This Is IT!
Volume 1, Issue 2, Spring 2005
Message from the
Vice President/CIO
The Best Place
to Start
you are the key to I.T.
State-of-the-art technology is critical in positionAs of February 2005, the Orion Project founding
ing El Paso Community College on the right track to
partners (EPCC, UTEP and EPISD) are now
physically connected to the Orion Network. This
future growth. As the role of technology continues to
expand, the Information Technology (IT) Division is
means that all interfaces are up over fiber for all three
focused more than ever on ensuring that we have the
entities. Immediate goals include identifying an Orion
resources and tools necessary to meet the District’s
Network structure, develop a process to add new
current and future needs.
members, identify Orion services for members and
In the last six months, taking fiscal limitations
kick-off a publicity campaign both internally and
externally. I invite you to visit the new Orion website
into consideration, we have made great efforts
towards increasing the College’s technological
at orionprojectelpaso.net to learn more about the project
capabilities. Our most recent accomplishment,
and updates as they become available.
effective January 2005, was the conversion of
Information Technology has many challenges
broadband Internet services from SBC at 35 Mbps to
ahead ranging from managing wireless data to dealing
Time Warner Cable at 45 Mbps. Although the
with computer and information security. Everything
conversion was not without temporary
that we take for granted such as a
difficulties, we are now operating at full
working phone system, the various
speed and at a substantial cost savings to
networks that allow you to share
the College.
information with students and colA Wireless Network Plan, which the
“EPCC Going leagues across the country, the server that
Board approved in January 2005, has
backs up your files, the recent email
Wireless!”
been deployed. The Plan, funded by the
upgrade on your computer, are ultiIntegrated Technology Committee, allows
mately the responsibility of the IT
for the implementation of districtDivision and every effort will be made to
wide wireless access points. The
continue to improve the level of services
primary reason for the Plan was to
we provide. Students continue to be our
provide mobile network connectivity for our
highest priority and we look forward to serving them
students and broader accessibility to College
in meeting their educational goals through innovative
resources. While a wireless network does not
ideas and state-of-the-art technology and services.
replace the need for a traditional wired network,
Fabiola Rubio
wireless implementation will provide cost
savings. The savings in installation comes not
just from less cabling, but also from the
Vice President/CIO
corresponding reduction in labor. Phase I and II of
this Plan is scheduled for completion in August 2005.
Information Technology
This is IT!
Message from the VP/CIO .......... 1
IT Staff Training Plan ................. 2
New Year, New Website ............... 2
Production News from CIT ......... 3
Distance Ed Highlights ............... 3
Who Needs Banner Upgrades? .... 4
The Five Worst Security
Mistakes End Users Make ........... 4
Demand for Web Pages ................ 4
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
IT Staff Training New Year,
Plan, Mission
New Website
and Goals
by Argelio Navarro
Mission Statement
Welcome
El Paso Community
College and the
Division of
Information
Technology welcome
Patti Sayers, Oracle
Database Manager,
and Raymundo Vilca,
Academic Computing
Services Manager.
This is IT! Page 2
We started the New Year with a new look and
design
for our Web site. This new site has been
In support and to ensure the success of El Paso
favorably
received because of its new and improved
Community College’s students, faculty, staff and area
features
which
include faster loading pages, a user
community, Information Technology provides
leadership, management, education, access and vision
friendly navigation system and more online services.
in the enabling technologies of communication and
Our home page is now loading 50% faster than our
computing through effective and efficient utilization
2004 home page, because of new technology impleof technology.
mented in the new design. We have category, department, program and community links making it easier
Five Goals
to find what you’re looking for. Some new online
1. To place students first in all that we do.
services included are the new ID search, which allows
2. To hire and retain highly qualified personnel.
students and staff to look up their new ID number
3. To provide ongoing state-of-the-art technology
and our online directory, which provides contact and
training.
location information for everyone working at the
4. To acquire and maintain state-of-the-art
College.
technology.
We are currently working
5. To provide excellent customer service.
on a Content Management
Information Technology
System (CMS), which will
Strategic Plan
"Our home page is provide an easier way to
The El Paso Community College District
establish and maintain informaInformation Technology Strategic Plan was
now loading 50%
tion on faculty and departmendeveloped in June 2003 through a planning
tal web pages. Our CMS will
faster..."
process led by the team from the Educational
have a user friendly interface
Consulting Agency. The process culminated in a
with many features to choose
strategic plan for fiscal years 2004-2006 and
from. Anyone with a little
included thirty nine (39) recommendations to
enhance the Information Technology area. The thirty
computer knowledge will be able to work with this
nine (39) recommendations were listed in priority
system and help contribute to the information on the
order and the current status includes twenty four (24)
College Web site.
recommendations completed and (15) recommendaThere will be many more features coming to the
tions are in progress.
El Paso Community College Web site. If you have
any questions or concerns about the EPCC Web site,
IT Staff Training Plan
please contact Argelio Navarro at 831-6521 or by EThe Information Technology Strategic Plan
mail at argelion@epcc.edu.
demonstrates that training issues are a pressing
concern for the IT Division. Four (4) recommendations by the Educational Consulting Agency are
relevant to training. The IT Division also conducted
an IT staff training assessment to determine training
needs and is proposing to establish ongoing training
and certification support for technical personnel,
faculty and staff, both on and off campus. An IT
Training Plan has been developed that addresses the
training needs of each specific area in the Division.
The Technology Resource Center (TRC) will
serve as the coordinating repository for all training
conducted through the auspices of the Information
Technology departments. In addition to coordinating
and helping publicize the training opportunities, the
coordinating repository will maintain centralized
records of participation. Statistical reports and
transcripts of participation will be maintained by this
department and disseminated regularly.
Distance
Production News
Education
from the Center for
Instructional
Highlights
Telecommunications by Bob Jones
The Distance Education Network (DEN) hosted
several video conferences in the Fall semester. The first
was from the ASC to Washington DC for EPISD
The Center for Instructional TelecommunicaSuperintendent Charles Tafoya. Mr. Tafoya testified
tions wrapped up a video with a Pink Panther theme
for the legislature on E-rate. The next video conferthat was used by Dr. Richard Rhodes in the opening
ence was “An Anthropologist Looks at El Paso,”
of Faculty Development on January 3, 2005. These
which was available at the Valle Verde, Transmountain
are just some of the things CIT has been up to this
and Rio Grande Campuses and was attended by
past semester.
students, faculty and community guests. The last
Mark Negrete, Producer, completed a promovideo conference was a Small Business Development
tional video discussing the proposed Wireless Network
Center workshop from the Valle Verde Campus to
Plan. This video featured faculty and student testimothe University of Texas at San Antonio.
nials and was presented at the December board
The County of El Paso approved the use of
meeting. He continues producing Tech Knowledge E,
county computers for employees to take distance
EPCC’s new technology show, seen on EPIC Cable
education courses. A group from the DEN office and
Channel 14 and is now producing a new show called
Student Support Services gave a presentation on the
“Right Now” with Gabriel Gaytan, Producer, helping
enrollment process for county employees. Daryle
with the graphics and TV set. Scheduled to air in
Hendry, Director of Admissions, presented for the
January, this new show will be an upbeat review of
group.
the College with location
The DEN staff worked with the Center
interviews of guests and hosted
for Instructional Telecommunications to
“There were more prepare video promotions for all 11 Instrucby our famous twosome Jenny
Giron, AVP, with Gloria Estrada,
teleconferences
tional Television Distance Education ProPublications Manager.
grams. The promotions are being aired on
broadcast
from
the
There were more teleconferCable Channel 14.
EPCC studio than EPICDuring
ences broadcast from the EPCC
the Fall semester, the DEN and
ever before.”
studio than ever before. Marco
Technology Resource Center (TRC) staff
Lara, Producer, completed work
hosted workshops at their monthly meeting
on a video for the National
for faculty teaching online courses. The TRC
Starlink Teleconference in Dallas. It was used to
staff conducted workshops from the new Online
promote the Transfer Center’s joint project between
WebCT Training and Mentoring Program. These
UTEP and EPCC in abbreviating the student transfer
workshops are designed to assist faculty in improving
process.
the quality and effectiveness of their online courses.
For the Center for Students with Disabilities, Pat
The IT Committee approved funding to
Ebert, Media Production Manager, completed a video
purchase student computers for the NW and MdP
for use in their orientation of all new staff members.
Campus video conferencing classrooms. In the Spring
CIT also upgraded to making video copies on
semester, Accounting and Introduction to ComputDVDs. This is part of our commitment to keep up
ers for non-computer science majors will be taught
with technology.
using the blended video conferencing format.
Gabriel Gaytan finished seven EPIC TV promos
Students will attend class once a week on campus at
for Distance Learning classes. Besides a ‘new’ year at
the NW or MdP Campus and will complete the rest
hand, expect to see his new intros and closures for the
of their work online over the Internet.
EPIC Cable Channel 14 and his new EPCC promo
The DEN staff and STS students conducted a
spot. Included in his Tune In For Help production,
Wireless Cart Demo on November 8, 2004 for Dr.
teachers are now covering the most recent TAKS Test
Rhodes, students, faculty, staff and administrators
problems for upcoming test preparation. And in the
and also to the EPCC Board of Trustees and guests
Mature Living Kitchen segment, plans are for special
on November 10, 2004. Another demonstration is
guests to participate in sharing recipes and health
being planned for EPCC administrators in the Spring
information on the show with Kay Johnston in
semester.
Spring of 2005.
A new online orientation for new and returning
And last, but not least, Instructional Media
students enrolled in online courses has been develServices (IMS) assisted with the installation of LCD
oped and is available to students from the Distance
projectors throughout the College campuses, starting
Education Website at www.epcc.edu/Programs/
with Valle Verde during the Winter break. This huge
Distance/orientation.htm. The orientation will help
task was completed just in time for the Spring
students get started and understand what they need
semester.
to do to be successful in their online courses.
by Claire Buisson-Rodriguez
Wow!
The participants in the
first year of the El
Paso Community
College Advanced
Leadership
Development Academy
are: Jenny Girón, AVP,
Instructional Resources
and Technology; Gary
Chacon, Manager,
Technology Support
Operations; Ralph
Silva, Manager,
Administrative
Applications; and
Nancy Gamez,
Manager, Instructional
Media Services.
Congratulations!!
Distance
Education
Eighteen desktop
computers were
purchased for the
Northwest Campus; and a wireless
computer cart and
20 notebook
computers were
purchased for the
Mission del Paso
Campus.
Technology
Resource
Center
The TRC will open a
new Center at the
Rio Grande Campus
later this Spring.
This is IT! Page 3
Who Needs
Banner Upgrades?
by Richard Buller
By Ralph Silva
“Banner is working fine, why do we have to be
upgrading the version every time?” is the question I
get when I go to a meeting regarding the Banner
Software we purchased and implemented from
Sungard/SCT. My
response is, “Good
This is IT!
question, which raises lots
of others, but there are
Cares Line
x2273
departments like Financial
Computer Operations
x6456
Aid, Student Admissions
Help Desk
x6440
and Payroll (among
STS
x6406 or x6407
others) that need to be
Technology Resource Center:
on the most current
Robert
x2012
version in order to do
Kimberly
x3362
their jobs in an expediCheryl
x2767
tious and timely fashion.”
Doroteo
x2143
The web version that
students use to register and pay their tuition is also
changing periodically, so giving them the latest version
This is IT Staff
is important to them and to our institution.
“Are the new Banner versions tested before
Editor: Claire
going
into production?” is another question I often
Buisson-Rodriguez
receive. The answer is always “Yes.” The College has
an outstanding Programming and Database Administration group headed by Mr. Edmundo Vasquez
(DBA) that carefully administers the upgrades and
installs the changes. Below are the latest versions that
were implemented on January 15, 2005:
Latest Banner Versions
General
AR
Pos Cntrl
Finance
HR
Student
Fin Aid
VR (Telephone)
Webtailor
Web for General
Web for Student
Web for Employees
Web for Finance
Integration Components (Webct)
Banner Xtender (Imaging)
This is IT! Page 4
The Five Worst Security
Mistakes End Users
Make
6.2
6.1
6.1
6.1
6.1.2
6.2
6.6
6.2
6.1
6.1
6.2
6.1
6.1
6.1.1
6.0
“Who really needs Banner upgrades?” I believe
whether you are a first time registering student, a
tenured faculty member waiting for the student
enrollment list, or a full time staff member creating
requisitions, the answer is we all do.
The SANS (SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security)
Institute is the most trusted and by far the largest
source for information security training and certification in the world. It also develops, maintains, and
makes available at no cost, the largest collection of
research documents about various aspects of
information security, and it operates the Internet’s
early warning system - Internet Storm Center. Here is
the SANS Institute’s list of things people do that
enable attackers to succeed.
The Five Worst Security Mistakes End Users Make
1. Failing to install anti-virus, keep its signatures up
to date, and apply it to all files.
2. Opening unsolicited e-mail attachments without
verifying their source and checking their content
first, or executing games or screen savers or other
programs from untrusted sources.
3. Failing to install security patches-especially for
Microsoft Office, Microsoft Internet Explorer,
and Netscape.
4. Not making and testing backups.
5. Using a modem while connected through a local
area network.
To avoid any damage to the software in your computer, you must correct these problems immediately
and develop good habits with your computer.
Visit the SANS Institute Reading Room at http://
www.sans.org/rr/.
Demand for Web Pages
are Growing
by Carlos Leyva
Student Technology Services (STS) is currently
working with the webmaster of EPCC in an effort to
help alleviate the demand for creating and converting
web pages for faculty and staff that meet EPCC
guidelines and standards. Part of the collaboration
includes training STS employees in the use of the
“Content Management” software. Training has
already begun and will continue as the demand for
web pages grows. Once trained, the STS employees
will go out and help faculty and staff create and
convert any existing web pages that do not meet
EPCC standards, using the Content Management
software. Students will also help train faculty and staff
in the maintenance and upkeep of their web pages.
We would also like to congratulate three of our
STS Employees: Sam Wheeler has accepted a parttime position as a PC Technician here at EPCC;
Cynthia Martinez has accepted a position at El Paso
Independent School District; Juan De Santiago was
hired at Echostar, where he will be testing equipment.
For more information on the STS Program, please call
us at 831-6407 or visit our website at www.epcc.edu/
sts.