Appendix H: Suggested guidelines for institutional sponsorship of origination by other users

NOTE: The lease for the satellite system will expire June 30, 2006. IHETS will not support the system after that time and is offering a new service, IHETS Interactive, to replace it. This information is presented for historical purposes only.

The IHETS Television network utilization policy states “Each activity distributed via IHETS Television must be sponsored by an IHETS member institution. The primary sponsoring institution or campus will assume responsibility for origination and reception coordination and for scheduling network time with the IHETS staff.” This further affirms the right of institutions to decline sponsorship according to its own policies.

The guidelines below are intended as suggested points for institutional personnel to consider in determining whether to sponsor a television activity. Ultimately, there are three key questions institutional personnel must answer to their satisfaction before agreeing to sponsor:

1. Is this activity consistent with the mission of my institution?
2. Should the project be allowed under an arrangement funded by state appropriations? (see section 10.2, appropriate use pPolicy)
3. Can we accommodate the request?

Content

IHETS’ enabling legislation provides that institutions may permit others to use IHETS facilities for educational purposes. Therefore, content of the proposed project should certainly be a major criterion in determining whether or not to sponsor. The IHETS operating committees have, over the years, considered political, commercial, or entertainment content to be inappropriate for transmission via IHETS Television.

Profit-making status of the requesting organization or project

There may be instances when a project proposed by a commercial firm is appropriate for delivery via IHETS; there may be times when a profit-making project proposed by a nonprofit organization is appropriate. However, institutions are cautioned to consider the legal implications of using a state-subsidized system in competition with commercial transmission providers.

Timeliness

Particularly in the case of public television, institutions may wish to make exceptions in emergency situations for exchange of programming that is not strictly educational but that furthers the overall goals of noncommercial educational television or other educational goals.

Administration

The availability of staff to provide the required origination and reception coordination for the project may also need to be considered. One reason for requiring the sponsoring institution to provide such coordination is to facilitate the sometimes complex interinstitutional arrangements needed to assure a successful multi-site TV activity. It is important that coordination be handled by knowledgeable personnel so that the sponsoring institution and the IHETS system do not appear deficient or ineffective.

If the proposed project fits the intra-institutional pattern described in the IHETS Television network utilization policy (i.e., one public TV station to others, or a state agency to its field offices), the coordination requirements may be limited to scheduling the activity with IHETS staff. If, however, several campuses are likely to be involved as receive sites and are not available to support the necessary coordination, it might be more responsible to decline sponsorship (and refer the organization to another institution) than to involve the requesting entity in an unpleasant experience.