March 27, 2020 Newsletter

uccs.info

In an effort to reduce the emails that OIT sends to campus, starting September 1st, 2020, all maintenance communications will only be posted at uccs.info. We will continue to send campus email notifications about events, outages, and campus-wide projects. You may provide feedback on this change or any other OIT services at the OIT Feedback Link.

OIT Status Page

Having an issue with any OIT Service? Before calling the Help Desk, check out the OIT Status Page for the most up-to-date information on OIT Services.

Comings

We are excited to welcome the following team members: 

Zoe Hyatt will begin her position as LMS Administrator on April 6th. 

Welcome back, Luis Young!

The Office of Information Technology has been working on several solutions to provide access to lab computers while the campus is remote learning. 

The first solution is that we are turning our OIT lab systems into remote desktops.  OIT is working on building an app that will allow you to find an open remote lab computer and log into it via a Remote Desktop application.  Applications for Remote Desktop are available via Windows and Mac operating systems as well as some mobile operating systems.  Information and instructions may be found here, but VPN is required. 

The second is AccelerEd which provides the lab image in the cloud.  This service is currently going through testing and will be available soon.  It provides the same lab experience as if you were on campus, but through a web browser.

Watch for additional information and "go live dates" via Twitter, LinkedIn, and from the Help Desk. 

The UCCS OIT Help Desk is continuing to provide (remote) support, Monday-Friday, 8 am-6 pm, by taking calls, chats, and emails. Please note that there is a possibility of a delay, we are doing our best to answer every request in as timely a manner as possible! Some of the recurring requests we have seen recently:

1. VPN Requests: setup, connection training, issues, and questions. Please note that our VPN is only designed to support specific services like Columbia, Enterprise, Excelsior, and some of the programs that are accessed through your myUCCS Portals. If you are not connecting to one of those services, please consider disconnecting from the VPN.
2. Microphone, webcam, computer setup, and other work-from-home setup requests. Although we do not support accessories, we are doing our very best effort to assist with all of these questions. We understand that this is a stressful time and uncomfortable setups only add to that stress.
3. Columbia, Enterprise, and Excelsior, as well as other server access requests: we are assisting with all of these server connections; most require the VPN to be set up first.
4. Telecom Requests: voicemail to email, call forwarding
5. Account Requests: password changes, claiming new accounts, how to access UCCS resources.
6. Audio and Conferencing Software: we recommend Microsoft Teams but also use WebEx to allow for remote meetings and even classes.

We have a 24x7 support through BlackBeltHelp which is live any hours that we are not open. They can be reached by calling our normal 719-255-3536 or connecting to our chat, then selecting the re-direct to BlackBeltHelp’s chat.

1. They can help with account questions or requests.
2. General troubleshooting requests.
3. Anything they cannot handle, they forward to the UCCS OIT Help Desk and we handle it within the next two business days.

UCCS offers VPN (Virtual Private Network) that allows access to campus resources from an off-campus location. The UCCS Resources VPN grants access to your Z: drive (excelsior) (enterprise), as well as the Inbox/Outbox (Inbox and Outbox) folders for all UCCS Students, Faculty, and Staff. 

OIT has been working on upgrading the infrastructure over the past two weeks to ensure VPN access is available when needed.  For additional service guidance – please see https://oit.uccs.edu/services/network-and-internet/vpn 

For a list of additional tools and resources that are available for remote working/teaching, please visit oit.uccs.edu/remote