[Chad]

In an effort to consolidate and ensure "maximum efficiency", UTS will be making two major changes to the UTS Student Technology Centers beginning September 2010.

• The computer lab in ABB Room 166 will be permanently closed

• All remaining UTS Student Technology Centers (located in BSB, JHE and KTH) will be closed on weekends.

The Student Technology Centers’ regular schedules (beginning September 2010) will be as follows:

Location	Mon-Thursday	Friday	Weekends
BSB (241,242,244,249)	8:30am – 11:30pm	8:30am – 5:30pm	Closed
JHE (233A, 234)	8:30am – 11:30pm	8:30am – 5:30pm	Closed
KTH (B121,B123)	8:30am – 11:30pm	8:30am – 5:30pm	Closed

*For reference, current schedules can be found at:
http://www.mcmaster.ca/uts/lab_facilities/labs/lab_avail/hours.html

[micadjems]

Oh good, so now we'll NEVER be able to get in the JHE computer labs. There's ALWAYS a D04/C03 class in there...

And some of those labs are the only places certain software is installed...

Gee, thanks Mac!

[Matt Wright]

I will be attempting to set up a meeting with University officials to review this situation. I agree that as an upper year student there needs to be more access to these labs -- it will also make it harder for labs to function properly with people trying to sneak in to complete assignments.

[dsahota]

This is definitely a decision that would have horrible effects on engineering students, especially those trying to get projects done. Some of the software available in the labs is also there for graduate students (e.g. Silvaco for Eng Phys / Elec / Materials people) and losing access on weekends would be a definite pain.

The email sent out to Faculty and Staff had an extra addendum part to it which gives a little more context:

"If any Faculty/Department would like to have one of the remaining centers (BSB, JHE or KTH) open on a weekend, this will be accommodated but will include the cost of staffing the center. Please provide 2 weeks notice to have one of the labs open on a weekend, as staffing needs to be arranged by sending an e-mail request to [email protected]"

It sounds like this has a minimum to do with efficiency and instead is primarily about offloading costs / budget cuts onto departments.

[BlueMorphan]

Chemical engineers need the JHE 234 computer lab too - it's the only one with HYSYS. Does anyone know why the first year eng classes are using it when they have the spiffy new one in ETB?

[KayakerDan]

I really wish there was a public computer lab on campus (i.e. one with no classes during the day). The ABB lab could've been perfect for that.

[Matt Wright]

I have emailed both MSU President, Mary Koziol and the Dean of Engineering, Dr. David Wilkinson with the concerns raised. I will be updated this thread as soon as I receive a reply. If anyone has any further concerns, please feel free to send me a message and I will make sure that is added to the list.

I agree that at the very least they should be keeping the JHE lab open on weekends -- its especially hard around midterm and final exam season to complete projects when everyone is trying to work in the lab at the same time. Now if only they could give out student licenses....