April 08, 1994 Issue 21 Loquitur

Page 1

Friday, April8, 1994 Vol.XL,No.21 CabriniCollege Radnor, Pa. 19087

Computingbudgetscompared by Catherine Smotherman assistant news editor

Over the past five years, spending on computing resources for faculty and students has been substantially below the amount brought in by computer class· lab fees, while spending on administrative staff computing has been in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Administrators concede that there has been a definite imbalance but prefer to discuss the renaissance that academic computing is about to enter. "In each of the last five years, no money was budgeted for capital expenditures for CIS (the computer information science department)," said Gerald Satlow, chair of CIS. That means that no college funds were set aside for purchasing hardware or software for the department that was primarily responsible for academic computing needs. Money was not set aside in the budget because donations were expected to cover the needs of academic computing, according to Mary Ann Biller, vice-president for enrollment management and special assistant to the president for educational affairs. CIS was budgeted approximate1y $5,000 per year for supplies and maintenance, which had to cover everything down to paper for the printers. "A little arithmetic will show that lab fees brought in around $14,000 per year," Sallow said. None of the hardware or software in the computer lab was under maintenance, nor is it now. For hardware, a maintenance contract means that when equipment breaks, the vendor will repair it quickly for no additional charge. Maintenance is not needed on hardware that is still under warranty. For software, it means the user will receive periodic upgrades to the software without additional charges. Therefore, the computer lab staff had to do a lot of their own maintenance, including running cable and even making the cabling sometimes. In order to buy software they thought would be useful, CIS undertook the high-tech equivalent of a bake sale. Computer lab assistants, on federal work study/grant, prepared floppy disks for lab use

and CIS received part of what the bookstore charged for each disk.

OAcademic and administrative computing In 1989 the bulk of academic computing resources was 20 personal computers that were so out of date that Barbara DeWilde, coordinator of academic computing services, described them as literally being in museums, even as they were in use at Cabrini. That same year, college administrators got an IBM AS400 minicomputer, terminals and PCs for most administrative offices and a customized version of a large software package designed to support college administration computing needs. Both the hardware and software have been continuously under maintenance since they were purchased, except when hardware warranties made it unnecessary. Minicomputers have the kind of power that used to be associated with mainframe computers. Staff members who have PCs and are connected to the AS400 can work on either their PC or the AS400. Staff with terminals work only on the AS400, which can easily handle the 40 simultaneous users that are sometimes using it. In 1992 the academic computer lab received a sizable donation from alumni and a trustee working for IBM. Due to the size of the donation, IBM matched it five times, resulting in 22 (386) PCs. In 1993, a similar donation provided the lab with 10 ( 486) PCs, a file server, an upgrade in the software that connects all the machines in the lab and a device that makes it possible to project a terminal's display onto a large screen. Various academic departments have other machines. The most notable cache is 10 MACs and a CD-ROM used by education majors. The MACs were financed primarily through a grant from the state of Pennsylvania. Thomas Boeke, provost and academic dean, did not respond to a request for a list of all academic computing resources which was made last year.

August, which will be complete by the end of April. The AS400 processor was replaced, a completely new version of the software was installed, and they acquired five gigabytes of disk storage, according to Michael Belsky, administrative systems coordinator. "(We) couldn't ask for anything better," Belsky said. "It's lightening fast and up-to-date." Knowledgeable sources estimate the cost of this upgrade at $120,000 to $200,000 dollars. The amount of money spent on administrative computing is appropriate, Biller said, because the needs are so sophisticated and the amount of data being processed is enormous. Several administrators pointed out that the computing power in administrative offices is ultimately there only to support students. As part of the nine upgrade machines, a mix of PCs and terminals were purchased, as well as an additional piece of the administrative software program to support the develop-

photo by Kelly McDonald

First-year student Joe Morris works on one of the computers in the Cabrini labs while working as a lab moniter.

ment office, which had not pre- ically generated. viously been connected to the If they come to Cabrini their rest of administrative computstatus is changed, and their ining. The main administrative formation is passed on to other software package is a powerful parts of the program. There are program that integrates the work housing, advising and registraperformed in many offices. . tion components of the program, When potential students first among others, and all work tocontact Cabrini, information gether. Human resources about them is entered into the see more COMPUTERpg. 8 system and letters a1'e automat-

'Rags' to Riches

photo by Kelly McDonald

□Administrative

upgrade Administrative computing began an upgrade of both their hardware and software this past

Union recruiter Saul (Dann Trotter) introduces immigrants Rebecca (Denise Whelan), her son David (John Blackington) and her friend Bella (Katina Corrao) to the world of English in the musical "Rags." The show opens in the Grace Hall Atrium this Friday at 8 p.m.

Inside ... Week at a Glance ... tl'NEWS

pg.4

Cabrini is searching for new faculty members to fill gaps and beef up departments.

tl'SPORTSpg.12 Check out Coach's Comer and the "father figure" of Cabrini softball Inside ...

FRIDAY v'8p.m. Opening performance of "Rags" in the Grace Hall Atrium.

SATURDAY SUNDAY v'7:30p.m.Sixers vs. Charlotte, Adult Beach Towel Night at the Spectrum. Tickets are available in Student Activities.

v' Poetry and storytelling will take place after Rags. Come perform or enjoy in the coffee house.

April 8 to 14

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY v'7:30p.m. Counseling services will host a program for seniors in Lanshe House. The topic is "Does reality bite?"

v' The coffee house will be open at 8 p.m.

v'Sp.m. Senior Challenge "45 Nights" Happy Hour. WCGA. v'8 p.m. Theater will perform "Rags." Grace Hall Atrium.


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