Office of the Vice President

for Student Affairs

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Technology Purchases SA/PPS No. 09.01

Issue No. 1

Effective: 10/01/01

Page 1 of 4

01. POLICY STATEMENT

01.01 The Student Affairs Division is committed to the recruitment and retention of a diverse and qualified student body, and to providing services that enhance their personal development and contribute to the fulfillment of their goals. The following procedures contribute to the implementation of this policy.

01.02 We at Texas State University-San Marcos are committed to supporting the educational mission of the institution through efficient information technology availability and support. The following procedure contributes to the fulfillment of this policy.

02. COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY PURCHASES IN STUDENT AFFAIRS

02.01 All Technology purchases must be cleared through the VPSA office prior to planning and purchasing.

02.02 Student Affairs has a divisional procedure for the purchase of computer hardware, software and peripherals. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that:

a. the greatest value in technology is purchased with the resources available within the division;

b. all equipment and software purchases are compatible with Texas State's computer systems;

c. high standard and most optimum quality for the cost is purchased i.e., low-end and earlier generation equipment is NOT purchased with divisional or departmental resources;

d. equipment provided to each workstation is compatible with the skills of the primary user AND the level of production required of that job position; and

e. resources are equitably shared throughout the division.

03. COMPUTER EQUIPMENT PURCHASE AND TRANSFER POLICY

03.01 All computer technology purchases and transfers of computer technology in Student Affairs must be approved by the VPSA Office. When the Associate Vice President receives a request for new or used computer equipment from a department, it is evaluated to identify the "best solution" for the office and the division (SEE Philosophy above) To accomplish this, the needs of the primary user of the requested equipment, computer software packages or office are compared to the needs of staff in other offices to determine who has greater need for this technology. If another office needs new equipment and has current equipment to exchange, an attempt is made to work with both offices to optimize the distribution of technology throughout the division at the least cost to the two offices.

03.02 Procedures

a. The VPSA Supervisor of System Services (SSS) and Network Specialist (NS) serve as liaisons between the manager of the department requesting technology, other departments within the division and the Associate Vice President.

b. The VPSA SSS or NS receive all requests for new or used computer technology. The evaluation identifies the "best buys" when purchasing the new technology, compatibility within the department and with the University's mainframe and peripheral systems, the level of technology required at a workstation, the optimal location of the technology as well as where the technology is most needed.

c. Before receiving approval to purchase new technology, use of current technology must be evaluated. When the new technology will replace current technology (scanners, printers or computer), the department must propose where they would use the current technology.

d. The VPSA SSS and NS review the priorities for used technology throughout the division and recommend the location for used equipment to the AVP. This process is continued until the last piece of technology is moved to a workstation would benefit from the used technology.

04. SOFTWARE PROCEDURES

04.01 To strive to maintain licensing compliance regarding software installation on Student Affairs workstations, the following procedures must be applied:

a. All software must be purchased by the department, the division or be Texas State site licensed software (SDSI agreement); No personal software such as screen savers, finance programs and desktop publishing programs may be installed.

b. When installing software, departments should use the Tier 1 and Tier 2 software established by Texas State Technology Resources.

c. In addition to Tier 1 and Tier 2 software, Quicken (and QuickBooks) may be purchased and installed without VPSA approval.

d. If a department wishes to purchase and install software not in Tier 1, Tier 2 or Quicken, then the department should submit a formal request to the VPSA SSS or NS that includes the following:

1. Can the requested software accomplish tasks that currently available software (Tier 1 and Tier 2) cannot?

2. Is the user unable to accomplish their job with current software?

3. Demonstrate a "business case scenario" for purchasing the software.

e. A user should consult their IT representative or technical representative (from the Student Affairs Technology Organization Chart) before any new software is installed on their workstation.

04.02 There are restrictions on the use of Microsoft Office by Texas State faculty or staff. The use of Office at home can be for work-related purposes ONLY. Those who plan to use Microsoft Office must sign the Staff/Faculty Users Acceptance Form prior to obtaining the media at the University Bookstore.

05. MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SA/PPS

05.01 Major responsibilities for routine assignments associated with this SA/PPS include the following:

Information Technology Review ONY

Team

06. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

This SA/PPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities, and represents Texas State policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

Mr. Kevin McCarty, Systems Support Analyst, Senior Reviewer of this SA/PPS

Dr. Joanne Smith, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Reviewer of this SA/PPS

Dr. James D. Studer, Vice President for Student Affairs