This Is IT!
Volume 2, Issue 3, May 2006
Message from the
CIO/Vice President
The
Best
Place
to
Start
Yo u a r e t h e k e y t o I . T.
The Information Technology (IT) Division at
EPCC exists primarily to support the needs of
our students by enhancing their learning experience. IT is also the medium that enriches and
compliments EPCC’s teaching, research and
administrative endeavors by allowing us to simplify collaborations and communications. Over
the last year, we’ve made great strides and financial investments to meet these needs through the
completion of Phase III of the Wireless Project
and the e-mail conversion to Microsoft Outlook.
However, technology is a utility that must be
dependable with strong infrastructure, it must be
secure and provide seamless access, and it must
provide quick responsive service and support.
That’s why several changes and new processes/
procedures have been put in place. I encourage
the College family to welcome this change with
patience and provide the IT area with feedback
on how we can work together in helping structure EPCC’s current and future technological advancements.
IT came in 2nd place at the Waiters Luncheon
held on April 28 at the ASC, and all for a good cause.
Amidst festivities, costumes, good
food, music and entertainment
there was considerable money
being raised towards student
scholarships dedicated to the
memory of Frances Moreno’s
two children. (Frances recently
retired from the Financial Aid
Office after more than 30 years
of service at the college.)
The competing administraThis is IT!
tors were given
Message from the CIO/VP . . . . . . . .1
their own tables
IT Got the Silver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Job Well Done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
where
they
Are You Ready for Banner?. . . . . . . 2
served the lunIMS Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Welcome Newcomers. . . . . . . . . . . 3
cheon and had sales, services and
Out With the Old...In With The New! . .4
Outlook 2003 Tool Tip . . . . . . . . . . 5
entertainment to solicit more money
Adobe Acrobat Professional. . . . . .6
beyond the ticket prices. The ones
STS, A Working Success. . . . . . . . . .6
with the most money vied for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place
trophies.
At the end of the luncheon the Financial Aid Office Director Linda Gonzalez came in 1st for the gold trophy; Dr.
Richard Rhodes came in 2nd for the silver trophy; and Fabie Rubio came in 3rd
for the bronze trophy. But wait a minute.
What’s this? It’s an envelope that belongs to Fabie Rubio with some checks
not yet counted!
After the final count, we have a new
silver trophy winner- Fabie Rubio! And
Dr. Rhodes hand carried his briefly held
trophy to Ms. Rubio in exchange for the
bronze title. Besides having raised over
$22,000 which more than doubled the
amount of last year’s total, the luncheon
was one accomplishment where everyone felt like a
winner.
Fabiola Rubio
CIO/Vice President
IT Got the Silver
Information Security Policy . . . . . .7
Community Desktop Technology . . .7
Phase 3 Wireless Project Complete. .8
El Paso County Community College District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national
origin, religion, gender, age or disability.
This is IT Page 1
Job Well Done!
Fabiola Rubio
Hard work and dedication by our IT Division staff
was recently celebrated at an Active Directory/Wireless Project luncheon. Besides the great food, embroidered EPCC polo shirts and training transcripts were
distributed. More than 70 special guests were in attendance as we recognized each for their outstanding contributions. The successful implementation of these two
major projects could not have been possible without
careful planning, coordination, teamwork and communication by everyone involved. President Rhodes said
we are ahead of the game when it comes to technology with accomplishments that EPCC and IT staff can
be proud of. Your efforts do not go unrecognized and
you’re appreciated!
As a final note, I would like to thank everyone again for your support of IT. With your help, we will continue
providing emerging technologies and services not only for our students, but also for our faculty and staff. A
special “thank you” goes to the President who continues to provide us with approval to move forward with our
major projects.
Are You Ready for Banner 7.0?
By Ralph Silva
Banner 7 brings El Paso Community College into a new era of campus computing. Its open API (Application Programming Interface), message-aware architecture enables integration across our institution.
Banner 7 has the power to enable EPCC to improve performance and accountability, enhance access and
service for our constituents, leverage technology assets for expanded access and service, and more importantly
to unify our digital campus. But are you, your peers, or your staff really ready for Banner 7?
Let’s take a peek at what Banner 7 brings to EPCC. Banner 7 addresses key challenges facing institutions
like ours today. To thrive and succeed right now, colleges and universities need to:
•
Do more with less
•
Improve performance and accountability
•
Enhance access and service for students, faculty and staff
Sungard/SCT Banner is helping Colleges step up to these challenges. Essential to an institution’s success is
breaking down borders that separate data and data sources to create a single, unified campus where all users are
continuously connected to the resources and information they need to achieve their goals.
Banner 7 propels colleges forward with three vital components:
•
Enterprise integration and interoperability
•
Operational improvements
•
A unified visual experience
With a consistent “look and feel” from sign-on to sign-off, Banner 7 users enjoy the ease of learning the
system. Users can also access more detailed Banner information, including structured data and unstructured
documents, by launching Banner pages directly from the portal with common authentication and enforced security. This capability translates to better performance for all and lower cost of technology ownership for our
institution.
So, are you really ready for Banner 7? Is that your final answer?
I personally can’t wait. Please stay tuned to Banner 7 which will be arriving soon to a desktop or laptop
near you.
This is IT Page 2
IMS
Awards
Claire Buisson-Rodriguez
Instructional Media Services
(IMS) had an Awards Luncheon for
Student Logo Design Winners and
IMS Staff Recognition on April 27,
2006 at the ASC-Board Room. Their
new IMS logo was featured which
was chosen from over 50 student
El Conquistdor photo
contest entries.
The design winners (pictured with David Galatzan) and colors were selected by the IMS Specialists:
Tommy Pedregon
1st Place $100 gift certificate
Carlos Aguilar 2nd Place
$ 50 gift certificate
Monica Britto 3rd Place $ 25 gift certificate
Gift certificates were for the Art Center where students get their art supplies, along with their regular 10%
student discount.
In the summer of 2005 Nancy Gamez, the IMS Manager, and her staff realized that they were going through
significant changes in their services and equipment. They wanted a new look with a new logo, so they came up
with the idea of a contest open to the EPCC art students.
With the support of Jenny Girón, Associate Vice President of Instructional Resources and Technology and
Fabie Rubio, CIO/Vice President of Information Technology, Nancy contacted the Instructional and Campus
Dean at Valle Verde, Roberto Ortega. Dean Ortega referred her to David Galatzan, instructor and Discipline
Coordinator of the Advertising Graphics and Design Department. David liked the idea, and in the fall of 2005
a competition started with the students to design a logo. The designs would be graded as a final project, and
become a prospective choice as winners of a prize.
Over 50 designs were submitted which had to look good and be legible when: printed small or enlarged,
printed in black and white, embroidered, and should the design colors be changed. Besides being put on a
large poster to hang over all 6 IMS doors in the District, embroidered on their uniform shirts, printed on their
letterheads and forms, it was also printed on their souvenir supply: post-its, water bottles, staplers, etc., – to be
used for distribution at functions like Faculty Development. The winners and David Galatzan got samples of
every souvenir with the logo. (Bob Jones, Director of Distance Education, donated a mug and a portfolio to be
added to a special gift bag of souvenirs for David.)
The luncheon also recognized the IMS Staff for their hard work in covering extended hours and delivery of
the new media carts. Shirts with the IMS logo were presented to them for wearing at functions like the board
meetings.
Welcome Newcomers
IT welcomes the following new employees to our team:
Virginia Bustillos.......................Web Maintenance Developer
Francisco G. Chavez.............PC Systems Technician Assistant
Marco Fernandez..........................Manager, Network Systems
Dan Gaytan.....................................Senior Programmer Analyst
Martha Rico-Briones.............................Administrative Assistant
This is IT Page 3
Out With The Old…
In With The New!
Griffin Canak
The IT Department has completed its upgrade from the Novell based e-mail and directory system to a
Microsoft based e-mail and directory system. This new system increases functionality and reduces costs compared to the old system which was more difficult to maintain and lacked third party product support.
What changes have already been made?
Many network servers were upgraded to rack-based systems that are faster, taking less space, and easier
to maintain. We moved from Novell Directory Services (which stores user accounts) and Novell GroupWise
(which handles e-mail tasks) to Microsoft Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange.
Microsoft Outlook is used for sending and receiving e-mail. It has all of the same features that the old
GroupWise client had, including the ability to compose messages, check spelling, lookup e-mail addresses,
create distribution lists and archive old messages. Outlook Web Access (OWA) is a web-based version that
can be used to access e-mail from your home. It is available at http://mail.epcc.edu.
Your user account information in the new Active Directory system is taken automatically from the Banner
system. In addition to your UserID, this includes First Name, Last Name, Department, and Job Title. As a
result, your name in the Microsoft Exchange/Outlook global address book will appear as it does in Banner.
You can continue to use your old GroupWise e-mail address, and receive e-mail to either your old e-mail address or your new UserID e-mail address.
While all students and staff were affected by the move to the new directory system, only employees were
affected by the change in e-mail systems. The Campus Pipeline / Luminis e-mail system used by students was
left completely unchanged.
What changes can I expect in the near future?
1) The new system will help to improve network security and make more efficient use of college resources.
When IT completes the deployment of Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) we will be able to automatically push software updates and patches remotely to desktop computers.
2) In the near future users will be forced to change their network password twice a year. Please remember,
passwords must meet the following complexity requirements:
•
Passwords must be at least 8 characters long
•
They must contain a combination of at least three of the following four types of characters: (1) uppercase, (2) lowercase, (3) numbers, (4) special characters
3) Although the size of your new mailbox increased to 200 Megabytes, it is important that you know how
to manage and re-archive old messages. Your system is faster if you delete or archive old messages. Once you
have reached your mailbox size limit, you will not be able to receive any new e-mail messages.
4) To increase security we have the new “EPCC Community Affairs” e-mail account and the new “EPCC
Announcement” e-mail account for distributing college wide e-mail messages. IT is also working on creating
e-mail distribution groups capable of sending messages by campus and to the various constituency groups.
5) In the near future, students will be required to logon to lab computers with their own unique UserID and
Password which will be the same as their existing BannerWeb / Luminis ID. Students can already use these
UserID’s to access the new wireless network.
6) A long term goal is for users to have a common UserID for all of the various network services and applications. Instead of having a separate UserID for logging on to your computer and accessing e-mail, BannerWeb, Luminis and even the new EPCC Wireless Network, the students, faculty and staff will eventually have
one UserID for accessing all of these systems.
What should I do if I have problems?
We thank everyone for their patience and understanding as we
make these changes. If you have problems accessing your new
account and/or sending and receiving e-mail, please call the IT
Help Desk immediately. We will do everything we can to address your problem.
This is IT Page 4
Outlook 2003 Tool Tip: Distribution Lists
Cheryl Bowman
2
3a
3b
3c
Often e-mails will routinely need to be sent to the same group of people. Save time, paper and frustration by creating a distribution list in 4 easy steps. We strongly recommend you keep distribution lists in
your Contacts folder to make them easily accessible to your OWA (Outlook Web Access).
1. On the Inbox File menu, point to New, and then click Distribution List.
2. In the Name box, type a name for the list. This name will appear in the To: field so choose
it carefully and type it accurately.
3. Add members:
a. Add members from the current address books:
i. Click Select Members.
ii. Click the address book that contains the e-mail addresses you want in your distribu
tion list.
iii. In the Type name or select from list box, type a name you want to include. Select
the name, and then click Members. Do this for each person you want to add to the
distribution list, and then click OK.
b.To add a name from another e-mail message,
i. Open the e-mail message you want to
copy the names from,
ii. Select the name(s) in the To or Cc box
iii. On the Edit menu, click Copy. Close
e-mail
iv. Switch to the already open distribution
list window or open an already created
one.
Add to Distribution
List
Click Select Members if you haven’t
already done so.
v. In the Add to distribution list , right-click, and then click Paste on the shortcut
menu
c. To add a name that isn’t in the address book,
i. Click Add New.
ii. Complete the form and click OK.
4. Click Save and Close.
Your list is now ready to use!
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Adobe Acrobat Professional…
A Potential Digital Lifesaver!
Rachel Viramontes
Through the Staff Training Project, the Information Technology Division was pleased to offer a two-day,
hands-on workshop focused primarily on the creation of PDF forms. In an effort to become a “paperless”
institution, 40 participants from across the District were invited to learn about the potential and
creative possibilities available through the latest version of Acrobat Professional 7. With so
many forms required in our day-to-day operations, converting them to PDF “fillable” format
and having them available on the web is the ultimate goal.
The trainer for the workshop, Lee Carter (IT
Director for the Pampa Independent School District), was named Adobe Master Trainer by the
Adobe Corporation in 2003. As part of the training, he provided the participants with excellent
tools and tips including the creation of reliable,
full-featured PDF forms from any source documents, creation of various types of fields in a
form and using the calculate function of a field.
IT has purchased a site-license for the software and is making it available District-wide for administrative use. If you would like to request installation of
the software, please contact the Office of the CIO/VP Information Technology at 831-6542 or 831-6395.
STS, A Working Success
Debbie Aguilera
Student Technology Services continues to embark on present and future success for our students.
•
The STS Program was promoted at the IT Wireless Fair to students, faculty, and staff at the Valle
Verde Campus in April.
•
The STS students will participate in a recycled computer project for both the district and the community.
•
Jeremy Pacheco, La’Shawn Patterson, and Alfred Reliford will be attending and show casing EPCC
at the NISOD Conference being held in Austin, Texas.
•
Additionally, STS is very proud to be part of Dr. Rhodes’ open forums in “Achieving the Dream” and
to be showcased in the CCSSE Article for student success.
•
Carlos Leyva, a former STS Manager accepted an IT position at Automatic Data Processing (ADP).
ADP is a new outsourcing company in the El Paso area. Illeana Rodriguez, also a former STS student, left
to pursue a career opportunity with PSI Software. PSI Software is a company that makes computer software.
Illeana will be programming and editing software for them.
If you have any questions about Student Technology Services or would like to be part of our dream please
contact us at 831-6407.
This is IT Page 6
Information Security Policy
Richard Buller
Where does information security policy come from? The Texas Administrative Code, or TAC, contains a
chapter on “Information Security Standards” and a sub-chapter that specifies policy, standards and guidelines
for higher education. This newsletter begins a series of articles to summarize the main point
of each “rule” in Title 1 (Administration), Part 10 (Department of Information Resources),
Chapter 202 (Information Security Standards), Sub-chapter C (Security Standards for Institutions of Higher Education) of the Texas Administrative Code. I will summarize the
main point of each rule as it applies to our environment. Rule §202.70, “Security Standards
Policy” and the seven rules that follow are to be applied based on security risk management
decisions. Here are the specifications in the first rule:
• Information resources are strategic and vital assets that must be available and
protected. Measures shall be taken to protect these assets against unauthorized access, disclosure, modification or destruction, whether accidental or deliberate, as well as to assure
the availability, integrity, utility, authenticity, and confidentiality of information.
• All institutions of higher education are required to have an information resources security program
consistent with these standards.
• “All individuals are accountable for their actions relating to information resources. Information resources
shall be used only for intended purposes as defined by the institution and consistent with applicable laws.”
• Risks to information resources must be managed. The expense of security safeguards must be commensurate with the value of the assets being protected.
• The integrity of data, its source, its destination, and processes applied to it must be assured and changed
only in an authorized manner.
• Information resources must be available when needed so continuity of information resources must be
ensured in the event of a disaster or business disruption.
• Security requirements shall be identified, documented, and addressed in all phases of development or
acquisition of information resources.
Each point makes very good sense and is applicable to every student and faculty and staff employee of
EPCC. Remember, information security is an institutional issue; an issue that requires everyone to be aware
of and to practice these policy directives.
Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability
Community Desktop Technology
Gary Chacon
In the summer of 2005, EPCC refreshed Academic desktop technology as part of a three year recycled
program. As a result, a large inventory of recyclable Pentium 4 technology has been re-issued and has allowed
EPCC to upgrade its desktop technology within the organization.
The El Paso community has also benefited from the EPCC recycled program. IT is working with several
El Paso organizations by providing recycled desktops through a technology loan program. This program supports organizations that have old or zero technology. These organizations provide educational training needs
and the technology has made a tremendous impact. This was evident at the 2006 April board meeting when
one of the recipient organizations, Salvador H. Sanchez Middle School, presented their appreciation through
a young group of student body representatives.
Organizations that are currently participating in this program are: Father Martinez Senior Center, Polly
Harris Senior Center, Memorial Senior Center, Eastwood Senior Center, South El Paso Senior Center, El Paso
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Rio Vista Community Center, and Salvador H. Sanchez Middle School. The
EPCC Technology loan program is making a positive impact in our community and the citizens of El Paso that
are benefiting from this technology have certainly expressed their gratitude and appreciation.
This is IT Page 7
Phase III Wireless Project Complete!
Griffin Canak
The Information Technology Department has completed the 3rd phase in the installation of the EPCC Wireless Network. With this phase completed, students, faculty and staff can now access the Internet with their
wireless equipped devices at the five main EPCC campuses plus the Administrative Services Center.
As part of this project, EPCC installed more than seventy (70) Wireless Access Points across the District.
The wireless network gives users the ability to surf the web and check e-mail with wireless laptop computers
equipped with 802.11b/g compatible network cards from anywhere on campus, including classrooms, libraries, cafeterias, lounging areas, etc. Because of the fact that wireless networks are based on radio frequency
(RF) technology, many things can impact your ability to connect to the network and the connection speeds
that you may be able to obtain. Things such as your proximity to an Access Point, the number of simultaneous
users, metal obstructions, etc. can all impact performance.
The 3rd phase of this project included the implementation of logon access to the wireless network. This was
done in conjunction with the Active Directory migration project and allows students, faculty and staff to logon
to the EPCC Wireless Network with the UserID and Password that was assigned to them as part of the directory services project. Wireless Gateway devices were installed that allow the deployment of network security
and assigning access rights based on a wireless user’s UserID or Role.
To logon to the wireless network you must first open up your Internet web browser. You will be redirected
to a logon page where you will be asked to accept a security certificate, which will be used to encrypt your
UserID and Password. After you have accepted the certificate, you must enter your credentials to logon to the
network. If you are a member of the College, you should use the Authentication Type “EPCC User Database”
and enter the UserID and Password that has already been assigned to you:
• For faculty and staff, this will be the UserID and Password that you use to logon to your computer and
access your Outlook/Exchange e-mail account.
• For students, the username will match your Luminis ID. Your password will start with “EP-” and will
be followed by your six digit Luminis password (for example, EP-123456)
Guest access is provided as a courtesy to community users. Guests should
select “Guests” as the Authentication Type, and must enter a valid e-mail
address as their username and the word “guest” as the password. Guest Users have limited bandwidth and limited access to College resources.
After your initial logon, you will be required to accept the EPCC Wireless
Network Acceptable Use Policy, which provides very important information about the rules of use and the behavior required of users of the wireless
network. This policy is an abbreviation of the full Acceptable Use Policy
(AUP) published as EPCC Procedure 02.05.01.54 in the EPCC Policies and
Associated Procedure (PDF file) on the Administration Page of the College
website. Finally, after you have accepted the AUP you will be logged on to
the wireless network and a web page will open that will provide information about your session and will have a button which gives you the ability to
logoff. If you close this web page or forget to expressly logoff, your session
will timeout after the time period specified on this page.
Please be aware that access to the wireless network is intended primarily
for Internet browsing. After your initial logon, data transmitted on the wireless network is not encrypted, and therefore it is not intended for, and cannot
be used to access secure information on the College’s private network. You
should take care when accessing resources that do not support HTTPS web
encryption as this traffic could potentially be captured by other wireless
network users. You are also strongly encouraged to make sure that you have
up-to-date antivirus software and a personal firewall installed.
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