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January 2008
ACADEMIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS GROUP
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Oracle / PeopleSoft Financial Aid Module - UCR is exploring the option of running Peoplesoft’s Financial Aid module as a stand alone application that will interface with UCR’s existing student information system. Oracle representatives presented to C&C and the UCR Financial Aid group a very successful, day long technical walk through of their Financial Aid system on January 16, 2008. Please note that special licensing arrangements will be required if UCR proceeds with this initiative.
GRAD SIS Integration to UCR’s Student Information System - The Graduate Student Information System (GRAD SIS) is currently being piloted to five (5) UCR Graduate programs that, for the first time, are receiving all of their graduate applications through the system, as opposed to the paper application process of the past. The pilot will run for the 2008-2009 admissions season. To date UCR has received 974 (January 27, 2008) applications as well as 1600 electronic letters of reference.
Additionally, at the direction of the Graduate division, C&C has integrated GRAD SIS with UCR’s Student Information System (SIS Plus), such that there is a nightly feed of submitted records from GRAD SIS to SIS Plus. In turn, the student IDs, Perm Pins, GRE and TOEFL scores that were already collected in SIS Plus, are returned to the new GRAD SIS system. UCR is currently working on a specification to update SIS Plus records as data changes within GRAD SIS during and after the admissions process.
New Release of Operating System - C&C has recently replaced the 1.5 version of Z/OS with a 1.8 version of Z/OS on the IBM mainframe.
Specification Development for International Scholars - Specifications are being developed for an online web system that will facilitate the hiring (e.g. contacting, approving, billing, etc.) of international scholars. This system will include web-based workflow and case support for:
- Initial requests from academic departments.
- Email and response forms for the international scholar.
- Billing matrices showing pricing and payment detail.
- Department, College, and Academic Personnel approval.
- Electronic generation of federal forms.
Student Academic Advising Systems (SAIS) - The Student Academic Information Systems (SAIS) are a collection of web-based programs that facilitate access to student information for the purposes of advising, mentoring, decision support, and a variety of other applications. The Student Data Query System (the SDQS providing web access to enrollment and other data by major, college, etc.) has become part of the SAIS suite of tools and incorporates UCR’s enterprise accountability structure (EACS) to control access, certifications, etc. The SDQS will be deployed by month end (January 31, 2008). |
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INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY GROUP
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CHASS Interdisciplinary Building - The College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) Interdisciplinary building is now open and features 13 new general assignment/smart classrooms ranging in size from 30 to 300 seats (10 of these rooms are “Flex” classrooms with moveable furniture, multiple projectors and other accoutrements supporting varied innovative instructional approaches). These rooms and their movable furniture are designed to support traditional classroom arrangement as well as a myriad of breakout configurations for small group collaboration. Currently 16% of campus classrooms are now “Flex” classrooms.
Classroom Incubator Deployed - UCR’s “Classroom Incubator” (a.k.a. “Hyperstruction Studio” - a C&C designed experimental teaching facility, owned by the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education) is now open and in use on a pilot basis by Sociology faculty. This classroom features a 24 seat, flexible learning space that is an advanced version of UCR’s current “Flex classroom,” with 5 distinct video outputs, a 4 plasma panel video wall, a 3M Video Wall (mobile), a BenQ 3D projector, and 2 high resolution video projectors. The instructor and students are using the collaborative TeamSpot software, whereby all are equipped for any and all displays via the classroom provided tablet PC’s. Additionally, the class has technical support on hand as the instructor and students acclimate to their new and incredible learning environment.
iLearn - C&C has implemented an “Early Warning System” within the campus learning management system (this is a performance monitoring and notification tool for students and instructors whereby instructors can establish a threshold of performance criteria which will trigger notifications to the students and instructor when a student may be in need of additional resources and respond to this need in a manner which allows for intervention, retention and student success). This will be piloted in the Spring quarter by faculty from the various undergraduate colleges.
Content Management System (CMS) - C&C is in the latter stages of a Content Management System (CMS) pilot (the vendor is Omni Update). This system allows users to edit and publish websites without technical expertise. CMS users authenticate via CAS (central authentication services) and are authorized to use the system via EACS (Enterprise Access Control System), the same systems used to authenticate and authorize all other campus applications. Deployment plans include the migration of 400 websites currently supporting both academic and administrative departments. A tremendous effort has been undertaken to establish governance for use of this system by virtually all organizations on campus (e.g. colleges, vice chancellors, etc.). |
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ENTERPRISE COMPUTING GROUP |
eFile Update - The Academic Personnel Merit and Promotion system is currently supporting the processing of 88 faculty Merit files (“Snapshots”) for the 2007-2008 academic year. There are now 340 eFiles within the system (approximately ½ of UCR’s faculty) and several related initiatives are underway. Those initiatives include:
- Query tool, CV and NSF Bio-sketch generator. These tools will allow faculty to search their eFile data and create a CV or output their data to support documentation such as an NSF Biosketch.
- A pilot for faculty Promotion/Advancement files is underway with wider deployment expected for Fall 2008.
- Specifications have been developed for Appointment Files.
- Several UC campuses have expressed interest in the eFile system and UCR is hosting a 2 day presentation in March to discuss the system in detail.
Asset Management - An Asset Management system is currently under development that better manages asset acquisition and integration of asset data from UCR’s purchasing system into the campus financial system and accounts payable system. The objective of this development effort is to have a completely web based system that is “auto-balancing” in terms of acquisition costs, actual payments, expense transfers, and the value of assets presented on the campus general ledger.
Portal Infrastructure - C&C is developing a replacement for the iViews portal which will be available to campus as a faculty/student portal and will utilize the EXT JavaScript library to provide a “modern” interface for users (e.g. complete user control of the work environment). The main page will feature a web page with user customized accordion widgets, highlighting spotlight items such as maps, weather updates, a My To-Do List, an At-a-Glance Day Calendar and email and messaging notifications. The portal will feature single-sign on to all UCR applications as well as any applications available via UC Trust.
Ghost Card Enablement / eProcurement - C&C is in the early stages of initiating a program which will provide selected vendors with a UCR “ghost card” for immediate settlement of online orders and will eliminate any/all paper invoices associated with these orders. Using UCR’s Sciquest enabled eProcurement infrastructure, orders will be placed online and the ghost card will be billed upon shipment. UCR will then be provided a bank feed containing the PO number and a journal will subsequently be created distributing the expenses. Dell will be the first vendor to utilize the new approach.
Recording Supervisors / Updating Learning Management System - C&C is working on an upgrade to the Enterprise Directory that will identify a primary and secondary supervisor for each employee. The information will be input and managed by Enterprise Directory Administrators that are decentralized throughout campus. This upgrade will interface with Learning Management System to allow for the identification of employee/supervisor relationships.
Connexus Travel - UC has made an agreement with a 3rd party to develop an online travel tool/booking “portal” which will aid in the strategic sourcing of travel expenditures. The portal will route all airfare, vehicle rental, and lodging requests through Orbitz, the UCLA travel agency, and an additional vendor to obtain “best pricing” for these services. The portal will use UC Trust for user authentication. Settlement of expenses will be via ghost card in the same fashion noted in UCR’s eProcurement / ghost card initiative (see item in this report on Ghost Card Enablement / eProcurement). |
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COMPUTING INFRASTRUCTURE AND SECURITY |
Emergency Notification System - In August 2007, C&C purchased the 3N Emergency Notification System for the UCR campus. In its debut this fall, the system is equipped to use SMS and Email as a means of communication with students, faculty and staff in the event of an emergency. Additionally, C&C has submitted an RFI for (and is currently researching and pursing) additional methods of expanding current means of emergency notification including: digital signage, sirens, public address systems, video networks and reverse 911 systems.
UC TRUST & AYSO - UCR joined UC Trust which enables UCR and C&C to participate in the testing and roll out of federated AYSO which allows campus faculty and staff to access several campus programs via single sign on.
The Learning Management System (LMS), upon deployment, will also benefit from UC Trust the UC Trust infrastructure in offering individuals single sign on from the portal.
Mirapoint Update - C&C is in the process of upgrading UCR’s central mail system. A Mirapoint “Appliance Box” was purchased to improve the performance and better meet the demands of the student systems. The additional box will increase the student quota from 500 megabytes to one gigabyte (actual amount under discussion).
Research Computing Faculty - C&C has completed specifications for nodes for a high performance computer system specifically for faculty research and have an RFP in route to purchasing to solicit vendor bids. |
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NETWORK SERVICES GROUP |
New Director of Communications, Jill Hishmeh - On December 14, 2007, Jill Hishmeh was promoted to Director of Communications Services, replacing Jerry Keith who retired November 1, 2007. Jill joined C&C in 1990 as a data technician and pursued and earned her Bachelor's degree from UCR in 1995. Jill has received a number of promotions over the years and was named Manager of Communication Services in 1997. Jill held this position until she was named Interim Director of Communications in late October.
New Building Networks - Glen Mor, CHASS, Alumni, and Commons - C&C has provided voice and data networks for the above-mentioned new buildings. The networking technologies provided for each of these building include , POE (Power Over Ethernet) for VOIP (Voice Over IP) Phones and wireless access-points, some 10/100/1000 MB network connections for High-End/High-Speed computing needs, Wireless networking coverage, and the ability to have 10Gig uplinks to the UCR campus core. This adds 2472 new data ports to the campus and 137 wireless access-points.
New Wireless Topology - With the opening of the CHASS building, C&C is using a new wireless network topology that will provide the expansion necessary for growth on the UCR campus. This will include expansion as the west campus buildings (e.g. School of Medicine) are brought online. The new wireless network is built as a centralized topology with all access-point configurations, security, and management settings stored in the Statistical Computing Building and the Telecommunications Building. The new wireless topology will provide better manageability of UCR’s RF space, reporting, and security. The target date to have every existing access-point on campus converted to the new wireless topology is August 2008.
Upgrading buildings with new Network Technology - Per UCR’s Network Renewal and Replacement schedule, C&C refreshed several buildings on campus, which included Watkins, Hinderaker, Spieth and Life Sciences. These building also received POE (Power Over Ethernet) for VOIP (Voice Over IP) Phones and wireless access-points, some 10/100/1000MB network connections for High-End/High-Speed computing needs, and the ability to have 10Gig uplinks to the UCR campus core. Hinderaker and Spieth/Life Sciences were upgraded with a 10Gig link to the campus core. In addition, the networking changes will allow new security features to be deployed (NAC/802.1X) when appropriate. |
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