Home

FAQs

Institutions and Partners

Services

Committees

Community Projects

News

Meetings and Events

Listservs

  NSF Advanced Networking Project With Minority-Serving Institutions
Frequently Asked Questions

AN-MSI Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Is AN-MSI?
2. What Is a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI)?
3. How Was AN-MSI Created?
4. When Will the AN-MSI Grant Expire?
5. What Is the Goal of AN-MSI?
6. Who Is AN-MSI Helping?
7. How Is AN-MSI Helping?
8. How Many MSIs Take Part in the Project?
9. What Are the Criteria to Join?
10. How Does My Institution Get Involved in the Project?
11. What Services Does the Project Provide?
12. Does the Project Provide Funding for Campus Upgrades?
13. What Is the Role of the EOT-PACI?
14. What Organizations Are AN-MSI Partners?
15. What Do Partners Say About AN-MSI?
16. Who are the AN-MSI Community Leaders?
17. Contact Information
1.  

What Is AN-MSI?

 AN-MSI stands for Advanced Networking with Minority-Serving Institutions.

 
2.  

What Is a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI)?

 A Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) is a Department of Education designated college or university such as a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), or a Tribal College or University (TCU).

 
3.  

How Was AN-MSI Created?

 In September of 1999, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a four-year, $6 million grant to EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association with the mission of transforming higher education through information technologies. With this grant, NSF, the associations representing the minority-serving institutions, and EDUCAUSE created the AN-MSI project.

 
4.  

When Will the AN-MSI Grant Expire?

 The AN-MSI grant was originally scheduled to expire on August 31, 2003. EDUCAUSE extended the grant for one year, through a no-cost extension. The grant officially closed on November 30, 2004.
 
5.  

What Is the Goal of AN-MSI?

 The goal of this project is to help narrow the digital divide that Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) face. This will ensure that MSIs develop the campus infrastructure and national connections to become and remain full participants in the emerging Internet-based Information Age.

 
6.  

Who Is AN-MSI Helping?

 The project works with institutions in three communities – Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) – to improve Internet connectivity, campus networks, technical support, and use of advanced networks.

 
7.  

How Is AN-MSI Helping?

 AN-MSI offers the MSIs regional and on-campus workshops and training programs, prototype or experimental network connections, and establishment of regional network support centers. For more detailed information, please see the Summative Evaluation Report.

 
8.  

How Many MSIs Take Part in the Project?

 As of November 2004, 124 institutions (from 48 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands), have participated in AN-MSI activities. A list of AN-MSI participants is available here.
 
9.  

What Are the Criteria to Join?

 In January 2000, more than 100 of the 350 MSIs responded to an invitation to join AN-MSI to identify their needs, define their networking requirements, and develop and implement solutions for their schools. Criteria for participation includes:

  • Commitment by the president or chancellor to the goals of the project and to funding or securing funding to implement the networking improvements the institution wants.
  • Existence of a chief information officer (CIO) or single point of responsibility for the campus network and Internet connectivity.
  • Commitment to faculty training and curriculum development to use the improved network infrastructure anticipated as a result of this project.
For the purposes of this award, we are using membership in one of the following associations of higher education institutions serving minority students.

 
10.  

How Does My Institution Get Involved in the Project?

 If your institution is a member of AIHEC, HACU, NAFEO, NASULGC, or UNCF, your president should have received a letter of invitation from your association president explaining the procedure in January 2000. If your institution is not a member of one of these associations but is eligible, you could join the appropriate association in order to participate.

If your institution is not eligible to belong to one of these associations, please consider joining the EDUCAUSE Net Improvement Constituent Group.

Or your institution may consider participating as a collaborator. This web site was established in order to provide a place where institutions with similar interests and goals can coordinate their current activities and future collaborative projects with AN-MSI members. We believe that the effectiveness of the AN-MSI project is enhanced by collaborations with majority colleges and universities and other organizations not participating in the project as members.
 
11.  

What Services Does the Project Provide?

 The project is entering its fourth and final year, and through the efforts of all three communities working collaboratively, the project has developed a set of very useful services that are now available to all Minority-Serving Institutions. They include:

  • Campus Visits, in which a small team of information technology experts assesses the campus network and information technology organization and provides recommendations.

  • Collaborations, in which AN-MSI institutions develop cooperative efforts for internet connectivity or education and research projects.

  • Curriculum and Faculty Development regarding the use of information technology in teaching and research.

  • Distance Learning assistance, from helping institutions get started to providing expert advice on advanced techniques. AN-MSI collaborates with the eLearning Consulting Group, whose consultation specialties include needs assessment, design, implementation, evaluation, centralized infrastructure, strategic planning, and help desk and faculty development center creation.

  • Online Training for campus network personnel, so they can update their skills without leaving the campus.

  • Potential participation in Remote Technical Support activities with other institutions, to share expertise in areas including security, virus protection, intrusion detection, and 24x7 monitoring.

  • Strategic Planning, in which an experienced facilitator can visit the campus and lead the institution's team towards development of a campus information technology plan.

  • Student Technology Services (STS), a unique service organization consisting exclusively of student employees. STS is a student managed organization that is tasked with the operation of various computer, media, and technology related campus services.

  • Technical Assistance in designing and implementing an updated campus network. AN-MSI produced a booklet, "Mainstream Network Model: Guidelines to Upgrading Campus Networks", that has proven valuable in discussions with campus networking personnel.

  • Consulting on implementation of Wireless Systems, including secure campus networks and wireless systems to assist in community outreach activities.
 
12.  

Does the Project Provide Funding for Campus Upgrades?

 No. Funding to implement improved campus networks and higher bandwidth Internet connections must come from other sources. Institutions can develop a strategic plan that incorporates Information Technology and re-budget campus money accordingly. Institutions can also raise money to pay for the improvements by applying for funding or grants from federal or state agencies, foundations, or the private sector.

For those institutions needing assistance, the project can recommend strategic planning consultants or work to locate additional funding sources.

 
13.  

What Is the Role of the EOT-PACI?

 The project includes a major subcontract to the Education, Outreach, and Training Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (EOT-PACI). EOT-PACI is dedicated to making emerging technologies accessible to learners and educators at all levels and to forging an inclusive computing community.

EOT-PACI develops the infrastructure and skills needed to take advantage of advanced computational tools and resources, such as the technology grid being prototyped by the National Computational Science Alliance (Alliance) and National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (NPACI). The grid will connect people, supercomputers, virtual environments, scientific instruments, educational tools, and large data sets through a seamless, integrated, persistent environment operating over high-speed networks.

 
14.  

What Organizations Are AN-MSI Partners?

 
 
15.  

What Do Partners Say About AN-MSI?

 "This is an excellent opportunity [for us] to work together to enhance HACU campus networks and wide-area connectivity, as well as the research and educational use of the connections. We're very pleased to participate."
    Dr. Antonio Flores, President, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
"NAFEO's 118 member campuses view this award as a strong assist in promoting even more effectively our goal of 'keeping the doors of opportunity open' for our students and faculty."
    Dr. Henry Ponder, CEO and President, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO)
"AIHEC's new technology office offers opportunities for collaborative activities with AN-MSI. We look forward to working together to promote the use of technology among our 33 Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs)."
    Gerald Gipp, Executive Director, American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC)
"AN-MSI has great potential to advance the availability and use of information technology among the participating institutions."
    Brian Hawkins, President, EDUCAUSE
 
16.  

Who are the AN-MSI Community Leaders?

 At the beginning of the AN-MSI Project, three Community Leaders were chosen to represent each of the communities: HBCUs, HSIs, and TCUs. Contact information for each Community Leader is listed below.


HBCUs: Debra White, Hampton University, debra.white@hamptonu.edu


HSIs: Alex Ramirez, HACU, aramirez@hacu.net


TCUs: Carrie Billy, AIHEC, cbilly@aihec.org
 
17.  

Contact Information

 If you would like additional information about the anticipated follow-on phases of the AN-MSI project, which will be taken over by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), please send an email to Valerie Vogel, vvogel@educause.edu.
 

Home | FAQs | Institutions and Partners | Services | Committees | Community Projects | News
Meetings and Events | Listservs
info@anmsi.org | EDUCAUSE | NSF | AIHEC | EOT-PACI | HACU | NAFEO