Fall 2007
California State University, Los Angeles
Vice President’s Message
A Message from Peter Quan, Vice President and CTO, Information Technology Services
Welcome back to an exceptionally busy quarter at Cal State
L.A. We are continuing to execute on the vision articulated in
the CSU’s Integrated Technology Strategy and campus strategic
priorities. The major projects, pilot programs, and plans in
support of these systemwide and campus goals underway this fall
are listed below.
Baseline Technology Initiatives
- GET Update: Phase 1 of the migration of the GET student administration system to the CSU's Common Management Systems (CMS) data center was successfully completed on August 27, 2007, when GET was merged into a combined CMS Human Resources and Student Administration (HRSA) system. Phase 2 of the migration, which updates the combined database to PeopleSoft HCM 8.9, is tentatively scheduled to “go-live” in February, 2008. The campus will be notified when the system will be unavailable to users for a period of time prior to the go-live date.
Meanwhile, the project team is testing and documenting the upgraded system, as well as developing training materials for students, faculty, and staff. A PeopleSoft tool, User Productivity Kit (UPK) will be utilized in developing documentation and training material, including Help text to assist Faculty and Student Self-Service users, which can then be directly accessed by users and administered by the technical staff via the Web. Users will be able to access this material at their discretion and at their own pace. Initial UPK material will be available when the system is upgraded in February. Additional material will be published as time permits.
The weekly and monthly maintenance schedule will remain the same: Wednesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and one Sunday each month from twelve midnight to 6 a.m. The new CMS trouble ticket procedure for reporting any performance issues or problems, which was put in place during Phase 1, will continue during and after Phase 2. Although CMS personnel will handle issues that are not related to the campus infrastructure, ITS technical staff will assist in problem resolution, and the ITS Help Desk will monitor trouble ticket status.
Learn more about the HCM conversion at http://cms.calstatela.edu. - Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI): The ATI supports California State University Executive Order 926 (EO 926) – a policy in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and the University Board of Trustees Policy on Disability Support and Accommodations to provide accessibility to all students, faculty, staff, and visitors. Applicable federal laws include, but not limited to, the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.; Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq., and the regulations implementing that act as set forth in Part 1194 of Title 36 of the Federal Code of Regulations. The applicable state laws include, but not limited to, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Government Code § 12940 et seq. and Education Code §§ 67302 and 67310-13, and California Government Code sections 11135-11139.8. To learn more about what Cal State L.A. is doing in support of ATI, visit http://www.calstatela.edu/accessibility/ati/. The campus ATI focus this year addresses the following priorities:
- Instructional Materials: All campus information resources and technologies, including instructional materials, must be fully accessible for persons with disabilities. The ATI states that “Instructional materials are considered to be forms of communication and must therefore be delivered in a manner that is equally effective for persons with disabilities.” All instructional material must be “. . . comparable in quality to those received by students without disabilities, comparable in timeliness of delivery and availability, provided in a manner and medium appropriate to the significance of the message and the abilities of the person receiving the material.”
The major ATI goals this year concerning instructional materials are to more quickly identify students with special access needs and to make alternative materials more quickly available for those who need it. Examples of alternative materials include digital textbooks that can be read with JAWS or other similar screen reading software, or videos that are captioned.
The requirements for the next school year will be that all new courses, new course content, instructional materials, and instructional Web sites will incorporate accessible design. Existing course content will be made accessible at the point of course redesign or when a student with a disability enrolls in a course.
(Source: CSU Accessible Technology Initiative: Instructional Materials. http://www.calstate.edu/accessibility/instructionalmaterials/index.shtml) - Procurement: In support of ATI, the new procedure for accessible electronic and information technology (E&IT) procurement requires that all procurements over $50K must comply with applicable state and federal laws regarding accessibility requirements. Starting September 1, 2008, the goal is for all electronic and information technology purchases greater than $2,500, except for campus-issued credit card purchases, to comply with accessibility requirements. For more information, visit: http://www.calstate.edu/Accessibility/EIT_Procurement/
- Web Accessibility: Access to the Internet and its resources, including Web sites, Web applications, and digital content must be made accessible to individuals with disabilities as required by federal and state laws. The campus has purchased licenses for different tools that a Webmaster or individual page author could use for evaluating the accessibility compliancy of all the pages on our campus Web site. For more information on the Web accessibility component of the ATI, visit: http://www.calstate.edu/accessibility/webaccessibility/
- Instructional Materials: All campus information resources and technologies, including instructional materials, must be fully accessible for persons with disabilities. The ATI states that “Instructional materials are considered to be forms of communication and must therefore be delivered in a manner that is equally effective for persons with disabilities.” All instructional material must be “. . . comparable in quality to those received by students without disabilities, comparable in timeliness of delivery and availability, provided in a manner and medium appropriate to the significance of the message and the abilities of the person receiving the material.”
- Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: In support of the University president, all the executive officers and management continue to plan for disaster recovery and business continuity in support of CSU Executive Order 921 (EO 921), the University Emergency Management Program.
- Identity Management (IdM): IdM will make it easier for authorized users to access most campus resources with only one user ID and password instead of several. IdM is a core function required to cut the time required to grant and revoke access to electronic information and resources, simplify user access, and ensure access is granted only as authorized. It cuts across all University processes. Once implemented, not only will it result in time and cost savings for students, faculty, and staff, but add security for sensitive data as well. Examples of the kinds of functionality possible with IdM include access to all the resources a particular user would need depending on their job duties or student status and the ability for users to update their own information.
The first phase of the IdM project is planned to start during winter 2008, with a phased in implementation in the fall 2008 quarter. Phase 1 will include establishing the general-purpose IdM infrastructure for authorizing and authenticating users, automating account provisioning, and enabling student accounts with self-administration functions such as password reset. - Learning Management System (LMS): ITS is working with the Provost to develop the strategic direction for the campus concerning LMS. The current WebCT/Blackboard contract is due to expire on June 6, 2008. Cal State L.A. will participate in a CSU systemwide Request for Proposal (RFP) process for LMS.
- Security: As always, the protection of confidential information is a campus priority. Information security is everybody’s responsibility. While technology can help us protect confidential information, it alone is not sufficient. Information security assurance relies just as much on our campus users becoming more “security savvy” as it does on technology solutions. To help the campus community become more aware of security issues, one of the featured articles in this fall’s ITS News discusses “spear phishing,” a particularly devious cyber scam. And, as always, the following information security awareness resources are available online:
- Are You Secure? Web site (information security resources, including a security news ticker, tips, and information on viruses, phishing, pharming, spam, hoaxes, and more)
- ITS Guidelines and Policies Web page (user guidelines and applicable laws/regulations)
- Are You Secure?Quick Id Theft Reference Guide (what to do if you are victim of identity theft)
- Are You Secure? Quick Reference Guide (an overview of information security assurance: what you should protect, how, who to report information theft, relevant laws, useful definitions)
- Emergency Notification System: ITS is working in with the President’s Office, the Provost, the Vice President of Administration and Finance, and University Police in the planning for a new Emergency Notification System is planned to alert students, faculty, and staff in the event of an emergency.
Access
- Wireless Access: The University continues to expand its wireless access coverage to more areas on campus. In addition to Kennedy Library North, the Golden Eagle, and major outdoor areas, a wireless network is now installed in the Engineering and Technology building. Full campus wireless coverage is expected by the end of the fall 2008 quarter.
- NIS Accounts and Official Communications with Students: Starting January 2, 2008, NIS e-mail will be used as a means for official communications with students . To prepare for that, the campus is conducting a pilot this fall. NIS accounts are now required to access Library computers and databases, and, starting January 2, 2008, they will be required to access all campus computing resources. To call attention to the greater role of NIS accounts, ITS is sponsoring three drawings this fall that give students a chance to win a laptop computer .
- ITRP2: The Infrastructure Terminal Resources Project (ITRP 2) refresh for the entire campus is in progress, with several major goals already accomplished. Cal State L.A. is one of the CSU Beta campuses for ITRP2 refreshes. The upgrade of security and perimeter firewalls is already completed. The upgrade of the core data switches was implemented on October 20-21, 2007. At the beginning of the winter 2008 quarter, ITS will upgrade the internal firewall system for campus servers. The rollout of wireless access campus-wide and other refreshes are also scheduled for next year. ITRP2 is designed to meet ever-evolving technology needs of students, faculty, and staff. The result will be a safer and more reliable computing experience for the entire campus community. For more information on the CSU systemwide IRTP2 project, see http://nta.calstate.edu/ITRP2.shtml
- Technology Enhanced Classrooms (TECs): ITS has already converted 86 classrooms to TECs. Plans are underway to convert 25 more classrooms this 2007/2008 fiscal year, each equipped with a data projector, document camera, networked computer, DVD/VCR combo player, A/V switcher, amplified speakers, 8-foot screen, Extron touch panel, laptop cable, USB cable, tamper alarms, wall telephone, and media console. The additional TECs will help provide faculty members with the multimedia tools they need and want – and that students expect – to better deliver lectures and demonstrations. Because the demand for TECs is so high, the new TECs are expected to greatly alleviate classroom scheduling problems.
- Athletics/Intramural Enhancements: In cooperation with President’s Office, ITS is investigating upgrade options to the existing athletics/intramural communications systems in the main gym, stadium, and baseball field.
- New Construction: ITS continues equipping buildings under construction for data, telecommunications, and classroom services. These installations are already completed in the Herzberg Forensic Science/Criminal Justice building, and work is underway in Wing A of new science complex and the new Student Union.
- Data Communications: The following has, or will be installed: Network switches, controllers, firewalls, routers, data jacks with a minimum of 100 Mb (megabits) fully switched for extremely fast transmissions, CAT6 wiring, and a 36 Mb wireless network.
- Telecommunications: The buildings are being equipped with telephone, facsimile, and voice mail services.
- Classroom Services: The buildings are being equipped with technology enhanced classrooms (TECs), with a PC at every desk.
Training
- New ITS Training Program Workshops: Seven new workshops have been added to extensive list of ITS Training Program free offerings. They are: Adobe Photoshop CS2, Creating a Webpage Using HTML, Macromedia Dreamweaver 8, Macromedia Flash 8, Microsoft Visio: Process Mapping for Staff, Outlook 2003 for Staff, and Outlook Web Access (OWA) for Students.
Support
- Expanded ITS Services: In a continuing effort to provide better customer service, outreach, and support , ITS is offering more training workshops and has extended the ITS Help Desk hours of operation. The new hours are:
Monday - Thursday:8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday:8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturdays:9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (fall, winter, and spring sessions)
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (summer sessions)
During each quarter break , the ITS Help Desk is open during these hours:
Monday - Friday:8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
We hope that our technology enhancements, improved communications, expanded services, and information security awareness activities help you more fully enjoy campus computing resources this fall quarter and the rest of the school year.