Do Professors Need Phones?

Recently, the Tallahassee Democrat reported that due to budget cuts at Florida State University, many colleges/programs are removing phones from the offices of professors.

FSU removing office phones to save money
http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990726026

Gerald Ensley: A/C or your phone: Which one is essential?

This sparked an interesting debate as to whether professors need phones. Here at the College of Business, we have decided to remove the phones. I think it’s a good decision. The mission of the academic units at FSU, in my opinion, is the creation of knowledge through research and the dissemination of knowledge through teaching, service and publication. Any activities that do not directly support this mission should be eliminated. Are voice communications essential to achieving this mission? Most certainly they are.

However, the budget situation for the academic units is bleak. We are forced to choose between having phones or keeping all our professors. In my opinion, the choice is easy - give up the phones to have professors, as the professors add more value towards accomplishing our mission.

But we still need voice communications.

The articles/comments in the Democrat mention a proposal to have professors use their personal cell phones if voice communications are needed to conduct university business. Many professors will do this because they find it convenient, but FSU should not require it. Yes, the university pays me, and I use that money to pay my phone bill, but it also pays my mortgage. So when the university has to cut back on classroom space, will I be required to hold classes in my living room? What about the books I buy – would I eventually have to loan these books to the library when I am not using them? What about university property for my personal use - can I use the classrooms for personal meetings? I just see this as a losing proposition all around.

The fact is, professors do not need phones for voice communications – we can use our computers. I am happy about losing the office phones, as I see this as FSU moving towards more cutting edge technology. The phone system is an outdated, redundant system that adds little value because we can use our computers to call people. The computer is a far better technology than the phone for voice communications because you have access to better services, such as a record of calls placed and received and the ability to record the conversations. AND it’s typically FREE.

I haven’t used my phone for voice communications since I started using Skype about 5 years ago. Here is what my Skype calls look like for the last week:

• Video call with colleague at Purdue University for a research project
• Conference call with colleagues in India and Washington D.C.
• Conference call with two researchers in Germany (separate universities)
• Conference call I initiated to two colleagues who were using their cell phones
• Video call to Clemson University where I “attended” a dissertation proposal defense
• Video call from Sweden where a colleague from the Stockholm School of Economics “attended” a doctoral student defense for one of my Ph.D. students

Cost: $2.68 for the one hour phone conference where I called 2 people’s cell phones. The other calls were free. Using Skype, I have not spent more than $10 a year for phone service with video. Professors do not need phones, they need a $10 headset, a $20 video camera, and an online VOIP (voice over IP) service.

In addition to Skype, Google is beta-testing its VOIP service, Google Voice. These technologies integrate the phone systems, the cell phone systems and our computers, and will fundamentally change how we perceive and pay for telecommunications. Are you still paying for landlines in your organization? What is your phone bill? As organizations face tightening budgets, the phone system should be a prime target for cuts. If you have a computer, you do not need a telephone.

Do professors need phones? Definitely not. Furthermore, as you look closely around campus, there are many other redundant IT systems that add little value. Most likely you have the same situation at your organization. What concerns me most about the budget cuts is not losing the phones, it is how little we know about how to leverage technology to create business value. The need for understanding the intersection of business and technology is critical at this time, and our job as IT professionals is to make these changes occur. We can no longer afford to continue supporting old technologies that add little value. FSU should not continue supporting redundant technology systems. FSU just cannot afford to, and neither can your organization.