EndNote

Net@EDU
focuses on Academic Networking


By Mark Luker

A new EDUCAUSE organization, Net@EDU, has just been created through the merger of two complementary and distinguished ancestors.

NTTF, the Networking and Telecommunications Task Force of Educom, brings the energy and expertise of some 50 campuses who have been consistent leaders in the development of campus and national networking from the very beginning. Most recently this organization served as the incubation grounds for the Internet2 project and UCAID, the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development.

FARNET, the Federation of American Research Networks, has been a leader in the development of regional and state networks for academic and public services since the original 13 regional networks funded by NSF. It now represents networks that connect universities, colleges, schools, libraries and others in regional coalitions while developing the high-performance connection points (gigapops) of the networks of tomorrow. Taken together, the activities of Net@EDU members span the spectrum of academic networking from campus to local, state, regional, national and international.

Net@EDU has planned a number of new leadership activities that will help to shape the future of networking in higher education. In the first, Net@EDU received a grant from the National Science Foundation to host a workshop of leading experts on the management of advanced networking to offer advice on how best to shape NSF's future programs in advanced networking infrastructure. This workshop will have direct bearing on how NSF works with higher education in the follow-on programs to the "vBNS" national backbone and the "University Connections" program.

In the second, Net@EDU hosted a workshop led by the University of Chicago and other members on the present chaotic state of pricing for Internet services and the business models most likely to emerge through new technologies and greater competition. A white paper based on this workshop is expected to be the first in a series that tracks how the new models of technology and business will affect both higher education and state networks.

Other activities of Net@EDU take advantage of the recent larger merger of Educom and CAUSE. The new parent organization, EDUCAUSE, backs the focused leadership and policy activities of Net@EDU with both a broader base of member institutions and stronger support for communications, professional development and knowledge transfer. The Net@EDU team will use this to the advantage of higher education and state networking by hosting a series of programs intended to improve the knowledge and technology transfer from our networking leaders to the entire community.

In particular, we have been awarded an NSF startup grant for a full-time expert who will collaborate with other organizations to develop the most effective approach to helping the entire community take full advantage of the new technologies. We are planning a workshop in January that will involve the leadership and members of a variety of leading associations for higher education to focus on what needs to be done. These efforts are now in the definition stage, but will certainly include the development of the new coalitions required to get results at particular institutions. It should go almost without saying that success will require the active, collaborative efforts of a broad community including UCAID, NSF, and other associations for networking and higher education. These initiatives will be apparent inside EDUCAUSE in new professional development activities for members as well as in Net@EDU support for the network standardization efforts of the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative.

The creation of Net@EDU also will bring strength to EDUCAUSE in its role as a policy leader in matters of networking and information technology for research and education. Its weekly electronic newsletter, now called the EDUCAUSE Washington Update, will continue to bring timely news of the developments in Congress and the federal agencies that most impact our community. A Web-based summary of the current status of major issues is planned, along with a series of briefing papers that offer more breadth and depth on selected issues. Net@EDU and its parent EDUCAUSE will play an active role with related associations and other partners in the formation of consistent policies on information technology, and will continue to support consensus and advocacy on behalf of its members and the broader community. The expanding commercial success of the global Internet means that these policy efforts will be both more important and more complex than ever before.

Net@EDU held its first member meeting this August. Those interested in joining us, or in further information, are invited to look at our Web page at http://www.educause.edu/netatedu, to visit our upcoming sessions at EDUCOM '98 and CAUSE98, or to contact us at EDUCAUSE's Washington office: 1150 18th Street, NW, Suite 1010, Washington, DC 20036. We welcome your interest, comments and suggestions.

Mark Luker is vice president of EDUCAUSE. [email protected]

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