Computers and Society Page 20 March 1996 Case Study The Virtual Staff Lonny B. Winrich University of North Dakota winrich@cs, und.nodak, edu Carl Hoover is the computer center director for a small liberal arts college in the Midwest. He came to this position after several years in industry and thoroughly enjoys the relatively peaceful life of an idyllic college town. He also works very hard to provide high qlmlity service from the academic and administrative computer systems of the college. In fact, he is the first director in more that 10 years who has been able to keep both the administrative and academic users reasonably happy. He has regularly received excellent performance reviews but not the increases in his staff budget that he insists would be necessary to support a professional computer center on campus. Still, Carl manages to run a reasonably tight ship. Since he has a minimal support staff, he is always on the look out for the brightest computer science students and practically Shanghais them into working for the center as student employees. To a certain extent he has been lucky. For the past several years Carl has always found six or seven upper division computer science students who were willing, even eager, to work as systems programmers. In most cases the students involved would have volunteered their time because of the experience they gained by working in the center. Carl consistently insisted that the students be paid because he thought it would be improper for the college to take advantage of them in this way and because of the discipline that paying them brings to the management of their work schedules. The Vice President for Finance always comes up with the necessary funds to hire Carl's students (at minimum wage, of course). The biggest problem is a college policy that restricts student-help employees to 10 hours per week. Still, the students have effectively doubled his programming staff and put little pressure on the sparse budget. The scheme allows Carl to maintain a level of service that keeps the campus more or less satisfied. This year, things have not gone as well: Carl has only found three students who meet his standards for employment in the center. The students love the idea that they are working as "real programmers" and each is quite willing to spend more than the standard 10 hours a week in the center. Carl decides to test the policy and schedule more hours for each of his student workers. With each of his students putting in 18 to 20 hours per week, the center runs smoothly and there are no complaints from the users. This scheme works for about three weeks. Then the Director of Financial Aids calls to remind Carl that students cannot work more than 10 hours each week. Carl pleads for an exception. He argues that his situation is unique, that he cannot hire just any student, that special skills and training are requisite for his student employees. But to no avail: the policy is upheld. Carl is told that he can hire more students but the hours of each student worker are limited by the 10 hour rule. Carl knows that he already had the best computer science students and that it was highly unlikely that new employees could learn the systems thoroughly enough to work at the same level. In his opinion, the operation of the center is in jeopardy. Carl calls his three students together and enlists them in a plot to continue their current work schedules. A separate identity will be created for each student and each would be hired under two names. Since each of the identities could work 10 hours, each student's work schedule would be unchanged. The students would receive two paychecks instead of one but the pay would be the same. They all joked about two instantiations of each systems programmer. The computer center had complete control of the administrative files of the college so it was relatively easy for Carl to make the necessary entries to cover up the seam. Of course, everyone agreed to keep it all secret. Carl took no money himself and the students still worked the hours they got paid for, they just worked more than what was allowed under college policy. The 10 hour rule was a policy of the college and did not involve legal sanctions at either the state or federal level. Assume that the scheme is eventually discovered and that the college administration moves to fire Carl and to expel the students involved. They naturally appeal this action. You are a member of the campus governance strncture (e.g., grievance committee or student court) that hears their appeal. What do you consider to be the strongest argument in Carl's favor (i.e., that he shouldn't be fired)? What is the strongest point against him? What are the strongest arguments for and against the students involved? What is your recommendation for administrative action in the case?

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