Idea Wall responses
by Emmanuel Quartey
photo credit: smokeghost via photopin cc
Erin Scott from Academic Computing Resources wrote to mention helpful resources for meeting some of the wants identified on the Idea Wall.
IDEA WALL #2
2. Registered student organizations should be able to access a basic CMS (content management system) for putting up basic, smart-looking websites.
“There is answer to #2 on the Idea Wall! Student organization use is the exact intent of SimpleSites. Students can request a site here: http://drupal.yale.edu/request-yalesite”
IDEA WALL #8
8. Longer lending times for media equipment borrowed from Bass.
“Under the current policies of BMEC, students can request an extended reservation at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?%20hl=en&formkey=dFZkNHI0ODlWdHc3ZkthSm1MUldNTmc6MQ#gid=0 (A link is provided on our FAQ, as that is a very long complicated URL, we realize.)
The current 3-day reservation policy is based off of what our sister groups do (the DMCA and Event Services). If longer reservation time is desired as a default for BMEC, we’re more than willing to entertain the possibility. Come to us with a specific recommendation, such as increasing the loan period from three to five day. (“Longer times” is a little vague.)
One of the reasons that we have a relatively short time is because of the demand that we experience. Comparing the data from year 1 and year 2, we learned that there was a 260% increase in usage. Comparing Fall 2009 to Fall 2010, we saw that the number of checkouts doubled. The equipment is in such high demand that it’s very hard to justify giving everyone as much equipment as they want for as long as they want. Now, if someone wanted to, say, double our annual budget and we could buy 20 of everything, it would be much easier to hand out equipment like candy. And we would love to be at that point someday!”
I’ve edited the Wall to reflect this information. Thanks, Erin!
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