Computers as Infrastructure

The Faculty Senate finds that WHEREAS:

Computers are a necessary piece of equipment for faculty and staff to effectively do their jobs, much as lights, offices, and desk phones are required for the same;
The Internet -based World Wide Web has become an increasingly important source of information for teachers, students, and staff at all levels;
Universities are expected to provide some source content electronically, and UNM faculty are being encouraged to provide course syllabi and other information on the World Wide Web;
UNM is providing more information critical for faculty and staff only via electronic methods such as e-mail and the World Wide Web;
A substantial investment has been made at UNM in recent years to build and maintain the University's computer network to facilitate Internet access for members of the UNM community;
Technology at UNM is extremely underfunded;
Many faculty and staff at UNM are unable to take full advantage of this network because there is currently no source of funding for desktop computers to plug into the network;
Technology changes rapidly, and computer equipment is inadequate for current uses after three to four years.

It be RESOLVED that:

Faculty and staff computer workstations be considered as UNM infrastructure, much like a phone on a desk;
Departments be directly allocated a computational budget of $500.00 per year, per instructional personnel FTE;
Funds be disbursed at the departmental level to address specific computing needs of instructional personnel;
The university recognize that centralized computing services such as network hardware maintenance and upgrades, and user support and training, must be planned and funded in order to optimize the utility of our current and investments in computational facilities. To this end the request for faculty/staff computers made here should be integrated into a comprehensive Strategic Plan.
This resolution be forwarded to the Commission on Higher Education (CHE).