On Monday, October 29th, Rachel Hicks, VP of Student Services met with architects hired by the KSG to review the school's physical setup and what might be improved, both short term and long term.
They discussed the lack of electrical outlets. Apparently we're at the maximum load the buildings were built to take and adding more outlets will require fairly extensive remodeling.
They also discussed how inaccessible much of the facility is for those in wheelchairs or even on crutches, the broken (and squeaky) furniture, the lack of group work space and meeting space of student organizations, ways to better utilize the library and make it more inviting.
Facilities will do a walk around with Rachel and any other students who want to join her (you don't have to sit on the committee to be involved) to identify quick fixes we could implement this year. Similarly they will work on ways to report broken furniture and other facilities problems like sticky doors.
Ideas and involvement are very welcome. Send your thoughts to Rachel Hicks, or me.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
KSSG Committees
I know, KSSG seems to have an awful lot of committees. What is with all these VP's and their Committees?! Are there even enough class reps to staff them all?
In brief, here's what each committee is focussed on:
Manu Tandon - VP Finance, manage the funds generated by your student activity fee and maximize the student life experience by disbursing to clubs, pics and KSSG events like the Christmas ball.
Ann Hopper - VP Events, come up with all those KSSG events you keep seeing in your inbox. From Quorum Call to the ball, this committee keeps your student life hopping!
Taufiq Rahim - VP Academic Affairs, makes the case for the student view on all issues academic. This ranges from advising to curriculum to liaising with the school's Diversity Committee.
Valerie Boyd - VP Communications, communicate out to you what KSSG does, host town meetings, publish a newsletter and manage the website.
Alex Alexander - VP International Student Affairs, very new, this committee works on issues specific to the 455 student strong international KSG community.
Jeff Ginsberg - Committee of Public Service, a new, ad hoc committee this year to focus on LRAP and other financial aid opportunities.
Rachel Hicks - VP Student Services, managing all things administrative in the life of a student. From IT, to facilities, from registrar to Sodexho, this committee works to improve services.
Tobias Vanderhoop - VP Internal Affairs, managing the elections, clubs and other internal aspects of student government.
There aren't enough class reps to fully staff all these committees, so many of them reach out to the larger student body for additional help. You get to join in making the Kennedy School fabulous, without having to run for office!
In brief, here's what each committee is focussed on:
Manu Tandon - VP Finance, manage the funds generated by your student activity fee and maximize the student life experience by disbursing to clubs, pics and KSSG events like the Christmas ball.
Ann Hopper - VP Events, come up with all those KSSG events you keep seeing in your inbox. From Quorum Call to the ball, this committee keeps your student life hopping!
Taufiq Rahim - VP Academic Affairs, makes the case for the student view on all issues academic. This ranges from advising to curriculum to liaising with the school's Diversity Committee.
Valerie Boyd - VP Communications, communicate out to you what KSSG does, host town meetings, publish a newsletter and manage the website.
Alex Alexander - VP International Student Affairs, very new, this committee works on issues specific to the 455 student strong international KSG community.
Jeff Ginsberg - Committee of Public Service, a new, ad hoc committee this year to focus on LRAP and other financial aid opportunities.
Rachel Hicks - VP Student Services, managing all things administrative in the life of a student. From IT, to facilities, from registrar to Sodexho, this committee works to improve services.
Tobias Vanderhoop - VP Internal Affairs, managing the elections, clubs and other internal aspects of student government.
There aren't enough class reps to fully staff all these committees, so many of them reach out to the larger student body for additional help. You get to join in making the Kennedy School fabulous, without having to run for office!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
IT Review
On Monday, October 22nd, Alex Alexander (VP of International Affairs), Rachel Hicks (VP of Student Services) and I met with a consultant, Don Oppenheimer, who has been hired to do a strategic evaluation of IT services at the Kennedy School. It was a productive conversation, but mostly long range. John Haigh, the Executive Dean, is somewhat new to the KSG and has launched this initiative.
We let him know we thought the IT services should be world class, given both the stature of Harvard and the price we pay to attend. We also communicated very clearly our thoughts on:
- the lotus notes web mail system
- the complexity of two logins and the security concerns around non-complex passwords
- the lack of electrical plugs in classrooms and common areas
- the uneven quality of support in the computer lab
- the somewhat unstructured training the mid-careers received in August
- how there are resources available to us, but we often can't find things on the many websites, from student services to a central calender of events
- the lack of a single place to go for faculty or student contact information
Of course, IT is highly decentralized at the Kennedy School, as it tends to be all over Harvard. He had some useful feedback on our concerns.
There is an understanding that Lotus isn't ideal, but it's been intertwined with many of the administration's other applications so it's not going to be an easy thing to move to another system quickly.
There has not historically been a capital budget or a central IT policy, so each of the 19 centers does it's own technology budgeting and handles its own procurement, web site and other technical details. This adds real complexity to managing the systems.
There are about 2,000 users, including the 900+ students, so it's a complex, diverse set of needs and skill levels. Even so there is no call or service ticket tracking system for issue coming into IT.
This process will result in a set of recommendations, one of which will likely be to hire a Chief Information Officer. If that goes is accepted then they will consider how to incorporate students in the hiring process. In the short term, Mr. Oppenheimer pass along our concerns and see what might be addressed. As a follow up, through Marc Pelka (KSSG Exec. VP) we've already passed along some concerns to IT and will follow up with a meeting of our own before the end of the term.
We let him know we thought the IT services should be world class, given both the stature of Harvard and the price we pay to attend. We also communicated very clearly our thoughts on:
- the lotus notes web mail system
- the complexity of two logins and the security concerns around non-complex passwords
- the lack of electrical plugs in classrooms and common areas
- the uneven quality of support in the computer lab
- the somewhat unstructured training the mid-careers received in August
- how there are resources available to us, but we often can't find things on the many websites, from student services to a central calender of events
- the lack of a single place to go for faculty or student contact information
Of course, IT is highly decentralized at the Kennedy School, as it tends to be all over Harvard. He had some useful feedback on our concerns.
There is an understanding that Lotus isn't ideal, but it's been intertwined with many of the administration's other applications so it's not going to be an easy thing to move to another system quickly.
There has not historically been a capital budget or a central IT policy, so each of the 19 centers does it's own technology budgeting and handles its own procurement, web site and other technical details. This adds real complexity to managing the systems.
There are about 2,000 users, including the 900+ students, so it's a complex, diverse set of needs and skill levels. Even so there is no call or service ticket tracking system for issue coming into IT.
This process will result in a set of recommendations, one of which will likely be to hire a Chief Information Officer. If that goes is accepted then they will consider how to incorporate students in the hiring process. In the short term, Mr. Oppenheimer pass along our concerns and see what might be addressed. As a follow up, through Marc Pelka (KSSG Exec. VP) we've already passed along some concerns to IT and will follow up with a meeting of our own before the end of the term.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Welcome to the MC Reps Website
We're excited to share our progress with you and we want your feedback and input on a constant basis. How are we doing? What are you worrying about? What part of the student experience is working for you and what part is not?
Stay in touch with us, through the comments on this site and through email. Take the poll on the right and let us know your priorities! We're at your service!
Stay in touch with us, through the comments on this site and through email. Take the poll on the right and let us know your priorities! We're at your service!
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