Building/Campus Goals or Standards

Learning spaces

1. Carrels (high density technology) should be located in the Learning Resource Center, public meeting areas, the student center and on each extended campus. Standing height surfaces and PCs would be provided for quick access, short duration data searches. Where quiet spaces exist for long duration study, chairs and normal desk height surfaces would be provided. Some carrels should also be established for individuals who need to conference with other individuals across the internet. These would require some sound attenuating treatment to avoid sound interference.
2. Classrooms (low density technology) should include data drops and electrical outlets for laptop connections for students and faculty. Access to network connections should be dispersed to allow flexibility. Students can login from any location, accessing data, e-mail and personal files/folders. Attendance and other administrative functions should be allowed by login validation and be person-specific rather than location-specific (roving profiles)
3. Group study areas (low-medium density technology) should be enhanced by electronic connections such as e-mail, teleconferences, internet presentations and listservs. Instructors should be able to make use of voicemail and internet to post assignments and course information. These areas could be used for small class groups to consult through conferencing with experts in an area of interest, requiring some sound isolation from other spaces.
4. Special use labs, e.g. chemistry (medium density technology) should provide flexibility for a variety of probes, test equipment, PCs, output devices, recording devices and cameras. Specialized labs are likely to have among the greatest requirements for accepting additional technology that may not have been identified at the time the technology infrastructure was installed.
5. Computing labs (high density technology) for specific use, general use and open use will be among the heaviest used areas of campus, both during scheduled labs and during non-scheduled hours. Various student assignments will require a computer resource, high bandwidth internet connection, high bandwidth multimedia connection, or specialized input or output device (plotter, scanner, color printer).
6. Lecture halls should be enhanced by adding multi-source video projectors and, in large spaces, audio systems for sound reinforcement, which accept various inputs (CATV, VCR, video camera, media retrieval, slide and multimedia presentations). This approach is similar to the DIAL classrooms, but distributed extensively throughout the campus.
7. Remote site locations should offer access to equivalent software resources in the open labs to allow students access to the software needed to complete course assignments in the KCC campus most convenient to them. This access should be extended to equivalent quality input devices, output devices and internet bandwidth.

Administrative and support spaces

1. Technology dense spaces will be needed to provide conferencing with other institutions and business in completing inter-institutional or College/business projects. The resources available to faculty and administrative/support staff should be on a par with the student access spaces (in some instances they may be the same spaces). Faculty and staff will need excellent connectivity and resources to develop the contacts and to network in ways which will allow them to develop future high quality opportunities with other institutions, organizations and business.
2. Standardization of forms, reports, grading process, requisitions, service requests, support requests and providing (or mandating) on-line use of these processes should save time, money, and provide easier, more standardized follow-up. Utilizing a campus-wide e-mail system, full-featured phone system, and voice mail system should provide additional savings and convenience.
3. Interweaving these systems is also possible so that voicemail and faxes are routed to the PC desktop, requiring one central location for faculty and staff to check. These systems can also be interfaced to notify pagers or cell phones, where required.

Learning Resource Center

1. Ownership goals: Resource material ownership is being reduced as more resources are available electronically. This trend will continue. Ownership will be necessary as dictated by limits on electronic access, high demand for non-electronic resources, or limited or unreliable loan opportunities.
2. Access goals
   1. Information sources: Electronic sources for information and alternative resources for similar information will be utilized to minimize costs of access. As always, minimizing the costs will preserve budget for other access opportunities.
   2. Hardware/software access: An increased percentage of the Learning Resource Center budget will be assigned to hardware and software costs. These costs may be offset by reduced costs of ownership, although costs of resource databases and memberships will also increase.
3. Learning Resource Center identity: The Learning Resource Center resources will be accessed from across campus, from remote campuses, from off-campus (from businesses and homes) and from other academic locations as specialized resources are developed by the College as a product of research and investigation done by the College or in consortium with business. The Learning Resource Center function will be distributed across the campuses, making it more of an information processing and retrieval center. The need to go to the Learning Resource Center to do library work will be reduced and distributed to other connected locations, providing more flexibility of space utilization.

Student Center

Carrels and small group study areas should be considered for this area to facilitate commuter access to computing resources. The nature of this building as an informal and somewhat more noisy space should also encourage interaction between individuals, particularly affording an opportunity for students and faculty from disparate academic backgrounds to engage in the symbiotic exchange of ideas, including ways to use technology to facilitate their learning experience.

Communications resources

See table for communication resources available at each of the above campus locations.

Communications infrastructure to support the above requirements

• Communications infrastructure

• The Wide Area Network (WAN) will be a comprehensive interconnection of the College's facilities and the DIAL system. This will have the capability for the transmission of voice, data and video information throughout the College, as well as other outside entities.  This will allow, among other things:
• A single point of access for public information, such as libraries, other universities, etc.
• A single point of access for College databases and applications
• A single point of access for maintenance, software upgrades, etc,, thus reducing maintenance costs
• Links for distance learning, both via DIAL and compressed video
• A private telephone network within the campuses, thus reducing equipment and maintenance costs
• Broadcast video within the campuses
• Campus-wide CCTV applications for security
• Video conferencing
• CATV
• Multiple Satellites
• The basis for the WAN will be to compose a single network of multiple various networks. In other words, it will have the capability to access the telephone network, video network, DIAL network and multiple Local Area Networks (LANs) throughout the various campuses.
• The design shall be based on industry standards as well as contain provisions for the migration to evolving standards. A standard needs to be implemented detailing the type and quantity of infrastructure to each building, in a star configuration from a central point. Fiber optic cabling is recommended for its superior distance, resistance to interference, available bandwidth and connectivity options. The fiber infrastructure should contain both single and multimode fiber, in a quantity sufficient for current and proposed applications, plus a minimum of 20% expansion. The fiber network shuld run all applications, including data, video and voice, as this will contain installation and maintenance costs to a single infrastructure while providing the best quality transmission for all applications.
• The existing extension of the DIAL fiber to the main hub (MDF1) for the Battle Creek campus will allow for wider distribution of the DIAL signal to other areas of campus. If in the future there is an opportunity to upgrade the fiber count between campuses (either DIAL fiber or KCC owned fiber), this would be recommended. This upgrade should be to at least a total of 12 strands, preferable 24 strands. This will allow multiple interactive sites throughout the campus, as well as for additional data utilization of the fiber.  

• Local Area Network Infrastructure

• Building infrastructure should be upgraded to current EIA/TIA and industry standards, including EIA/TIA 568A (Commercial Buildings Telecommunications Cabling Standard), 569 (Commercial Buildings Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces), 606 (Administration Standard for the Telecommunications Infrastructure of Commercial Buildings) and TSB 67 (Link Performance Transmission Specifications for Field Testing of Unshielded Twisted-Pair Cabling Systems).
• EIA/TIA 568 A specifies the topology, telecommunications closet sizes and location, maximum lengths, quantity and type of workstation cabling, termination and installation methods. This is an industry-wide standard with which most equipment manufacturers comply. Current industry standard cabling is recommended to each workstation and fiber optic and multi-pair cabling between closets as this will provide the best cost effective solution with excellent future flexibility.
• EIA/TIA 569 specifies pathways (conduit requirement, sizes, etc.) and spaces (closet specifics). Standardized closet design will provide reduced maintenance costs while maintaining the highest recognized standard for infrastructure speed and reliability. It is important when designing supporting infrastructure (conduit, raceway, etc.) that all proposed cabling, including a minimum 20% expansion, minimizes future disruption of spaces as well as future costs.
• EIA/TIA 606 specifies standard labeling for termination, cable, equipment, pathways, and spaces. Standardized labeling also reduces maintenance labor costs because of the ease of identification in testing, troubleshooting and inventory activities.
• EIA/TIA TSB 67 specifies the standard for cable test parameters, ensuring that infrastructure performs to its designed speed and reliability.

• Infrastructure summary

There should be one workstation outlet of two current industry standard cables per 100 square feet of workspace in an office environment or per person, whichever number provides the greatest density. In addition, in classroom settings, it is recommended that one workstation outlet of three cables for the instructor and two additional outlets of four cables each for student use is a minimum. If additional workstation sties are anticipated, use those higher numbers. Computer labs should be designed with one outlet per workstation, an instructor station (three cables), and 15% overage for future peripherals, network printers or other devices. Telecommunications closets need to be situated within 90 meters of the workstation (actual cable length) and on the same floor as the workstation. Closets are to be connected in a star topology by single and/or multi-mode fiber optic cabling for data, multi-pair cabling for voice and coax or fiber cabling for video. Workstations, cabling, closets terminations equipment and cross connects need to be labeled in a consistent, easy to understand method.

• Video system

  • The recommended system for video distribution is a "tree and branch", hardline (.500"), coaxial cable system with taps and RG6 cabling for station connection for video. This will facilitate broadband, bi-directional video to the workstation for CATV, satellite, on-site broadcast, and multi-source video streams. The incorporation of local video inputs at each instructor station will allow SVHS, VGA from the instructor workstation, and many other local resources (VCRs, camcorders, etc.) to be displayed on classroom televisions or projectors.
  • Currently, fiber optic cabling to the classroom is overall more expensive than a similar coax system, unless a specific requirement demands it. However, cabling pathways (conduit, raceway, etc.) should be designed to facilitate fiber optic cabling in the future. An exception to this would be any distance learning rooms (e.g. DIAL) which require the fiber to run directly to the codec at the headend equipment normally located in or near these rooms.

• Power

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Last modified: November 15, 2005 by Technology Committee Chair  © Copyright 1999-2005 Kellogg Community College. All rights reserved.