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Information Technology's Projects and Initiatives

It is the policy of the University to ensure that effective and efficient project management exists and that adequate controls are included when acquiring, developing and implementing information systems that include technology components.

Whether the objective is to acquire/develop a new system or service or to maintain/modify an existing one, the university requires all employees to comply with state requirements and university policies and standards for management of information technology projects.

University departments are required to contact Information Technology and complete the Project Initiation Questionnaire (PIQ) prior to soliciting acquisition or development of technology solutions.

Information about our current projects and initiatives is listed below.

Electronic Collaboration Environment

Information Technology, in partnership with Libraries and Educational Technologies and the Center for Instructional Technology will establish a new collaboration environment for the university and support those who pioneer its use. Microsoft’s Lync and SharePoint services will meet our objectives for JMU and provide faculty and staff with the level of collaboration tools soon to be available to students through the Office 365 platform (the sucessor to Live@edu). With instant messaging, chat, audio/video conferencing, calendar and document sharing capabilities, the new collaboration tools will tightly integrate with Microsoft's Exchange/Outlook and Office products and enable a richer experience surrounding instruction, advising and student support.

Microsoft Lync

Microsoft Lync 2010 provides a single interface uniting commmunication and collaboration through Instant Messaging, presence, group chat, audio visual web conferencing, desktop sharing and more. In the fall of 2011, Informaton Technology began deploying Microsoft Lync for faculty and staff use. Installation for use on faculty and staff JMU-owned Windows and Mac computers, documentation, Self-Help and FAQs are all available and can be found by visiting www.jmu.edu/computing/lync.

Internet Explorer 9

As of January 3, 2012, JMU Information Technology is officially supporting Internet Explorer 9 (IE 9). Between now and June 30, faculty and staff may request either Internet Explorer 8 or 9 be installed when they have a Windows desktop or laptop computer setup. Beginning July 1, IE 9 will be the default installation on faculty/staff computers. IE 9 will be installed in all general computer labs and technology classrooms for the fall, 2012 semester. Users of managed computers (part of the JMUAD domain) may upgrade to IE 9 via Control Panel/Run Advertised Programs.

As of January 3, 2012, Information Technology is officially supporting OS X 10.7 (Lion) for Macintosh. JMU has not purchased a university-wide license for Lion, however, Information Technology will purchase upgrades in quantity to make the OS available to departments for $14.99 per copy.

To request a Lion installation, fill out the "Setup and Installation Request for JMU-owned Computers, Printers, and Mobile Devices" form located here:

http://www.jmu.edu/computing/forms

After authenticating, under option 2, select "New software on JMU-owned computer"

Our staff will contact you regarding scheduling and to get department org code information to recover the cost of the license(s).

*Please note* As with all operating system installations we perform, our Lion installation reimages the Macintosh's hard drive. All applications and data need to be reloaded after imaging is complete. We work with customers to ensure the process flows smoothly, but it is the customer's responsibility to ensure critical data is backed up. Also, before upgrading, be aware that PowerPC (PPC) applications will no longer run under LionSystem Profiler can show which applications on a given machine are PPC apps, so you can make a better-informed decision about whether to upgrade.

Information Technology is implementing  tools to enhance our ability to patch security vulnerabilities in a variety of software in use across the university. This enhanced patching will be implemented on faculty/staff Windows computers that are part of the JMUAD domain.

Wireless Master Plan to Provide Ubiquitous Wireless Service to Campus

The demand for ubiquitous wireless access continues to rise. Information Technology will develop a plan to expand access over a three to four year period to reach full, seamless coverage in all campus locations. The plan will include a cost estimate and an approach to any major barriers that need to be resolved.