IT Stakeholders Committee - November 2020

IT Stakeholder, Collaborative Initiatives

Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (metrics/activities since COVID, March and after) ▾

  • Instructional Consultations and Workshops: 33 activities, 189 faculty
  • Implemented iDesign, an instructional design helpdesk and resources hub, working with the USM/Kirwan Center/CITS
  • Individual course development in the SOL, SSW, Graduate School, SOP, and SOD: 12 new courses; 35 courses re-offered online (25 in the fall semester)
  • Promoted Online Quality Matters Professional Development courses to UMB faculty: 402 total registrants; 87 unique registrants
  • Launched Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) program: 9 GTAs; 12 faculty
  • Launched Professional Coaching Program for Faculty: 37 faculty; 8 coaches
  • 2020-2021 Online Teaching Community: 104 members (34 new since COVID)
  • Built COVID Student Safety Training Course in Blackboard: 7,120 enrolled

Research Data Management Program, TriNetX and CTSA ▾

  • UMB and UMMS have signed an agreement with a company called TriNetX.
  • UMB has received and installed the TriNetX server that will contain de-identified patient data uploaded from UMMS EPIC.
  • TriNetX and the de-identified patient data will also support the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award that UMB has with JHU.
  • A Data Use Agreement workgroup has been formed to develop authorization procedures for researchers to get access to the data on the TriNetX equipment.

Microsoft Office 365, Zoom, WebEx ▾

  • The use of O365, WebEx and Zoom has grown exponentially during the COVID pandemic.
  • There are over 20 thousand active O365 users; over 200 terabytes of file storage in OneDrive; and over 1,300 active SharePoint sites; and MS Teams is being used daily.
  • There are over 3,200 WebEx and over 6,300 Zoom meetings held every week.

Identity Management ▾

  • Since spring 2020, the UMB Identity Mgt. system has been expanded to include the FPI HR system and the SOM Faculty Information System as data sources. The inclusion of these systems help members of our community gain access to services and applications automatically as well as provide more accurate tracking of an individual’s relationship with UMB.
  • There have been 22 new applications introduced into UMB’s single sign-on environment.
  • The Preferred Name application was implemented that allows individuals to provide a “preferred name” to be stored in UMB systems.
  • The Identity Mgt./Directory Services group has continued to be a key technical contributor to the SAFE project.

Quantum Financials and Analytics Project ▾

  • The new financial system is continuing to be enhanced.  Based on input from the campus community, adjustments are being made to processes and functionality.  The Data Analytics Office is enhancing existing reports, developing new ones, and positioning the University to have a successful data analytics program.

Information Security ▾

  • The new UMB password policy went live on November 2nd. When you next change your UMID password it will be checked to make sure that it meets certain criteria, i.e. 12 character minimum and a quality check conducted by Microsoft. Once changed, you will have a new non-expiring password.
  • KnowBe4’s Phish Alert button has been implemented to make it easier to report suspected Phishing emails. Simulated phishing exercises are occurring and remedial training and education is being provided.
  • Security tools have been upgraded to provide enhanced vulnerability scans; for capturing logs of data; and for scanning email attachments.
  • Posture checking solutions are being investigated. Posture checking will ensure that all remote systems meet minimum security requirements before accessing UMB systems.
  • USM Internal Audit completed their IT Audit of the School of Pharmacy.

IT Help Desk Support ▾

  • The UMB IT Help Desks transitioned effectively to an entirely online service during COVID. New call center systems were put in place and calls have been routed and answered by help desk staff working in remote locations so that requests could be addressed in a timely fashion.

Community Engagements and Collaborations

Partnership with Comcast ▾

  • In an effort to bridge the digital divide, UMB has partnered with Comcast to provide Internet service for up to 1,000 families from 14 different partner schools in West Baltimore.
  • The Internet Essentials program from Comcast offers affordable, high-speed internet, normally priced at $9.95 per month, to low-income households.

New Community Engagement Center Building ▾

  • UMB IT staff assisted with the project to ensure all network, computer and audio-visual needs were addressed in this new building.

Operational Enhancements and Collaborations

Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS ▾

  • Both the Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS cloud infrastructures are available for use.  Training and education sessions are currently being scheduled to show personnel in schools and departments how to access and provision computing services on both platforms.  A users group for those individuals and departments currently using or are interested in using these cloud infrastructure will be formed.

WebEx Teams ▾

  • UMB telephone numbers can now be used to makes calls or answer calls via a computer or a mobile phone, and the caller ID displays the University extension.  Calls via WebEx Teams can be made to any telephone number.

Electronic Signatures ▾

  • UMB has purchased and implemented DocuSign.  The software is now available to use by UMB schools and departments.

Electronic FAX Solution ▾

  • An electronic FAX solution is in process of being acquired.

Virtual Training Opportunities ▾

  • Virtual training opportunities are being offered to the UMB community so that employees and students can learn about products like WebEx, Zoom, MS O365, including Teams.  The sessions provide insights and highlight key features and benefits of each product.

Visitor Management System (VMS) ▾

  • A VMS is being acquired to streamline the process of visitor check in and check out of UMB buildings.  It will be able to collect data on visitors accessing UMB buildings.

COVID Symptom Assessment Screening (SAFE System) ▾

  • The Symptom Assessment for Employees (and Students) system collects essential information necessary to identify individuals who may present a COVID-19 health and safety risk to the UMB campus community.
  • The SAFE survey collects self-reported symptoms and COVID testing results. The SAFE data as well as feeds from the UMB Identity Management System and the Lenel Building Access system are stored in a MS Azure infrastructure.
  • Dashboard reports have been created showing registration statistics, monitoring statistics, testing results, daily on-campus information, etc.
  • The main purpose of the SAFE Dashboards is to make data available for COVID compliance checking.