CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY

Division of Information Technology

NEWSLETTER Issue 9 Autumn 2018

Web Office - End of Year Event - Thurs 14th - Fri 15th Dec 2017 (Wagga) From left Ben Speirs Rod Haggith Brett Masters Kelly Bull Cade Whitbourn Samantha Amjadali Anthony Chapman Amber Murray Bobbie Tulloh Pete Francis Chantelle Cox Catherine Crameri Boram Kwon Paula Woodhouse

INSIDE THE DIVISION

Catch up on whats been happening in DIT over the last few months including staff

changes new arrivals and some IT Service Desk statistics from

2017

PROJECT UPDATES Read about the latest project news from recently completed works and ongoing projects to newly commenced initiatives such as the Rewards and

Recognition Implementation

GOOD NEWS STORIES Find out some of the great work that has been going on in DIT to

contribute to improving the student experience at CSU

including increased internet data and improvements to the

wireless network

Welcome to theDIT Newsletter

2

Welcome to the Autumn edition of our DIT newsletter covering the latest ICT developments across CSU

The 2018 Web Improvement Program has been recently ratified and can be viewed on the Initiatives amp Projects section of the DIT website The Web Office team pictured on our front cover are responsible for this program of works

One of the major activities commencing in 2018 is the replacement of Talisma The tender is now in themarket with a new CRM platform planned to be selected in May and announced in June Phil Roy Director Strategic Technology Program is overseeing this CRM implementation as well as other significant technology platforms such as the Banner Student upgrade and sourcing of a new HR Finance system in 20182019 Connecting these platforms will be new integration technology from Dell Boomi with a core deliverable being a decrease in the delivery time of data integrations between systems

The Technology Governance Committee (TGC) has confirmed initiative submission dates for the next funding round with expressions of interest due by the end of July and final submissions in September Updates on TGC funded projects including My eQuals the Online Shop and Reward and Recognition Implementation are included in this issue

Some of the DIT start of session activities that take place to try to ensure an optimal experience for students and staff are outlined in this issue as well as an update on changes to CSU internet services

DIT works with system custodians each year to update the CSU Applications Portfolio which provides a snapshot of the number health and criticality of our enterprise applications Eighty percent of the 136 applications are vendor supported in line with the buy before build principle

A summary of the key statistics of the IT Service Desk is included on the back page with close to 40000 jobs logged by staff in 2017 Finally the Information Security Awareness online training module for completion by all staff is currently being refreshed and will be released shortly This will be announced via Whatrsquos New Yammer and email

Whats been happening in DIT

Here we are already in March and releasing our first newsletter for 2018 and what a busy few months it has been

Finishing off 2017 the Web Office had a get together in mid December in Wagga (photo on cover page) They took the opportunity to reflect on the changes in staff and their structure throughout 2017 and to celebrate their achievements They also set the key areas of focus for 2018

The Shared Business Services (SBS) team got together in Bathurst in January (photo below) The team covers a wide variety of tasks from resourcing and finance to communications and training and a multitude of monthly reports It was a good opportunity to share ideas for process improvement across the team SBS is also delighted to have Kiah Ryan back after 12 months parental leave

DIT has welcomed the following new staff bull Shane Dissanayake ndash Service Desk bull Tim McCormack ndash ICT Security bull Alex Moore ndash Web Office bull Daniel Francisco ndash Technology Projects bull Andrew Rigney ndash Web Office bull Emrys Hughes ndash Web Office (staring in April)

We farewelled Irfan Bhojani and Candice Masling from the Business Analyst team Janakan Kanaganayagam from Integrations and Santos Borom and Samantha Amjadali from the Web Office

And finally another great start to the year for new arrivals of a different kind Congratulations to Lisa Twigg (Networks) and her partner Matt on the birth of Emily Anne and to Chris Dunstall (Applications) and his wife Sally on the birth of Alexander George both born in March

SBS Team Catchup - 31st Jan (Bathurst) From left Ali Munro Rob Boetto Neil Russell Kiah Ryan Ronnie Lane Jenni Penderakis Absent Ange McDonnell

Welcome to theDIT Newsletter

2

Welcome to the Autumn edition of our DIT newsletter covering the latest ICT developments across CSU

The 2018 Web Improvement Program has been recently ratified and can be viewed on the Initiatives amp Projects section of the DIT website The Web Office team pictured on our front cover are responsible for this program of works

One of the major activities commencing in 2018 is the replacement of Talisma The tender is now in themarket with a new CRM platform planned to be selected in May and announced in June Phil Roy Director Strategic Technology Program is overseeing this CRM implementation as well as other significant technology platforms such as the Banner Student upgrade and sourcing of a new HR Finance system in 20182019 Connecting these platforms will be new integration technology from Dell Boomi with a core deliverable being a decrease in the delivery time of data integrations between systems

The Technology Governance Committee (TGC) has confirmed initiative submission dates for the next funding round with expressions of interest due by the end of July and final submissions in September Updates on TGC funded projects including My eQuals the Online Shop and Reward and Recognition Implementation are included in this issue

Some of the DIT start of session activities that take place to try to ensure an optimal experience for students and staff are outlined in this issue as well as an update on changes to CSU internet services

DIT works with system custodians each year to update the CSU Applications Portfolio which provides a snapshot of the number health and criticality of our enterprise applications Eighty percent of the 136 applications are vendor supported in line with the buy before build principle

A summary of the key statistics of the IT Service Desk is included on the back page with close to 40000 jobs logged by staff in 2017 Finally the Information Security Awareness online training module for completion by all staff is currently being refreshed and will be released shortly This will be announced via Whatrsquos New Yammer and email

Whats been happening in DIT

Here we are already in March and releasing our first newsletter for 2018 and what a busy few months it has been

Finishing off 2017 the Web Office had a get together in mid December in Wagga (photo on cover page) They took the opportunity to reflect on the changes in staff and their structure throughout 2017 and to celebrate their achievements They also set the key areas of focus for 2018

The Shared Business Services (SBS) team got together in Bathurst in January (photo below) The team covers a wide variety of tasks from resourcing and finance to communications and training and a multitude of monthly reports It was a good opportunity to share ideas for process improvement across the team SBS is also delighted to have Kiah Ryan back after 12 months parental leave

DIT has welcomed the following new staff bull Shane Dissanayake ndash Service Desk bull Tim McCormack ndash ICT Security bull Alex Moore ndash Web Office bull Daniel Francisco ndash Technology Projects bull Andrew Rigney ndash Web Office bull Emrys Hughes ndash Web Office (staring in April)

We farewelled Irfan Bhojani and Candice Masling from the Business Analyst team Janakan Kanaganayagam from Integrations and Santos Borom and Samantha Amjadali from the Web Office

And finally another great start to the year for new arrivals of a different kind Congratulations to Lisa Twigg (Networks) and her partner Matt on the birth of Emily Anne and to Chris Dunstall (Applications) and his wife Sally on the birth of Alexander George both born in March

SBS Team Catchup - 31st Jan (Bathurst) From left Ali Munro Rob Boetto Neil Russell Kiah Ryan Ronnie Lane Jenni Penderakis Absent Ange McDonnell

3 My eQuals -

UpdateMy eQuals is an initiative of unprecedented Higher Education sector collaboration involving approximately 46

Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) universities and covering 98 of the ANZ student cohort It is aimed at the establishment of a shared online service for the production management and verification of Testamurs academic records and other formal credential documents issued by ANZ universities Students and graduates from participating universities will be able to access their digital documents online and share them with potential employers universities and other parties

The lsquoMy eQualsrsquo platform will minimise the potential for document fraud assure the integrity of Australian and New Zealand academic qualifications and safeguard the quality and reputation of the Australian and New Zealand higher education sector It will also be connected to other similar international networks that are already in place in China Europe and the USA This will enhance students overall global mobility and enable ANZ universities to authenticate trusted digital qualifications documents submitted by international students seeking admission at ANZ universities and vice versa

The initiative is widely endorsed and sponsored by stakeholders including the Minister for Education the Department of Education and Training Universities Australia Universities New Zealand the Tertiary Education Quality amp Standards Agency and other bodies that share a common interest in ensuring the quality of the education sector

My eQuals exemplifies the commitment of Australian universities to the Groningen Declaration This global initiative is committed to a shared goal ldquoCitizens world-wide should be able to consult and share their authentic educational data with whomever they want whenever they want wherever they arerdquo (httpwwwgroningendeclarationorg)

Fifty-six stakeholders in 20 countries have signed the Groningen Declaration with Australia becoming a signatory in 2015 and New Zealand in 2016 This initiative contributes to the TOL strategy by ensuring CSU is at the forefront of innovative quality online content The project intends to deliver the system in June 2018

CSU Online Shop -Open for Business

Making payments to join a CSU club or to join some of the most fun social events on campus just got easier

The first stage of CSUrsquos Online Shop (wwwshopcsueduauClubs) has now gone live bringing together all of CSUrsquos clubs into one e-commerce marketplace Students staff and the general public are now able to pay for club membership fees order merchandise and buy tickets to events directly through the Online Shop in a simple easy-to-use online platform

This makes payments easier and more streamlined for students and club executives and reduces the need for cash transactions Instead of lining up at cashiers or stalls on campus club payments can now be made anywhere anytime online and via credit card or the newly introduced PayPal payment option

Each club has its own dedicated space within the Online Shop marketplace which gives shoppers the ability to browse all the clubs available at their campus or right across the university Shoppers can log in with their CSU credentials and add a range of club payments or purchases to their cart in one easy transaction

Stay tuned for more payment types coming to the Online Shop soon

4

Start of SessionActivities

Start of session always brings a flurry of preparation activity for the Client Services team to ensure we are providing optimised Learning and Teaching spaces which will enhance the studentsrsquo experience

We perform Learning and Teaching room health checks and audits to proactively resolve any issues prior to each session starting This involves checkingtesting all functionality of room equipment such as the PC Audio and Visual equipment and any specialised equipment as well as lighting and the general state of the room Issues are resolved promptly or escalated to relevant areas as required

In O-Week 201830 Client Services provided training for academics in using interactive videoconferencing and audio visual equipment in Learning and Teaching spaces This assists academics to deliver ldquotechnicallyrdquo successful and uninterrupted classes We also attended the start of every IVT (interactive video teaching) class -where multiple rooms on one or more campuses automatically connect -providing further support to our academics

Maintenance was performed on our computer fleet and all the AV (Audio visual) PCs in Learning and Teaching spaces and PA (public access) PCs in Learning Commons and Labs were given a fresh image with software requested by academics being installed This ensures that students and staff are using computers that are updated and running optimally

Client Services also provides support to Student Central with training sessions knowledgebase articles and in particular wireless support to ensure our first year and returning students get connected to our wi-fi

Reward and Recognition Implementation

The Reward and Recognition program is underway and it is expected to be launched in April 2018

This is an exciting initiative With the new framework aligned to our values it provides the opportunity to recognise employees who are a great example of our values in action

The name of the program is RED Recognising Excellence

Daily

We have been working with employees from across the university to develop the framework in more detail

An online system will support the framework creating broader engagement and empowerment for all employees whilst eliminating the administrative burden associated with the prior VC Awards program The program aims to inspire us to connect with each other and work in ways that reflect our values-based culture

The new framework will be made up of three tiers

Level 1 ndash Appreciation Foster a culture of appreciation that creates as many opportunities as possible for positive conversations across the university Provide a forum where success is celebrated This includes peer-to-peer manager and cross unit recognition This allows all employees to take ownership of culture and performance by recognising valuable contributions from their colleagues

Level 2 ndash Achievement Create a consistent and equitable approach to recognition for achievement against capability framework performance criteria and university goals This level will link with and reinforce EDRS showcasing those that go above and beyond This level provides managers with the autonomy to recognise valuable contributions and high performing team members

Level 3 ndash Excellence Recognise top performers across the university that contribute in a way that goes well above the expectations for their role and has measurable impact on the university and strategy Recipients will be recognised at Foundation Day events that are held across all campuses with the Vice-Chancellors Leadership Team taking an active role in these celebrations

News from Networks In response to student feedback the DIT Networks team made the following changes to CSU wireless in 2018 in an effort to improve coverage and reduce dropouts

bull Simplified wireless names that are used to identify and connect to the CSU network making the connection experience easier for users and for Student Central to support bull Changed the wireless name to connect to on campus to Eduroam the preferred wireless SSID CSUconnect is no longer available in residences and will be phased out across all campuses by the middle of the year bull Removed the Cloudpath install wizard which was confusing to some users and prone to issues on some devices

bull Updated support pages with simplified connection and troubleshooting information bull Implemented a feedback and report a blackspot form to collect even more information on ways we can improve the service bull Produced new signage for distribution to student residences to provide support information bull Conducted wireless information and training support session to Res Life student Residential Advisors at their big training week in Wagga to better help them assist students with any issues

As a result of these improvements there was a significant reduction in the number of connection issues experienced by students during O-Week and first week of session

5

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Platform Following on from the decision made last year to replace CSUrsquos existing CRM system (Talisma) a CRM Sourcing project has been running since the start of this year to select a new CRM platform

Three teams of subject matter experts from across the universityrsquos CRM user base - Functional Technical and Commercial Requirements teams - have been formed to develop the requirements and evaluate tender responses A tender has been released to a select group of vendors with submissions to the tender due early April The tender process involves the teams evaluating the respective components of tender submissions shortlisting vendors and assessing demonstrations of proposed solutions against a number of key CSU scenarios

Once a vendor and implementation partner have been selected and contract negotiations completed the high level rollout strategy is to implement the new CRM starting with Alumni (July to August 2018) CRM for current students (October 2018 ndash May 2019) and then CRM for prospective students (June 2019 ndash August 2019) The final implementation strategy may change depending on further detailed analysis of CSUrsquos CRM transition strategy and the advice that the chosen vendor brings

For more details contact Phil Roy on x34311 or proycsueduau

News from Networks In response to student feedback the DIT Networks team made the following changes to CSU wireless in 2018 in an effort to improve coverage and reduce dropouts

bull Simplified wireless names that are used to identify and connect to the CSU network making the connection experience easier for users and for Student Central to support bull Changed the wireless name to connect to on campus to Eduroam the preferred wireless SSID CSUconnect is no longer available in residences and will be phased out across all campuses by the middle of the year bull Removed the Cloudpath install wizard which was confusing to some users and prone to issues on some devices

bull Updated support pages with simplified connection and troubleshooting information bull Implemented a feedback and report a blackspot form to collect even more information on ways we can improve the service bull Produced new signage for distribution to student residences to provide support information bull Conducted wireless information and training support session to Res Life student Residential Advisors at their big training week in Wagga to better help them assist students with any issues

As a result of these improvements there was a significant reduction in the number of connection issues experienced by students during O-Week and first week of session

5

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Platform Following on from the decision made last year to replace CSUrsquos existing CRM system (Talisma) a CRM Sourcing project has been running since the start of this year to select a new CRM platform

Three teams of subject matter experts from across the universityrsquos CRM user base - Functional Technical and Commercial Requirements teams - have been formed to develop the requirements and evaluate tender responses A tender has been released to a select group of vendors with submissions to the tender due early April The tender process involves the teams evaluating the respective components of tender submissions shortlisting vendors and assessing demonstrations of proposed solutions against a number of key CSU scenarios

Once a vendor and implementation partner have been selected and contract negotiations completed the high level rollout strategy is to implement the new CRM starting with Alumni (July to August 2018) CRM for current students (October 2018 ndash May 2019) and then CRM for prospective students (June 2019 ndash August 2019) The final implementation strategy may change depending on further detailed analysis of CSUrsquos CRM transition strategy and the advice that the chosen vendor brings

For more details contact Phil Roy on x34311 or proycsueduau

6

CSU Applications PortfolioThe CSU Applications Portfolio contains a The remaining proportion of applications summary of the current portfolio of enterprise preparing for ldquoRetirementrdquo remains stable with and significant applications that provide the following applications being retired in the services to staff and students past 12 months BlackBoard Mosaic Echo360

Aleph and Landesk The number of enterprise applications has

increased from 129 to 136 between February With CSUrsquos preferred principle of buy before 2017 and 2018 New applications commissioned build 80 of enterprise applications are since the last report include CSU Service Portal currently being sourced as commercial offerings (Cherwell) Modo Labs CSU Mobile App Additionally it is the broader strategy of the replacement Panopto Unimarket Reward division to make use of external hosting and Gateway PageUp PURE Flight Adobe software as a service offerings with 40 of AnalyticsOptimizerTarget and Hootsuite enterprise applications currently hosted

externally The overall health of the portfolio compared to

March 2017 has marginally improved with an For a more detailed summary you can view the increase of applications in ldquoCurrentrdquo state from CSU Applications Portfolio online 59 (74 in March 2017) to 669 (91 current) and a reduction of ldquoIn Progressrdquo from 12 (15 in March 2017) to 103 (14) Lyndacom for Students

Lyndacom continues to be available for CSU students in 2018 Along with SSAF funding the Division of Information Technology Division of Library Services and other partners across the university are contributing to enable students to access this valuable resource

Students can use Lyndacom to develop a broad range of technical and soft skills including Microsoft Office social media time management presentation skills and much more Check out the Lyndacom Subject List for other available topics

As a SSAF funded initiative Lyndacom can be used to help students develop skills for study but not a prescribed requirement of their course or subject Any academic staff who would like to use a Lyndacom course or learning path as a compulsory part of their subject curriculum should contact CSU Library for more information

Lyndacom resources can now be found through Primo Search as well as on the Libraryrsquos database pages under Videos amp Multimedia or the alphabetical listings

The number of licences for Lyndacom is limited so if you do recommend Lyndacom to a large student cohort please help us manage the number of potential students by completing this short survey

7

Integration Platform The Integration Platform project is designed to support the Major Business Systems Renewals strategy Integration was identified as a key component from a foundational perspective The project aims to deliver an Integration platform which is fit for purpose and more cost effective than the current solution CSU have selected the Dell Boomi product which provides the option for cloud hosting and is regarded as a leading product in the field by Gartner

Below are some benefits of the project bull Reduced time to release integration services ndash more rapid project delivery reducing costs associated with integration on projects (in the order of 50 expected based on the results of the Proof of Concept) bull Decrease in licensing for the current webMethods integration platform realised in 2019 There will be a saving in upgrade costs for webMethods of $40K with further savings in reduced maintenance bull Efficiency improvements through the use of off the shelf integrations connectors for most of the major corporate systems available in the market bull Delivery of integration services required by the new Customer Relationship Management back office HR and Finance Systems bull Maintenance productivity increases for DIT maintenance and related systems officers bull Improved agility delivery and management of integration services via the API (Application Programming Interface) platform This allows for clearly defined methods of communication between software components bull Improved management and support of the integration platform when running in the cloud bull Reduced costs as the solution will only scale as required to support ldquopeakrdquo periods bull Ease of use of the platform will enable internal staff to be trained more efficiently and will lead to the reduction of the use of specialist staff

Information Security CSU Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme

CSU is now required to report data breaches that involve the disclosure of individualsrsquo private information to the Australian Information Commissioner An lsquoeligiblersquo data breach means there has been unauthorised access unauthorised disclosure or loss of personal information

DIT in partnership with the CSU Privacy Officer and the Data Security and Governance Committee has developed a response plan to ensure preparedness in the case of a suspected or actual data breach

If you know or suspect a data breach may have occurred it must be reported to the IT Service Desk as soon as possible

Visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for more information on the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme

Password Security

Despite advances in computer authentication technologies passwords are still by far the most common way to log into computers and web pages Weak passwords can be easily compromised

With the introduction of the CSU Password Procedure DIT is working to improve the security of CSU passwords by removing restrictions on length and improving the security of password resets account expiry and account lockout

If you have trouble remembering your passwords consider using a password manager such as dashlane or LastPass Alternatively use the password manager built into common web browsers such as Chrome and Firefox Never save passwords on public or shared computers

For more information on IT security at CSU visit the Information Security web page or contact itsecuritycsueduau

THANK YOU FOR READING wwwcsueduaudivisionditnews-and-eventsnewsletter Email feedback to ditnewslettercsueduau

8