by Information Technology Services
There’s only five weeks until the start of the fall semester, and Information Technology Services is busy completing many summer projects. Before you jump to the detailed list below, note these tech-classroom upgrades happening this week:
- Bluemont 101 classroom upgrade — the epoxy floor is being poured.
- All Faiths Chapel classroom is closed and being updated with a projector, new screen, and wireless.
More technology classrooms — Four new basic technology classrooms have been completed in McCain 325, Gymnasium 204, Gymnasium 205, and Eisenhower 227. Seaton 161 is also being remodeled and will have new technology installed before the semester begins.
Technology classroom training is being provided to faculty through summer and early fall. Fill out the Technology Classroom Training Request Form and you will be contacted to schedule a session. Once you’ve been trained in one classroom, you will be cleared for access to all other technology classrooms.
ImageNow — ImageNow is the university’s document imaging system, and it went live with the following departments on July 1:
- Horticulture, Forestry and Recreation Resources (business office)
- College of Architecture, Planning and Design (business office)
- College of Engineering (business office)
- College of Veterinary Medicine (business office)
ITS also has ongoing projects with the Office of Admissions, International Student and Scholar Services, and Affirmative Action.
United Way — We are working with Human Resources to allow employees to sign up to contribute to United Way directly through the HRIS Employee Self Service for this fall’s campaign.
Facilities new management system — We are working with the Division of Facilities to implement AIM, a new facilities management system. AIM will be a comprehensive management system that replaces FAMIS, with a projected implementation date of late fall. More information on the many benefits that AIM will afford us is coming soon.
Finance — We are working with the Division of Financial Services to upgrade their system from Oracle release 11 to release 12 for the FIS system. This is mostly a backend update with little effect on the use of the system. A Spring 2014 implementation date is planned.
iSIS student information system — ITS is working on several ongoing projects for the iSIS system.
- Working with the Office of the Registrar to upgrade DARS to UAchieve version 4. This will eliminate the desktop and enhance the DARS report. A fall release is expected.
- Adding functionality to iSIS to store information for the programs Guide to Personal Success (GPS), Strengths Quest, and Powercat Financial Counseling (PFC). Target dates are summer to early fall.
- Working with the Office of Financial Aid, Office of the Registrar, and Athletics to integrate the new JumpForward compliance software for Athletics into iSIS. The first phase will be completed in late summer, with additional phases planned.
- Working to enhance the advising capabilities within iSIS, with a tentative release date of spring 2014.
- Additional server capacity has already been allocated to iSIS to ensure good system performance for the start of the fall semester. The amount of processing power has been increased by 25 percent.
Graduate School’s new admission system — We are working with the Graduate School to implement a new application-for-admission system using a product called CollegeNet. This new system will enhance the student application experience for graduate students and improve the processing of those students. A fall release date is planned.
Reporting (Data Warehouse initiative) — ITS is in the early phases of working to start a Data Warehouse initative for K-State. This is a long-term project working with many academic and administrative offices. Details will be forthcoming.
Microsoft Office 2013 — Installation of Office 2013 is being planned for the university computer labs and K-State InfoCommons, to be in place by the time classes start in August. Office 2010 will continue to be available in those environments as well.
