| The Faculty of Arts
annual Computing Plan development and preparation process
is a culmination of efforts of all academic and administrative
units within the Faculty. The Dean’s Advisory Committee on Computing (DACC)
is charged with the responsibility of reviewing the plan
and making recommendations to the Dean for approval,
and prior to submitting to Senate. DACC is comprised
of Faculty representative to Senate committee on Library
and Information Technology (LIT), a faculty member nominated
by the Dean, ATS managers and chaired by the Faculty’s
Senior Executive Officer (SEO). Although the Faculty
Computing Plan time-table preparation hinges on the timing
the “Call for Computing Plan Preparation” is
issued by the office of Vice President Academic, this
typically occurs in late October. Shortly thereafter,
Director of ATS issues a corresponding request for Unit
Computing Plans and Submission for Academic Equipment
Fund (AEF), to all units within the Faculty.
The following outlines
the time-table and ensuing process towards completion
of the Computing Plan Process:
Time-Table (may vary slightly year-over-year)
| October 3rd week |
Call for unit Computing Plan and Academic Equipment
Fund submissions |
| November 3rd week |
Deadline for submissions of final unit Computing
Plan to the Dean’s Office by posting the
plan electronically and as per instructions in
Plan Call attachments |
| November 3rd week |
Individual consultation and review meetings with
to mid-December unit Chair, Computer Coordinator
and Administrative Assistant to review plan, clarify
requests and provide guidance, prior to review
by DACC |
| Mid-December to - |
DACC meets in a series of meetings to review
unit |
| January 3rd week |
plans, determine allocations and prepare Faculty
Plan |
| January 4th week |
Deadline for DACC to submit final draft of Faculty
Computing Plan to Dean for review and approval |
| February 1st week |
Deadline for submission of Faculty Computing
Plans and Academic Equipment Fund to LIT and Information
Technology Executive Group |
| February 4th week |
Senate Committee (LIT) reviews Faculty Computing
Plans to provide advise to V.P. Academic and Chief
Information Officer (CIO) |
| By March 4th week |
CIO makes recommendations to V.P. Academic for
allocation of the AEF |
| By April 2nd week |
Consultation / feedback to Faculties |
| By May 1st week |
SEO provides Computing Plan allocations to Chairs,
Computer Coordinators and Administrative Assistants
of all Faculty units. |
Role of Academic and Administrative Units
Upon receipt of Faculty call for Computing Plans and
AEF submissions, individual units are advised to
consult with their department colleagues for input
in preparation of the unit plan. It is most important
that academic units align their computing plan with
their academic plan. This would ensure that appropriate
technology is sought in order to support and ameliorate
the academic goals and objectives of the unit. Information
technology needs to be viewed as merely a tool that
would enable units to achieve their teaching, research
and administrative goals.
Once the plan has been filed, ATS manages will review
the plan and visit each department to discuss the strategic
objectives of the information technology sought. The
discussions need to undertaken in a collaborative framework
in order to ensure the outcome yields benefit to both
the department and members of ATS. During these discussions,
ATS may provide alternative technology solutions and
may also make adjustments to the plan accordingly.
It is expected that the department Chair, Computer
Coordinator and Administrative Assistant are engaged
in the discussions. A typical discussion with a Department
/ Division may range from 60 to 90 minutes.
Role of ATS
ATS management is responsible for issuing the Call
for Unit Computing Plans and Academic Equipment Submissions
to all academic and administrative units of the Faculty.
ATS will review each plan submission, meet with department
representatives to review and discuss the technology
sought, provide alternate solutions, make adjustments
to the plan accordingly and provide recommendations
to DACC members for further discussion and committee
approval.
Upon approval of the Faculty Computing Plan, ATS
commences its implementation in May and utilizes most
of the summer to deploy technology in Faculty units
and computing labs. ATS maintains a goal of installing
all hardware-related technologies in Faculty units
by October of each year. Annual software licenses are
renewed by the following February.
Role of DACC
DACC members examine each unit plan in detail and ensure
that based on unit’s computing needs, there
is consistency in the use and deployment of technology
across the Faculty units.
DACC strives to ensure that allocations are provided
based on the strategic use of technology within the
unit and its respective use is optimized across all
Faculty units. In instances where clarity and additional
details are necessary for a unit plan, ATS is asked
to seek this information from the unit and provide
feedback to DACC, in order to assist in decision making.
DACC members are responsible for authoring the Faculty
Computing Plan and presenting it to the Dean for review
and approval. Thereafter the Faculty Computing Plan
is submitted to LIT and Information Technology Executive
Group.
The SEO, Faculty representative on LIT committee and
Director of ATS meet with LIT committee members to
discuss, clarify and defend the Faculty Computing Plan.
In May, and shortly after receiving funding allocations
from the Office of VP Academic and CIO, corresponding
allocations are provided to Faculty units by the office
of SEO.
Important Notes to Keep in Mind
Allocations provided to Faculty units are specifically
for technology items sought in the unit
plans. Sometimes units may decide to opt for alternate
technology solutions and should this
be the case they are advised to contact ATS Director.
It is not unusual that
when a unit’s computing
plan submission is fully implemented and
resulting in a residue of unspent funds in the department’s
allocation. These funds cannot be
utilized for additional technology purchases unless
approval is sought from the SEO.
If a Faculty unit has encountered a technology theft,
they are advised to contact York
Security Services and thereafter a copy of the corresponding
Security Report is forwarded to
ATS. ATS will use its best efforts to replace or
substitute the stolen equipment at the earliest.
All technology replacements are governed by the
Faculty Administrative Procedure relating to
stolen equipment. |
