Los Angeles Mission College

Academic Technology Facilities & Equipment

Upgrade & Replacement Plan

During the week of January 19, 2004 I spent two days reviewing the existing placement of dedicated and public access academic computer facilities at the College. My objective was to determine the number and placement of desktop PC’s that required replacement, and to assess whether the placement of PC’s could be optimized to facilitate support as well as provide academic departments in need of teaching computer labs with appropriate facilities.

It was determined that a multi-layered strategy which incorporated new student public access PC’s, combined with departmental dedicated PC labs, and the addition of a new category of teaching lab; academic department shared facilities, could accomplish the above objectives. The overall philosophy incorporated within this approach would be to revert to the original vision for the LRC as the primary student public computer access facility, combined with the creation of several departmental shared facilities within the LRC, and the continued dedication of certain departmental labs.

What follows is a description by the proposed facility categories and the number of PC’s in need of replacement, the proposed location of the facility and the group or department to be served by the facility. At this juncture I am recommending the total number of PC’s requiring replacement by location. Once College executives have had the opportunity to review and comment on the following recommendations, and have had an opportunity to review the financial impact of the proposed upgrades, I would be prepared to establish either an additional two or three year roll-out strategy for the proposed equipment replacement.

1. Student Public Access Facilities – Learning Resource Center

At the present time there are a total of 153 stations located in the main hall of the first floor LRC. 142 of the devices are dedicated as general purpose public access with the 9 remaining devices dedicated to math students. It is recommended that for the 2004/2005 academic year that a total of 72 PC’s be replaced in the main hall of the LRC. Given that there has been some question as to the actual total number of computers required for general access, but admittedly also recognizing that the age of these devices has made them all but unusable by academic departments, that half be replaced next year and that careful monitoring of use be performed during the academic year to determine actual utilization rates. The remaining 72 aged computers, or a portion thereof, could be kept for Internet access only or decommissioned.

2. Academic Department Shared Lab Facilities – Learning Resource Center

One of the highest priority needs for the College is to provide adequate computer based teaching facilities for several academic departments. Given that both space and financial resources are at a premium, the solution that is being proposed attempts to address both factors while still providing a solution that will enable certain key departments the ability to begin incorporating appropriate technologies within their respective curricula.

The approach being recommended is to dedicate three existing computer labs within the LRC, rooms 233, 234 and 205 to the Math Department, ESL Department, Geography and Professional Studies. The Math Department and ESL would each be provided with a computer lab dedicated to their teaching needs and sized according to their enrolled class requirements. Geography and Professional Studies would share the remaining computer lab facility. The philosophy underlying this approach would be to ensure that the respective department would have a facility dedicated to their teaching needs, with ongoing support for its use and predictable equipment replacement cycles provided by the College. In exchange for the previous the facilities would be available for public/ad hoc scheduling at all other times.

In order to implement the above approach the following will be required. The Multi-Media lab, presently located in Room 233 would be relocated to the basement level of the LRC. At least 24 new computers would be purchased for use within Room 233. Computers have already been purchased for Room 234 so their deployment is all that is necessary to make 234 suitable. The 40 diskless computers in Room 205 would be redeployed for other College use and 40 new devices would be purchased for Room 205.

3. Dedicated Academic Department Facilities – Instructional Building

Several Academic Departments have had the benefit of dedicated computer lab facilities for their students. These include Accounting, CIS, CAOT, and Engineering. In addition, Chemistry and Natural Science have managed to provide computers, while not ideally, within their pre-existing laboratory environments. Our overall approach recommends that these departments maintain their existing facilities but certain upgrades be made available.

CIS requires that 62 aged PII computers be upgraded, and the Accounting Department, which had a sufficient number of PC’s, experienced a theft of these devices during the fall semester and it is not clear if these devices are scheduled to be replaced. If not, they will need to be, or an alternative placement for Accounting teaching requirements will be necessary. The best apparent solution to improve the computing capability for Chemistry and the Natural Sciences would be the introduction of departmental owned and supported laptops operating on a wireless network that can be wheeled into each laboratory as needed by instructors.

Estimated Replacement & Available PC’s

Location & Category	LRC Student Public Access	LRC Shared Department	IB Dedicated Department	Totals
Existing Devices	153	70**	137***	360
Replacement Devices	72	64 (24 in room 233 & 40 in room 205)	112 (62 CIS replacements & 50 for Chemistry & Natural Sciences)	248
Total to be made Available	81*	94	187	362

*Includes 9 existing dedicated Math computers

**30 devices are ready for installation in Room 234 of the LRC & 40 existing PC’s in Room 205 to be redeployed

***Includes CIS & CAOT only

Note: Analysis does not include Multi-Media Program

The above chart identifies existing PC’s by location, the recommended replacement PC’s, and the total available PC’s for public student use and academic department use post replacement.

The next steps in moving the above recommendations forward would be a determination by the College as to the actual number of PC’s that can be budgeted for in 2004/2005. If based upon financial constraints devices would need to be replaced in ensuing fiscal years then I will develop a two or three year proposed replacement strategy based upon College priorities. Detailed system configurations, along with maintenance and replacement schedules, will be collaboratively developed with affected academic departments and added to the plan once given general approval.