Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:I:International Journal of Educational Management:Vol12.Issue4.1998:
A strategy for extranet development for professional
programs
Paul Preston
Syste ms Engine e ring and Studie s, Litto n PRC, Mc Le an, Virginia, USA
Kevin M cCrohan
Sc ho o l o f Busine ss Administratio n, Ge o rge Maso n Unive rsity, Fairfax, Virginia,
USA
The Extranet Infrastructure
Project (EIP) described in this
paper can enable a professional program to employ the
latest technology advances
toward improving the educational experience of students
while lowering per unit academic costs. For presentation
purposes and extranet for a
school of business administration (SBA) is presented.
The implementation of an
extranet by an SBA will
accommodate the informational needs of students,
faculty and administration by
utilizing an easy-to-use
WWW-based interface with
instantly available and updatable information. Faculty
will be able to publish course
material online with little or
no programming experience.
Students will be able to communicate with faculty and
other students and retrieve
updated class notes, syllabi,
research resources, tutorials
and tests, all from their WWW
browser at home or at school.
In addition to the pedagogical
advantages, students will
become profi cient in the use
of technology that is widely
used in the commercial world.
Purpose
Th e pu r pose of th is pa per is to pr ovide gu ida n ce on th e developm en t a n d in tr odu ction of
a n a ca dem ic extr a n et for a pr ofession a l
sch ool. It ou tlin es th e option s a n d a pplica tion s su ch a system wou ld offer a n d sets ou t a
pla n of a ction for im plem en ta tion . For
descr iptive pu r poses, th e m odel sch ool is a
sch ool of bu sin ess a dm in istr a tion .
Bu sin ess sch ools h ave a lon g tr a dition of
in n ova tion a n d or ien ta tion tow a r ds bu sin ess
a pplica tion s of tech n ology. However, th ey fin d
th em selves fa cin g r esou r ce, socia l, tech n ologica l, a n d politica l pr essu r es a s n ever befor e.
Both pu blic a n d pr iva te in stitu tion s fa ce
con cer n s over th e in cr ea sin g cost of h igh er
edu ca tion a t th e sa m e tim e th a t th ey a r e
for ced to m a k e in cr ea sin g in vestm en ts in
tech n ology. Th e r esu lt is th a t in m a n y ca ses
th e la test tech n ology a n d its a pplica tion to
bu sin ess m a n a gem en t is n ot fou n d in th e
r esou r ce-str a pped a ca dem ic in stitu tion bu t
in th e in n ova tive com m er cia l en ter pr ise.
Th is r ole sh ift h a s lon g-ter m im plica tion s
for th e su r viva bility of m a n y a ca dem ic in stitu tion s a s well a s ca u sin g ver y im m edia te
difficu lties. Wh a t is r equ ir ed is th e ju diciou s
u se of tech n ology a n d r esou r ces a n d th e in tegr a tion of th e In ter n et in to th e in str u ction a l
pr ogr a m s of th e sch ools. In deed, a n extr a n et
system wou ld n ot on ly en h a n ce th e im a ge of a
pr ofession a l sch ool bu t it wou ld a lso gr ea tly
fa cilita te th e edu ca tion a l objectives of th e
sta k eh older s: stu den ts, em ployer s, fu n din g
a gen cies, fa cu lty, a n d a dm in istr a tor s. F u r th er m or e, th er e is n o dou bt th a t th e pr oper
u sa ge of th is tech n ology w ill even tu a lly
in cr ea se fa cu lty pr odu ctivity a n d a dd sign ifica n t va lu e to stu den ts’ edu ca tion .
Intranets and extranets
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [ 1998] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
[ 154 ]
An in t r a n et is a n et wor k of com pu t er s in t er a ct in g in t a n dem t h r ou gh t h e u se of a com m on soft w a r e in t er fa ce. T h e ph ysica l pa r t of
t h e syst em is lin k ed t oget h er t h r ou gh a Loca l
Ar ea N et wor k (LAN ) a n d/ or a Wide Ar ea
N et wor k (WAN ). A WAN is sim ply a collect ion of in t er -con n ect ed LAN s. In t h e ca se of
ext r a n et s t h e syst em is lin k ed t oget h er
t h r ou gh a LAN / WAN a n d st a n da r d In t er n et
con n ect ion s. ext r a n et s a r e a ccessible fr om
t h e Wor ld Wide Web, wh er ea s in t r a n et s oper a t e on ly w it h in t h e LAN / WAN. T h e ph ysica l
syst em is u su a lly a clien t ser ver r u n n in g
LAN a n d w eb-ser ver soft w a r e su ch a s
Micr osoft ’s “In t er n et In for m a t ion Ser ver ” or
N et sca pe’s “E n t er pr ise Ser ver.” T h e u ser t er m in a ls or P Cs u t ilize a sh a r ed In t er n et
soft w a r e pla t for m . In m ost ca ses, t h e pla t for m com pr ises a br ow ser su ch a s N et sca pe’s
“N aviga t or ” or Micr osoft ’s “In t er n et
E xplor er ”. T h e br ow ser a llow s t h e u ser s of
t h e syst em t o exch a n ge in for m a t ion w it h
ot h er syst em u ser s. T h e t ype of u ser in t er a ct ion a llowed by in t r a n et / ext r a n et s is m u lt ifa cet ed. T h e a pplica t ion s a r e u su a lly m or e
focu sed a n d r eleva n t t o t h e n eeds of t h e u ser s
a n d a llow in st a n t in t er a ct ion a s w ell a s feedba ck . User s ca n fi ll-ou t su r veys, t a k e on lin e
t est s, a n d view gr a ph ica l a n d t ext -ba sed
m a t er ia l.
On e of th e m a n y a dva n ta ges of a n extr a n et is
its a bility to r estr ict th e types of in for m a tion
th a t a r e exch a n ged. Un like a LAN, th e
extr a n et fa cilita tes th e exch a n ge of in for m a tion th r ou gh a u ser -fr ien dly, WWW-ba sed
gr a ph ica l in ter fa ce. F igu r e 1 pr ovides a gr a ph ica l r epr esen ta tion of a n extr a n et system .
Lans, intranets and extranets
LAN example
A pr ofessor is r u n n in g Micr osoft Wor d for
Win dow s on h is com pu ter even th ou gh th is
pr ogr a m is in sta lled on th e ser ver ’s h a r d
dr ive. A pr ofessor saves a fi le to a dir ector y on
th e ser ver ’s h a r d dr ive a n d th u s m a k es it
ava ila ble to oth er pr ofessor s. Th e secr eta r y
pr in ts a docu m en t on a color pr in ter wh ich is
loca ted on a differ en t floor.
A LAN a llow s com pu ter s to “sh a r e”, a n d
“a ccess” files fr om th e n etwor k . Th e sh a r ed or
a ccessed files or “pr ogr a m s” ca n be loca ted in
oth er u ser s’ com pu ter s or in a cen tr a lly
loca ted “ser ver ” com pu ter. All th e com pu ter s
on a LAN a cqu ir e th is ca pa bility by r u n n in g
eith er th e sa m e oper atin g system or a com pa tible on e. Th e u ser in ter fa ce wh ich fa cilita tes
th is in ter a ction la ck s in h er en t specia liza tion
capa bilities a n d so u ser s h ave to r ely on oth er
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Figure 1
Organizatio n o f an e xtrane t
PC
Use r 2
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
PC
Use r 1
Information
Exchanged
E-mail
Fo rms
Surve ys
Graphic s
Te xt
Tuto rials
Te sts
Syllabi
Audio
Vide o
softw a r e to com plete specific ta sk s. Th is oth er
softw a r e cou ld be a wor d pr ocessor or a wor k sh eet/da ta ba se pr ogr a m . Th u s, a LAN a llow s
n etwor ked u ser s to exch a n ge saved files or r u n
pr ogr a m s wh ich a r e in sta lled on th e ser ver ’s
h a r d dr ive.
Intranet example
A pr ofessor h a s h is br ow ser logged on to th e
a ca dem ic fa cu lty in tr a n et a n d w ith th e click
of a bu tton view s a collea gu e’s sylla bu s. With
th e click of a n oth er bu tton th e pr ofessor
dow n loa ds a web pa ge displayin g r ecen t cla ss
ca n cella tion s. Th e pr ofessor th en decides to
u pda te h is or h er existin g sylla bu s a n d posts
it for view in g on th e a ca dem ic stu den t
in tr a n et. A stu den t u sin g a la b com pu ter
decides to view h is or h er cla ss’s h om e pa ge
on th e a ca dem ic stu den t in tr a n et a n d does so
w ith th e click of a bu tton on th e N etsca pe
br ow ser. All th ese fu n ction s wer e per for m ed
u sin g WWW br ow ser s r u n n in g on n etwor k ed
com pu ter s.
An in tr a n et is design ed to a llow specific
u ser s to per for m h igh ly specia lized in for m a tion -dr iven ta sk s. in tr a n ets u tilize specifica lly design ed in ter fa ces wh ich m ay be dr iven by exper t pr ogr a m s a n d r u n on a com m on a n d u ser -fr ien dly pla tfor m su ch a s a
WWW br ow ser. F u r th er m or e, th e developm en t a n d oper a tion of in tr a n ets is ver y cost
efficien t, beca u se th e u ser s’ br ow ser s com m u n ica te w ith ea ch oth er th r ou gh va r iou s
w idely a ccepted a n d sta n da r dized In ter n et
PC
Use r n
Ne two rk
&
Intrane t
Se rve r
Inte rne t,
WWW
Re so urc e s
pr otocols. It wou ld be m u ch h a r der to develop
a n d oper a te a system of th e sa m e in tr a n et
fu n ction a lity on a LAN w ith ou t th e u tiliza tion of a com m on ly a ccepted pla tfor m su ch a s
a WWW br ow ser. It sh ou ld be n oted th a t th e
tech n ica l pr otocols wh ich a llow th e oper a tion
of a n in tr a n et a r e com pa tible w ith th e existin g Wide a n d Loca l Ar ea N etwor k pr otocols.
As su ch , th e oper a tion of in tr a n ets does n ot
r equ ir e th e developm en t of a ddition a l n etwor k s.
Extranet example
A pr ofessor a ccesses th e a ca dem ic fa cu lty
extr a n et fr om h is or h er h om e com pu ter a n d
per for m s a ll th e fu n ction s descr ibed on th e
in tr a n et exa m ple.
An ext r a n et sh a r es t h e sa m e u ser in t er fa ce
a n d oper a t es sim ila r ly t o a n in t r a n et . How ever, a u ser of a n ext r a n et does n ot h ave t o be
loca t ed w it h in t h e ph ysica l con fi n es of t h e
LAN. T h e u ser ca n a ccess t h e ext r a n et fr om
a n y r em ot e loca t ion via t h e In t er n et . As
su ch , in t r a n et s t en d t o be m or e secu r e
beca u se t h ey a r e less vu ln er a ble t o ou t side
a t t a ck s.
Extranet applications of the
professional school
in tr a n ets h ave been u sed by m a n y in n ova tive
or ga n iza tion s sin ce th e ea r ly 1990s. However,
th e r a pid a dva n cem en t of tech n ology a n d th e
ava ila bility of a ffor da ble softw a r e pr esen ts
[ 155 ]
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
th e oppor tu n ity to ta k e a dva n ta ge of th is
in n ova tive in for m a tion -exch a n ge system .
T h e over a ll ca p a b ilit ies of t h e sy st em ca n
on ly b e r est r ict ed by t h e p a ce of t ech n ologica l a dva n cem en t . Cu r r en t ly, a n a ca d em ic
ext r a n et is ca p a ble of fa cilit a t in g com m u n ica t ion s a m on g fa cu lt y, s t u d en t s, st a ff, a n d
t h e a d m in ist r a t ion . In for m a t ion ca n b e d isp layed a n d r et r ieved in st a n t ly by u ser s fr om
t h eir h om e P Cs or fr om la b com p u t er s.
Information available through an extranet
An extr a n et offer s a w ide a r r ay of ben efits to
th e edu ca tion a l sta k eh older s. Th ese r a n ge
fr om th e pr osa ic (th e r edu ction in pu blica tion
costs) to th e m or e ele ga n t (th e pr odu ction of
h igh ly tr a in ed tech n ologica lly soph istica ted
decision -m a k er s). On lin e cou r se m a ter ia l
in clu din g fu ll-color gr a ph s, ch a r ts, pictu r es,
slide sh ow s, a n d ta bles ca n be m a de ava ila ble
th r ou gh a n extr a n et. Th ese m a ter ia ls offer a n
a ffor da ble solu tion for m a n y u ser s. Addition a lly, th ey ca n en h a n ce lea r n in g a n d r edu ce
pu blica tion costs for depa r tm en ts.
T h e ava i la b i li t y of on li n e t u t or i a ls w i ll
gr ea t ly en h a n ce t h e ed u ca t i on a l exp er i en ce
of m a n y u s er s, p os s i b ly lea d i n g t o h i gh er
a ca d em i c s t a n d a r d s. P r op er ly d evelop ed
t u t or i a ls w i ll a llow fa cu lt y t o b ecom e aw a r e
of h ow m u ch t i m e s t u d en t s s p en d on v a r i ou s
t op i cs a n d w h i ch t op i cs d es er ve m or e i n cla s s d i s cu s s i on . T h u s, t h e a p p r op r i a t e
i n t er p r et a t i on of ext r a n et feed b a ck
(t h r ou gh “u s a ge s t a t i s t i cs ”) w i ll p er m i t
i n s t r u ct or s t o em p h a s i ze cou r s e-t op i cs
a ccor d i n g t o s t u d en t s ’ p r ogr es s a n d ca p a b i li t y. On li n e m ock t es t s w i ll a s s i s t s t u d en t s by
a llow i n g t h em b et t er p r e p a r a t i on for a ct u a l
t es t s. In a d d i t i on , on li n e t es t s cou ld b e u s ed
t o fa ci li t a t e d i s t a n t lea r n i n g a n d d r aw con clu s i on s a b ou t t h e effi ca cy of fu t u r e elect r on i c cla s s r oom s.
User s of t h e ext r a n et w ill be a ble t o e-m a il
t h eir in qu ir ies t o fa cu lt y w h ile t h ey a r e
r eview in g on lin e cou r se m a t er ia l. Sylla bi
w it h det a iled sch edu les of exa m s, cou r se
descr ipt ion s, a s well a s la st -m in u t e u pda t es
w ill be ava ila ble t o u ser s in st a n t ly. St u den t
r esou r ces w ill a llow u ser s t o con du ct m or e
focu sed on lin e r esea r ch a s well a s u t ilize a
list of fa cu lt y-r ecom m en ded WWW edu ca t ion a l r esou r ces. F a cu lt y w ill be a ble t o
r espon d in st a n t ly t o qu est ion s t h a t t h ey
believe do n ot per t a in t o t h e n eeds of t h eir
en t ir e cla ss. In st r u ct or s w ill a lso be a ble t o
r espon d t o t h e en t ir e cla ss wh en im por t a n t
qu est ion s a r e br ou gh t t o t h eir a t t en t ion via
e-m a il. It is im por t a n t t o n ot e t h a t a n
ext r a n et does n ot n ecessa r ily a dd a n e-m a il
ca pa bilit y bu t it r a t h er en h a n ces t h e ava ila bilit y of it .
[ 156 ]
F in a lly, t h er e a r e a u dio/ video soft w a r e
wh ich a r e bein g pu blicly eva lu a t ed for
efficien cy a n d edu ca t ion a l a pplica t ion s. For
exa m ple, Rea lN et wor k ’s “Rea lAu dio” a n d
“Rea lVideo” soft w a r e a llow s u ser s t o list en
or view live a u dio a n d video sign a l t r a n sm it t ed by a sin gle ser ver. T h e edu ca t ion a l im plica t ion s of t h e w idespr ea d u sa ge of su ch a
syst em a r e sign ifi ca n t . On lin e lect u r es, pr esen t a t ion s, discu ssion s, a n d a u dio-con fer en cin g ca n be u sed. Mor eover, t h er e a lr ea dy
exist s soft w a r e t h a t a llow s m u lt i-u ser con fer en ces wh er e on e u ser a ct s a s t h e m oder a t or
a n d t h e a u dien ce list en s t o t h e m oder a t or ’s
voice live, wh ile view in g slides on t h eir
br ow ser s. Un for t u n a t ely, lin e-ba n dw idt h
lim it a t ion s m ay cu r r en t ly r est r ict t h e u sa ge
of live video over st a n da r d In t er n et lin es.
However, t h e t ech n ology t o a llow for t h is
a lr ea dy exist s a n d w idespr ea d a pplica t ion s
a r e expect ed t o t a k e off w it h in t h e n ext cou ple of yea r s. It is expect ed t h a t som e t im e in
t h e n ea r fu t u r e con su m er t h ir st for in for m a t ion ser vices w ill for ce t h e com m er cia l sect or t o m a ss pr odu ce a n d m a r k et fa st er a n d
m or e ca pa ble syst em s. Wit h t h e pr oper
ext r a n et in fr a st r u ct u r e a lr ea dy in pla ce, a
pr ofession a l sch ool w ill be a ble t o m a k e t h e
t r a n sit ion t o t h ese u pcom in g t ech n ologies
fa st er a n d m or e efficien t ly.
Extranet infrastructure
preconditions
Given th e w ide va r iety of extr a n et a pplica tion s a lr ea dy possible, pr ofession a l sch ools
n eed to pr oceed sw iftly w ith th e im plem en ta tion of a n extr a n et. In doin g so, extr a n ets
sh ou ld be developed ba sed on th e follow in g
con dition s:
• Th e extr a n et m u st be u sed for a ca dem ic
pu r poses on ly.
• It sh ou ld be developed w ith th e n eeds of th e
u ser s in m in d.
• Tech n ology-r ela ted tr a in in g m u st be m a de
ava ila ble to a ssist a dm in istr a tor s, sta ff, a n d
fa cu lty in th e im plem en ta tion a n d u p-k eep
of th e extr a n et.
• Tech n ology-r ela ted tr a in in g m u st be m a de
ava ila ble to stu den ts to in su r e th a t u tiliza tion is optim a l.
• T h e d iffu sion of t ech n ology t h r ou gh ou t
t h e sch ool m u st b e ca r efu lly p la n n ed . In
effect a m a r k et in g p la n sh ou ld su p p or t t h e
d iffu sion ob ject ives. Wh ile n ot n ecess a r ily
r eq u ir in g t h e sa m e level of fu n d in g, a s
m u ch ca r e sh ou ld b e t a k en in t h e m a r k et in g of t h e ext r a n et t o t h e u ser s a s w a s
sp en t on t h e t ech n ologica l a sp ect s of it s
d evelop m en t .
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
• Th e tech n ology in fr a str u ctu r e m u st h ave
clea r ly defin ed a n d con tin u ou sly im pr ovin g
or ga n iza tion a l str u ctu r es a n d pr ocedu r es.
Process
In d evelop in g a n ext r a n et it is ver y im p or t a n t t h a t a sy st em b e d evelop ed t h a t is b a sed
on t h e n eed s of t h e p r im a r y u ser s. For
exa m p le, it w ill b e of lit t le va lu e if t h e
ext r a n et t h a t is d evelop ed is t ech n ica lly
ele ga n t bu t d oes n ot con t a in t h e a t t r ibu t es
d esir ed by st u d en t s or if it r eq u ir es a sign ifica n t a m ou n t of fa cu lt y a n d su p p or t t im e t o
m a in t a in it . T h e follow in g p a r t s of t h is sect ion p r ov id e a p h a sed -in a p p r oa ch t o t h e
in t r od u ct ion of a n ext r a n et .
Phase 1
To a ch ieve th e objective of developin g a u ser ba sed system stu den ts, fa cu lty, a n d a dm in istr a tor s sh ou ld be su r veyed to esta blish th e
desir ed a ttr ibu tes a n d fea tu r es of th e extr a n et
in th e ligh t of th eir in dividu a l per spectives.
Follow in g th is, a cor e set of system a ttr ibu tes
th a t optim ize u ser desir es sh ou ld ser ve a s th e
ba sis for system design . It is im por ta n t to
n ote th a t, to su ppor t th e objective of u ser
a ccepta n ce, decision s con cer n in g system
design sh ou ld be com m u n ica ted to th e va r iou s pa r ties. Th is is of pa r ticu la r im por ta n ce
in th ose ca ses wh er e a desir ed a ttr ibu te cou ld
n ot be in clu ded.
Su bsequ en t ly, exist in g h a r dw a r e a n d soft w a r e sh ou ld be eva lu a t ed a n d a pr ot ot ype
syst em developed. It is r ecom m en ded t h a t a
pr ot ot ype be developed fi r st in st ea d of a fu llsca le ver sion . T h is w ill a llow for t est in g a n d
eva lu a t ion of t h e pr ocedu r es u sed du r in g
developm en t . T h e wor k in g pr ot ot ype w ill
a lso fa cilit a t e t h e sw ift a dopt ion of t h is t ech n ology by t h e a dm in ist r a t or s, fa cu lt y, a n d
st u den t s by dem on st r a t in g t h e a dva n t a ges
a n d a pplica t ion s of t h e ext r a n et . F u r t h er m or e, secu r it y con cer n s w ill be exa m in ed
a n d a lt er n a t ives w ill be eva lu a t ed, even t u a lly r esu lt in g in t h e a dopt ion of a secu r e
syst em . To fa cilit a t e t h e a cce pt a n ce of t h e
syst em t h e in it ia l syst em wou ld in clu de on ly
a few ba sic fea t u r es.
Phase 2
Th e secon d step involves ca r efu l eva lu a tion
a n d docu m en ta tion of th e pr ocedu r es u sed
du r in g th e cr ea tion of th e pr ototype a s well a s
th e im plem en ta tion of th ese pr ocedu r es
tow a r d th e developm en t of th e fu ll-sca le system . At th is tim e it is im por ta n t to com m u n ica te th e a dva n ta ges a n d a pplica tion s of th e
extr a n et to th e sta k eh older s. Addition a lly, ta sk
pr ior ities sh ou ld be deter m in ed ba sed on
in str u ctor en th u sia sm tow a r d th e pr oject,
cla ss sch edu les, a n d fa cu lty or ien ta tion
tow a r d tech n ology. In ter ested fa cu lty sh ou ld
be given pr ocedu r a l in str u ction s a n d sh ou ld
be con su lted in r ega r d to m a ter ia l con ten t,
stu den t feedba ck u sa ge a n d a pplica tion s, a n d
a n y tech n ology-r ela ted tr a in in g. In th is ph a se,
pr esen ta tion s by fa cu lty wh o h ave su ccessfu lly
in tegr a ted th e extr a n et in to th eir cou r ses,
a lon g w ith for m a l fa cu lty a n d sta ff tr a in in g
session s, w ill be cr itica l. Th e pu r pose of th ese
tr a in in g a n d fa cu lty pr esen ta tion s is to a llow
th e in ter n a l opin ion lea der s to cr ea te positive
a ttitu des tow a r ds th e pr oject.
Phase 3
Th e th ir d ph a se in volves th e esta blish m en t of
a pr ocess of con tin u ou s qu a lity im pr ovem en t
a s well a s th e im plem en ta tion of a system for
u pda tin g a n d pr ocessin g in tr a n et con ten t. In
a ddition , on e of th is ph a se’s in ten tion s w ill be
to tr a in fu r th er both fa cu lty a n d sta ff in th e
u se a n d m a in ten a n ce of th e extr a n et. Th is
w ill in stitu tion a lize th e u se of th e extr a n et,
pr ovide for a h igh level of fa cu lty k n ow ledge
w ith th e tech n ology, a n d lim it th e sta ff cost
for m a in ten a n ce.
Problem areas and
recommendations
Lim ita tion s in h u m a n r esou r ces a n d bu dget
con str a in ts sh ou ld be a ddr essed ea r ly on . Th e
in tr odu ction of a n extr a n et r equ ir es fu n din g
for sta ff position s a s well a s a su bsta n tia l
tim e in vestm en t on th e pa r t of fa cu lty a n d
a dm in istr a tor s. To a cer ta in de gr ee, costs ca n
be r edu ced by u tilizin g pa r t-tim e em ployees
fr om w ith in th e pr ofession a l pr ogr a m , a s well
a s th e Com pu ter a n d E n gin eer in g Depa r tm en ts if th ey a r e ava ila ble on th e ca m pu s.
Stu den ts ca n be u tilized for som e of th ese
position s. In deed, th e u se of stu den ts offer s
two distin ct a dva n ta ges. F ir st, th e stu den ts
a cqu ir e h a n ds-on exper ien ce in wor k in g w ith
th e tech n ology. Secon d, th e extr a n et ben efi ts
fr om th is low -w a ge, h igh ly m otiva ted wor k
for ce. However, depen din g on th e in stitu tion ’s
level of tech n ologica l soph istica tion th er e ca n
be sign ifica n t sta r t-u p expen ses a ssocia ted
w ith th e pu r ch a se of h a r dw a r e a n d softw a r e.
An oth er pr oblem a r ea is th e issu e of con ten t ow n er sh ip. F a cu lty m ay a t som e poin t
con tr ibu te som e of th eir tim e a n d k n ow ledge
to th e developm en t of tu tor ia ls or oth er
cou r se-r ela ted m a ter ia ls. Th e pu blish in g of
th is m a ter ia l on th e extr a n et m a k es it vu ln er a ble to copyr igh t a n d in tellectu a l pr oper ty
viola tion s. Clea r pr ocedu r es a n d disclosu r e
for m s sh ou ld be developed to cou n ter a n y
dispu tes over ow n er sh ip. In a ddition , fa cu lty-
[ 157 ]
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Figure 2
Pro po se d struc ture o f the SBA e xtrane t
Extranet
Se rve r
User
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
World
Wide
Web
Password
(Firewall)
FINANCE
Course 1
MARKETING
Course 2
Surve y
Syllabus
Stude nt Re so urc e s
E-mail
Tuto rials
Co urse Mate rial
Online Te sts
Co nfe re nc ing
Audio
Vide o
ow n ed copyr igh ts m ay be pr otected fr om
ou tside viola tor s th r ou gh th e u se of pa sswor d
pr otected extr a n et en tr y. Th u s, th e extr a n et
secu r ity system sh ou ld on ly a llow r e gister ed
fa cu lty a n d stu den ts to a ccess in for m a tion .
Th is w ill a lso r equ ir e th e u se of a n etwor k
“fir ew a ll” a n d th e fr equ en t testin g of levels of
con tr ol a n d secu r ity.
It is u n for t u n a t e t h a t som e a d m in ist r a t or s
a n d fa cu lt y m em b er s m ay st ill n ot b e u p t o
d a t e w it h t h e la t est t ech n ologies. T h is ca n
[ 158 ]
p r esen t t h e p r oject w it h im p lem en t a t ion
p r oblem s a n d d evelop m en t d elay s. To b e
su ccessfu l, a n y ext r a n et w ill r eq u ir e t h a t
fa cu lt y b e fa m ilia r w it h w in d ow s-b a s ed
wor d p r ocessor s, la t e ver sion w eb b r ow ser s,
a s w ell a s GUI (Gr a p h ica l User In t er fa ce)
b a sed e-m a il soft w a r e. Som e ea r ly r es is t a n ce
ca n b e exp ect ed . H ow ever, u ser -fr ien d ly
m a n u a ls a n d clea r p r oced u r es sh ou ld
r esolve t h is p r oblem (see Ap p en d ix 1 for t h e
t ech n ology d iffu sion p r ocess).
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
Options
Ou t s ou r ci n g m a y b ecom e m or e a ffor d a ble
d e p en d i n g on t h e n u m b er of op t i on s t o b e
i n clu d ed . It i s a ls o li k ely t h a t , i n t h e ca s e
of ou t s ou r ci n g, s t u d en t s w i ll b e u t i li zed .
It s h ou ld b e n ot ed t h a t t h e a dva n t a ges
of ou t s ou r ci n g m a y i n clu d e h i gh er
r eli a b i li t y for WWW-b a s ed s y s t em a cces s,
fa s t er t u r n a r ou n d , com m er ci a l q u a li t y
d evelop m en t a n d i m p lem en t a t i on , a n d
i m p ecca ble t ech n i ca l s u p p or t (Ap p en d i x 2
p r es en t s a li s t of op t i on s for ext r a n et
d evelop m en t ).
Conclusions
Socia l, econ om ic, a n d polit ica l t r en ds
t h r ou gh ou t t h e wor ld poin t t o a n en vir on m en t of va r yin g t h r ea t s t o u n iver sit ies a s w e
pr esen t ly k n ow t h em . T h e developm en t of
dist a n ce lea r n in g pr ogr a m s, t h e vir t u a l
u n iver sit y bein g developed by West er n St a t es
in t h e Un it ed St a t es of Am er ica for exa m ple,
poin t s t o t h e t im e w h en st u den t s w ill h ave
t h e opt ion of t a k in g cou r ses a n ywh er e in t h e
wor ld. Cou pled w it h t h is t h r ea t is t h e expa n sion of bu sin ess t r a in in g pr ogr a m s t h a t a r e
offer ed t o t h ose con cer n ed w it h sk ills r a t h er
t h a n de gr ees. T h e com pa r a t ively st r on ger
fi n a n cia l posit ion s of t h e com m er cia l en t er pr ises, cou pled w it h t h eir gr ea t er efficien cy
in t h e a pplica t ion of in for m a t ion t ech n ology,
is a n a ddit ion a l t h r ea t a dded t o t h is
dilem m a .
Th e th r ea ts fa cin g sta te or gover n m en t
u n iver sities a r e com pou n ded by declin in g
pu blic su ppor t to th ese in stitu tion s. Th e
over a ll im pa ct of th ese en vir on m en ta l th r ea ts
bodes poor ly for r e gion a l pu blic u n iver sities
in pa r ticu la r. Wh a t a ll u n iver sities r equ ir e,
a n d in pa r ticu la r th e r e gion a l pu blics, is a
ju diciou s im plem en ta tion of extr a n et developm en t a lon g th e lin es a s pr esen ted in th is
pa per.
Appendix 1
Table AI
Te c hno lo gy diffusio n sc he dule
Objectives
Components
Prephase
To c onfirm the need for an extranet and to determine
the requirements, features and attributes of
suc h a system
First
Fac ulty survey
Student survey
Administration survey
Phase 1
To introduc e a prototype extranet to students and
fac ulty, educ ate opinion leaders, and use word-of-mouth
to hasten ac c eptanc e. The prototype will be tested
for effic ienc y and effec tiveness
Student ac ademic sec tion
• Syllabi
• Class notes
Student news and announc ements
• Canc ellation
• SBA News
Password ID system
• PIDS
Web administration system
• Logging database
• Request/ performanc e
Hardware, c onnec tion, maintenanc e
• Hardware and software
• Connec tion
• System maintenanc e
Training and support
• Online student manuals
• Fac ulty training
Phase 2
To c ontinue with fac ulty training and introduc e
additional options to be determined from the
sec ond series of surveys
Sec ond
Fac ulty survey
Student survey
Administration survey
Development of optional c omponents
Phase 3
To institutionalize the use of the extranet,
provide further training, and improve quality
through feedbac k analysis
Fac ulty and student surveys
Training and seminars
Continuous quality improvements
Updates and maintenanc e
[ 159 ]
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Appendix 2
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
Features
Priority
Description
Student career
section:
Internships
Optional
Will allow students to view all available internships. Will allow administrators
to edit and post listings through their WWW browser
Job fairs
Optional
Will allow students to view c urrent job fair information. Willow allow
administrators to post or edit job fair information through their WWW browser
Scholarships
Optional
Will allow students to view c urrent sc holarship listings. Will allow
administrators to post or edit sc holarship listings through their WWW browser
Career seminars
Optional
Will allow students to view c areer related tips and information. The information
has to be prepared by c areer spec ialists
Customizable
Optional
Will allow students to c ustomize the above options as they pertain to their
requirements (WWW browser)
Table AII
Fe ature s
Student academic
section:
Syllabi
Required
Will allow students to view the c urrent c lass syllabi for the c ourses they are
registered for. Will allow fac ulty to edit or post a syllabus through their
WWW browser
Class notes
Required
Will allow students to view c lass notes for the c ourses they are registered
for. Will allow fac ulty to post c lass notes through their WWW browser. (Word,
Exc el and Powerpoint doc uments will be edited by fac ulty)
Tutorials
Optional
Will allow students to view tutorials for the c ourses they are registered for.
Will allow fac ulty to c reate and edit tutorials through their WWW browser
Online tests
Optional
Will allow students to take online moc k tests for the c ourses they are
registered for and view test results, answers and statistic s automatic ally.
Will allow fac ulty to post online tests and solutions through their WWW
browser and view test results and statistic s automatic ally
Surveys
Optional
Will allow students to fill out online surveys for the c ourses they are
registered for. Will allow administrators or fac ulty to post surveys through
their WWW browsers and view survey results automatic ally
Chat/ conference Optional
Will allow students to partic ipate in an online c onferenc e moderated by
fac ulty or to interac t live with other students. The interac tion c an involve
the exc hange of images, live voic e and sound
FAQs
Optional
Will allow students to view FAQs pertaining to the c ourses they are registered for.
Will allow fac ulty to post and edit their answers through their WWW browser
Interactive Q&A
Optional
Will allow students to post questions or c omments for other students or for
fac ulty. Will allow fac ulty to post responses and c omments
Search engine
Optional
Will allow students to searc h for resourc es for the c ourses they are registered for.
Will allow fac ulty to post resourc es through their WWW browser
Cancellations
Required
Will allow students to view c ourse or c lass c anc ellations. Will allow administrators
to post c urrent c lass or c ourse c anc ellations. Automatic e-mail notific ation c an
also be implemented
SBA news
Required
Will allow students to view updated SBA news. Will allow administrators to
post news through their WWW browser
GM U news
Optional
Will allow students to view updated GMU news. Will allow administrators to
post news through their WWW browser
Student news and
announcements
section:
( Continued)
[ 160 ]
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
Features
Priority
Description
National
headlines
Optional
Will allow students to view updated national headlines from the information site of
their c hoosing
Speakers
Optional
Will allow students to view a list of upc oming GMU speec hes. Will allow
administrators to post and update upc oming speec hes through their WWW browser
From the dean
Optional
Will allow students to listen or view a message from the dean. Will allow the
Dean to post a message through a WWW browser
From the
president
Optional
Will allow students to listen or view a message from the president. Will allow
the President to post a message through a WWW browser
Customizable
Optional
Will allow students to c hose whic h of the above options they would like to
have on their personal interfac e
Student personal
section:
Customizable
Optional
Faculty news
and announcements
section:
Customizable
Optional
Will allow students to c hose WWW resourc es (options) to be displayed on
their personal interfac e
Will allow fac ulty to c hose WWW and GMU resourc es to be displayed on their
personal interfac e
Faculty research
section:
Customizable
Optional
Will allow fac ulty to post researc h requirements and will allow c olleagues or
GRTAs to post related resourc es or findings
Password ID
system:
PIDS
Required
Will protec t the intellec tual rights of all online material by allowing only
registered students to view them. Requires the integration of a database
extrac t from the registrar
Web administration
system:
Logging database Required
Keeps rec ord of every type of ac c ess and request and stores in database
Request/
performance
monitor
Monitors system performanc e
Required
Feedback analysis Optional
Performs statistic al analysis of requests and ac c esses
Indecency monitor Optional
Monitors c hat rooms and online c onferenc es and logs the identity of indec enc y
regulations violators
Emergency
replacement
system
Optional
Monitors c ontent and c reates bac kups for emergenc y replac ement
Dean’s system
evaluation page
Optional
Allows the dean to view usage statistic s and other information through a
WWW browser
President’s
Optional
system evaluation
page
Hardware,
connection,
maintenance:
Hardware and
software
Required
Allows the Ppresident to view usage statistic s and other information through a
WWW browser
Two dual P6 Web servers running NT4.0 and Netsc ape Enterprise Web server
software and network hardware. Less c ostly alternatives would involve the
purc hase of a single server at a c ost of $11,000. (Performanc e c onc erns will
warrant the two server alternative at some points)
( Continued)
[ 161 ]
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
[ 162 ]
Features
Priority
Description
Connection
Required
T1 (1500kbps). In the c ase of GMU a network LAN c onnec tion will be used.
Higher reliability c an be ac hieved with a sec ond T1 c onnec tion from a different
Telec om sourc e (this option would double the c onnec tion c ost to $48,000 per
year)
System
maintenance
Required
Annual system maintenanc e and management
Training and
support :
Online manuals
and seminars
for students
Required
Online materials will help students make batter use of the extranet
Training sessions
and seminars for
faculty and staff
Required
Fac ulty and staff training. Seminars, presentations, doc umentation, and oneto-one c onsultation as needed
programs
Paul Preston
Syste ms Engine e ring and Studie s, Litto n PRC, Mc Le an, Virginia, USA
Kevin M cCrohan
Sc ho o l o f Busine ss Administratio n, Ge o rge Maso n Unive rsity, Fairfax, Virginia,
USA
The Extranet Infrastructure
Project (EIP) described in this
paper can enable a professional program to employ the
latest technology advances
toward improving the educational experience of students
while lowering per unit academic costs. For presentation
purposes and extranet for a
school of business administration (SBA) is presented.
The implementation of an
extranet by an SBA will
accommodate the informational needs of students,
faculty and administration by
utilizing an easy-to-use
WWW-based interface with
instantly available and updatable information. Faculty
will be able to publish course
material online with little or
no programming experience.
Students will be able to communicate with faculty and
other students and retrieve
updated class notes, syllabi,
research resources, tutorials
and tests, all from their WWW
browser at home or at school.
In addition to the pedagogical
advantages, students will
become profi cient in the use
of technology that is widely
used in the commercial world.
Purpose
Th e pu r pose of th is pa per is to pr ovide gu ida n ce on th e developm en t a n d in tr odu ction of
a n a ca dem ic extr a n et for a pr ofession a l
sch ool. It ou tlin es th e option s a n d a pplica tion s su ch a system wou ld offer a n d sets ou t a
pla n of a ction for im plem en ta tion . For
descr iptive pu r poses, th e m odel sch ool is a
sch ool of bu sin ess a dm in istr a tion .
Bu sin ess sch ools h ave a lon g tr a dition of
in n ova tion a n d or ien ta tion tow a r ds bu sin ess
a pplica tion s of tech n ology. However, th ey fin d
th em selves fa cin g r esou r ce, socia l, tech n ologica l, a n d politica l pr essu r es a s n ever befor e.
Both pu blic a n d pr iva te in stitu tion s fa ce
con cer n s over th e in cr ea sin g cost of h igh er
edu ca tion a t th e sa m e tim e th a t th ey a r e
for ced to m a k e in cr ea sin g in vestm en ts in
tech n ology. Th e r esu lt is th a t in m a n y ca ses
th e la test tech n ology a n d its a pplica tion to
bu sin ess m a n a gem en t is n ot fou n d in th e
r esou r ce-str a pped a ca dem ic in stitu tion bu t
in th e in n ova tive com m er cia l en ter pr ise.
Th is r ole sh ift h a s lon g-ter m im plica tion s
for th e su r viva bility of m a n y a ca dem ic in stitu tion s a s well a s ca u sin g ver y im m edia te
difficu lties. Wh a t is r equ ir ed is th e ju diciou s
u se of tech n ology a n d r esou r ces a n d th e in tegr a tion of th e In ter n et in to th e in str u ction a l
pr ogr a m s of th e sch ools. In deed, a n extr a n et
system wou ld n ot on ly en h a n ce th e im a ge of a
pr ofession a l sch ool bu t it wou ld a lso gr ea tly
fa cilita te th e edu ca tion a l objectives of th e
sta k eh older s: stu den ts, em ployer s, fu n din g
a gen cies, fa cu lty, a n d a dm in istr a tor s. F u r th er m or e, th er e is n o dou bt th a t th e pr oper
u sa ge of th is tech n ology w ill even tu a lly
in cr ea se fa cu lty pr odu ctivity a n d a dd sign ifica n t va lu e to stu den ts’ edu ca tion .
Intranets and extranets
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [ 1998] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
[ 154 ]
An in t r a n et is a n et wor k of com pu t er s in t er a ct in g in t a n dem t h r ou gh t h e u se of a com m on soft w a r e in t er fa ce. T h e ph ysica l pa r t of
t h e syst em is lin k ed t oget h er t h r ou gh a Loca l
Ar ea N et wor k (LAN ) a n d/ or a Wide Ar ea
N et wor k (WAN ). A WAN is sim ply a collect ion of in t er -con n ect ed LAN s. In t h e ca se of
ext r a n et s t h e syst em is lin k ed t oget h er
t h r ou gh a LAN / WAN a n d st a n da r d In t er n et
con n ect ion s. ext r a n et s a r e a ccessible fr om
t h e Wor ld Wide Web, wh er ea s in t r a n et s oper a t e on ly w it h in t h e LAN / WAN. T h e ph ysica l
syst em is u su a lly a clien t ser ver r u n n in g
LAN a n d w eb-ser ver soft w a r e su ch a s
Micr osoft ’s “In t er n et In for m a t ion Ser ver ” or
N et sca pe’s “E n t er pr ise Ser ver.” T h e u ser t er m in a ls or P Cs u t ilize a sh a r ed In t er n et
soft w a r e pla t for m . In m ost ca ses, t h e pla t for m com pr ises a br ow ser su ch a s N et sca pe’s
“N aviga t or ” or Micr osoft ’s “In t er n et
E xplor er ”. T h e br ow ser a llow s t h e u ser s of
t h e syst em t o exch a n ge in for m a t ion w it h
ot h er syst em u ser s. T h e t ype of u ser in t er a ct ion a llowed by in t r a n et / ext r a n et s is m u lt ifa cet ed. T h e a pplica t ion s a r e u su a lly m or e
focu sed a n d r eleva n t t o t h e n eeds of t h e u ser s
a n d a llow in st a n t in t er a ct ion a s w ell a s feedba ck . User s ca n fi ll-ou t su r veys, t a k e on lin e
t est s, a n d view gr a ph ica l a n d t ext -ba sed
m a t er ia l.
On e of th e m a n y a dva n ta ges of a n extr a n et is
its a bility to r estr ict th e types of in for m a tion
th a t a r e exch a n ged. Un like a LAN, th e
extr a n et fa cilita tes th e exch a n ge of in for m a tion th r ou gh a u ser -fr ien dly, WWW-ba sed
gr a ph ica l in ter fa ce. F igu r e 1 pr ovides a gr a ph ica l r epr esen ta tion of a n extr a n et system .
Lans, intranets and extranets
LAN example
A pr ofessor is r u n n in g Micr osoft Wor d for
Win dow s on h is com pu ter even th ou gh th is
pr ogr a m is in sta lled on th e ser ver ’s h a r d
dr ive. A pr ofessor saves a fi le to a dir ector y on
th e ser ver ’s h a r d dr ive a n d th u s m a k es it
ava ila ble to oth er pr ofessor s. Th e secr eta r y
pr in ts a docu m en t on a color pr in ter wh ich is
loca ted on a differ en t floor.
A LAN a llow s com pu ter s to “sh a r e”, a n d
“a ccess” files fr om th e n etwor k . Th e sh a r ed or
a ccessed files or “pr ogr a m s” ca n be loca ted in
oth er u ser s’ com pu ter s or in a cen tr a lly
loca ted “ser ver ” com pu ter. All th e com pu ter s
on a LAN a cqu ir e th is ca pa bility by r u n n in g
eith er th e sa m e oper atin g system or a com pa tible on e. Th e u ser in ter fa ce wh ich fa cilita tes
th is in ter a ction la ck s in h er en t specia liza tion
capa bilities a n d so u ser s h ave to r ely on oth er
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Figure 1
Organizatio n o f an e xtrane t
PC
Use r 2
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
PC
Use r 1
Information
Exchanged
Fo rms
Surve ys
Graphic s
Te xt
Tuto rials
Te sts
Syllabi
Audio
Vide o
softw a r e to com plete specific ta sk s. Th is oth er
softw a r e cou ld be a wor d pr ocessor or a wor k sh eet/da ta ba se pr ogr a m . Th u s, a LAN a llow s
n etwor ked u ser s to exch a n ge saved files or r u n
pr ogr a m s wh ich a r e in sta lled on th e ser ver ’s
h a r d dr ive.
Intranet example
A pr ofessor h a s h is br ow ser logged on to th e
a ca dem ic fa cu lty in tr a n et a n d w ith th e click
of a bu tton view s a collea gu e’s sylla bu s. With
th e click of a n oth er bu tton th e pr ofessor
dow n loa ds a web pa ge displayin g r ecen t cla ss
ca n cella tion s. Th e pr ofessor th en decides to
u pda te h is or h er existin g sylla bu s a n d posts
it for view in g on th e a ca dem ic stu den t
in tr a n et. A stu den t u sin g a la b com pu ter
decides to view h is or h er cla ss’s h om e pa ge
on th e a ca dem ic stu den t in tr a n et a n d does so
w ith th e click of a bu tton on th e N etsca pe
br ow ser. All th ese fu n ction s wer e per for m ed
u sin g WWW br ow ser s r u n n in g on n etwor k ed
com pu ter s.
An in tr a n et is design ed to a llow specific
u ser s to per for m h igh ly specia lized in for m a tion -dr iven ta sk s. in tr a n ets u tilize specifica lly design ed in ter fa ces wh ich m ay be dr iven by exper t pr ogr a m s a n d r u n on a com m on a n d u ser -fr ien dly pla tfor m su ch a s a
WWW br ow ser. F u r th er m or e, th e developm en t a n d oper a tion of in tr a n ets is ver y cost
efficien t, beca u se th e u ser s’ br ow ser s com m u n ica te w ith ea ch oth er th r ou gh va r iou s
w idely a ccepted a n d sta n da r dized In ter n et
PC
Use r n
Ne two rk
&
Intrane t
Se rve r
Inte rne t,
WWW
Re so urc e s
pr otocols. It wou ld be m u ch h a r der to develop
a n d oper a te a system of th e sa m e in tr a n et
fu n ction a lity on a LAN w ith ou t th e u tiliza tion of a com m on ly a ccepted pla tfor m su ch a s
a WWW br ow ser. It sh ou ld be n oted th a t th e
tech n ica l pr otocols wh ich a llow th e oper a tion
of a n in tr a n et a r e com pa tible w ith th e existin g Wide a n d Loca l Ar ea N etwor k pr otocols.
As su ch , th e oper a tion of in tr a n ets does n ot
r equ ir e th e developm en t of a ddition a l n etwor k s.
Extranet example
A pr ofessor a ccesses th e a ca dem ic fa cu lty
extr a n et fr om h is or h er h om e com pu ter a n d
per for m s a ll th e fu n ction s descr ibed on th e
in tr a n et exa m ple.
An ext r a n et sh a r es t h e sa m e u ser in t er fa ce
a n d oper a t es sim ila r ly t o a n in t r a n et . How ever, a u ser of a n ext r a n et does n ot h ave t o be
loca t ed w it h in t h e ph ysica l con fi n es of t h e
LAN. T h e u ser ca n a ccess t h e ext r a n et fr om
a n y r em ot e loca t ion via t h e In t er n et . As
su ch , in t r a n et s t en d t o be m or e secu r e
beca u se t h ey a r e less vu ln er a ble t o ou t side
a t t a ck s.
Extranet applications of the
professional school
in tr a n ets h ave been u sed by m a n y in n ova tive
or ga n iza tion s sin ce th e ea r ly 1990s. However,
th e r a pid a dva n cem en t of tech n ology a n d th e
ava ila bility of a ffor da ble softw a r e pr esen ts
[ 155 ]
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
th e oppor tu n ity to ta k e a dva n ta ge of th is
in n ova tive in for m a tion -exch a n ge system .
T h e over a ll ca p a b ilit ies of t h e sy st em ca n
on ly b e r est r ict ed by t h e p a ce of t ech n ologica l a dva n cem en t . Cu r r en t ly, a n a ca d em ic
ext r a n et is ca p a ble of fa cilit a t in g com m u n ica t ion s a m on g fa cu lt y, s t u d en t s, st a ff, a n d
t h e a d m in ist r a t ion . In for m a t ion ca n b e d isp layed a n d r et r ieved in st a n t ly by u ser s fr om
t h eir h om e P Cs or fr om la b com p u t er s.
Information available through an extranet
An extr a n et offer s a w ide a r r ay of ben efits to
th e edu ca tion a l sta k eh older s. Th ese r a n ge
fr om th e pr osa ic (th e r edu ction in pu blica tion
costs) to th e m or e ele ga n t (th e pr odu ction of
h igh ly tr a in ed tech n ologica lly soph istica ted
decision -m a k er s). On lin e cou r se m a ter ia l
in clu din g fu ll-color gr a ph s, ch a r ts, pictu r es,
slide sh ow s, a n d ta bles ca n be m a de ava ila ble
th r ou gh a n extr a n et. Th ese m a ter ia ls offer a n
a ffor da ble solu tion for m a n y u ser s. Addition a lly, th ey ca n en h a n ce lea r n in g a n d r edu ce
pu blica tion costs for depa r tm en ts.
T h e ava i la b i li t y of on li n e t u t or i a ls w i ll
gr ea t ly en h a n ce t h e ed u ca t i on a l exp er i en ce
of m a n y u s er s, p os s i b ly lea d i n g t o h i gh er
a ca d em i c s t a n d a r d s. P r op er ly d evelop ed
t u t or i a ls w i ll a llow fa cu lt y t o b ecom e aw a r e
of h ow m u ch t i m e s t u d en t s s p en d on v a r i ou s
t op i cs a n d w h i ch t op i cs d es er ve m or e i n cla s s d i s cu s s i on . T h u s, t h e a p p r op r i a t e
i n t er p r et a t i on of ext r a n et feed b a ck
(t h r ou gh “u s a ge s t a t i s t i cs ”) w i ll p er m i t
i n s t r u ct or s t o em p h a s i ze cou r s e-t op i cs
a ccor d i n g t o s t u d en t s ’ p r ogr es s a n d ca p a b i li t y. On li n e m ock t es t s w i ll a s s i s t s t u d en t s by
a llow i n g t h em b et t er p r e p a r a t i on for a ct u a l
t es t s. In a d d i t i on , on li n e t es t s cou ld b e u s ed
t o fa ci li t a t e d i s t a n t lea r n i n g a n d d r aw con clu s i on s a b ou t t h e effi ca cy of fu t u r e elect r on i c cla s s r oom s.
User s of t h e ext r a n et w ill be a ble t o e-m a il
t h eir in qu ir ies t o fa cu lt y w h ile t h ey a r e
r eview in g on lin e cou r se m a t er ia l. Sylla bi
w it h det a iled sch edu les of exa m s, cou r se
descr ipt ion s, a s well a s la st -m in u t e u pda t es
w ill be ava ila ble t o u ser s in st a n t ly. St u den t
r esou r ces w ill a llow u ser s t o con du ct m or e
focu sed on lin e r esea r ch a s well a s u t ilize a
list of fa cu lt y-r ecom m en ded WWW edu ca t ion a l r esou r ces. F a cu lt y w ill be a ble t o
r espon d in st a n t ly t o qu est ion s t h a t t h ey
believe do n ot per t a in t o t h e n eeds of t h eir
en t ir e cla ss. In st r u ct or s w ill a lso be a ble t o
r espon d t o t h e en t ir e cla ss wh en im por t a n t
qu est ion s a r e br ou gh t t o t h eir a t t en t ion via
e-m a il. It is im por t a n t t o n ot e t h a t a n
ext r a n et does n ot n ecessa r ily a dd a n e-m a il
ca pa bilit y bu t it r a t h er en h a n ces t h e ava ila bilit y of it .
[ 156 ]
F in a lly, t h er e a r e a u dio/ video soft w a r e
wh ich a r e bein g pu blicly eva lu a t ed for
efficien cy a n d edu ca t ion a l a pplica t ion s. For
exa m ple, Rea lN et wor k ’s “Rea lAu dio” a n d
“Rea lVideo” soft w a r e a llow s u ser s t o list en
or view live a u dio a n d video sign a l t r a n sm it t ed by a sin gle ser ver. T h e edu ca t ion a l im plica t ion s of t h e w idespr ea d u sa ge of su ch a
syst em a r e sign ifi ca n t . On lin e lect u r es, pr esen t a t ion s, discu ssion s, a n d a u dio-con fer en cin g ca n be u sed. Mor eover, t h er e a lr ea dy
exist s soft w a r e t h a t a llow s m u lt i-u ser con fer en ces wh er e on e u ser a ct s a s t h e m oder a t or
a n d t h e a u dien ce list en s t o t h e m oder a t or ’s
voice live, wh ile view in g slides on t h eir
br ow ser s. Un for t u n a t ely, lin e-ba n dw idt h
lim it a t ion s m ay cu r r en t ly r est r ict t h e u sa ge
of live video over st a n da r d In t er n et lin es.
However, t h e t ech n ology t o a llow for t h is
a lr ea dy exist s a n d w idespr ea d a pplica t ion s
a r e expect ed t o t a k e off w it h in t h e n ext cou ple of yea r s. It is expect ed t h a t som e t im e in
t h e n ea r fu t u r e con su m er t h ir st for in for m a t ion ser vices w ill for ce t h e com m er cia l sect or t o m a ss pr odu ce a n d m a r k et fa st er a n d
m or e ca pa ble syst em s. Wit h t h e pr oper
ext r a n et in fr a st r u ct u r e a lr ea dy in pla ce, a
pr ofession a l sch ool w ill be a ble t o m a k e t h e
t r a n sit ion t o t h ese u pcom in g t ech n ologies
fa st er a n d m or e efficien t ly.
Extranet infrastructure
preconditions
Given th e w ide va r iety of extr a n et a pplica tion s a lr ea dy possible, pr ofession a l sch ools
n eed to pr oceed sw iftly w ith th e im plem en ta tion of a n extr a n et. In doin g so, extr a n ets
sh ou ld be developed ba sed on th e follow in g
con dition s:
• Th e extr a n et m u st be u sed for a ca dem ic
pu r poses on ly.
• It sh ou ld be developed w ith th e n eeds of th e
u ser s in m in d.
• Tech n ology-r ela ted tr a in in g m u st be m a de
ava ila ble to a ssist a dm in istr a tor s, sta ff, a n d
fa cu lty in th e im plem en ta tion a n d u p-k eep
of th e extr a n et.
• Tech n ology-r ela ted tr a in in g m u st be m a de
ava ila ble to stu den ts to in su r e th a t u tiliza tion is optim a l.
• T h e d iffu sion of t ech n ology t h r ou gh ou t
t h e sch ool m u st b e ca r efu lly p la n n ed . In
effect a m a r k et in g p la n sh ou ld su p p or t t h e
d iffu sion ob ject ives. Wh ile n ot n ecess a r ily
r eq u ir in g t h e sa m e level of fu n d in g, a s
m u ch ca r e sh ou ld b e t a k en in t h e m a r k et in g of t h e ext r a n et t o t h e u ser s a s w a s
sp en t on t h e t ech n ologica l a sp ect s of it s
d evelop m en t .
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
• Th e tech n ology in fr a str u ctu r e m u st h ave
clea r ly defin ed a n d con tin u ou sly im pr ovin g
or ga n iza tion a l str u ctu r es a n d pr ocedu r es.
Process
In d evelop in g a n ext r a n et it is ver y im p or t a n t t h a t a sy st em b e d evelop ed t h a t is b a sed
on t h e n eed s of t h e p r im a r y u ser s. For
exa m p le, it w ill b e of lit t le va lu e if t h e
ext r a n et t h a t is d evelop ed is t ech n ica lly
ele ga n t bu t d oes n ot con t a in t h e a t t r ibu t es
d esir ed by st u d en t s or if it r eq u ir es a sign ifica n t a m ou n t of fa cu lt y a n d su p p or t t im e t o
m a in t a in it . T h e follow in g p a r t s of t h is sect ion p r ov id e a p h a sed -in a p p r oa ch t o t h e
in t r od u ct ion of a n ext r a n et .
Phase 1
To a ch ieve th e objective of developin g a u ser ba sed system stu den ts, fa cu lty, a n d a dm in istr a tor s sh ou ld be su r veyed to esta blish th e
desir ed a ttr ibu tes a n d fea tu r es of th e extr a n et
in th e ligh t of th eir in dividu a l per spectives.
Follow in g th is, a cor e set of system a ttr ibu tes
th a t optim ize u ser desir es sh ou ld ser ve a s th e
ba sis for system design . It is im por ta n t to
n ote th a t, to su ppor t th e objective of u ser
a ccepta n ce, decision s con cer n in g system
design sh ou ld be com m u n ica ted to th e va r iou s pa r ties. Th is is of pa r ticu la r im por ta n ce
in th ose ca ses wh er e a desir ed a ttr ibu te cou ld
n ot be in clu ded.
Su bsequ en t ly, exist in g h a r dw a r e a n d soft w a r e sh ou ld be eva lu a t ed a n d a pr ot ot ype
syst em developed. It is r ecom m en ded t h a t a
pr ot ot ype be developed fi r st in st ea d of a fu llsca le ver sion . T h is w ill a llow for t est in g a n d
eva lu a t ion of t h e pr ocedu r es u sed du r in g
developm en t . T h e wor k in g pr ot ot ype w ill
a lso fa cilit a t e t h e sw ift a dopt ion of t h is t ech n ology by t h e a dm in ist r a t or s, fa cu lt y, a n d
st u den t s by dem on st r a t in g t h e a dva n t a ges
a n d a pplica t ion s of t h e ext r a n et . F u r t h er m or e, secu r it y con cer n s w ill be exa m in ed
a n d a lt er n a t ives w ill be eva lu a t ed, even t u a lly r esu lt in g in t h e a dopt ion of a secu r e
syst em . To fa cilit a t e t h e a cce pt a n ce of t h e
syst em t h e in it ia l syst em wou ld in clu de on ly
a few ba sic fea t u r es.
Phase 2
Th e secon d step involves ca r efu l eva lu a tion
a n d docu m en ta tion of th e pr ocedu r es u sed
du r in g th e cr ea tion of th e pr ototype a s well a s
th e im plem en ta tion of th ese pr ocedu r es
tow a r d th e developm en t of th e fu ll-sca le system . At th is tim e it is im por ta n t to com m u n ica te th e a dva n ta ges a n d a pplica tion s of th e
extr a n et to th e sta k eh older s. Addition a lly, ta sk
pr ior ities sh ou ld be deter m in ed ba sed on
in str u ctor en th u sia sm tow a r d th e pr oject,
cla ss sch edu les, a n d fa cu lty or ien ta tion
tow a r d tech n ology. In ter ested fa cu lty sh ou ld
be given pr ocedu r a l in str u ction s a n d sh ou ld
be con su lted in r ega r d to m a ter ia l con ten t,
stu den t feedba ck u sa ge a n d a pplica tion s, a n d
a n y tech n ology-r ela ted tr a in in g. In th is ph a se,
pr esen ta tion s by fa cu lty wh o h ave su ccessfu lly
in tegr a ted th e extr a n et in to th eir cou r ses,
a lon g w ith for m a l fa cu lty a n d sta ff tr a in in g
session s, w ill be cr itica l. Th e pu r pose of th ese
tr a in in g a n d fa cu lty pr esen ta tion s is to a llow
th e in ter n a l opin ion lea der s to cr ea te positive
a ttitu des tow a r ds th e pr oject.
Phase 3
Th e th ir d ph a se in volves th e esta blish m en t of
a pr ocess of con tin u ou s qu a lity im pr ovem en t
a s well a s th e im plem en ta tion of a system for
u pda tin g a n d pr ocessin g in tr a n et con ten t. In
a ddition , on e of th is ph a se’s in ten tion s w ill be
to tr a in fu r th er both fa cu lty a n d sta ff in th e
u se a n d m a in ten a n ce of th e extr a n et. Th is
w ill in stitu tion a lize th e u se of th e extr a n et,
pr ovide for a h igh level of fa cu lty k n ow ledge
w ith th e tech n ology, a n d lim it th e sta ff cost
for m a in ten a n ce.
Problem areas and
recommendations
Lim ita tion s in h u m a n r esou r ces a n d bu dget
con str a in ts sh ou ld be a ddr essed ea r ly on . Th e
in tr odu ction of a n extr a n et r equ ir es fu n din g
for sta ff position s a s well a s a su bsta n tia l
tim e in vestm en t on th e pa r t of fa cu lty a n d
a dm in istr a tor s. To a cer ta in de gr ee, costs ca n
be r edu ced by u tilizin g pa r t-tim e em ployees
fr om w ith in th e pr ofession a l pr ogr a m , a s well
a s th e Com pu ter a n d E n gin eer in g Depa r tm en ts if th ey a r e ava ila ble on th e ca m pu s.
Stu den ts ca n be u tilized for som e of th ese
position s. In deed, th e u se of stu den ts offer s
two distin ct a dva n ta ges. F ir st, th e stu den ts
a cqu ir e h a n ds-on exper ien ce in wor k in g w ith
th e tech n ology. Secon d, th e extr a n et ben efi ts
fr om th is low -w a ge, h igh ly m otiva ted wor k
for ce. However, depen din g on th e in stitu tion ’s
level of tech n ologica l soph istica tion th er e ca n
be sign ifica n t sta r t-u p expen ses a ssocia ted
w ith th e pu r ch a se of h a r dw a r e a n d softw a r e.
An oth er pr oblem a r ea is th e issu e of con ten t ow n er sh ip. F a cu lty m ay a t som e poin t
con tr ibu te som e of th eir tim e a n d k n ow ledge
to th e developm en t of tu tor ia ls or oth er
cou r se-r ela ted m a ter ia ls. Th e pu blish in g of
th is m a ter ia l on th e extr a n et m a k es it vu ln er a ble to copyr igh t a n d in tellectu a l pr oper ty
viola tion s. Clea r pr ocedu r es a n d disclosu r e
for m s sh ou ld be developed to cou n ter a n y
dispu tes over ow n er sh ip. In a ddition , fa cu lty-
[ 157 ]
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Figure 2
Pro po se d struc ture o f the SBA e xtrane t
Extranet
Se rve r
User
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
World
Wide
Web
Password
(Firewall)
FINANCE
Course 1
MARKETING
Course 2
Surve y
Syllabus
Stude nt Re so urc e s
Tuto rials
Co urse Mate rial
Online Te sts
Co nfe re nc ing
Audio
Vide o
ow n ed copyr igh ts m ay be pr otected fr om
ou tside viola tor s th r ou gh th e u se of pa sswor d
pr otected extr a n et en tr y. Th u s, th e extr a n et
secu r ity system sh ou ld on ly a llow r e gister ed
fa cu lty a n d stu den ts to a ccess in for m a tion .
Th is w ill a lso r equ ir e th e u se of a n etwor k
“fir ew a ll” a n d th e fr equ en t testin g of levels of
con tr ol a n d secu r ity.
It is u n for t u n a t e t h a t som e a d m in ist r a t or s
a n d fa cu lt y m em b er s m ay st ill n ot b e u p t o
d a t e w it h t h e la t est t ech n ologies. T h is ca n
[ 158 ]
p r esen t t h e p r oject w it h im p lem en t a t ion
p r oblem s a n d d evelop m en t d elay s. To b e
su ccessfu l, a n y ext r a n et w ill r eq u ir e t h a t
fa cu lt y b e fa m ilia r w it h w in d ow s-b a s ed
wor d p r ocessor s, la t e ver sion w eb b r ow ser s,
a s w ell a s GUI (Gr a p h ica l User In t er fa ce)
b a sed e-m a il soft w a r e. Som e ea r ly r es is t a n ce
ca n b e exp ect ed . H ow ever, u ser -fr ien d ly
m a n u a ls a n d clea r p r oced u r es sh ou ld
r esolve t h is p r oblem (see Ap p en d ix 1 for t h e
t ech n ology d iffu sion p r ocess).
Paul Pre sto n and
Ke vin Mc Cro han
A strate gy fo r e xtrane t
de ve lo pme nt fo r pro fe ssio nal
pro grams
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 2 / 4 [1 9 9 8 ] 1 5 4 –1 6 2
Options
Ou t s ou r ci n g m a y b ecom e m or e a ffor d a ble
d e p en d i n g on t h e n u m b er of op t i on s t o b e
i n clu d ed . It i s a ls o li k ely t h a t , i n t h e ca s e
of ou t s ou r ci n g, s t u d en t s w i ll b e u t i li zed .
It s h ou ld b e n ot ed t h a t t h e a dva n t a ges
of ou t s ou r ci n g m a y i n clu d e h i gh er
r eli a b i li t y for WWW-b a s ed s y s t em a cces s,
fa s t er t u r n a r ou n d , com m er ci a l q u a li t y
d evelop m en t a n d i m p lem en t a t i on , a n d
i m p ecca ble t ech n i ca l s u p p or t (Ap p en d i x 2
p r es en t s a li s t of op t i on s for ext r a n et
d evelop m en t ).
Conclusions
Socia l, econ om ic, a n d polit ica l t r en ds
t h r ou gh ou t t h e wor ld poin t t o a n en vir on m en t of va r yin g t h r ea t s t o u n iver sit ies a s w e
pr esen t ly k n ow t h em . T h e developm en t of
dist a n ce lea r n in g pr ogr a m s, t h e vir t u a l
u n iver sit y bein g developed by West er n St a t es
in t h e Un it ed St a t es of Am er ica for exa m ple,
poin t s t o t h e t im e w h en st u den t s w ill h ave
t h e opt ion of t a k in g cou r ses a n ywh er e in t h e
wor ld. Cou pled w it h t h is t h r ea t is t h e expa n sion of bu sin ess t r a in in g pr ogr a m s t h a t a r e
offer ed t o t h ose con cer n ed w it h sk ills r a t h er
t h a n de gr ees. T h e com pa r a t ively st r on ger
fi n a n cia l posit ion s of t h e com m er cia l en t er pr ises, cou pled w it h t h eir gr ea t er efficien cy
in t h e a pplica t ion of in for m a t ion t ech n ology,
is a n a ddit ion a l t h r ea t a dded t o t h is
dilem m a .
Th e th r ea ts fa cin g sta te or gover n m en t
u n iver sities a r e com pou n ded by declin in g
pu blic su ppor t to th ese in stitu tion s. Th e
over a ll im pa ct of th ese en vir on m en ta l th r ea ts
bodes poor ly for r e gion a l pu blic u n iver sities
in pa r ticu la r. Wh a t a ll u n iver sities r equ ir e,
a n d in pa r ticu la r th e r e gion a l pu blics, is a
ju diciou s im plem en ta tion of extr a n et developm en t a lon g th e lin es a s pr esen ted in th is
pa per.
Appendix 1
Table AI
Te c hno lo gy diffusio n sc he dule
Objectives
Components
Prephase
To c onfirm the need for an extranet and to determine
the requirements, features and attributes of
suc h a system
First
Fac ulty survey
Student survey
Administration survey
Phase 1
To introduc e a prototype extranet to students and
fac ulty, educ ate opinion leaders, and use word-of-mouth
to hasten ac c eptanc e. The prototype will be tested
for effic ienc y and effec tiveness
Student ac ademic sec tion
• Syllabi
• Class notes
Student news and announc ements
• Canc ellation
• SBA News
Password ID system
• PIDS
Web administration system
• Logging database
• Request/ performanc e
Hardware, c onnec tion, maintenanc e
• Hardware and software
• Connec tion
• System maintenanc e
Training and support
• Online student manuals
• Fac ulty training
Phase 2
To c ontinue with fac ulty training and introduc e
additional options to be determined from the
sec ond series of surveys
Sec ond
Fac ulty survey
Student survey
Administration survey
Development of optional c omponents
Phase 3
To institutionalize the use of the extranet,
provide further training, and improve quality
through feedbac k analysis
Fac ulty and student surveys
Training and seminars
Continuous quality improvements
Updates and maintenanc e
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Features
Priority
Description
Student career
section:
Internships
Optional
Will allow students to view all available internships. Will allow administrators
to edit and post listings through their WWW browser
Job fairs
Optional
Will allow students to view c urrent job fair information. Willow allow
administrators to post or edit job fair information through their WWW browser
Scholarships
Optional
Will allow students to view c urrent sc holarship listings. Will allow
administrators to post or edit sc holarship listings through their WWW browser
Career seminars
Optional
Will allow students to view c areer related tips and information. The information
has to be prepared by c areer spec ialists
Customizable
Optional
Will allow students to c ustomize the above options as they pertain to their
requirements (WWW browser)
Table AII
Fe ature s
Student academic
section:
Syllabi
Required
Will allow students to view the c urrent c lass syllabi for the c ourses they are
registered for. Will allow fac ulty to edit or post a syllabus through their
WWW browser
Class notes
Required
Will allow students to view c lass notes for the c ourses they are registered
for. Will allow fac ulty to post c lass notes through their WWW browser. (Word,
Exc el and Powerpoint doc uments will be edited by fac ulty)
Tutorials
Optional
Will allow students to view tutorials for the c ourses they are registered for.
Will allow fac ulty to c reate and edit tutorials through their WWW browser
Online tests
Optional
Will allow students to take online moc k tests for the c ourses they are
registered for and view test results, answers and statistic s automatic ally.
Will allow fac ulty to post online tests and solutions through their WWW
browser and view test results and statistic s automatic ally
Surveys
Optional
Will allow students to fill out online surveys for the c ourses they are
registered for. Will allow administrators or fac ulty to post surveys through
their WWW browsers and view survey results automatic ally
Chat/ conference Optional
Will allow students to partic ipate in an online c onferenc e moderated by
fac ulty or to interac t live with other students. The interac tion c an involve
the exc hange of images, live voic e and sound
FAQs
Optional
Will allow students to view FAQs pertaining to the c ourses they are registered for.
Will allow fac ulty to post and edit their answers through their WWW browser
Interactive Q&A
Optional
Will allow students to post questions or c omments for other students or for
fac ulty. Will allow fac ulty to post responses and c omments
Search engine
Optional
Will allow students to searc h for resourc es for the c ourses they are registered for.
Will allow fac ulty to post resourc es through their WWW browser
Cancellations
Required
Will allow students to view c ourse or c lass c anc ellations. Will allow administrators
to post c urrent c lass or c ourse c anc ellations. Automatic e-mail notific ation c an
also be implemented
SBA news
Required
Will allow students to view updated SBA news. Will allow administrators to
post news through their WWW browser
GM U news
Optional
Will allow students to view updated GMU news. Will allow administrators to
post news through their WWW browser
Student news and
announcements
section:
( Continued)
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Features
Priority
Description
National
headlines
Optional
Will allow students to view updated national headlines from the information site of
their c hoosing
Speakers
Optional
Will allow students to view a list of upc oming GMU speec hes. Will allow
administrators to post and update upc oming speec hes through their WWW browser
From the dean
Optional
Will allow students to listen or view a message from the dean. Will allow the
Dean to post a message through a WWW browser
From the
president
Optional
Will allow students to listen or view a message from the president. Will allow
the President to post a message through a WWW browser
Customizable
Optional
Will allow students to c hose whic h of the above options they would like to
have on their personal interfac e
Student personal
section:
Customizable
Optional
Faculty news
and announcements
section:
Customizable
Optional
Will allow students to c hose WWW resourc es (options) to be displayed on
their personal interfac e
Will allow fac ulty to c hose WWW and GMU resourc es to be displayed on their
personal interfac e
Faculty research
section:
Customizable
Optional
Will allow fac ulty to post researc h requirements and will allow c olleagues or
GRTAs to post related resourc es or findings
Password ID
system:
PIDS
Required
Will protec t the intellec tual rights of all online material by allowing only
registered students to view them. Requires the integration of a database
extrac t from the registrar
Web administration
system:
Logging database Required
Keeps rec ord of every type of ac c ess and request and stores in database
Request/
performance
monitor
Monitors system performanc e
Required
Feedback analysis Optional
Performs statistic al analysis of requests and ac c esses
Indecency monitor Optional
Monitors c hat rooms and online c onferenc es and logs the identity of indec enc y
regulations violators
Emergency
replacement
system
Optional
Monitors c ontent and c reates bac kups for emergenc y replac ement
Dean’s system
evaluation page
Optional
Allows the dean to view usage statistic s and other information through a
WWW browser
President’s
Optional
system evaluation
page
Hardware,
connection,
maintenance:
Hardware and
software
Required
Allows the Ppresident to view usage statistic s and other information through a
WWW browser
Two dual P6 Web servers running NT4.0 and Netsc ape Enterprise Web server
software and network hardware. Less c ostly alternatives would involve the
purc hase of a single server at a c ost of $11,000. (Performanc e c onc erns will
warrant the two server alternative at some points)
( Continued)
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Features
Priority
Description
Connection
Required
T1 (1500kbps). In the c ase of GMU a network LAN c onnec tion will be used.
Higher reliability c an be ac hieved with a sec ond T1 c onnec tion from a different
Telec om sourc e (this option would double the c onnec tion c ost to $48,000 per
year)
System
maintenance
Required
Annual system maintenanc e and management
Training and
support :
Online manuals
and seminars
for students
Required
Online materials will help students make batter use of the extranet
Training sessions
and seminars for
faculty and staff
Required
Fac ulty and staff training. Seminars, presentations, doc umentation, and oneto-one c onsultation as needed