Office of Information Technology and Learning Experience

Enterprise Services - Business Analyst Spotlight

The Enterprise Analysis (EA) team is part of the Enterprise Services department in the Office of Information Technology and Learning Experience. EA is composed of systems analysts and business analysts who support the Banner Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, data integrations between Banner and other systems, custom applications, and business process improvements.

EA business analysts and systems analysts work collaboratively on issues, projects, and support requests. EA business analysts work collaboratively with colleagues across the college to improve processes, resolve issues, and implement system enhancements. They also troubleshoot issues and support the integration of third-party functional applications and reporting applications with the Banner system. The EA systems analysts are responsible for system analysis, design, writing technical requirements, coding, software testing, researching new technologies, and troubleshooting complex technical problems.

As part of the One College reorganization, the business analyst structure has changed to provide more coordinated cross functional support. Each business analyst has a primary focus, but may also support projects crossing functional areas.

• Heather Gutschmidt assumed the role of Lead Business Analyst. As such, Heather will be responsible for scoping large projects, defining best practices, and quality review. In addition to cross-functional project leadership, Heather will provide support for Workforce Development business processes.

• Nadia Ivanova will continue to support Finance and Accounts Receivable processes and projects. Additionally, Nadia will also support Financial Aid due to the close affiliation between Financial Aid and Student Accounts.

• Melissa Ferguson joined HACC in September as the Business Analyst supporting Student business processes and projects. Her first project is supporting the upgrade of Banner Self Service Registration.

• Becky Wagner is the newest business analyst to join the Enterprise Analysis team. Becky will primarily support Human Resources and Payroll.

All business and system analysts report to Meredith Jenkins, Assistant Director, Enterprise Analysis. Requests for support may be submitted using the Enterprise Services Support Request link on myHACC. Using the ticketing system rather than email allows Enterprise Services to be more efficient in providing the requested support and ensuring the request is assigned to the appropriate resource.

Information Technology

The Information Technology department is proud of the accomplishments we were able to make this year, despite the challenges that our team experienced due to the pandemic. Some of our accomplishments are as follows.

1. Utilizing our advanced technology systems to prepare all of our faculty, staff, administrators, and students to work remotely because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

2. Setting up Always on VPN (AOVPN) and Remote Desktop Services (RDS) so that employees could continue to communicate right from their desk while at home.

3. Updated all of our classrooms and student labs across all five campuses while students were remote learning so that they are prepared for their return in the very near future.

4. Continued to support the entire campus through remote technical support for whatever technical issues they experienced while performing their jobs remotely.

5. Completed our backup solution project, server upgrades, improved our Hardware Asset Management System project, backend equipment upgrades and improvements and many other efforts as well.

What a challenging, but absolutely amazing year it has been for me as the Director for Information at the College. I completed my first year at HACC on Dec. 10, 2020, however I feel like I have been here for a lifetime considering the interesting journey that I have experienced in 2020 that has influenced my team and my life due to Covid-19. It has been a remarkable year despite the challenges our country, institution, and department continue to face through the pandemic. I wish everyone a very happy and safe holiday season! Ronnie Jefferson, director, information technology.

Learning Experience - Working Remotely by the Numbers

As a department focused on supporting teaching and learning at HACC, Learning Experience continues to evolve and adapt following the completion of the One College reorganization, with a particular focus on providing vital services in a remote environment. Ranging from faculty training and support during a rapid shift to remote instruction to creating an online Learning Commons presence, it has been a year that required flexibility and creativity to ensure that we were able to meet HACC’s changing needs.

In addition to providing initial training in March, our Center for Design and Instruction team has continued to provide vital support for faculty during remote instruction, developing a website and a YouTube channel compiling resources to help faculty create digital content and navigate the primary systems supporting their remote classes. To date, the videos created by the team have generated over 17,000 views, with more than 870 hours of helpful video watched. The team has also helped 60 faculty members during live 1:1 sessions, in addition to a combined 250 drop-in sessions and email contacts.

Our Learning Technologies team has been busy on multiple efforts, offering support for remote instruction and vital on-campus activities while also working toward an eventual return to our Campuses. The team has used its media expertise to convert over 380 slides and 70 analog videos to digital format for remote instruction while ensuring that necessary rooms were ready for required hands-on Campus activities. Additionally, Learning Technologies has worked on over 50 classrooms in support of the Midtown relocation, communications classroom upgrades supported by the HACC Foundation, and more.

The Learning Commons has been no less busy, creating a website that unified our service offerings and collaborating with our Library faculty and Library Technical Services colleagues for a combined 94,000+ visits in Fall 2020.

• Library Public Services continues to lead the way in providing vital technology to our students, with our Technology Loan program providing technology including over 400 computers and over 200 hotspots in response to more than 700 requests from eligible students.

• Testing continues to find ways to provide critical services; in addition to overseeing 3rd-party proctoring services, the team has proctored nearly 600 TEAS exams and more than 700 Accuplacer tests, along with more than 150 academic makeup or extended time tests.

• Tutoring instituted TutorTrac in October to facilitate students’ appointment scheduling and provide more effective data collection; since that point, we have had more than 500 individuals attend over 2,700 tutoring appointments. We will continue to support a limited range of tutoring services over Winter term, in addition to our normal offerings in the Spring.

• User Support has become no less vital now that we are all working remotely. In addition to overseeing our HelpDesk provider and collaborating with other areas to resolve challenges and ensure an effective user experience, this team has directly addressed more than 2,250 help tickets. User Support staff have also opened new avenues of contact to assist users during this difficult time, holding more than 375 live Zoom drop-in sessions.

Learning Experience does not function in a vacuum, and we celebrate the collaboration with other departments and divisions that allow us to provide effective service to the institution. We thank you for your partnership in 2020, and we look forward to continuing to find ways to support you in the coming year!

I like Zoom and here is why, by Louise Hyder-Darlington

Zoom and I have developed a great relationship. Not a perfect relationship. But it is indeed a relationship as there are clearly ups and downs.

Pre- March 2020 I had played with Zoom. Zoom was a casual companion and brought a sense of ease to life. I knew Zoom because the HACC Library used it to hold meetings across the five campuses. It was part of our tool box; used to support staff, build communication and provide structure for the multitude of library projects. At that time, Zoom was a rather carefree helpmate. Little did I, or many of us know, it would soon become the focal point of life. The sun was about to rise and fall with Zoom.

Post- March 2020, I now Zoom into the morning, afternoon and evening. I have Zoomed in my dreams. We now mark the calendar, much as we did with the Y2K scare, by possible Zoom issues. It is very hard to imagine life and work without Zoom. The challenges of COVID induced restrictions layered over the recent changes with HACC pressed us to do our best. Do better than our best. Do better than we thought possible. These times have challenged beyond what we thought possible.

As one of the four centralized student center services within the new Learning Commons, Library Public Services became part of the larger Learning Experience team. This was a frontier filled with new people, projects and partners at every turn. Away from the casual proximity that our familiar, shared spaces provided, Zoom became a lifeline. I was wary of Zoom, keeping it at arms-length as with any new relationship; unsure of how to behave. Do I use my video? How does my background look? What is Zoom etiquette? Is there Zoom etiquette? All the little tripping points and roadblocks that are part of developing a relationship.

As I became more comfortable, I learned to lean on Zoom and what it provided in building the relationships I needed elsewhere. Had it not been for Zoom at this time of remoteness, I would not have had the chance to meet with new colleagues. In time I learned that had it not been for the remote work itself, I would not have even sought out some of these relationships. Zoom and our abilities to use it to build bridges, allowed me to create and nourish exceptional new work relationships.

That is not to say there have not been problems with Zoom. As with any relationship we learn our limits and set boundaries. The life and death nature of our relationship with Zoom has forced us to realize how important it is to have measured, healthy boundaries in our work lives. This has been one of the most critical lessons I learned from Zoom, and technology in general. Sometimes it is good to step away. Sometimes our health depends on our ability to step away. I have seen the affirmation of this shared lesson reflected in the many agendas elevating staff mental health check-ins to the front, not the rear, of valuable meeting time.

As with any good relationship; there has been a measure of transformation. Zoom has helped me transform the way I work and the work I do at HACC. In this way, my relationship with Zoom has been transformational for me as well. I am better at my work on behalf of Library Public Services, on behalf of my colleagues, for our students and for our HACC community at large. Although, I still prefer not to dream about Zoom!