The Ithaca College Student Governance Council met April 21 with members of the Office of Information Technologies and Analytics to discuss new and upcoming technological developments on campus.
SGC heard from David Weil, vice president and chief analytics officer, and Casey Kendall, deputy chief information officer and associate vice president of applications and infrastructure.
Senior Kathi Hodel, vice president of business and finance, said the deadline to submit student club budget requests to the Appropriations Committee for Fall 2025 is April 27, and the committee’s last meeting of Spring 2025 will be held April 30. She also reminded council members that the interest form to run for an SGC seat in Fall 2025 will close April 23.
Updates from Fall 2024
Weil and Kendall spoke to SGC about updates on technological developments since they originally discussed them at the council’s Sept. 16 meeting.
Kendall said their team has made considerable improvements to the student portal app that is slated to replace apps.ithaca.edu. She said the college is partnering with Pathify, a company that helps colleges and universities consolidate their digital platforms into a singular, centralized portal.
“[Students will] be able to see grades, upcoming due dates and emails,” Kendall said. “[They] will also be able to receive updates and alerts from across the college of things [they] need to know.”
Weil said the Esports Lounge, which opened Oct. 14, has been well-received by students, but he said he also wants feedback from SGC.
Junior Noeline Luyindula, first generation senator, said that she frequently used the Friends Hall computer lab before it was made into the Esports Lounge, and that now there are not enough study spaces in the building.
Weil said they are looking at the possibility of opening part of the IT Service Desk in Job Hall as a computer lab for students.
Kendall said the college is close to finalizing its contract with Verizon to improve cellular connection on campus. She said the contract has passed through the college’s legal review and now only needs to be approved by Verizon so the college can start constructing new cellular antennas around campus.
Weil said the college is putting a printer in the Gardens Apartment complex in Fall 2025. He said the decision came after an SGC member advocated for it during their previous meeting.
“Your input is really helpful,” Weil said. “It drives what we’re doing here.”
Other developments and partnerships
Weil told SGC that Asurion Tech Repair & Solutions in Ithaca is now offering up to 40% discounts on computer and cell phone repairs for Ithaca College students when shown a student ID. He said the college does not have a formal contract with Asurion.
Junior Ty Anderson, vice president of residential affairs, asked Weil if the college has any plan to offer on-campus tech repair services. Weil said the college had one before the COVID-19 pandemic, but that it was not financially viable. He suggested that SGC do a market study to assess the potential to bring such a service back to campus through a company like Asurion.
“It could be something SGC takes up next fall to really gauge the demand for something like that, because there’s an investment these companies have to make in this,” Weil said.
Weil said that another convenience students can expect in Fall 2025 is access to Canva Pro. He said the pro version of the design software will allow students to access several features like an expanded selection of templates and AI tools.
AI report update
Junior transfer senator Login Abudalla, asked Kendall about updates to the Presidential Working Group on AI’s recommendations for AI use on campus. The group’s guiding principles and deliverables were presented to SGC at its Feb. 17 meeting, when Kendall asked the council for feedback on its report.
Kendall said the working group has since received feedback from the Faculty Council and drafted a final draft that will be presented to President La Jerne Cornish for final approval this week.
“Thank you for your feedback, it was really helpful,” Kendall said. “[It] makes us all better when we get the feedback.”
The SGC is the sole representative body for the Ithaca College student community. The SGC meets from 7-9 p.m. every Monday in the Taughannock Falls room of the Campus Center. The SGC can be contacted at [email protected].
