HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/19/2000 - STAFF REPORTS (20) DATE: January 19, 2000
T0. City Council
FROM: City Librarian
PALM SPRINGS VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
WITH ROGER OWENS
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that Council approve a nine-month Virtual University Professional
Services Contract with Roger Owens at a rate of $32 per billable hour, not to exceed a
total amount of $56,000, including expenses, for the period effective January 19,
2000 through October 20, 2000.
BACKGROUND:
Palm Springs Virtual University has begun its third year of operation with a new
Library Services and Technology grant in the amount of $250,000. The grant is
primarily for operations, including staffing by a program coordinator and a marketing
director. The Marketing Director's contract was approved November 17, 1999 at the
same billing rate. Since this is a contract for an independent consultant, the RFP
process was used rather than a recruitment through Human Resources.
Roger Owens is a skilled administrator in the field of distance education, with experience
in online course development, telecourses, videoconferencing and satellite technology,
extension programs and virtual universities. He has been a consultant to the Dean of the
University of California Irvine Graduate School of Management and has served as
Assistant Dean of the College of Lifelong Learning, Chapman University. He has been a
lecturer in the English department of the University of California, Los Angeles and a
program manager for the Unisys Corporation. He holds both a Ph.D. in English and an
MBA in Organizational Development.
Dr. Owens became familiar with Virtual University when he was contracted to perform
an analysis of PSVU's first two years of operation at the end of Federal Fiscal Year 1999.
His report at that time was quickly and efficiently prepared within the brief period
allowed, and it was commended by the State Library for its thoroughness, as well as for
the recommendations made by Dr. Owens for PSVU's continued growth and success. His
primary task will be to work with academic providers to bring matriculated classes
leading to degrees for PSVU students, as detailed in the 1999-2000 LSTA grant process.
This is a complex task, requiring a high degree of negotiating skills as well as the
understanding of academia, which Dr. Owens possesses.
The addition of matriculated classes to PSVU, the costs that can be negotiated to bring
them, and the numbers of students that will be attracted to them are all factors which
will help determine how and if PSVU can stand on its own after this final year of LSTA
funding. Dr. Owens will be working with the staff management team to help determine
how many classes, student site fees and other student-supported services will be needed
to sustain the PSVU program. This information will, of course, be shared with the
California State Library and staff will request time at a study session in the spring to
report on it to City Council.
PSVU has been the single most complex program ever undertaken by the library, and the
quality and expertise of its support staff is essential to developing a successful,
replicable (for other libraries) model as desired by the State Library. Dr. Owens is
experienced and qualified to pursue these difficult goals.
FISCAL IMPACT:
All of the consultant's fees will be funded via the LSTA grant and there will be no impact
upon the General Fund. The State Librarian has approved this expenditure via the grant
application for FFY 2000.
17/7
APPROVED_
City Liblian Acting City Manager
Attachments: 0
1. Professional Services Agreement
2. Minute Order
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City of Palm Springs
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Office of the City Clerk
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January 28, 2000
Mr. Roger Owens
2555 Kilo Way
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Dear Mr. Owens:
Attached is one executed copy of the agreement regarding the Virtual University Project at the
Palm Springs Library between yourself and the City of Palm Springs, approved by the City
Council on January 19, 2000, by Minute Order No. 6562. Agreement #4191.
Certificates of Insurance should be provided, naming the City of Palm Springs as an additional
insured, for General Liability for $1,000,000 CSL; Automobile Liability for $1,000,000 CSL;
and Worker Compensation in California Statutory requirements. Further, the cancellation clause
shall state as follows: Should any of the above-described policies be canceled before the
expiration date thereof, the issuing company will mail 30 days written notice to the certificate
holder named to the left.
Should you have any questions, please let me know.
Sincerely,
PATRICIA A. SANDERS, CMC
City Clerk
cc: Library w/agreement
Finance w/agreement
Post Office Box 2743 0 Palm Springs, California 92263-2743
Roger Owens
Consultant, P.S. Library
Virtual University Project
AGREEMENT #4191
M06562, 1-19-2000 related
- - W . - - -
CITY OF PALM SPRINGS
CONSULTING SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR
PALM SPRINGS PUBLIC LIBRARY VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY PROJECT
THIS CONSULTING SERVICES AGREEMENT (herein "Agreement")
is made and entered into this nineteenth (19th) day of January
2000 through October 20, 2000, by and between the City of
Palm Springs, a municipal corporation (herein referred to as
"City") and Roger Owens, (herein referred to as "Contractor").
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1 .0 SERVICES OF CONTRACTOR
1.1 Scope of Services. In compliance with all of the terms and conditions
of this Agreement, the Contractor shall perform the work or services set forth in the
"Scope of Services" attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein by reference.
Contractor warrants that all work and services set forth in the Scope and Services will
be performed in a competent, professional and satisfactory manner.
1.2 Compliance With Law. All work and services rendered hereunder
shall be provided in accordance with all ordinances, resolutions, statutes, rules, and
regulations of the City and any Federal, State or local governmental agency of competent
jurisdiction.
1.3 Licenses, Permits. Fees and Assessments. Contractor shall obtain at
its sole cost and expense such licenses as may be required by law for the performance of
the services required by this Agreement. Required permits under the control of the City
shall be granted to the Contractor at no cost but subject to normal approval policies and
procedures of the City, Fees and assessments under the control of the City shall also be
waived.
2.0 COMPENSATION
2.1 Contract Sum. For the services rendered pursuant to this
Agreement, Contractor shall be compensated in accordance with the "Schedule of
Compensation" attached hereto as Exhibit "B". but not exceeding the maximum contract
amount of $56,000 (including expenses) at the rate of $32 per billable hour,
("Contract Sum") and incorporated herein by this reference.
3.0 COORDINATION OF WORK
3.1 Representative of Contractor. Roger Owens is hereby designated as
being the principal and representative of Contractor authorized to act in its behalf with
respect to the work and service specified herein and make all decisions in connection
therewith.
3.2 Contract Officer. The City Librarian is hereby designated as being
the representative the City authorized to act in its behalf with respect to the work and
services specified herein and make all decisions in connection therewith ("Contract
January 13. 2000
To. Honorable Mayor and City COnneilmembers via Acting City Manager
From: City Librarian��
Subject Response to Januar} I2 Memo from David J. Aleshire Re Virtual University
Although it is my understanding and practice to worl, with the City Attorneys office on legal
matters relating, to the Libra-3, I have been somewhat taken abaci, by his memo addressed
directly to the Mayor and City Council regardill" what are primarily policy and organizational
issues relating to Virtual University. During the normal course 01 events regarcling VU, stalThas
dealt with such issues through the PSVU management team, the California State Library, the
Library Board, and/or- if necessary, the City Nlanager or Acting City Manager.
Certainly, the questions Mr. Aleshire raises are important and necessary to answer, both as thev
relate to the success of VU and as much broader issues centering on public policy and the best
uses of public resources. In this contest, it was Henry's practice, and it will be more. to appi ise
Council of current activities at a study session. and I will request the time to do so again during,
the sprin
The questions raised in the January 13 memo are not new to us. They lie at the heart of the
Vrruial University experiment, and we have been workin, with dill encc and the greatest possible
speed to address them As you I.now- VU is a unique experiment From the point of v iew of the
State Library, the LS'I"A grants represent its profound commitment to finding new models Ibr
public library service in the technology/information era. This is the most complex and intricate
LSfA-Funded grant project in the state. and we are a very small library to have taken it on. It is
proving to very labor-intensive. requiring a good deal more time, expense, and e.eperhse,
particularly when dealing with academia, than we have on regular staff. But this is all part of the
information we have needed to develop a model: At this point, what we clon't ],,low or what we
are lindrn, difficult, is provin, to be as useful to determining whether or not this can be a viable,
replicable model as our successes are
Certainly, dte State Library is proud of the success we have achieved so far_ and so are we The
on-site, mainly computer instruction classes net at least$935 each after the instructor is paid. At
our present pace, we will soon be offerin, at least 60 of them per year, yielding something over
$50.000 (we are considering rarsin�, our prices slightly.) We are also offering some personal
financial management classes, and we are try in,out a beginning accounting course.
We will be worl.in, this spring ��ith Clarl. Trainin, Center to bring classes forsalety personnel
to the Coachella and Imperial Valley. With additional on-site classes, videoconferencing rentals,
teacher certifications, and the activities with Clark "[mining Center, it is veiy likely that we can
raise at least $160,000 to $200,000 per year, thus supporting instructors, a marketing person and
advertising costs. We have provided insu'uction to over 500 students since we began in earnest in
Summer 1995. mostly in evening classes I believe that, by scheduling classes throughout the
ciaN. most days. we could easily handle the I,800 or more students needed to reach this income.
Bringing both university extension and mauticulated classes leading to degrees to PSVU is more
expensive and more problematic, but not impossible. Despite initial (and continuing enthusiasm)
firom university administrators, staff and instructors have been much Tess inclined toward
cooperation. For instance, extension departments are seemingly not funded within the State
Unix ersit\ Sv'stem and must pay their own way. They therefore charge us. and our students, For
evervthm"* hom rental of the video lab on campus to making copies of ins0 uctional materials I'or
instructors (even though it appears Nve do most of that.) We have reached an impasse in our
discussions with CSUSB, since they will not relent on these points, while we maintain that, since
we are bringing them Palm Springs students they would not have had without us, our students and
VU should not be subsiclizing their operations to such a great extent
Additional issues: Far fewer universities in California are equipped to videoconference classes
than expected, the concept of distance learning is not wholeheartedly embraced by faculty, while.
on the other hand, the rise of Internet-based courses has been phenomenal just in the last two
yeam and the cost ol'telecommunications remains high.
Because we have not yet reS0IVed this issues, we cannot at this time determine how many
students mould be needed to sustain the program or what their fees would be. I can say that the
fees being charged at the moment by PSVU for virtual extension classes are too high to sustain
this aspect of the program. We have had to limit our site fee to $50 per student or less because
Cal Slate has been adding approximately $100 to its regular tuition For VU students. The
marketing of extcnsion courses at these prices more than consumes our profit.
The Contractor whose Professional Services Agreement will be brought to Council on January
19, Dr. Roger Owens, is charged with conductine an investi-ation of these issues and others to
discover liow and if they can be overcome. He will also be negotiating with current and new
university partners to lower costs and induce Instructors to teach by videoconference; and. he will
investigate the feasibility of providing on-line or videostreamed classes to Palm Springs sardents.
Whether or not he is successful at this, it is not at all certain that the duties he is being asl,ccl to
perform will be entirely necessary in future years.
It was clear by the end of the first year of operations that this positron. as well as that of the
marketing coordinator, were essential. BeeanSe marketing is vital, that position was filled first.
by Sandra Graves. The program coordinator was requested in the second year, and %vas approved,
but funding was not sufficient. In this third year. it was included in the grant and fully funded (at
a considerably higher rate than that which we are paying) because the State Llbrary fully
understands its importance to the development of the model.
I loot, forward to working through all of these Issues with VOL] at a stuck session. I-lowever, we
woulCI like to have a feyv months of Dr. Owens' lime before we do so in order to bring you more
definitive answers.
cc Board of Library Trustees
City Attorney
f PAIM S
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DATE: January 12, 2000
TO: Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers
Dallas J. Flicek, Interim City Manager
Margaret Roadesi
FROM: David J. Aleshire, City Attorney
SUBJECT: Virtual University: Consulting Costs
In reviewing a recent staff report concerning retaining additional consultants for the Virtual
University, I raised some questions which have not been raised publicly, but which I think should
be addressed at some point.
I realize that the City is not supporting this program with City funds and that the program is being
sustained currently with grant funds. My questions were with the additional consulting costs, what
would the fees have to be to the participants, and how many participants would be needed to make
the program self-sustaining?
Margaret told me that she will be working to put this analysis together, but that currently, fees only
pay about one-third of the program costs and that the consultant costs, along with high charges by
the institutions, make it very difficult to foresee when or if this program will be self-sustaining.
At some point in time, I think these economic issues should be analyzed and discussed.
MINUTE ORDER NO. 6
AUTHORIZING THE APPROVAL FOR A NINE-MONTH PALM SPRINGS
VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT WITH
ROGER OWENS AT A RATE OF $32 PER BILLABLE HOUR, NOT TO
EXCEED A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $56,000, INCLUDING EXPENSES,
FOR THE PERIOD EFFECTIVE JANUARY 19, 2000 THROUGH OCTOBER
20, 2000.
1 HEREBY CERTIFY that this Minute Order authorizing approval for a
nine-month Palm Springs Virtual University contract with Roger Owens
at a rate of $32 per billable hour, not to exceed a total amount of $56,000,
including expenses, for the period effective January 19, 2000 through
October 20, 2000, was adopted by the City Council of the City of Palm Springs,
California, in a meeting thereof held on thel 9th day of January, 2000.
TRISHA SANDERS
City Clerk
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