NACS
News 2007.4
August 31, 2007
In this Issue:
- RAPID RETURN
- A new EEE tool facilitates returning tests to students.
- WHAT ARE LITTLE NETWORKS MADE OF?
- NACS recently completed the telecommunications infrastructure for the expanded Student Center/Cross-Cultural Center.
- MEET STACEY ROSE
- Project manager Stacey Rose helps NACS get things done.
Rapid Return
Returning exams can be a burdensome task for instructors involving the distribution, collection and storage of graded work. Currently, exams may be returned through a distribution center or exam room where the students are required to present their IDs while a staff member retrieves exams from a wall of filing cabinets. Or, exams may be returned during discussion or lecture, taking valuable time away from instruction. Instructors may also return exams during office hours, which may not be accessible to all students.
To streamline the exam return process, Distribution and Document Management (DDM) and Network & Academic Computing Services (NACS) have partnered to release a new tool called Rapid Return.
Using barcode-assisted imaging technology and high-resolution scanners, DDM staff will scan and save graded exams as PDF files. Instructors then download their files and use Rapid Return to batch upload all the exams into the EEE DropBox. This enables students to download their individual exams securely and on their own time from any computer with internet access. Since students receive an exact copy of their exams, the integrity of the original document is maintained if the assigned grade is later challenged.
Rapid Return will drastically reduce the costs associated with storing and distributing paper copies of exams. The Department of Chemistry estimates that the elimination of their exam return room would save roughly $20,000 annually. Rapid Return will also free up limited office space currently used for storage and, most importantly, save precious time for more instruction and less administration.
Rapid Return recently received a 2007 Larry L. Sautter Silver Award from the University of California Information Technology Leadership Council. The awards recognize innovations that have the potential to improve UC academic or administrative processes.
To learn how to use Rapid Return, visit http://eee.uci.edu/rapidreturn .
What Are Little Networks Made Of?
You might think that network and telephone configuration for the newly expanded Student Center/Cross-Cultural Center would be relatively straightforward to design and install. However, here are some metrics to demonstrate the magnitude of this project.
- 12 communications rooms for telephone and network equipment and cabling
- 40+ wireless access points
- 70+ network switches
- 120+ strands of optical fiber interconnecting the 12 communications rooms to other fiber junctions on campus
- 2100+ inside-building cables for data and phone jacks – or almost 90 miles of cabling
- 3050+ pairs of outside-building wires, over 470 miles, to connect the 12 communications rooms to the Central Plant communication core site.
NACS completed the design and implementation of the network and telephone infrastructure for the Student Center/Cross-Cultural Center expansion on time and within the budget allocated for telecommunications.
Meet Stacey Rose
NACS undertakes few projects more complex and demanding than creating the telecommunications infrastructure in each new building. NACS has recently hired Stacey Rose as Assistant Project Manager under Communications Projects manager Diane Dunn.
Stacey found her way into the IT industry when she returned to school after a few years working as sales manager for the Desert Sun in Palm Springs. She has worked in large corporations as technician, desktop support manager, and in project management. Her position in NACS shifts her attention from computers and their software to the links that connect them.
Stacey’s approach to Project Management is understanding the “Big Picture” of each project, and also trying to be flexible. Project management here at UCI is different from project management with an outside company. The PMI methodology which provides a rigid structure that works in industry needs to be adjusted in this dynamic environment, with a heavy project load and limited resources. Stacey says she is happy to be a part of NACS, and enjoying the people she’s working with.
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