were $300,000 to the Division of Social Sciences; $265,000 to the College of Engineering; $250,000 to the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies; $225,000 to the Division of Mathematics and Physical Sciences; $200,000 to the College of Agricultural and Environmental Studies; $150,000 to the School of Medicine; $125,000 to the Division of Biological Sciences; $100,000 to the School of Veterinary Medicine; $35,000 to the School of Law; $25,000 to the Graduate School of Management; and $15,000 to the Division of Education. The remaining $400,000 was given in similar proportions on a one-time basis. Grey intends to allocate that money on a permanent basis in 2000-01 to meet information-technology needs expressed by colleges, schools and divisions in their academic plans. The money allocated this fall was a particular boon to the social-science and humanities programs, which historically have received fewer technology resources. "For the first time, we have been able to ensure that the computing needs of all our faculty are fully met," said Elizabeth Langland, dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies. "In addition, we have been able to begin planning the development of courses that explore the intersections between the arts and technology and between the humanities and technology." Steven Sheffrin, dean of social sciences, said the funding will enable his division to hire computer technicians for five departments. The division is also setting aside additional money for computer hardware. A 'tremendous impact' "It has a tremendous impact," Sheffrin said of the funding. "We're very pleased with this." The money includes $1.25 million in new state funding for instructional technology. The remaining $750,000 comes from "instructional use of computing funds" redirected from the information technology division. Grey also directed each dean and vice chancellor to appoint a liaison to the Division of Information Technology and urged them to encourage their departments to provide adequately trained technology-support staff. While the new funds will enable colleges, schools and divisions to provide on-the-spot technical assistance, the planned technology and media services unit aims to improve the quality of central campus support for instructional technology. The proposed unit would consolidate services currently scattered throughout the Division of Information Technology -- such as Instructional Media, Creative Communication Services and The Arbor, which provides support to the faculty in the use of instructional technology. The new unit would report directly to the new vice provost for information and educational technology, leaving the information technology division to focus more on administrative computing and the campus infrastructure. Bruno, a former UC Santa Barbara computer science professor who took the vice provost position here last month, said the proposed educational technology unit could help relieve faculty members of "the excessive burden technology is placing on them." "They already teach their courses," he said. "Now they have to be desktop publishers, manage their systems, learn new software packages and manage their e-mail. They may participate in a chat room with students. They face pressure to put their notes online." Growing use of instructural technology The need to rely on instructional technology is likely to grow as student enrollments increase, he said. "The opportunity here is to somehow bring more focus to these [existing campus] resources." The steering committee of the Academic Computing Coordinating Council reviewed the proposal to create the new unit on Monday. The proposal is scheduled to go before the full council for a recommendation next Monday. "I think there's a lot of support for this notion," said Harry Matthews, a biological chemistry professor at the medical school and the council's chair. "I'm certainly hoping this will happen in the next four or six months." The proposal discussed with student leaders would ask students to raise their fees $12 a quarter to improve access to the campus student and staff modem pool. That fee, roughly $4 a month, is far lower than commercial rates, which typically cost $18 to $20. Approximately $1 million a year raised by the proposed student-fee increase would enable the campus to install faster modems and provide one line for every 15 students, a significant improvement over the current rate. Last year's report found that about 17,000 people use the modem pools to connect to the network from off campus. And demand is growing fast. Frustration was especially high among students, who complained to the administrative review committee about difficulties in making initial connections. Student polls have found students would support paying a technology fee if it clearly benefited them, the report said. Past student-government leaders have also endorsed such a fee. However, Phong La, president of the Associated Students of UC Davis, said current leaders need to decide whether the fee increase is needed. In other changes, the information technology division is: working to update its Web pages; drafting a white paper on security of the campus intranet; and recruiting two policy analysts and an information security officer to help Bruno advise campus leadership and advisory committees and councils.