University of Connecticut

University Information Technolgy Services

University Information Technology Services

2007 Highlights

Daylight Saving Time

The change in Daylight Saving Time (DST), caused by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, required any computer software developed prior to year 2005 to be patched, or else the time change would not occur. Because many university employees rely on electronic calendars to schedule their activities, it was important that patches and changes were applied to software before the DST changes went into effect.

Early 2007, UITS underwent a project to ensure that the community was kept informed of the impending changes and their potential impacts. Extensive testing was completed to verify all necessary patches in relation to various scenarios. A web page (http://tss.uconn.edu/dst.html) was created to document these changes and as information changed, the web site was updated to ensure that the UConn community had all of the relevant information needed for UConn computer systems to be ready. Fortunately, the proactive approach was beneficial, most UConn employees found the transition to the new DST rules seamless.

Identity Access Management (IAM)

UITS has completed the first in a series of projects to address the University’s need for a significantly improved identity and access management middleware infrastructure (IAM). This project focused on the design of the system, an investigation of what is available on the market, and an analysis of the amount of work involved in the eventual migration to a new IAM system. We are preparing an Identity and Access Master Plan and will kick off the second phase of the project during the Spring Semester. This project will be led by UITS staff and will require involvement from many campus departments.

Macintosh Support Project

With the overall goal of the Software License Group (SLG) to provide equivalent service and support for Macintosh and Windows computers, UITS implemented several changes to the way Macintosh computers are purchased and supported. In the summer of 2007, UITS working with the UConn Co-op implemented a new procedure to ensure that the custom UConn HuskyPC Macintosh software image gets applied. This means that all new Macintosh computers purchased for University use will be preinstalled with the standard software and configurations, ensuring that the computers are as secure and useable as possible upon receipt.

In addition, UITS and Purchasing started discussions with the UConn Co-op and Apple to develop a Service Level Agreement to set clear expectations of service by each service area. The goal is that this enhanced service and support model will benefit users of Macintosh computers in receiving consistent and efficient support for their computers and ensure that when problems arise, computers are repaired and returned as quickly as possible.

For additional information, visit the Software License Group web site, http://software.uconn.edu/about/adhoc/husky_mac.html.

Social Security Number on the One-Card ID

Since the Fall of 2005 the University has been looking at ways to replace its current dependence on the social security number. One of the main uses had been with the One-Card system which used the SSN as a key. The One-Card ID card was used extensively by a number of organizations on campus, including Dining Services, the Library and Residential Life. Before any of these areas could eliminate their usage of the SSN we needed to create a new identifier to replace the SSN on the One-Card.

In 2007 UITS developed a Person Identifier (PID) designed to be visible on the One-Card. Feeds were developed to achieve the transition from the SSN to the PID for the One-Card and all of the systems dependent on the One-Card. In May 2007, the transition from the SSN to the PID was completed for all of these systems and the University community was issued new One-Card IDs.

Student Administration System Enhancements

There were several significant enhancements to self service of the Student Administration System which benefited the students, faculty/advisors, and administrative departments.

The enhancements include:

The Financial Aid Award application which the students use to view their Financial Aid Awards and indicate accept/decline decisions via the web. The application also provides all the information the student needs to make Financial Aid decisions via links to other web sites and within the new application. The Financial Aid office has eliminated a manual intensive process resulting in staff reassignment.

The Prior Course Approval application which students use to request transfer credit for courses taken at another Higher Education Institution. Decisions are emailed to the students.

The High School Electronic Transcript application which advisors at Connecticut high schools use to transfer student transcripts to the UConn Admissions Office. This was implemented as part of a pilot with a few high schools with intention of expanding in the next year.

The Student Financial Collections application which the Bursar uses to notify students of their final bill, transfer accounts to collections agencies, and receive payments collected by the agencies. The application includes feed to the FRS general ledger and reconciliation reports.

The Admissions Deposit payments via Student Financial Self Service. UConn students can pay their Admissions Deposit online. The Admissions portion of the Student Administration System is updated and the student automatically matriculated.

The Grade Change Workflow application. As part of the Workflow initiative, the Registrar identified the need to automate grade change processing within the Student Administration System. The grade change process typically took at least a week now takes a matter of minutes with the instructor, student, and appropriate Deans and Department Heads being notified of the change.

Student Administration System 9.0 Upgrade

In anticipation of a required upgrade to the Student Administration system next year, UITS began planning efforts for this project. During 2007 these included a survey of upgrade approaches including an RFI to explore lab upgrade solutions and development of an RFP to acquire the required consulting resources to supplement UITS technical and user departmental support staff. During the year the organizational, methodology and budgetary decisions were made in order to plan and execute this effort for next year. The 9.0 Upgrade to the Student Administration System officially began in December 2007. The project is chartered, implementation partners selected, and underway. The target for implementation of the version 9 system is October 13, 2008.

UITS Web Site (http://uits.uconn.edu) Upgrade

University Information Technology Services (UITS) is comprised of many departments to include the Office of the CIO, Business Office, Enterprise and Business Applications, Customer Support and Relations, Computing Technology Infrastructure Support, and Telecommunications, as well as an affiliation with the Connecticut Education Network (CEN). Within each of these departments there are several support areas to include: Human Resources, Travel, Purchasing; Server Support, Data Management, Server Operations; Technology Support Services, Help Center, Telephone Operations, Problem and Change Management; Customer Business Applications, Enterprise Applications, Special Projects; Security, Policy, Project Management; and Network Engineering.

The UITS web pages were in disarray. Over the years, there had been several ‘attempts’ made to review and upgrade the look-and-feel as well as update the information. For this project, the team focused on providing the customers information on services. The project team worked in cooperation and collaboration with UITS directors, managers, and/or subject matter experts to ensure accuracy of information for our viewing community.

We undertook three tasks: Quality Assurance, Creation, and Ongoing Maintenance.

Quality Assurance: We reviewed each web page and determined to keep or delete. If kept, we updated the information for accuracy to the current year (2006) and moved it into the new University format for publication. If deleted, we removed the page and all references (links). Creation: We identified service information gaps, created web pages and published. Maintenance: We established a UITS web maintenance plan to assure accountability to keep the information accurate and current.

The renewed UITS web site was live for the start of the fall 2007 semester.

Windows Vista and Office 2007

The year 2007 saw the release of two major Microsoft product updates: Windows Vista and Office 2007. Each of these products’ interfaces changed dramatically and security was increased, making for a slower adoption over previous product updates. In January 2007, UITS began working with the Software Licensing Group (http://software.uconn.edu) in an effort to be proactive in exploring the University’s adoption and deployment of these products. Through the Spring and Fall months the products were tested and documented, and proper training will be established through Human Resources before these products are fully deployed at UConn, during the year 2008.

In an effort to streamline the Microsoft Office 2007 install process, UITS has made the software available for download from the following web page, http://officeupdate.uconn.edu; however, Windows Vista cannot be downloaded in the same manner due to licensing agreements. Note, all University-owned computers may upgrade to the latest version of Vista for the price of the DVD media. See the Software Licensing Group web page for further details ( http://software.uconn.edu/software/software_detail.php?softid=campusplan).

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