The Information Technology Commission (ITC) sent out its annual survey on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, to hear from students about their opinions on the technology on campus.

According to the UW-Eau Claire website, ITC is a commission within the Student Senate that represents students’ technology needs and is in charge of the expenditures of the Student Technology Fee. 

ITC is also given $50,000, along with rollover from previous years, to spend on innovative programs to better students’ technology experiences on campus.

There is an ITC proposal that students can fill out online to offer ITC ideas on how to spend the allotted money. ITC also gathers students’ thoughts in-person and through the annual student technology survey.

The survey asked questions about the Wi-Fi on campus, students’ personal technology and its operations, a potential laptop program, smartphone usage on campus, Blugold IDs, campus computer labs, printing, library checkout items and the commission itself.

Lindsey Mueller, a software engineering student and the commission intern at ITC, said the technology survey is used to hear from students and make sure that the assumptions ITC is making about the technology on campus is backed up.

“Just to get a gauge on some different ideas we have,” Mueller said. “We’re a part of the Student Senate so we want student feedback so we can make the best decisions for what they want.”

The survey included multiple-choice options and short answers for students to write about specific issues they have had with technology. It ended with a section for students to write any additional thoughts they had with on-campus technology.

Joseph Dokken, a fourth-year business finance student and the director of ITC, said the survey is meant to gauge the overall experience students on campus are having with their personal technology and public access technology.

“An annual survey that goes out to understand what’s going well for students based on what technology is working well for them and what isn’t,” Dokken said.

According to Dokken, ITC is also making decisions on different technology innovation programs to better campus. There are conversations being had about a crowd meter app to tell students how crowded certain activities are on campus, like sporting events and fairs.

A few other discussed initiatives were a monitor for the Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies interdisciplinary office in Hibbard, room 384. ITC also discussed getting more technology for more virtual reality equipment in McIntyre Library.

According to Mueller, ITC has a voting committee that used information from the technology survey and people who gave their input to the committee in person to vote on the innovative programs and rank them in levels of importance.

“Everything we do is to benefit the students and staff at Eau Claire and we want to make sure we can get the best technology and resources out to them,” Mueller said.

According to Dokken, ITC is looking for a new director for when the 66th session ends for the senate. He said the general tagline for ITC is based on bettering students’ encounters with technology on campus.

“We help better students’ experience on campus as it relates to technology,” Dokken said.

Fisher can be reached at [email protected].