9.6.4 Information Technology

Information Technology offers a wide variety of products and services to meet the diverse needs of MTU's faculty in today's fast changing environment. Areas of support include: Administrative Computing Services, Data Solutions, Distributed Computing Services, Educational Technology Services, System Administration Services, and Telecommunications. For more information on Information Technology, visit their home page at http://www.it.mtu.edu.

Information Technology's services include:

Administrative Systems - provides database and technical support for University business functions. 487-2223

Bulk-Mailing Services - offers substantial savings to those sending out bulk mailings such as alumni newsletters. Services include electronic address checks, corrections, and pre-sorting. 487-2265

• PrintForm software strips the address off personalized documents which are then processed in accordance with United States Post Office regulations. The corrected and sequenced addresses are then merged back onto the documents with POSTNET BARCODES for printing. This service is currently used for student bills, recruiting letters, phone bills, and 8 x 14 flat inserts and greatly speeds up the delivery and address accuracy of the mail, generating postage savings for the customer.
• Address Change Service (ACS) is an automated electronic service. It provides correction notifications electronically rather than manually. ACS is ideal if address correction records are maintained on computers. It tracks the customers that move so that mailings reach their destinations. Fees are charged only for the actual address changes received. ACS is less than 1/3 the cost of manual change systems.

Campus Information Services - provides technical management aspects of the campus World Wide Web site which includes wide array of MTU information from Senate minutes to movie reviews. Departmental servers accessible from the campus WWW site have topics such as up-to-the-minute information about erupting volcanoes, faculty research interests, student organizations, and hockey video clips and highlights. 487-2112

Consulting - works with faculty and students on special instructional and research projects. 487-2112

Electronic Display System - displays information about lectures, concerts, movies, and campus meetings along with emergency information to monitors located across campus and MTU Cable TV channel 8. 487-1900 or e-mail eds@mtu.edu

E-mail Services - manages central e-mail server and on-line directory service. Central e-mail server delivers over 90,000 messages a day. Offerings include campus-wide e-mail lists for faculty and staff and class e-mail lists for faculty to communicate with students electronically. Refer to majordomo.mtu.edu or call 487-2112

Forms Design Services - allows data and electronic forms to be merged at the time of printing. Replaces the need for ordering black and white forms from vendors and saves on paper costs due to duplex printing. 487-2265

Computer Sales and Maintenance - offers sales, maintenance and repair support for computer systems, e.g., PCs, monitors, printers, laptops. 487-2581

High-Volume Laser Printing - offers large-volume, high-speed laser printing, designs forms and merges files and signatures for printing completed forms, such as MTU deposit slips. 487-2265

Instructional Resources Services - provides MTU faculty with a variety of A/V and media equipment including overhead projectors, video systems, monitors, audio equipment, lecture halls, etc. For reservations, delivery, and set-up service call 487-2655.

Internet Access - maintains communications path connecting MTU to Michnet and then to the Internet. Each day MTU sends and receives the equivalent of more than eight million pages of text. 487-2000

Media Productions - produces distance learning and video programs. Located in the EERC, the video studio facility seats 50 students and for instructors, includes a production console designed to aid interactive distance education. Programs can be disseminated via satellite, cable TV, Internet, or videotape. Other services include video editing, on-location taping, audio/videotape duplications, and computer graphics. 487-1900

MTU Cable TV - provides cable television services to students living in MTU housing. Programming includes over forty channels of popular networks, plus ten other channels for premium movies, SCOLA, EDS, closed sections (during registration), a student movie channel, and means for campus groups to play videos on the system. 487-3400

Network Dial-In Service - supports dial-in services to MTU's network and the Internet for use by staff and students as well as the local community. 487-2000

Network Services - supports MTU's computer data network. More than 4,000 PCs and workstations connected to more than forty individual departmental local area networks. 487-2000

Satellite and Technical Services - manages and operates the satellite earth station on the MTU campus. Consists of Ku Band transmit/receive antenna and three receive only antennas for both "C" and "Ku" Band signals bringing video conferences and SCOLA to the campus. Also repairs audio-visual equipment. 487-2299

Scanning Services - scans printed pages and graphical images. Converts text to word processing documents or ASCII files and graphics to one of eight different output types. 487-2265

Software Services - purchases selected applications and compilers for campus-wide use, such as Sun operating system and PC network software. Manages the central software server and acts as a distribution center for site licenses. 487-2112

Student Labs - provides student computing labs with networked PCs and Sun workstations at several sites on campus. 487-3636.

Surveys/Evaluations - offers all faculty, staff, and student groups custom electronic tabulation of response sets and statistics. 487-2265

System Administration Coordination - offers job search and interviewing assistance. Facilitates information, software, and tool distribution among departmental systems personnel. Maintains campus system and application standards. 487-2112

System Administration Services - offers cost-effective, basic computer system administration and help desk services to subscribed departments. 487-3636.

Technology Assessment - evaluates specific technologies for individual department and campus implementation. 487-2112

Telephone Services - manage and maintain MTU's telephone, pager, off-campus access, and voice mail system for faculty, staff, and students. 487-2000

Test Scoring - offers faculty electronic test scoring and grade books. 487-2265

USENET News Services - offers over 4,000 discussion news groups to peruse on a variety of topics from computer networks to gardening. Available from WWW browsers and other news readers such as tin. 487-2112

Videoconferencing - allows interactive audio and video communication between multi-points sites across the state, throughout the U.S., and around the world. Integrates with the local K-12 fiber network for distance education. 487-3026 or videocon@mtu.edu