HEIDS

Higher Education Information Directors in Scotland

Minutes of HEIDS Meeting 
Held on Tuesday 29 November 2000

Northern College
Aberdeen

Present:-

Chair		Tom Mortimer		Queen Margaret University College		TM
Secretary	Paul Dean		Napier University				PD
Malcolm Bain		University of St Andrews			MB
Jim Buchan		Northern College				JB
Stuart Brough		University of Strathclyde 			SB
Stewart Gardner	University of Abertay				SG
Brian Gilmore		University of Edinburgh			BG
Bill Harvey		SHEFC					BH
Linda McCormick	University of Glasgow			LM
Andrew McCreath	Robert Gordon University			AM
Richard Murphy	University of Dundee				RM
Tony Osborne		University of Stirling				TO
Graham Prior		University of Aberdeen			GP
Jean Ritchie		SHEFC C&IT					JR
David Rundell 	Heriot-Watt University			DR

1.	Apologies
		Pamela Chambers	UHI						PC
Peter Kemp		University of Stirling				PK 
Tony Shaw		University of Paisley 				TS
Ian White		Glasgow Caledonian University		IW

2.	Minutes of Previous Meeting

3.	Matters arising
All items included in agenda items below.

4.	MAN Re-procurement 
SMCG met by video conference shortly after the Napier meeting.
Each MAN has contacted the Principals of the member institutions to re confirm the authority of the MAN management teams/SMCG to make decisions on behalf of the Universities.
Richard Fields of the University of Edinburgh will be the permanent chair of SMCG until re-procurement is complete.  The re-procurement timetable is drafted and the RFI will shortly be issued to potential suppliers
A technical sub group has been set up under the chair of John Linn of the University of Aberdeen.  The group is having difficulty finding a replacement for the current video conferencing system.
It was stated that SHEFC probably have funding for the project but that they are not sufficient for 100% of the likely costs.  SHEFC will ask COSHEP for a view on top slicing for this project (it is thought COSHEP are sympathetic). Little progress can be made until the views of COSHEP are known.

ACTION BG
Circulate COSHEP decision to the HEIDS list

5. 	SMCG/MAN Reports		
FaTMAN – They have consulted some FE Colleges and are currently considering whether they are clients or partners. Their technical group has had a presentation from CISCO.  Fife Council are in discussions with FATMAN/UKERNA regarding their options for schools.
AbMAN – They are discussing options for schools with the Local Authorities..
ClydeNET – They have set up a re-procurement group together with GTN, WESNET and other RSC members.

6.	Business of Related Groups/Activities
a)	SHEFC 						
See Digital Scotland item below.

b)	COSHEP 	
Nothing to report beyond that covered above.

c) JISC 	
Following the previous meeting TM had received no input from members on the JISC Strategy hence HEIDS has not submitted a response. 

BH stated that there was a JISC meeting the following week.  It was understood issues to be discussed included increased budget for DNER, the role of the JISC with English FE including the future makeup of JISC membership following the integration of FE.

d) SNIJUG (Scottish & Northern Ireland JANET User Group)		
TM reported that he had contacted George Farquhar, secretary of SNIJUG, and he had reported that despite 2 attempts at ‘revival meetings’ in the last 3 years there seems to be no interest in the group.  HEIDS members thought the requirement for SNIJUG had disappeared as networking had become became mature.

As JNUG (the UK National group) still exists and has a formal position with JISC it was agreed that TM would discuss with GF the option of TM attending the next meeting of JNUG.

ACTION TM 
e) SCONET 
IW had contacted SCONET suggesting a meeting during Networkshop but the SCONET members felt this event was better spent networking (in the people sense) more widely.

f) JISC FE Regional Support Centres 
LM Reported
RSC(East & North)
A good web site is now up and running
Sarah Price (of Heriot-Watt) has been appointed as RSC
Manager.
	A small steering group has been set up. 
RSC (West & South)
	A large management group has been set up chaired by  Frank 
Jones of WesNET.

g) Digital Scotland
This project is one of the relevant Minister’s (Jean Alexander) top 2 priorities. She is setting up a task force with fulltime membership to report in 6 months on future plans.  It is expected there will be a HE representative on the group.  The project is likely to have 2 strands, i.e. social inclusion, infrastructure. 

7.	Network Operating Systems for Windows Desktops
PD reported on recent problems with their Napier’s Novell Netware based student PC service and asked what current and future plans were in this area at other member institutions:-

Robert Gordon University - Reported problems with Novell Netware going back 3 years and very slow logins in October 2000.  Currently the service is satisfactory.  Novell’s own consultants have been heavily involved but they still cannot say precisely what created the original problem. 

University of Strathclyde – They are moving away from Novell. Work has started on a Microsoft Windows 2000 service with active directories (complex) for which there will be a 3-6 months pilot.  Depending on the result of the pilot the service may be implemented in the summer 2001.  Also considering upgrading to Microsoft Exchange 2000.  External consultants have been used but proved of limited value.

Queen Margaret University College -  The institution doesn’t use Novell.  The current service is based on Windows NT4 and is stable.  They are considering moving to Windows 2000 either in summer 2001 or 2002.

University of Glasgow – They are a large Novell site and did experience some problems during the upgrade of Novell Netware over the summer but the service has performed correctly since the start of term.

University of Edinburgh - The MIS section had had recent major problems with Novell Netware following an upgrade. Problems involved timing issues.

8.	Computer Regulations/Information Security Policy 
RM opened a discussion about the application of these regulations/policies in institutions, some of the points/questions raised included:-
•	They need to be reviewed regularly as laws, e.g. DPA and RIP, change .
•	Should we encompass telephones?
•	Have institutions written to staff/students to say that we may monitor emails. Some institutions have.
•	Some institutions are taking legal advice on draft policies.
•	The approach on how to handle ‘personal use’ of University’s IT provision  was discussed.  One institution allows reasonable level as a privilege while another does not allow it officially but tolerates reasonable levels. 
•	It is important to reserve the right to investigate even personal use.
•	UCISA published guidance in around 1996
•	Remote access is better via an ISP than through institution modem bank.
•	Audit trails by workstation are useful but how do we handle student laptops. 
This discussion led into a discussion regarding the use of student email for official communications, points raised included:-
•	Do we oblige students to regard email as the University’s main contact with them?  Some institutions will do this from October 2001.
•	An organisation called ‘School Master’ will provide an out sourced email services for educational institutions. 
•	Members were recommended to read the JTAP report prepared by TS of Paisley. 

9.	Reports from Meetings Attended by Members
a) EDUCAUSE
PD reported on his attendance at EDUCAUSE in Nashville in October 2001.  ‘Live Issues’ in the US were similar to the ones in the UK including ‘laptops for students’ and ‘virtual learning environments’.  In general the US is not as far ahead of the UK as it was some years ago and the value of the event was more in hearing the experiences of such a large number of institutions rather than the fact most of the attendees came from the US.

b) E-Commerce workshop 	
Members reported on the recent workshop about the use of e-commerce in HE, points made include:-
•	Warwick University are particularly advanced in their application of the technology.  They are adopting a business culture having recruited a project manager with retail experience.  
•	What is the impact of such applications on the academic networks of institutions?
•	A code of practice is needed.
•	We should be careful not re-invent solutions when there are existing suppliers
•	GP reported that Aberdeen have considered an E-procurement pilot.
•	It was reported that that SHEFC are obliged by their guidance from the Minister to consider e-commerce.

c) JCACP Smartcards in HE seminar
RM presented a paper summarising the above seminar, points discussed included:-
•	There are 3 groupings one based around MasterCard, one around Visa and one other.
•	The key to success is having a wide distribution of terminals.
•	There are 2 modes of operation, i.e. ‘accounted’ or ‘cash on card’. 
•	Five UK cities, including Aberdeen, have implemented ‘city card projects’ and more are planned.
•	Aston University are running a JTAP project.
•	Only 12 HE institutions have implemented smart card schemes.
•	Aston may set up ‘Campus Card Consortium’ probably with Hitachi as strategic partner.
•	There was discussion about the high cost of cards (up to £5)

d) Computer Theft seminar, Manchester
RM reported on the recent seminar organised in Manchester following the recent spate of computer thefts from Universities, points discussed included:-.
•	There is a national picture emerging but no one in the police seems to have the full UK picture due to lack of co-ordination.  We should encourage our local forces to co-operate with others.
•	It is not only HE computer centres that are being targeted but there have been raids on academic departments and commerce. 
•	Repeat attacks are common.
•	Attacks are always quick and focussed.
•	Most thefts have been of Sun equipment, which cannot be instantly replaced even if the institutions or their insurers authorise replacement.
•	Insurers are becoming stricter about conditions for continuing cover. Institutions should check that their physical security is maintained at such a level that their insurers accept a claim.
•	The fact Universities are almost public places means the only real security is that around computer rooms.
•	The stolen equipment is believed to go to Eastern Europe, Iraq, Iran, etc, (some of these countries are embargoed by the US). It was felt that while the market existed thefts would continue even if there arrests. 
•	The best defence is to ‘build in delays’. 

e) Computer Security Culture Meeting
DR reported on the above event, points made included:-
•	The security culture should be built in from the start rather than imposed retrospectively.
•	Excessive security can be counter productive and actually reduce overall security
•	Loss of trust of staff is often worse than loss of physical security.
•	It is very difficult to get users to follow a good password policy. 
•	The fact we have few problems makes us and our users blasé.
•	It was felt 3 months was the correct period for enforcing password changes.

9.	Annual General Meeting
	a) Election of Officers
		TM was re-elected as Chair for another year 
PD was re-elected as Secretary for another year
In both cased the candidates were proposed by RM and seconded by LM

b)	Change of Role of HEIDS to accommodate FE.
It was agreed that the 2 RSC managers should be invited to ‘attend’ HEIDS.  In addition a representative from Bell College should be invited to ‘attend’.
Action - TM
 
10.	Any Other Competent Business
There was no other competent business.

11.	Dates & Locations of Next Meetings

Queen Margaret University College		Wednesday 14 February 2001
University of Strathclyde (Ross Priory)		Date to be arranged in May