Effective September '04, IT Central Services has made changes to the Basic Computing Package it provides to eligible students, faculty, and staff on the Ann Arbor Campus. Many of the changes have resulted in increased service levels, such as larger IMAP mailboxes, more IFS space, and unlimited usage of Merit dial-in access.

For faculty and staff members at the College, the most noticeable difference may be that the Engineering Department Computing Allocation (DCA) has been eliminated. In addition, faculty and staff now have a reduced printing allocation in ITCS sites. Starting September 1, National and International Dial-In service for Engineering faculty and staff will be centrally funded by the College. This College-provided funding will essentially replace the DCA as a source of national and international dial-in funding. With this new arrangement, faculty and staff should see no change in their ability to dial-in while traveling. CAEN will monitor the billing of national and international dial-in use and advise users of excessive charges that may be the result of improper configurations, modem or computer problems, or fraud. We encourage those who travel and those who dial-in from home to use the least expensive option available. For example, within the state of Michigan, the Merit dial-in service should be used when a local dial-in number is available. Alternatively, use of one of the national or international options is preferable to making long distance calls from hotel rooms.

Printing over the amount included in the BCP allocation for faculty and staff, which was previously covered by the Departmental Computing Allocation, will now be charged to individual accounts. (Note: individuals will need to establish an account with ITCS.)

BCP for Students

• ITCS email mailboxes increased from 50 to 200MB.
• IFS home directories increased from 50MB to 1GB. Additional space costs $1 per GB per month.
• Statewide Merit dial-in access is unlimited and free of charge.
• The printing allocation for students remains at 400 pages of black & white printing per term. Note: The College of Engineering/CAEN will also provide a supplement of 300 additional pages of black & white printing per term for students who have a valid CAEN account. This figure may be re-evaluated each term.

BCP for Faculty and Staff

• ITCS email mailboxes increased from 50MB to 200MB.
• IFS file storage allocations increased from 50MB to 1 GB. Additional space costs $1 per GB per month.
• Class IFS file space of 2-4 GB is available on request (send email to ifs-support@umich.edu).
• Statewide Merit dial-in access is unlimited and free of charge.
• The printing allocation for faculty and staff has been reduced from 400 to 50 pages of black & white printing per term.

Emeritus faculty continue to receive the same BCP amounts as regular faculty. Retired staff members will receive 50-MB ITCS email mailboxes at no charge. They can purchase IFS home directories and dial-in access through U-M Online.

The ITCS web site at www.itcs.umich.edu/bcp2004 includes a chart outlining the new provisions, a memo to the units with a complete description of the changes, and some Frequently Asked Questions. If you have additional questions concerning the impact at the College, you can email them to caen@umich.edu.