Cerritos College Computer Replacement Plan

Over the past years Cerritos College has worked under an informal Computer Replacement Plan that was driven by the various budget managers.  Each department/division used their individual funds and prioritized the order and timing for computer replacements within their respective areas based upon their unique needs and available funds.   Occasionally there were additional funds that were made available by the appropriate vice president to cover unique situations, such as new faculty or staff hires.  Academic computer labs/classrooms were funded by VTEA, instructional equipment money, TTIP, or general funds, depending on availability.

Recently a new board goal has directed information technology to, "Develop a plan for replacing faculty, staff and administrator computers on a regular cycle".  This will help ensure that all technology on campus is kept up-to-date, and that the funding for this plan is clearly established across multiple years. Previously, only computers in academic labs and a small portion of exception areas were updated on a regular cycle.  Staff and faculty computers on campus were not under any formal replacement plan. The result was a wide variance in the capabilities of computers across the campus and a time consuming cascading process for the information technology staff.

To address these issues all computers across the campus will be placed on a regularly scheduled replacement cycle based upon our current information technology standards. There are three separate processes to replace our existing computer technology:

  • Phase I
    • Employee Computer Replacement Process
    • Network switches in the wiring closets which support student labs
  • Phase II
    • Classrooms/labs Computer Replacement Process
    • Server Replacement Proces

The goals of the technology replacement plan

  1. Centralize resource and financial planning and forecast the funding requirements to implement a five year replacement cycle for computers.
  2. Assure that appropriate computing resources are available in department/division facilities, classrooms, and offices to support the mission of the college.
  3. Implement the minimum standards for computing equipment on campus, which is reviewed regularly by the Information Technology Standards Committee, and promote uniformity of technology.
  4. Assure that each faculty and staff member who uses computing resources in his or her position has a computer of sufficient capability to fulfill their job related duties.
  5. Support the use of technology by faculty, administration, and staff in using computers to promote student success.
  6. Provide for the cost effective and timely purchasing and installation of new equipment while decreasing the deployment time.  Reduce the costly computer cascading  approach, except where this is highly beneficial and critical to student success.
  7. Maintain a currently supported operating system from Microsoft or Apple.
  8. Replace all CRT's with LCD monitors to maximize electricity and air conditioning benefits/savings, understanding that there will be a few exceptions based upon needs.

Employee Computer Replacement Process

The Employee Replacement Process covers all faculty, staff, and administrative computers, notebooks, and Macintosh workstations assigned to district employees.  It includes workstations for faculty, classified staff and administrators as well as general use computers shared in an area or used by substitute or part-time workers. Areas which are funded on a cost recovery basis, such as Community Education or specific grants, may not be covered under this replacement plan.

This plan will be executed as follows:

  1. Identify, prioritize, and define five distinct geographic areas
  2. Create a worksheet identifying 1/5 of the computers to be replaced within each cycle
  3. Remove and store the existing computers and monitors from the identified areas
  4. Replace all computers with a new PC or Macintosh computer and a 20" LCD monitor (see form to request an exception)
  5. Cascade the old equipment into the geographic area starting with the areas that are last on the priority list

This process calls for the replacement of all employee computers every five years. To accomplish this goal, the campus has been divided geographically into five equal parts, based on the number of employee computers in each area. Each year new computers will be provided to all employee users in each of these designated areas.  PC’s for new positions will also be funded by this plan.  During the first cycles of this plan, if the new position will be located in an area that has yet to be fully replaced, then a recycled computer will be made available.

To accomplish this goal a timetable and budget has been recommended, which includes the prioritization for the areas.  Individual machines that will be replaced are detailed on this worksheet .  The process will start with Year 1 computers being ordered around July 2006, so the installation disruption can occur during summer.  There will be approximately 200 new workstations installed each fiscal year under the employee replacement process.

Request for Exceptions to the Computer Replacement Process

In some situations users may be required to run special software or perform unique tasks as part of their assigned job duties, and may need a computer with more memory, a faster processor, a larger monitor, or a larger hard disk than the one they are using or will be assigned. Users in this situation may request that their workstation be evaluated to determine an appropriate upgrade path. IT may recommend additional memory, a larger hard drive, or possibly a newer workstation. The user’s division/department may be required to fund these upgrades if there are not adequate funds within the replacement budget.

While we expect that the majority of requests will come at the beginning of the fiscal year, requests will be reviewed throughout the year to handle unforeseen changes in job duties, etc.

Please submit this form to request an exception to the Computer Replacement Process.  This is also to be used to request the installation of non-standard software; please list title and version.  Appropriate signatures are required.  If a user requires local administrative privileges (which is rare), please contact the Manager or Director of Information Technology because there is another form required.

Classroom/Lab Computer Replacement Process

The Classroom/Lab Computer Replacement Process covers student and instructor workstations in computer labs, technology enhanced classrooms, traditional classrooms, laboratories, and the library.  The process covers monitors, workstations, notebooks, and Macintosh computers.  Areas which are funded on a cost recovery basis, such as Community Education or specific grants, may not be covered under this replacement plan.

The process calls for the replacement of PCs and Macintoshes every five years.  To accomplish this goal, the College has created a lab replacement schedule for the academic computer labs.  The schedule begins with the 2005-06 fiscal year and details subsequent years including estimated costs.  This timetable should be reviewed by various constituency groups and provide any feedback as soon as possible.  Based on the feedback received, adjustments are made to ensure that appropriate technology resources are available in each area.

Installation Process

Prior to the start of the installations, a communication will be sent to various departments to announce the timeframe for replacements.  We will also provide a detailed worksheet with various information that the appropriate manager must validate and also provide information Technology with room locations for each computer installation.  Information Technology staff will set up specific installation dates with each area as they are ready to be installed into the labs/classrooms.  The division manager should contact Patrick O'Donnell x2171 with details about the software that is required to be installed into the labs.

  • For classrooms/labs, installations will be scheduled to ensure minimal impact on instruction and that the technology is implemented as quickly as is feasible.
  • Information technology staff will need approximately 1 hour per workstation for standard setup.
  • The recommended software (see information technology software standards for details) will be installed on all new workstations.  Non-standard software will not be replaced without proof of a license and the original installation media.  Please be aware that older software may not be certified to run within our current standard, which usually occurs after significant operating system upgrades.  You may need to purchase new non-standard applications that have been designed and tested to meet the current trends.
  • Users with 15 or 17-inch monitors will receive a 20-inch monitor.  Monitors that are 19-inches or larger, and are in good working condition, may or may not be replaced, based upon the replacement budget and/or the age of their existing monitor.
  • Information Technology will remove the older or "good" workstations for reassignment as determined, or remove the disk drive and place a label for "surplus" on the computer.  The division/department manager will be responsible to surplus the tagged equipment.

Near the conclusion of the new computer installations, the installation of cascaded computers will begin.  The pool of cascaded computers will be installed into the areas or locations that fall at the bottom of the priority list.  We will work from the bottom of the priority list toward the top.  Cascaded computers will be assigned based on need and availability.  The Computer Replacement Plan will nearly eliminate all cascades by year three.