Students, administration discuss tech fee
by Jason Myers, Outpost Contributor
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But a $4 per credit technology fee approved by the state university system's Board of Regents on Thursday should help change that. The new fee will help the University of Nevada, Reno upgrade and maintain general computer labs, residence hall computer labs and network infrastructure, as well as install smart units in classrooms across campus, said Steve Zink, assistant vice president of Resources and Technology. The proposed fee will affect the whole University and Community College System of Nevada, which also includes the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and the state's community colleges.
Zink presented some reasons why the new fee was necessary and would benefit the students of the University of Nevada.
"While this does not solve the university's technology problem, it is an attempt to see the student's side of the problem," Zink said.
 The technology fee would go to help support student labs like this one at UNR's Journalism School. Photo by Deanne Evely. |
Among the allocations listed for the next fiscal year are: $110,000 for System Computing Services help desk and upgrade of the general labs; $352,800 for new podium computers in classrooms and technical support; $35,000 for a residence hall server and a new firewall for added security; and $114,700 for a streaming audio/video server and encoders. The total annual budget for the tech fee is estimated at $992,000.
Ashok Dhingra, vice president of Administration and Finance at UNR, said the tech fee will be implemented starting the spring of 2000.
"Think of it as a down payment the students are making," Dhingra said. "We will ask the legislature to more than match the money.
"But this money will be used for the students. You won't find faculty computers funded from this fee."
The panel, which also included Associated Students of the University of Nevada president Trenton Johnson, assistant vice president of Student Life Rita Laden, and assistant vice president of Academic Affairs Carol Ort, then fielded questions from the audience. Many students were concerned with the allocation of funds and the upkeep of departmental labs.
"We realize that some departments such as engineering and education require higher end equipment that is more expensive," Zink said.
Journalism senator Nicole Jaillet agreed with the budget Zink and his staff created, but thought the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) funding was too low.
"They only appropriated $30,000 for ADA, but (Mines senator) Carlos Ledon, who works with ADA in student services, said at senate that they can spend $30,000 on one student," Jaillet said.
Jaillet also said she supported forming a student committee to help ensure the tech fee funds are correctly spent. The ASUN senate recommended Wednesday night that the board approve the proposed fee.
Computer science student Ming Shui expressed some skepticism about allocating too much funding to the general labs.
"I hope they will correctly allocate resources," Shui said. "Especially to engineering, mines or education, which need newer equipment. We don't need to put specialized software in the general labs."
Engineering senator Vanessa Schweizer said she believes the fee is necessary but wasn't sure about the administration's control over where the money was spent.
"I think we should have some student oversight," Schweizer said. "We have a history of just throwing money at the problem rather than working towards a solution."
Zink did discuss the possibility of leasing computers rather than buying them but said that because the university can't guarantee the state legislature will match money, it would look bad if the computer companies had to repossess the computers because the tech fee couldn't cover the whole cost.
Posted Oct. 22, 1999
Copyright 1999 Nevada Outpost
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