It used to be much easier to get paid by the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). A lot easier, that is, if you didn't work there. Saddled with an antiquated computer system and manual, repetitive data entry of time cards, officials at California's second-largest school district discovered the payroll department was mistakenly issuing $1…

The data communications requirements of California State University, Los Angeles, reflected in its proposals for an integrated voice/data communications system are described. The advantages and disadvantages of three data communications technologies--voice-and-data private branch exchange, data private branch exchange, and the local area…

Indiana University has over 300 microcomputers connected to the administrative mainframe. The issue of micro/mainframe data transfer is discussed and guidelines for planning this capability are provided. Types of micro/mainframe data transfer products, product choice, and how the product works in the transfer environment are described. (Author/MLW)

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) promises to integrate voice, data, text, and video services within the context of existing telephone networks. It is a set of standards, or engineering design specifications, that will permit anyone to attach any innovative device to it as long as it abides by the network's protocols. (MLW)

A strategy for integrated data and voice networks implemented at the University of Michigan is described. These networks often use multi-technologies, multi-vendors, and multi-transmission media that will be fused into a single integrated network. Transmission media include twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, fiber optics, and microwave. (Author/MLW)

A project to implement an integrated data system at the four-campus University of Missouri is described. Analytical processing is discussed as it relates to executive decision-making support. It is noted that understanding of specific institutional circumstances and timely delivery of supporting information are critical to system effectiveness.…

Faced with an increasing need for data by the West Liberty State College administration and the West Virginia Board of Regents, an in-house system was designed that provides online update/inquiry to an integrated, nonredundant collection of data files via user-friendly menus. (Author/MLW)

The Electronic Data Transfer (EDT) network for Connecticut local school districts encompasses nine major databases and provides dozens of online data reports to network users. At a low cost and high degree of success, EDT has improved the data collection and reconciliation process at the state and local levels and generated a capacity for…

The study and implementation of an online facilities management system at Clemson University that was designed with distributed processing in mind is described. The system provides for centralized data, assignment of data responsibility, increased data accessibility, and audit trail. Security considerations and mini- and microapplications are…

As new information technology options are made available, office automation systems are being introduced and along with campus networks, and management information service requirements are evolving. Eight common strategies found in 10 American institutions are reported. (Author/MLW)

The role of the central university computing center in the age of personal computers includes custodian of the administrative database, provider/coordinator of network services, provider of expertise on end-user computing, provider of large scale computation, coordinator of computing in the institution, and a scholarly workstation. (DB)

Despite the decentralized nature of computing at Vanderbilt, there is significant evidence of cooperation and use of each other's resources by the various computing entities. Planning for computing occurs in every school and department. Caravan, a campus-wide network, is described. (MLW)

Describes system developed at Bennett College for recording grades on a spreadsheet that allows multi-user access for updating student test scores. The interaction between spreadsheets, user-developed statistics programs, and word processing documents is discussed, and a process for using spreadsheet data in a BASIC statistics program is…

Discusses the 1995 OCLC/NCSA Metadata Workshop that met to define a standard set of data elements for describing network-accessible information resources. These document data elements had to be simple enough for authors and publishers to use, to facilitate discovery and retrieval, and to be useful as a basis for descriptive cataloging. (JKP)

Major University of Nebraska computing and information technology objectives include: the study of alternative means of transmitting voice, video, and data; developments of instructional and administrative uses of satellite and closed-circuit television and audio communications; continue work toward a student information system, etc. (MLW)