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ArtsIT Hardware Policy

Policy Authorisation: Associate Dean
Policy Administrator: Stuart Lees

This policy has been decided in a consultative process through several meetings of the ArtsIT Users Group. We are grateful to this group for their generous input. Invitation to serve on this group went out to all academic and general staff.

The current membership is:

If you want to join this group, please contact Yoke Kheng Tan (email:yokekheng.tan@arts.monash.edu.au , extension 54238).

Note: This policy will be regularly updated.

Aim: To provide up-to-date IT hardware to support the Faculty's teaching, research and administration within reasonable budgetary parameters.

  1. Leasing of assets

    Desktop computers

    • Faculty policy introduced in 2000 to lease all standard desktop computers for staff use and student labs.

    • Aim to have all standard staff computers and student lab computers on a 3-year lease cycle by then end of 2005. (All outdated hardware to be disposed of by this time.)

    Exceptions to the leasing rule

    • In cases where equipment is funded from research grants or other non-recurrent funding, preference for buying equipment should be discussed with the Resources Manager, Bob Palin. Approved purchases can then be made through a Monash preferred supplier in consultation with ArtsIT .

  2. Purchasing of assets

    Purchases to be made through Monash preferred suppliers.

    Printers

    • It is recommended that the majority of printers be purchased, as their useful lifetime can be extended well beyond the standard 3-year lease period.

    Laptop/Notebook Computers

    • It is recommended that laptop/notebook computers be purchased as they can only be leased for a 2-year period, and should have a useful lifetime in excess of 2 years. Additional warranty periods can be purchased to cover an extended lifetime.

  3. Allocation of equipment

    Annual review of needs

    • Towards the end of each year, the desktop support officer (Johnathon Blythe) and network administrator (Ian Coulter), will review the current computer fleet of each school and recommend which computers need replacing. (Once all computers are on a 3-year lease cycle this process should become redundant.)

    • ArtsIT will then liaise with the appropriate resource office in the school to confirm these recommendations and to include information on plans for new staff members who will require additional new computers.

    • Where new appointments are made during the course of the year, ArtsIT should be given at least a month's notice if a new computer is to be set up for the staff member.

    Entitlement

    Computers

    • The faculty will fund a standard office computer for every member of staff working 0.6 or above for use on campus. (During a period of study leave, a staff member may arrange to have their office computer at home, however they must inform their school AO and ArtsIT and complete an appropriate equipment loan form. They must also arrange appropriate insurance to cover the university excess of $5,000 in case of loss or theft, unless they are prepared to cover the full cost of replacement in such an event.)

    • Schools will receive additional computers for part-time staff based on the number of effective full-time staff numbers made up by the part-time staff. A dedicated computer for staff working less than 0.6 will need to be negotiated with the Resources Manager if such is required. It is expected that in job share situations, staff will share a computer.

    • Sessional staff members will normally be given computer access in a communal office in their school. The number of computers supported by the faculty in such communal rooms will be assessed according to the number of sessional staff employed by the school.

    • Casual research assistants are normally not entitled to a dedicated faculty-funded computer. Research grants and school funding should be used to provide these computers. If such funding is not available within the School, the funding of an appropriate leased computer from the Faculty Equipment Fund will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

    • Postgraduate research students are not entitled to a dedicated faculty-funded computer. However, the faculty does encourage the provision of computer resources for postgraduate research students in communal offices and will fund a small number of computers for each school for shared postgraduate student use. Schools wishing to provide a postgraduate student with a dedicated computer must do so out of school funds.

    • The faculty will not fund two computers for the one staff member unless they are working on more than one campus. Staff traveling to another campus for work would not normally have a computer wholly dedicated for their use on their 'away' campus but would be required to share a computer when away from their home campus.

    • Centres attached to the faculty but funded separately will be required to provide their own funding for computers, although the leasing should still be arranged in consultation with ArtsIT.

    • Staff members who require a computer deviating from the standard configuration (including the need for a Mac) in order to carry out their work should get approval for funding from the Resources Manager, Bob Palin. The school may have to cover any additional cost. Each case will be evaluated on a needs basis.

    • As a general rule, the faculty will not provide home computers or laptops for staff. Staff members are able to salary package a laptop for outside use if they need one for home. Schools or the faculty office may decide their own policy on this and provide funding and/or shared laptop as they see fit. This includes general staff participating in the home-based work arrangement scheme.

    Printers

    • Only a limited number of printers will be funded by the Faculty equipment fund. (Generally one networked laser printer per floor per wing.) All other printer purchases are to come out of the equipment fund allocation to Schools as they see fit.

  4. Faculty Equipment Fund

    An off-the-top allocation is set aside annually to cover the Faculty's equipment needs, including lease costs.

    Funding allocation to schools

    • A component of the annual equipment fund will be distributed to schools in proportion to their operating budget.

    Items over $10,000

    • An allocation will be set aside each year from the faculty equipment fund for items of equipment over $10,000. The resources manager, Bob Palin, will call for submissions from schools towards the end of each year.

  5. Tracking distribution of leased assets

    • An annual stock take will be conducted towards the end of each year.

    • Each school will be given a spreadsheet detailing the leased assets being used in their area and will be requested to confirm the location of these assets and note any changes.

    • Schools will be liable for any costs incurred if leased assets in their charge cannot be found when their lease expires and they are to be returned to Macquarie Bank.

  6. Insurance

    Refer to the Resources Office web site:
    Covers all insurance issues regarding theft, loss or damage to equipment.

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