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University of California, Berkeley

Members present: AVC Greg Brown, VC Beth Burnside, Trish Cascardi for VP William Webster, Director Jon Conhaim, VC Ed Denton, EVC & Provost Paul Gray, Dean Ralph Hexter, Director Phyllis Hoffman, VC Jim Hyatt, Executive Director Helen Kelly, Rosemary Kim for VC Don McQuade, University Librarian Thomas Leonard, AVC Matt Lyon, VP Christina Maslach, Dean Mary Ann Mason, AVC Jack McCredie, VC Horace Mitchell, Director Ralph Moon, Director Barbara Morgan, Dean Richard Newton, Director David Scronce, Professor Philip Stark.

Paul Gray welcomed everyone to the second year of e-Berkeley. Minutes of the June 20, 2001, meeting were approved as distributed. Jim Hyatt introduced Jon Conhaim, Director of the E-Berkeley Program Office and new member of the committee.

OP Initiatives. Horace Mitchell reported that UCOP had engaged KPMG to do feasibility studies for two new system-wide initiatives, a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) and an e-Procurement system. David Scronce reported on the most recent UC Vice Chancellors' meeting and questions asked about the match between the PeopleSoft system and UC requirements. The Vice Chancellors also asked whether the existing Payroll Personnel System (PPS) could be enhanced to meet the same requirements. Alternatives are being explored; findings will be reported at the next Vice Chancellors' meeting on September 20. The proposed e-Procurement system is moving along the same process as the HRIS discussions.

A major challenge in all these new systems, including our own HRMS implementation, is how much customization is needed. Dean Newton urged an approach of minimal customization and suggested that a neutral magistrate or arbitrator be appointed to decide which proposed customizations are essential.

E-Travel System. Horace Mitchell reported that the Extensity project to provide travel reimbursement is being held up while we investigate implementation difficulties at other UC locations. The vendor has been given questions that need to be answered before the project can go ahead.

Policy Working Group. The Policy Working Group of the EBITF has posted an "Interim e-Berkeley Policy." The URL is http://socrates.berkeley.edu:7015/EBITF_PWG/review.html. Jim Hyatt asked that committee members look at the policy and comment. Questions have arisen about the use of the "berkeley.edu" domain, and whether alumni, LBL, and Extension will be able to use it. EBITF is developing a policy statement and a process to respond to requests. (Later update: the Working Group, and the System and Network Security Office, are also revising the e-Berkeley privacy policy and expanding the campus information security policy, in response to recent questions about privacy and security of sensitive data.)

Learning Management System. Philip Stark reported that the Learning Management System planning group is rethinking the proposal to implement the enterprise level of Blackboard software. Instead, the project will focus on data integration issues and automation of tasks to help faculty build meaningful web pages. Technical work will be done in the J2EE environment, probably in cooperation with the MIT/Stanford Open Knowledge Initiative (OKI). The LMS project will focus on the large enrollment classes first. Names suggested for the project include "BearBones" and "Strawberry Creek."

Webcast Service. Jack McCredie announced that BIBS has been brought forward under the name Webcast, and is now a campus-wide service. Video streaming for 15 classes and labs is running with very few problems. The URL is http://webcast.berkeley.edu. Professor Larry Rowe, EECS, will continue to work on the research/experimental piece of the program under the name BIBS. This is a good example of something coming from the research domain into a campus-supported activity and should be considered a highlight of e-Berkeley. Philip Stark is developing criteria for selecting additional courses to broadcast.

Paul Gray's goal for the Management Plan is to bring projects to completion using the same standards but without unnecessary management overhead. Jim Hyatt presented the Management Plan (included in the meeting packet), stating that this is not a project plan; it is a road map to help the Steering Committee focus on what needs to be accomplished. The Steering Committee mission statement should also be revised to bring it in line with this plan. Each section of the draft plan was discussed briefly: Planning, Project Management, FY2003 Budget Process, Communication, Funding, and Education.

Jack McCredie noted that, in addition to the nine funded projects, other e-Berkeley projects are being implemented that are not part of the process but make demands on IST and other campus staff and thus impact the priority projects. This is not a technical issue; it is a policy issue: who decides what we will do?

Dean Newton noted that the Steering Committee's responsibilities are not narrow and focused only on projects funded by e-Berkeley; the committee should be concerned with anything that touches the campus (projects are affiliated whether they know it or not). Paul Gray is concerned that departments all over campus have insecure machines and applications that will never surface as "e-Berkeley;" we have major campus policy issues.

The committee discussed whether the development of funding sources should be part of the Steering Committee's charter and a regular part of the agenda for the meetings. (On the subject of funding, Rosemary Kim reported on the successful e-Giving program, which has received national recognition.)

Action: Paul Gray asked that comments on the e-Berkeley Management Plan be sent to him via email, so that a revised draft can be circulated in advance for discussion at the next meeting. Also under discussion will be the e-Berkeley Steering Committee charter and governance/committee structure. (Note: these are available at http://ebsc.berkeley.edu) Another aspect of the plan that needs to be addressed is how to generate the next set of initiatives.

Jon Conhaim gave an overview of the Project Management process. Funds will be distributed as milestones are reached. He handed out a sample Project Plan, showing how the process works. He described the nine e-Berkeley projects included in the FY 2002 e-Berkeley budget. The Program Management Office is inviting other projects not funded by e-Berkeley to participate in the project management process. Jon hopes to make life on campus easier through these projects, and develop a "brand" based on good service.

Paul Gray said he does not want the process to be burdensome; Jon replied that the goal is to accomplish the projects, and the methodology will be changed if it interferes.

Jim Hyatt reported that followup meetings are being held with deans whose projects were not funded as part of the first-year of e-Berkeley. The Project Management Office will help departments make adjustments and re-submit proposals for the next budget cycle. Many projects have common threads; wireless access to the network, for example, was a component of many proposals. (Jack McCredie noted that a joint EECS-IST Wireless LAN pilot project is now underway; seven campus sites are expected to have wireless coverage this fall.)

Helen Kelly and Jim Hyatt visited the University of Texas at Austin to learn how they implemented their student portal (UT Direct). The UT President pro-actively led the project, and they are now able to offer 60+ services through the portal. The implementation at UT was less complex due to their campus being more technically unified. The project was accomplished through a strong marketing effort (with an evangelist) and through a symposium to inform high-level administrators and deans that the president wanted the portal to happen. Jim and Helen proposed that a similar symposium be held at Berkeley, with both academic and corporate speakers, to bring attention and energy to the e-Berkeley initiative. The focus at Berkeley would be our broad spectrum of projects, or perhaps technology-based transformation and change, rather than a student portal. Some committee members thought it would be important to present a focused vision or a signature project ("poster child") as a point around which the energy can build, such as the new teaching and learning initiative ("MIT West," "Ask Berkeley," or whatever it will be called).
Action: A small group will work on ideas for an E-Berkeley Symposium. Members are Helen Kelly, Jon Conhaim, Philip Stark, Jack McCredie and Ralph Hexter.

Jack McCredie announced that the Interactive University Project was picked as one of two national "Best Practices" programs by Educause. This will be announced by the press in September, and will be featured at the Educause Conference in October.

IST and ETS (Educational Technology Services) were also congratulated for their work on implementing Webcast, and Dean Newton recommended that the E-Berkeley Steering Committee send letters of thanks to all who were involved.
Action: Jon Conhaim will prepare congratulatory letters for Paul Gray's signature for each e-Berkeley project which has been implemented. The Interactive University will be "branded" as an e-Berkeley project.

Friday, September 28, 2001 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon in the Chancellor's Conference Room, California Hall
Wednesday, October 24, 2001, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Chancellor's Conference Room, California Hall
Tuesday, November 27, 2001, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Chancellor's Conference Room, California Hall