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Campus Information Technology

Campus Information Technology provides support services and technology resources for University students, faculty members and administrators. The department assists faculty members with resources, support and training for instructional and research technology. It also runs student technology centers on the residential campuses that focus on student training, support for coursework and application literacy. Student computer labs on all campuses are equipped with state-of-the-art computers, software and multimedia equipment for instruction and student coursework. Help desk support for all members of the University community is maintained by the department.

Results from the 2011 Faculty Survey

Approximately 125 full-time faculty and adjuncts responded to our survey, which ran November 15-21, 2011. Of those answering the survey, most teach web-enhanced courses or in the traditional face-to-face fashion, and 60% use Blackboard to varying extents.

Blackboard: The majority of those who do not use BB, say they don't know how, are not very comfortable with it, or have little time to commit to learning how to use it. Many note they plan to in the future. Of those who do teach using Blackboard, the most frequently used tools are Assignments, E-mail and Gradebook. Faculty cite the need for training for these tools: Assignments, Discussions and Assessments. For student support, faculty are more likely to recommend support services of the library and tutoring than they are with any other services. The CSI website and the physical offices of the CSI are almost never recommended by faculty to students.

Devices used: As for devices, most respondents use iPads in their teaching or intend to use it over any other device. Very few devices are used in research, while more than half of our respondents use a tablet, ereader or mp3 player, personally.

Faculty Center Workshops: More than half of our respondents (61%) have attended a ITFC workshop (formerly known as the FMRC and FTRC). The majority report being satisfied with that training, but not with overwhelming satisfaction. Noting new workshops, most report they want more Blackboard training and advanced Blackboard training, as well as training at more convenient times. The ITFC's appear to be primarily a helpdesk for faculty FAQs: Respondents report being satisfied or very satisfied with answers to their questions about Blackboard, software, hardware, email, etc.

IT services: 34% of respondents are satisfied overall with IT services; 21% are very satisfied; 25% are somewhat satisfied. The top 3 services IT provides to faculty are firstly e-mail, secondly, the Internet, and thirdly, software support. Faculty predominantly are satisfied or very satisfied with e-mail speed, storage, calendaring, e-mail ease of use and reliability. 42% use Outlook; 18% reported they do not use their LIU account. More than half of those faculty who responded are satisfied or very satisfied with wifi in their classrooms and offices. Two-thirds were satisfied or very satisfied with network access; over half are satisfied or very satisfied with our network availability.

Instructional labs: Most faculty believe a projector to be very important, followed by a dry erase board and then an interactive board. This point was confirmed in the comments section: Faculty want “smart” classrooms (even though we didn’t define in the survey what “smart” means), but they prefer a full-on instructional lab with equipment in perfect working order. They want more labs, larger labs, and more interactive boards. They want interactive boards to be centered in the classroom, with space for writing separate from space for projecting information. They want a sound system with several modalities of media (VHS, DVD) facilitated and supported.

Perception of IT: Responding faculty overwhelmingly rated their perceptions of IT as being satisfied or very satisfied for its systems reliability, responsiveness and timeliness of service, the value of such services, and the effectiveness of services IT offers. Given the opportunity to comment, 29 did so. Three comments had nothing to do with IT; 2 criticized the survey instrument and 8 were positive. The more critical comments are focused on how IT resolves issues. These comments appear to represent a preference for more personalized interactions. Faculty would like IT to be doing more to help them precisely at the time their needs surface. Several comments echoed our own concerns regarding communications and the ability to have a web presence for posting up-to-date information. In addition to up-to-date information, most would like to see FAQs on software and procedures, followed by training documentation.

We appreciate all those who took the time to give us an honest assessment of the services we offer. We anticipate continuing this practice of annual surveys, using the information gained to help drive initiatives and resource deployment. Please join us in congratulating the two winners of the 32-gb iPads: Edmund Miller, C.W. Post, and Scott Youmans, Brooklyn.