ITS ANNUAL REPORT - University of Michigan–Flint · ITS Training 31 OUR MISSION ITS is a diverse team of highly dedicated professionals committed to our students, fac - ... Dennese

ITS ANNUAL REPORT

TABLE OFCONTENTS

ITS ANNUAL REPORT

ITS Student Technicians 1-2

ITS Staff 3-12

Data Information Management 13-14

Desktop Computer Services 15-16

ITS Helpdesk 17-18

Classroom Services 19-20

Network Engineers 21-22

Project Management 23-24

Security Services 25-26

System Administration 27-28

Web Services 29-30

ITS Training 31

OUR MISSION

ITS is a diverse team of highly dedicated professionals committed to our students, fac-ulty, staff, and the community. Our mission is to provide technology solutions, services, and support founded on the business needs of our campus community. We strive to support and enhance the mission of the University of Michigan–Flint. Our focus is to use technology to inspire students, empower educators, enrich administrators, and

improve the state of Michigan and the world.

- ITS Annual Report - 17/181 2

Miranda SmithITS Student Technician

Alex LatunskiITS Student Technician

Joe DentITS Student Technician

Rhys BarrieITS Student Technician

Cody GrandyITS Student Technician

Derek SharkeyITS Student Technician

ITS STUDENTTECHNICIANS

Dane SalisburyITS Student Technician

Jacob MooreITS Student Technician

Joshua VanderpoolITS Student Technician

Katelynn SlaterITS Student Technician

Andrew LehmanITS Student Technician


ITS STAFFDennese Bandyk is the ITS Trainer for Information Technology Services, training university supported software for faculty, staff and student workers. Dennese has worked for the University of Michigan-Flint since 2011. Dennese enjoys training because she loves the excitement of seeing people discover new insights and software skills to become more efficient with the software that they are using to get their jobs done. Dennese is a University of Michigan-Dearborn graduate and before joining the ITS team, she worked at New Horizons Computer Learning Centers & Executrain of Detroit training for corporate, government and education accounts.

Dennese BandykITS Trainer

ITS Training

Erica has worked for the University for 10 years. Her favorite part about ITS is her interaction with students, faculty and staff throughout the campus community. When not at work enjoys spending time with my family and traveling

Erica BurnsSecretary Intermediate

User Services

Casey started out at working at the University of Michigan-Flint as a student in the biology department in 2015. In 2016 he started working for ITS as a work-study student. In February of 2017 he started working part time as a System Support Assistant Associate as well as continuing as a student worker. Currently Casey works on the network engineering team as well as as a graduate student research assistant on the topic of signal processing algorithms applied to neural signals in brain’s auditory structure. Casey’s favorite parts of his job include the interactions with other departments on campus; it really gives him the feeling of being a part of the big picture. Fun Fact: Casey actually likes networking.

Casey K ChisnellSystems Support Assistant Associate

Mike has worked a number of jobs inside of ITS including Desktop support for 2.5 years, classroom support 3.5 years, and now Project management 3 years.Mikes favorite part about his job is watching the campus grow and change over time. It is very rewarding to help implement new technology across campus to provide a better learning environment for our students.

Mike DanielsProject Engineer Associate

Project Management

During my nineteen year career I have held technical and managerial roles in the Information Technology field. In particular, I have been brought in to utilize not only my technical knowledge and skills, but also as a technology visionary and an agent of institutional change. I have been at U of M Flint, in ITS, since 2002 and have been the Director of ITS since 2005. I really enjoy the mission of the University and the service that we provide to our students.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my wife and children, camping, hunting, fishing, and being in the great outdoors.

Scott ArnstDirector

Sharvari is the newest addition the ITS full time team.

Sharvari AurangabadkarApplications programmer Associate

Data Information Management

Harrison joined the University of Michigan-Flint team in 2005 as a member of the networking team.Harrison’s favorite part of his job is reviewing different technologies and finding the best method to implement on the Flint campus to help Faculty, Staff and students.Fun Fact: Harrison enjoys hiking, camping, biking and being in the great outdoors- when not traveling to the Caribbean.

Harrison BaconNetwork Architect Intermediate

Network Systems Support


Desktop Computer Services

ITS Helpdesk

Classroom Services


Project Management

Security Services

System Administration

Web Services

ITS Training


Jennifer Daraiseh is a Business Process Consultant in the Data Information Management (DIM) team and serves as a liaison to key administrative departments across campus to partner in the development and implementation of new features and technologies integrated with the Banner system. Jennifer has worked at the University of Michigan-Flint since 1993. Holding various positions within the U, she has spent most of her time in the Information Technology Services Office, where she enjoys learning about new technologies and helping others become more efficient at their jobs. She is proud to have earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Michigan-Flint. Jennifer enjoys spending summer nights on the pontoon and traveling to warm destinations during the winter with her husband and two children.

Jennifer DaraisehBusiness Process Consultant


Nick began working at the University in 2009 as a student technician for the ITS Helpdesk. After being promoted a few times over the years he continues to enjoy the opportunities that are offered working for the University. Nick’s favorite part about working in the ITS department would be the friendly atmosphere and great coworkers. There is also the chance to offer specialized assistance to a large group of people. He has never before had an opportunity to be such a positive influence on customers both local and remote. When not sitting at home enjoying a good movie, he also enjoys camping and outdoor activities with his family.

Nick DeanHelpdesk Intermediate Technician

ITS Helpdesk

Phil ErlenbeckUNIX Systems Administrator Associate

Systems Administration

Jason has worked for ITS since 2002 starting out as a Computer Systems Specialist. Currently Jason is a member of and oversees the Desktop Computer Services group.

Jason GoodingDesktop Support Specialist Senior Supervisor


Ken is part of ITS Management and oversees Classroom Services, DCS, Helpdesk, Project Management, and Web. Ken joined the UM-Flint ITS Team in 1996 and was hired in as a Desktop Computer Specialist. Kens positions since then include Senior Computer Systems Specialist, Desktop Support Manager, IT Manager, and his current position is Associate Director – ITS. Ken’s favorite aspects of his job include being able to interact with customers, helping with their IT related issues and making their day better. Second, Ken enjoys mentoring and watching employees grow professionally. Fun fact: Ken is the current Chair of the UM-Flint Staff-Faculty Golf Committee. The committee holds a golf outing every year to give an opportunity for Staff and Faculty of the University to spend some time outside of work together, have fun, and raise money for UM-Flint Scholarship funds. They have currently held this outing for 23 straight years! To date they have raised thousands of dollars and have been able to help fully endow 3 separate scholarship funds for students here at UM-Flint.

Ken HeiserAssociate Director

Cleatus provides programming expertise both internally within ITS and to external departments across campus. He is currently on his second appointment at the University of Michigan-Flint. Cleatus worked for the University from 1998 to 2001 before departing to work for Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and Hewlett Packard (HP) for approximately 9 years. He also earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan-Flint. Cleatus is very happy to be back at the University and enjoys supporting the stated mission of the University.

Cleatus HendersonApplication Programmer Senior


Erik started at the University in 2008 working for the network team. In 2009 Erik moved to a student position in MCS and was hired full time in 2012 as an Audio Visual Technician. In 2018 Erik was promoted to Instructional Learning Intermediate.Erik’s favorite part of his job includes working with new technology and problem solving.Fun Fact: Erik has 9 pets (3 birds, 3 dogs, 2 geckos, and a turtle), and collects coins.

Erik HoffmanInstructional Learning Intermediate

Classroom Services

Scott has worked for ITS since 2003 starting out as a Programmer Analyst.

Scott HooverERP Business Analyst IntermediateData Information Management

Phil has worked in various roles in ITS since 2003 including as our security administrator and more recently Unix administrator. Phil is a current holder of a CISSP certification and is a member of the GIAC Advisory Board. Phil’s interests include automating repetitive tasks and implementing infrastructure as code on the Flint campus. Currently Phil is serving as the lead for the Systems Administrator Team with responsibilities including maintaining our LMS, Storage, Hardware, VMware, Oracle VM, Unix and various support systems. Phil’s favorite part of working for ITS is the large variety of work as well as finding solutions to problems, and continuous improvement of services and processes. Something interesting about Phil is he repairs almost everything himself, from ovens to HVAC to automobiles. Phil loves to tinker and turn left over parts and supplies from other projects into solutions for current ones.


Sidney HortonDesktop Support Specialist Senior


Joel Howard, M.S.Web Software Developer

and Adjunct Lecturer in Computer ScienceWeb Services

Kelly JohnsonApplications Programmer Intermediate


Jeff KenasSystems Administrator Intermediate


C. LaiNetwork Administrator Intermediate


Angela LawrenceBusiness Administrator Associate

User Services

Tyler LongUNIX Systems Administrator Associate


Nick LooneyInstructional Learning Assistant

Classroom Services

Sidney Joined ITS in November of 1997. Sidney enjoys the customer service aspect of his job. He also enjoys working with faculty, staff, and students and finds them easy to work with and they appreciate his assistance.

Joel Howard is software developer in the web group and has been with the University since Fall of 2012. He obtained his B.S. from SVSU in 2009 and completed his M.S. in 2016 at UM-Flint. In addition to working for Information Technology Services, he has also been an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science since Winter 2017. His favorite part about working in ITS is working with new technologies. Fun fact: Joel got married this summer.

Kelly has worked for ITS since 2008. She graduated with a Masters degree in public administration in 2017 and received her undergraduate degree in computer science in 2008. Kelly started work on the Flint campus in 2002 working for Public Safety. Kelly’s favorite part about her job is making a difference in other’s day to day work. Whether students, staff or faculty she likes to be able to make improvements that help them become more efficientFun Fact: In her spare time Kelly really enjoys riding her motorcycles.

University of Michigan, Flint alma mater. After having a career in K-12 Jeff decided to move into the higher education field in 2012. Jeff became a member of ITS in the spring of 2012 as a LAN administrator and is responsible for the wireless infrastructure.Jeff’s favorite parts of his job include tracking down issues and making technology work.Fun Fact: Jeff enjoys the outdoors, especially the water, to remind himself that life is still great even without all of the technology we enjoy today.

Lai has been working for the University of Michigan-Flint for over 20 years. Lai is responsible for configuring, modifying, and deploying all switches around the campus.His favorite parts of the job include working with new technologies and finding a way to implement them into the campus network.

Angela Lawrence has been with the university since 2009 and is currently one of the Administrative Staff inside of ITS. Before her current role as Business Administrator, Angela worked as an administrative assistant as well as an Accountant IntermediateAngela’s favorite part about her job in ITS is the people that she works and interacts with.Fun-Fact: Angela plays on an all-boys softball team.

Tyler’s work history includes working for the Office of Extended Learning at their Helpdesk, the ITS Helpdesk, Desktop Support and currently as a Unix administratorTyler’s favorite part of working in ITS is using technology to help provide a quality education experience for our students. The collaboration among like-minded individuals in a technology-driven environment. Fun Fact: Tyler is a collector of old computer hardware. Such as Commodore64, Amiga, and anything else older than him.

Nick started work at ITS as a student worker for Mediated Classroom Services in 2012. Nick returned to ITS and took a full time position in 2015 working as a Audio/Visual Technician and more recently as an Instructional Learning Assistant. Nick’s favorite aspects of his job includes designing for classroom systems and working one-on-one with faculty and staff to better understand and use campus technology. Nick also acts as the head of the ITS Publicity committee and enjoys working to inform campus about our services, events, and changes. In his free time Nick enjoys bicycling and working on art and design projects.


Duane McLeodHelpdesk Technician Associate

ITS Helpdesk

Mary MercadoApplications Programmer Intermediate


Anthony MillsHelpdesk Coordinator Intermediate

ITS Helpdesk

Steven NofsDatabase Administrator Lead


Thomas NyongesaData Security Analyst

Security Services

Parker SchadeggDesktop Support Specialist Associate


Harvey ShermanAssociate Director

Don StockleySystems Administrator Intermediate


Duane is a full time employee for the ITS Helpdesk, who began his career here on 2/26/18. Duane is tasked with providing a high standard of customer service for University of Michigan-Flint faculty, staff, and students. Duane has also been assigned the responsibility of creating the video quick notes for the university. Duane has also been part of the coordinated effort to review and revise all quick note and internal documentation. Duane’s favorite things about his job is the abundance of knowledge to be obtained and the friendly work environment. Duane is an outdoors-man and loves to laugh.

Mary Mercado is an Applications Programmer Intermediate within the Data Information Management (DIM) team. Mary has been working for the university for 6 years and was previously employed with the University in 2005-2006 as Lab Staff. She has also worked for 5 years as a software developer at Thomson Reuters as well as Control-Tec LLC where she worked as an embedded software engineer for 2 years. She is a “Disnerd” who enjoys reading, drawing, painting, and spending time with her three children.

Anthony originally hired into ITS in the Desktop Support Group in 2013. In June of 2015 he changed units in ITS to become the Helpdesk Coordinator. His favorite things about his job are helping customers and streamlining processes. Outside of work Anthony enjoys being outside golfing, boating, hunting and snowmobiling in the winter.

Steven Nofs is a Database Administrator Lead within the Data Information Management (DIM) team. Steven provides a wide array of support for ITS from database administration, systems management and programming. Steven has been with the University for 21 years. Steven enjoys mentoring on a FIRST Robotics Team 5150 the Hybrid Hornets.

Thomas has been working for the University of Michigan-Flint in his current roll for 2 years. He received his B.A.Sc, from Siena Heights University and his M.Sc, from Eastern Michigan University.Thomas’s favorite part about working for ITS is the flexibility, continuously learning new things, many educational opportunities, the ability to exercise on campus, and good co-workers.Fun fact: Thomas has lived in a few different places around the world and loves to tell stories.

Parker has worked full-time for ITS since 2014 starting out as a Help Desk Technician with the ITS-Helpdesk. Currently Parker is a member of the Desktop Computer Services group.

Harvey is currently a member of the Management Team. Harvey has worked for the university for a total of 24 years. He has worked in multiple groups including desktop services, systems operations, network operations, mediated classroom support, project management, and management. Harvey’s favorite part about his job is when students contact us after graduation to share their post-secondary education achievements. Hearing how their lives and careers have blossomed is very rewarding. It gives him great satisfaction knowing that UM-Flint and ITS have had a significant impact in their success.Fun fact: Harvey enjoys the outdoors and paints fishing lures in his spare time.

After working in the Flint area in K-12 schools for 9 years, Don came to the University in 2012 in the role of a LAN Administrator Associate with the Network Systems Support team. Later, Don moved to the Systems Administration team and has been with them for 5 years now. Don’s primary responsibility is maintaining the ITS virtualization server environment, datacenter management, email systems, and backup solutions. Don’s favorite part about working for ITS is the cooperation and positive attitude of the Systems Administration team and ITS as a whole has truly been the best part of working here. Fun Fact: When not doing IT, Don enjoys beekeeping, blacksmithing, and tabletop roleplaying games.


Erik TaipalusProject Engineer Intermediate

Project Management

Tim ToddWebmaster

Web Services

Eric TranthamDesktop Support Specialist Associate


Jordan Van DusenSystems Administrator Associate


Skyler WestHelpdesk Technician Associate

ITS Helpdesk

Erik Taipalus has worked for ITS at UM-Flint for 18 years. In his time with ITS he has worked in the Desktop Support team, the Classroom Services team, and supervised the Network Support team for a number of years. In his current position he is the lead IT project manager and supervises the ITS Project Management team and the Classroom Service team, as well as serving as the administrative supervisor for the front-line ITS student workers. Erik’s favorite aspects of his work with ITS are connecting people with great technology and mentoring student workers.Fun Fact: Erik is a licensed pilot, and plans to get back in the air any day now (he has been saying this for years…)

Tim Todd is the Webmaster, and has been with the University for 20 years, 16 as a full-time employee. Tim loves being able to work on a variety of different projects, and making a better web experience for students, faculty, and staff.Fun Fact: Tim enjoys skiing all winter long with his family and friends.

Eric has worked full-time in his current position for ITS since 2014. Jordan began work for the university as a student worker in Mediated Classroom Services, before moving to the Helpdesk as a full time technician and eventually to his current role. His favorite part about working in ITS is all of the interesting technology and challenges we are asked to solve.Fun Fact: In his free time, Jordan spends time fishing with his father.

Skyler West is a Helpdesk Technician, having worked previously as a Float student for a year before obtaining a job with the Helpdesk. The best parts of working at the Helpdesk include learning how our systems function and seeing others satisfied with our work. Fun Fact: Skyler has a minor in German and plays semi-competitive fighting games.

Donald WilcoxApplications Programmer Associate

Web Services

Donald Wilcox is a software developer in the web group. Donald Started at the University in 2010 as a student and was hired in as a full-time employee for ITS in December of 2012. Don’s favorite part of his job is being able to work on projects that directly benefit students, faculty, and staff members.


DATA INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

LeadershipScott Arnst,

Director Information Technology Services

Full-time StaffJennifer Daraiseh,

Business Process Consultant Intermediate

Cleatus Henderson,

Applications Programmer Senior

Scott Hoover,

ERP Business Analyst Intermediate

Kelly Johnson,

Applications Programmer Intermediate

Mary Mercado,

Applications Programmer Intermediate

Steven Nofs,

Database Administrator Lead

BANNER 9 UPGRADEMuch progress has been made this past year toward our Banner 9 upgrade. Plans are to have the Administrative pages in production by February and much of Self Service ready by July of 2018.

COMMON APPCommon App allows students to create one application and submit it to multiple colleges and track deadlines for requirement submissions. Common app needed to be set to import the data from Common app and store it in Banner.

UPGRADE TO ORACLE 12COracle Database 12c is a next-generation database designed to meet our potential cloud service needs, providing a new multi-tenant architecture on top of a fast, scalable, reliable, and secure database platform. By plugging into the cloud with Oracle Database 12c, we can improve the quality and performance of applications, save time with maximum availability architecture and storage management and simplify database consolidation by managing hundreds of databases as one.

AUTOMATE UPDATE TO ALLOW JOB CHAINSAutomate allows banner users to schedule jobs to run at designated times. This year we added a feature to allow Automate to process multiple jobs. If job 1 is successful then job 2 will automatically run, etc.


DESKTOP COMPUTER SERVICES

LeadershipKen Heiser,

Associate Director

Jason Gooding,

Desktop Support Specialist Senior Supervisor

Full-time StaffEric Trantham,

Desktop Support Specialist Associate

Parker Schadegg,

Desktop Support Specialist Associate

WINDOWS 10 DCS Technicians have been rolling out and configuring Windows 10 on all new equipment as the new standard operating system. This new roll-out also includes the Direct Access capabilities that will automatically connect University managed devices back to the campus network without users needing to use a VPN. Apple OSX High Sierra has also been set for the standard OS on all Apple desktops and laptops on campus. Both operating systems have also been moved to Office 2016 respectively along with the latest security updates and patches.

DEPARTMENTAL MOVES In cooperation with the ITS Project Management group and Facilities the DCS Technicians have assisted in multiple departmental moves and staff relocations. The Anesthesia program was moved back to WSW from the Hurley location. This included moving all computers, projectors and SIM lab equipment into new offices and classrooms in WSW.

EQUIPMENT UPGRADES

AND CONTINUING PROJECTSDCS has been continuing to work with Xerox on the replacement of older MFP’s on campus to help stream line departmental printing also while saving money. The Psychology department now has a managed laptop cart for faculty and students that can be updated and deployed on an automated cycle that will reduce downtime. The Adobe Creative Cloud project is continuing and will allow a single management portal for all Adobe licensed products on the Flint campus and move the renewal dates to match the fiscal year.

• This past year the DCS Technicians have streamlined the deployment of PC’s and Macs on campus with the continued use of SCCM and the Kasper servers.• DCS technicians continued to renew their HP Certifications for repairing equipment under manufacturer’s warranty for faculty, staff and students.• DCS is currently supporting over 4800 campus devices including VDI’s, laptops, desktops, Mac desktops, Apple iOS devices and departmental printers.


ITS HELPDESK


Associate Director

Anthony Mills,

Helpdesk Coordinator Intermediate

Full-time StaffNick Dean,

Helpdesk Intermediate Technician

Duane McLeod,

Customer Helpdesk Technician Associate

Skyler West,

Customer Helpdesk Technician Associate

ABOUT THE HELPDESKThe ITS Helpdesk offers support and assistance with faculty, staff, and students technology needs. The Helpdesk is available by email, phone or in person at one of our two locations with extended evening and weekend hours. In addition, the Helpdesk helps maintain five large open computer labs located in various buildings around campus.

SUMMARY In the last year the ITS Helpdesk in conjunction with other ITS service teams have continued to make several changes to the way we hire and staff student technicians. We no longer hire dedicated Helpdesk student technicians but rather student technicians that are cross trained in Helpdesk, Classroom Services, Desktop Computing Services, and Project Management. We try to focus students toward their strengths while still developing other skills. This not only makes for highly adaptable students who can assist in multiple groups but allows students to work in different facets of IT which will help them later in their careers.

In the Helpdesk we are always looking to improve. Whether it is the services that we can provide, upgrading equipment in the open computer labs, or helping faculty, staff and students with technology, we always aim to provide the absolute best service possible.


CLASSROOM SERVICES


Associate Director

Erik Taipalus,

Project Engineer Intermediate

Full-time StaffErik Hoffman,

Instructional Learning Intermediate

Nick Looney,

Instructional Learning Assistant

EQUIPMENT USAGE

CS has continued monitoring equipment

usage in classrooms by utilizing Crestron’s

device usage module. This data is critical to

helping us understand usage patterns and

to help plan future equipment upgrades.

In the graphs to the right, we have broken

down our 83 total Crestron classrooms

into general classrooms (42), departmental

classrooms (35) and instructional labs (6).

Here you can see the breakdown of use of

each source we provide over the course of

the 2017-18 budget year.

MCARD & PARKING PERMITS

Working with the ITS Web group and ITS

Helpdesk, CS put into place new procedures

for the application and retrieval of student

Mcards and Parking Permits. Both processes

have been moved to a self-service process

with the goal of reducing wait times and

required staff at ITS distribution stations at

the beginning of the semester as well as at

the ITS Helpdesk.

NEW PROJECTOR UPGRADE

This last year Classroom Services was able to

obtain funding in order to replace a majority

of projectors in our general classrooms. The

replacement projectors are a new model

Fig 1. This graph shows the amount of equipment requests that CS has beenresponsible for over the last year broken down by month.

of Sony laser projectors and these will be

taking the place of multiple different models

of Epson projectors. This new equipment

will offer a better instruction experience by

providing a higher resolution projection as

well as a much brighter image.

INSTRUCTOR STATION GUI UPGRADE

Along with updates to physical equipment

in the classrooms, CS has created new

GUIs for instructor station touch panels.

A GUI (Graphical User Interface) refers to

the buttons and features one uses when

interacting with the touch panel. The goal

of the update was to create more modern

look for the panels incorporating up to

date university branding as well as improve

usability as well as the addition of multiple

features. New features include a much faster

boot up time when starting the system as

well as and automatic shutoff function. The

automatic shutoff function will drastically

reduce wear on newly installed projectors

in these spaces.

SMARTCART REPLACEMENT STANDARD

CS worked in conjunction with the ITS

Project Management team to implement

new simplified classroom technology carts

in a number of departmental classrooms. The new carts were designed to

replace the original “Smart Carts” contained in many classrooms on campus,

with many of the carts being more than 10 years old. While not featuring all of

the capabilities of the full Crestron classrooms, all of the important technology

functions were retained and in most cases, the projectors were moved to the

ceiling allowing for more convenience and a smaller footprint for the cart. The

new carts also support HDMI connection to allow for the use of newer personal

devices

DVD VCR REMOVAL

Moving forward with upgrades to our technology, CS has removed all DVD/

VCRs from general classrooms. Instructors will still be able to play DVDs using

the provided PC in the cart. Anyone still using VHS tapes for their classes can

contact CS to have them converted to a digital format.

CHANGES TO DELIVERY EQUIPMENT

This past year CS has made multiple upgrades and changes to our rentable

delivery equipment. Our portable TV carts have been upgraded with new 55”

4k TVs and we have expanded the number of carts from 3 to 5. The additional

TV carts will take the place of our

loaner Digital Projection carts. We have

also purchased a new model of Epson

projector for our loaner models. These

new projectors will be significantly

brighter than our previous models and

have HDMI connections. Lastly we have

purchased 3 new portable anchor sound

systems to replace our old models. If

you are interested in ordering any CS

delivery equipment free of charge please

visit webcheckout.umflint.edu.


NETWORK ENGINEERS

LeadershipHarvey Sherman,

Associate Director

Harrison Bacon,

Network Architect Intermediate

Full-time StaffJeff Kenas,

LAN Administrator Intermediate

Cuong Lai,

Network Administrator Intermediate

Casey Chisnell,

Systems Administrator Assistant Associate

environment and system configuration, network installations and defining, documenting and enforcing system standards across the university campus. They maintain, monitor performance and troubleshoot network problems, outages and are responsible for scheduling upgrades to the network equipment. They help secure network systems by establishing and enforcing policies as well as defining and monitoring access across the network.

COMPLETED PROJECTS

WIRELESS UPGRADES COMPLETEDAll classroom buildings have been upgraded and this has improved the Wi-Fi throughput tremendously for campus and personally owned devices equipped with newer Wi-Fi “AC” wireless

cards. We have also been able to better accommodate connections for a variety of IOT “Internet of Things” including: Smart TV’s, gaming consoles, video streaming devices, informational streaming devices, microscopes, music speakers, and carts of non-traditional pcs such as iPads and Chromebooks. We are researching other IOT devices able to leverage the campus Wi-Fi such as traditional time clocks and device location tracking technologies.

PHYSICAL NETWORKING SECURITYNetwork security protocols have been implemented campus wide to mitigate on-site intrusions. This helps prohibit rogue (unauthorized) servers from being setup on campus, man-in-the-middle attacks and stops people from being able to listen in on other network

traffic. With the ever increasing rate of IoT, taking over the networking team has to further segregate the network to provide a robust network as well as added security.

EDUROAM LEADERSHIPAs the 3rd higher education institution to adopt and promote the use and ease of “eduroam” in MI, many visitors to our campus have benefited by being able to automatically connect to our campus Wi-Fi as well as benefiting UM-Flint students and staff visiting other institutions who have implemented this technology. The use is becoming even more widespread within the US and especially Michigan. Dual enrolled Mott staff and students praise the ability to automatically connect without hurdles connecting when at different institutions. In just the last 6 months here are some statistics that show convenient usage across the world.

UPCOMING PROJECTS

CAMPUS FIBER PLANT UPGRADE PHASE 3The formal project bid process will be handed over to procurement the week of 8/13/2018 to officially start pulling the fiber after the start of the fall semester. The new fiber plant will last decades and provide robust networking for the duration of its use.

INCREASED NETWORK SPEEDSAs the fiber plant upgrade continues the campus building routers will be upgraded to enable higher speeds to the data center as well as reduce the number of connections between buildings and lower latency.

DNS SECURITYWe plan to implement DNS filtering this year which will provide even more safety for all devices using the campus network (Wired and Wireless), from becoming infected with Malware or prohibiting the Malware from spreading if a device becomes infected while off-campus.

ABOUT NETWORK ENGINEERSNetwork Engineers develop and maintain the network infrastructure on campus and remote locations across Michigan. They are responsible for establishing the networking


PROJECT MANAGEMENT

ABOUT PROJECT MANAGEMENTThe ITS Project Management group works on technology projects, both within ITS and collaboratively with other campus units and individual stakeholders. Our mission is to harness the creativity and enthusiasm of the entire ITS team in order to bring just the right amount of technology needed in any project, in order to meet the stated needs. More simply, we seek to help connect all members of our campus community with technology that will truly bring benefit.

In the last budget year, we have engaged in 37 defined projects totaling nearly $2 million dollars in value.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS:

FLINT RIVER DREDGING PROJECTProject Management worked with multiple campus units to help ensure uninterrupted IT and Internet services throughout the river dredging project which, during the course of necessary and important environmental work, posed considerable risk to these services.

CAMPUS PA SYSTEMProject Management worked with Facilities & Operations in order to help bring to a campus a more reliable and technologically sophisticated campus PA system that helps keep our campus community safe and informed during urgent events or emergencies.

RADIATION THERAPY PROGRAM SIMULATION UNITProject Management worked closely with the UM-Flint Radiation Therapy program director to help bring to campus a leading-edge, three-dimensional simulation equipment suite that will help students in the program gain knowledge and learn high-level skills that translate directly to the real world. UM-Flint is one of fewer than 25 programs nationwide to offer this advanced equipment, and our ITS project management team was honored to be involved in this project.


Associate Director

Erik Taipalus,

Project Engineer Intermediate

Full-time StaffMike Daniels,

Project Engineer Associate


SECURITY SERVICES

LeadershipScott Arnst,

Director Information Technology Services

Full-time StaffThomas Nyongesa,

Data Security Analyst

ABOUT SECURITY SERVICESSecurity Services works with the campus community to ensure that information technology policies and guidelines and followed and responds to reports of abuse and misuse of UM-Flint IT resources. In addition, we coordinate with other IT service providers and campus units to provide technical security support, handle information security incidents, manage related IT security hardware and software, and engages in general security awareness and education.

CORE SERVICES• Provide active threat monitoring• Provide security risk assessments• Provide security incident management• Provide security awareness training

THIS YEAR’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS

ACTIVE THREAT MONITORINGWith an increase of IT security threats globally, we continue to be diligent in keeping up with best practices by monitoring for threats and vulnerabilities in our environment. In April 2018, a CDW network security engineer conducted a health assessment of our main firewalls to review their configurations and security policies; we received positive feedback with only a few recommendations. We also updated the firewall’s operating software to the latest, more secure version.

SECURITY RISK ASSESSMENTSIn conjunction with U-M Information Assurance, we conduct vulnerability scans, risk assessments of critical systems, and require that data custodians promptly address any vulnerabilities. We regularly identify where sensitive information resides

to ensure appropriate protection. In our assessments this year, the instances of sensitive data stored on department drives or other locations has gone down by about 50%.We recently updated the Symantec encryption server and client software used to encrypt certain sensitive data stored on department drives to address a bug that was corrupting Microsoft Office files making them unusable.

SECURITY INCIDENT MANAGEMENTWe render security incident response to activities such as compromised accounts, phishing, ransomware, and malware, and coordinate actions related to the response. There is a link on the ITS page “umflint.edu/its” to report security incidents.

SECURITY AWARENESS TRAININGIn the last quarter of 2017, we conducted a simulated phishing awareness campaign on campus targeting faculty and staff. During the campaign, three separate simulated phish email scenarios were distributed:

• The first asked users to take action on a full mailbox• The second invited users to edit a shared document• And the final one requested for a password change

We noted a significant decrease in the number of users falling for the simulated phish email between the first and third round. When the first phish email went out, 579 people opened it, 256 clicked on the hyperlink in the email, and 167 entered requested credentials. By the final message, these numbers decreased to 382, 59, and 44 respectively.

After the phishing campaign, we have noted that there is an increase of users reporting phishing emails to the Helpdesk, and a reduction of compromised accounts, this shows that the campaign improved IT security knowledge on our campus. In the first quarter of 2018, we provided SANS cybersecurity training to about 90 UM-Flint staff members who regularly deal with sensitive data such as FERPA.

UPCOMING PROJECTS• A revised U-M Information Security Policy (SPG 601.27), which has been in the works for over a year will be approved soon for adoption across all campuses.• There are 2 planned open sessions this summer in August to address the recent update of the Symantec encryption desktop software. • We are working with U-M Ann Arbor to add https://weblogin.umflint.edu/ to the MITN (Michigan Intelligence for Threat Negation) project to add another layer of protection for our environment from phishing and other threats. • We will install MITN sensors on our network to filter IP & DNS data, and configure our firewalls to redirect users to a safe landing page whenever they access known insecure websites. • Individuals affiliated with U-M should now be able to install an anti-Phishing Chrome plugin that proactively identifies fake U-M login pages to protect them both on and off-campus.


SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATION

ABOUT SYSTEMS ADMINSThe Systems Administration group manages all of the infrastructure, operating systems, labs, and software that makes up UM-Flint’s IT services. Our primary focus is on Datacenter Operations and Server maintenance. We operate two datacenters on campus, 30 virtualization hosts, 420 terabytes of storage, and over 330 virtual servers.

UPDATES

PASSWORD SYNCLast year the Password Sync initiative was rolled out to all Faculty and Staff on campus. Earlier this year the same program was made available to all students as an Opt-In program allowing them to set their password in both Ann Arbor and Flint. Not only does this initiative allow greater ease of use of both campuses systems, but it also paves the way for migrating to the Google Suite for future campus projects.

THIS YEAR’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS

EMAIL LIST SERVER UPDATEThe Systems Administration team completed a major overhaul of list.umflint.edu our email list server supporting over 100 lists for campus users.

NEW VIRTUALIZATION HOSTSThe Systems Administration team replaced 8 of the virtualization hosts that are responsible for the bulk of the servers on campus. The new hosts are modular, chassis based servers that provide the campus with improved performance and capacity. In addition to server hardware many of the fiber channel and networking switches that make up the backbone of the datacenters were updated to new hardware. The virtualization servers that were replaced are being re-purposed for other, lower capacity roles on campus where their useful life will be extended greatly.

CURRENT/UPCOMING PROJECTS

EMAIL MOVING TO GMAILITS is laying the groundwork to migrate one of our biggest services, Email, from our on premise Microsoft Exchange system to Google’s Gmail. This move will bring us in line with both the Ann Arbor and Dearborn campuses and reduce operating costs for the on-campus systems. Once completed all users will have access to the full Google App Suite and the collaboration tools for peers on the other campuses.

LABANYWHERE IN WINDOWS 10We are in the final stages of moving the Labanywhere VDI environment to Windows 10. We anticipate this new version of LabAnywhere will be available before the Fall Semester.

SINGLE SIGN ONWe are currently working with other teams on the migration of our single sign on software to a new service. This new offering will expand the integration options available to our services and external partners.

LeadershipHarvey Sherman,

Associate Director

Philip Erlenbeck,

UNIX Systems Administrator Associate

Full-time StaffSidney Horton,

Desktop Support Specialist Senior

Tyler Long,

Systems Administrator Associate

Don Stockley,

Systems Administrator Intermediate

Jordan Van Dusen,

Systems Administrator Associate


WEB SERVICES

RECREATION CENTER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMOver the course of last summer, the Web group, in coordination with staff in the Recreation Center, successfully launched a new member management system for Recreation Center.

MCARD SELF-SERVICELong lines in the University Pavilion, issuing Mcards and Parking passes during the first week of classes has long been an issue. To try and alleviate these long lines, we began the process of making the Mcard process self-service by having all new students, needing an Mcard go through a self-service portal where they can submit their own photo ahead of time, so they can just pick up their pre-printed Mcard without having to wait for it to be printed.

SELF-SERVICE PARKINGAs with the Mcard self-service process, we also aimed at making the process of issuing parking permits self-service. We created a portal which is incorporated in MyUmflint, that allows students to pre-register their vehicle, so when they come to get their parking permit, as long as they have pre-registered their vehicle, their parking sticker can just be handed to them without having staff manually entering their vehicle information.

MYUMFLINTThe web group enhanced MyUmflint with several new features, including, student course schedules, our academic calendar, parking registration, campus announcements, events, email list management, and added improvements to existing features.

TRAININGThe web group held 26 Open Web Sessions over the last year and trained 64 new Drupal users.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN IT SYMPOSIUM The web group presented the new ITS Intranet for the IT Symposium.


Associate Director

Tim Todd,

Webmaster

Full-time StaffJoel Howard, M.S.,

Web Software Developer and AdjunctLecturer in Computer Science

Donald Wilcox,

Applications Programmer Associate

- ITS Annual Report - 17/1831

ITS TRAINING

LeadershipAngela Lawrence,

Business Administrator Associate

Dennese Bandyk,

ITS Trainer

If you need personalized, one-on-one, group, or departmental university supported software training, ITS Training can design/customize the software training that will meet your specific needs and fit it into your schedule. Visit the training website to register for available workshops at go.umflint.edu/ITSTraining. Check the website often – workshops are added to the ITS Training schedule regularly. Microsoft Office open Sessions are also offered which are a great resource for your questions to get answered! There is no need to register, and you are welcome to drop in at any time during a session. All open sessions are held in 431 French Hall (FH).

ITS Training is available to all faculty, staff, & student workers.Cost: FreeQuestions?Email - [email protected]

THIS YEAR’S ACCOMPLISHMENTSIn collaboration ITS Training, DIM & Helpdesk, conducted six campus-wide Banner 9 open forum sessions in December and January, and a Banner 9 video was created along with supporting documentation and handouts. Together ITS Training and the HR trainer created the Student Pay Tutorials video for the Cashier/Student accounts department. The video is a how to guide for students for enrolling in Payment Plan, setting up e-statements, viewing account activity and more.

CURRENT PROJECTSProjects currently being worked on include the PGP Encryption updates sessions for targeted groups with ITS Security Services, and the Google Migration.

Documents

ITS ANNUAL REPORT - University of Michigan–Flint · ITS Training 31 OUR MISSION ITS is a diverse team of highly dedicated professionals committed to our students, fac - ... Dennese