INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Transcription

1 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES Annual Report Robert A. Riley, Vice President Information Technology Services with assistance from Robert J. Dillane, Director of Information Management Services David W. Shapiro, Director of Technical Services Michael C. Zeigler, Director of Client Services

2 Information Technology Services Annual Report Personnel Stan Furmanak was hired in May to fill a new position, senior web programmer. Stan had served as systems and reference librarian since 1994 and is a long-time member of the web team, the ad hoc group responsible for the creation, maintenance and advancement of the College's web site. The number of positions in ITS increased to nine full-time administrative positions including the vice president, four full-time support staff positions, one part-time telecommunications technician (hired as needed) and about two dozen students. Todd Gamble s title was changed to senior PC support specialist and Nate Tulli s title was changed to PC support specialist. An organization chart for can be found in Appendix A. During , members of ITS took advantage of the following opportunities for professional development as well as college and community service. Led, participated in or provided support for the following: Datatel Users Group national meeting; Datatel executive forum; several technology web seminars; Staff Officers retreats; Board of Trustees meetings; New Trustee Orientation; New Faculty Orientation; adjunct faculty development session; Senior Send-Off; LVC Live; New Student Registration- Advising Days; training sessions for college faculty, adjuncts, administrators, support staff and students; presentation of LVC network operations center to Lebanon EMA; Palmyra Middle School Career Day. Campus Committees: Committee on Information Technology and Services; Space Utilization Committee; Digital Communications Program Advisory Committee; Web Policy & Planning Committee; Web Development Team; Middle States Periodic Review Report task group, and the Library Director Search Committee. Facilities-Related Projects NEW SCIENCE CENTER (NEIDIG-GARBER) Awarded inside wiring project to Morefield Communications (subcontracted to FiberTech). The first phase of the wiring was completed in May Installed networking equipment and coordinated IT-related moves when biology and chemistry departments were moved within Neidig-Garber (twice: summer 2006 and spring 2007). ITS OFFICE EXPANSION Worked with Facilities and the architect (Bob Hoffman of Beers & Hoffman) in planning for an expansion of ITS into the northwest corner of the lower level of Lynch SHERIDAN AVENUE Completed wiring, phone, network and cable TV installations for Sheridan Avenue to be used for student housing. FIBER TO COLLEGE AVENUE Installed fiber across College Avenue to serve properties there as well as on Maple Avenue. HIGH-SPEED CONNECTIONS TO COLLEGE AVENUE PROPERTIES Installed high-speed wiring (some copper, some fiber) to 118, 136, 138, 148 and 150 College Avenue properties. Completed wiring, phone, network and cable TV installations for Sheridan Avenue to be used for student housing.

3 Information Technology Services: Annual Report Page 2 NEW RESIDENCE HALL (STANSON HALL) Worked with architect and steering committee on design of new residence hall, and specified communications requirements to meet program needs defined by Student Affairs. CARD ACCESS TO BUILDINGS Implemented card access to exterior doors in Derickson and Silver (completion of three-year project). Academic Computing TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING Took part in meetings organized by the Dean regarding use of technology in teaching. Reviewed existing technology-enhanced classrooms and faculty technology rooms. TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED CLASSROOMS Added one technology-enhanced classroom with the addition of a fixed projector and smart connection panel by Media Services in Lynch 184. This design (the so-called Neidig-Garber model) assumes a faculty member will bring his / her laptop to the classroom and plug it into the smart panel for video and network connections. This brings the total number of technology-enhanced classrooms to 20 or 45% of all classrooms on campus (see Appendix B). BLACKBOARD Use of Blackboard increased again this year (see Appendix B). DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS (DIGICOMM) Completed first cycle of replacing the notebook computers of rising juniors in the DigiComm program. Notebooks collected, data transferred, and systems returned to the leasing company by established deadlines. Coordinated acquisition of Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance membership for DigiComm program. Desktop/Laptop Computing DESKTOP / LAPTOP COMPUTER STANDARDS Reviewed Dell and Lenovo offerings (mid-year) and decided to stay with Dell for its configure-to-order capabilities and product value / reliability. Windows XP Professional remained the preferred operating system for PCs while MacOS X continued as the standard for Macintosh. (See Appendix C for a breakdown of college-owned computers by type and function.) Tested Windows Vista in early 2007 and concluded that Vista Business will become the standard in At the end of the academic year, the following were campus standards for Windows and Macintosh computers: PC DESKTOP OptiPlex 745 Ultra-Small-Form-Factor, Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz; 2.0GB DDR2 Non-ECC memory; 17" LCD flat panel all-in-one monitor; 80GB hard disk drive; USB 2-button optical mouse w/scroll; 8X DVD+/-RW; sound bar; 3-year NBD onsite warranty.. PC NOTEBOOK (STAFF) Latitude D630, Intel Core 2 Duo 1.80GHz; 14.1" WXGA+ screen; 2.0GB SDRAM memory,; 128MB NVIDIA video graphics; 120GB hard disk drive; touchpad; USB 2 button optical mouse w/scroll; 90W AC adaptor; 8X DVD+/-RW; Intel 3945 WLAN (802.11a/g); 9-Cell/85 WHr Battery; 4-year NBD onsite warranty. PC NOTEBOOK (DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM) Latitude D830, Intel Core 2 Duo 1.80GHz; 15.4" WSXGA+ screen; 2.0GB DDR2-667 SDRAM memory; 256MB NVIDIA video graphics; 120GB hard disk drive; touchpad; USB 2 button optical mouse w/scroll; 90W AC Adapter; 8X DVD+/-RW; Intel 3945 WLAN (802.11a/g), 9-Cell/85 WHr Primary Battery; 3-year NBD onsite, CompleteCare warranty. MACINTOSH DESKTOP imac 17-inch; Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz; Keyboard & Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X; SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW); 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB; 160GB Serial ATA hard drive, 3-year NBD onsite warranty. MACINTOSH NOTEBOOK MacBook Intel Core 2 Duo 2.16GHz; 13.3" wide-screen; 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM memory; 120GB hard disk drive; touchpad; SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW); AirPort Extreme Card (802.11g); 3-year NBD onsite warranty.

4 Information Technology Services: Annual Report Page 3 PRINTER STANDARD Continued to use the Dell w5300n for monochrome laser printing and the HP LaserJet 4650 for color laser printing. SOFTWARE STANDARDS The College's standard suite of applications continues to be Microsoft Office (Office XP Professional for Windows and Office X for Macs). Tested Office 2007 in early 2007 and after user input decided to make it the standard for The College s standard web browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer for Windows and Apple Safari for Macintosh. Other supported software includes Microsoft Outlook Express, Publisher, Visio and TeraTerm Pro for Windows and Entourage for Macintosh. LAPTOP PROGRAM Implemented a laptop program that provides full-time faculty and administrators the option to receive a laptop instead of a desktop when their college-provided computers are up for replacement. CALL TRACKING / INVENTORY SOFTWARE Completed data conversion and implementation of TrackIT!, a new call tracking and computer inventory system. We now have inventory tracking from purchase through installation as well as improved call tracking and reporting capabilities. DIGITAL VIDEO Participated in proof-of-concept testing for digital video recording, conversion, editing, and DVD authoring by faculty. Vista Ultimate will be installed on all faculty systems. Additional video editing and DVD authoring applications are being reviewed. COMPUTER LEASING COMPANY Began using Celtic Leasing for acquisitions of servers, desktops and laptops in the summer of OTHER Coordinated efforts related to changes in daylight savings time that took effect in 2007 and which affected Windows, MacOS and Office. This included campus-wide communications, user assistance, as well as group workshops and individual sessions to help users update their meetings. Information Management Services ACCESSLVC Implemented WebAdvisor 3.0, a major, new release of the software that provides the foundation for AccessLVC. Changed AccessLVC s method of authentication to LDAP thereby allowing users to login to AccessLVC with the same username and password used for all other LVC services. ADMISSIONS Automated the processing of PLA scholarships. Built the portion of an automated process to track web responses to messages sent to prospective students. ALUMNI/DEVELOPMENT Made enhancements to the online honor roll of donors. Helped to implement Blackbaud Researchers Edge. FINANCIAL AID Assisted with the implementation of Alternative Loan Processing through e-courier (provided by AES). This allows Colleague to handle loans from different lenders and automatically transfer them to AES for processing. REGISTRAR S OFFICE Began implementing tools for reporting using the SQL Server reporting database (see below). COLLEAGUE RELEASE 18 (R18) Continued to prepare for the conversion to R18, currently scheduled for December Participated in numerous training sessions including several at the annual meeting of the Datatel User Group. Worked with Datatel to improve tools to convert and check computed columns. Continued work on conversion of computed columns, paragraphs and reports. We have developed many reports over the last 17 years and R18 requires all of them to be tested and many to be re-written at least in part. Continued adding tables in SQL Server to hold live data from Colleague for use in reporting (see below).

5 Information Technology Services: Annual Report Page 4 SQL SERVER AS COLLEAGUE REPORTING DATABASE Expanded the exporting of real-time data from Colleague to SQL Server in support of both administrative reporting and portal needs. AR Statements are now generated from SQL Server using Crystal Reports. The Registrar s Office is using Excel to access SQL Server for ad hoc reports. Began beta testing Data Orchestrator from Datatel as a potential supplement to our own process of moving data to SQLServer. BENEFACTOR REPLACEMENT Continued to work with a group of IT and Advancement staff members researching potential replacements for Benefactor (which Datatel is phasing out). The group has narrowed the number of viable alternatives and will be making a recommendation by January MYLVC PORTAL Assisted with planning and implementation of MyLVC portal (see item below). Technical Services SERVERS Replaced Blackboard, AccessLVC, Print and Library servers. Added servers for Portal and DyKnow. Migrated AccessLVC to new server and configured it to use the standard LVC username and password. Completely rewired both server racks including power, KVM and Cat6 cables. NETWORK Installed wireless bridge between Heilman and Rohland to improve network service to Facilities Services. Installed fiber connections to Friendship and 38/44 College Avenue. Completed fiber installation between Lynch and Blair to provide a redundant link that bypasses Humanities. Replaced old firewalls and VPN concentrators with Cisco ASA s (security units). Upgraded core network wiring and rack, reducing number of racks from two to one. WIRELESS NETWORK Installed wireless network in Blair, Carnegie, Humanities, Kreiderheim, Miller and Zimmerman. Expanded the wireless network in Heilman to include the new gym. All major academic and administrative buildings are now wireless. RESIDENCE HALL NETWORK (RESNET) Implemented use of Campus Manager, a hardware and software solution to manage ResNet registration, remediation and security. Ninety-seven percent of resident students were connected to ResNet in the Fall of 2006 (see Appendix D). INTERNET CONNECTION Upgraded TelCove Internet connection from 10 Mbit to 20 Mbit. NETWORK / DATA PROTECTION Contracted with outside firm to conduct a vulnerability assessment on external access to the campus network and servers. Installed new auto-load tape device for backups. DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN Completed update to the disaster recovery plan. Created and conducted tabletop exercise with ITS staff to test the disaster recovery plan under a possible disaster scenario. TELECOMMUNICATIONS Signed one-year agreement with T-Mobile to wrap two dozen college cell phone accounts under one enterprise plan. Chose Morefield Communications to be the maintenance and support provider for the PBX and voic systems. Completed upgrade to T-Mobile s wireless coverage in the basement of Mund. PORTAL Installed Academus portal software. Completed planning and began implementation of campus portal project (MyLVC) which included focus groups, design, development, advertising and content creation. Installed and configured new application providing access to personal and department files via the web. WEB Created and deployed script to allow select offices to set up temporary guest network access. Implemented script for alumni to request an LVC / network account. Began process of accepting XML feeds from the Stelter planned giving website. Created and deployed process to send and track s sent to prospective students by Admission. Moved student organization web sites from department server in computer science to college file server to make them easier to create and maintain.

6 Information Technology Services: Annual Report Page 5 OTHER Installed 25 Gbit ports and switch in Lynch 181 for Digital Communications classes. Set up webcam for public viewing of progress on Neidig-Garber project. Initiated and implemented a plan to allow graduating seniors starting with the Class of 2007 ongoing access to LVC and file services. Other IBM-SPRINT Decided not to pursue strategic partnership with IBM and Sprint after IBM pulled lead consultant from the project.

7 Information Technology Services: Annual Report Appendix A Information Technology Services Organization Chart Vice President IT Services (Bob Riley) Director Client Services (Mike Zeigler) Client Services Coordinator (Donna Brickley) Senior PC Support Specialist (Todd Gamble) PC Support Specialist (Nate Tulli) Student Lab & Clerical Assistants Student PC Support Assistants Director, Information Management Services (Bob Dillane) Database Analyst/Programmer (Kent Harshman) Database Specialist (Angie Kinney) Student Interns Director Technical Services (Dave Shapiro) System Administration Assistant (Joy Albright) Senior Web Programmer (Stan Furmanak) Network Support Specialist (Matt Velazquez) Student Backup Assistant(s) Student Network Assistant(s) Director Special Services (Walt Smith) Telecommunications Specialist part-time (Henry Maurus) 5/2007 Number of Staff (FTE) in IT Services Professional Staff Support Staff

8 Information Technology Services: Annual Report Appendix B Percent of Tech-Enhanced Classrooms 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 43% 45% 0% Spring 2002 Spring 2003 Spring 2004 Spring 2005 Spring 2006 Spring 2007 Blackboard Use Fall 2001 Fall 2002 Fall 2003 Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Fall 2006 Faculty Sections Students

9 Information Technology Services: Annual Report Appendix C Total Desktop/Laptop Devices (** Not including DigiComm laptops) June 2002 June 2003 June 2004 June 2005 June 2006 June 2007 Devices By User Classification (** Not including DigiComm laptops) June 2002 June 2003 June 2004 June 2005 June 2006 June 2007 Student Academic Administrative Devices By Type (** Not including DigiComm laptops) June 2002 June 2003 June 2004 June 2005 June 2006 June 2007 IBM-Compatible Macintosh

10 Information Technology Services: Annual Report Appendix D Number of Students on ResNet Fall 2001 Fall 2002 Fall 2003 Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Fall 2006 Estimated and before Registered to present