October 2009 It Status Report

Information Technology Activity and Status Report October 2009

Announcements for Faculty and Staff Meetings Contact Information Technology Anytime Support Desk Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (310) 506-HELP (4357) Tech Central for Students Payson Library, 2nd Floor Mon. - Thur. 10:00 am- 8:00 pm Fridays 10:00 am- 6:00 pm (310) 506-4811 Office of the Chief Information Officer (310) 506-4501 Request IT Services http://services.pepperdine.edu/it /forms

Software To Be Available on Pepperdine Network. IT staff has been investigating the virtualization of software at Pepperdine University and plans to implement the virtualization for select applications as early as January 2010. Citrix XenApp, a virtualization solution, will allow Pepperdine IT to host and operate select applications, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook on the network instead of installing and running them on a specific computer. With virtualized applications, the Pepperdine community can access the applications through the network from any computer, Windows or OS X, at work or at home. Faculty and students who travel abroad will always have access to the same applications they use on campus. Virtualizing software saves the University money on software licensing fees. In addition, lab computers will be in less demand, therefore slowing the replacement rate and saving additional funds. The software that was chosen for the virtualization was selected because it is currently being used at the University by at least 50 people at any given time. To recommend a software for virtualization, please contact Thomas Hoover at [email protected].

Faculty Support and Services Sakai Presentation at the All Faculty Conference. Nearly 40 faculty members attended the Sakai presentation at Pepperdine University's all faculty conference on Friday, October 2, 2009. Gerard Flynn, director of Pepperdine IT's Technology and Learning group, facilitated the presentation along with three Sakai pilot faculty members. Dr. Stella Erbes of Seaver College demonstrated key features and talked about how she is using Sakai in her undergraduate class this fall. Dr. Margaret Riel of the Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP), discussed how she is using the Sakai

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Information Technology Activity and Status Report, October 2009

environment to share a syllabus and materials with a colleague who is teaching the same course to a different cohort. She also demonstrated how to customize the Sakai menu and integrate third party tools, which she uses for her graduate class taught primarily online. Dr. Michael Williams of the Graziadio School of Business and Management (GSBM) concluded the presentation by comparing the philosophical and economic differences between Sakai and Blackboard. Faculty members who are interested in learning more, receiving support, or joining the pilot in January should contact Gerard Flynn at [email protected].

Administrative Support - Schools New Phone System Comes with Instant Messenger Service. The Systems and Networking staff has begun a multi-year project to replace the University’s existing telephone system with a new platform from Cisco that merges voice, video, and web conferencing. The new phones will allow users to easily communicate and collaborate with instant messaging, quick audio and video conferences, desktop sharing, and phone calls from computer to computer or computer to land line. Project phases one and two involve the installation and testing of phones with the instant messaging features inside the IT division and with select cohorts of students from GSEP and GSBM. Using the mobility services, commuting students can meet with fellow classmates and professors through the Internet from any location. Nolij Document Management Transfer Complete. The migration of 5.5 million electronic pages from the previous document management system, Stellent, to the new document management system, Nolij, is now complete. All historic electronic documents are now in the new system. In addition, many new departments are now using the Nolij system. Nolij currently supports integration between the document management system and PeopleSoft for the Admissions Office at Seaver College, and will soon be implemented for GSBM and GSEP Admissions. This integration allows admissions counselors to update PeopleSoft admission check-list items from within Nolij while the they are viewing applicant documents, therefore reducing their need to log into PeopleSoft to make the updates. These integrations are being carefully reviewed and approved before implementation to ensure data integrity while providing increased efficiency in applicant processing. Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) Data Warehouse Released. The new PeopleSoft EPM Data Warehouse was released into production on September 16. Users with appropriate access will find an "EPM Data Warehouse" link within WaveNet. This system allows users to access student and human resources data that was previously available on the mainframe. Discount on AT&T Wireless Service. All AT&T customers must register their wireless numbers within 30 days of establishing their new contract to receive the 15 percent Pepperdine service discount from AT&T. Registrations received after the 30-day acceptance period will be charged with a $36 sponsorship fee. Customers can register for the wireless discount by logging into WaveNet, selecting "Staff Resources," then "Employee Discounts," and finally "AT&T Wireless Discount."

Infrastructure, Systems, and Networking Updates Encino Campus Renovation Begins. Pepperdine IT is in the process of working with Construction and Campus Planning and University stakeholders to renovate the Encino campus. IT staff will be upgrading the network infrastructure, the audio visual classroom technology, and the telephone system. Once completed, these improvements will significantly increase network performance. Classrooms will 2

Information Technology Activity and Status Report, October 2009

receive new projection and sound systems, DVD/VCR players, and wall-mounted laptop stands. The existing telephone system will be replaced with a new Unified Communications platform from Cisco. This platform merges voice, video, and web conferencing, and has the potential to serve as an e-learning platform for the University. Malibu Wireless Network Upgrades Underway. Pepperdine IT continues to improve the wireless network throughout the Malibu campus. The oldest sections of the wireless infrastructure will be replaced with current technology that supports the wireless G and A (802.11g and 802.11a) standards. This upgrade will produce 1000 percent faster performance in these areas. The Thornton Administrative Center will be upgraded first, and additional areas will follow soon after. To take full advantage of the upgrade, new laptops should be ordered with built-in wireless cards that support the G (802.11g), A (802.11a) or N (802.11agn) standards. New AT&T Wireless Towers Erected. The new AT&T cellular sites, located atop Appleby Center and the Drescher Water Tank, are now completely installed and operational. The temporary AT&T sites that were constructed at the beginning of the year were removed from campus. Rockwell Towers Wireless Upgrade. IT staff is currently in the process of installing additional wireless infrastructure in the Rockwell Towers residences that will increase the current coverage by approximately 50 percent. The upgrade is 50 percent complete.

Administrative Support - PeopleTools PeopleSoft PeopleTools 8.49 Human Capital Management Upgrade. The Connections to Community (C2C) staff completed the PeopleTools 8.49 upgrade the first weekend in October. Upgrading to PeopleTools 8.49 for Human Resources and Student Administration places Pepperdine University one-step closer to a full PeopleSoft application upgrade and offers added functionality that will enable the C2C staff to better serve the community.

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Information Technology Activity and Status Report, October 2009

Benchmarks and Accountability Anytime Support Desk. During September 2009, there were 1,858 requests for support managed through the Anytime Support Desk. Of these requests, 83 percent were resolved within one day and 90 percent were resolved in fewer than five days. The average wait time for individuals calling the Anytime Support Desk was 42 seconds. Eighty-three percent of requests were resolved by the Anytime Support Desk on the first call. Online Requests. In September 2009, there were 312 additional requests for support managed through online web request forms. The top two types of online requests were departmental telephone service (83) and audiovisual service (79). The online forms can be accessed at http://services.pepperdine.edu/it/forms/. Anytime Support User Survey. Through an automated feedback process, all Anytime Support Desk callers are provided the opportunity to complete a web-based satisfaction survey. In September 2009, 139 (7%) of 1,857 survey requests sent to customers, were completed. The five-question survey uses a “1.00 to 9.00” sliding scale with “7.00-9.00” equal to Excellent. Month

Response Rate

Overall Satisfaction

Response Timeliness

Skill Set

Communication

Resolution Timeliness

July

11%

7.74

7.71

8.01

7.65

7.57

August

9%

7.50

7.57

7.85

7.48

7.50

September

7%

7.94

7.75

8.15

7.8

7.74

Staff Support by Major Area. All IT Division employees are allocating their day-to-day efforts using client, project, and task codes. Using this data, total division-wide staff effort for September 2009 was distributed as follows. University Administration Support

815 hours

5.46%

$41,611.80

Colleges, Academic Affairs

3,732 hours

24.98%

$128,126.62

University-Wide, Common Services

4,961 hours

33.21%

$223,853.95

IT Administration and Management

2,967 hours

19.86%

$118,389.48

General Overhead (Leave, Holiday)

2,462 hours

16.48%

$103,328.55

14,937 hours

100%

$615,310.40

Total:

Support for Schools. Of the effort provided to Pepperdine Schools, the breakdown is as follows. Month

Seaver

GSBM

GSEP

SOL

SPP

July

50.22%

26.40%

21.56%

0.77%

1.05%

August

61.24%

19.85%

16.60%

0.73%

1.58%

September

56.21%

22.71%

17.38%

1.86%

1.86%

Monthly Status & Activity Report. If you would like to be added to the distribution list for this report, please contact Ross Canning, executive assistant to the chief information officer, at extension x4501. Monthly IT Status Report archives are available online at http://services.pepperdine.edu/it/about/status-reports.htm.

Information Technology Activity and Status Report, October 2009