Present: Arlene Allen, Britt Andreatta, Debbie Anglin, Art Battson, Larry Carver, Glenn Davis, Jim Dewey, Chuck Haines, Rick Johnson, Bill Koseluk, Elise Meyer, Ed Melschau, Bruce Miller, Joan Murdoch, Larry Murdock, Alan Moses, Stan Nicholson, Glenn Schiferl, Kevin Schmidt, Deborah Scott, Vince Sefcik, Jason Simpson, Jamie Sonsini, Bob Sugar, John Vasi, Paul Weakliem

Jim Dewey from Facilities Management brought us up to date on the electrical power shortage.  At the time of the meeting we were facing rolling blackouts.  (The campus has since received an exemption from blackouts - see  http://energy.ucsb.edu  for latest news.)  Jim described various programs under which UCSB might receive early notice or exemptions, if we are able to cut our usage by a target amount.  For example, the Demand Relief Program (DRP) specifies that we must reduce consumption by 10% within 35 minutes of notice from CAL ISO to avoid various penalties.  The baseline for such cuts is a rolling average of the previous ten days.  After discussion, ITPG decided not to produce a separate guideline for use of computer equipment; sufficient information is available on the FM website and in local media.

DECAF reported a re-evaluation of their original charter to coordinate administrative systems issues.  Given that most of those attending currently are interested in student systems, that will be the focus of the group for now.  This focus might shift with the appointment of a new VC of Administration.

One topic under discussion by DECAF is the decision of whether to buy or build a portal.  In a conference call with Gartner the group leaned that several commercial portal products are tied to other student information or e-learning suites.  The Java-in-Administration SIG is collaborating with IBS on a common portal framework while some campuses are building their own portals with acquired components.  The DECAF group plans to do some initial development on its own while keeping an eye on developments in the market.  A handout describing progress on a prototype Authentication and Session Management (ASM) service and a Mainframe Data Broker (MDB) service was provided.  A Mini-Portal prototype is also being developed with the  goal of demonstrating "proof of concept" in hopes of garnering long term funding.

An issue for student portals is the definition of "student".  Some instructors permit students to participate in their classes while they negotiate through issues in the registration process.  These students do not appear in the Student Database and are not eligible to participate in courses unless special arrangements can be made.  It was noted that such exceptions might be managed via the UCSB Directory.

The next item on the agenda was a review of topics to be presented by ITPG at the ITB meeting later in the day.  Topics included updates on NGB and IBW and planning for a new Network Funding Model.  New ideas regarding a campus archive server and high performance computing facilities were also introduced.  An update on progress toward a new telephone switch was presented and  interpretations of  previously collected survey data were reviewed.

A status report on email@ucsb.edu was provided.  One software fix and an upgrade to the hub machine remain before roll out.

A draft copy of Wireless Guidelines was circulated by Communications Services.

Britt Andreatta  and Bill Koseluk presented a proposal for addressing issues related to the Digital Divide, the differences in access to technology resources experienced by those from differing socio-economic backgrounds.  A handout was circulated presenting five components of the program.  Outside funding is being sought for support.  (Subsequent to the ITPG meeting the Executive Vice Chancellor agreed to fund the teaching of ID-15 and  pledged to support the other components of the proposal with the exception of the online modules.)

It was noted that OIT planned to host a technology forum on June 19.

The group ratified a proposal to answer the EDUCAUSE Satisfaction Survey reflecting our satisfaction.

Auth/Dir reported progress on the UCSB Directory, including the delete/purge functions and the Communications Services extract for updates.  Experimentation with commercial packages for security, authorization and portal support is in progress.