The University of Information Technology Services

Transcription

1 IT Services Annual Review 2015

2

3 Introduction Welcome to the latest annual review from IT Services which I hope you will find informative and interesting. As you will read, 2014 / 15 has been another incredibly busy year for the team, developing new and enhanced capabilities alongside providing a resilient, efficient service. As in previous years, the University has invested a significant amount of additional monies in the IT service provision totalling more than 100,000 over and above the normal IT budget. As a result of this: we have been able to develop and implement the improvements to the services highlighted in the following pages further improvements have been made to the resilience of core services e.g. Moodle was available 99.88% of the year and Student Record Management for 99.97%. All of the work put in during 2014 / 15 culminated in IT receiving its best ever result in the National Student Survey where 93% of the students expressed their satisfaction with the IT service provided by the University. This placed the service at joint 12th in the country and 2nd in the North West. This is a tremendously gratifying result of which we are very proud. We are always striving to improve the service provided to both students and staff. The final page of the review sets out a small number of the things we shall be working on during the course of 2015 / 16. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my colleagues within IT who have all played key roles in providing this outstanding level of service. I would also like to thank colleagues from other areas and the students who have provided invaluable support and guidance to us over the course of the year. I do hope you will read this review and share your feedback and experiences with us. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly with any comments you might have. Kind Regards Mike Beecroft Director of IT Services 3

4 4

5 New Services University Mobile App A new, integrated App has been launched providing access to: A personalised dashboard Academic details Moodle Individual academic and exam timetables Library Services and many other facilities. MyHope Release 3 A new look to the student MyHope was launched providing direct access to more facilities including: Dashboard showing current print credit, Library Loans due to be returned, Assignments due and any events scheduled for today Upcoming events Academic timetable Unopened s. My Career Centre Working with colleagues from Careers, an interactive facility was launched to provide access to a range of interactive tools including: CV Builder Local, national and International vacancy search engine Skills Analysis Interview preparation and assessment exercises. 5

6 6

7 New Services Continued E-profiles A web based system has been introduced for PGCE Primary / Secondary and BAQTS students to record their training profile. Hope Works An On-Line system has been launched which allows: Staff to post vacancies Students to register an interest in Hope Works and to apply for vacancies. Remote Access to Services Two facilities have been implemented viz FILR can be used by students to access their shared and personal network drives Remote Office facility can be used by staff to access network drives and also SITS client / Agresso client. Staff Allocation Model A facility has been implemented which will work alongside the timetable to allocate academic staff to teaching events in their courses. Data Management System A facility has been developed to consolidate student and departmental data for analytical purposes. 7

8 8

9 Improvements to Facilities Campus Wide The Multi-Functional Printer / Photocopier / Scanning devices around the campus have been replaced by brand new machines with increased capability As a result of this, photocopying charges for students have been removed The Adobe Creative Cloud Suite has been installed on all PCs in the labs and open access areas providing students with easier access to more of the Adobe software packages All staff and student open access PCs have been upgraded to utilise Office 2013 Teaching PCs in 47 rooms have been upgraded to improve login times and general performance All network drives have been migrated to a new technical platform which provides easier access, greater resilience and increased space availability All of the software on the PCs in the CAT (Computers with Assistive Technology) suites has been upgraded to the latest versions The Sibelius music software has been upgraded to the version Halls of Residence WiFi coverage in Aigburth and Hopkins Hall has been expanded to improve availability and performance 7,000 was invested at Aigburth to install a new projection facility in the Trinity Room including access to Sky A new LED TV was installed in the coffee shop at Aigburth Colour printing facilities at Aigburth and the Student Success Zone at the Creative Campus have been upgraded. 9

10 10

11 Improvements to Facilities Continued Hope Park The four PCs in the existing CAT suite in the Sheppard-Worlock library have been replaced 39 PCs in the central section of the 1st Floor in the Sheppard-Worlock library have been replaced by new machines An additional 14 PCs have been installed in the rear section of the Ground Floor of the Sheppard-Worlock library The OPAC PCs in the library giving access to the Library catalogue have been replaced by new, environmentally friendly machines An IT Lab on the 4th Floor of the FML building has been converted to Windows 8 Additional PCs installed in the FML Student Success Zone and the Eden Building to allow quick access to printing facilities. Creative Campus New High definition projection equipment has been installed in the Great Hall A new 47 LED TV has been installed in the Capstone reception and a 55 LED TV in the Cornerstone Refectory A new CAT suite has been launched in the Capstone building The Solidworks software has been upgraded to the latest version Additional memory has been added to the imac suite in the Capstone building together with upgraded software The PCs in the Student Success Zone at the Creative Campus have been replaced with new machines. 11

12 12

13 Improvements to Facilities Continued Data Services New Academic Subject Timetables for 2015/16 Academic Event Tutor Management system to change tutors on timetabled sessions Production of data to support the Higher Education Review process Major upgrades to the Academic Profile system to extract data directly from the HR system and the Staff Allocation Model New Attendance Management system. Network Infrastructure New equipment has been procured to: Increase the network speed for all externally facing facilities from all campuses Increase the security on staff / student facilities and data Improve the resilience of the core University IT network and its links with external services. Telephony A new Call Centre facility was set up for the Estates Department The software used on the telephone exchanges at Hope Park and Creative Campus has been updated to the latest versions. Telephones 38 old Smart phones / Handsets were replaced during the year. 13

14 14

15 Conferences and University Events The team provide lighting and sound support for many high profile events including: Conferences Northern Catholic Conference attended by 350 guests over three days Critical Pedagogies & Philosophies of Education Conference ACAT Conference The Catholic Association for Racial Justice for its Young People s Congress EYPUK attended by 200 guests National Society of Chaplains Conference attended by over 100 guests CAAR Conference attended by 250 guests Annual Conference of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Centre for War and Peace Studies Mariapolis Conference attended by 330 guests over 3 days IPEM Conference. Guest Lectures Archbishop Blanch Lecture attended by 400 guests Inaugural lectures for Professors Peter Siska, Chris Williams and Simon Piasecki Annual Makin Lecture given by Dr Ronald Leopold Distinguished Lecture Marilyn Robinson Professorial Lecture Revd Dr Ralph Waller Oona King presentation to the Liverpool Hope Women s Group. Gala Dinners Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize International Tennis Competition Chancellor s Dinners 15

16 16

17 Conferences and University Events Continued Capstone Theatre A varied programme including: Milapfest Indika Festival 2015 featuring high profile Indian Classical artists in dance and music attended by over 250 guests with 65 traditional Indian performers Cornerstone Festival 2014 including an international collaboration between the Italian Cherubino Orchestra and Milapfest Tarang Orchestra, Dance Company Chameleon with their show Beauty of the Beast and Simon Piasecki s performance of Flight to Arras Immersion Theatre production of The Taming Of The Shrew Steve Howe from Yes performing on his Solo Tour Liverpool International Jazz Festival featuring Dennis Rollins Velocity Trio and Trokya Merseyside Dance Initiative LEAP show Joanne MacGregor recitals Peatbog Fairies Marius Neset Juan Martin Seeta Patel (Milapfest Organised performance) Peggy Seeger 17

18 18

19 A few of the planned future developments from IT Services HopeUni App Further functions will be added to the App and access will be extended to staff. MyHope Further functions will also be added to this facility and the staff version will be updated in line with the new student look. Library Facilities A full review of the library IT software will be conducted to identify changes to improve the student and staff experience. Higher Education Achievement Record Extend the document produced for students at graduation to include non-academic activities undertaken during their students alongside the academic transcript. University IT Network Upgrades will be made to the network to increase the connectivity speed and introduce enhanced security and resilience features. Information Repositories Extend the use of repository software to make information more readily available to staff and students. Dashboard Present key University data in a single place which can then be used to make management decisions. Windows 10 Compatibility testing will be progressed with a view to upgrading all machines to either Windows 8 or

20 IT Services Hope Park Taggart Avenue T: E: