You are reading the third issue of “The Hub,” the new ITS newsletter that is by, for, and about ITS. The goal of this publication is to provide each other with timely information about the services and activities of our department and support the ITS community. Submit your stories and announcements to its_communications@unc.edu by 5 p.m. Friday, February 4th, to be included in the February 8th issue.
One of the goals of the continuing reorganization of ITS is to simplify the use of ITS services. Concerted efforts and teamwork have resulted in a transfer of help desk functions from Telephony and 440 Operations to a consolidated point of contact at the ITS Response Center (ITRC).
As of December 15, 2004, Telecom and Enterprise application technical questions are being sent to the ITRC. Customers may contact the ITRC via phone (962-HELP), by submitting a ticket through the Help Site (help.unc.edu), or by going to the ITRC in the R.B. House Undergraduate Library. The ITRC has staff available 24/7 to assist customers. In order to speed up call handling, there is now a separate phone queue (option 5) for faculty and staff who call 962-HELP.
The ITRC worked with teams from Telephony, 440, and Remedy to plan logistics, define workflow, identify common problems, and update documentation in the Knowledge Base (help.unc.edu). Both 440 and Telephony provided training for the ITRC staff, as well as on-site staff (Steve Bernatowicz and Tonya Thomas) to answer questions and provide continuity of service. The Telephony team also adjusted the Automated Call Distribution (ACD) system to balance the phone queues to accommodate the influx of additional calls being forwarded to the ITRC.
As with any change there is a learning curve for both the support providers and customers. Feedback from customers, analysis of statistics, and communication between ITS teams are being used to identify areas for ongoing improvement. Currently about 25% of the Telephony questions are being resolved by the ITRC. Over time, that percentage will increase. The same is true with the resolution of questions that came to 440. Most of the password resets for RAC-F are now being handled by the ITRC, and questions about Enterprise applications are being triaged to the appropriate ITS Remedy group. The ITS teams will continue to meet in order to monitor statistics feedback from customers.–DBM with Sherry Graham, Bruce Egan, and Karen Bernard, User Support & Engagement
ITS staff members have recently been recognized by their peers both on campus and nationwide for their roles in developing customized software to meet clients’ needs.
Cynthia O’Daniel, who works for John Rawlings in Enterprise Applications, is an analyst/programmer who currently supports many of the applications at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education. She was recently honored with the Friday Center Service Award for 2004; the e-mail announcement to Center staff noted, “This was a much-deserved honor reflecting [Cynthia’s] fine programming work in general and her efforts on the new FCMS system in particular.”
Norm Loewenthal, Director of the Friday Center, explains that various awards are presented to Center staff as part of the annual holiday luncheon. The Friday Center Service Award was added 3 years ago for people like Cynthia, who are based at the Center but not staff members. FCMS is a new data management system that will serve the Center better than its previous, vendor-supplied product. The Center needs a program that can handle everything from room arrangements for conferences to accounting and student registration. Cynthia is helping to create this system, and Loewenthal observes that she is “not only knowledgeable, but pleasant to work with–bright, helpful, cheerful, customer-oriented.”
Last year, Susan Lambert won the award for her desktop support for the Center. “ITS is on a roll,” says Loewenthal.
He may be right, as John Rawlings’s team also supports Environment, Health & Safety (EHS), a very diverse department involved in such activities as biological, chemical, laboratory, and radiation safety; fire prevention; environmental affairs; and workers’ compensation. Mary Crabtree, Workplace Safety Manager at EHS and the department’s IT liaison, credits ITS with having developed a powerful, flexible application (client server and Web) that supports most of the department’s activities. The system goes by the name HASMIS (Health and Safety Management Information System).
“HASMIS helps us monitor compliance with OSHA, EPA, JCAHO, State, and miscellaneous regulations,” says Crabtree. “Things like inspections, medical surveillance (job-required physicals, health care environments, etc.), radioactive and chemical waste pickup, radiation and chemical inventories, safety training–it’s a long list.”
HASMIS was developed in the early 1990s. At the time, EHS either kept manual records or had to write its own database programs. When this approach was less than satisfactory, the department considered various vendors’ programs, but none of them adequately addressed workers’ compensation. “Now it’s all integrated,” says Crabtree. “Anyone in the office can review any of the modules, and there are checks and balances. If someone tries to log in to request a waste pickup, for example, and we don’t have them in our database, they have to be added to the system before we pick up the waste. We can’t be everywhere, so this is a big help.” The program is continuously being expanded; current modules in development include a Web-based lab safety plan and an ergonomic self-evaluation.
“No other university has this,” says Crabtree. “We can run both defined and customizable reports through Oracle VB/Crystal, looking at 2 or up to 20 modules. It’s much more powerful than just a manual search.”
So pleased was Crabtree with the application that she nominated it for an award at EHS’s national professional organization, the Campus Safety and Health and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA). CSHEMA is a division of the National Safety Council and counts as members major universities in the U.S., Canada, and several other countries. The software earned UNC-Chapel Hill the Unique or Innovative Program award. “It’s one of CSHEMA’s higher awards,” says Crabtree. “It’s pretty exciting when the CEO of the National Safety Council presents it!”
“HASMIS has had a number of hands in its writing,” says John Rawlings, “but it was re-written several years ago (VB 6 and Oracle), and it has grown and expanded into new EHS functions and the Web since then. What I tell anyone who will listen is that these guys (Dirk Kumashiro, Kelly Gallagher, and Tinesh Tailor, with Group Leader Mimi Bennett) did all the work; they deserve the credit.”–LJB with John Rawlings, Enterprise Applications
Users of ITS computer labs printed 24 to 25 million pages last year. Lab employees knew that many of these pages were wasted; they saw some users print out large jobs and throw most of the paper in the recycling bin. Sherry Graham, Acting Assistant Vice Chancellor for User Support and Engagement, decided to do something about this waste of resources. Gina Platz manages the ITS labs for Academic Computing and is working with Sherry to implement changes.
The quickest way to reduce printing in labs is to charge for this service, but lab staff wanted to keep printing free for students. After surveying other schools to see how they dealt with this problem, the staff decided to try using Pharos in the labs. Pharos is a popular print management software and is already in use at other locations on campus. According to other schools using the software to manage printing, even without charging for prints the number of pages printed goes down by a third. The plan was to install the software to track usage. Users of the print services in the labs will be required to sign in with their Onyens. Pharos tracks usage and can create reports that list the number of pages printed by Onyen. If the page numbers don’t go down and it is necessary to charge for printing, this information will help establish averages so that it will be easier to decide how many free copies students will get each semester.
As you might expect, the installation of the new software wasn’t exactly a painless process. Pharos testing began on October 15 in the Undergraduate Library and was stopped almost immediately because of problems. With help from Brent Caison of ITS Infrastructure and Operations and the technical staff of Pharos, those problems were solved and testing was restarted. Pharos ran for a week in the Undergraduate Library and the School of Public Health (SPH) with no problems. However, on the first day of classes there were 200 jobs in the queue at SPH. Pharos was pulled at both locations.
Pharos technical staff needs to be able to connect to the Pharos server and watch what happens when the jobs start stacking up. Of course, letting the jobs accumulate is kind of a problem for students trying to get their work printed in the labs. Gina is considering scheduling the next round of testing during Spring break. We’ll be sure to let you know how that goes.–DBM
The Office of the President is sponsoring a file sharing pilot program this spring for UNC students living in campus housing. ITS Information Security and Policy, ITS User Support & Engagement’s ResNet, ITS Communications, and ITS Enterprise Applications have worked together to launch the program in the second week of January.
The marketing efforts for the launch of the pilot concluded with the second preview event in the Great Hall of the Student Union on Wednesday, January 19th. Each of the participating vendors - Napster, Rhapsody, Ruckus, and cDigix - had represenatives on hand to answer student questions. In just the few days since the program has been open to students, 25% of the eligible students have selected a content provider. About 15% of eligible students selected a provider in the first 36 hours of the program. (Penn State took 9 months to reach 65% participation, so our adoption rate is impressive.)
Peak inbound network traffic to campus doubled within 24 hours of offering the pilot, and has hit the same new peak volume each day since. Of the vendors, Ruckus has been the most responsive and easiest to work with. They allow selected movie/video downloads, etc., but will fill available disk space quickly. Rhapsody (Real Networks) has had difficulty and a delay handling the student registrations. (The Office of the President believes their problems have been resolved, but registrations will still take 24-48 hours for new subscriptions to Rhapsody.)
The ITS Response Center has been handling student questions about services and pilot options. One constraint on the pilot is that users can download the files for free to their computer for playback, but not recording. Many users have called in with questions about recording the downloaded files to disk.
The many members of ITS involved in the project will continue to work together through the end of the pilot at the close of Spring Semester. At that time, all data collected will be reviewed.
MANY THANKS to all the ITS staff members who have helped make the launch of this highly collaborative project a success. Way to go!–MRB with Jeanne Smythe, ITS Information Security and Policy
The UNC Webmaster Wiki is a resource for sharing information on designing and maintaining campus Web sites.
But wait, what is a “wiki”?
Wikis are Web sites that use a collaborative authoring system that allows multiple people to edit a common set of pages via the World Wide Web. For more information, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki.
Some of the topics on the UNC Webmaster wiki include
– How to incorporate the UNC search engine into your Web pages
– Where to find UNC-related images for use on Web pages
– Get your CGI programs working on UNC’s servers
– Web accessibility at UNC
Anyone creating or maintaining campus Web sites is welcome to use and contribute to the wiki, available at http://php.unc.edu/webmasters/pmwiki/pmwiki.php.
The consolidation of ITS Business Functions into one operation under the umbrella of ITS Financial Planning and Human Resources has resulted in significant changes in the staff alignment and functionality. Here’s all you need to know about who does what.
There are three major functional areas within the department: Human Resources, Accounting Services, and Procurement. Currently the department is divided into multiple locations: Carr Mill Mall, Abernethy Hall, Giles Horney, and the Undergraduate Library. Our goal is to improve efficiencies and to provide consistent and professional support to all ITS staff to ensure that their missions are accomplished.
Plans are under way to relocate the majority of the staff into one location, which should allow for more efficiency and improved business practices. The staff from Carr Mill and Abernethy will relocate into space at Giles Horney and the Software Acquisition group will remain at the Undergraduate Library. Although target dates for this relocation are not final, the projected date is March 1 for the completion of the transition. Everyone will be updated as to the progress on the move and the specific location for respective staff in the near future. We are working with ITS managers and employees at Carr Mill Mall and Abernethy to establish a courier service to Giles Horney to minimize the impact on ITS. If you have any questions regarding how a current service will be provided once we relocate to Giles Horney, please e-mail Tom Horne. General information, forms, policies and procedures regarding FP&HR can be found at our main Web site:
http://its.unc.edu/fphr/
Human Resources
The Human Resources and Administrative Services Office of ITS provides personnel and administrative services to all ITS employees. Those services include payroll processing, recruitment, decentralized employment functions, leave management, developing and training of internal policies and procedures, contract services, ISP authorization, off-campus use agreements, Web publication, confidential consultations with employees and managers, and management of the grievance policy.
On our Web site you can find ITS job listings, internal polices and procedures, the ITS phone directory, internal forms, UNC forms, university personnel, and informational items of interest. The URL is http://www.unc.edu/atn/financial/hr/index.html.
With the merger of the AIS and ATN Human Resource Offices, changes were made to provide a more efficient office for the staff of ITS. Lisa Lipscomb is the SPA Human Resources Manager and Diane Strong is the EPA Human Resources Manager.
For assistance with SPA personnel please contact:
Lisa Lipscomb – 843-8217 or lisa_lipscomb@unc.edu
Nealy Hall – 962-5321 or nealy_hall@unc.edu
Office Location: Carr Mill Mall, Suite D-3, CB #1150
For assistance with EPA Personnel please contact:
Diane Strong – 962-2287 or diane_strong@unc.edu
Ashley Weatherly – 962-1181 or ashley_weatherly@unc.edu (exceptions: SPA/EPA payroll and leave tracking)
Office Location: Abernethy Hall, CB #3420
Ashley also records leave from timesheets (non-exempt employees) and the ITS internal leave report form (exempt employees).
Also included in the Administrative Office is Melissa Harris (Office Assistant). She can be reached at 966-1581 and is located at Carr Mill Mall.
Please contact the appropriate person(s) for assistance. If you are uncertain, you may contact any one of us for direction.
Accounting Services
Accounting Services is preparing for billing in the new Paetec Communications Management Suite. This system will provide centralized, comprehensive control of both the operations and cost management functions of our organizational communications infrastructure. Our goal is to begin offering consolidated bills to ITS customers in April with full implementation by June. Paetec will enable us to provide more access, more information, and more flexibility for our customers.
Accounting Services is also converting to the University’s cost accounting system, InDepth. As operating budgets are expected to be in place by February 1, new cost accounting reports out of InDepth should soon follow. The InDepth system will provide integration with the University’s central Financial Records System, streamline workflows, and avoid duplication of data entry.
Procurement
ITS Procurement consists of Purchasing, Software Acquisition, and Surplus/Asset Management. The office handles all purchasing functions for ITS, including requisitions, check requests, Staples orders, travel, etc. We negotiate campus-wide software license/maintenance agreements for the University. The office provides contract administration for all licenses and a central point for receipt and distribution of software. ITS Procurement also reviews all ITS license/maintenance agreements for legal sufficiency before they are sent to Material & Disbursement Services. Please see the following Web sites for additional information.
www.unc.edu/atn/software for Software Acquisition
www.unc.edu/atn/financial/business/b-policy.html for all ITS Policies and Procedures
www.unc.edu/atn/financial/business/b-forms.html for all ITS Business Forms
Contributed by John Gallagher, Financial Planning & Human Resources
The consolidation of ITS Business Functions into one operation under the umbrella of ITS Financial Planning and Human Resources has resulted in significant changes in the staff alignment and functionality. Here’s all you need to know about who does what.
There are three major functional areas within the department: Human Resources, Accounting Services, and Procurement. Currently the department is divided into multiple locations: Carr Mill Mall, Abernethy Hall, Giles Horney, and the Undergraduate Library. Our goal is to improve efficiencies and to provide consistent and professional support to all ITS staff to ensure that their missions are accomplished.
Plans are under way to relocate the majority of the staff into one location, which should allow for more efficiency and improved business practices. The staff from Carr Mill and Abernethy will relocate into space at Giles Horney and the Software Acquisition group will remain at the Undergraduate Library. Although target dates for this relocation are not final, the projected date is March 1 for the completion of the transition. Everyone will be updated as to the progress on the move and the specific location for respective staff in the near future. We are working with ITS managers and employees at Carr Mill Mall and Abernethy to establish a courier service to Giles Horney to minimize the impact on ITS. If you have any questions regarding how a current service will be provided once we relocate to Giles Horney, please e-mail Tom Horne. General information, forms, policies and procedures regarding FP&HR can be found at our main Web site:
http://its.unc.edu/fphr/
Human Resources
The Human Resources and Administrative Services Office of ITS provides personnel and administrative services to all ITS employees. Those services include payroll processing, recruitment, decentralized employment functions, leave management, developing and training of internal policies and procedures, contract services, ISP authorization, off-campus use agreements, Web publication, confidential consultations with employees and managers, and management of the grievance policy.
On our Web site you can find ITS job listings, internal polices and procedures, the ITS phone directory, internal forms, UNC forms, university personnel, and informational items of interest. The URL is http://www.unc.edu/atn/financial/hr/index.html.
With the merger of the AIS and ATN Human Resource Offices, changes were made to provide a more efficient office for the staff of ITS. Lisa Lipscomb is the SPA Human Resources Manager and Diane Strong is the EPA Human Resources Manager.
For assistance with SPA personnel please contact:
Lisa Lipscomb – 843-8217 or lisa_lipscomb@unc.edu
Nealy Hall – 962-5321 or nealy_hall@unc.edu
Office Location: Carr Mill Mall, Suite D-3, CB #1150
For assistance with EPA Personnel please contact:
Diane Strong – 962-2287 or diane_strong@unc.edu
Ashley Weatherly – 962-1181 or ashley_weatherly@unc.edu (exceptions: SPA/EPA payroll and leave tracking)
Office Location: Abernethy Hall, CB #3420
Ashley also records leave from timesheets (non-exempt employees) and the ITS internal leave report form (exempt employees).
Also included in the Administrative Office is Melissa Harris (Office Assistant). She can be reached at 966-1581 and is located at Carr Mill Mall.
Please contact the appropriate person(s) for assistance. If you are uncertain, you may contact any one of us for direction.
Accounting Services
Accounting Services is preparing for billing in the new Paetec Communications Management Suite. This system will provide centralized, comprehensive control of both the operations and cost management functions of our organizational communications infrastructure. Our goal is to begin offering consolidated bills to ITS customers in April with full implementation by June. Paetec will enable us to provide more access, more information, and more flexibility for our customers.
Accounting Services is also converting to the University’s cost accounting system, InDepth. As operating budgets are expected to be in place by February 1, new cost accounting reports out of InDepth should soon follow. The InDepth system will provide integration with the University’s central Financial Records System, streamline workflows, and avoid duplication of data entry.
Procurement
ITS Procurement consists of Purchasing, Software Acquisition, and Surplus/Asset Management. The office handles all purchasing functions for ITS, including requisitions, check requests, Staples orders, travel, etc. We negotiate campus-wide software license/maintenance agreements for the University. The office provides contract administration for all licenses and a central point for receipt and distribution of software. ITS Procurement also reviews all ITS license/maintenance agreements for legal sufficiency before they are sent to Material & Disbursement Services. Please see the following Web sites for additional information.
www.unc.edu/atn/software for Software Acquisition
www.unc.edu/atn/financial/business/b-policy.html for all ITS Policies and Procedures
www.unc.edu/atn/financial/business/b-forms.html for all ITS Business Forms
Contributed by John Gallagher, Financial Planning & Human Resources
