College of the Desert
College Planning Council
THINK TANK REPORTING FORM
This form may be modified by the Think Tank to meet the specific
needs of the area being studied for recommendation
1. Think Tank Membership (# of team members to be determined by individual Think Tanks)
Think Tank Subgroup: Jeff Place( leader), Zerryl Becker, Mark Rizzo, Bina Isaac, Michael Harlow,
2. Brief description of current program structure/activity/service studied
Computers in faculty offices.
Discussion of the sub group was whether current computers should be replaced with desk top computers or tablets when replacement is necessary.
3. Type of Program
Identify whether the area under study is a legal requirement, necessary for operations, or optional
CommentsLegal Requirement / (provide legal citation) /
Necessary for Operations / (provide explanation) / In the current technological environment on campus, it is necessary for all faculty to have access to e-mail , Web Advisor, Internet, Blackboard ( or other LMS) and the portal.
Optional / (provide explanation) / Faculty also use Microsoft Office programs on a regular basis; and some use additional programs related to their area of study and expertise.
4. Stakeholders Input (Qualitative Data)
Full time faculty were surveyed using Survey Monkey to see if they would prefer a desktop or a tablet computer. About half responded and they were equally divided between desktop computers and tablets.
It could be assumed that a majority of the faculty that did not respond are not heavy users of the computers currently in their offices – which would make them candidates for tablets.
5. Think Tank Data/Information (Quantitative Data)
Needed: a list of faculty computers that are no longer under warranty.
Needed: price for desktop vs. tablet. There is a lot of variance in the kind of desktop or tablet but in general the tablets are considerably cheaper.
6. Recommendation to President Patton
O Continue / xContinue /w
Qualifications / O Discontinue / O
No Recommendation
Must provide rationale as to
why the Think Tank could not
provide a recommendation / O
Recommend New/Innovative Program/Service
Must be within the scope of the College meeting its fiscal target
7. Rationale for recommendation and qualifications
The Facilities subgroup recommends that faculty be given a choice between a desktop and a tablet, whenever the current system is no longer functioning.
The tablets would provide the minimum technology required: e-mail, internet, Web Advisor, LMS, and portal access.
Attachments sent to faculty should be in either Word, Excel, or PDF format so the tablets would need only those three software programs.
8. Provide an evidence based rationale for how the following may be impacted by
recommendation:
Students: No impact
Community: No impact
Budget: Tablets are less expensive and are usually replaced rather than maintained.
Academic Programs: Provides necessary functions.
Personnel: Tablets reduce maintenance for IS.
Service:
Other:
Some categories above may not be applicable to your area of study. Responses can be in bullet form.
9. Additional Information (if applicable)
Revised 8/9/11