Welcome back, everyone! Fordham IT sends you good wishes for a terrific semester. Fordham has a lot of new and exciting resources and services that will enhance your teaching and administrative work.
Summary of Updates
- Banner Upgrade, Friday, September 16 at 5:00 p.m. – Sunday, September 18 at 3:00 p.m.
- Fordham’s New Mobile App: Access My.Fordham with Fordham Mobile Go
- WebEx for online meetings, snow day classes, virtual office hours, and webinars
- Free Microsoft Office 365 for you
- Virtual desktops: Access your files and data 24/7
- Are you prepared for new online security efforts to keep you and our students safer?
- Technology Workshops and Trainings for September
- Faculty Technology Orientation Day: Links to resources shared at the August 30 event
- ITCC-X: Drop off your computer for repair and get tech help at ITCC’s new outpost, located in the McGinley lobby
1. Banner Upgrade
Self-Service Banner (SSB) and Internet Native Banner (INB) will undergo maintenance from Friday, September 16, from 6:00 p.m. to Sunday, September 18 at 3:00 p.m.
All systems and modules associated with Banner, including DegreeWorks, Workflow and Reporting, will be unavailable during this time.
The outage also includes student registration, class schedules, transcript requests, available courses, and online payments.
My.Fordham.edu, the University portal, and items that are accessed via the portal will be available, including claiming your AccessIT ID.
What are SSB and INB?
Self-Service Banner (SSB) is accessed via My.Fordham.edu. You use it to get information about pay stubs, taxes, grades, courses, and so on.
Internet Native Banner (INB) is the administrative interface for Banner, where work occurs that is related to alumni, finance, human resources, student and other administrative functions.
2. Fordham’s New Mobile App
Fordham Mobile Go, the University’s new app, gives you access to information you normally access via My.Fordham.edu. Also, get important notifications pushed to your device. The app is available to download from the Google Play store for Android and from the iTunes store for iPhones. Read more about the app.
Looking to access Blackboard via your mobile device? Download the Blackboard Learn app from your app store.
3. WebEx for online meetings
Our new application for virtual meetings launched this summer. Access it at Fordham.WebEx.com or at My.Fordham.edu, in your Faculty or Staff tab. To learn how to use WebEx, attend one of our trainings this month and see our user guides. Also, we will use WebEx for trainings and workshops on other resources, including ITAC’s new Webinar Wednesdays series. Read more about what you can do with WebEx on the Fordham IT website and Fordham IT News.
4. Microsoft Office 365 is FREE
Yes, free. All current faculty, staff, and students may download up to 5 copies of this essential tool to their personal computer. To access, look for the Microsoft Office 365 channel at My.Fordham under “My Apps” on the Employee, Faculty, or Student tab. To download, follow the link in the channel. Read more.
5. Virtual Desktops: Access Your Files and Data 24/7
A virtual desktop means having all your files and data available, anywhere, anytime. Access them at home, the Fordham libraries, the smart podium in every classroom–anywhere you have an Internet connection, including the beach. Read more about VDI on the Fordham IT website and at Fordham IT News.
6. Are You Prepared for the New Online Security Efforts?
Vulnerability Management The University Information Security Office (UISO) will be assessing all University-owned or operated computers for security vulnerabilities and remediating those vulnerabilities presenting the highest risk. Weekly assessments begin Thursday, September 15. The automated assessments will occur in the background overnight and not affect your ability to use your computer. You may receive a notice from your antivirus software in relation to the assessments. This is normal. If you do receive a notice, please contact ITCC and they will help you troubleshoot any issues that may arise. Remediations of vulnerabilities are scheduled to begin in early to mid-October. Please be aware, it may be necessary for the remediation process to reboot your computer during the overnight hours.
Data Loss Prevention with Identity Finder On Tuesday, September 20, the UISO will begin to deploy Identity Finder, a tool used to assess whether or not personally identifiable information (PII) has been stored in accordance with Fordham’s Data Classification Policy and Guidelines. We encourage you to run the tool on your machine and address any PII found. As a reminder, if you are a custodian of any sensitive data, you are responsible for the proper disposition of it. Please visit our website for more information about Identity Finder.
Online Security Training Our new UISO online security training course is live and aims to educate Fordham faculty and staff on how to protect themselves from cyber threats and attacks. The course, “UISO_Employees: UISO Security Training for Employees,” is located in Blackboard, under My Organizations. This video-based course replaces the previous online security course. For an overview, read this blog post.
7. Technology Workshops and Trainings for September
Current workshops from Faculty Technology Services Blackboard Bootcamp, Blackboard 2: Assignments and Assessments, Blackboard Grade Center, Google Apps for Teaching, and Creating Engaging Video. More details and sign up.
Current trainings from Technology Training and Development Services WebEx, Google Drive, New Employee Orientation and more. Get the details and sign up.
8. Faculty Technology Orientation Day Resources Available
Recently, the talented ITAC staff gave new and returning faculty an overview of Faculty Technology Service’s resources and support for teaching and research. Access the presentation and resources at our EdTech wiki.
9. ITCC-X Opens in McGinley Center Lobby
Our walk-in tech support at the McGinley Center just expanded to the building’s lobby. Drop off your computers and get technical assistance here, Monday-Friday, from 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. This location is temporary, but if we get enough traffic, we will make it permanent. Get IT Customer Care locations, contacts, and operating hours of our permanent walk-in and call centers. If you’d like to make an online tech help request, use the Tech Help tab at My.Fordham.edu.
