@nformer

Dean John Potts, left, and College
president, Greg Lee, officially open the
new Network Specialist Program lab.

Business Administration instructor,
Dave O’Leary, peers over the top of a
seven-year vision.

Bawn Campbell, BADM instructor,
checks out one of 34 new computer
stations. Photos by Edna Sakata.

New lab offers a winning solution

A vision that was almost seven years
in the making became a reality on
Wednesday, January 6 with the official
opening of the Network Specialist Lab.
This latest high-tech addition to
Capilano College is located on the
second floor of the Fir building.

Funding for the lab came from the
cost-recoverable Network Specialist
Program. More than $140,000 was spent
on wiring, other infrastructure and the
purchase of 34 Pentium II computers.
Thirty two of them run at 350 megahertz
and two run at 450 megahertz.

“It’s a very high-end lab,” says
Business Administration instructor,
Bawn Campbell. “You can’t get much
higher than 450 megahertz at this time.
Before, we used to have equipment that
was about two years old. We need to
have the newest equipment to remain
leading edge.

“Plus,” he continues, “there is more
money available from the NSP to go

towards retraining instructors to keep
them up-to-date with the latest
technology.”

NSP classes began running in their
new home on January 11. The lab is
also used for the daytime Computer
Specialist Program classes, which are
base funded. A new Technical
Computer Specialist Program, starting

in May, will also operate out of the lab.

The TCP will be a fully cost-
recoverable program, such as the NSP.

“What was really exciting about the
project was the way everyone in the
College pulled together to make this
happen,” Bawn says. “Computer
Services was instrumental in the lab’s
design. The Applied Business
Technology department helped by
giving up their space.

“This entire thing actually came
about through Greg Lee’s vision,”
Bawn explains. “About six or seven
years ago he came up with this idea

and we kept studying it. Then,
everyone came together with one
focus. When we ran into a snag,
people, such as John Potts, helped us
find a resolution. It’s nice to see
people working cooperatively like
that.”

Right now there are lab seats for 30
students and four instructors, but
there is potential for six to 12 more
spaces. “The demand is there,” Bawn
says. “The NSP started advertising
last August and within two weeks we
had four full streams. There are 25 to
30 students per stream and right now
we have people waiting to get in.”

Future plans include building
another lab by December 15 of this
year. “We'll move NSP there,” Bawn
says, “and free up this lab for our
daytime computer program. Then,
next year, this lab will be turned over
to the College for use by other
programs.”

@e@= Capilano
@€em College

Vol. XX1 No. 1
January 29/99