Serving Students Well Serves Us
- Published:
- Briefs, Case Studies, Papers, Reports
- Author(s) and Contributors:
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Author(s): Tim Heidinger
- Source(s) and Collection(s):
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Presentation(s): CAUSE Conferences (Archives)
- ParentTopics:
Abstract
University of California, Berkeley, is taking important technological steps to dramatically improve access by students, faculty and staff to student information. Using mainframe, client/server, and voice response technology, students can enroll in classes, find out their grades, or check their financial aid by telephone, and soon can look at their records from computers at campus kiosks, labs and dorms. This case study of how we got there profiles forces of centralized versus distributed computing that threatened derailment and coalesced into partnership. Central director for student systems describes "religious wars" between system staff and departments; how providing increasingly complex services campus-wide made it necessary to reconcile differences, align as partners, explore new technologies including client/server. Project leader for undergraduate affairs recaps infusing technology into their own backyard, moving from micro-computer mavericks to managing partners. Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Affairs summarizes how their leadership in distributed computing changed his organization. Paper presented at CAUSE94, the full proceedings of which are available through this Library as PUB1094.