August 28, 2020 Newsletter

Save the Date:

Help Desk Bytes
Tuesday, September 1
2 p.m. to 3 p.m. 
Online via the Bytes Team

The UCCS Mobile App is now available on the Google Play and the Apple Store  Download it today, and give it a five-star rating!

All Faculty, Staff and Student Employees must take the training Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Training by September 16, 2020. This training has been updated to comply with the change of Title XI rules, and thus, regardless of when the training was last taken, needs to be taken again. Training can be found in Skillsoft by searching for CU: Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct – UCCS course  

Are you teaching your classes online this semester?
Do you work remotely?
Would a webcam help keep you connected during online meetings?

If you answered yes, to the above, then we have you covered!

OIT has a few webcams available for checkout for Faculty and Staff. These webcams have a built in microphone and are a zero-dollar cost to you and your department. Faculty will be prioritized as the intent for these webcams is to enable remote learning and teaching. 

To place a request for a webcam, please submit a Self-Service Request by selecting Device Checkout or Return Request under the Personal Computing section.

In its inaugural year, the Chromebook program is off to great success! Incoming undergraduate freshman, who are enrolled full-time (12+ credits) are eligible for a Chromebook, free of charge*. As of Thursday, August 27th, there have been 870 requests for these Chromebooks and 473 of those have been fulfilled.  A waitlist of sophomores - seniors, as well as graduate students, has been started, and currently has 110 pending requests. The waitlist is a first-come-first-serve basis and will be based on supplies. Students on the waitlist will be notified of their status by September 14th. 

For information about this program, eligibility requirements, and features, please visit this program online. 

*Some restrictions apply. See website for details. 

On the evening of September 4^th, WebEx will receive an upgrade!

This UCCS-initiated upgrade will provide unlimited recording storage for WebEx users. This much-needed capacity will be a huge relief to the campus who currently shares 50GB for this service. 

Users who currently have meetings scheduled past September 4, 2020, will be contacted the week of August 31, 2020, with instructions on how to update their meeting invites, as a new call-in number will be necessary. Users who schedule meetings past September 4, 2020, within the next week, should check uccs.info before their meeting, for instructions on how to update their call-in numbers. This upgrade will not affect the URLs or apps that users are accustomed to using. 

It is important to note that this is a UCCS-initiated upgrade, so that we may have unlimited recording capacity. This upgrade should not be confused with the new user experience that will be coming in September of 2020 from WebEx. The new user interface will include breakout rooms within meetings and intuitive meeting control buttons. More information will be shared once it is received.

• Forms coming to the Office Mobile App

  • Microsoft Forms is a web app which can be accessed from a browser on desktop or mobile devices. The Office Mobile app is a single mobile app (iOS / Android) that combines Word, PowerPoint and Excel with exclusive features.

    Microsoft will now be integrating Forms into the Office Mobile app so users will be able to open recent Forms and create new forms from the Office Mobile app. Rollouts will begin in September. 

• New notification panel in MS Teams.

  • Users will soon be able to configure notification settings through a simplified global notification settings page. They will also be able to choose from any two teams and channel notification presets or they can customize their channel notification settings.

    Staring mid-September, the new settings can be accessed by selecting the profile picture at the top right corner of Teams, and then selecting  Settings >  Notifications.