The Academic Technology Acquisition Process at ACU

Download this document as a Word file.

The LINK team determines each year what major projects will be funded from the portion of the Academic Enrichment and Technology (AET) fee allocated to LINK.  Funding for many technological initiatives should be handled at the departmental or college level.  The AET fee is primarily intended to fund large projects or projects that emphasize collaboration between divisions or colleges or potentially have university-wide implications.  All projects sent to LINK for consideration should be routed through the appropriate department chair and dean to the Provost. Department chairs and deans are requested to attach a very brief evaluation to each submission reflecting their opinion of the proposed project.

A written justification is required from all departments wishing to have a technology project considered for funding from the AET fee.  Certain large projects such as computer labs are placed in the LINK teams planning queue.  Inclusion in this queue does not ensure that the project will be funded.  No project will be funded in a given year without a current written justification.

Any request for technology that requires consideration for the next fiscal year or deserves consideration by the LINK Team should be submitted through the appropriate channels to the Provost by October 31 of the current year.

The LINK team determines which requests will be funded from the AET fee.   All requests (from Academic Divisions) for funding from this source should be routed through the Provost.  The LINK Team also considers programmatic and university-wide requests for funding from the Adams Center (Educational Technology and Distance Education), Information Technology(IT) and Web Integration and Programming (WIP). The LINK Team usually makes the final decision on which major programs will be funded in February. 

Funding priority will be given to:

• Technologies that affect multiple departments, classes or students.
• Well-researched proposals that demonstrate innovative methods of using technology for teaching and learning.
• Proposals that offer significant opportunities to research the use of teaching, learning and technology.
• Items already integrated into the five-year plans of the requesting department.
• Integrated systems that are too large or difficult to obtain through regular departmental funding.
• Systems that include a plan for evaluation.
• Systems that have been reviewed by the Adams Center prior to submission.