Hello everyone, as we gear up for Fall Semester, I wanted to give everyone an update on the many ventures CaTS has been working on.
Below are the topics that will be covered in this post, which can be clicked on to take you directly to the section you're interested in.
- CaTS Satisfaction Survey Results
- Information Technology Service Management
- Inveractive Video Distance Learning Classrooms
- Email Security Enhancements
CaTS Satisfaction Survey Results
I want to thank everyone who participated in the CaTS Satisfaction Survey. We are continuously looking for ways to improve our services, and your feedback is crucial in helping us set our goals for the future. We value our customers' opinions and strive to improve our services for the university.
You can view the results of the survey here: CaTS Survey Results
Three major themes were apparent when reviewing the results:
- The need to provide technical training to our customers
- Increased transparency of CaTS projects through improved campus communications
- Faster service resolution times
CaTS plans to address each of these in the following ways
Technical Training
We received a large number of requests to provide technical training to the University. As a result, CaTS is beginning the development of a training program. As development progresses, a variety of topics will have training sessions formed to aid Wright State employees. Some of these topics include Office 365 training (email/calendar, OneDrive for Business, Skype for Business, SharePoint), Banner Admin training, and more. If you have questions about the development of the CaTS training program, contact cats-training@wright.edu.
Increased Transparency and Faster Service Resolution Times
CaTS is striving to increase department transparency to keep our customers better informed of major projects effecting Wright State. While CaTS staff works diligently to provide excellent services, we are in the process of implementing an Incident Management process as a way to improve users experience when interacting with CaTS, and quicker response times to your requests. You can also read more about this process in the Information Technology Service Management section below.
Information Technology Service Management
In anticipation of our customer's needs, CaTS has begun developing a new Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) program. The goal of this program is to improve the delivery of IT services by developing processes in-line with industry best practices, known as ITIL.
Over the past few months the ITSM team has been working on two concurrent projects: formalizing CaTS’ Incident Management process (how we respond when a service is down or in a degraded state) and Request Fulfillment process (when you request something from us); and implementing a new software application, called ServiceNow, to manage our work (your tickets and requests). ServiceNow will replace an existing application, called HEAT, which has been in use at Wright State since 2001. In addition to calling or emailing the Help Desk, with ServiceNow you will be able submit tickets and track progress via a self-service portal. Both the process models and ServiceNow are slated for implementation on August 2.
You can find more information about this ITSM project here: Information Technology Service Management.
Interactive Video Distance Learning Classrooms
We are in the process of converting several rooms around campus to interactive distance learning classroom. This allows Faculty members to teach a class at either Dayton or Lake Campus with the ability to connect the two campuses, as well as include students learning from off-site locations. When an instructor walks into the room, the first step is using an iPad-like device to choose which room they want to connect to. Once the instructor begins talking, the equipment set up in the room uses a camera to follow the instructor around the room using facial recognition. Two additional cameras can also work in tandem to zoom in on audience members as they are talking.
A benefit of using this system is the ability to easily upgrade software, which will allow for future features to be easily introduced. The following classrooms will feature this new technology by the beginning of the Fall 2016 Semester:
Main Campus
- 009 Millett Hall
- 050 Rike Hall
- 125 Oelman Hall
- 154 Russ Engineering Center
- 1 portable unit
Lake Campus
- 150 Dwyer Hall
- 186 Andrews Hall
- 2 portable units
If you are interested in using this new technology in your class, contact Debbie Whisler at (937) 775-4066. You can find more information about this service here: Interactive Video Distance Learning.
Email Security Enhancements
CaTS is expanding Proofpoint's Targeted Attack Protection (TAP) service to help protect against specific threats that are distributed via email attachments. When a malicious attachment in an email has been detected, TAP strips the attachment to prevent phishing and targeted malware attacks. If you receive an email containing an infected attachment, Proofpoint will filter out the email to protect your account from being compromised. These emails will be presented to you when you receive your End User's Digest, or when you visit your Proofpoint inbox.
This enhancement to TAP is being implemented as an addition to our existing spam filtering service. For more information about TAP, visit Targeted Attack Protection.
If you have any questions or concerns, I'd be happy to discuss them with you. Please contact me at (937) 775-4008, or craig.woolley@wright.edu.
Craig Woolley, Chief Information Officer
