September 2006

POD Cast Initiative Underway.  UCR’s General Assignment Classrooms are now equipped for self-service audio capture.  C&C has acquired and installed servers to host this audio content and make it available via POD Casting.  C&C will report on the efficacy of this effort during the year ahead.

Flex Classrooms.  C&C received funding for three Flex Classrooms.  For the first time ever, C&C was allowed to outfit BOTH the technology and furniture in three general assignment classrooms.  These three classrooms will be available during the Fall Quarter and will allow UCR faculty to explore the intersection of innovative pedagogy, instructional technology, and flexible classroom furniture and space.

Physics 2000 Demonstration Classroom.  The $500,000 technology redesign of Physics 2000 is now nearing completion.  This project (due to the physical challenges of the room) has been particulary challenging for C&C.  However, it is the only true demonstration classroom on campus and is used extensively by Chemistry, Physics, and other Physical Sciences faculty, and the upgrade is thus very popular among instructors.
 
Macromedia Breeze.  C&C has acquired Macromedia Breeze servers and licenses to provide enhanced video conferencing capabilities.  C&C will also use this software as the foundation for its video archiving program.

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Instructional Technology Review.  UCR will be hosting a review of its Instructional Technology efforts.  The campus is seeking to define a plan for how it should proceed in the years ahead and meet the instructional needs of our faculty and students.  The issues to be reviewed include the following: optimization of the administrative structure governing campus instructional technology initiatives; the relationship with the new Instructional Innovation Center; the status of UCR’s technological infrastructure; methodologies for assessment; and sources for generating revenue to support new innovations in instructional technology.  The review will take place during early October; the review committee includes the following individuals:

Dr. Jim Davis, Associate Vice Chancellor, Information Technology, UCLA

Dr. Sally Jackson, Vice President for Learning and Information Technologies & Chief Information Officer, University of Arizona

Dr. Michele Marincovich, Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Director, Center for Teaching and Learning, Stanford

Center for Instructional Innovation.  UCR will be moving forward with the near-term development of a Center for Instructional Innovation (CII), which will provide instructors a support environment where creative “learning centered” pedagogies will be explored and evaluated.  The Center should serve as the key campus facility charged with ensuring that instructional tools are available to the faculty, and that they have the necessary support to effectively utilize these tools. The Center should assist faculty, as requested, in planning or evaluating course designs or components.  The Center should also be charged with supporting and stimulating discussions – including small workgroups, symposia, panel discussions, and web-based discussions – that explore the connectivity between teaching, learning, technology, information access, and student success.

Phase 1 of the Implementation of the Center for Instructional Innovation take place during Fall 2006 and Winter 2007.  UCR’s Vice Provost of Undergraduate Programs and the Associate Vice Chancellor of Computing and Communications have been preparing a Phase I implementation plan that will be completed and distributed during early September.

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Learning Management System.  The VCA and C&C have received funding to deploy a comprehensive UCR Learning Management System.  The following note is taken from the proposal:

“The purpose of a LMS is to support an integrated framework for developing a staff infrastructure that will take UCR to its desired future state and to achieve the Chancellor’s goals and academic mission; to support a campus risk management plan and workforce planning by ensuring the competence of the workforce; and to allow UCR to meet its regulatory and statutory requirements (e.g., compliance with health, safety, and environmental regulations and sexual harassment training) for academic, staff and student employees.

A web-based LMS will enable the campus to:

• Deploy job competencies
• Assess employee skills and abilities
• Identify skill gaps
• Create individual development plans (IDPs)
• Permit employees to self-enroll in classes and on-line training activities which support the objectives of the IDP
• Allow supervisors and staff to track and report on progress towards development of objectives/requirements”

UCR is awaiting the UCOP RFP process before proceeding with its implementation.

Fleet Management System.  In partnership with the Vice Chancellor of Administration, C&C has developed and deployed a new Fleet Management System.  C&C believes this is a best of breed system that contains the following functionality: viewing of vehicles prior to reservation; scheduling of vehicles against available inventory; integration into the campus portal; and automatic billing for fuel.

Academic Personnel System.  In partnership with the Academic Personnel office, C&C has been developing an online faculty merit and promotion electronic (eFile) system.  The system will be piloted in September through November of 2006 (six pilot departments; 15 merit files only).  The system features the following capabilities

1. eFile database and web interface.  This is the "perpetual" (continuing) electronic record of a faculty member's accomplishments and background (e.g. publications, teaching history, honors and awards, professional services, letters of reference, etc.).  UCR’s vision is that aspects of the eFile will be self-maintained by faculty.
2. Academic Action "Snapshot" from the eFile.  There are many personnel actions that can be processed from the data contained in the eFile (e.g. Appointment, Merit, Fifth-Year Appraisal, Promotion to Tenure, Promotion to Full Professor, Advancement to Step VI, Promotion to Above Scale, Within Above Scale, Career Review, Quinquennial Reviews, and Deferrals).  UCR is beginning with Merits.  For any given year, faculty member, and personnel action, a "Snapshot" of the eFile will be taken and routed for approvals.
3. eFile Snapshot Routing.  UCR will have two workflows associated with an eFile Snapshot.  One, within the department (e.g. Candidate to Chair to Review Committee to Departmental Faculty to Chair).  A second routing will occur across campus (e.g. Chair to Dean to Senate Committee to Vice Provost to EVC / Chancellor).

Electronic Campus Approval Form.  Progress on UCR’s online, Electronic Campus Approval Form continues.  The system is currently being piloted by six academic departments, and provides a database, web interface, and routing capturing all data and approvals required needed to submit extramural funds requests.  UCR remains interested in creating a partnership to explore server-to-server submission of federal proposals that would replace such techniques as using the PureEdge system or web site such as NSF Fastlane.

Portal / UCR Business Application Automated Shut Down.  Heretofore, since access to various campus systems was terminated in different ways and with different business rules, UCR permitted Enterprise Directory administrators to manually remove access to various systems.  This approach, while flexible, provided obvious opportunities for error.  C&C has created an application that terminates access (authentication) to all applications and the portal the day after PPS termination; however, this system leaves authorization information unchanged (in case of rehires or moves the authorization information does not need to be recreated) and leaves e-mail access active for 30 days.

UCRFStotals Expansion.  Financial and budgetary data warehouse under expansion to include vendor, purchasing, encumbrance, and student information system (accounts receivable) data.

Vice Chancellor University Advancement System.  UCR has issued a comprehensive RFP for a Advancement / Development system (gift and donor management, gift accounting system, and an online community system).  UCR hopes to award and begin development of this system shortly.

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Student Portal.  UCR will be piloting a new student portal during the Fall quarter.  The portal will be based on uPortal infrastructure and will include the following elements:

• Central Authentication Services (CAS) Single Sign on to campus applications (e.g. Blackboard, GROWL (mainframe web pages providing access to grades, etc.)).
• myLinks – A student maintained collection of links that is available in the portal, anytime, anywhere.
• myMessages – A messaging service that “pushes” messages to the portal (from various campus groups) based on UCR’s attribute server (phase one attributes include class, college, major, etc.).
• me @ UCR – A tool that provides students a complete overview of their academic progress at UCR (e.g. currently enrollment, cumulative GPA, unofficial transcript, degree audit, etc.).
• myChannels – A student selected suite of “communications channels” with announcements, blogs, and links from various campus entities (e.g. academic departments, the Library, Housing, Food Services, etc.).

New Mainframe Upgrade.  The mainframe upgrade to an IBM Z890, 3590 high density tape drives, and 1T disk storage is complete.  The upgrade to CICS TS 3.1, including web services and java environment, are being tested in the production LPAR test CICS region.  This release of CICS TS 3.1 will facilitate single sign-on to student web services (GROWL).

GROWL Authorized Users (Parental Pin).  A system to allow students to grant access and authorize 3rd party proxies (Parents, Grandparents, Employers, etc.) to online services via GROWL is currently being developed.  This system will allow students to authorize “view only” access to any service (except changing PIN) currently available to  students, as well as the ability to make a credit card payment on the student’s  account.  Access will be granted at the individual function level (e.g. View Grades, View Student Schedule, and View Billing Statement) or at the category level (e.g. All Records Functions, All Billing Functions).  Access may be granted with an expiration date, or granted indefinitely.  The student will also have the ability to authorize UCR to discuss Financial Aid, Billing, or Housing information with a given proxy or authorized user.  The system is being structured such that when new GROWL services become available, they will be automatically added to the authorization process with no additional

programming.  This facility is scheduled to be available for winter fee payment cycle.

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Network Authentication.  An effort is underway to develop a campus wide network authentication technology / methodology.  The requirements of this open source / vendor supplied system are as follows:

Required features:

• Work for wired and wireless network
• Quarantine function
• Remediation for devices
• System must be redundant, using located in both core sites
• Guest access
• Support for VOIP phone
• Support for L3 roaming
• Posture validation
• Work with existing DHCP servers
• Works with LDAP, Radius, Kerberos servers
• Support for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Unix, PDA’s
• Logging to external syslog
• Vendor supported
• Dot1x capable
• No browser required to authenticate
• Provide or work with third party supplicants
• Blacklist and remove IP’s or MAC’s from network for comprehensive net authentication system

UCR will provide additional information to the ITLC as progress is made in the months ahead.

ITFS Frequencies.  As have other UC campuses, UCR intends to lease its ITFS frequencies to a commercial entity.  The timing seems ideal for this endeavor and C&C is aggressively pursuing this initiative.

Campus “Redundant Fiber Loop” in Place by October 2006.  UCR will soon complete efforts to create a campus fiber loop providing fully redundant pathways to the internet / campus intranet from both east and west campus data / communications centers.

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