Information
Technology Activity
Contact Information
Technology
Anytime Support Desk
Available 24 hours a day,
7 days a week
(310) 506-HELP (4357)
Tech Central
Payson Library, 2nd Floor
Mon. - Fri. 9am - Noon
Sat. 1pm - 5pm
(310) 506-4811
Office of the Chief
Information Officer
(310) 506-4501
Request IT Services
http://services.pepperdine.edu/it
/forms
and Status Report
June 2009
Announcements for Faculty and Staff Meetings
Sakai. Based on faculty input, we are testing a new learning management
system called Sakai. Like other learning management systems, Sakai soft-
ware has features such as gradebook, discussion, assignment uploads, docu-
ment distribution, wikis, live chat, online testing, mailing list distribution, RSS
reader, etc. We will be running Sakai parallel to Blackboard starting with the
third Seaver College summer session. Faculty members have the option of
using either Sakai or Blackboard for their course needs. If you would like to
participate in the summer pilot or use the software in the fall, contact Ger-
ard Flynn, Director of Institutional Technology Support, at extension 7264.
Verizon Discount. Information Technology has negotiated a doubling of
the Verizon discount, from 6% to 12%, for Pepperdine University faculty and
staff with a current or new service plan of $39.99 or higher. To take advan-
tage of the higher rate, you must submit to Verizon a discount request form
and a copy of your employee ID card or pay stub. In addition to the 12%
service discount, all Verizon wireless subscribers will enjoy a 20% discount
off the retail price of accessories.
To take advantage of the higher savings, customers should fill out the form
located below and fax it (along with proof of employment) to
800-711-7788.
There are only two valid proofs of employment: a photo-
copy of an employee ID or a pay stub. For more information, contact Mi-
chelle Varciage, Verizon Wireless Business Sales Representative, by e-mail at
michelle.varciag1@verizonwireless.com, or by phone at 310-270-6289.
http://services.pepperdine.edu/it/content/wavenet/verizon-facstf-discount-fo
rm.doc
Advanced Wireless Technology. Wireless 802.11a Upgrades.
IT is
in the process of upgrading the University’s wireless network with a more
robust system.
To take full advantage of the upgrade, when you order new
laptops, make sure they support both the 802.11g and 802.11a standards.
Information Technology Activity and Status Report, June 2009
Manufacturers typically list this as 802.11a/g or 802.11a/g/n. Contact Tech Central for assistance with
ordering computer equipment at http://services.pepperdine.edu/techcentral/ or call extension 4527.

Monthly Status & Activity Report. If you would like to be added to the distribution list of the
monthly IT Status Report, please contact Ross Canning, Executive Assistant to the Chief Information
Officer, at extension 4501.
Monthly IT Status Report archives are available at
http://services.pepperdine.edu/it/about/status-reports.htm.

Faculty Support
Online Course Evaluations. For the past year, the University has been piloting online course
evaluations. The program is available for all schools to use. Recently, two new program features were
added. First: in June 2009, new PeopleSoft functionality was created for school administrators to run
their own course evaluation data extractions. School administrators can now create their own data
files, verify contents and submit them to IT for evaluation creation. IT expects the vendor to release
new functionality that will provide direct data uploads by the end of the summer, which will provide the
schools with an easier interface for evaluation creation. Second: several new custom reports were cre-
ated for Pepperdine by the course evaluation vendor, Digital Measures. They are now available online
for the requesting schools. Each school has been piloting online evaluations in the way that works best
for them. This summer, Seaver will use online evaluations for all summer school courses including the
international programs.

Learning Management System Assessment & Review. Institutional Technology Support is

assessing faculty satisfaction and usage of the University’s learning management system (LMS), Black-
board, as well as collecting faculty input on preferred LMS features and reviewing LMS software pro-
grams. As part of this study, Sakai, a robust LMS, is being explored. Sakai is a collaboration and course-
ware management system that provides users with a suite of learning, portfolio, library and project
tools. Specifically, Sakai’s features include gradebook, discussion, assignment uploads, document distribu-
tion, wikis, live chat, online testing, mailing list distribution, RSS reader, and more. For additional informa-
tion, go to http://sakaiiproject.org.

As mentioned above in the announcements, there will be a pilot of Sakai this summer and the tool will
be available for use in the fall. Twenty-six people attended Sakai training on May 27, 2009. A team of IT
developers is working to integrate Sakai with other University programs such as Turnitin and Elluminate.
Any faculty members that would like to participate in the Sakai pilot or use the software in the fall
should contact Gerard Flynn, Director of Institutional Technology Support, at extension 7264.

As part of Pepperdine's LMS Study, we are planning to update Blackboard to the latest version, Black-
board 9.
Blackboard 9 provides Web 2.0 interface enhancements, allowing instructors to reorder con-
tent by dragging each item into a new location.
The control panel has been enhanced to save mouse
clicks, bringing most of the functionality into the left-hand navigation.
In addition, there are new blog
and journal tools within course sites. For more details, visit Blackboard’s overview at
http://www.blackboard.com/release9/.

Blackboard Sync. This new Blackboard support tool sends notifications of Blackboard announce-
ments and course content updates to Blackboard users via supported external services.
Currently, the
supported services are Facebook and iPhone.
Blackboard users may subscribe to Blackboard Sync from
the Tools menu of their “MyBlackboard” tab after logging into Blackboard.
Users install a corresponding

Information Technology Activity and Status Report, June 2009

iPhone or Facebook application to receive and display the Blackboard Sync updates. For more informa-
tion, visit the Blackboard Sync at http://wiki.blackboardsync.com/display/SYNC/Home.

MyLibrary. Another new Blackboard support tool, MyLibrary, was developed in-house as a collabo-
rative project with University Libraries.
This function is located within a Blackboard course site.
With
one click, students can discover the name and contact information for their subject librarian along with
helpful links to research guide wikis or other Library resources.
This tool can be modified for use with
any learning management system at Pepperdine.

Administrative Support - Schools

Elikins/RAC/AC Renovation Project. IT continues to work with the Construction and Cam-
pus Planning Office to ensure that the IT systems in these facilities are consistent with the latest Univer-
sity standards.

The A/V systems will conform to the University’s Smart Classroom standard, which includes a built-in
computer with a Sympodium interactive pen display, projection system, DVD/VCR player, and audio sys-
tem. As a result, faculty members will no longer have to bring their own computers to class. IT’s long-
term strategy is for Pepperdine faculty to have the same type of A/V equipment in any classroom in
which they teach. This strategy will be implemented as a part of regular renovations over the coming
years.

The entire wireless infrastructure within these facilities is being redesigned from the ground up to pro-
vide a dramatic new level of mobility, performance, and reliability. The new infrastructure will have over
five times the number of wireless access points (APs) than what was installed previously. Additionally,
the new APs will support both the wireless G and A (802.11g and 802.11a) standards. These changes
will result in a nearly 5000% increase in wireless capacity in these facilities.

CAC Renovation Project. The wireless network in CAC has been upgraded with new Aruba
access points to run five times faster and have greater coverage and reliability.

Administrative Support - General

Bible Lectures 2009. Like other departments, IT supports Bible Lectures in a variety of ways.
Though best known for managing presentation services, we also provide guests with access to WaveNet
during Bible Lectures. This year, approximately 480 guests used this service.

Network Security - Computer Registration. Beginning in early June 2009, all computers will
need to be registered in order to use the wired and wireless networks. If you have registered your
computer in the past, you will need to register it again. The registration schedule will be available on the
IT Web site. In addition, communication regarding the registration will be sent out in advance for occu-
pants of each building and campus. By requiring computers to be registered to use the University’s
network, we are strengthening the security of the network.

NetworkID Management System. We are now actively testing the new NetworkID Manage-
ment System (http://networkid.pepperdine.edu). This system allows users to reset their passwords using
WaveNet when they are blocked from the system rather than having to call the Anytime Support Desk
for assistance. This tool uses new identity verification software to ensure the security of the system.
Since one of the most common calls to the Anytime Support Desk is for a password reset, this new

Information Technology Activity and Status Report, June 2009

service will positively affect a large number of community members. Part of this project will also allow
students to redirect their Pepperdine e-mail to their preferred e-mail accounts, as well as adopt Gmail
for their “@pepperdine.edu” messages. Faculty, students, and staff are free to use these systems during
the testing period. They are located at http://networkid.pepperdine.edu and
http://google.pepperdine.edu.

Telephone System Upgrade. We are now beginning to implement the first phase of a multi-year
project to replace the University’s existing telephone system with the Unified Communications platform
from Cisco. This platform merges voice, video, and Web conferencing, and may have some real potential
as an e-learning platform for the University. Phase 1 of the project will include a rollout to all IT staff
members. Phase 2 (sometime in late fall 2009) will include rollouts to the Encino and Irvine Graduate
Campuses, as well as to members of the University Emergency Operations Committee.

Mainframe Decommissioning. On July 31, 2009, the University mainframe will be permanently
decommissioned. To facilitate access to SIS, FRS, and HRS legacy mainframe data, IT’s Henry Lai and Tom
Layman migrated this data to the PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) module. FRS
and HRS data have been successfully migrated to EPM and verified by those customers. As a result,
HRS and FRS customers will no longer access the legacy mainframe starting Monday, June 15, 2009, for
HRS and Wednesday, July 1, 2009, for FRS. SIS data was recently converted to EPM and IT continues to
work with those customers to ensure the transition will be a complete success. Additionally, Server En-
gineering is migrating the remaining operational processes to the PeopleSoft platform to simplify work-
load management with automation software that provides real-time alerts and user notifications, auto-
mated recovery and user-defined event rules for batch-jobs scheduling.

Administrative Support - Software Tools

Major PeopleSoft Upgrade. At the end of May 2009, a PeopleTools upgrade was implemented
in WaveNet.
This will allow greater flexibility in the near future for better integration to other University
systems.
During the upgrade, Oracle introduced a bug requiring WaveNet users to input their login
names in upper case. We are working closely with the vendor to resolve this issue.

We are working to identify a consultant who can assist us with a major re-design of WaveNet. Our goal
is to improve the end user experience, for example, by making it easier to locate materials, register for
courses, or search for information. This project will be on going throughout the 2009–2010 academic
year.

Google Apps. IT has been working to implement Google Apps for faculty, students, and staff by the
start of the fall semester. This software is a set of collaboration tools for creating and sharing docu-
ments. This tool can also be used by staff to publish documents within their own departments or exter-
nally. Google Apps is free. It includes Gmail, Google Docs (Web-based word processors, a spreadsheet,
presentation tools and form applications that allow users to create and edit documents online while
collaborating real-time with other users), and several other tools. We are currently testing the system;
and faculty, students, and staff can begin to use Google Apps by pointing a Web browser to
http://google.pepperdine.edu.

Through further investigation, we have decided to support the use of Gmail for receiving
@pepperdine.edu email messages by students on an opt-in basis (this is an update from last month’s
status report). We will be discussing with the University Mangement Committee whether to allow the
use of Gmail by employees.

Information Technology Activity and Status Report, June 2009

Nolij. We are in the last months of completing the ambitious project to convert 5.5 million pages of
documents from the Stellant document storage system to Nolij. Stellant will be retired at the end of
the summer. Nolij (pronounced, “knowledge”) converts paper files to electronic images so that docu-
ments can be electronically filed, easily retrieved, and preserved. Nolij has been embraced by multiple
departments throughout the University for managing records and files. The following progress was
made on imaging projects this month.

a) All Seaver Admission files are compiled using Nolij. A new data entry form is being tested that allows
changes to the applicant checklist that are made in Nolij to be automatically updated in PeopleSoft
rather than requiring the information to be input twice. This new feature will be available for Seaver
Admission on September 1, 2009. This project will notably increase the efficiency of the admission
process.

b) This month, out of 2.1 million pages processed, a total of 1.7 million pages of historical documents
were matched and migrated. Nolij training for Advancement will take place at the beginning of June
2009, and Stellant, the old imaging system, will be removed from all Advancement computers. Nolij is
also now providing Advancement with a “real time” look into Raiser’s Edge to pull current gift and
fund data that is associated with their supporting documents. This is a significant business process im-
provement.

c) In May 2009, the Information Technology and Program Management Department migrated 53,000
historic non-Law transcripts from the old mainframe to Nolij for the University Registrar. Approxi-
mately, 8,000 historical School of Law transcripts will be migrated in June 2009.

Information Technology Activity and Status Report, June 2009

Benchmarks and Accountability
Anytime Support Desk. During May 2009, there were 1,633 requests for support managed through the
Anytime Support Desk. Of these requests, 1,362 (83%) were resolved within one day and 1,537 (94%) were re-
solved in fewer than five days. The average wait time for individuals calling the Anytime Support Desk was 80 sec-
onds. The first call resolution rate was 78%. This is the percentage of requests that are resolved by the Anytime
Support Desk on the first call.

Online Requests. There were 141 additional requests for support managed through online Web request forms
that were directed to the appropriate Information Technology departments without involving the Anytime Support
Desk. The top two types of online requests were audiovisual (29) and departmental telephone service (32). Sun-
Gard does not charge the University for support requests that are made directly via the Web request forms. The
online forms can be accessed at http://services.pepperdine.edu/it/forms/.

Anytime Support User Survey. Through an automated feedback process, all Anytime Support Desk callers
are provided the opportunity to complete a Web-based feedback survey. Of 1,632 survey requests sent to cus-
tomers, 157 (10%) were completed in May 2009. The five-question survey uses a “1 to 9” sliding scale with
“7.00-9.00” equal to Excellent.

Response Overall Response Skill Communica- Resolution

Month
Rate Satisfaction Timeliness Set tion Timeliness
May 10% 7.74 7.51 8.04 7.68 7.68
April 9% 7.59 7.70 8.07 7.61 7.74
March 10% 7.77 7.81 8.05 7.82 7.90

Staff Support by Major Area. All IT Division employees are allocating their day-to-day efforts using client,
project, and task codes. Using this data, total division-wide staff effort for April 2009 was distributed as follows.

University Administration Support 1,046 hours 7.31% $50,468.21

Colleges, Academic Affairs 3,620 hours 25.31% $123,532.59

University-Wide, Common Services 4,852 hours 33.93% $234,319.00

IT Administration and Management 2,515 hours 17.58% $105,116.77

General Overhead (Leave, Holiday) 2,269 hours 15.87% $100,635.56

Total: 14,302 hours 100% $614,072.13

Support for Schools. Of the effort provided to Pepperdine Schools, the breakdown is as follows.

Month Seaver GSBM GSEP SOL SPP

May 53.12% 22.76% 22.80% 0.49% 0.83%

April 57.91% 22.33% 17.81% 0.50% 1.45%
March 46.75% 30.35% 21.12% 0.78% 1.00%

Information Technology Activity and Status Report, June 2009