FY 2021 Tech Fee Budget Plan Breakdown

Proposed Activities and Corresponding Budgets

CCNY Student Technology Fee Plan

1. University Wide Initiatives (CUNY-UWI) Projects

College Department(s) Affected: Entire College
Project Description: CCNY has reserved 23 percent of the total Technology Fee revenue to pay for University Wide Initiative projects (CUNY-UWI). I am requesting a total of $784,692 to continue funding the software listed below.   
FY 2021 Fiscal Year Budget: 

2. Library Services–Database and Digital Subscriptions

College Department(s) Affected: Entire College
Impact on Students:
Digital subscriptions are used by students for study and research, both on campus and by internet web proxy. This content is vital to City College’s mission to graduate IT-literate citizens able to function in a global society. Students learn how to effectively use these databases through the information literacy program in our classrooms, and they require access to these databases from outside the campus as they do their research.   
Federal law requires that assistive technology be made available to students with disabilities who need it to successfully complete required coursework.
Project Description:
The Library is requesting funding from the Technology Fee funds to cover continuing subscription costs for online resources that were funded in the previous years from the Technology Fee funds. Below, please find a brief description of each database/digital subscription:

1. Thieme e-Journals
   Thieme publishes over 100 scientific and medical journals, of which almost 40 are in English. Full text is available for four of these journals and tables of contents and abstracts are available for the others. All of the Thieme journals are scholarly, peer-reviewed publications oriented toward senior or higher-level researchers.
2. Emerald Engineering and Management
   The Emerald Engineering e-Journal collection comprises online access to the abstracts and full text of all the journals within Emerald’s engineering, materials science and technology portfolio.  It also features 120 Business and Management journals, all of which are peer-reviewed and full text journals, plus reviews from the world's top 300 management journals in computer science, marketing, information sciences and management.
3. SciFinder Scholar   
   SciFinder Scholar is a comprehensive database indexing the chemistry and related sciences literature. It is useful for locating articles concerned with specific chemical substances and reactions. This is a cooperative purchasing arrangement between seven CUNY schools.
4. American Chemical Society Online, 2020 subscription<
   The American Chemical Society (ACS) publishes 38 journals and magazines covering all aspects of the science of chemistry. Index and abstract information are available for all of these publications. Full text is available for 33 of them. All of these ACS journals are scholarly, peer-reviewed publications oriented toward senior or higher-level readers. We use the CUNY-negotiated pricing arranged through NYSHEI.
5. e-Books
   We have access to 80,000+ eBooks.  Almost all of these publications are scholarly and oriented toward seniors or higher-level students and researchers.  These databases cover all areas of study primarily in the sciences and engineering

FY 2021 Fiscal Year Budget:

3. Office of Information Technology (OIT) Maintenance and Licenses Cost

College Department(s) Affected:  Entire College
Impact on Students:

The Office of Information Technology is responsible for maintaining and supporting the operations of the City College networking infrastructure and campus-wide student resources, which include:

• General Students Computer Labs, i.e., Tech Center and NAC “Fishbowl” Computer Lab, Undergraduate and Graduate Student labs, as well as the Science and Music Libraries
• Service Desk, Client Services, and Instructional Technology and Media Support Services and campus-wide licenses and hardware for students use.

Project Description: The OIT department is requesting $526,317 from the college’s Technology Fee Budget to cover recurring costs to pay for campus-wide licenses, hardware, audio/video for all general smart rooms at the college and for general computer labs equipment and supplies. Some of the essential services, which benefit the entire student population, include:

1. Hardware and peripheral support and maintenance agreements for student-centric devices and annual maintenance for AV equipment/accessories in classrooms, charging stations, etc.
2. Campus-wide license agreement extensions and maintenance dedicated for student use. This includes annual maintenance updates, software releases and security software encryption:
Deep Freeze, Paper Cut Manager Plus, LabStats, Digital Signage, Nemo-Q, Aruba Wi-Fi access point license renewals, Citrix Xen Desktop, Comodo SSL Certificate, Jamf Casper, Bomgar,  WebCheckout, SysAid, NextBus for Students,  Panopto, Chatbot, Tutor Track, Booking Point, Smart Learning Suite for smartboards,  etc.
3. General student computer labs’ supplies (such as toner, paper, printer maintenance kits, etc.), computer lab replacement parts (such as keyboards, mice, printers, etc.) which are located in:

1. Tech Center, NAC “Fishbowl” Computer Lab, and Center for Worker Edu., Undergraduate and Graduate general use computer labs
2. Service Desk (Student Support Center)
3. Kiosks in the Administration and North Academic Center (NAC) buildings
4. Music and Science Libraries printers for students.
5. Center for Worker Education (CWE)

FY 2021 Fiscal Year Budget: 

4. New Audio Sound for the Student Lounge/Conference Room, NAC 5/1114D

Person Responsible for Project: Prof. Ben Vilhauer and Anne Kornhauser, Chair
Telephone Number:   212 650- 7291
Email:  bvilhauer@ccny.cuny.edu

Department(s)/Divisions Affected:  All students enrolled in Philosophy and History courses.   
Impact on Students: 
Philosophy and History students’ academic experiences are enriched by learning to present with modern presentation technology, and also by film and music, but they have fewer opportunities to engage these media in the classroom than many other majors since they focus on books, reading, writing, and discussion in the classroom. The Philosophy and History Departments wish to enhance their student lounge/conference room with speakers and a CD/DVD player in order to provide richer opportunities for student presentations and film- and music-based college-sponsored student activities.  We have already purchased a screen for this space out of our own departmental budgets, and we would like support from the Tech Fee Committee to enhance it with speakers and a cd/DVD player.

Project Description: 
To purchase and install auxiliary speakers and a CD/DVD player, along with whatever brackets or consoles are required to appropriately position them in NAC 5/144D (the PHIL/HIST student lounge/conference room). This conference room is used students enrolled in either any Philosophy or History courses and is used  to show movies, play music but also for student conferences, and learning presentation skills such as PowerPoint. It is important for our students to have the opportunity to learn to develop presentation skills using modern media and projection technology.  We will work with OIT to ensure that equipment conforms to campus requirements and installation policies.

2020 - 2021 Fiscal Year Budget

5. School of Education Multimedia Center Adding Recording Devices in Classrooms

Department(s) of College Affected:  Student enrolled in the School of Education  
Impact on Students: 

The School of Education has a proud history of leading the way using technology in the classroom and preparing our students to use these tools effectively in instructional settings in which they are serving as student teachers, will be employed after graduation, or where they already teach. It is imperative that we continue to provide sufficient high function lab equipment that is used by all of our 2,300 (1/3 undergraduate, 2/3 graduate) students pursuing for teacher certification. Since our student enrollment has increased, we need more video recording equipment to be able to support all of our students.
Recording devices and accessories are used not only to document teaching in public schools, but also to provide the hands-on experience candidates need to understand how these tools can be used in the K-12 classrooms where they are already having their fieldwork experiences or student teaching. Not having technology available actively disadvantages our students and the thousands of urban schoolchildren they are already teaching and will teach in the years to come. At this point, knowing how to effectively use a variety of technologies (e.g. SmartBoard, PCs, MACs, laptops, iPads, scanners, recording devices) in the classroom is a hiring criterion for schools.

Project Description: 
In order to become state certified, student teachers need to prepare an online portfolio called edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment). This portfolio includes a recording of their teaching in an actual classroom. All students working towards their first certification after spring 2014 must go through that process to teach in NYS public schools. All 2,300 School of Education students will share access to these resources.
Since our student enrollment has increased, we have more demand for video recording devices and accessories. Therefore, we need to increase the number of camcorders, tripods, tablet/smartphone stands, and microphones. Technology has evolved over the years, and the Swivl robot and Obsbot AI technology would allow our student teachers to submit a better video segment as evidence of their teaching skills. The Swivl robot and the Obsbot AI follow the instructor during the lesson to ensure that all relevant parts of the lesson are captured. We have already successfully piloted the Swivl for two semesters, and therefore would like to add a device to our loan program for students. In addition, this system includes five microphones, one for the instructor and four for students/groups to use during the recording, which improves the audio recording. We would like obtain the Obsbot AI device to experiment with this technology and determine if it would be useful to our students. The Classroom Audio System Quantum II can be connected with our iPads and camcorders to have an improved audio recording during class sessions.

2020 - 2021 Fiscal Year Budget:

6. School of Education Multimedia Center iPads Replacement for Instruction

Department(s) of College Affected:  Student enrolled in the School of Education  
Impact on Students: 

Our enrollment numbers are about 2,300 students which includes undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree students seeking recommendation for teacher certification.
The Multimedia Center provides equipment to School of Education students, faculty, and staff. This center is a lab used by all our 2,300 School of Education students, as well as students from departments across campus. School of Education students have to video record themselves teaching in a classroom to fulfill their teacher education New York State requirement for certification by preparing an online portfolio called edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment). For many years, iPads serve our students as recording devices in the clinical practice classroom to gather footage for their online portfolio. The iPads we are currently using are seven years old, and therefore at the end of their life expectancy.
When the iPads are not used as recording devices, they are utilized as teaching and learning tools during class sessions on campus, where faculty models the proper use of mobile technology in the classroom. New York State is uniquely progressive and rigorous in the requirements new teachers must meet in order to achieve licensure as a K-12 teacher. These include the demands that new teachers be prepared to use technology effectively in the classroom.  Since 2014, for example, the NYS Regents have aggressively pursued an agenda that demands that all teacher certification applicants demonstrate proficiency in using mobile technology to document and analyze their own performance in the classroom (edTPA).  Teacher preparation candidates must demonstrate, through computer-based assessments, their skills in their content knowledge (in revised content examinations specific to their subject area) and their general pedagogical knowledge about student needs. The cost for all those required teacher certification tests is significant and not covered by financial aid. This financially burdens our students in addition to the CCNY technology fee. 
The Council for the Accreditation of Educational Preparation (CAEP) standards also demand that candidates use classroom technology effectively to stimulate K-12 students and accommodate their different learning styles.

The School of Education has a proud history of leading the way on using technology in the classroom and preparing our students to use these tools effectively in the classrooms in which they are employed.  We must ensure students have the mobile technology and tools they need to complete the edTPA. In addition, we need to ensure that students have multiple preparation and review sites for the computerized assessments through which they must demonstrate proficiency prior to graduation.

It is imperative that we continue to refresh the iPad technology that is used by all of our 2,300 (1/3 undergraduate, 2/3 graduate) students pursuing teacher certification. The iPads are used not only for recording in the students’ classroom but also to model interactive classroom teaching. We ensure that our future teachers are provided with the hands-on experience needed to understand how these tools can best be used in K-12 classrooms. They are already using iPads in their fieldwork and student teaching experiences. Using outdated technology actively disadvantages our students and the thousands of urban schoolchildren they are already instructing and will educate in the years to come. At this point, knowing how to effectively use iPads and other technologies (e.g. Smartboards, PCs, MACs, iPads, scanners, video recording equipment) in the classroom is a hiring criterion for schools.
Unlike other divisions, we are required to respond immediately to Regents regulations that often give us no more than 6 months’ notice on a change in teacher certification.  That responsiveness is because schools of education are so clearly linked to a profession that is in the public service, but it puts us on a much more aggressive timeframe with respect to meeting these demands than it is the case in other divisions that are largely governed only by faculty dictates.

It is important that we have assistance from the Tech Fee in meeting our technology demands, especially since our undergraduate and graduate students generate substantial dollars for the Tech Fee fund.

Project(s) Description:
We ask for funds to refresh and update twenty (20) of our forty-nine (49) iPads. We will seek additional funding to complete the project of replacing all our iPads.  The iPads will be housed in the Multimedia Center, where all 2,300 students and faculty will share access to this resource for at least 5 years.

2020 - 2021 Fiscal Year Budget:

7. Instructional Technology Upgrade Math Department

Department(s) of College Affected:  All undergraduate and graduate students required to take a mathematic class at CCNY

Impact on Students:
This equipment will help deliver quality instruction to larger classrooms by providing an alternative to chalkboards, and will allow instructors in all settings to incorporate online material in lectures. It will also be used to experiment with alternative class delivery methods such as remote and flipped classrooms. These Surface Pros; therefore, will help the Math Department more effectively teach our students.

Project Description:
Most of the classrooms used by the Math department faculty do not have the appropriate technology to fully take advantage of the technology available for teaching.  Some classrooms have whiteboards and a projector but no computers. Instructors who want to use any of these rooms must use borrow an iMedia laptop or use their personal their laptop, iPad or tablet to be able to teach in any of these rooms. We offer around 80 undergraduate and graduate courses almost every semester.  Our courses are taken by any student who is required to take a math course to fulfill their graduation requirements.

I am requesting $16,159 to purchase 15 new Microsoft Surface Pro tablets with keyboards and styluses to be used by Math instructors in any of the smart- classroom available at the college.

2020 - 2021 Fiscal Year Budget

9. Further Development and Expansion of the Student Social Science Computer Lounge

Department(s) of College Affected: All Undergraduate and Graduate students at CCNY

Impact on Students:
In the past year, we have seen a growth in the students in the Colin Powell School.  In this, we have also increased our number of tutors and peer mentors for classes like undergraduate Applied Statistics (mostly) to undergraduate Experimental Psychology and Graduate Statistics – classes that enroll approximately 500 students a year.  In addition, the Tech Skills in Psychology course (which is open to any major at any level, graduate and undergraduate) has sparked interest in students wanting to learn about the fields of Data Analytics and Data Science.

The further development and expansion of the Social Science Computer Lounge will meet this increasing growth and the associated need these students have for accessible and modern technology. These are no longer students doing this as a class requirement.  Instead, we have students who are generally excited to learn these technologies.  In fact, we have two “labs” that have grown over the past 6 months --   one lab focusing on R and the other on Python.  These groups have shown great interest in wanting to expand their skills as well as a desire to have a space to host events related to technology and data, with many of the students previously unaware of these fields as options for future employment.  To this goal, they have branded themselves the #codingcoffeecult, with the offshoots of #rstatscoffeecult and #pythoncoffeecult.  The members of this “lab” include students from Psychology, Sociology, Economics, and Computer science so far.

In order to enhance their skills, these students need a space for practice, meetings, talks, and other collaborative efforts.  In addition, this space needs to be outfitted with the appropriate technology to serve them for the near future.  The Psychology Department is committed to giving all students avenues to explore after graduation and we are particularly excited that so many students are interested in incorporating more technology into their educational experience.  It is through these collaborative efforts that students form communities, develop the desire to teach and mentor the next generation, go out into the world, and (with any luck) return to CCNY to share knowledge, advice, and experiences.  We humbly request grant funds to support these efforts that increase a student’s willingness to persist toward graduation and, by extension, that student’s socioeconomic mobility.

Project Description: 
The goal for this project is to provide resources for student collaboration as they work towards their goals to increasing their technology experience.  Students with technology experience fare better than those without.  As such, we need to bolster their tech and computational skills so they can adequately communicate with other others students on a similar path, as well as compete for internships and jobs in the future.  These resources include increasing access to computers, software, and a space to allow these interactions and growth in computational thinking. 

2020 - 2021 Fiscal Year Budget

10. Student laptop Loan Program Expansion for Center of Worker Education (CWE)

Department(s) of College Affected: All Students enrolled at CWE

Impact on Students:
Since 2011, CWE has offered students various hardware loan programs. As part of the Title V initiative, we piloted a semester long I-pad loan program for students enrolled in hybrid/online courses. We later offered an on-campus laptop loan program which enabled students to borrow a laptop. Our current program has a stock of 15 laptops, all of which had been loaned out to students (prior to COVID -19 move to online instruction) for the Spring 2020 term and a wait list was being maintained.  Accordingly, our current laptop stock is insufficient for student demand. For the Spring 2020 term, undergraduate enrollment is just under 600 students.
We anticipate increasing numbers of students will take online/hybrid courses in the coming terms due to job, family and other changes that are likely to arise as consequences of the COVID19 pandemic, it is necessary CWE to ensure that we have sufficient laptops for all students who need them. Proper technology supports students’ ability to complete courses and maintain their degree progression.  For the summer 2020 term, all courses will be online (11 courses). In the Fall 2020 term at least 14 courses are anticipated to be held online.

Project Description: 
CWE requests 20 additional laptops to add to its current laptop stock earmarked for the loan program. In addition, we request 20 USB adapters for the laptops included in this order, plus an additional 15 USB adapters for the laptops in our current loan stock. This will ensure that each laptop that we loan, will have the needed adapters for accessories such as headsets.  We are also requesting funds for 3-year Apple Care coverage for each of the new laptops. Given that many online courses hold synchronous webinars via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, we are also requesting companion headphones and their USB adapters to pair with each laptop. To protect this investment, we are also requesting 35 protective sleeves for the laptops (20 for the new laptops and 15 to protect the laptops currently in our loan program). We will be happy to accept partial funding for this initiative.

2020 - 2021 Fiscal Year Budget

11. Spitzer School of Architecture Deployment of WiFi Access Points to Student Spaces

Department(s) of College Affected: All Students enrolled in Architecture

Impact on Students:
The Spitzer School of Architecture enrolls at least 470 students- 330 undergraduates and 140 graduates- most of whom are full-time and enrolled in required design courses. Unlike a majority of City College students, the Spitzer School of Architecture (SSA) students not only pay a tech fee, but also a material fee every semester. The Spitzer School of Architecture prides itself as being the first public school for architecture in New York City. With this pride there is an inherent sense of responsibility to provide our students with a world class education and facilities to train them for the rigors of the real world. In order for students to be prepared, they need to be armed with the latest technology and tools to succeed in their classes and beyond.

The Wi-Fi infrastructure needs to be robust in order to successfully implement digital displays with wireless presentation capabilities. The Wi-Fi in some student areas in SSA is not up to par. There are dead zones in certain areas in studios and students complained that the signals are not strong enough. Adding more wireless access points in computer labs, gallery, classrooms, and studios will significantly enhance students’ learning experience. Architecture students spend days and even nights in their studios, working around the clock. They need to have reliable internet connection to do their work. This affects the entire campus community because students, faculty, or staff who come to the Spitzer School of Architecture for an event, class, or any activity will have trouble connecting to WIFI.

Project Description: 
We are proposing to install 30 wireless access points in student populated spaces such as, classrooms, study rooms, studios, lecture halls, computer labs, and presentation spaces. There are currently only 2 wireless access points located on the 1st floor of the Spitzer School of Architecture, which provide WIFI to 2- computer labs, 3- classrooms, 1- large lecture hall, and 1-multipurpose gallery. SSA students mainly work on assignments and projects in studio spaces. Some of them even end up sleeping in studios due to the demanding and time-consuming assignments. There are also a few older access point (5+ years old) that need to be replaced. By adding newer access points, students will have greater access to digital resources and will be able to use the entire building as their playground for learning.

2020 - 2021 Fiscal Year Budget

12. Electronic Design & Multimedia (EDM) Lab Technology Upgrades, Room CG-124 

Department(s) of College Affected:
Department of Art [Electronic Design & Multimedia] Art has about 600 students in the major. Of these, 375 are either in the BFA in Electronic Design and Multimedia or the BA/Digital Design Concentration] + CUNY BA + minors in ART.  In addition to EDM students, many Studio Art majors, Art minors, MCA students, CUNY BA students, Macaulay College students and students from Computer Science and Architecture take our courses. We’ve also had many double majors in the program drawn combining Biology, Computer Science, Music, Advertising and Public Relations and other disciplines. Typically, we offer 46 sections a semester, totaling about 690 seats.

Impact on Students:
It’s essential that students working in all areas of graphic design, 3D modeling, animation, interactive design, motion graphics, video work, photography, UXUI, Web design, Illustration and Animation work on computers with up to date processors that can handle modern software apps as wells as very large files and complex operations.   Our computers are 7 years old and run Cinema4D, Premier pro, After Effects, Illustrator, Sketch, and Character Animator software very slowly. This makes it difficult for students to complete their projects. In order to meet industry standards, we need to provide a reasonably up-to-date environment that replicates what students would find in a professional work environment. This program is totally focused on helping students find employment in media design. Students from this program are working at Google, Facebook, Rolling Stone Magazine, NBC Sports, NBC Universal Media, Conde Nast, MakerBot, Discovery Channel, USA/Today, Sotheby’s, Brennan Center for Justice, Pearson Publishing, Chase, Shutterstock, IDEO, Western Union, PayPal, McGraw-Hill, Uber, and many new media startups. EDM students in Animation have dominated awards in animation at the CUNY Film Festival among many others. They were hired based on their portfolios and they would not have been able to build competitive portfolios if working on outdated obsolete equipment.

Replacement of 16 iMacs in Lab CG124: The iMacs in this room have been shuffled around and re-purposed from our various lab rooms over time, they average 8 years old and are mismatched and 4 generations behind 2020 standards for graphics.  It is nearly impossible to run the Adobe CC20 programs, or process the extremely large files generated, in reasonable time or without crashing. This room is scheduled for Web Design UX/UI and animation, and other courses that require up-to-date computers. There is undue stress to both student and professor teaching a major part of the curriculum in this lab.  This directly impacts students’ ability to do their work and prepare their portfolios. EDM runs 3/hour classes in 14 time slots, M-Saturday 9-9 pm in CG124. Time slots not allotted to courses host open labs so students can work on their projects.

Computers and Peripherals for Essential EDM Operations 
In addition to the highly visible parts of EDM technological needs and offerings (e.g. Computers in labs, scanners, projectors, etc.) we also support a variety of less visible offerings. These include student accessible network storage, a checkout and loan system and the technology that runs a full-service print lab. All of these services depend on reliable, up to date machines to function properly. Currently we have two Mac mini servers and one Mac Mini production machine in the Digital Output Center are all over 9 years old and well outside of their working life. While we work hard to keep back end machinery functioning as long as possible but recently the computers are requiring more work than normal to keep them operating. This has meant that we are more frequently encountering errors that in turn can keep students from accessing their work through our servers, being able to print in a predictable and reproducible manor and having up to date information on equipment available for check out.
Our department offers full service, large format, archival inkjet printing through the Digital Output Center (DOC) as a service to our students and colleagues across the campus. This lab produces work for over 150 undergraduate and graduate students from across campus each semester. The DOC relies on a color correct and calibratable computer monitor in which to preview submitted prints with students. This allows us to speak with the student about color and output before prints are made and greatly reduces waste. Additionally, the printer operator will use the color corrected monitor as a way to ensure proper function of the lab’s printers. Currently we operate with a 16-year-old monitor that is unable to reproduce a large part of the Pro Photo RGB color space. This means that our printers are capable of producing tones that our current monitors cannot display, impeding our ability to reliably deliver the most color accurate prints for our students. The Eizo ColorEdge monitor would solve this problem and enable us to offer industry-level color printing for students’ portfolios and other work-related projects.

2020 - 2021 Fiscal Year Budget

13. Virtual Labs and the Critical Need for innovative online instruction development in chemistry and biochemistry, Rooms MS1009 & MS1011

Department(s) of College Affected:
The Enrollments for Chemistry I (CHEM 10301) is 700-800 per semester; The Enrollments for Chemistry II (CHEM 10401) is 300-400 per semester. Therefore > 1000 students per semester will be impacted. The introduction of virtual labs will enable a number of critical learning objectives, including:

1. Complete important tasks of bench chemistry in a safe virtual environment.

2. Gain a deeper understanding of the concepts in laboratory chemistry.

3. Improve calculation and problem-solving skills.

4. Gain fuller understanding of the basic scientific laws necessary to completing courses in general chemistry.

Project Description: Executive Summary
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry wishes to develop a platform of technology-assisted virtual labs for the General Chemistry courses (Gen Chem I &II). We propose a flexible platform of two internet ready rooms that can be used for virtual lab experiments, with the additional feature of laptops for offsite execution of the assignments. More than 2000 undergraduate students, primarily with majors that span the Science and Engineering disciplines, will be impacted each year. The need for virtual labs is based upon a review of what’s happening in chemical education across the country, the guidelines of the American Chemical Society, and our own goals to improve the student experience at the College. Given the significance and utility of modern technology, virtual labs are an excellent way forward.

Our departmental initiative in virtual labs
At the time of writing this proposal, the world is in the midst of a global pandemic due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. The City College of New York rapidly transitioned to online instruction during March of 2020, and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry also made this transition. One of the most challenging aspects of managing online content for chemistry is the ability to teach laboratory experiments. In some ways, there is no substitute for hands-on lab work for students, in order to gain a palpable knowledge of laboratory practices, gain dexterity and build experiments for themselves.

However, under the unique circumstances of Spring 2020, for which remote labs were the only option, the Department was in the fortunate position of already having introduced virtual labs into the curriculum. As part of a STEM innovation initiative launched by CUNY (CUE), the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry developed a project to implement a modest number of virtual labs for the large freshman courses in chemistry. The program targets both General Chemistry I (CHEM 10301) and General Chemistry II (CHEM 10401) Although the combined enrollments are large (typically >1000 in Fall and >800 in Spring), it is established that retaining a practical laboratory for this course is currently necessary when compared to similar offerings in U.S. colleges and required(?) by the American Chemical Society. The lab provides substantial practical training: students learn how to complete important tasks in bench chemistry. It has also been observed that the 20-24-person lab session is an enjoyable feature for the students from a communal and social perspective, which also helps the learning process because it can be supported by peer-led instruction. However, in order to further promote academic interest and realize reductions in student failure, we have been exploring methods to modernize the labs to reflect the digital age, and to attempt to reinforce the theoretical basis for the experiments, so that the students gain a deeper understanding of the concepts and improve their calculation and problem-solving skills.

During the initial phase (2018-19) of the project we worked on selecting suitable labs to replace some of our existing labs in General Chemistry I courses. We selected several new labs to be introduced and integrated into General Chemistry I and II.  Examples are: Gas Laws Virtual Lab, Spectroscopy Virtual Lab, Introduction to Excel Lab, and one problem-solving set. The labs are engaging and provide students with exposure to inquiry-based and active learning methods of instruction. To assess how good they would be, we piloted the new labs for a 30-student group and rewrote the lab manuals. To assess the effectiveness of virtual labs by comparing with the traditional ones, we surveyed students on their interest, level of engagement, content understanding, and overall quality of the labs. We also reviewed overall pass/fail rates especially applied to the subtopics included in the virtual labs. Further details are available on request. An overall very favorable result was obtained, encouraging the prospect of virtual labs as part of the curriculum. The numbers of students served: are > 1000 per semester.

Example of a virtual lab being conducted using a Firefox web browser (see picture above). The student monitors pressure and volume at constant temperature. While performing observations live is sometimes better, this lab serves as a virtual experiment very well, since one cannot “see” or “touch” a gas. The experiment simulates events in real time, within a safe virtual environment. Observations can be clearly made for data collection and interpretation.

We did not anticipate how essential these virtual labs would be to our ability to maintain student learning objectives during the period of Coronavirus home confinement and remote learning. Looking ahead to the semesters Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 21 and beyond, we make the following observations:
1. Virtual labs are an extremely useful form of lab instruction in chemistry, exposing students to procedures that are impractical to complete in a 2-3-hour period or with affordable materials and equipment.
2. Chemistry virtual labs are growing to be commonplace amongst university courses.
3. Educational equity in remote learning is an important topic to address, especially for City College, and features prominently in our vision for a flexible virtual lab workspace. The virtual labs on-campus-concept will alleviate potential inequalities among our students when it comes to internet access and general computer equipment.
4. In times of crisis, where remote learning is necessary, virtual labs become the best source of instruction of laboratory practice for the students. But even when the crisis subsides, there are tremendous benefits to allowing students to engage in remote learning for specific parts of the course.
5. Virtual labs will be an essential tool for keeping chemistry students of City College engaged with reaching their learning objectives, and in the event of a city level crisis (pandemics, hurricanes) will help to overcome an issue associated with in-person labs.
6. Our department is currently deficient in resources to successfully run virtual labs. We have identified rooms for the purpose, but these rooms need to refurbished with cabling, network switching, WiFi and electrical so that they may be a place to come for virtual lab work.
7. Virtual can, but doesn’t necessarily mean off-campus. One might argue that a virtual lab does not need a physical location and students should be able to do virtual labs by themselves on their phone or owned computer. This is perhaps true for higher level courses, but for freshman of the College, we want to provide a computer lab that they can come to for help and supervision, until they become mature and responsible enough to undertake the assigned tasks. When and where is makes sense – build a learning community.

Project Plan: two internet ready flex computer labs for virtual labs
We propose to renovate two clean and available rooms on the 10th floor of Marshak for conversion into internet ready flex computer labs for virtual labs. By “flex” we mean that students may use these rooms in a variety of ways: they may come to use or borrow a computer, they may bring their own computer, they may work individually or as a group depending on the assignment, they may attend a class-like session led by a lab instructor, which might include whiteboard/blackboard notes, they may come during a specified time when computing is available. The goal is the same in all cases, to complete virtual labs.

The room numbers are MS1009 and MS1011. In terms of being internet ready. They will require:
(i) Cisco Network Switch
(ii) 2 Aruba Wireless Access Points
(iii) Data cabling materials with wall mounted data cabinet

We initially planned to renovate two rooms for setting up desktop PCs. We estimated placing 15 PCs in each room. In light of the COVID-19 crisis. We are now seeking to modify the plan slightly. The key is to introduce as much flexibility as possible in order that students can complete the assignments and be successful in the lab courses.
We propose to procure 60 laptops, either Chromebooks or older ThinkPads, that the students can: (i) potentially borrow if needed and take home or (ii) use within the computer lab. Students will be opted for a variety of ways which to complete the virtual labs. They can come to the computer lab and do everything on campus during lab hours; they can borrow an available laptop and complete the assignments at home; they can use their own laptop or PC at home and complete the assignments off-site. 
There is great advantage to having the students be able to come to campus, even though it is a virtual lab. The advantages are being able to enjoy unlimited Wifi access, discuss the labs with the teaching assistants and work in groups on problem solving. However, in the event that the students cannot come to campus, the work can still be performed with written instructions and remote guidance from the Teaching assistant.

2020 - 2021 Fiscal Year Budget

14. Main Campus Computer Lab (Tech Center) Windows Desktop Upgrade

Department(s) of College Affected: All Undergraduate and Graduate students at CCNY

Impact on Students:
Since its opening in 2011 on the ground floor of the NAC Cohen Library, the CCNY Technology Center has become a vibrant space on campus accommodating innovative teaching, learning, collaboration, and recreation.  Most of the technology within the Tech Center has not been updated since its opening. During the 2018-2019 academic year, the Tech Center and NAC Lab were a heavily trafficked hub with over 16,000 students logging into computers over 350,000 times. Our students spend a lot of time on campus. Designed for comfort and productivity, the Tech Center and NAC Computer Labs are their homes away from home.

The Tech Center has three (3) traditional smart classrooms, two (2) modern Active Learning Classrooms, fifteen (15) individual study rooms, and ten (10) group study rooms. There are also open access workstation areas with Windows and Macintosh computers, network printers, and Wi-Fi work spaces. Together, these two adjacent spaces host over 400 Windows computers, over 70 Macintosh computers, 60 laptops, and 12 network printers.

Project Description: 
We are requesting $99,000 to replacing 90 Windows computers currently located in two of the three traditional smart classrooms, as well as the individual Windows individual study rooms of the Tech Center. These computers were purchased in 2011 (9 years ago) are end-of-life, end-of-warranty, and will soon no longer be capable of upgrading to supported versions of the Windows operating system, rendering them ineligible to receive critical security updates.

2020 - 2021 Fiscal Year Budget:  

15. Student Technology Internship Program (STIP)

College Departments Affected: Entire College
I am requesting funds to continue the implementation of the FY 2021 Student Technology Internship Program. Total funding requested is $1,532,576 which includes, 13 percent for fringe benefits and the new minimum wage increase in accordance with an agreement between the University and its classified union.  Below is a brief description of the program.

Project Description:
The Student Technology Internship Program (STIP) was created in the summer of 2002 to provide Service Desk, General Student Computer Labs services and other technical assistance to faculty, and students. This program creates opportunities for a select group of undergraduate and graduate students to gain advanced skills in the use of computer hardware and software as well as learn effective teaching and client support skills. 
STIP supports and advances the technological needs of the college, both in and out of the classroom. By bringing the interns and technology users together as a team, we provide diverse skills and services to create a better teaching and learning environment at the college. 
Below are the five major components of the Student Technology Internship Program (STIP) and the requested funding:

1. Reservation Desk
The Reservation Desk formally known as the Instructional Technology and Media Support Services (ITMSS) provides the audio-visual (AV) resources and services in support of academic instruction, scholarly communications and other activities consistent with CCNY’s mission.  They manage the students and faculty laptop loan programs – total 218 laptops (135 for students and 83 for faculty) to use in/out classrooms.  They are also responsible for supporting the video conferencing services (uses Zoom and Blue Jeans), classrooms AV Technology Services, Audiovisual resources for loan, such as projects, AV cables, and VIA Wireless Presentation devices.

2. Service Desk
The OIT Service Desk was revamped in the summer of 2011. This one-stop shop solution has given the OIT staff a much more efficient way of addressing the diverse needs of students, faculty and staff, as well as a more efficient way of addressing the college’s technology needs, particularly for students.  It serves as the primary point of contact for students, faculty, and staff seeking help in IT services and equipment (e.g., laptops, mobile devices, software, hardware, and operating systems) that is provided by CCNY’s Office of Information Technology.  The Service Desk staff ensure that all possible measures are taken to troubleshoot and resolve any issues in a timely manner.  It also acts as the central distribution point for campus-wide site-licensed software to the college community.

The Service Desk also provides Level 1 technical support in the following areas: 

• Student email (CityMail)
• CUNYfirst support for students
• Blackboard
• Mobile devices for students
• Active Directory computer login 
• Student training requests.

3. College Wide and School/Division Student Computer Labs Support
The OIT and School/Division student computer labs facilitate the printing and computing needs of our students. OIT has two main general computer labs, (1) The North Academic Center Fishbowl General Student Lab (NAC 1/501), which provides 102 PCs computers, and (2) The CITY Tech Center (NAC 1/301), City College’s new state-of-the-art computing, learning and training resource center, located on the ground floor of the Cohen Library. Re-designed to accommodate student learning in a variety of stimulating configurations, it provides the following services:

• Over 300 workstations
• Two state-of-the-art Active Learning Classrooms (ALCs)
• 10 media study rooms with flat-panel displays that accommodate up to six students each
• 16 two-person study rooms equipped with Windows and Macintosh desktop workstations
• Three smart classrooms with dozens of workstations, high definition projectors and, in the largest classroom, a podium with AV controls and mobile device connections
• Dozens of single-use desktop and wireless workstations in the open bays
• Laptop loans for students to use while using or taking classes in the (ALCs).

Each workstation is configured with the college’s full range of campus-wide, site-licensed software, including Adobe Creative Suite, MathWorks, Matlab, Microsoft Office Suite, SAS, and SPSS. The spatial configurations are as important as the technological enhancements because they accommodate students who choose to work individually, as well as provide incentives for student collaboration. 
At any given moment, the three training rooms are filled to capacity with students engaged in technology-enhanced learning with professors of Economics, Engineering, Psychology, and English. This highly successful facility has become the premier hub for student computing needs, as well as a general-purpose learning resource center for the entire City College population. Hundreds of students occupy every available workstation and study space, engrossed in everything from coursework to research to recreational breaks.
The computing and printing needs of special programs are provided by divisional student computer labs, including the Education lab (NAC 4/226), Engineering CAD lab (ST-216), Electrical Engineering lab (ST-269), Science Student lab, (MR-829), Accessibility Student lab (NAC 1/216), Architecture CAD lab, (SSA- 3rd floor), both Science and Music Libraries labs, and both graduate and undergraduate Student Government labs. These labs are open during the college hours of operation. 

4. OIT and School/Division Client Services Support
In addition to servicing all the general student computer labs on campus, the OIT and School/Division Client Services Support teams also provide Tier 2 and 3 hardware and software technical support and other technical assistance to college administrators, faculty, staff and students. This student group works continuously to ensure that the services they offer are of high quality and are customer-friendly. The program gives student interns the opportunity to gain advanced skills in the use of computer hardware, software, audio-visual equipment, presentation resources, and client support skills. These students are assigned to the main OIT Client Services department as well as to various school/division IT offices. They also receive on-going training from the college to support the advancing technology and audio-visual needs of the school. The training concentrates on software and hardware installations, troubleshooting, customer service, faculty, staff and student support and maintenance.  Below is the Student Technology Interns Program budget breakdown for FY 2021.