Service Level Agreement

An electronic classroom (eClassroom) is a space in which the University places a set of appropriate technologies to support classroom instruction. eClassrooms are University resources and are not owned by a specific department. This document outlines the responsibilities shared by faculty members teaching in eClassrooms, administrators scheduling the eClassrooms and Information Technology Services providing technical support and training to make the eClassrooms as available and effective as possible.

To qualify as a supported eClassroom, the facility must have been planned and implemented in close consultation with Information Technology Services. Ad hoc facilities and those funded by grants or faculty start-up funds can be qualified as supported e-classrooms only after having been approved by the Information Technology Advisory Committee.

The staff of Information Technology Services will:

• Consult with departments in the preparation of proposals for new eClassrooms. To ensure proper funding, proposals should focus on the pedagogical justification for the e-classroom and be submitted during the fiscal budgeting process. The Information Technology Advisory Committee will review eClassroom proposals for approval.
• Oversee the design, installation, technical maintenance and equipment renewal for eClassrooms.
• Provide up-to-date documentation and technical training for faculty members and other users of eClassrooms.
• Maintain an updated inventory of all eClassrooms including publicly accessible data on technical features that may be used for scheduling and planning.
• Provide at least one week's advance notice for any regular maintenance that makes all or part of an eClassroom unavailable.
• Respond to calls as a top priority when problems in an eClassroom are reported to the Help Desk. Information Technology Services' goal is to respond to a problem report within the class period in which the call to the Help Desk was made. We all acknowledge that some repairs may take a longer time to complete.
• Post appropriate signs regarding eClassroom systems that are "out of service" or "repaired" so that faculty members can plan their use of the eClassrooms.
• Support eClassroom software at several levels:
• Full support (license, install, train and service) for campus-wide licensed applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Firefox, Blackboard and other standard titles (not a complete list).
• "Best effort" support for curricular applications. At least two weeks notice is required for the installation of new or specialized curricular applications on an eClassroom computer.
• No support for improperly licensed software or applications that are incompatible with standard eClassroom software or interfere with broad uses of the eClassroom.

Faculty users of eClassrooms will:

• Consult with instructional technologists to ensure that they know how to use the technical features of the eClassrooms they use.
• Test their plans for eClassroom technologies in advance and allow time before class begins to set up for a smooth session.
• Read the documentation for the eClassroom upon encountering a problem. Faculty members will reboot or restart the eClassroom computer as an initial strategy for problem solving, and report problems promptly to the Help Desk at x6395.
• Consult with instructional technologists at least two weeks in advance for any special software needs in an eClassroom.
• Follow the instructions to turn on and turn off the eClassroom equipment, appropriately.
• Ensure that the eClassroom is ready for the next class.
• Consult with Information Technology Services in the preparation of proposals for new eClassrooms. To ensure proper funding, proposals should focus on the pedagogical justification for the eClassroom and be submitted during the fiscal budgeting process. The Information Technology Advisory Committee will review eClassroom proposals for approval.

The Registrar's office and Event Services will:

• Maintain familiarity with the status and configuration of eClassrooms.
• Ensure that faculty members who need the features of an eClassroom are assigned the most appropriate eClassroom available.