IT Download - May 2002

In lieu of "What's Next?  with Mike Parker", the editorial staff has included the following "CMS Update".

CMS Update

CSUF CMS Team

The campus CMS team is headed by Sherri Newcomb, CFO, and includes Mike Parker, CI/TO, and Chuck Kensicki, Director for Enterprise Computing.  Chuck joined IT last spring with the charge to initiate, coordinate and support campus efforts to successfully implement the Common Management System (CMS) created by the Office of the Chancellor of the CSU.  Sherri represents President Gordon on the system-wide CMS board and related matters and acts as primary contact with the Chancellor’s Office CMS operation. 

This update was created in response to frequently asked questions about CMS and campus plans to implement PeopleSoft.

What is CMS and why do we need it?          

CMS is a version of software called “Enterprise Resource Planning” or ERP.  Over the last decade large corporations have been developing this omnibus or monolithic software as a way to keep track of all of their activity in one system. The CSU has reached a critical juncture with its existing information management systems, which provide invisible, yet essential operations such as financial management, payroll, HR, student information, etc.  As it now stands, the existing systems (or legacy systems) are no longer able to provide cost effective solutions for a myriad of administrative needs. These problems include:

• Increased demand for services, by both academic and administrative users and students. The demand is continuous, but most legacy systems have reached the limits of their technical capabilities.
  
  

• Inability to maintain legacy systems.  Vendor support for these systems is eroding and will soon be non-existent as service providers concentrate on newer and more profitable product.
  
  

• Interfacing with the State Controller's Office 21st Century new payroll system will require certain Human Resources applications which are largely unavailable to the CSU with existing systems.
  
  
• The demand for timely and accurate management information for decision making/support is only marginally met by current systems.
  
  
• The cost of our current systems continues to grow.  Investing additional scarce resources to keep inadequate legacy systems limping along is a waste of tax dollars, and every year the decision is delayed, the cost for a solution increases.

CMS, or “Common Management System”, is the approach that the CSU has taken in an effort to provide a solution that will prevent an otherwise problematic future for the campuses.  The CMS project involves the implementation of a state-of-the-art, integrated information system on all CSU campuses that will improve the quality and efficiency of information management and provide for improved services to students, faculty and staff. 

After nearly three years of analysis, the CSU chose PeopleSoft as the vendor to provide the administrative software package that would make CMS possible.  The implementation of CMS system-wide will benefit the CSU by heading off the greater costs of a prolonged, campus-by-campus approach which could spread over the next 10-15 years; assuring that CSU continues to provide essential services into the future on a state-of-the-art technology platform; and providing an environment that will scale over the lifecycle of the project since the campuses will all implement from a single operations data center using a single maintenance support organization.

The replacement of each campus’s administrative systems will require significant effort and investment of dollars and human resources.  But, by systematically implementing CMS system-wide, the CSU hopes to achieve a target administrative environment by 2005 that will:

• Perform administrative functions in concert with a common set of “best practices” approaches.
  
  

• Support administrative functions (initially including human resources, financials, and student services) with a shared, common suite of PeopleSoft applications software.
  
  

• Operate the administrative software suite at a shared data center.

Information on the CMS at the CSU level is provided by the Cal State CMS website at http://cms.calstate.edu

When will CSUF deploy CMS?

The system-wide deployment of CMS is occurring in two waves.  Eleven campuses self-selected based upon their individual campus assessments of their own needs and abilities to implement.  Fresno, Hayward, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Maritime Academy, Northridge, Pomona, San Bernardino, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, and Sonoma were all participants in the first wave of deployment.  Based on the assessment of our campus’ needs, CSUF has chosen to participate in the second wave with a projected implementation in 2005-2006. Budget plans for CMS already have been made to take our campus through the implementation phase. 

Our CMS team, plus additional technical staff from the campus, has been participating in a series of planning meetings that include status reports from the first wave campuses. The second wave campuses have the advantage of being able to learn from the first wave campus problems.  Given the magnitude of the project, a number of issues have been raised.  The baseline system is complex and there are questions about hardware and software support and the features of packaged releases.  Several campuses have expressed interest in developing baseline modifications that provide specific solutions to campus needs.  Dialogue continues on these and related issues.

What efforts is CSUF making in preparation for CMS?

Chuck has been assembling a team of business analysts and programmers who are working to develop a detailed project implementation plan, identify and develop transition tools, and subsequently lead the campus effort to successful implementation of CMS.  The FileNet Document Management and Workflow Project provides a number of those key transition tools.

The implementation of CMS will clearly be a very complicated and complex operation, as it is a project of massive proportions; in essence, CSUF will be replacing its current mainframe system with an off-site, centrally operated system. Because CSUF will be taking its locally maintained system that currently meets our campus’ specific administrative needs, and migrating our data into a common system designed to meet the less specific needs of the entire CSU, there will be inevitable consequences and challenges. 

In order to prepare ourselves for these challenges, we are taking steps that will enable us to continue meeting our campus’ needs, even after we have implemented CMS.  Our goal is to make the transition from our mainframe to CMS as smooth and invisible as possible.  The Campus Web Portal and the FileNet project are key parts of the strategy that will be involved in facilitating a smooth transition.  Acting as “buffers”, or a front end to the complex CMS, the Campus Web Portal and FileNet will provide us a way to maintain our campus-specific administrative functionalities.  (More information on the student administrative system and the Campus Web Portal will be provided in subsequent issues of the CMS newsletter as these issues become more relevant.)

Previous IT Download articles have discussed FileNet features: 

http://www.fullerton.edu/it/download/nov01/index.htm

http://www.fullerton.edu/it/download/may01/index.htm

While we move forward with document management, we are analyzing and evaluating the level of efficiency and accuracy of current business processes. We are finding that many of the processes currently in place are very complex, involving multiple functions and multiple departments; therefore, the highest level of accuracy is required to make e-processes valuable. We will continue to re-engineer, or re-design, e-processes in order to make common and often complex workflows more efficient.  Ladd Roberts joined the Enterprise computing team in December to manage process improvement projects. 

What FileNet projects are underway?

We are moving forward with document management for the President's Office and capture and retrieval of documents for Business and Financial Affairs, Admission and Records, and Loans and Collections.  We are in the process of rolling out access to many documents that are needed by various offices that currently rely on hard copy mail.  We are also moving reports that were previously green bar reports from the Student System and Financial System to the Report Manager.

We are also developing the monthly Leave Accounting, Travel Authorization and Claim, Staff Requisition, Part Time Faculty Contract, and other forms utilizing E-Process and Workflow.  These processes have been started with small groups and are being expanded on and refined.  Additional projects are in the works and will encompass the campus community as we move forward.  One of these projects deals with new ways to index campus information:  The Document Management work group established a subcommittee on Document Indexing and Control to address this question:  How do we ensure that documents are appropriately indexed for storage and retrieval in a way that meets the needs of the campus as a whole?

The goal is to identify the smallest number of fields that will allow us to navigate through documents around campus.  Critical factors in the indexing process include common naming, common storage of values (for access), and awareness that indexing directly affects business processes and process re-engineering.  Members represent all campus divisions and include:  Karen Wall (Student Affairs), Davida Hopkins-Parham (Academic Affairs), Welson Badal (Adminsitration), James Blackburn (Academic Affairs), Chuck Kensicki (IT), Susan Kachner (IT), Dick Bednar (IT), Sheila Faris-Penn (Advancement), Mike Parker (IT), Katina Napper (Academic Affairs), Paula Selleck (Exec. VP), Cheryl Perreira (BFA), Ruby Cook (BFA), Mike Marcinkevicz (IT), and Susan Parman (Anthropology).

Editor's note: For further discussion on FileNet, see the article on business process improvement by Ladd Roberts.

Changing the Way We Work and Working
the Way We Change
Adapting the Process of Work for Improvement

  "Adapting old programs to fit new machines usually means adapting new machines to behave like old ones."

-Alan J. Perlis

Most of us still generally do “things” (work) because, well, that’s just the way we “do things”.  In turn, we add more, and bigger, and faster computers and reengineer our software to run on the bigger and faster computers, and behold… we still work the way we always worked and with only incremental returns on efficiency.  So, how do we change the way we work and, most importantly, how do we work the way we change?

Adaptability is responding to changing environmental variables quickly and accordingly.  Without a common and deep understanding of the way we work as a system, there is simply no way to understand and adapt to how we must work and thrive in our “business of education”.  Dr. Perlis notwithstanding, Cal State Fullerton cannot afford to simply adapt new machines to old processes.  We must be prepared to continuously reinvent our processes and ourselves and, if indicated, apply new work-enabling technologies as they become available. 

This article is the first of a series exploring the way we work, the way we understand the way we work, and the pathways we take to change the way we work. 

Processes – the Flow of Work

So much of our daily lives are visual and experiential in nature.  Our workplace is no exception.  Asked to describe “what we do”, we usually launch into a verbal or written description that leaves much to be desired and, for the most part, only covers that work which flows across our desk or comes via telephone or fax.  If you stop to think however, much of the work that gets done – really done – is not the result of the function of a position, or even the function of a department.  Work gets done in the spaces between organization charts and through relationships that are cross-departmental. 

Rummler-Bache, arguably the leading “methodology” for process improvement, defines a process as “a series of steps which convert one or more inputs into one or more outputs.”  Clear?  Probably not. 

The easiest way to describe a “process” is to think of a piece of paper or form that regularly crosses your desk.  The “life” of the form had a “beginning” (someone decided to send it to you for action).  To get to you the form may have traveled across other desks and departments with action taken at each level, and it may have an “end” or be “completed” in a different department still.  Now, “staple yourself” to that form – from its inception through its end of life.  Imagine all the knowledge, implications, and decisions required by and of the form and its contained information.  The pathway taken by the form, the knowledge gained during its trip, are the “inputs”.  The decisions and interactions of the form-contained-information as well as its associated implications are the “outputs”.  We have just visualized a “business process”. 

Describing What We Imagine

To best describe a process, one must move beyond roles and organization charts and explore the areas in between.  Within the description there must be a discovery of not only the “hows and whys” of the way we work, but most importantly, the visual descriptions should be used as tools to address disconnects at all levels of performance against which we are held accountable (or not accountable as the case may be).  These maps generally fall into three categories:

• Process Relationship Maps – represent a high-level view of the organization (and/or the department) and embody how each process interacts with all other processes. 
  
  

• Work Process Maps – describe the way work is sequentially accomplished.
  
  

• Function Relationship Maps – describe the “inputs and outputs” between internal and external departments, customers or vendors.

(In future articles we will provide samples and dig deeper into each of the types of maps.   As we become more involved in Process Improvement on the campus, we will describe ways you might find yourself involved in a “process improvement initiative.”  Additionally, we will share the “success stories” of ongoing process improvement projects.)

Looking for Change in All the Right Places

Once visually described, processes can be analyzed, bottlenecks identified, solutions recommended, and, if the recommendations improve the way we work, adopted as a “Business Process Improvement” project. 

These projects don’t always involve “leading edge” software and hardware technologies.  For example, much of our “business knowledge” resides in mainframe systems and historical data.  Key stakeholders depend on this information and the value it provides in their daily work environment.  Access to this information is not always easy – unless a solid and thorough understanding of the business requirement (the business processes involved) is visualized.  Once visualized, access to the information can be adapted and facilitated for easy, rapid, retrieval.  In several cases on campus, this is accomplished via web-based reporting tools that “hide” the complexity of mainframe systems – the right information, in the right format, at the right time, and anywhere it is needed.

Other process improvement projects do not require the application of technology at all.  If, for example, during the course of visualizing a process, “rules and regulations” are found to have changed resulting in less requirements for “manual processing”, then by all means, adapt to the changes by reengineering the way work is done.

Many departments on campus are benefiting from the capabilities of document imaging and automated workflow (eProcess) with FileNET, an Enterprise Computing system, and are even putting a FileNET “front end” on complex mainframe-oriented systems.  Through FileNET, documents of all kinds can be scanned into a repository, (in some cases eliminating the need for printed copies), where electronic “signatures” can be attached.  The system then automates the transfer of the forms and documents to the appropriate department or individual for action.  Travel-related documents are being scanned, with all receipts attached, and forwarded for approval.  Academic records are being scanned and maintained electronically.  To aid decision-making, invoices are being imaged, matched and merged with historical data from the mainframe (adapting “old machines” to behave like “new” ones), and instantly retrieved.  All of these “processes” have been analyzed and “reinvented” to some degree through process improvement activities. 

Finally, and in ways that span differing industries, the way we work has been found to be evolutionary in nature…evolving until it is “cultural climate” as much as “weathered requirement” that drives the process.  Work is often the result of “individual heroic effort” and not “best practice” design.  The job still gets done, but it really, really hurts sometimes and certainly is not “scaleable” – increase the workload and the system could reach gridlock.  Mapping the process flow of such a scenario is not always easy.  Suggesting a solution harder yet.  Adapting to the solution may be harder still – yet, in just such cases there is found the greatest opportunity for dramatic improvement in work efficiency and quality of work life.  It is these places the Enterprise Computing team most enthusiastically seeks – places where we can improve the quality of both work results and work life. 

Watch for future articles about additional Business Process Reengineering and other Enterprise Computing activities.  (And for an Enterprise Computing Business Process Improvement project near you!)

New part-time faculty member Professor Pomfret visits the TitanCard office at 5:30 p.m. on the first day of the semester to obtain her TitanCard. Once she has a TitanCard in hand, she will be able to purchase a faculty pass that will allow her to park on campus and meet her first class bright and early the following morning.  When Professor Pomfret arrives to the TitanCard Office, she realizes that she doesn’t have her faculty contract with her to verify her employment; Since it is after normal office hours, her department office is closed and cannot verify Professor Pomfret's employment!  There is no online database to check, so the TitanCard staff is unable to issue a card.  What is Professor Pomfret to do?  How can we help to resolve her predicament?

Campus department and state databases are often created separately, and with our current system, the changes in one database are not automatically reflected in the others; often these changes and/or additions may lag by a month or more.  The implementation of a Super Directory proposes to prevent predicaments like Professor Pomfret's from ever happening. 

What kind of directory system does the campus currently use?

Currently, Cal State Fullerton does not have a central electronic directory for the campus community.  Instead, there are many directories that are independently maintained by various departments across the campus.  Many of these directories, though, are incomplete and lack current and accurate information.

Why is there a need for a change?

There is no centralized directory to verify a campus affiliate’s (i.e., faculty, staff, alumni, students, prospective students, contractors, and volunteers associated with campus support groups) eligibility for services.  The absence of complete directory information hinders and complicates the process that one must go through to receive services on campus (i.e., parking, email, portal access, rollout computers, etc.). The solution will be one single, massive database that will hold data on the entire campus community, including what privileges they are entitled to based upon their role on campus.

What is the CSUF Super Directory and how will it work?

The Super Directory will be a centralized database containing information on all those associated with the campus.  Each member of the campus community will have one unique entry in the Super Directory that lists their current and previous role(s) on campus.  Once affiliates of the campus are entered into the directory their entry will remain permanent.  Though they may separate from the university (graduate, etc.), the affiliate’s unique entry will remain; the directory will reflect the status change of each role. 

The Super Directory will start out as a compilation of existing information from select directories like the Exchange email database for example.  Using the Exchange directory information will ensure that inaccurate data is not entered into the Super Directory since each campus affiliate’s Exchange information will be validated through Business and Financial Affairs before their data is entered.

The Super Directory will also offer the ability for the campus community to have multiple roles on campus (e.g., a staff member who is also a student).   Each role can have an open-ended (alumni) or limited duration (contract employee), and each role will entitle a person to different privileges on the campus such as parking, email, a rollout computer, etc.  The directory will create a unique and secure CSUFID that will be used as an alternative to SSN.  This unique ID will be a randomly generated nine-digit (eight digits plus a check digit) number that will be a permanent part of each person’s record. 

A record of all services that an individual uses, such as, library books, rollout computers, email, keys, etc. will be stored and maintained in the Super Directory; the directory will interface directly with other databases such as SIS+, FMS, TitanCard, Telephone System, Door Access System, Exchange, Help Desk, and many others.  This will allow for information validation and synchronization between the Super Directory and these other databases, and will provide an easy alternative for clearance from the campus.

Will the information in the Super Directory be secure?

Information entered in the Super Directory will be very secure, ensuring that personal information is well protected.  Personal information such as Social Security numbers, salaries, etc. will not be exposed, and all sites that are linked to the Super Directory will use Secure Socket Layer, or SSL (encryption).  In addition, there will be a complete audit trail of information that is accessed and/or changed for each campus affiliate.

The Super Directory will use the existing campus hierarchy [Division (VP Offices); Sub-division (Dean’s Offices); Department; Sub-department (Offices associated with each department)] as a means of identifying an affiliate’s role, or position, and information access privileges. 

The Super Directory will serve as the backbone for the campus portals, and thus is critical to their success.  In order for the CSUF portals to function, there must be a way to verify a user’s active role on campus; the Super Directory will provide role verification.  Currently, the Super Directory is only supporting the student portal since it is populated only with student data.  In order to launch the faculty, staff and other CSUF portals, the Super Directory must be populated with complete, accurate, and up-to-date information on all campus affiliates.

Software Piracy
by Susan Lasswell

Unauthorized copying, lending, and even some uses of software can be illegal, and while an unpopular perspective, it is not a victimless crime.  It is occurring with increasing frequency and it leaves a legacy of negative economic impact.  Higher education’s technology orientation makes it more vulnerable to software piracy that could expose institutions as well as individuals to legal liability.   In late fall federal law-enforcement agents raided computer networks and seized computers at major universities to shut down what is described as “one of the Internet’s largest and most sophisticated software piracy networks.” (NY Times,12-12-01).

Software Piracy and the Law

The Business Software Alliance’s statement on Software Piracy and the Law succinctly cites the issues: 

When you purchase software, you do not become the owner of the copyright—you are purchasing the right to use it under certain restrictions imposed by the copyright owner, typically the software publisher.  The precise rules are described in the documentation accompanying the software--the license.    Most often, they state that you have the right to load the copy onto a single computer and make one backup copy. 

The statement continues to identify the risks and penalties that accompany software piracy.

Business can be held liable under both civil and criminal law for employee’s installation of unauthorized software copies on company computers or acquiring illegal software through the Internet.   Penalties can include:  monetary damages, actions to prevent use of software, fines and jail time.  There are other important reasons to discourage the use of copied or counterfeit software: greater exposure to defects and viruses; inadequate or no documentation; no warranties; lack of product support; and ineligibility for upgrades

Higher Education and Intellectual Work

One of the fundamental missions of higher education is to respect the intellectual work and property of authors and publishers in all media, including computer software. The American founding fathers ensured protection of such in the US Constitution, which declares that “the congress shall have the power to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries (US Constitution, Article 1 Section 8.) The US Copyright Office website has an updated version of the protection provided by the constitution to authors of intellectual property:

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following categories: 

• (1) literary works

• (2) musical works, including any accompanying words

• (3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music

• (4) pantomimes and choreographic works

• (5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works

• (6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works

• (7) sound recordings

• (8) architectural works

These categories should be viewed broadly.  For example, computer programs and most "compilations" may be registered as "literary works"; maps and architectural plans may be registered as "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works."  Original work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form so that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.  Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed or organized.

Impact of the Internet

The debate over value and ownership of intellectual property, including software piracy, has intensified with the use of the Internet, particular by the new generation of teens and young adults.  In the March 11 issues of InformationWeek, the article “Whose Rules?” describes how adept this generation is at finding and using digital information.  Many recognize the breech of ethics involved in using copyrighted intellectual property yet do not want to pay intermediaries.  One of the students interviewed stated that technology vendors should increase their prices if they want to cover their losses.  Another 21-year-old student agreed that, assuming that there will be stolen copies, vendors should try to make more money from the honest consumers.  On the other side of the debate, however, another proposed “if vendors lowered their prices, it would be better because people would rather buy the original.”  While these analyses may be naïve, they get to the heart of the dilemma faced by the intellectual property industries, including the music industry.  John Barrie of www.turnitin.com (site that checks student papers for plagiarism) says, “The evolution of intellectual property will happen whether industries want it to or not.”

Supporting the concept that the Internet has altered the playing field for intellectual property, Barrie posits that digital sharing is a notion that businesses need to embrace: “Improved technologies and a generation of savvier users means that any industry that sells digital information is vulnerable”.  The Internet is forcing companies to review their business models, ethics policies, and internal controls. “There’s no doubt that the marketplace evolves and develops new rules on how to deal with intellectual property,” says Ramon Barquin, president of Computer Ethics Institute, non-profit research, education and policy study group in Washington, D. C.

Economic Impact of Software Piracy

Meanwhile, software piracy is having a measurable economic impact.   According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), in the United States, 24% of all business software is unlicensed.  BSA estimates that industry lost more than $2.9 billion in revenue in the US in 2000.  Substantial job losses, lost wages and lost tax revenue are additional results of pirated software.

In addition to these direct economic impacts, one has to ask what other useful software programs and tools have never been developed or availed to the public because of the disrespect for the creator’s copyright?  Furthermore, what amount of time and resources must be devoted to new non value added devices which are needed to prevent or deter piracy?  How much of our law enforcement resource is being diverted to white-collar crime and what is the subsequent affect on more harmful criminal acts?  Is the time coming where much harsher penalties must be applied and what impact will those have on the lives and families of those convicted?

For a free software management guide or to report piracy, call the toll-free BSA anti-piracy hotline at 1-888-NO-PIRACY or log on at www.bsa.org.

IT Annual Survey 2002

For the third consecutive year, IT asked the campus community to rate IT services via an on-line survey.  We appreciate the outstanding response this year and especially thank the many people who took time to write comments.

To reflect the expanding technologies employed on campus and better guide us in meeting campus needs, we expanded the number of items from 17 to 33.   Respondents were asked to use the following scale:

            1—no experience or knowledge of the service
            2—lousy
            3—problematic
            4—average
            5—good
            6—great

Analysis

383 people responded, an increase of 34% over 2001.   The number of responses per item ranged from 34 (Blackberry users) to 369 (campus email).

Because of the addition of so many items, comparative data is not available in all areas.  The ratings, with some minor shifts upwards or downwards, reveal striking consistency between years and services.  Mean scores ranged from a low of 4.5 for (just one item, Postmaster) to a high of 5.3, (for just one item, voice mail.)  All other ratings are between 4.8 and 5.2, centering on the “good” rating.

The meaning of some particular responses is worth identifying.  We have hypothesized about the reasons for the relatively high numbers of low ratings for the 7 items that had 10% or more responses in the problematic and lousy categories. 

• Campus Proxy Servers:  People have a very hard time following directions for setting up access.  Some interference is due to Internet service providers.

• Titan Internet Access:  Set up is confusing for some folks and the connection is not as fast as we would like.

• Campus Bulletin Board and Postmaster:  Eighteen of the comments were focused on Postmaster and/or Campus Bulletin Board with the prevailing sentiment being along these lines: “ Please do away with either Campus Bulletin Board or Postmaster. The evaluation of either has been long enough.”   The low rating for Postmaster reinforces PAB’s recent decision to retire Postmaster (effective date is May 31, 2002).

• Desktop Fax:  The scores reflect the transition from previous to new fax software.  

• Email on the Web:  Ratings reflect the unplanned episodes of downtime and the inconveniences caused by migration to Active Directory.

• Electronic Class Rosters:  There is some misunderstanding of directions; a number of instructors’ names were not entered in a timely manner.  

IT staff have contacted those that expressed special concerns.

2002 Annual Survey Data

Comments

Some 150 people took time to respond to the one open-ended question:  Tell us how we can improve these or any other services.  Those comments ranged from very specific suggestions, some general observations, and a few complaints to compliments, including those listed below. 

“The staff that has come out to assist with problems on the computers have been extremely patient, polite and helpful.  Good customer service.”

“Great people, always friendly and helpful!”

“Your services are wonderful.  I only wish other campuses were as lucky as us.”

“I have been VERY impressed with the support you have provided!!!

I am extremely pleased with all my interactions with IT related areas. Keep up the great work.

“IT (Mike Parker) has done a truly outstanding job for the campus infrastructure at large…”

"Keep up the Herculean task of keeping us all together. The Help Desk is wonderful! All of support people have been efficient, knowledgeable and so helpful. Thank you! "

"You have done an excellent job of improving your services over the last year."

Portal Update

Following the successful launch of the student portal earlier this semester, the Web Services Team broadened their scope to include plans for the  implementation of the first phase of the faculty/staff portal in the fall of 2002.  Focus groups comprised of both faculty and staff members have already met to brainstorm for possible portal features.  Phase 1 of the faculty/staff portal will, at a minimum, have many basic features similar to those in the student portal, such as: My Email, My Calendar, My Links, My Profile, and News and Information.  The Web Portal Committee will finalize the requirements and specifications for the portal by the end of May, giving time for the Web Services Team to begin implementation over the summer, and launch in fall 2002. 

Phase 2 of the student portal is also expected to launch in the fall, introducing a My Clubs tab and a finalized process outlining how and what messages are pushed to students in the News and Information field.  Amir Dabirian and his web team are still meeting with various departments to see what other features might be feasible to include in this phase of the student portal.

Faculty and staff members may log on to a demo student portal by visiting http://my.fullerton.edu, username: demo  password: demo

Best Practices for Desktop Computer Use 

Please take a moment to go over this checklist of how the university expects you to be using the desktop computer provided through the President’s Technology infrastructure Initiative.

Computer Operations

• The computer stays on campus, and cannot be taken home.  Your supervisor or “appropriate administrator” cannot give you permission to take it off campus.
  
  
• “Restart” the computer when you leave for the day or the weekend.  The Restart sets computer memory, prevents others from using it without permission, and guarantees that system maintenance will not affect any work in progress.
  
  
• Keep the computer tower turned on unless specifically told to turn it off.  To conserve electricity you can always power off the monitor, printer and other peripheral devices. During extreme electrical shortages, the university will be required to reduce electrical use, and employees will be instructed to turn computers off when not in use.  During normal times, the computer CPU should be left on at all times so that maintenance work can be done without impacting daily activities.

Energy / Monitor Management

• Use the “energy saver” mode to turn off the monitor after a short idle period.  This reduces energy use by 2/3 without affecting your activities.
  
  
• Do NOT load 3^rd party screen savers.  Before energy conscious computers became common, screen savers were essential to prevent monitors from “burning in” images.  With the energy setting turning the screen off completely, screen savers are no longer needed, and can’t even be seen.

Computer Security

• Be Careful.  Do not download items from the internet indiscriminately.
  
  
• When you leave your workplace, consider LOCKING the workstation as you leave, rather
  than waiting for the screen saver to activate.  (Press <ctrl-alt-delete>, then <enter>)
  
  
• Select a strong password and change it at least every six months.  The effort to guess a password grows exponentially with length and when UPPER case letters, numbers, and punctuation are included.  Your password should be at least nine characters long and should include at minimum one alpha UPPER CASE character, one alpha lower case character, one numeric character, and one special character (punctuation marks).  Your password should not be a common name or word found in a dictionary.
  
  
• Keep your password private.  Do not tell other people what it is.  If your supervisor or other staff need to be able to access your computer when you’re not available, ask the Help Desk how to set up permission for them to log on to your computer and get to the files they need.  Or, seal your password in an envelope that your supervisor can keep in a safe place.
  
  
• Do not use your campus user name and password for other services.  If you are signed up for AOL, for Amazon.com, Yahoo.com, home banking, or some other internet service, use a different user name and password.  The university doesn’t care if you use the same identity for all of your off-campus needs, nor if you never change them off campus.
  
  
• Back up your files regularly.  Each desktop computer has both a Zip drive and a “CD Writer”.  Zip’s hold up to 100MB of information, and CD’s up to 700MB.  People who have files that cannot reasonably be backed up to Zip’s or CD’s should investigate other options.  Some departments have purchased servers to provide centralized backup of important files, or even entire computers.
  
  
• Take your backup off campus.  Any event which makes your computer inaccessible, such as a fire, earthquake, contamination, theft or vandalism might also destroy any backup media left close to it.  One day you may come to work and be told the entire building is contaminated and you CANNOT go in, “not even for one minute”.  The university can set up another computer at another location for you to work, but how will you get your files?

TitanCard Update: CS Gold Migration

In mid-January the TitanCard team completed the last phase of the ICAM to CS Gold migration. The new Diebold system replaces one Dec Alpha server (running on open VMS) with two NT servers, one for the database and the other for transactions. The result is a more stable and robust system that also includes a user-friendly Graphical User Interface and various reporting options. The cutover occurred the evening of January 8, with the successful testing of the essential interfaces: Missouri Book System (used in Titan Shops), CashNet, and OCTFCU, CS Print (networked printing program). There were some instances of incomplete data moving over from ICAM but, for the most part, the cutover went as predicted and most cardholders were unaware of the migration.

Thanks and congratulations go to the TitanCard team of Irene Pergamo, Loan Vuong, Johnnie Peralez, Victoria Nichols, Gladys Maldoon, Willie Peng, and Mike Marcinkevicz for their various roles in ensuring the nearly seamless migration. Thanks also are due to the following people who went “above and beyond” to assist in the integration of their systems:

Andrea Brown: OCTFCU/ TitanCard
Omar Iftikhar, Lance Meredith: Foundation/TitanShops
Shawn Chang: BFA
Jeff Herzog:  Administrative Computing
Dave Hanighen: OCTFCU

Telephone Services offers an array of training classes that can help you maximize the usefulness of your campus telephone and voicemail. Our monthly classes (listed below) are held through Employee Training & Development. Contact ETD to find a current list of dates or to register. If you have questions about course content, contact Lori Arthur at x4488.

Getting the Most Out of Your Campus Phone (a.k.a. Telephone Features Class): This class covers how to utilize the numerous features of the basic 18 button ISDN phone. Not only will you learn how to set the time and date on your phone but you’ll also learn about call pickup, call park, abbreviated dial, intercom, conferencing, call forward, and much more. Find out how these features can make your work life easier.

Using Voicemail to Simplify Your Life (a.k.a. Voicemail Class): This class covers both the basic and advanced features of our voicemail system. We’ll show you not only how to record a greeting, but also how to forward a message and how to record an alternate greeting for vacation/sick days. Your voicemail can save you time – we’ll show you how.

New Technology Coordinator Class This class is intended for persons who have been newly designated by their department as Department Technology Coordinators. The function of the Department Technology Coordinator is to handle all phone, email, and computer requests/work orders for their department. All of the duties of the Department Technology Coordinator are covered including how to fill out the online request form.

Telephone Services also offers a few classes by request. If you are interested in one of the following classes, please contact Lori Arthur at x4488 or larthur@fullerton.edu

ACD User Training Class This class is for campus users of the ACD system. The ACD system allows several calls to come into a single extension and be distributed to available agents. If you are an ACD agent (and your supervisor should tell you if you are), this class teaches you how to use the system effectively.

Extension Mailbox User Class Extension mailboxes allow several people sharing an extension to have separate voicemail boxes. This class covers how extension mailboxes work and how to make them work for you. We will attempt to work around your schedule as much as possible if you are interested in this class.

New Employee Photos

IT Service Recognition Award

IT is always involved in challenging projects that require many levels of expertise. We often call on the help of others outside of IT whose skills we can learn from and use on these various tasks.

The Service Recognition Award was created to show these individuals our appreciation for their contributions and outstanding technical input and/or support to IT's computing services. This award is presented on a monthly basis.

Lou Hamby

Lou (pictured with Dick Bednar and Pat Nelson) was presented with this award for expert assistance in working with IT in reconciling payment issues for campus maintenance. He has taken time to meet personally with us to resolve these issues.

Terri Shambaugh

Terry was also presented with this award for expert assistance in working with IT in reconciling payment issues for campus maintenance. She has taken time to meet personally with us to resolve these issues.

Editor: Sarah Dvorak

The editorial staff would like to thank the following people for their contributions to this edition of IT Download:  Alex Tzoumas, Amir Dabirian, Mike Parker, Carlene Nelson, and Ed Bibera.

The Department of Information Technology
California State University, Fullerton

Cal State Fullerton Administrative Web site Information Technology, Cal State Fullerton, Sarah Dvorak, sdvorak@fullerton.edu
© 2000 Cal State Fullerton. All rights reserved.