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- Thurgood Marshall Library, the Center houses
professional and technologically advanced
workstations. Federal Clients of the Center have
included the U.S.Office of Personnel Management,
U.S. General Services Administration, Federal
Highway Administration, National Science
Foundation, Naval Seas Systems, Homeland
Security (Army, Customs, Immigration, Transit
Security), Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NIH,
IRS, NOAA, and U.S. agencies of Agriculture,
Education, Justice, Transportation, and
Environmental Protection, to name a few.
Telework has long been viewed as an essential
element for continuity of operations planning
(COOP). The BSU Center currently also serves as a
Continuity of Operations site for one federal agency,
and conducts COOP exercises to prepare for
potential disruptions in this agency’s Washington-
based headquarters. A 2006 GAO Audit of this
Agency’s COOP Plan gave the BSU Telework Center
high marks for providing COOP services.
Bowie State University, in Prince George’s County,
Maryland, is a short 20 miles west from Annapolis,
25 miles south of Baltimore, and 26 miles north of
Washington, D. C. The MARC train stop, a short
walk across campus, offers fast transportation to
downtown Baltimore and Washington. Teleworkers
have all the resources of the University at their door.
Commuters are invited to swim in the University’s
pool, run the track, eat in campus dining rooms,
conduct research in the library, attend cultural
events, and teach or take courses. The BSU Center
is furnished with ergonomic module components,
Pentium Internet accessible computers, voice mail,
laser printer, copier and fax machine, a lockable file
for personal items, a conference room seating eight,
scanner, shredder, microwave, refrigerator, and
other small general office equipment. Users are
provided with on site technical assistance. All
workstations have high-speed Internet connections
and dial up modem access. Desktop to desktop
connectivity is handled on an individual basis.
The BSU Telecommuting Center is open 24 hours,
7 days a week. Teleworkers @ BSU work in a
secured area and receive free parking, cold water
and hot coffee!
- workforce, and who want to escape the costs and
burdens of yesterday’s office infrastructure.
Teleworking allows employees to balance family
and work demands, save valuable commuting time,
reduce costs, lower stress levels, improve health,
and increase productivity. Telecommuting helps to
alleviate congestion on our highways, decrease air
pollution, and provide real estate savings for
employers. Employees have more time for civic
involvement in their communities, and more time to
volunteer in their neighborhood schools.
Employers are able to recruit and retain valuable
employees, and create a more diversified workforce
by accommodating employees with short or long-
term health care situations. When the best
practices for implementation are followed, and
telework is positioned carefully and appropriately, it
is a powerful “Win-Win” solution for employers,
employees, society and the environment.
Responding to the needs of its community, Bowie
State University, through the combined interests of
government and education, developed the Bowie
State University Telecommuting Center. The Center
opened in June 1998, as a Pilot of the U.S.
General Services Administration’s Interagency
Telecommuting Pilot Project. Located in the
| Everyone wins with teleworking! |
Copyright © 2006 Bowie State University Telecommuting Center. All rights reserved.
Bowie State University Telecommuting Center
- Today, teleworking or telecommuting is an
increasingly important part of the way that 21st
century employers get their work done, meet
customer demands, and attract and retain top-
quality workers. It’s a work option that is being used
by savvy employers who want to take advantage of
today’s technology to bring out the best in today’s
