Student computing fees and Learning Spaces proposals: a refresher

It’s that time of year again – the time when the Teaching and Learning Portfolio begins the complicated process of allocating student computing fees to the various colleges, libraries, centers, and interdisciplinary programs on campus.

Each year, student computing fees are charged to all students who pay tuition, and that money goes into a big pot to be distributed a number of ways – a portion is allocated towards central services, such as campus wireless access, information security, administrative applications for students, etc. – and another large portion is set aside to be distributed to the groups listed above.

As one can imagine, it’s a complex process, and care must be taken so it’s managed in the most judicious way.

“We are keenly aware of the responsibility of making prudent decisions about the use of student computing fees, and always have the potential impact on students as the principal criteria we use to allocate funds,” said Dr. Martha Bradley-Evans, Senior Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Catherine Soehner, Associate Dean for Research and User Services, agreed.

“The Teaching and Learning Portfolio takes its role very seriously. We discuss each request in depth, and consider what will serve our students most prior to making decisions,” she said. “There are frequently more dollars requested than dollars available to distribute, so the discussions can be intense as we weigh the value to students of choosing one project over another.”

The most important thing to remember about learning spaces proposals is that the funding requests must benefit students.

"All requests are carefully reviewed to ensure funding goes directly to student learning needs on campus," said Kirsten Butcher, Director for the Center for the Advancement of Technology in Education. 

Additionally, the requests must be needs-based, have broad impact (i.e. support a large number of students), and take into account common resources or software agreements that may already exist on campus, such as Box storage, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office, and so on.

“The Portfolio has a student representative who is pivotal in assisting the portfolio in making final decisions,” said Soehner. “We depend on that student to provide insight into the needs of students and guide our decision-making efforts.”

Due to the nature of the process, there’s a strict procedure groups must follow in order to request funds. The deadline for submitting proposals is Friday, February 26, 2016, and groups can now conveniently do this online. (Prior years required groups to manually submit spreadsheet proposals.)

During March, a holistically and strategically selected task force (separate from the Teaching and Learning Portfolio) will conduct individual interviews with every group that submitted a funding request proposal. Task force members are drawn from a variety of areas and disciplines, including a number of IT professionals, to ensure all bases are covered. 

"Information gathered by the task force is instrumental in helping the Teaching and Learning portfolio better understand current needs, long-term goals, and the potential for funding to improve student learning," said Butcher.

Soehner added, “The interviews help to clarify how money will be used, identify top priorities, and determine if other resources exist to meet the needs of the unit making the requests."

Finally, in April, the Teaching and Learning Portfolio will review the proposals and notes from the task force interviews and send out final award notifications to each group.

“The Portfolio aims for transparent communication, and these award notifications are an excellent step in that direction," said Soehner.

"The Teaching and Learning Portfolio spends months gathering requests, accumulating information on technology needs, reviewing data, and trying to achieve equitable distribution of limited funding," added Butcher. "The Portfolio knows that supporting high-quality teaching and learning through digital- and technology-based solutions is a critical mission of the University of Utah."

 

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