Bothered by high phone bills across campus, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask has begun an investigation into local and long-distance phone rates and the way other technology costs affect those rates.
Trask said his investigation will not necessarily result in decreased rates, but that it will focus on separating the long-distance rates from local access charges and network access, allowing Duke to determine whether it is offering rates comparable to those in the private sector. "Although our current rates appear on the surface to be high... since phone charges subsidize free network access, it's not that simple," he said.
Duke, like many universities, subverts the private sector by controlling all on-campus phone systems. Around the 1930s the University equipped itself to bypass local telephone switchboards and provide its own unique service-and its own rates-to University offices and residential students.
These methods do not necessarily counter good economic practices. Christa Stilley Poe, manager of residential and business operations for the Office of Information Technology, said that because universities are large businesses with particular needs, they can only leverage their buying power by aggregating their services. She added that because students move each year, they would not necessarily be able to take advantage of the very best rates the market has to offer.
Pointing to OIT's new cell phone services and new rate plan, as well as its ability to combine both local and long-distance bills, Poe said she is confident that OIT's services are equal to, if not better than, the best in the private sector.
On first reaction, representatives from Duke offices-which must use OIT's services-said they understood that Duke's possibly higher rates are an inevitable consequence of the system. They also pointed out that they had not paid much attention to any additional factors-like provisions for network access-that may influence prices.
Trask said part of his review will examine alternative means the University could use for its vast network "backbone," aside from bundling it with phone services.
Poe said OIT is always open to suggested changes to its rates and services, and that in the past it has worked effectively with groups like Duke Student Government to accommodate consumer desires. "We always communicate with them and get their feedback..." she said. "If they have an idea, we take that and put it on our plate."
After several meetings with DSG representatives, OIT's finance administration made the switch to a rate of 10 cents any time, any day-a change from the past years' tiered system, where different times of day were charged at different rates.
Alan Halachmi, Duke Student Government director of undergraduate computing and The Chronicle's online manager, said it is evident that OIT has responded to student needs in the past few years.
"We approached [OIT]... about some concerns we heard in the student populous," Halachmi said. "We worked through things with them the first semester of last year to see what options were available. They said they had some they'd like to pursue.... Now it seems that Duke can maybe be seen as a true market player."
Although Trask said he hopes to have something to report in the next few months, he does not anticipate any rate changes this academic year.
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