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Information

Technology Activity
and Status Report
October 2010

Announcements for Faculty and Staff Meetings


Contact Information
Technology Faculty Encouraged to Join Educational Technology User
Group. Faculty members are encouraged join the Educational Technology
User Group (ETUG) supported by Information Technology's (IT)
Anytime Support Desk Technology and Learning group. ETUG meets monthly to explore
technologies used to enhance learning, identify instructional technology
Available 24 hours a day, needs, and share new developments to the University's current educational
7 days a week technologies. Visit the IT website at http://services.pepperdine.edu/it/
(310) 506-HELP (4357) contact/etug.htm to learn more about meeting times and to opt into the
or (866) 767-8623 ETUG listserv. For more information, contact Hong Kha at
hong.kha@pepperdine.edu

Technology and Learning IT to Host Specialized Software Online. IT staff member


for Faculty Thomas Hoover is working to obtain feedback from faculty on the
possibility of hosting expensive, high-end applications on the Pepperdine
http://services.pepperdine. network. By hosting these Windows-based applications on the network,
edu/techlearn/ they are accessible anytime, anywhere to faculty and students. Students will
techlearn@pepperdine.edu not need to visit specific computer labs to access applications. All software
will be considered based on the value it brings to the University
community. Please respond to the following questions when submitting a
Office of the Vice suggestion:
Provost and Chief
Information Officer
• How many faculty in your division use/will use the software? Do
you know of faculty in other divisions/schools who might use this
(310) 506-4501 software?
• How many courses use/will use the software? How many students
overall will use the software?
Request IT Services • How often is the software used during the semester?

http://services.pepperdine.edu/
it/forms Send suggestions to Thomas Hoover at thomas.hoover@pepperdine.edu or
call him at (310) 506-5547 for questions.

1 Information Technology Activity and Status Report, October 2010


Administrative Support for Schools
Tech Central Serves Hundreds of Students Every Month. Created in August 2007, Tech
Central regularly provides hundreds of students with free and fee-based technical support for their
personal computers every month. Since the start of the 2010-2011 academic year, more than 500
students have utilized Tech Central services such as laptop support, identification card printing, software
sales, and technology purchase consultation. The walk-in student support center is managed by John
Quinn and is located on the second floor of Payson Library on the Malibu Campus. Visit the Tech
Central website at http://services.pepperdine.edu/techcentral/.

IT to Use Facebook to Connect with Students. Information Technology is creating a


Facebook group to communicate with students. The group will be used to create awareness of IT
products and services and to engage students with new initiatives. The opt-in group will collect feedback
using surveys, polls, and comments and the group's participants will be invited to select events. Students
will be notified of new University-supported technologies and offered the latest in hardware and
software discounts. The group is set to launch later this fall.

Technology and Learning Group Prepares University to Let Go of Blackboard. In


December 2010, the University's contract with Blackboard will expire. To prepare for the transition to
Courses, Pepperdine's newly adopted learning management system, the Technology and Learning group
has offered several workshops and support opportunities at multiple campuses. More than fifty faculty
attended fall workshops and dozens of others took advantage of one-on-one consultation
opportunities. As of October 6, 2010, faculty published 602 course sites, resulting in nearly 4,500 daily
logins. Faculty who are still using Blackboard are encouraged to start their transition to Courses this
semester. Request a consultation online at http://services.pepperdine.edu/techlearn/services/request.htm
or contact Hong.Kha@pepperdine.edu for more information.

Administrative Support for the University


EIS Staff Supports Seaver Admission's "Fridays in Fall" Initiative. The Fridays in Fall
initiative allows Seaver College prospective students to register to sit in on a class. Enterprise
Information Systems (EIS) staff member Sean Fife collaborated with Admission staff members Andrea
Barrett and Hunter Stanfield and Seaver College assistant to the dean, Ellen Snow, to create this
registration form for Admissions. Since its launch date in mid-October, more than 250 prospective
students have taken advantage of the initiative.

Information Technology Tests Microsoft Office 2010 and 2011. In preparation for an
early 2011 implementation, Office 2010 for Windows and Office 2011 for Macs are currently being
tested by Information Technology staff. Preliminary feedback suggests that the new applications are more
intuitive and have the potential to meet the growing needs of the Pepperdine's end user community. For
a preview of Office 2010 for Windows visit: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/?CTT=97. For a
preview of Office 2011 for Mac visit: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/office2011features/features-you-
will-love.mspx.

2 Information Technology Activity and Status Report, October 2010


Infrastructure, Systems, and Networking Updates
GSBM is First to Receive New Cisco Telephone System Features. Information
Technology is currently planning the deployment of the Cisco Unified Personal Communicator (CUPC)
system for the Graziadio School of Business and Management (GSBM). The CUPC interface merges
voice, video, and web conferencing, allowing end users to communicate and collaborate with instant
messaging, quick audio and video conferences, and desktop sharing. Information Technology is working
closely with Michael Stamper, director of GSBM Technology Services, to coordinate deployment and
provide training sessions for end users. Deployment to GSBM is planned for January 2011.

Information Technology Explores Ability to Connect Work Phone to Mobile


Phone. Faculty and staff members who received the new Cisco telephones will soon be able to
answer work calls on their mobile devices. Systems and Networking staff Kevin Phan and Rita Schnepp
are currently testing the Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator, which will allow users to route active calls
to their desktop or mobile device. Users can also create personalized access lists that determine which
calls are redirected to a mobile device. A small pilot group will begin using this service in early
November. For questions, please contact Kevin Phan at kevin.phan@pepperdine.edu.

Update on Towers Hall Wireless Network Renovation. Information Technology has


made great strides to improve wireless coverage in the Rockwell Towers Residence Hall. To date, two-
thirds of the project has been completed. Led by IT staff member Dave Holden, improvements include
the identification and improvement of faulty wireless access points and the installation of additional
access points. This renovation will significantly expand the coverage area and increase performance of
the existing network. Expected completion of these improvements is slated for mid-October.

Newly Launched SCCUR Submission Website Proves Successful. On November 20,


2010, Pepperdine University will host the Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research
(SCCUR). The conference showcases faculty-mentored undergraduate research and other scholarly
activities within academic institutions. Mark Giglione, Technology and Learning application developer,
collaborated with University Communications to design a web application that allows undergraduate
students to submit conference presentation proposals online. As of early October, 615 proposals were
submitted via the web application. For more information about the conference, visit http://
www.pepperdine.edu/sccur2010/

Administrative Support - Software Tools


Information Technology Welcomes EIS Interim Director Scott Bolan. Information
Technology is pleased to welcome Scott Bolan, formerly the team lead for the WaveNet portal and
application development, as the interim director of Enterprise Information Systems. "Scott’s performance
over the past two years has been impressive as we have worked with our colleagues in a variety of
offices to implement document imaging and automated workflows across the University," said Dr.
Timothy Chester, vice provost and CIO, when the position was announced. Sean Fife will step up to take
on the role of interim team lead for application development and the portal, while James Ballacchino
and Marc Olano take on additional responsibilities to fill the remaining gap. Danna Gianforte, the former
EIS director, recently left Pepperdine to accept a similar position at Middlebury College in Vermont.

3 Information Technology Activity and Status Report, October 2010


EIS Staff Works to Make WaveNet More Stable for End Users. The EIS team is
working to clean up roles inside WaveNet. Roles and permission lists decide what end users can access
during their personal WaveNet session. To date, Jackie Paicius, Sean Fife, Ronit Weiss, James Ballacchino,
Novita Rogers, and Tim Bodden have corrected over 10,000 role-based inconsistencies. In addition, EIS
staff members Novita Rogers, Ronit Weiss, Shu Chi Liou, Ryan Kim, and Tim Rogers created a solution to
reduce the daily WaveNet role-publishing time frame from four hours to just thirty minutes. Not only
will end users receive information more quickly as their status updates itself, but the solution also
reduces unneeded complexity within WaveNet.

Travel and Expense Module in Development. A team of EIS staff is currently developing a
module to support all University departments in reconciling travel and expense charges. EIS staff
members Tim Bodden and Hector Ramirez developed additions to the module which include online
sign off, line by line transaction accounting, and direct deposit. Staff continue to develop the ability to
attach all receipts to individual expense reports, making the system paperless. Roll out to the University
is planned after sufficient testing is completed.

Publications
Vice Provost and Chief Information Officer Publishes Article About Sakai.
Timothy Chester, vice provost and chief information officer, recently published an article in Campus
Technology detailing the reasons behind the University's decision to move to Sakai from Blackboard. The
article summarizes the findings of the University's Sakai pilot study and gives advice to other universities
planning similar transitions to new learning management systems. Click here to read the article: http://
campustechnology.com/articles/2010/10/06/why-we-switched-to-sakai.aspx

4 Information Technology Activity and Status Report, October 2010


Benchmarks and Accountability
Anytime Support Help Desk Statistics for September. During September 2010, there
were 1382 requests for support managed through the Anytime Support Desk. Of these requests, 51
percent were resolved within two days and 83 percent were resolved in fewer than five days. The
average wait time for individuals calling the Anytime Support Help Desk was 45 seconds. Seventy-four
percent of the requests were resolved on the first call.

Online Requests. In September 2010, there were 333 additional requests for support managed
through online web request forms. The top two types of online requests were for departmental phone
service (84) and Presentation Services requests (71).

Anytime Support Desk User Survey Results for September. Through an automated
feedback process, all Anytime Support Desk callers have the opportunity to complete a web-based
satisfaction survey. In September 2010, 271 (13.9%) of 1951 survey requests sent to customers were
submitted. The four-question survey uses a “1 to 5” scale with “4.00-5.00” equal to excellent.

Response Overall Customer Resolution


Month Competency
Rate Satisfaction Service Timeliness
July 16.8% 4.55 4.59 4.47 4.6
August 18.1% 4.49 4.59 4.30 4.58
September 13.9% 4.29 4.40 4.14 4.35

Staff Support by Major Area. All Pepperdine IT staff allocate their day-to-day efforts using
client, project, and task codes; using this data, total division-wide staff effort for September 2010 was
distributed as follows:

University Administration Support 1,427 hours 9.64% $70,840.88

Colleges, Academic Affairs 3,311 hours 22.38% $84,487.58

University-Wide, Common Services 4,699 hours 32.00% $197,702.53

IT Administration and Management 2,726 hours 18.42% $100,282.91

General Overhead (Leave, Holiday) 2,631 hours 17.79% $92,933.21

Total: 14,793 hours 100% $546,247.11

Support for Schools. Pepperdine IT staff effort provided to Pepperdine schools is as follows:

Month Seaver GSBM GSEP SOL SPP

July 48.28% 25.94% 19.29% 0.57% 5.92%


August 58.06% 20.46% 15.33% 2.86% 3.47%
September 57.79% 21.48% 17.67% 0.98% 2.08%

How to Subscribe to this Report. If you would like to be added to the distribution list for this
report, please contact Dana Hoover, communications manager, at extension x4948. The Monthly IT
Status Report archive is available online at services.pepperdine.edu/it/about/status-reports.htm.

5 Information Technology Activity and Status Report, October 2010

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