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Technology Fee Projects Update PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 09 December 2009 10:43

With the introduction of the Technology Fee, the University will take a major step forward in enhancing instructional technology and infrastructure across institutions and campuses as the entire USF System will benefit from the multitude of projects made possible by the funds. 

We are more than halfway through the first semester of the Technology Fee which will see the collection of $3.2 million, with an annual assessment estimated at $6 million for the enhancement of technology system wide.  Initially, we had received over 60 proposals exceeding $16 million.   Since that time, the advisory groups (The Information Technology Management Council, the CIO/University Technology Standards Board, and the Student Technology Advisory Council) have narrowed the proposals down to just over 20, based on their reviews and recommendations.  Each of these advisory groups found the approved proposals met the requirements of the Guiding Principles and the Criteria for Consideration each group developed.

As the funds begin to accumulate, projects are beginning to take shape.  All campuses are benefitting from the Funds, and will soon be seeing enhancements from services such as wireless connectivity on campus, desktop virtualization, and ensuring classroom technology is sufficient for student learning.


Here are a few of the Technology Fee funded projects that have begun to take shape:

  • “USF Tampa Wireless” 09-055: In the procurement stages of improving the wireless network availability in many locations and building across the Tampa campus, including: the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences (BCS - MHC), Cooper Hall (CPR), Business (BSN), and Engineering C (ENC), Life Sciences (LIF), Physics (PHY), and Social Sciences (SOC).
  • “USF Health Wireless” 09-059: We are currently meeting with vendors concerning new, higher-bandwidth wireless access points.
  • “USF Sarasota-Manatee Wireless” 09-045: In the procurement stage, we are collaborating with all of Information Technology across the USF System to upgrade the campus to the latest and fastest wireless technology into newly constructed student spaces.
  • “USF Polytechnic Wireless” 09-013: A workgroup was created consisting of faculty, staff, and students that are reviewed the current campus coverage.  Areas looking to expand wireless network include outdoor athletic fields, recreational areas, and event locations around campus.
  • “USF St. Petersburg Wireless” 09-004:  Currently meeting with vendors and locating areas around campus to increase connectivity. 
  • “Resilient Network Infrastructure” 09-054:  Very close to completion, this will provide the redundant network infrastructure to connect the entire USF system to the internet, Internet 2, and National LambdaRail, and the associated services, providing much higher reliability of USF’s connectivity to the electronic world.
  • “Enhance Single Sign-On” 09-028: Users will see a significant decrease in the number of IDs and passwords they have to remember by simply using the NetID, as well as a reduction in the number of places needing sign-in: once the user is logged into the system, they can easily maneuver between different USF applications without having to re-login.  Parking and Transportation Services, Careers@USF, as well as the AlcoholEdu program for students living in the dorms have been enabled for use with the NetID because of technology fee funding. 
  • “Application and Computer Lab Virtualization” 09-038:  Will create the ability for students, faculty, and staff to access many USF applications which historically have only been available in the computer labs from their personal computers. This is for USF Tampa and Sarasota-Manatee.
  • Shared Computer Instruction” 09-002/3:  USF St. Pete, like Tampa and Sarasota-Manatee, are making available to students the Adobe Master Collection, CamStudio, plus many more.
  • “USFSP Classroom Technology” 09-001: St. Petersburg has completed technology installation for twelve classrooms as of the end of August.  Classrooms and laboratories originally ill-equipped are now be able to increase the ability of faculty to improve teaching methods
  • “South County Computer Lab” 09-045: Sarasota-Manatee has created a virtual lab environment for classes held in the off-campus teaching location.  This project enables students to securely access USF-owned software related to their education via non-USF computers.


The proposals noted above are just a small number of the projects planned for the Technology Fee.  If you would like to see the full list of proposals, please visit the Technology Fee Proposal Status page. 

The next cycle of the Technology Fee will begin February/March of 2010.  We invite you to submit a proposal on behalf of your institution or campus.  If you submitted a proposal that was not chosen for funding, we hope you will review the Technology Fee Guiding Principles and Evaluation Criteria and resubmit your proposal for the next fee cycle in 2010.

Please note: Funding is still available for mission-critical time-sensitive projects during the interim cycle.  Please contact the ITMC at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you need to submit a proposal before the next cycle Spring 2010.  If you've submitted a proposal during the interim cycle, you can check the status here.