Minutes, September 20, 2017 (Approved)

A meeting of the Committee on Information Systems (CIS) was held Wednesday, September 20, 2017 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM in Library Room 143. This was the first meeting for the Fall 2017 Semester. The attendees were:

1. Robert Adcock (SIS)
2. Stefano Costanzi (CAS)
3. Nancy Davenport (LIB)
4. Michael Fernandez (LIB)
5. Terry Fernandez (OIT)
6. Katie Holton (CAS)
7. Billie Jo Kaufman (WCL)
8. Sarah Menke-Fish (SOC)
9. Joseph Mortati (KSB)
10. Rick Semiatin (SPEX)
11. Sonja Walti (SPA)
12. Stef Woods (CAS)

The following items of business were discussed.

1. Chair Stefano Costanzi opened the meeting by welcoming the new members to the Committee. This was followed a discussion on whether to continue with two co-chairs or return to the three co-chair model used in previous academic years. By unanimous vote, the three-chair model was adopted and Billie Jo Kaufman (WCL) and Stef Woods (CAS) were elected to be the other co-chairs.

2. The minutes from the April 19, 2017 meeting were approved (https://blogs.library.american.edu/cis/minutes-april-19-2017-approved/).

3. Stefano Costanzi then directed the committee’s attention to the CIS Issues List, not all of which can be resolved within this academic year. Therefore, he proposed we do the following, which was unanimously-agreed upon:

Friday, October 20th Meeting (11:00 AM to Noon in SIS260)

Since Blackboard is such a central platform to most faculty and students, Joseph Mortati will request that Scott Vanek, Assistant Director, e-Learning & Instructional Design Services, give a detailed presentation on what new features are coming in Blackboard and when they will be implemented. The intent is to share this knowledge with our respective schools be and to provide useful advice on future Blackboard development.

Alan Isaac raised the issue about scheduling classrooms based on software or equipment needs vs. enrollments and modernization schedule. He will present a draft document to survey AU faculty on their software needs at the October meeting; a further discussion is scheduled for November (see below).

Wednesday, November 15th Meeting (11:00 AM to Noon in BLIB143, Library Conference Room)

Revisit discussion of classroom allocation issues with a representative from the Registrar’s office (ideally, Stephanie Brookstein, Assistant Dean for Online Learning SPExS Graduate and Online Learning Programs). Likewise, we need to discuss the requirements and schedule for classroom modernization.

4. Terry Fernandez then explained our new president’s asking about online learning platforms is an opportunity for CIS to give inputs; Sonja Walti then asked, what is the appropriate approach to online learning regarding staffing? That is, should there be a CIS response or individual ones for each school? This was tabled till Spring 2018, along with issues regarding Intellectual Property.

5. Alan Isaac raised the issue of Accessibility, that is, making legacy content accessible has resulted in some data being removed, which defeats the purpose of accessibility. Time precluded any substantive discussion on this topic.

6. There being no additional business for the good of the order, the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be held on Friday, October 20th in SIS 260 (note the different room).