Information Technology Capabilities

The National Science Foundation Blue-Ribbon Advisory Panel on Cyberinfrastructure released a report in January 2003 on the technology improvements necessary to keep our nation at the forefront of scientific and technological development. This report it states that minority serving institutions lack the tools and infrastructure needed to participate in mainstream research. Therefore, support of significant efforts must be directed toward engaging underserved communities directly, rather than as programmatic add-ons.

In May 2003, a report Advancing Minority Institutions’ Cyberinfrastructure through the AN-MSI Program states:

that most MIS did not have a campus wide strategic plan, much less one that included IT. Many did not have an annual budget to meet their IT needs, with the money for IT improvements coming from piecemeal grants. Few campuses had a CIO, and fewer still had network management capabilities. Not surprisingly, security is a low priority on most campuses, and almost all have problems with viruses and intrusions.

As a small liberal arts institution and a historically black university, Hampton University remains in the forefront of new and emerging technologies. The University is a leader in its implementation and use of technology and continues to invest in the technologies that keep the institution on the leading edge. Hampton University’s position as a national leader makes HU an obvious choice to serve other HBCUs as we collectively join to provide meaningful solutions for expanding digital opportunities to all communities.

In 2004, Hampton University was recognized by Princeton Reivew/Forbes.com as one of America’s Most Connected Universities. This recognition comes after Hampton had been sited in 2000 and 2001, as one of Yahoo’s Most Wired 100 Colleges and Universities. Hampton began to wire all of its residence halls, academic and administrative offices in 1999 and successfully completed the entire campus in nine months. The Hampton University Network (HUNet) was created as a result of the campus community being wired. HUNet uses a state-of-the-art star topology and gigabyte Ethernet switched CISCO technology with DS3 access to the Internet. Hampton University provides its services to students, faculty and staff.

Students have the ability to access University services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These services include:

• Online registration, grades, financial aid and billing

• The ability to check holds

• The ability to view and request official transcript

• The legal downloading of music and movies

HU has a robust eCommerce application, which allows for the payment of bills, online giving, and adding dollars to the student University debit card, Pirate Power. Students have web assisted class materials available through Blackboard and use a web portal for clubs and organization communications. Students use a one card system for University purchases, access to dorms, campus secured gates and food services. Hampton University offers over 1000 web-assisted courses and two online degree programs: BA in Religious Studies and a PhD program in Nursing.

Hampton serves as an Internet Service Provider to its faculty and students by providing them access to HU@Home. Faculty can enter grades electronically and request University services from the University’s home page. Students can access all University resources through HUNet from home.

This past summer, Hampton implemented wireless services throughout the campus, creating The Wireless Pirate. This technology will enhance the teaching and learning processes as well as have a strong impact on student life. Faculty and students can be mobile, taking their laptop computers to their classrooms where they will have access to the internet. Wireless connectivity adds a whole new dimension to the possibilities of classroom activities, lending itself to research and more in-depth methods of instruction. Wireless access, however, does not stop at the classroom. Every part of the campus has wireless connectivity to include all campus green spaces.

With the growing number of students and universities across the nation facing charges for illegally downloading and sharing music from the internet, Hampton has taken a proactive approach by adding Ruckus Network to our line of technology offerings. Ruckus provides a means for on-campus students to legally download and share music from all genres, download movies and TV programs.

Hampton University is the largest subscriber of cable television in the northeast region. The Hampton University Cable Network, consisting of both digital and limited analog service, has been of great importance to our residential students. This past year, students provided input on the channels they wanted to have access to from their residence halls. We recently added nine new channels to our subscribers to include four new HBO's, The Disney channel, MSNBC, FOX News, CSPAN 2 and SCI-FI.

Hampton University offers faculty and staff an annual Computer Purchase Program, which affords them the opportunity to own a new Dell laptop or desktop computer through payroll deduction. Professional development programs are available to faculty and staff via classroom instruction and via the web.

The University is one of two HBCUs who share membership in the Internet 2 community and is a member of the International Grid Forum. Hampton provides its faculty a technology research forum which resulted in the creation of a separate research network.

• Hampton University is poised to provide network security services to other institutions. These services include consulting assistance in intrusion services and network support 24/7.

Through the leadership of Hampton University’s President, Dr. William R. Harvey and the Center for Information Technology, Hampton has made tremendous accomplishments in technology infrastructure and network securities. Adherence to the University’s 10-year strategic plan has kept us on course as we continue to carefully and methodically map the future of our Institution’s technology infrastructure.

Support & Contact Info:
Help Desk: (757) 728-6931
helpdesk@hamptonu.edu

Help Desk Hours:
Monday-Friday: 8:00am - 5:00pm