Computer fees paid by management information systems majors will continue to be used to improve equipment for the program, department officials said.

Iowa State has proposed a raise in MIS fees for the 1998-99 school year.

According to a student special fees committee report by Government of the Student Body senator Michael Pogge, the committee has recommended rejecting these fees on the basis that the MIS program has not spent existing fees.

Brad Shrader, chair of the department of management, said the increase in fees would go to ward more technology for the program.

“This year we spent over $80,000 on a lab just for MIS students,” Shrader said.

According to Pogge’s report, the MIS program “charged over $100,000 in augmented computer fees to its students over the past three years.

In that same time period, only $1,000 of the fees have been spent to improve the computers used by MIS students.”

Pogge said no more than $1,000 was spent until this summer when the new lab was constructed.

Shrader said Pogge’s information was misleading. “The $100,000 was accumulated over two to three years,” he said.

“In order to build a lab, you have to collect money over a great deal of time,” Shrader said. “It’s not like we can just take out a loan for the lab.”

Sree Nilikanta was a faculty member key in organizing the lab. He said the hardware and software are both state of the art.

“This is a lab that was designed as an advanced technology lab for our majors,” Nilikanta said.

The new MIS lab contains 12 computers to be used only by MIS majors. The computers are arranged in three clusters of four computers to facilitate group work.

“The lab could be rearranged into a linear arrangement for a classroom setting,” Nilikanta said. “This type of lab is unique on our campus.”

The MIS lab also contains advanced telecommunications equipment.

“Students taking telecommunications can actually try out different hardware and software,” Nilikanta said.

“They can take it apart, put it back together, and actually see how the network works,” he said.

Future plans for the lab include adding an electronic security system for entrance that would require a student to scan their ISU Card, Nilikanta said.

He stressed that the lab is for MIS students only.

“It was paid for by MIS computer fees, so they will use it,” he said.

Nilikanta said he also hopes that the lab can serve as a testing ground for new technology for the rest of campus.

“Even in industry, they test out new equipment before they use it,” Nilikanta said.

“We are trying to give our majors a feel for that same kind of testing on campus,” he said.

Shrader said obtaining state-of-the-art software is the purpose of the fees.

“The MIS program was fortunate to get a lot of grants and didn’t need to use the funds,” Shrader said.