COLLEGE PARK, MD (June, 2016) For administrative and support units in an academic world, summer is traditionally an opportunity to catch-up on existing projects and plan for the next fall/spring cycle. Here are just a few of the items on our radar for which you can expect to hear updates in the coming months:
Obsolete Equipment Reimbursement Program (OERP)
After a one-year hiatus, primarily due to budget restrictions and negative impacts on desktop support in terms of timing, we are planning to bring back OERP in a modified form. The biggest change will be a more structured schedule for consultation and installation, in order to smooth out the impact on demand for desktop IT support.
Data Security Initiatives
DIT is actively working on data security initiatives, which will have direct impacts on faculty and staff in the College of Education. ETS will be working with the dean’s office and departments to implement any campus policies or procedures initiated by the data breaches of 2014.
More Google Workshops and Training
Phase one of support for the campus move from enterprise Exchange to Google Apps for Education (GAfE) was assisting the transition in terms of basic email and calendar functionality. Phase two will be advanced uses of the same, as well as other features in the Apps of GAfE.
New COE Website
ETS continues to play a role in assisting with the technical aspects of moving from our current traditional HTML- and CSS-based site to a content management system (CMS), in our case Drupal. A CMS will allow easier, faster, and more targeted content updates by a broader range of COE faculty and staff. Site launch is currently anticipated to be early 2017.
If you have any questions, please contact the ETS Director, Steve Pragel (spragel@umd.edu, 301-405-3618).