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2008 Highlights

Data Encryption Pilot

Many computers contain sensitive or confidential data, the storing of which involves risk that sensitive information will be compromised as the result of unauthorized access, theft, or loss of the computer. It is estimated that the cost of data lost to an institution like UConn is $197.00 per exposed record. The cost to the University’s reputation is difficult to measure. Nevertheless, the University must protect its data: encryption is one method for providing that protection.

The goal of University's Data Encryption Pilot Project was to install Full Disk Encryption (FDE) products for Windows and Macintosh on the laptops and desktops of a select group of individuals from various departments and functions at all University of Connecticut campuses in order to gain a better understanding of the technology and to assess the issues associated with using these products with the purpose of determining the feasibility of deploying such software University-wide. The two products chosen for the pilot were: SafeBoot for Windows computers and PointSec for Macintosh computers. The project began in May of 2008 and concluded at end of August. The result of the project was a recommendation that was presented to University administration to move forward with the SafeBoot product for the encryption of data on University Windows desktop and notebook computers.

Emergency Communications

The University of Connecticut’s Emergency Communications project began in May of 2007 and was sponsored by the University’s Chief Operating Officer, Barry Feldman. A project committee was formed and chaired by Barry Feldman and the Associate Vice President of Information Technology Services, Mike Kerntke.

The charge of this project was for the members of the committee to evaluate and enhance current university communication technologies, and/or investigate and implement new technologies to use for emergency communications. These technologies, such as email, voice mail, and code blue phones, would be used to alert faculty, staff, and students on all UConn campuses of life-threatening emergencies.

The project committee consists of staff members from the UConn Police Department, University Communications, Information Technology Services, Human Resources, Facilities Management, Student Affairs, and several other campus departments. It also includes staff from the UConn Health Center, the Law School, and the Provost’s office, as well as a student representative from the Undergraduate Student Government.

The evaluation and enhancement of current methods of communication as well as the procurement, testing, and implementation of new communication technologies were completed in December of 2008. Some of the new technologies include a PA system at the Waterbury campus, sirens on the Storrs and Hartford campuses, software to allow broadcast messages to be sent from code blue phones, and a text messaging system. An alert web site has also been created and can be viewed at:

www.alert.uconn.edu

The committee continues to meet as an oversight and advisory group. Some of the tasks that they are planning for the future are in regards to enhancing or expanding the usage of the alert systems, creating business process plans, standards, and procedural documentation, and general communication and feedback methods to and from the university community.

Student Administration System Version 9.0 Upgrade

In early October, 2008 we implemented a major upgrade to the Peoplesoft Student Administration system to a new release referred to as “version 9.0” which replaced the version “8.0” which has been in operation now since early 2002.

This upgrade was the result of a major effort coordinated by UITS and the central administrative offices of the Registrar, Financial Aid, Admissions offices, the Graduate Admissions office, the Bursar, Continuing Education, School of Law and Social Work, the Instructional Technology Lab and other departments. The planning for this project began two years before its implementation with most of the development work began over a year prior to implementation.

The work required for this project involved the following:
  • Reapplication of over 800 UConn customizations from the previous version to new version.
  • A mass retraining effort for approximately 800 administrative staff, faculty and other groups.
  • Extensive development work was also required to upgrade the on-line Peoplesofthelp website used by students and the administrative procedures used by staff.
  • Significant business process work was required to align work processes with the new systems functionality.
  • A redesign of the Student Administrative Datamart (SADM) reporting system.
  • Implementation of a new computing infrastructure including new hardware, operating and database software upgrades.

The PeopleSoft Help site, www.peoplesofthelp.uconn.edu, will also be updated to reflect the changes in navigation and functionality. This website, developed by the able staff in the Institute for Teaching & Learning, has been in place for several years and it has been very successful in providing real time information to assist our students, faculty and advisors with using the Student Administration system.

Some noteworthy enhancements that are incorporated in the new 9.0 release include:
  • New navigation panels that are easier to understand and use.
  • A new portal-like Student Center webpage helps consolidate information for easier retrieval and viewing for students.
  • Similarly, a new Faculty Center webpage that consolidates information and provides easier access to student information by faculty.
  • Significantly improved system navigation and the elimination of some terminology that many found confusing (e.g., “Learner Management”).
  • Greater flexibility in the use of Class Permission Numbers.

UITS Firewall Project

The UITS firewalls were purchased for servers in the UITS Operations Server farm for the purpose of protecting the networks that currently contain our core Windows, UNIX and Mainframe services. The increased security provided by these devices complemented current security practices to protect the University’s IT assets. In addition to standard stateful firewall functionality, the firewalls are also designed to provide intrusion prevention services. The firewalls will also help to meet compliance with federal regulations such as HIPAA.

The firewalls are configured to restrict access to services based on security policies that were developed by the UITS Server and Network Security groups. The result of the project has strengthened security considerably with minimum impact on convenience of access. Users that require access to IT services may need to meet further authentication requirements, such as accessing a VPN, before being allowed to connect to a highly restricted service. The project was completed in the fall of 2008.

USD Upgrade

On Wednesday, August 6, UITS upgraded its enterprise-wide Problem and Change Management System Unicenter Service Desk (USD) from version 6.1 to version R11 to help improve our technical customer service and support. This was accomplished with a collaborated effort between the Customer Support & Relations, Server Support, Customer Business Applications, and Data Management Services departments. Some of the enhancements that we have implemented with the system are:

  • Ability to see ticket information within an e-mail notice instead of receiving a link to go to the system
  • Easier to review a customer’s past ticket history information.
  • Easier to create multiple tickets using templates or copy function without having to enter in the same information over and again.
  • Self-service has been enhanced to provide more details about the problem one is encountering and the ability to enter a contact number.

If you would like to see the USD R11 system or would like to have you or your department is interested in using it, contact the Help Center by calling 860-486-4357 – Option 3.

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