" Ok, something really doesn't add up here. $85 million to buy new computers every seven years? I know they aren't talking about computers for the libraries and student study rooms and student computer labs. UF requires students to have laptops so UF doesn't have to pay for providing students with computers and software.

And even if they only use half of the $85 million for desktop computers for faculty, that adds up to 21,250 computers at $2000 per computer which I know that UF gets their computers way cheaper than that since I order laptops and desktops for the company I work for and a good desktop costs around $1,200. And that is just buying one at a time, just imagine the volume discount UF can get.

That and I don't think UF has 21 thousand people working for them. Even if UF is talking about replacing super-computers and mainframes, etc, that cost will still not add up to even half of the $85 million. "

" UF doesn't get any breaks on the computer prices. In fact, I saw some of the invoices from companies like Dell and I was shocked to see how much UF pays. I can get the same computer for less than UF does. Vendors see UF and they get a sparkle in their eyes. "

" UF doesn't get discounted pricing on bulk computer purchases. As a matter of fact, since UF is the equivalent of a "commercial" account, they actually get charged a bit more for the average workstation because Dell knows they're not being used on someone's home desktop (though some are).

The average desktop station being purchased at UF right now is a middle-of-the-road business Dell, 4 Gigs of RAM, running Vista Ultimate. Most are getting 22-24 inch flat screen LCD monitors, sometimes 2 at a time. These setups would be reasonably priced if you were able to buy the components and build them yourself, but UF doesn't do that.

Not to mention the service costs. UF pays a premium to get extended service warranties on their workstations so they will have no difficulties in getting replacement equipment down the road if necessary. The prices of all the equipment and service plans definitely add up.

Hell, all you have to do is log in to Dell.com with your .ufl email address to get educational discount pricing and you'll see that Dell's discounts really aren't very much at all. "

" Before coming to UF I worked in an IT dept. at USF and did computer and server purchases a few times a week. After factoring in the Higher Education discount (which includes 3-year on-site next business day service in the price) and USF's status as a large volume purchaser, I can tell you that the average savings were are around 30 - 40% off the retail prices. USF had it's own special purchasing program and had an individual Dell representative whose only account was USF. so if UF isn't getting big savings, it's because their not doing something right, not because they're not our there. Oh, and the educational discounts (mentioned above) given to students and faculty when you log-in to dell.com are different then the personalized web-site the school gets to purchase computers. So you won't see the same discounts. "

" Why doesn't UF use more of the staff IT to upgrade old computers instead of buying new ones? You can go online and find DIY articles on how to build a good PC for $800. That's probably half of what UF is paying Dell and HP.
What the heck do they have in-house IT for? Build your own, service them yourself and save! "

" savino, you are right it does save money on an individual level. But the average cost of upgrading a computer that has a defective or old harddrive motherboard etc. is almost equal to the price of buying a service contract. Buying individual parts to upgrade for hundreds of machines is expensive. Add on the hourly cost of paying an in-house tech to repair hundreds of machines and you'll soon find you need more techs and that the overall cost is higher. So...all computers are bought with the service contract and techs are relegated to more menial tasks suchs as images, software issues and minor hardware problems. Also, just to order the parts takes time, sometimes a week or more if it's an older part. Computers break down all the time. If a person is down for a week because they can't access their computer for work or if a server is down even for a few days and hundreds of students can't access their records, in the long run, the overall cost is much higher than simply buying new equipment with service contracts where the problem is fixed the very next day. Once new ones come in, older PC's are usually recycled to grad students, small labs etc. "

" Its $85 million for initiatives, notice the s meaning plural.

That last quote is ridiculous. "

" Besides the computers, it sure seems as though the adminstration has a quick answer for the money.
I sure would like to hear what the new CFO has to say about all of this. He must have something to offer up for discussion. "

" Another problem involved in building or servicing their own computers is that many of the IT staff on campus are not capable of performing this type of work. While most can perform the daily functions required of them, these functions are quite minimal due to the service contracts in place. I personally know of more IT "pros" than I can count on one hand that would look at you like a deer caught in the headlights if you asked them to swap a bad motherboard. Unfortunately, they keep their jobs because standards for performance are low and many of the middle-managers on campus are too lazy or uninvolved to hold poor employees accountable. Changing to a system where UF performs all the maintenance and repairs on every workstation would be phohibitively costly. So we stick with cheap service from IT staff who are just competent enough to call Dell's 1-800 number for a service tag.

But that entire point really is moot. The simple fact is this school is run by a president who has yet to make a really great decision for UF, but who is politically connected enough to do just about anything he wants to do. He runs rough-shod over this school and nobody holds him accountable. He even displays his gargantuan lack of grace openly by keeping a windfall bonus during a budget crisis and showering contempt and scorn on those who question his obvious greed.

Money like the "rainy'day fund" will never be used to benefit the school in a sensible way. It will be used to further the careers of Bernie Machen and his politically juiced cohorts in Tigert Hall. "

" deadjedi,
I kind of have to raise an eyebrow about your take on the IT staff at UF. I have changed out motherboards, built a system or two, and set up networks, but I cannot get hired at UF as an IT person. If what you are saying is correct, then they must be holding the positions for friends and family members who are less than worthy to do the job. I would expect IT to be able to change a motherboard at the very least.

Now, as far as Tigert Hall is concerned, they are now in a learning process. I don't think many of them have been in this predicament, so they are flying by the seat of their pants. "

" I have a perspective on IT at the University that is both enlightening and disgusting. I'm close friends with the head of IT in one department and know many of the IT staff on other departments, and there are some fundamental problems with the way these IT groups are being run. The problems are no different than those you find everywhere else in the University, though.

UF is suffering from an overabundance of mediocre middle-managers. These are people who have good intentions, but who do not actively pursue problems because they are afraid if these problems were to come to light, it would reflect badly upon them.

One example is the manager who gives a free ride to poor employees. The manager hired this person with the best of intentions, and maybe due to liabilities regarding possible defamation of character lawsuits, the previous employer didn't disclose information regarding problems with the applicant's prior performance. So the applicant is hired and, as anybody who works at UF knows, unless you've committed an egregious sin or are unlucky enough to be hit by the layoff hammer, it is virtually impossible to get fired from UF.

So the manager unknowingly hires the poor employee. It soon comes to light that the employee cannot perform their job duties as required, but the manager thinks that to pursue disciplinary action would reflect badly upon their skill as a manager. Especially in these tough budgetary times, this is much more common than you'd think. Nobody wants to look bad.

Review time comes around and the manager gives a glowing review to a sub-par IT "professional." The review makes it look like the manager did a great job in finding a qualified candidate. UF thinks the bad employee is a good one because their direct supervisor said they are. And a job that might have been open for you, or me, or any other qualified IT pro is eaten up indefinitely by someone who just can't perform the job.

This sounds like outright lunacy, but it's happening every day, all over this campus. The middle-managers are so afraid of rocking the boat that they give a free ride to people who at best don't deserve it, and at worst are a true liability to those around them. "

" deadjedi,
I have to agree with your description of the review process ay UF. The problem I see is that the immediate supervisors work too close to the employees, and giving bad reviews will make their working together impossible.
Then again, UF relies on the supervisor to give accurate reviews, which is mostly impossible. "