Volume 5, Issue 9 Fall & Winter 2021-22 Edition
Greetings from the CIO
Welcome to the fall edition of the Tech Talk newsletter, where you can explore the latest ITS information at UNCW. As I reflect on the hard work ITS has done, I am proud of our efforts directed towards process and service improvements to support student learning, modality changes and the continuation of a teleworking environment across campus. Some of the initiatives that support this focus are the following:
UNCW VoIP Phone System
Our campus Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) rollout is nearing completion with the next phase to include the rollout of softphones. The new VoIP system is setup in a hybrid format that allows for campus phone numbers to be utilized regardless of campus status (pesky hurricanes). The VoIP phones have a searchable UNCW directory to easily help you find the phone number of the person you wish to reach. For the fun part, there are multiple ring tones to choose from which make it easier to differentiate your ringer from others in your office.
My Everything!
- myTAC shortcuts were placed on every desktop to help you quickly get to the “myTAC” client support portal. By simply clicking the icon, you can chat with TAC, explore our knowledge base for instructional articles and self-help solutions, or submit tickets for technical support.
- Additionally, myDevices is a registration portal for residential students to register their entertainment devices. In the past, if residential students needed to register an entertainment device that connected to our wireless network, they would have to enter a service request for our network team to manually register the device for them. Now, students can register all entertainment devices on their own and in one place via the myDevices portal. We had over 1,300 devices registered over move-in weekend alone.
- Lastly, the new mySeaport portal will go live on October 25! Take a look at the new mySeaport portal!
ITS Training
ITS continues to develop and offer new technology training classes via the Dare to Learn Academy. In addition to instructor-led courses, one-on-one sessions and open labs, group trainings are also available. ITS training courses are offered weekly and include Banner, DocuSign, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams and more. Over the past year, we have offered 17 different courses with over 1000 enrollments. For more information, please visit our ITS Training page.
Sammy/Timmy Sunsetting
Students, faculty and staff can look forward to improved storage functionality with the phased retirement of the Sammy/Timmy file servers. UNCW has made OneDrive available with a direct link into the Office 365 ecosystem. Users will have larger storage capacity, simple file sharing and ease of access without a VPN connection. More information will be distributed on this migration in the coming weeks.
Expanding AV over IP and Replacing IP Intercoms
After successful deployment in Veteran’s Hall, we are looking to expand Audio-Visual over IP (AVoIP) to McNeill Hall next. Infrastructure work has started, and we will be positioned to begin roll out in summer of ‘22. We’ve also been busy replacing the older IP intercoms in classrooms with new VoIP units. That life cycle process should be finished prior to the start of the spring ‘22 semester.
Security Awareness Training
Information Security Awareness training is available to all faculty and staff. It takes less than 30 minutes to complete and could prevent you from making a click you regret. If you haven’t completed it yet, I highly encourage you to take the Information Security Training today.
ITS wishes you a wonderful semester,
Sharyne
