What would you do with $5.3 million?

Guilford College’s answer: pour the money into a new information technology plan, which was finalized this month.

Assistant Academic Dean for Academic Support Barb Boyette, a member of both the Technology Advisory Committee and the IT Plan Subcommittee, gave an overview of the IT plan.

“It is a plan designed to direct how things will grow with our IT infrastructure and with our use of it over the years,” said Boyette in an email interview.

Associate Professor of Music Kami Rowan, a member of the same committees, explained what this new IT plan means for the College.

“The biggest thing I think (the plan) will bring (to Guilford) is a greater focus on technology,” said Rowan in an email interview. “We can’t be in a time where technology drives our culture and thrive as an institution without it.”

Chief Information Officer of Information Technology & Services Craig Gray has been in charge of driving and designing this IT plan for two years.

“The largest expenditure of money and effort center on two significant goals: shoring up the technological infrastructure at the institution so that we can build a platform strong enough to support innovation in the classroom and empowering the evolution of teaching and learning through technology,” said Gray in an email interview.

Gray elaborated on what all this means for students.

“I think what the students will see is the same sort of incremental improvements that have been ongoing over the last two years in terms of wireless Internet and the College’s infrastructure,” said Gray. “More importantly, I think it means students will see more technological focus in the classroom, more consistency and more learning opportunities.”

But where is the money going?

The IT plan itself answered this in detail.

According to the new plan, the  “majority of the investment, 51 percent, is for infrastructure and capacity upgrades, 32 percent is focused on teaching and learning, and 17 percent is for administrative systems and human support.”

The IT plan also outlined that $675,000 of the $5.3 million will be spent on a 10 Gig Fiber Optic Project. $400,000 will be spent on a Wireless Build-out and $195,000 will be spent on a Storage Area Network.

The goal is that, although a lot of these major changes might not appear flashy, they will seriously enhance the school.

Early College senior Akosua Bekoe expressed her reaction to the plan.

“I believe this a good idea because traditional classroom settings limit the kind of learning that can take place,” Bekoe said. “With more technology, the possibilities can be endless.”

Senior Gretta Eller hopes the plan will not hinder the College’s traditional learning environment.

“As long as this (plan) doesn’t take away from the professor-to-student interaction, I think it could be a great addition to the school,” Eller said. “This old-school approach to learning is one of the main reasons I came to Guilford.”

Guilford is moving forward with this new plan in hopes that it will help keep the College modern and competitive in a world dominated by technology.