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Information
& Instructional Technology Progress
Report and Update of MGT Strategic Plan - January 2004 The
following report is an update to the MGT Strategic Plan for Information and
Instructional Technology submitted on GSW
is a unit of the University System of Georgia, and maintains accreditation
through the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools. The University maintains a commitment to personalized learning in a
residential setting, while providing distance
learning and classroom-based education augmented by instructional technology. GSW benefits from support provided by the Board of
Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG). This includes guidance and
support for business functions (PeopleSoft), and student information systems
(Banner) through the USG Office of Information and Instructional Technology, as
well as guidance for institutional responsibilities. As a state institution, the University
maintains several core characteristics and purposes that guide the mission of
the University as a whole. Specifically, the University “maintains a commitment to excellence and responsiveness within a scope
of influence defined by the needs of an area of the state, and by particularly
outstanding programs or distinctive characteristics that have a magnet effect
throughout the region or state.” This core characteristic forms the basis
not only for the University’s mission statement, but also for
the mission of the Office of Information and Instructional Technology at GSW. Table of
Contents
Recommendation 1: Create a single, centralized technical team to
provide cohesive support and development services. - Re-classification of OIIT positions -
The Instructional
&
Administrative Technology Advisory
Committees
Recommendation
2: Develop Strategies to Enhance IIT Support Resources. -
Technical Support Procedures - Department Support Representative Initiative - Instructional Support Procedures - Instructional Support Survey
Recommendation
3: Augment Organizational Infrastructure to Support Enhanced IIT Functions and
Services -
Getting Started with Campus Technology Website
Recommendation
4: Identify and Enhance Technical
Competencies for Students, Faculty, and Staff -
Faculty and Staff
Development -
Faculty Web Development
Options -
Technical Service Provider Program -
Technical Competencies of Students Hurricane Watch Fine Arts & ITC OIIT Student Employment OIIT Interns The GSW Curriculum
Recommendation
5: Address Staff Training,
Development and Retention
-
Staff Development Opportunities - Restructuring of Staff Assignments
- Review of OIIT Staff
Positions
Recommendation
6: Redefine Computing and
Appropriate Use Policies and Procedures
- Departmental Servers and Department
Technology Purchases - Computer Incident Response Team - CIRT
Recommendation 7: Provide Secure, Supported Access to Communication and Data Sharing. Increase the utility of network data for students, faculty, and staff as well as administrative support.
Recommendation
8: Enhance Enterprise Wide Security
Infrastructure, Data Protection, and Business Recovery Tools.
- Network Infrastructure Upgrade - Next Steps in Networking Hardware Acquisition
-
Network Access in Residence Halls
-
Next Steps in Logical Network Development
- Information Systems Security
Recommendation
9: Develop Cohesive Web Presence.
- Innovative Technology Website
Appendix A: OIIT Job Descriptions Recommendation: Create a single, centralized technical team to provide
cohesive support and development services.
Starting in January 2002, Office of Information and Instructional Technology (OIIT) includes the Office of Administrative Computing (OAC) and the Instructional Technology Center (ITC). The Director of OIIT manages ITC and OAC and is responsible for the integration of technology into the instructional and administrative missions of the University. The director supervises the managers and staff of ITC, OAC and the Computer Production Coordinator. ITC includes instructional support (campus television station, distance learning facilities, media development, and faculty and staff development). In addition to the manager, ITC is supported by a Coordinator of Distance Learning & Instructional Technology and a Media Production Supervisor. OAC includes network services & security, enterprise systems (student records, financial applications, e-mail), web development, and user support. In addition to the manager, OAC is supported by a Network Coordinator, Webmaster, Database Administrator, Computer Lab Manager, PeopleSoft & Systems Administrator, and Computer Technicians. All OIIT job descriptions have been re-defined and are provided in Appendix A. Current staff of the OIIT is
presented here and at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/contact.shtml Carolyn Gaughf, Computer Production Coordinator Instructional
Office of
Administrative Computing (OAC) Ginger Perry,
Manager of Administrative Computing
Matt
Blankinship, Wireless Network Support Sveltlana Peltsverger, WebMaster/Server Administrator Tominica
Pines, Assistant WebMaster Robin DeVane,
Database Administrator
Lynda Shaw,
Computer Technician Jarret
Hartsfield, Computer Lab Manager Tim Faircloth, Systems Administrator Rena Sarkar Tech Support Assistant (Lab) Brad Wolf Instructional Technology Center Support
Re-classification of OIIT
positions January 2003 - The Manager
of Administrative Computing position is a result of the re-classification of a
System Analyst II position within OAC. The Manager of Instructional Technology
position is a result of the re-classification of a Media Production Supervisor
position within ITC. In July 2003, the Video Production Specialist position was re-classified to the position of Media Production
Supervisor. Re-classification requests are outstanding for the two Computer
Technician positions. These re-classifications are considered extremely
important for the retention of current computer technician staff that have been in their current positions for five years. OAC is short one
computer technician. The computer support technician position
vacated on The ITC
Strategic Action Plan calls for an increase in the number and type of faculty
development courses offered and an increase in the support for the development
of faculty web pages and use of innovative technology. In order to facilitate the
implementation of the expansion of services offered in the area of
instructional support, consideration needs to be given to the following
recommendation from the MGT report: (“In
order to provide the most comprehensive instructional support services
possible, the ITC should invest in tools and personnel to assist faculty in the
integration of instructional technology into every learning opportunity
possible. Additional support
staff should be added to provide instructional technology and instructional
design support to faculty.”) OIIT recommends that a new Instructional
Technology support position be added to ITC as budget
allows.
The OIIT
The mission of the Office of
Information and Instructional Technology (OIIT) is to support the overall
mission of In pursuit of our mission we:
The Instructional &
Administrative Technology Advisory
Committees The Director of OIIT
provides a leadership role
with the Instructional and Administrative Technology steering
committees. The Instructional Technology
Advisory Committee (ITAC) has redirected its focus exclusively to the
use of technology in the classroom and how new technologies can be integrated
in support of the GSW mission. Another major responsibility of the committee is
to provide guidance regarding use of the student technology fee. The ITAC committee has representation from academic departments, as well
as the OIIT Director, ITC Manager, and University executive leadership. The
newly established Administrative Technology
Advisory Committee (ATAC) is focused on administrative computing issues such as
policy, network infrastructure, computer security, server administration and
use of administrative systems. The ATAC committee has representation from administrative departments, as well as the OIIT
Director, OAC Manager, the Network Coordinator and University executive
leadership. Each of these committees meets monthly. http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/itac.shtml lists current members of the ITAC committee. http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/atac.shtml lists current members of the ATAC committee. Minutes from committee
meetings are available at the web sites above. Recommendation: Develop Strategies to Enhance IIT Support Resources
Several
strategies have been created that improve support
provided to the GSW community. New procedures for requesting technical support have been developed that insure each request for support is
handled in a timely and responsible manner. These steps are as follows: 1.
Requests for support are placed via email (techsupp@canes.gsw.edu), by phone
(2074) or by web at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/supportRequest.shtml 2.
The request is entered in TARP - the on-line database
support tracking system. The OAC Manager and OIIT Director receive a copy of
the TARP form via email. 3.
The person making the request will receive an email from the OAC Manager or
OIIT Director indicating which technician has been assigned
the request… “This
request is being handled by “Technician Name”. They will contact you shortly
regarding completion of this request.” 4. As quickly as possible (within 2 hours), the
technician will contact the person making the request and set up a day and time
for the request to be handled. If an individual must give up their computer a temporary replacement computer will be set up in
its place. 5.
After the technician has completed the request, the person who made the request
will receive an email from the OAC Manager or OIIT Director (whoever assigned
the request) letting them know the job has been completed
and ask for feedback… “This tech
support request is completed. Please let me know if there are any issues with
the completion of this request.”
Please fill out a survey regarding the support you received at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/forms/techsuppsurvey.pdf
6.
The OAC Manager will close out the request in TARP. The OAC Manager prioritizes support
requests and is continually in touch with technical support staff via beeper, phone and walkie talkie.
Department
Support Representative Initiative Another
new technical support strategy follows the shared support model. A departmental
liaison has been identified for each administrative
and academic unit. http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/dsr.shtml provides a
list of departmental liaisons. The liaison acts as a local point of contact for
computing support in their departments and provides an integral link between
OIIT support and each department on campus. A “how to” training website has
been developed to support the department liaison http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/techsupp/training.html. Each liaison
has also been provided the opportunity to attend a
training session specific to their department needs (Mac and PC). Each liaison
has signed the Computer
Support Representative Agreement http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/forms/CSR.pdf and have been granted administrator privileges to the computers
in their department which allows for the installation of software and basic
troubleshooting. To date the representatives have assisted in the campus
computing inventory project as well as in setting critical updates in Windows
2000, setting Anti-Virus software updates, and responding to requests within
their department. The
OIIT web site has been developed to provide a “virtual
help desk” with important information relative to all areas of OIIT in the
support of administrative and academic technology at GSW http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/index.html. In
effort to automate the setup of new workstations and re-installation of OS and
software on existing workstations, technical support has been
provided with a ghosting server and laptop. The server and laptop
contain images of the various hardware platforms available on campus. Each
image contains the standard OS and software configuration. This allows for any campus workstation to be setup in a matter of
minutes. The server is used primarily for setup of new
workstations. The laptop allows convenient ghosting of lab and office
workstations without adding to network traffic. The campus site license for
Ghost Server is valid through
Software
Depository
 OIIT
maintains an inventory of licensed software that can be
checked out from the OIIT help desk in Morgan Hall 105. A complete list of licensed and supported
software is available at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/techsupp/software.html#Approved. In addition,
software downloads are available at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/downloads.shtml. A newly created technical support survey was distributed to faculty and staff in June 2003. A summary of results is provided here. There were forty-one responses. All respondents found Tech Support to be helpful and courteous. Thirty-eight rated the overall service as excellent or very good. Two considered overall service to be good and one indicated service was fair. Twenty-seven respondents considered the new procedures used by technical support to be excellent or very good. Four considered the new procedures to be good and one indicated the new procedures were fair. The survey form is available on-line at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/forms/techsuppsurvey.pdf. A request to fill out the survey is also included at the conclusion of each technical support request. Instructional Support Procedures Policies for requesting instructional technology support have been implemented and detailed procedures for requesting
instructional support have been added to the OIIT website. Requests can now be made via e-mail at itc@canes.gsw.edu, by phone (2074), or by web at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/itcsupport.shtml. The use of email and online forms has
enhanced communication with users and provided a method of documenting services
performed, along with current status. A list of instructional support services
offered by the department has also been placed on the
OIIT website at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/itcservices.shtml including a detailed
description of each service, contact information and charges. On this site, OIIT has also developed an
online adobe acrobat form for equipment checkout http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/forms/checkout.pdf allowing faculty, staff, or
students to easily reserve and checkout equipment online. A page of important instructional support
resources has also been developed for the OIIT website
at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/itcresources.shtml, including links to GSAMS,
PeachStar, and WebCT. A virtual help desk for WebCT has been developed
for the faculty and students of GSW at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/webct.shtml. Resources include a WebCT tutorial http://online.gsw.edu/web-ct/help/en/mywebct/mywebct_about.html and a list of frequently
asked questions along with information concerning accessing WebCT accounts,
requesting courses, and adding students to classes. The instructional
technology support website http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/itcservices.shtml will continue to be developed with additional resources concerning
instructional technology. An
ITC service evaluation form has been developed to
evaluate services performed in the areas of online support, instructional
hardware & software support, multimedia & presentation support, video
production, and equipment checkout. This
evaluation form will be implemented in Spring 2004 and
is available online at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/forms/itcsuppsurvey.pdf. Recommendation: Augment
Organizational Infrastructure to Support Enhanced IIT Functions and Services
Campus
Computing Inventory
A
complete inventory of all campus desktops http://168.18.216.106/inventory.htm
and laptops http://168.18.216.106/inventorylt.htm
has been undertaken. A separate database exists for labs and faculty/staff
workstations. These database inventories are updated
on a daily basis by technical support and provide a means for determining
lifecycle replacement of campus computers. The OIIT web master is currently
working on creating a web-based interface to the inventories to provide
increased access and search capabilities. Recent
acquisitions based on the inventory include lab upgrades for CIS, HPER, and
Continuing Education, as well as several faculty/staff purchases using year-end
funds. The inventory is also being used to determine
where hardware and software upgrades are required. The minimum standard for
workstations has been set to 350 Mhz with128 RAM
running Windows 2000. Where necessary, workstations are being
upgraded and replaced to meet this standard. OIIT has inventoried all
servers on campus and has taken over administration of servers in Continuing
Education, CIS, Business and Geology. OIIT
is also working closely with unit heads establishing a purchasing plan for
technology needs in each department. An email was sent
to unit heads on Campus wide
computer inventory provides a means for determining lifecycle replacement of
campus computers. Below is a current list of computers that are 350 Mhz or less.
Note:
there are currently 49 PC’s with 400 Mhz or less and
84 PC’s with 500 Mhz or less. The Computer
Lab Inventory indicates the following labs need new computers
as funds are available. *
(7 PC’s) Nursing 105: GX1 233 MHz 64 MB RAM (5) Compaq Deskpro 32 MB RAM
(2) *
(10 PC’s) Dorms: GX1 400MHz 128 MB RAM (18
PC’s) HPER Lab - Column 1 103: GX1 233 MHz 64 MB RAM (15) GX1 333 MHz 64
MB RAM (3) (4 PC’s) Math/Science Roney 203 (2) 205, 209: GX1 333 MHz
64 MB RAM (3 PC’s) Academic Skills GX1 400 MHz 128 MB RAM (20
PC’s) CIS CWH 202 GX1 350 MHz 128 MB RAM (8 PC’s) English 106 GX1 350 MHz 192 MB RAM (10
PC’s) English 113 GX1 350/400 MHz 192 MB RAM (2 PC’s) Library GX1 400 MHz 128 MB RAM (2 PC’s) Psychology 8-6 GX1 400 MHz 128 MB RAM As of November 2002, OIIT
established a policy that monitors would no longer be
purchased with computer orders. Monitors are obtained
from surplus property for free if from state or for twenty dollars if from
federal. To date, this has resulted in savings of $18,620.
Monitors and CPU’s purchased
from surplus #
item
GSW cost
total cost
order cost savings 25 monitors 17”
$ 20.00 each
$ 500.00
$5000
$4500 9 450
Mhz CPU $
20.00 each
$ 180.00 total
$1800
$1620 Free monitors # item GSW cost total
cost order cost savings 40 monitors 17” free $ 0.00 $8000
$8000 15 monitors
21” free $ 0.00 $4500 $4500 total savings:$18,620 The Instructional Technology
Advisory Committee along with the student representation on that committee has
approved the following purchases for FY 03. A new computer lab in *
Upgrade to dorm labs – 10 new computers ($7500.) *
Upgrade to nursing lab – 7 new computers ($5000.) Fine
Arts Lab – Software ($3000). Biology
Labs – 2 LCD systems and related technology ($10,000) ITAC
minutes from OIIT
is currently developing a form that will be used for
future requests for technology fee funds.
Getting
Started with Campus Technology Website OIIT
has developed a Getting Started with Campus Technology for faculty and staff
website
http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/GettingStarted.html and
printable document for new and existing faculty/staff. Information includes:
contact information for OIIT, computer lab location and hours, hardware and
software standards, distance learning options - GSAMS and Peachstar, email
account and policy, web site account and policy, computer use policy, banner
account and training, technical support procedures and services, instructional
support procedures and services, networking, security, and abuse, GSW TV, WebCT
account acquisition and procedures. Recommendation: Identify and Enhance
Technical Competencies for Students, Faculty, and Staff
ITC provides faculty and staff
development. Every semester ITC offers courses in WebCT, Eudora,
Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, and FrontPage. ITC also offers courses
in multimedia and provides individual training on the use of instructional
technology in the classroom. The
Distance Education and Instructional Technology Coordinator attended a series of
intensive Microsoft Office Development workshops including courses in Access,
Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word.
This training enabled the center to expand its Microsoft Office
offerings to include Access and Excel, in addition to increasing the depth of
coverage offered in all of its other Microsoft Office courses. During spring of 2003, ITC added courses in
Microsoft FrontPage, Publisher, and Excel to the existing courses offered which
raised the number of participants in faculty and staff development training
from 59 participants to 111 and the total learning hours from 204 to 292. ITC continued to expand its course offerings
by adding Access in the fall of 2003. In
fall 2003, OIIT offered courses in Eudora, Front Page, Microsoft
Power Point, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Word, Access and Excel. The spring semester 2004 course schedule is now
available at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/courses.shtml.
A
workshop in use of WebCT Vista was offered to campus WebCT power users (Dr.
Frank Spaniol, Dr. Judy Malachowski, Dr. John Stroyls, Dr.
ITC
has developed an evaluation form for participants of faculty/staff development
courses http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/forms/itcfacdevsurvey.pdf.
In a report run in May 2003, there were 28 responses to the evaluation. One hundred percent of the respondents
indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the instructor,
material, hardware, software, and the meeting of goals and expectations. Ninety-six percent indicated that they were
satisfied or very satisfied with the pace of the courses.
OIIT Faculty and
Staff Development from Fall 02 & Spring 03
Attendees: 120 Course
Hours: 58 Total
Person Hours: 310
Faculty
Web Development Options Two
options are available from OIIT for the development of course related web sites
- WebCT and FrontPage. Training for WebCT and FrontPage was
offered during faculty planning week in September and again during the
fall semester through ITC. FrontPage, WebCT and WebCT Vista training will be
offered during spring 2004 http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/courses.shtml.
A
website has been set up at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/howto.shtml
that provides step by step instructions for common
procedures: Managing Accounts and
Passwords (Windows 2000 Pro) How to Protect Your
Computer from Viruses How To
Diagnose & Fix Hard Drive Problems Basic Configuration and
Maintenance for Internet Explorer and Netscape Troubleshooting hardware
(printers, hardware connections, device manager) Software Troubleshooting
and Guidelines
Technical
Service Provider Program As
detailed in Recommendation 2, a departmental liaison has been
identified for each administrative and academic unit. http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/dsr.shtml
provides a list of departmental liaisons. The liaison acts as a local point of
contact for computing support in their departments and provides an integral
link between OIIT support and each department on campus. A “how to” training
website has been developed to support the department liaison http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/techsupp/training.html.
Each liaison has also been provided the opportunity to
attend a training session specific to their department needs (Mac and PC). Each
liaison has signed the Computer
Support Representative Agreement http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/forms/CSR.pdf
and have been granted administrator privileges to the
computers in their department which allows for the installation of software and
basic troubleshooting. To date the representatives have assisted in the campus
computing inventory project as well as in setting critical updates in W2K,
setting Anti-Virus software updates, and responding to requests within their
department.
Technical
Competencies of Students
Hurricane
Watch The Office of Information and Instructional
Technology assists members of GSW’s student television
production organization, “Hurricane Watch” by offering them instruction
on how to use video cameras, lighting kits, microphones and editors in order to
produce educational programming for airing on the campus’s television station,
GSW-TV. The students engage in producing
programming in a studio or in a field production environment. They learn what it takes to become proficient
camera-people, floor managers, editors, directors and on-air talent. Each week, they produce shows ranging in
subject matter from current events, sports, movies and fitness. In doing so, they work closely with the staff
members of the Instructional Technology Center to make sure that their
programming is produced in a creative, quality assured and timely manner. Fine
Arts & ITC Over the last few
years, GSW’s Department of Fine Arts has begun integrating video production
into the curriculum of its students.
During this time, GSW’s Office of Information and Instructional
Technology has maintained a close relationship with the Fine Arts Department in
helping its faculty incorporate new technology in the field of video production
into their course material. One way of
doing so has been that OIIT has allowed fine arts students access to its
editing bays and production studio in order for them to gain real-world
experience in producing their own creative projects for class. The most recent collaboration involves
students assisting the OIIT in its weekly show tapings for class credit. During
the Fall of 2003, each student in professor Jeff
Green’s theater appreciation class was required to work five hours with the ITC
staff or members of “Hurricane Watch” in helping produce their weekly shows. OIIT
Student Employment OIIT employs
several students who work in the areas of lab supervision, technical support,
wireless networking, network administration, network security, media
development, web development, and administrative systems support. This provides
GSW students an excellent opportunity to develop technology skills and build
their resume. OIIT
Interns Each semester OIIT accepts a student intern
from the Computer Information Systems program. The intern is
provided an opportunity to gain experience in all areas of information
systems supported by OIIT. The
GSW Curriculum The technical
competencies of students are being addressed through
components of the curriculum. Through
last year, all students were required to take CIS 1000 as part of CORE Area B.
The course is a survey of common microcomputer applications with an emphasis on
hands-on experience with software packages that are currently
being used to support these applications. Although CIS 1000 is no longer
required for graduation, it is still an option for CORE Area B. UNIV 1000, the
freshman orientation course, introduces students to the library's technological
resources and to the use of WebCT. In the Recommendation: Address Staff
Training, Development and Retention
OIIT
Staff Development Opportunities
A
multitude of staff development opportunities have been provided to OIIT staff
from fall 2002 though spring of 2003. Seven OIIT staff members attended Rock
Eagle, the USG Annual Computing Conference, from The
Distance Education and Instructional Technology Coordinator attended the TLAT
conference, WebCT Vista training, a series of intensive Microsoft Office
development workshops including courses in Microsoft Access, Outlook, Word,
PowerPoint and Excel training through New Horizons in Atlanta from March – June
2003. The three full time employees of
the OIIT staff are attending GSW courses related to their professional
development. The Manager of ITC is
taking graduate courses in the Student
Accounts offered Crystal Reports training in September 2003. This training
involved several units from GSW including two OIIT staff. The OIIT Campus Information
Security Officer attended an Information Security Workshop on OIIT
employs several students who work in the areas of lab supervision, technical
support, wireless networking, network administration, network security, media development,
web development, and administrative systems support. This provides
opportunities for all OIIT staff to be a supervisor and provides students with
an excellent opportunity to develop technology skills and build their resume. An important outcome of the OIIT
student-training program is that if a relevant position in OIIT becomes
available students will be qualified to fill these positions.
Restructuring
of Staff Assignments OIIT
staff assignments have been re-structured to enhance network security and
support. The Computer Lab Manager provides backup for network security and for
response to the network abuse reports received from the USG Board of Regents or
identified locally at GSW. One of the computer technicians provides backup for
network support in the area of network related issues and outages. Review of OIIT Staff Positions All OIIT staff positions have been
reviewed and job descriptions have been updated according to shifting
responsibilities. To date, three positions have been reclassified
and reclassification requests are outstanding for the two computer technician
positions. Recommendation: Redefine Computing
and Appropriate Use Policies and Procedures
Departmental
Servers and Department Technology Purchases OIIT
has inventoried all servers on campus http://168.18.216.106/server.html
and has taken over administration of servers in Continuing Education, CIS,
Business and Geology. All campus servers must be registered
using the form from http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/forms/ServerRequest.pdf.
The Manager of the Office of Administrative Computing or the Manager of the
Appropriate
Use Policy
The
computer and network use policy http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/computerpolicy.shtml
is in the process of being re-written and updated to include policy related to
network security, policy on server administration, policy related to hardware
and software standards and policy to address peer to peer sharing. The
GSW website policy http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/webpolicy.shtml
is in the process of being re-written and updated to ensure common look,
functionality and security of all university, college and department web pages. The
Getting Started with Campus Technology web site for new and existing faculty
& staff at
http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/GettingStarted.html
includes a review of hardware and software standards, email account and policy,
web site account policy and procedures, computer use policy, USG appropriate
use policy, banner account policy, networking, security and abuse. As of
January 2004, all new staff and faculty will be required to review all
appropriate use policies and sign off on their agreement to these policies.
Computer
Incident Response Team - CIRT
Procedures
have been developed for responding to computer
security incidents. Complaints may be received via the
abuse@canes.gsw.edu email
account. USG Board of Regent complaints are routed to this account via the abuse@usg.edu email account. A response to each
incident received from abuse@usg.edu is
required. The Campus Information Security Officer is the GSW contact for these
complaints and makes the official response. Complaints are
also received via the techsupp@gsw.edu email account or by phone at the
techsupp number (2074). Some on-campus
security situations are discovered during routine
monitoring of the network. A
complaint generated by any source is generally routed
to the Campus Information Security Officer, who appoints an appropriate subset
of the CIRT personnel to investigate the complaint. In the absence of the
Campus Information Security Officer, the OIIT Director or the Manager of
Administrative Computing handles the complaint. After
locating the system in question and individuals involved, the CIRT determines
the correct response based on the legal ramifications of the complaint in terms
of both liability to the University and the rights of the owner/user of the system
in question. The chair of the department
in which the computer in question is located is usually
notified prior to any action being taken unless unusual circumstances
warrant different action. In general,
after positive identification of the computer in question, the computer is removed from the network.
The computer is then investigated by an
appropriate subset of the CIRT members and/or technical resource
personnel. Subsequently, if necessary,
OIIT will re-build the system from original media to eradicate any possible
remnants of compromised code. Once the computer is deemed
secure control is returned to the owner and network connections are
re-established. Dorm computers must
be inspected by OIIT technicians
before being allowed re-connection to the network. The
leader of the CIRT for that incident in conjunction with the other team members
will file a report with the Campus Information Security Officer of the incident
detailing the date, time, actions taken and any other pertinent observations. The
following individuals and resources will be called upon
depending on the nature of the incident.
CIRT
Members: OIIT Director, OAC Manager, Public Safety Officer, Campus Information
Security Officer/Network Coordinator, Computer Lab Manager, and email
Administrator Technical
Resources: Banner DBA, System Administrators, Webmaster, Technical Support
Specialist, and ITC Manager
Recommendation: Provide Secure, Supported Access
to Communication and Data Sharing. Increase the utility of network data for students,
faculty, and staff as well as administrative support.
Network File Service
OIIT provides
file server space to faculty through WebCT at http://online.gsw.edu
and through FrontPage at http://itc.gsw.edu/faculty.
OIIT has setup a video server for instructional and promotional use at
http://video.gsw.edu. ITC has projects
scheduled with University Relations to put short video clips on the web. Other
units that have indicated that they would like to put video materials on the
web include Admissions (promotional videos), RCI (video clips from their
Washington Conference), Chuck Lawson with Fine Arts and the
Student Email
Students
currently have an option to request an email account on the canes.gsw.edu
server. During spring semester 2004, all GSW students will have an assigned GSW
email account. OIIT has setup an email server that will only
be used for student email – radar.gsw.edu. Student accounts will be created through the banner registration process.
Students will be required to check this email account, as important GSW
business information for students will be communicated
through email.
Recommendation: Enhance
updated May 2004
Goal 1: To acquire and
implement a consistent, up-to-date, hardware infrastructure in a physically
secure environment throughout the LAN Goal 2: To develop a logical
network structure that optimizes the use of this hardware in providing a
reliable, secure information technology infrastructure to support the mission
and goals of the institution Goal 3: To create and
implement information security structures, policies, procedures, and practices
to protect the institution’s information assets, limit the institution’s
liabilities, and provide a secure environment for administrative and academic
information technology activities
Network Infrastructure Upgrade
Within the past year new equipment was installed in four buildings in addition to major upgrades to the Business History and Administration Building cores. The English 210 computer lab, and the Academic Skills Center were upgraded to switched 100 Mbps connections and the backbone links to those two buildings upgraded to 100 Mbps. New network devices were acquired and installed for Sanford, Administration, Business History and Morgan Hall. These upgrades brought the backbone links for those buildings to gigabit capability as well as providing the campus LAN more security and better service. The new devices have the sophistication to work well with the core upgrades in supporting a more complex logical network structure, including VLANS and quality of service options. Crawford-Wheatley is also on a gigabit backbone link with switched 100 Mbps to the desktop Wireless capability was added to Crawford Wheatley Hall. Upgrades to backbone links to Residence Halls Jacob, Prance, Jordan, and Duncan with displaced equipment from Sanford and Morgan installs have been completed (100 Mbps – was 10 Mbps). Also the Health Center’s backbone link was migrated to 100 Mbps.
A summary of the past year’s dollar investment in network devices
follows:
English Lab
$2,653.00 Nursing Lab
$2,653.00 B/H Core
$28,579.00 Admin Core
$67,168.80 Perimeter Firewall
$10,496.50 Morgan additions
$3,997.00 Admin Bldg upgrade
$15,072.50 Morgan Hall upgrade
$11,485.00 Crawford Wheatley wireless
$1,219.50 Spare
48 Port Switches
$7,490.00 Business History upgrade
$7,490.00
Total - $168,295.80 Current network configurations can be viewed,
including: buildings connected to Core 1 (Business/History)
http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/network/core1.html, buildings connected to Core 2
(Administration Building)
http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/network/core2.html, building by building port
counts
http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/port_counts.shtml, and core connections
http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/network/coreconn.html
Next Steps in Networking Hardware
Acquisition
Several buildings on campus
are still using some shared 10 Mbps devices internally as well as being on 10
Mbps backbone links. These situations are being addressed as funding permits by purchases of
state-of–the art equipment for the most heavily used network segments and
re-use of the displaced equipment in the less populated segments. In line for purchase is upgrade of the
following buildings to Gigabit backbone links (1000 Mbps/currently 100 Mbps): This will in turn allow for the upgrade of Psychology (to 100 Mbps/currently 10 Mbps) with older devices from English, Roney, and Nursing Buildings.
The new core devices have an
exceptionally fast back plane and gigabit capabilities in addition to
accommodating 100 Mbps fiber connections. In order to take full advantage of
the speed of the core, the gigabit blade should be used
wherever possible. The Network Access in Residence Halls
Using wireless network access in GSW residence halls has not provided a viable solution. The current standard (802.11b) uses radio-signaling frequency (2.4 GHz). Using an unregulated frequency, 802.11b devices can incur interference from microwave ovens, cordless phones, and other appliances using the same 2.4 GHz range. This has been a significant issue in the dorms. Although 802.11b bandwidth can reach 11Mbps, this bandwidth is shared, i., e., divided, between all users connected to a single access point causing most GSW dorm rooms’ access speeds to range from 3 Mbps to 6 Mbps. In 2002 and 2003, WLAN products supporting a new standard called 802.11g began to appear on the scene. 802.11g supports bandwidth up to 54 Mbps. However, in addition to still being a shared bandwidth paradigm, it also continues to use the 2.4 GHz frequency. 802.11g is backward compatible with 802.11b, meaning that 802.11g access points will work with 802.11b wireless network adapters.
Another major issue with wireless is that it requires a significant investment in staff support. Spring Semester, 2004, 3 part-time student workers were employed for over half the semester to support wireless and the Residence Hall network. Student registrations continue to increase each semester. Student registrations: Fall 2001 – 33 Fall 2002 –
90 Fall 2003 - 170 Spring 2001 - 43 Spring
2002 - 102 Spring 2003 - 120 Summer 2001 – 0 Summer 2002 – 6 Summer 2003 – 37 Each student registered may
bring a different type of computer, operating system, and application software,
making support of such diverse systems difficult at best and often impossible.
Thus at the current number of registered users, resident hall occupants cannot
receive satisfactory service from the technology nor from the technical support
provided. Needless to
say, the existing solution will not scale satisfactorily to larger
numbers of users. OIIT is undertaking an evaluation of residence hall wireless infrastructure. Southern Business Communications will conduct a site visit and make recommendations on a possible upgrade path for wireless in dorms. A meeting with Mediacom Cable on December 9, 2003 explored options for cable modem access in all dorm rooms as an alternative to the wireless network. It does not appear the cable modem would be a reasonable alternative as the cable modem speed of 1.5 Mbps is inadequate and the initial infrastructure and ongoing monthly cable modem fees are cost prohibitive.
However, if the current cable TV vendor provides digital service to the dorms, the cable tv support infrastructure must be upgraded from co-axial cable to category 5. If and when that occurs the viability of the cable company providing residence hall students with Internet access should be re-visited.
In the event campus-wide (exterior and interior) wireless network coverage is desired, a different paradigm for its provision must be explored.
At the least, the wireless network equipment in the residence halls must be upgraded. At the opposite end of the spectrum of solutions, the Residence Halls should be wired and wireless eliminated. However, in turn, this will require adequate network equipment to support the wired environment. This equipment is not part of inventory at this time.
As renovations/updates of residence halls are designed, network access provisions must be incorporated into the programming plans for the building.
Next Steps in Logical Network Development
The logical structure is to be re-configured to use VLANS and to use a geographical sub-netting schema for IP addressing. To this end, an additional range of IP addresses has been acquired. One result of re-structuring the IP Address space will be to resolve the TCP timing issues associated with a multi-net environment. Ultimately, the two core devices will provide a fairly complex logical structure that addresses both security issues and the routing issues appearing to impact BANNER performance.
The LAN routing has been shifted from the PeachNet router to the campus cores. Some issues revolving around improper configuration of campus servers still exist so optimal routing performance cannot be achieved.
The perimeter firewall has been implemented. One concern to be addressed relative to this is the open ports for ftp on some campus servers. This is a known and documented security vulnerability. While the ports were made available upon the written request of the server administrator/owner, the server administrators have been strongly encouraged to employ an alternative secure, encrypted method for file transfer such as sftp or scp.
Now our logical network must be configured to support the optimal configuration of the core devices. This will be a fairly lengthy process – requiring perhaps as much as a year because each device connected to the campus network must be considered and appropriately configured. A new DHCP server must be brought online. Domain name space issues and dynamic dns must be addressed. Security measures must be incorporated. Services to be offered on and off-campus must be accommodated in a satisfactory manner. GSW
provides computer and network services to a large number and variety of users -
faculty, staff, students, and external constituencies. A security compromise for any
campus-networked system can have a detrimental impact to other networked
systems and represent a significant liability to GSW. OIIT has campus-wide
responsibility to maintain the integrity and security of networking systems and
for providing the physical and logical infrastructures that support the data
and video services. Several measures have been implemented to
help insure that systems and data on the GSW LAN are secure and protected.
Server Security
Several servers have been identified as critical to the operation of campus
computing. Critical systems include those that support the institution’s
administrative functions like payroll and student records as well as those that
provide email, online courses offerings and web presence and Internet
access. OIIT conducts a network security
audit every two weeks using scanning software to check for known
vulnerabilities that could result in compromise. Audit reports are provided
on Monday to the server administrators who must respond to the OIIT Director by
Friday detailing measures taken to remedy newly identified vulnerabilities. Enterprise Infrastructure
Services Group of OIIT in As mentioned earlier in this
report, OIIT has inventoried all servers on campus and has assumed the
responsibility for administration of servers formerly in Continuing Education,
CIS, Business, and Geology. A number of servers housing confidential
information already have been placed on a secure
network segment with others in that category to follow as soon as possible. All
W2K servers have been set to automatically install
critical updates and antivirus .dat files – both very important information
security precautions for servers as well as workstations. OIIT
has developed a business continuity backup and recovery plan http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/bcplan.shtml that
specifies how IT resources will be provided if current
ones fail at a critical time and how affected systems would be recovered.
Workstation Security
Operating System Security
updates shield campus workstations from vulnerabilities, viruses, worms, and
other threats as they are discovered. Technical
Support staff with help from departmental representatives
have set every Windows 2000 computer to use the automatic update feature
where each day the workstation will automatically install any critical updates
released by Microsoft at http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp. Antivirus software protects
campus computers against most viruses, worms, Trojans, and other unwanted
invaders that compromise a computer. GSW purchased a two-year site license for
McAfee Enterprise Version Antivirus software. This license runs from Firewall software creates a
protective barrier between campus computers and potentially harmful content on
the Internet. It helps guard against hackers and many computer viruses and
worms. GSW currently has a license for forty copies of Zone Alarm. These copies are installed
on some faculty and staff computers. OIIT is currently investigating a campus
site license for Kerio Personal Firewall http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html.
All
computers in the student-use computer labs and residence hall
computer labs have policy settings that prevent users from installing
software downloaded from the Internet. Additional policy settings that prevent
altering of system settings are also in place. Network Security
OIIT uses a variety of tools to monitor and secure GSW networks and systems including the monitoring of bandwidth, vulnerability scanning, and intrusion detection. A perimeter PIX firewall was purchased with EOY funds in July 2003. This firewall was implemented in mid-December 2003. It provides a single point of control for the GSW Peachnet connection and filters all traffic hitting the campus network. OIIT has created a security
website http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/security.shtml
that provides contact information, incident reporting procedures, security
alerts, and information on information security best practices. OIIT is also in
the process of developing campus-wide security plan and security management
structure. The campus W2K committee is exploring the possibility of setting up
a Win2K domain with Windows 2003 Server. This will permit secure authentication
of users from any workstation and provide the ability to
automatically install security updates.
In order to provide some measure of network security
for Residence Hall network users, each semester any student living in a
residence hall who wishes to have Internet access in his room must complete a
form (http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/netrequest.shtml)
and return it to the residence hall RA or to room 102 in Morgan Hall. In
addition, at the start of each semester, the campus technical support staff
must inspect any computer running the Windows operating system before the
system is connected to the network. Computers are inspected to determine the status of the computer
relative to operating system and anti-virus updates and updating mechanisms. It is required that any Windows computers in the
residence halls have all Microsoft critical updates installed from http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp.
Windows 2000 computers must also be set to automatically install any new
critical update releases (Control Panel - Automatic Updates - Automatically
download and install updates). It is also required that any Windows computer connected to the network have anti-virus software installed and be set to automatically update at least weekly. If a residence hall student’s computer does not have anti-virus software OIIT will install McAfee Enterprise edition using our campus site license that will expire on the dorm computer after one year.
Residence hall students’ computers may be inspected one of two ways: A student may set up an appointment at 2074 to bring a laptop to Morgan Hall 205 to be inspected. A student may also set up an appointment for a technical support staff member to go to the dorm room to check their desktop computer. Whether the student has a laptop or a desktop they must have the computer registration form referenced above completed before having their computer inspected.
Recommendation: Develop Cohesive Web Presence
A major project has been and is being undertaken to review and rework the entire GSW web site to be more informative, accurate and consistent across departments and to conform with policy http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/webpolicy.shtml. Departmental web sites have been completely redone for several departments including, nursing (http://www.gsw.edu/~son/); English (http://www.gsw.edu/~english/), geology (http://www.gsw.edu/~geology/); health center (http://www.gsw.edu/~health/); and psychology and sociology (http://www.gsw.edu/~psych/).
To help with development of cohesive web presence two templates are available at http://www.gsw.edu/styles/template.html and http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/itc/index.html. Graphical elements are available at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/webmaster.shtml. Guidelines are available at http://www.gsw.edu/~oiit/webmaster.shtml On-line forms for business actions were established. Business forms are available at http://www.gsw.edu/administration/business_forms.htm along with business guidelines and manuals http://www.gsw.edu/~baf/manual.htm. The Online Central Supply Catalog is available at http://sacs.gsw.edu/stock_catalog/. Human resources forms are at http://www.gsw.edu/~hr/hrforms.htm. Administrative forms for Faculty are available at http://www.gsw.edu/faculty/forms.html. Academic forms for faculty are at http://www.gsw.edu/~aaf/faculty_forms/.
Several features have been added to assist in providing student information and services on-line including student’s information forms (http://www.gsw.edu/~aaf/student_forms/); on-line fees payment (https://rain.gsw.edu); financial aid resources (http://www.gsw.edu/~finaid/); student accounts resources (http://www.gsw.edu/services/student_accounts.html); housing information (http://www.gsw.edu/~reslife/); auxiliary services (http://www.gsw.edu/services/books/).
The following web sites were developed to provide comprehensive information of interest to the local community and prospective students: the GSW news website (http://www.gsw.edu/news); on-line faculty/staff newsletter (http://www.gsw.edu/~univrel/breeze/index.html); students’ newspaper Sou’wester (http://www.gsw.edu/news/souwester.html); office of Public Relations media guide (http://www.gsw.edu/~univrel/news/mediaguide.html). A website aimed at prospective students is in place at http://www.gsw.edu/prospective/ . The alumni magazine, which provides outreach and development activities on-line is available at http://www.gsw.edu/~univrel/aeolian/.
In order to increase organizational communication, phone books are available on-line at http://www.gsw.edu/search/directories.htm. http://www.gsw.edu/alumni/ is dedicated to keeping the Georgia Southwestern State University community informed of all activities of the GSW Alumni Association. Archive of press releases is available at http://www.gsw.edu/~univrel/press_releases/
There are a number of calendars posted online: university calendar (http://www.gsw.edu/cgi-bin/application/calendar.cgi); the academic calendar (http://www.gsw.edu/~aaf/schoolcal.htm); Academic Affairs calendar (http://www.gsw.edu/cgi-bin/application/aafcalendar.cgi).
Upcoming projects include: Make all pdf forms which do not require signature or do not have sensitive information fill-in forms, write web based interface for hardware inventory data base, and XML based GSW undergraduate and graduate catalogs.
OIIT is developing a new web site at http://www.gsw.edu/university/projects/ to highlight innovative technology projects on campus. Web pages can include text, graphics, sound and video. Projects in development include: National Cash Register Grant, Video production in the Art department, Milestones in Georgia History, Hunter Education Project. Distinguished Professor Grants
ITC has setup
a video server for instructional and promotional use at http://gsw.video.edu. University Relations has
indicated that they would like to work with ITC and put short video clips on
the web. Other units that have indicated that they would like to put video
materials on the web include Admissions (promotional videos), RCI (video clips
from their Washington Conference), Chuck Lawson with Fine Arts and the |
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