A committee appointed by President Pusey last Spring has proposed several financial guidelines for the Harvard Computing Center that might result in lower rates for the University's computer users.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Computing Services, headed by Neil C. Churchill, professor of Business Administration, also concluded that computer use at the University was "unplanned and ill-coordinated," and recommended the establishment of two new supervisory agencies to guide future computer policies.

"At the moment, we have no real outside way of evaluating a computer proposal," said Richard G. Leahy, assistant dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for Resources and Planning and a member of the committee.

In a Loop

"The Computing Center is caught in a loop: having to argue its own case, but being the only one capable of technically assessing it." he added.

The Committee proposed that a separate Office of Information Technology plan for University computer needs and receive suggestions and complaints about the Computing Center and other facilities.

The proposed Office would also distribute "seed money" for experimenting with computer applications, especially in teaching.

The report- which relied heavily on a study by the management consulting firm of Arthur D. Little, Inc.- also suggested the creation of a Dean's Committee for Information Technology to establish computer policies.

The committee would, for example, supervise the acquisition and financing of computers that are used in more than one department. (Some 15 small and medium sized computers are now scattered in various departments outside the Computing Center).

Closed Circuit

The proposed Dean's Committee would also establish closed circuit television policies. Since the University's cable television network was installed three years ago, only WGBH and a handful of professors have regularly used the system.

While these administrative changes could be made in the next few months, the Ad Hoc Committee's financial proposals might require lengthy renegotiations of government contracts before they could take effect.

These reforms aim to reduce Computing Center deficits, like last year's $534,565 loss, by:

Installing a system of 5-year budget planning:

Assessing most unexpected expenses to the various faculties according to their total expenditures on computer use; and,

Developing a system of forward contracting by which users who make firm commitments for future computing service would be rewarded by lower prices.

Several different "forward contracting" schemes are under consideration, but they all aim at stabilizing the Computing Center's income.