This article was published in CAUSE/EFFECT journal, Volume 21 Number 4 1998. The copyright is shared by EDUCAUSE and the author. See http://www.educause.edu/copyright for additional copyright information.
Campus Profile
Northwestern University and Wake Forest University
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Located alongside Lake Michigan, Northwestern University's campuses in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, serve nearly 18,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. The institution, which was established in 1851, is composed of twelve schools and colleges.
Northwestern is recognized as one of the country's leading private research universities. The most recent U.S. News & World Report survey ranked its undergraduate program in the top ten nationally. The School of Law placed in the top fifteen legal programs nationally, and the Medical School ranked in the top twenty-five medical programs.
The institution also plays a key role locally, regionally, and nationally as a leader in information technology. Networking initiatives have ranged from collaborative projects in the community to hosting a new advanced Internet research center.
Supporting a community
Northwestern's campus network is one of the most powerful in the world, according to Patricia Todus, associate vice president for Information Technology: "The university has established a high-performance network infrastructure for the Northwestern community, developing a new generation of network services and creating applications that profit from high-performance networking for research and instruction."
NUNet, Northwestern's campus data network, serves students, faculty, and staff on both of the university's campuses, as well as the greater community. NUNet includes 238 miles of fiber that connect the 150 university buildings; Ethernet to offices, residences, and classrooms with four FDDI rings; and ATM in twenty major campus buildings. All fifty-one networked residence halls and Greek houses have a port per pillow, with a total of 6,277 connections. There are 15,000 ports for students, faculty, and staff. The network includes 426 modem lines and an ISDN line for off-campus access, servicing 15,000 connections daily.
Northwestern became the first university in the Midwest to use Ameritech's OC-12 SONET (synchronous optical network) ring, connecting the campuses and supporting all voice, data, and video transmissions. The OC-12 SONET ring provides the high-speed bandwidth platform that enables the university's participation in technologically advanced consortia and educational networks. With OC-12, the university can easily upgrade to higher bandwidths to meet the increasing technology needs of the user community.
To support students, faculty, and staff, there are 220 computers in seven public computing facilities, 807 computers in forty-five departmental facilities, twenty central electronic multimedia SMART classrooms, sixteen departmental electronic classrooms, and a digital media studio. Three interactive video classrooms, one on each campus, facilitate shared classes and meetings both within the university and with other institutions.
Information Technology's Technical Support Services has made connecting to NUNet an efficient process by distributing the "One World" packet, which includes documentation and a CD-ROM with NU Internet Software Installer and Computer-Based Tutorial. The Internet Software Installer is an easy-to-use application that configures all computer systems to connect to NUNet, customizing to a user's platform and connection type. The Computer-Based Tutorial, designed by Northwestern staff, orients students by explaining how to use Internet applications, how to run the NU Installer, and how to install modems or Ethernet cards.
NUNet has enabled the implementation of three administrative processes at the University. The Human Resources Information System, supporting payroll and benefits, created substantial record keeping efficiencies. The Student Enterprise System project created a single point of data update and retrieval for such offices as Recruiting and Admissions, Financial Aid, Student Records and Administration, and Academic Advising. Finally, the client/server-based Voyager Library Management System with a graphical user interface has replaced a mainframe-based library system, allowing flexibility and inter-connectivity.
Northwestern's information technology initiatives and NUNet are run by six operational units and three support units. Telecommunications and Network Services, Computing Services, Technology Support Services, Academic Technologies, Management Systems, and Student Enterprise Systems make up the operational areas of the Information Technology division. The three support units are Communications, Administration and Finance, and Planning and Development.
Expanding the community
Northwestern has been a leader in making high-speed networking ubiquitous, both in the local community and in partnerships throughout the region. One collaborative network that Northwestern is involved in is the regional, high-speed Metropolitan Research and Education Network (MREN). MREN partners include the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and Ameritech Advanced Data Services. All but one of the Big Ten Schools are part of MREN.
Northwestern serves as the electronic hub for an interactive video network connecting thirty-three campuses-the North Suburban Higher Education Consortium (NSHEC)--in metropolitan Chicago. The $4.5 million project, developed over five years, supports institutions as they share courses, seminars, and resources. The NSHEC Network also allows direct connections to sixty other campuses across the region. The university is currently implementing an ATM network that will be shared among the NSHEC institutions.
More than fifty institutions have been supported by the Collaboratory Project, a Northwestern initiative funded by a $1.8 million grant from the Ameritech Foundation. The project, started in 1997, draws upon Northwestern expertise in training, consulting, and technical support for diverse educational activities in the greater Chicago region. According to Todus, "The Collaboratory Project has made it possible for many institutions to successfully carry out significant and meaningful educational activities by the provisioning of technical expertise and other resources."
Another significant project the institution has taken on is Technopolis Evanston. Officials from Northwestern and the City of Evanston are hoping to soon provide high-speed Internet access to all Evanston businesses, homes, schools, city government buildings, and organizations, allowing access approximately twenty-five times faster than a telephone modem provides. Todus believes that networking the city will attract more high-tech companies to Evanston.
The cutting edge
Northwestern University is a founding member of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), a partnership of over 125 research universities which established the Internet2 project. The National Science Foundation granted the institution $350,000 to connect to the vBNS, making the Chicago region the first gigaPOP on the emerging Internet2. NU President Henry S. Bienen serves on the UCAID Board of Trustees.
A recent initiative was the opening of an advanced Internet technology research center. Northwestern and IBM, with initial support of Ameritech, Cisco, and other corporate partners, have established the International Center for Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR), with multiple sites at both Northwestern campuses and at IBM facilities.
The center will undertake cooperative projects with regional, national, and international research and education networks, and will initiate large-scale projects in advanced next-generation Internet research, innovation, and experimentation. Through iCAIR, researchers, academics, entrepreneurs, and participating corporate partners will have testbed access to Abilene, the multi-gigabit Internet2 backbone, which will enable them to create prototypes of advanced Internet solutions.
Sidebar President Henry S. Bienen
"To ensure the continued success of Northwestern, we have embarked on programs to increase the size of the faculty, improve undergraduate and graduate and research programs, and enhance the University's infrastructure. One such infrastructure, our advanced digital network, has become indispensable in the support of our faculty, students and staff. We will continue to improve this network and participate with others to improve regional and national networking."
WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
A private liberal arts institution founded in 1834, Wake Forest University has an enrollment of approximately 6,000 students. The university is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on two campuses. The institution also operates residential campuses in London and Venice.
Information technology is a priority at Wake Forest, and it is evident in projects such as the institution's ThinkPad Program, through which every undergraduate student is issued a laptop upon arrival. Wake Forest is also a member of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID) and a participant in the Internet2 project.
Mobile computing
In the fall semester of 1996, Wake Forest University implemented its Undergraduate Plan, an intensified commitment to individualized instruction, faculty-student interaction, and small classes. As part of the plan to personalize the students' learning experience, Wake Forest adopted the ThinkPad Program--first-year students are issued IBM laptops and Lexmark computers when they arrive on campus.
Through the ThinkPad Program, students are able to tap into Wake Forest's network all over campus, from residence halls to classrooms to the library, and the mobility of a laptop allows them to take computing into the field. Training and support are readily available. Chief Information Officer Jay Dominick explains the benefits of the program: "The communications between members of our community take place on a continuous and sustained basis-often around the clock. With such a large commitment to the technology, we are making a fundamental commitment to the students that their computers will be maintained and tightly integrated into the learning environment."
In their junior year, students trade their laptops in for new ones, which they then take with them upon graduation. The cost of the program is figured into tuition. "All students-regardless of their economic status-are on a level playing field with respect to technology," notes Dominick. "Everyone gets a fair shot."
A pervasive computing environment was essential to support mobile computing. The combination of a flat network, a standard client of Microsoft NT, and central computing give the university a high level of control over the technical environment. This standardization allows the institution to manage more than 20,000 live Ethernet outlets with a staff of two technicians, one project manager, and one supervisor; the university manages more than 4,000 client computers with three systems administrators.
Through the network, the university is able to update machines quickly and avoid problems such as viruses. To access network services, users must log into the NT domain; the startup process makes any necessary changes to client machines.
Enhancing the Wake Forest environment
The university's campus network has an OC-12 ATM core backbone with OC-3 redundant backup links. All residence halls are connected to the backbone through two separate fiber optic paths to ensure reliability. Each room has two sets of category-five wiring containing a cable TV connection and three data ports, one of which is reserved for telephony. The other two ports are reserved for data, including one that is activated for Ethernet. Ethernet outlets are also available in study areas.
All faculty offices contain at least one Ethernet outlet, most of which are 100 Megabit connections. Every Wake Forest classroom has fiber optic cable terminated in the room and at least one live Ethernet connection. There are more than fifty classrooms with fixed seating; these rooms have switched Ethernet and power to each seat, including multimedia capability.
Multimedia classrooms exist at varying levels on the Reynolda Campus. Portable systems exist in thirty-five classrooms, which each serve ten to forty students. These classrooms are equipped with either 37" or 42" monitors to display computer and other inputs. Intermediate systems, with custom control desks and ceiling-mounted projectors, each seat twenty to forty students. There are thirty-eight of these classrooms, which also include features such as document cameras, VCRs, and laser disc players. Large classrooms, eight in number, include the same set-up as intermediate systems, but they hold more than fifty students. Wake Forest also has specialty rooms that serve such purposes as videoconferencing centers.
Wake Forest recently extended the seamless connection of the North Carolina campuses to the university campuses in London and Venice. Through a global frame relay network operating at 256KB, students with ThinkPads in these remote locations use the same network service as students in Winston-Salem.
Also at the international level, Wake Forest has developed a partnership with Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. The university has provided laptops and Internet connections to the theater staff so scholars can interact with Wake Forest students through teleconferencing and e-mail. Once a month, scholars connect with classes through an H.320 conferencing system using ISDN lines. Microsoft NetMeeting is used to share applications with the class.
Networking at Wake Forest also has impacted administrative processes. Multiple administrative initiatives are combined in the Wake Information Network (WIN) project. WIN provides complete access to student records and alumni systems in a secure, Web-based environment. In addition, the budget process is now being completed electronically, which saves a month in paperwork processing.
Connecting the community
Wake Forest's commitment to its motto, "pro humanitate," is clear through outreach efforts and partnerships in technology.
One initiative, WinstonNet, is a partnership among the different constituencies in the community-higher education, city and county government, libraries, and K-12 schools. Modeled after Wake Forest's intercampus network, WinstonNet utilizes the fiber ring connecting the university's two campuses as the foundation for the high-speed community wide network.
According to Dominick, "Winston-Net allows us to share with our educational partners in town and to pool our efforts to achieve more than we would be able to individually. By banding together to tackle our problems we are able to build the infrastructure for our future."
Sidebar President Thomas K. Hearn Jr.
"It has been only a few years since we launched our technology initiative. During that time, we have succeeded in integrating technology into an environment designed to enhance personalized learning and growth. We are discovering it provides valuable support to our ultimate objective of educating and preparing young men and women for lives of service."
The two institutions featured here received honorable mentions for the 1998 CAUSE Awards for Excellence in Campus Networking, one of the EDUCAUSE award programs. The winner of the award, Duke University, was featured as a campus profile in CAUSE/EFFECT, Volume 21, Number 1 (see http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/html/cem/cem98/cem9816.html). Applications and information regarding the 1999 awards can be found at http://www.educause.edu/awards/network/network-award.html.
CAUSE/EFFECT's Campus Profile department regularly focuses on the information resources environment of an EDUCAUSE member institution, to promote a better understanding of how information resources are organized, managed, planned for, and used in colleges and universities of various sizes and types. These articles are written by EDUCAUSE Writer/Reporter Shannon Burgert.
