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In This Issue
Seen & Heard: After Katrina…
9/19/2005
A sobering look at people, process and tools.
In the days immediately after Hurricane Katrina devastated Gulf Coast cities
and towns, I canvassed the area’s higher ed Web sites and hotlines, trying
hard to pull my mind away from the human heartbreak and objectively assess the
role of technology in the schools’ disaster responsiveness. What I found
as I called the hotlines and scanned the Net for the Web sites of those hardest
hit, was universal (and understandable) institutional shock, and varying degrees
of rudimentary business continuity—where it existed.
At Tulane, as the university community prepared for the storm, President Scott Cowen explained via the campus Web site that the university was taking preventative measures by a) shutting down e-mail to “protect the equipment and allow restoration as early as possible,” and b) directing everyone to Tulane’s emergency Web site (housed off campus) and alert lines. Via the emergency site, he communicated over ensuing days as he and his staff evacuated from New Orleans to Houston, where power and Internet service would allow more frequent communications. The toll-free and local alert lines, when I called them, were non-functional.
At the University of New Orleans, campus Web site updates four days after the storm advised that the site would be the primary source of information. The university was establishing new office space and trying to restore computing systems, was the message at that time. In an open letter, Chancellor Tim Ryan explained that students would have the option of taking courses electronically for degree credit— an unforeseen benefit of eLearning.
For Southern University at New Orleans, a few lonely lines of text inhabited the space where the university Web site had existed, offering two hotline phone numbers: one for staff/faculty, the other for students (both out of the Baton Rouge campus). The faculty line worked; the student line was disconnected, although I discovered that those manning it were unaware of the problem. For the Louisiana Community & Technical College System, a 50-word message dated five days after Katrina made it clear that LCTCS was struggling to address problems and concerns. A Web site was under construction to “provide answers to your pressing questions,” the message advised; a central/eastern Louisiana telephone number was given for payroll, insurance, and benefits questions.
When I tried to find Xavier University of Louisiana and Loyola University of New Orleans on the Web, ominously, the sites would not load. I found myself wishing for an annoying “Site Under Construction” message—anything, to indicate that life existed somewhere for the Xavier and Loyola university communities.
Recommended Reading
- Cedarville U Sets Up SonicWall Firewalls
Cedarville University in southwestern Ohio has implemented SonicWALL firewalls to provide high-speed gateway firewall protection for its 3,000 students.
- Data Breach Strikes U North Dakota Alumni Association
The alumni association for the University of North Dakota has gone public with a data breach that occurred when a laptop belonging to a software vendor was stolen from a vehicle. The computer contained the names of 84,000 university alumni, donors, and others, according to coverage by the Grand Forks Herald.
- Tips for Selecting a Campus CRM tool
As competition for students increases, colleges and universities are looking more and more to customer (or constituent) relationship management software for help in remaining competitive.
- Intercast Networks Goes into Beta with Kazam Video Service at Internet2 Universities
Intercast Networks has redesigned Kazam, its student Internet TV and video service based on the company's VideoXpress platform. Following a spring semester alpha trial at Columbia and Purdue University, the company redesigned Kazam's interface based on student feedback and added additional content that caters to a student audience.
- Michigan State Managing MRI Images from Africa with Acuo Tech DICOM Services Grid
Doctors at Michigan State University have begun using the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) Services Grid from Acuo Technologies to transport and manage magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results from a hospital in Malawi, Africa in order to monitor the impact of malaria on children.
- IIT Delhi Delivers Services with Ingres Open Source
Administrators at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) have gone public with their installation of open source database management software from Ingres. IIT Delhi, one of seven leading institutes of technology in India, adopted Ingres Database to support administration functions such as grading, finance, human resources, procurement, and hospital administration.
