What's Up With OIT?

Did you know . . .

. . .that in the past year OIT has created a centralized help desk; upgraded all the systems in the ACR labs; installed a new PC lab in the Library; installed new control systems for the video classrooms in ACR and MAB; converted academic history from 1994 to 1999; brought live Web for Students and Web for Faculty; implemented a database driven web site; and is launching year one of the campus wide PC replacement plan. Plus, RGC has implemented desktop video conferencing and is developing a wireless local area network, a new connection to the Internet and inter networking the three campuses.

More Gigahertz than you can count . . .

Computers have been rolling into the library since summer and it seems there is no end in sight! A new lab, training room, public terminals and staff systems have been purchased through a variety of funding sources.

The Library Computer Lab will be available for Sul Ross students, faculty, and staff to use during the hours the Library is open. The Lab will be run by OIT students and staff. This represents a change from previous Library practice, and should allow patrons to get more help for computer and software questions and problems. Of course, for help using Library resources, Librarians will continue to be available at the Information Desk.

One of the major student requests for the newly renovated Library was for "hands-on" practice when learning about the electronic resources available through the Library. Most bibliographic instruction classes last semester were able to make use of these new computers, and all classes in the future will have this opportunity. Early student and faculty response has been enthusiastic.

In a few weeks when the remaining computers are in place, the Library will have state of the art equipment throughout the building. We encourage you to come take advantage of them, and of the expert assistance that will be available for both Library resources and computer questions.

Taking Courses in Cyber Space

Just before Christmas, Sul Ross awarded a contract to FMS Technologies for the development and installation of an indoor/outdoor wireless infrastructure. The wireless project has been made possible by the Telecommunication Infrastructure Board "TIF" in Austin. "For many years, Sul Ross has been steadily building an infrastructure for increased delivery of academic programs throughout the region," said Tom Graf. "TIF has been an important partner for the University by providing funds for interactive video and web hardware and software." The West Texas Rural Access Collaborative Discovery grant includes partnerships with each of the school districts in Fort Davis, Fort Stockton, Marathon, Marfa, Terlingua and Van Horn. In addition to these service areas, the Alpine campus will also have wireless access. The project is scheduled to be completed during Spring 2002.

The wireless infrastructure provides distance learning and non-traditional students with broadband access to the Internet for the seamless delivery of media rich, web-based courses. "Standalone web course development is expanding quickly, with a tremendous response from both faculty and students. Fall Semester 2001 we offered 12 courses as standalone, some with enrollments as high as 45," according to Nicola Mulholland-Martinez, Project Director. "We have over 250 students enrolled in standalone web courses. In Spring 2002 we will offer 17 standalone web courses, and a number of web-enhanced courses."

One hundred and ten Gateway laptops will be distributed to students enrolled in web courses for the Spring semester. For students living outside of the Alpine area, distance and pre-registration in a standalone web course are the only criteria to be eligible to receive a laptop. The notebook computers are state of the art, multimedia PC's with wireless capability. Each laptop has a 15" screen, and comes equipped with Windows XP, Office XP Professional, and a DVD drive with a CD-Write drive. For more information about the Sul Ross State University Laptop Distribution Program, contact the Instructional Technology Center at 837-8021, or e-mail itc@sulross.edu.

Mastercard & Visa Online Payments

Starting this Spring semester, students may make payments using their Visa or Mastercard by logging on to the Web for Students web site. To get to Web for Students or type wfs.sulross.edu in the address line on your browser, click on "Web For Students", then click on "Login to Student Services". You will be prompted for your social security number and your Personal Identification Number (PIN). Brenda Pilley, Enhanced User Services notes that, "Whether at home or on campus in the labs, you now have the flexibility of registering and paying for classes at your convenience." If you don't know your PIN, contact your advisor. If you don't know who your advisor is, please call the Registrar's Office at 837-8050 or 1-888-722-SRSU between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

18,000 e-books . . . Somthing for Everyone

p>Thanks to an arrangement through the Texas State Library and TexShare, Sul Ross will be gaining access to an additional 18,000 full-text electronic books through netLibrary. Records for these books should be added by the beginning of the Spring 2002 semester, and will increase the Library's e-book holdings from 11,000 to nearly 30,000 texts. According to Don Dowdey, Dean of Library and Information Technology, "While some of these e-books are also available in hard copy in the Library, they constitute a significant portion of the recent material available to Sul Ross patrons."

Since the first set of e-books were added to the Library's WebCat catalog, over 1,500 have been accessed by Sul Ross patrons. In addition to providing full text and all illustrations, charts, tables, etc., netLibrary allows the full-text of the books to be searched.

NetLibrary e-books are recently published and primarily from major academic presses. Subjects include Economics and Business, Literature, Sociology, Medicine, Health, Wellness, Education, American History, Computer Science, Recreation, Leisure, Sports, Outdoors, Psychology, Technology and Engineering, Law, Religion, Library Science, Publishing, Bibliographies, Biology, Natural History, Microbiology, Latin American/Caribbean Studies, Languages, Family, Marriage, Parenting, Fine Arts, Political Science, Agriculture, History, Philosophy, Anthropology, Military Science, Music, Geography, Mathematics, Classics, Zoology, Film/Media Studies, Astronomy, African-American/African Studies, Photography, Archaeology, Philology and Linguistics, Cooking, Nutrition, Home Economics, Geology, Botany, Women/Gender Studies, Science General, Gay/Lesbian Studies, Architecture, Social Science General, Chemistry, Physics, Oceanography, Naval Science, Statistics, Anatomy and Physiology, Ecology/Environmental Studies, General, Arts and Crafts, Biography, and Fiction.

Web for Faculty

The Registrar, Deans, faculty and OIT will be busy during the Spring as we begin the long awaited implementation of on-line degree audit for Web for Students and Web for Faculty. Degree Audit allows a student and advisor to instantly track progress towards degree plans. Participating on the project team are: Rob Kinucan, ANRS; Linda MacAnally, Professional Studies; Jay Downing, Arts & Sciences; Bob Cullins, Enrollment Management; Arturo Galindo, Advising Center; and Patricia Harveson, OIT.

Upcoming dates for Web for Faculty Overview

Tuesday, January 22, 3:15 PM, Studio Theatre

Wednesday, January 23, 10:15 AM, Studio Theatre

Friday, January 25, 11:00 AM, Studio Theatre

More Gigahertz than you can count

Computers have been rolling into the library since summer and it seems there is no end in sight! A new lab, training room, public terminals and staff systems have been purchased through a variety of funding sources.

The Library Computer Lab will be available for Sul Ross students, faculty, and staff to use during the hours the Library is open. The Lab will be run by OIT students and staff. This represents a change from previous Library practice, and should allow patrons to get more help for computer and software questions and problems. Of course, for help using Library resources, Librarians will continue to be available at the Information Desk.

One of the major student requests for the newly renovated Library was for "hands-on" practice when learning about the electronic resources available through the Library. Most bibliographic instruction classes last semester were able to make use of these new computers, and all classes in the future will have this opportunity. Early student and faculty response has been enthusiastic.

In a few weeks when the remaining computers are in place, the Library will have state of the art equipment throughout the building. We encourage you to come take advantage of them, and of the expert assistance that will be available for both Library resources and computer questions.

Relax, Anytime . . . Anywhere . . . There Is Help

Sul Ross has contracted the services of Collegis/Eduprise to provide a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week Blackboard help desk for students and faculty, with phone, Internet and email support for Blackboard and all applications used for our web courses. The team of CMS (course management system) experts handles questions about online courses such as how to navigate through the system, password resolution, creating student accounts, enrollments, and other general usage information. The team tracks all help desk requests through a tracking system, resulting in faster resolution time to faculty and student questions. This system also performs escalation and prioritizes calls based on the criticality of the issue. With an automated call disbursement system, calls are immediately routed to representatives who are not currently on the phone assisting other faculty and students, resulting in being on hold for less time.

This service includes toll-free telephone access and email access to technical support for developers, instructors, and students. During off-peak hours, skilled technical personnel are always on call to address emergency issues. During peak hours, technical analysis is usually immediate, but may require a call back within 30 minutes or at the convenience of the client. Most problems are resolved immediately; in all other cases, technical support will respond with a status report within 24 hours. In addition to phone support, faculty and students can also submit help desk questions and find answers to questions via an interactive support web site.

E-mail, Squirrels and You

Is there something 'squirrely' going on with the Sul Ross e-mail system? Well, in a matter of speaking yes . . . SquirrelMail! Several years ago, we implemented a web-based e-mail system called Endymion. At the time it was implemented, the intention was to have a way for e-mail users to check their email from remote locations, but over time, it became a primary e-mail client for many of the Sul Ross community. Endymion and the server supporting email had come to the end of their useful service life.

Within the last few weeks, new e-mail servers have been installed and the Squirrel web client is up and running. John Sanders, project manager says, "If you haven't used SquirrelMail, give it a try at http://mail.sulross.edu. We are still fine tuning the engine on the new server, so if you have any problems getting in, please let us know by filling out theTrouble Form or calling the help desk at 8765," said Sanders.

"The 24 hour e-learning support will enable us to fulfill our goal of equalizing the distribution of distance learning technologies by providing our students with all hardware, software, training, peripherals and support necessary for the successful completion of media-rich web based courses developed by Sul Ross faculty members," said Nicola Mulholland-Martinez, Instructional Services.

One thing common to any University is the confusion with who does exactly what in the IT organization. Believe it or not, this confusion is not deliberate. Technology changes so quickly and support needs, out of necessity, are refocused many times throughout any given year.

Minimizing Attacks

After a late summer barrage of email viruses, John Sanders, System Operations, implemented a script to intercept many of the infected e-mails being sent through the Sul Ross e-mail server. "While this still doesn't protect systems utilizing off campus email servers, we have intercepted over 1,000 infected attachments," according to Sanders. Our thanks to John for hitting the target and saving all of us the headache of so many infected PC's.

Order, Chaos or Something in Between . . .

At Sul Ross we are organized loosely into teams. Help Desk Services provides the front line support for your workstation and basic software application needs. Our Enhanced User Services team supports large database development and support needs including the student, financial, human resource and alumni systems. The Systems Operation group supports the server and network infrastructure as well as coordinating security and risk management procedures. Recently, we have added a fourth team, Instructional Services. We are very excited to have Patricia Harveson join the Collegis/OIT staff as the team leader for this group. Within Instructional Services, we are coordinating the computer labs, instructional technology and media centers and incorporating support and development for the Web for students and Web for Faculty.

Most importantly, know that we are here to help, so that no matter who you contact we will work to come up with the best support we can muster. For a complete staff listing, visit our web site Staff Listing.

OIT and CollegisEduprise

The office of Information Technology and Collegis partnership are now one year old. It has been a great privilege for me to get to know the staff and to work on our common goals of providing effective support for the technology needs of the students, faculty and staff of the University. We've hit an inevitable bump or two along the way, but all in all we have met all our major goals and are pushing forward on many initiatives for our second year.

CollegisEduprise, Inc., combines the strengths of Collegis and Eduprise, two established companies that provide business, education and technology services to the higher education market. CollegisEduprise partners with education providers to plan, implement, and support new learning-centered strategies and technology infrastructures to achieve the unique educational mission of each client.

It is my hope that this newsletter better informs you as to the many projects currently in development, but newsletters communicate only one way. It is important that I hear from you! Your ideas and concerns are important. Feel free to contact me anytime. My office number is (432) 837-8702 and my e-mail is tgraf@sulross.edu.

In closing, I'd like to acknowledge all those that have contributed to the production of this newsletter: Nicola, Johns Rayburn and Sanders, Tom D., Brenda and our special guest columnist, Don Dowdey. My thanks to all.

Tom Graf
Chief Information Officer