Graduate computer lab moving to The Broadway this summer

The Instructional Development Support Center, nestled into a corner room off a narrow hallway in the basement of Smith Memorial Student Union, is a quiet and small space with less than 20 workstations. Sharing the space with the Office of Information Technology help desk, the lab caters specifically to Portland State graduate students, faculty and staff. And this summer, the entire lab will be moved to The Broadway, combining with the existing computer lab on the second floor.

“This is going to be a great change for graduate and undergraduate students as well as faculty,” Computer Classes and Lab Specialist Monica Morillas said. “Even though undergrads have had access to some IDSC services all along, such as color and wide-format printing, many don’t know about it. By moving these services to a larger, more available and accessible space, we hope that more undergrads will take advantage of these services.”

At the IDSC, students, faculty members and PSU staff are able to gain help and advice from OIT staff knowledgeable with the services the lab supplies, such as audio recording, video workstations for video projects, video editing, temporary file storage, page scanning and standard and wide-format printing. IDSC staff specializes in one-on-one support, assisting with multimedia projects, printing projects and D2L content creation.

OIT conducted a survey regarding the IDSC and found that users indicated a greater need for longer lab hours and weekend access, providing a catalyst for the lab’s move.

“Our chief information officer has made this a top priority, having met with ASPSU and having listened to their concerns about lab access,” Morillas said. “While some things like specialized publishing and graphic editing software will not be available on all computers right away (going from under 20 workstations to almost 100 is quite a jump), our plan is to gradually add more software and other enhancements to make this location the go-to place for specialty digital services,” she added.

Since the current grad lab is so small, Morillas is very excited for the move. To better improve the lab that tends to the needs of PSU faculty and graduate members that teach classes and work on extensive research projects, the lab, including its current furniture, computers and equipment, will be moved to BHB 225. Graduate students and PSU faculty will still have a place to take part in confidential activities such as paper-grading, and undergraduate students will still have a place to work on computers and print out papers.

Additionally, the new lab will be open 24 hours per day, every day of the week.

Some, however, are not happy with the lab’s new location. Education graduate student and university studies SINQ mentor Erol Chandler said, “I like the idea, but I think the lab is in a bad location and out of the way for grad students. It seems silly to me. Places like the Engineering Building would seem like a better and more accessible location for grads.”

For more information about the services offered at the IDSC, including specialty printing services, visit www.oit.pdx.edu/topics/IDSC.