Technology Support Policy for Campus Events
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POLICIES
I. Justification and Statement of Policy
The purpose of this policy is to outline support ITS will provide, requirements for securing support and define locations on campus where support from Information Technology Services (ITS) is available for campus events.
II. Scope
This policy applies to all faculty, professional staff and students of F&M that secure permission to use college facilities for meetings, conferences or other events. This policy applies only to meetings, conferences and events and does not apply to activities planned by faculty during their scheduled class times. ITS places the highest priority upon assisting faculty with their classroom needs and will support them in conducting fully virtual or hybrid sessions for their class and/or with outside guests during class times. Advanced notice and planning is highly recommended.
Outside entities that rent or otherwise secure permission to use college facilities for meetings, conferences or other events will have the details of IT-related support services defined within the contract. Personnel on campus will include ITS personnel in settling details for those contracts prior to signing and as well the associated billable rates for ITS support, if applicable.
III. Definitions
On-premise event/technology support: An event on campus that includes no live streaming, recording or real-time virtual or hybrid meeting support. The event organizers may be using in-room projection, microphones, additional audio-visual supplies, installation, and operational support of existing or temporary audio-visual equipment during the event.
Live-streamed event (Broadcast): An event where a video and audio feed is delivered from an event directly to an online platform such as YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook or other more specialized platforms. There is no other intermediary software application that viewers need to install, join or be invited to in order to watch the event. A live streamed event is typically one where the audience is a passive observer.
Real-time virtual or hybrid meeting or event (Virtual/Hybrid): An event where a video and audio feed is delivered from an event via a software platform such as Google Meet or Zoom Meeting or Zoom Webinar. The hosts launch the event from within this platform and control who may participate and how via the software platform. A virtual or hybrid meeting/event may allow all audience members to be active participants or they may be primarily passive observers.
Event recording: When an event is captured while it is also being shared live (as either a broadcast or virtual/hybrid event or meeting) or is exclusively being recorded for distribution after the fact.
IV. Policy
Information Technology Services (ITS) is responsible for providing technology support to the college. ITS capacity (personnel/equipment/expertise) to support campus events and meetings is limited. For this reason, what is possible to provide as in-house services, particularly for events, is limited and must be carefully prioritized. All needs that ITS cannot meet will be directed to a recommended outside vendor who can meet those needs for a fee to the host.
Support ITS will provide
In all situations, ITS will provide advice and guidance. Guidance may include:
- Guidance on contracting with an outside partner/vendor for event streaming services to assure you get the best terms/price
- Guidance generally on how best to run such an event yourself.
- Suggestions on the most appropriate audio-visual equipment/supplies from the ITS Technology Lending Center for use during an event and how to reserve the equipment in advance.
- Training on equipment or software and set up in advance of an event. ITS will also provide training on ‘event hosting’ activities such as content sharing, using a pointer to advance slides, etc.
- Recommendations on the most ideal locations on campus for an event or meeting depending on your needs. More specifically, if an event has an attendance greater than 35, ITS will recommend reserving one of the limited set of locations on campus where built-in audio and video infrastructure is provided. All other venues will generally require portable audio and video equipment to be used which will give a less than optimal experience to remote participants. This portable equipment is really only optimal for small groups.
- Training on utilizing built-in recording capabilities so an event host/sponsor can initiate the recording of their event themselves at the start of the event. Event sponsors hosting their own virtual or hybrid event or meeting leveraging a software platform (for example Zoom or Google Meet) may elect to record those events themselves by using the record features directly within the software and training on those features can also be provided.
- While ITS does not provide dedicated staffing support for real-time virtual or hybrid meetings or events, with advance coordination ITS can:
- On weekdays during business hours ITS can often have a staff member or student assist with the start up of the event or meeting and then depart
- For events happening in the evenings (after 4PM) or anytime on the weekend, ITS can often provide an ITS-trained student worker to assist with the start up of the event or meeting and then depart
- If an activity takes place anytime after 4 pm Monday through Friday, or on weekends, there may be a charge for technology support services. An estimate of this fee will be given at the time ITS agrees to support the event.
Support ITS does not provide
- ITS does not provide personnel to record events.
- ITS does not provide post-production services such as video file editing.
- ITS does not provide event technical, hosting, or moderation support for any live-streamed/broadcast events to college offices, departments or student organizations.
- ITS does not provide centralized platforms for sharing event streams in real-time or for post-event sharing (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
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Policy Maintained by: Information Technology Services, Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Original Effective Date: (formerly Audio Support for Campus Sponsored Events)
Last Revised: September 15, 2025