"Adding to the well-known triple bottom line framework, Texas Woman’s will invest in people, prosperity, place, and planet to ensure a sustainable future."

Improving Pioneer Portal: Responding to Students with Responsive Design

Through volunteer work at events, TWU Technology staff have the opportunity to interact with students and to watch their services in use. This can be invaluable to the department’s goal of continuous improvement. At an Office of Admissions event in January 2017, a staff member noticed prospective students struggling to set up their Pioneer Portal accounts on their mobile devices. They would zoom in to see field names and back out to enter their information.

This would not do.

The individual took the time to redesign the Pioneer Portal account creation page to utilize responsive design, so that the fields automatically responded to the screen size and orientation, and updated the look of the Portal logon and account creation screens to match the University’s visual identity.

By the next Admissions event, a month later, the revamped screens were ready, and they worked brilliantly. TWU Technology is excited to employ proactive and caring staff who work to improve the technology experience of everyone at the University.

Online Performance Evaluation System for Staff

Tony Yardley, manager of HR compliance & equity, faced a high profile project in improving the performance evaluation system. There were numerous limitations to the old system as it was detailed, lengthy, and still on paper. Committees were formed to consider how to improve the process. Both committees wanted to transition the system to online. HR worked with TWU Technology to determine what was needed, which reports to develop, and how to make the process smoother for everyone.

The new system allows both supervisors and employees to access historical data. Since this new system has been implemented, there has been a higher rate of compliance. Yardley credited the project success to everyone working together for the solution.

Working Together on Faculty & Staff Merit Pay

In an exciting effort to reward, recruit, and retain talent, this year was the first round of faculty and staff merit pay. After procedures were finalized, TWU Technology staff dedicated a couple of weeks to program the specifications, responding to changes along the way. The department collaborated with Finance and Administration and Academic Financial Services to perfect the code so that all eligible employees received the correct compensation.

Microsoft Exchange Upgrade

In fall 2016, TWU communication tools received an upgrade to the latest version of Microsoft Exchange. Microsoft Exchange 2016 features improved tools and a faster connection when compared to the version previously used on campus. These enhancements assist TWU Technology teams with speedier troubleshooting and provide the most up-to-date Microsoft Exchange security. Faculty and staff benefit from a more streamlined integration with the popular Microsoft communication tool, Skype for Business.

An Improved Calendar of Events

Scott Bynum, director of university web communications, envisions the TWU Calendar of Events as a hub for information about activities of every variety happening on each of TWU’s campuses. In the past, as he thought of improvements or new features, he would submit a ticket request to TWU Technology. This year, the department created a project that brought people and resources together to look at the big picture. While still in progress, some work has been completed. Technology has created a form to submit events to the calendar. In addition, the project team designed the calendar features to work with the new web template. Additionally, those submitting events can choose to have the events appear on their own TWU website page in the events area.

Consolidating Technology Service Management

As a service organization, the Office of Technology is committed to providing excellent support. Through the TeamDynamix cloud-based work management software, the department has been able to provide stronger support for students, faculty, and staff. The department began using TeamDynamix for project management in 2014. In 2016, knowledge-centered support was deployed through a technology service catalog and knowledge base. By moving service and incident ticketing from Footprints software into TeamDynamix in late 2016, the University benefited from greater efficiency and resource allocation.

Texas Woman’s constituents can manage their tickets in the same place that they access information about services and technology support: servicecenter.twu.edu. To market the transition and the new custom URL, the department used digital signage on all three campuses, as well as yard signs on the Denton campus. They also sent out “golden tickets” announcing the change to all employees at the institution.

285% increase in users of the Service Center from September 2016 to August 2017

Who Maintains Information in the Service Center?

The Marketing Web Team and TWU Technology both use TeamDynamix Ticketing. While Technology is the only department using the Service Catalog, a number of departments maintain information in the Knowledge Base:

• University Advancement
• General Counsel
• Human Resources
• Registrar
• TWU Technology
• Center for Student Development
• Student Life Handbook

“One benefit of a centralized solution is it provides a holistic picture. We are better able to manage prioritization and workload.” -Lena McLain, senior applications developer

Project Coordinators Add Value

In December 2016, TWU Technology hired its first project coordinators. Mai Nguyen provides support of enterprise applications projects, and Tiffany Peart provides support for infrastructure projects. These new roles have resulted in a myriad of benefits for the department. Their efforts benefit the institution as well. Technology closed over double the number of projects that were opened this year. Beyond their job duties, Nguyen and Peart are active members of the TWU community, who participate in service, attend events, and serve in leadership roles. The department added a third project coordinator in September 2017. Lacey Monarch's position was reclassified. She will support client services projects.

Texas Woman's Technology Compared to Carnegie Class Peers

TWU Technology participates annually in the Educause Core Data Services survey which allows the department to benchmark its services and metrics against institutions across the country. For this report, TWU data were compared to medians from its Carnegie Class peers in the 2015-16 academic year.

Information security is a priority in TWU Technology. The department has increased its risk assessments by 603% over the last two years, whereas only 32% of TWU's peers have conducted a security risk assessment of cloud service or third-party providers.

The department supports the unique needs of TWU's students by providing a lab computer workstation per each 26 students, whereas the median for TWU's peers is 35. Educause student data for TWU indicate fewer of our students own laptops, so Technology provides more on-campus computers to close the gap.

TWU spends 13% more on education technology services and 7% more on IT support services. Differentiations in spending demonstrate a commitment to a University principle: "People and cutting-edge technology drive the discovery and creative expression that fuel our educational enterprise."

Technology spends less per institutional FTE ($793) compared with peers ($955), while providing the same services and quality of support. Further, ongoing compensation spending at TWU (45%) is lower than peers (53%). Peers spend less on in-house infrastructure and services (34%) compared with TWU (43%). TWU Technology does more with less and creates custom applications that meet the specific needs of the University.

year-in-review project highlights

2016

SEPTEMBER - Password rule changes

• 4700 tickets closed
• 8 projects opened
• 21 projects closed

OCTOBER - Tech Boot Camps

• 3168 tickets closed
• 4 projects opened
• 3 projects closed

NOVEMBER - Custom Online Course Evaluation System goes live

• 3409 tickets closed
• 5 projects opened
• 3 projects closed

DECEMBER - Technology ticketing moved to Service Center

• 2942 tickets closed
• 3 projects opened
• 3 projects closed

2017

JANUARY - Budget Module enhancement for Finance & Administration

• 4956 tickets closed
• 8 projects opened
• 24 projects closed

FEBRUARY - Performance Evaluations go live

• 3134 tickets closed
• 6 projects opened
• 9 projects closed

MARCH - TWU Connect automated user-sync

• 3162 tickets closed
• 7 projects opened
• 15 projects closed

APRIL - Jamf Pro enables management of Apple devices

• 3163 tickets closed
• 3 projects opened
• 11 projects closed

MAY - Lowry Woods conference room redesigned

• 2997 tickets closed
• 6 projects opened
• 10 projects closed

JUNE - Telecommunications upgrade in Houston

• 3884 tickets closed
• 1 project opened
• 21 projects closed

JULY - Program fees added to courses in Colleague

• 2807 tickets closed
• 0 projects opened
• 2 projects closed

AUGUST - SH 307 & 308 digital upgrade

• 5154 tickets closed
• 8 projects opened
• 14 projects closed

PROJECT STATS

59 projects opened

136 projects closed

118 business days median project duration

50% of technology projects were completed in 120 days

Increasing Security through Password Complexity

It is not surprising that secure logins are an important component of online security. TWU Technology implemented new password complexity measures, adding an extra layer of protection for student, staff, and faculty data and accounts. The enhanced complexity rules were introduced across all TWU access points including Pioneer Portal, email, and TWU Alumni Mail. Revised standards included a minimum character length and mandatory combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Additionally, password aging was enforced so that previously used passwords could not be recycled.

While it may have been challenging for some to develop new passwords under the vigorous rules, Technology offered password strengthening and passphrase support during building walkthroughs, via the Service Desk, and in the TWU online knowledge base.

Classroom Details Searchable

The department’s learning technologists were able to make the knowledge base more robust by adding information about classrooms at each campus. An article was created for each room detailing the room type, capacity, available equipment, and how to reserve the room. The articles link to support information about the various equipment, as well as internal information about the room for Technology staff (e.g., IP addresses).

Remote Assistance Solution

The five technology service desk agents routinely handle 100 and up to 300 tickets each day. Often, they need remote access to resolve issues. While they had a solution on-campus, they didn’t have a tool to connect remotely with students and faculty and staff working off-campus. With the variety of operating systems, hardware, and software in use among TWU constituents, the agents required a solution to provide the best support. This year the department implemented Bomgar, a remote assistance tool that protects the end-user and TWU’s networks. The tool also provides chat functionality, another means to provide immediate support.

Portal Account Confirmation Page Upgrade

A cross-functional group worked together in 2015 to reimagine the Pioneer Portal account creation confirmation page.

The goal? To deliver information about tools in Portal to new users, tailored to their needs.

When someone creates a Portal account, information about the uses of their account appears on a confirmation page. Students see that they have access to computer labs and GMail, as well as a description of tools in Portal (e.g., scholarships, financial aid, emergency alert signup). A faculty member sees that syllabi are uploaded in Portal and that they may choose to use GMail or Exchange for their email. Previously the account creation confirmation page simply stated that the account creation was successful and to allow five minutes before logging on. The new confirmation pages support prospective students and new faculty and staff as they begin their journeys at Texas Woman’s.

texas woman's technology by the numbers

603% two-year increase in risk assessments of applications. 32 assessments were completed in FY15. 225 were completed in FY17.

Only 62% of GMail messages and 72% of Exchange messages were delivered. Over 46 million messages were blocked as spam or other threats by GMail and Proofpoint.

1,145 Lynda.com certificates of completion were earned by Texas Woman's students, staff, and faculty in FY17. 183 of those were earned by staff in the Office of Technology.

79% increase in PluralSight hours viewed by Technology staff compared to last year. 79 individuals viewed 241 courses. This training is in addition to the Lynda.com coursework completed by staff in the department.

105,314 threats blocked by Fire Eye, keeping the TWU network safe from viruses and exploitation attempts.

99.94% average host uptime in FY17

TWU students are printing less than half of the number of pages as in 2011. This year, nearly 20% of pages sent through GoPrint in the computer labs were saved from wasteful printing.

A Day in the Life of Pioneer Portal, August 17, 2017

60,359 users

571,997 page views

Reaching Students through Digital Signage

Over the summer, digital signage in Denton got a new look. The stand-alone set-up allows the department to place digital signage in more areas across the campus, providing valuable information to students about a variety of events and services. The signage is managed through new software. Upon release of the updated Texas Woman's visual identity, the stand-alone signage received a makeover featuring the strategic imperatives of the University. Digital signage is a decentralized service: TWU Technology manages some digital signage on each of TWU's campuses and is capable of managing signage for other departments or consulting with departments on how to manage their own digital signage.

Enterprise Applications Tickets

• 404 Academic Affairs
• 20 Chancellor
• 180 Enrollment Services
• 345 Finance
• 86 Other

1,094 tickets completed by Oracle and Colleague enterprise application teams in FY17

TRS Enterprise Application Modernization Program

Technology staff have been diligently working with Human Resources to prepare for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ (TRS) effort to modernize its pension administration system to ensure members are provided with the best possible customer service. This effort, known as the TEAM Program, includes a new and improved web interface for employee data and payroll reporting, replacing the TRS Reporting and Query System.

OnBase Implementation: Phase I

OnBase allows for document digitization and management and includes workflow. OnBase will replace the current Gmedia Imaging System. The project moved from planning, testing, and training into implementation with the new fiscal year. Requirements included infrastructure and installation, transcript capture, and granting departments access one-at-a-time, beginning with Admissions Processing, International Education, the Graduate School, and the Registrar. Initially sixteen departments requested access to the system. A handful of additional departments have requested access since the project began.

Oracle Assets: Phase I

TWU Technology worked with Facilities Management & Construction (FMC) to replace AssetWorks, a third-party software used to assign and/or update assets. Previously, FMC would assign/update assets, store changes in AssetWorks, and then manually enter them into Oracle. Phase I of the project allowed FMC to use hand-held scanners to update Oracle Assets directly, eliminating the need for AssetWorks.