East Central Community College is working to streamline campus IT services with a new rule that limits who can buy new technology for classrooms.
In the February meeting of the Board of Trustees last Tuesday, David Case, vice president for institutional research and effectiveness, explained “Policy 621.6 Information Technology Procurement” would help East Central’s IT department keep everything running smoothly.
“The purpose is to fully centralize IT procurement, more than we have now,” he said.
Currently, Case said, each department has the authority to purchase computers, tablets, smartboards or other technology for its classrooms. While that system helps individual departments get the tools they need, he said it is a nightmare for the college’s IT department, which is responsible for providing technical support for dozens of different systems across campus.
The new policy is not meant to be a cut to departments or to penalize instructors and administrators, Case said. Under the new policy, the IT department plans to standardize campus technology under one system to maximize its ability to maintain and repair the machines.
“We value standardization instead of each department having a different machine,” he said. “It would really be nice to support one standard model. We’re not trying to limit departments, just give IT some more control.”
In other business, the Board of Trustees moved forward with plans to remodel residence halls while students are on summer break. In last Tuesday’s meeting, the board accepted bids for interior painting and floor covering in Neshoba, Scott and Winston Halls. The board also accepted bids for equipment for the new Diesel Equipment Technology Program, which will be held in Philadelphia, and approved advertising for bids for a scoreboard for the new Warrior Field and bids for electrical work at the Football Operations Center.
