A project is underway to implement SAP's Grants Management module. When UM went live with SAP financials in 1999, Grants Management was not available. Currently, high level grant information is stored in SAP, but details are managed in a separate database. With Grants Management, all financial processing of grants will take place in SAP, allowing for more up to date and accurate reporting and full automation. Go live is planned for July 1, 2014.
myOleMiss is due for an upgrade given that we went live with the current version in January 2008. The new version will have the look and feel of the new and improved campus website and will employ current Web design features such as responsive design. The go live is scheduled for Fall 2014.
Ole Miss has begun a project to move its SAP system from a relational database to an in-memory database or (HANA). The sandbox platform will be set up over the summer and then optimization efforts will begin. Go live is TBD and will depend on the results of the sandbox work. The project plan calls for the acquisition of an enterprise reporting toolset.
Work on a major campus network upgrade began in Summer 2013 and is ongoing. Venture Technologies and Cisco Systems, Inc. are implementation partners.
Numerous DAS antenna changes and additions are being made to improve AT&T service as well as provide the 4G LTE coverage in the stadium and the Grove/Circle. In 2013, Verizon began participating in the DAS via nodes in the Grove/Circle, and in 2014 Verizon is expanding its DAS presence to the Stadium.
The Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research (MCSR) is now offering storage services for UM research data by means of an InfiniteStorage 55000 disk array. Initial capacity of the array is 44TB of usable space; this is expandable, as usage grows, to 1.2PB. The unit is professionally administered by MCSR and IT staff members and protected by the power, cooling, and other infrastructure of the UM Data Center. Most types of common research data can be accommodated, and we can work with researchers to develop appropriate security and access restrictions. MCSR will provide a limited amount of space (1-5TB) for researchers on a first-come, first-served basis. As the initial space fills or as individual research groups come to require much larger storage spaces, we will be able to provide additional space at high reliability and low cost. For more information, contact Brian Hopkins at bwhopkin@olemiss.edu or by telephone at (662) 915-5683.
The TouchNet Payment Gateway, the engine that handles all e-commerce transactions at UM, is being relocated to TouchNet's PCI certified data center, and TouchNet's Marketplace software is being implemented. Marketplace will provide university merchants with a comprehensive e-commerce/storefront solution. Students wishing to pay their account balances online will enjoy a new, more streamlined application within myOleMiss for credit card and ACH payments.
Attendance scanners are being installed in additional classrooms in Summer 2014. For more information on the attendance scanner project, see the related TECHNews article.
A long term plan focusing on accessibility has been approved and will be implemented beginning in Summer 2014. The plan calls for a new position, Accessibility Coordinator, to lead the effort to incorporate accessibility in instructional materials and technology, as well as to assist departments in identifying and resolving accessibility barriers. We expect for the position to be opened and filled over the summer.
Departmental digital signage installations continue to grow across campus. IT is working with departments to standardize on a few signage software solutions. This will allow for integration with centralized emergency notifications in the future.
Working closely with the Division of Outreach and Continuing Education, IT is enhancing the technology in the distance learning classrooms located in North Hall and Conner Hall. The enhancements include a TV for remote classroom view, state of the art projection system, and multiple cameras. Adobe Connect is being used for cloud-based videoconferencing.
UM uses Blackboard as the Learning Management System (LMS) for all courses. Beginning in Summer 2014, the Instructional Technology Standing Committee will lead an effort to evaluate the available LMS solutions. The evaluation effort will ramp up in Fall 2014 aiming to have a recommendation in early 2015. Stay tuned.
IT has partnered with University Communications and CampusBird to create a beautiful new campus map. The map is mobile friendly and takes as inputs auto-generated building information from SAP as well as information maintained by campus departments.
Classroom Technology staff recently installed multiple livecams for viewing the construction of the new Parking Garage and Coliseum. Check it out at livecam.olemiss.edu.
Students are enjoying faster computers at The Galtney Center for Academic Computing located in Weir Hall. Besides an upgrade of all Windows PCs in the student lab, the private meeting room (115 Weir Hall) has been enhanced with a 4' by 10' glass whiteboard. The Mac Lab (104 Weir Hall) seating is being expanded from 12 to 15 seats. You may reserve these meeting areas at olemiss.edu/itlabs.
A new Degree Progress report is available as an alternative to full-blown degree audit as a means to quickly assess a student's progress towards degree completion. See the related TECHNews article for more details.
In December 2012, UM deployed Internet2's NetPlus Box service. Box accounts are available for all UM students and employees. For more information, see Box Frequently Asked Questions.
Symantec Enterprise Vault is a content archiving system that moves emails and their attachments to an online storage area called a vault. Contact the IT Helpdesk to have your account configured for Vault access. Read more in the related TECHNews article.