ITS Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 4 SPECIALIZING IN FUTURES HISTORICALLY AMERICAN. UNIQUELY CARIBBEAN. GLOBALLY INTERACTIVE. Information & Technology Services PROVIDING THE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS AND THE INFORMATION RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE VISION 2012 Expanded Library weekend hours In response to student requests, ITS has extended the weekend operating hours of both campus libraries. The extension [rpvodes tjree addotopma; jpirs pf servoce pver tje weelemd. The hours for the days affected follows: Saturday: 9:00am - 6:00pm Sunday: 1:00pm - 10:00pm Classroom Upgrades ITS is planning upgrades to smart classrooms, videoconference rooms and computer labs. This will include purchasing computer hardware and other equipment and furniture. Your participation in this process is important to ouir selection of items best suited to faculty and students needs. A forum was held Monday November 27th which allowed faculty and students input in the process. We thank those who were able to participate. It is not too late to share your ideas, though. Call or e-mail any suggestions you may have for improving thses rooms to Sharlene Harris at ext. 1361 or sharris@uvi.edu. External Partnership for Training UVI Faculty On August 15, 2006, ITS partnered with the Univer- sity of Alaska, Fairbanks, to present a 2-hour workshop for UVI faculty on techniques for teaching effectively with video conference systems. This activity supports our vision for increased learning through effective use of technology in the classroom. Presenters focused on techniques for engaging remote students in the classroom, and on instructional design strategies for presenting effectively in the videoconference setting. Further the partnerships are planned to expand training opportunities and to increasse ITS’capacity for suppporting faculty needs. This session was delivered via a three-way videoconference connection between St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Fairbanks, Alaska. The collaboration provided faculty with access to expertise of instructional designers Photocopy Service & Support ITS staff on St. Croix is now responsible for administering accounting functions and for facilitating technical support for campus photocopy services through copy machines in the Library, EC-601 & EC-801. Please contact the library at ext. 4130 for assistance or information. NEWS RELEASE LT. Governor Announces Vargrave Richards announces that the two CORS (Continuously Operating Referencing Stations) donated through apartnership between the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) are now fully operational and avialable for pulic access. The CORS were previously installed on the St. Croix and St. Thomas UVI campuses in an effort to improve the local spatial referencing system Territory-wide so that more accurate data can be collected during land surveying and other planning acitivties. The CORS will also measure the movement of the earth’s surface after earthquakes to assist in plotting and prediciting potential tsunami. “The public can now view pictures of the installation, as well as read more information on the CORS for the St. Thomas campus at: http://ww.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-cors/corsage.prl?site=VITH; and for St. Croix at: http:// www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-cors/corsage.pri?site=VIKH,” Lieutenant Governor Richard shared. “Im grateful to UVI’s President Ragster for agreeing to be included as a vital partner in facilitating the installation of the CORS antennae on the roof of both the Business and Finance Office building on St. Thomas, and the Student Center on the St. Croix campus.” Lieutenant Governors Richards stated. UVI, as a part of the partnership with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and NOAA will provide for the electricity and security of CORS. Outlook Update On going training is taking place for Outlook Exchange. Divisions are being trained during a two hour session on Outlook features including use of the mail system, Calendar, tasks and contacts U V I niversity of the irgin slands Staff Updates Farewell to Richard Callwood, III from the Computer Center and welcome to Bethany Wilkes,who will be joining us January 8, 2007 as our Librarian for collection development and information. Outlook training for the com- puter! Got Junk Mail? Train your Junk mail filter. Instead of deleting unwanted email, drag or move it to the junk mail folder. This will train Outlook as to the types of mail you consider junk. Outlook will then start moving these types of items there itself. Please contact the helpdesk at 693-1466 to make an appointment for your department to learn lots of Outlook tips and tricks. It’s worth your time. Wireless Access The University of the Virgin Islands and the Research and Technology Park have collaborated in an effort to provide wireless access to the St. Croix Campus community. Presently there are six WIFI access points around the campus that provide hotspots where students, faculty and staff can surf the net via their laptops and notebooks. Access is free and is available onthe Western campus. The University of the Virgin Islands is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-662-5606. The Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation. Send E-mail to: pr@uvi.edu St. Thomas Campus: #2 John Brewer’s Bay St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802-9990 St. Croix Campus: RR 1, Box 10000 Kingshill St. Croix, Virgin Islands 00850-9781 ITS Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 4 Banner Upgrades On December 26, UVI will go live with a new version of the Banner Information System. Banner 7, also called Internet Native Banner (INB), contains a number of new features. Included are improved security features and better tools for searching for existing people before adding new ones to the system. It also includes a number of Application Programming Interfaces (API’s) which will allow the university to more easily pass data between Banner and other systems such as the Library system, the Bookstore system, and the Blackboard course management system. Many of these new features will not be deployed when we first go live in December, but will be phased in over time. Like Banner self-service (Banweb), all institutional Banner processing will now be done with a web browser. Using the core (non-Banweb) Banner forms and processes will require Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 6. Version 7 of Internet Explorer and other types of browsers are not supported with Banner. The first time a person accesses the new Banner system, it will download and install a browser plug-in called Jinitiator, which is required to run the Banner programs. Current Banner users will have an opportunity to participate in several orientation sessions during December prior to the upgrade. An Overview of Banner 7 document is being prepared by ITS and will be distributed at the orientation sessions and from the Helpdesk on request. At the Customer Service Helpdesk, creating customer satisfaction is our ultimate goal. With our highly trained staff, we aim to meet and exceed your technological needs. We view technology as a tool to enhance teaching and learning to improve the effectiveness of our educational and administrative processes. (UVI Core Values) As part of our efforts to better serve you, we want to take this opportunity to familiarize you with our front line of the customer service support team. Make a connection; meet the people behind the voices of the Helpdesk. Dawn Matthew is the newest member of our Helpdesk team. She may be new to the helpdesk team but, she has been a full- time employee at the University for five years. Dawn was previously employed at the Ralph Paiewonsky Library of the Uni- versity as a Library Assistant III. With the merger of the Library and Information Tech- nology Department, she saw an opportu- nity to learn new skills and change her career path. In October of 2006 she was assigned to work with the Media Center group to assist with videoconferencing and the scheduling of University fa- cilities. In June 2006 she moved to the Helpdesk unit of the Informa- tion Technology Services department to become a Customer Service Specialist. In this role, Dawn strives to provide excellent customer service to the University community. Dawn states “My goal is to provide an atmosphere where customer’s can call with their techno- logical needs and receive excellent customer service from beginning to end”. Dawn graduated from Charlotte Amalie high school in 1996 and currently attends the University of Phoenix Online where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Technology/ Information Security Systems. Dawn maintains a 3.58 GPA and she will be graduating in October 2007. Josina Green is an ambitious, self driven and goal oriented young lady from the island of Dominica. Ms. Green obtained her Associates Degree in Computer Science from the Dominica State College and matriculated into the University of the Virgin Islands August 2004 in pursuit of furthering her education. Josina has been employed in Informa- tion Technology Services for the past 2 1/2 years where she served in numerious capacities. She is now completing her internship as a customerservice specialist. Apart from work and school, Ms. Green, actively takes part in on-campus clubs and associations, as well as maintaining an outstanding G.P.A. Ms. Green intends to further her educational pursuit by obtaining her Masters Degree in the field of Project Management with concentration in Information Systems. Customer Service is the Key! Happy Holidays from ITS Meet the Call Center Agents Comments made on “October Customer Service Survey” “This most recent experience I had with a helpdesk request was excellent” Faculty “I have spoken to a young lady very often and I was able to say to her” you are very efficient and I appreciate your effort in trying to assist when asking for help.” Thank you Josina for your patience!!! You are an asset to your department.” Staff