WSU Videoconference Facilities
And Scheduling Policies
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From the Director
Interactive video conferencing
is available through Academic Media Services to sites within Washington State,
as well as to ISDN and Internet Protocol (IP) videoconference facilities in the
United States and other parts of the globe. When not scheduled for
instructional activities, AMS’ interactive videoconferencing facilities are
available to the university community.
In the state of Washington, Academic Media Services links to other higher
education institutions, community colleges, and many K-12 school districts via
the K-20 system, the state’s transmission infrastructure. WSU campuses in
Pullman, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver, Aberdeen, Colville, Longview,
Wenatchee, Yakima, Everett, Puyallup, and Goldendale are linked on
dedicated K-20 circuits. The videoconference system also links to other U.S.
and international sites via IP connections.
AMS supports three types of facilities: large, operator-assisted classrooms for
groups of ten participants to over one hundred; smaller, operator-assisted
seminar and conference rooms that accommodate up to ten participants; and
conference rooms containing desktop conferencing equipment for one to two
participants. All facilities are scheduled and supported by AMS staff (see
below). Depending on the particular event function and the sites involved in
the videoconference, charges may apply to the use of the facilities.
I encourage you to make use of our unique facilities and hope that the
following information will make AMS videoconferencing an easy, positive
process.
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Janis L. Hall, Director of Academic Media Services
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System Availability
Academic courses receive priority when AMS facilities are
scheduled, so confirmations of videoconference requests for an upcoming
semester may be deferred until the academic course schedule has been finalized.
Videoconferences are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis, and only a
limited number may be held at any one time. While videoconference request forms
may be submitted at any time, videoconferences for future semesters will not be
scheduled until the academic course schedule for that semester has been
finalized. Additionally, AMS availability is limited:
during weekly maintenance
during the first week of each semester
during holiday periods (see Holiday Coverage section)
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Scheduling Timeline
Videoconference support staff need to be scheduled at every
site where your event participants will be located, so advance notice is
crucial. For videoconference events to take place weekdays 8:00 a.m. - 5:00
p.m., one week advance notice is normally required. For videoconference events
to take place weekdays after 5:00 p.m. or on weekends, or for events that link
to sites outside of the WSU System (such as other K-20 sites, U.S. sites
outside of Washington and international sites), a minimum of ten days’ advance
notice is required. These events may also be subject to a surcharge.
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Scheduling Guidelines
The following information is required in the Videoconference
Request Form, which is available online at this web site. When you have
gathered this information, go to the online Videoconference Request Form, fill
in the form and submit it online. The AMS Network Scheduling Coordinator will
contact you within three business days about your request.
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Identify the date, beginning time and ending time of your event, confirming
your event plan with the other participants before booking the event. In
addition to your preferred date and time, identify two alternative dates and
times, in case your preferred date and time are not available on the AMS
schedule.
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Identify the AMS (or other) videoconference facility locations where your event
participants will be located.
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Be able to designate one participant at each location as that site’s contact,
should any problems develop at that specific site, and be ready to provide that
participant’s phone number.
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Estimate the expected attendance at each site to help with scheduling a
facility that can accommodate the group.
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Identify the specific nature of the conference, such as faculty meeting,
seminar, workshop, interview, guest presentation, master’s or doctoral defense,
research project meeting, search committee, or other events pertaining to
University business. This information will help us determine the set-up
requirements for the facilities.
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Identify the needs of the event participants at each site. For each site,
determine if one or more participants will be presenting from that location,
and, if so, what presentation equipment (overhead camera for document display,
computer at the presentation station, VCR, etc.) will be needed. Most
facilities have a variety of technology to support presentations, and training
in doing presentations is available from each site's coordinators.
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Identify materials that need to be in participants’ hands at the event, and
arrange for these materials to be distributed to the various locations before
the event takes place.
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Contacting the Scheduling Office
When you have gathered the above information, fill out the
online Videoconference Request form. AMS’ Network Scheduling Coordinator will
contact you within three business days about your request. For additional
information:
Sheree Collins
(509) 335-6519
fax (509-335-7440) attn: Sheree Collins
collism@wsu.edu
Confirmation of Your Request
Confirmations are sent to the individual indicated on the
Videoconference Request Form as soon as the Network Scheduling Coordinator is
able to verify that facilities and staff are available. The information on the
Confirmation Notice will be assumed to be correct unless AMS is notified of a
change or correction. The Network Scheduling Coordinator will alert staff at
each location of the event, and the staff will make the necessary preparations
to ensure a successful conference.
Cancelling and Changing Meetings
If an event that has been requested or confirmed must be
cancelled or changed, AMS staff should be informed as soon as possible to allow
other events to be scheduled in these heavily-used facilities.
Working With Your Operators
When the conference participants arrive at the designated AMS
facility, they will be greeted by a site operator. AMS operators provide
technical support for the conference room and the site, and they communicate
with other conference site operators located throughout the state. At many
sites, the operators also deal with other issues relating to media and learning
resources, and they can provide additional training and support. As the event
is beginning, please communicate with the operators about any special needs,
concerns or questions; they will do their best to work with all participants to
minimize the effect of distance education technology on your event. Also,
please feedback after the event to help AMS improve its service in the future.
AMS Holiday Coverage
During holiday periods, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and
campus spring break week, AMS operations at all sites are staffed at a skeletal
level. Because staff members are not able to take annual leave while classes
are in session, these holiday periods offer staff an opportunity to take annual
leave.
Therefore, during holiday periods, AMS is available on a limited and scheduled
basis only for videoconferences. Staffing decisions will be finalized the
Mondays prior to Thanksgiving week and prior to spring break week. Staffing
will be finalized two weeks prior to the Christmas holiday for the period
between Christmas and New Year’.
All videoconference requests will be honored up until the date staffing is
finalized, and customers will be assured of appropriate staffing at all sites.
AMS will not be able to accommodate any videoconference requests after that
date. If sites are not scheduled by the specified date, they will not be
staffed, and staff will not be expected to return to cover any extra or late
meetings.
For More Information
Janis Hall, Director, AMS (509) 335-6529
hall@wsu.edu
Donald Dover, Network Operations Director (509) 335-6535
dover@wsu.edu
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