FY2021 Annual Report
Letter from Chief Information Officer, Rick Burnette
During the past year, ITS has been challenged to address the changing technology landscape to address needs that were not imagined even two years ago. We have been agile, innovative and flexible in delivering technology and services to the Florida State University community. I claim no ownership of these accomplishments but am proud of what we have accomplished since I became the interim chief information officer.
While the COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges, it also showed that ITS is a strategic partner who is poised to guide FSU through digital transformations. We insured a safe and technologically advanced return to face-to-face instruction by equipping classrooms for hybrid learning. We created a campus-wide contact tracing app in less than two weeks. We developed an award-winning disaster recovery and business continuity program. We even completed technical installations in an FSU study center halfway around the globe amid a pandemic.
Time and time again, we were put to the test. And time and time again, we rose to the occasion. We at ITS have sought to share membership in the broader “We” of FSU to solve these problems.
ITS powered through the changes and challenges of the past year to provide the FSU community with the technology and tools they needed to keep pressing forward themselves.
This falls in line with our new mantra: Empowerment through Technology.
We are not stopping as we are continuously looking for ways to work with campus partners to improve the IT landscape at FSU. Our internship program is growing in size and creating opportunities for our students while building the next generation of cybersecurity and application experts. The Research Computing Center has pivoted to engage more scholars in cutting-edge research. Our customer relationship management system is enabling university departments to connect with students in new ways. We are facilitating conversations about diversity and inclusion to better understand and relate with our colleagues. And as a result, the work of ITS is being recognized with national awards and recognitions.
The demand for tech talent has never been as high as it is now, and ITS is built on the strength of its employees and their relationships with each other and the rest of campus. This year's annual report is full of stories that highlight how ITS has overcome challenges and delivered technology solutions that reach far beyond campus borders.
We have much more planned for the coming year as we strengthen our commitment to campus partnerships. If you have ideas of how we can continue to meet the needs of our students, researchers, faculty and staff, please let us know.
Richard R. Burnette III, PhD
Associate Provost and Interim Chief Information Officer
Information Technology Services
Student Success
NameCoach promotes diversity and inclusion at FSU
Say my name, say my name ... correctly, please. Having your name mispronounced—or mispronouncing someone's name—can be an embarrassing and frustrating experience. To help preclude this situation, ITS partnered with the Division of Student Affairs during the Fall 2020 semester to launch NameCoach. NameCoach is a tool that records and stores audio name pronunciations in frequently used FSU systems. Students can record their name pronunciation once and sync it with major FSU systems, including Canvas and myFSU Portal. NameCoach makes introductions and first impressions go smoothly, from helping new students feel like they belong during roll call to improving rapport with alumni and donors on fundraising calls. Since it launched, 2,827 names have been recorded in NameCoach. The tool supports diversity and inclusion at FSU by ensuring the correct pronunciation of student names—the first time, every time.
ITS intern reflects on internship experience
ITS supports student success through their involvement with the InternFSU program and other internship opportunities. Interning with ITS was more than just a part-time gig. The office culture, both virtual and in-person, provided plentiful opportunities for networking and mentorship, and the guidance given by ITS management created a comfortable and productive learning environment. As the Summer 2021 writing and editing intern, I would highly recommend any position with ITS. The professional development and technical skills I learned throughout this opportunity laid a foundation for my future career, and it was a very worthwhile investment. Written by Hannah Hull, ITS writing and editing intern
Virtual orientation module delivers authentic FSU experience
COVID-19 caused many institutions to pivot plans. Suddenly, the long-standing college campus tradition of in-person orientation became an unachievable event. FSU adapted by creating a personalized, virtual orientation experience designed to fit the needs of both undergraduate first-year and transfer students. ITS worked hand-in-hand with the Division of Student Affairs and New Student & Family Programs to make the online orientation easily accessible through myFSU Portal. FSU tracked student completion of the module and orientation session, then automatically lifted the hold from the student's account to allow immediate registration for courses. The orientation module and its seamless integration with myFSU Portal gave students an authentic, albeit virtual, introduction to their future at FSU. "Even through a screen … Hearing both faculty and students talk about all the resources available to me and all the people ready and eager to help me thrive here was so heartwarming," reflects Jordyn Dees, an FSU sophomore majoring in editing, writing and media. "I didn't need to physically be on campus to feel like I already had a home here."
Automation of student forms increases efficiency and student success
Trees around the world can breathe a sigh of relief. As part of a multi-year effort, ITS has delivered 16 new automated forms and workflows to support student success at FSU. These forms digitized everything from undergraduate program and plan change requests and summer requirement waivers to student tax transcripts and income verification. To date, more than 20,000 forms have been submitted by 15,000 students and delegates. Recently, the use of electronic forms saw a growth of over 37%. Highlights of a few of these forms include the Student Statement of Non-Filing, which streamlines the verification process if a student's federal aid is selected to be audited by the Department of Education. About two thousand students each year are selected to be audited, so this automated form available through myFSU Portal minimizes confusion and maximizes efficiency. The form with the most significant increase in adoption at year-end was the Parent Tax Information form. This form provides parents a secure place to upload tax documents for tuition and scholarship purposes. These new, online forms immediately streamlined business processes across the university. All forms allow for the secure uploading of documents, and electronic routing provides real-time notifications. Ultimately, the automated forms will significantly improve data accuracy and increase efficiencies for students and staff.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you for listening, hearing us and making this happen. We are beyond appreciative to each of you."
ITS introduces a TechList for new and returning students
As students returned to school in the Fall 2020 semester, it was unlike anything they had ever experienced before in their lives. Wearing masks everywhere they went, limited access to campus services and remote classes. New and returning students were aware that they were going to become extremely reliant on technology. This development inspired ITS to create the New Nole TechList, an online webpage that included tips, tricks and FAQs about all things technology on campus. The TechList provided students access to links about installing Microsoft 365, accessing their myFSU email account and connecting to FSU Wi-Fi networks. Similarly, there were tips on navigating myFSU Portal, setting up 2-factor authentication and joining Zoom meetings. Simple tips like these helped familiarize new students with information that initially could have appeared very overwhelming.
$1,193
IT spending per student
$4.165
million Student Technology Fee dollars distributed in 2020/2021 award cycle
2,255,460
course registrations processed by myFSU Student Central system
172,003
virtual computer lab applications launched
250
FSU classrooms supported by ITS
Research
Sliger Data Center renovation
Servers require a lot of maintenance. Recognizing this need, ITS undertook a major project to renovate the Sliger Data Center to help university researchers and departments manage the logistics of data hosting. The renovation, which started in July 2020, addressed long-term infrastructure resilience needs for the data center. As part of the renovations, a chiller unit and two air handlers were replaced to reinforce and increase cooling for all the computing equipment, which can produce a lot of heat. ITS also installed a second power feed to the data center with a new automatic transfer switch and additional power capacity to support the university’s anticipated growth of research computing. Renovations were completed in the nick of time as Florida entered the height of the 2021 hurricane season. “Congratulations on a timely completion of Sliger renovations! Thank you for keeping our servers safe and secure,” wrote Dina Vyortkina, director of the Office of Information and Instructional Technologies in the College of Education.
RCC revitalizes governance council
Over the last year, ITS made strides to provide enhanced support for university researchers. The Research Technology Executive Committee and Management Board were revitalized in FY2021. The committee serves as the chief advisory board for research technology at FSU. It includes members from across the university, with representatives from the Office of Research, Information Technology Services and several colleges and academic units. Operating under the executive committee, the management board provides strategic direction and direct support to the Research Computing Center for capacity planning and technology enhancements. Moving forward, the executive committee and management board will govern decisions on service charges, storage requests, software licenses and reporting. The governing body will also guide decisions related to user interfaces and incentivizing researchers.
RCC researcher Allison Wing receives NASA award
Allison Wing, an assistant professor of meteorology in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science at FSU, recently received funding from NASA to research tropical cyclone development. The NASA New Investigator Award in Earth Sciences supports the work of early-career scientists and funds innovative research initiatives. Dr. Wing and her team create and analyze computer simulations of tropical clouds, hurricanes and atmospheric processes to better understand how hurricanes form. However, simulating a hurricane requires a lot of computing power, so Dr. Wing uses the Research Computing Center's HPC cluster to model these storms. "By providing a computing resource that makes it possible to do these types of simulations, RCC enables our work," says Dr. Wing. The NASA award seeks to use satellite data observations to form a viewpoint of how these clouds interact and how cloud-radiation interactions contribute to the formation of tropical cyclones. Ultimately, Dr. Wing's research aims to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts and the prediction of extreme weather events in order to enhance storm preparations.
"Without the RCC right now, or without equivalent support, I would not have been able to do my research which had helped me get an NSF grant, an NIH grant and a corporate grant. [The RCC] has been critical to everything I have done here in the past six years."
High performance computing cluster supports research across FSU
When you're on the cusp of a research breakthrough on predicting and mitigating wildfire spread, the last thing you want to worry about is running out of RAM or installing software updates. The ITS Research Computing Center's high performance computing (HPC) cluster provides FSU researchers with the latest generation of processors to support long-running and memory-intensive computations, consisting of 808 compute nodes and 17,144 compute cores. The supercomputer is managed by ITS staff, enabling FSU researchers to focus on what they do best. In FY2021, 2,371,814 jobs were submitted to the HPC, resulting in 49,740,192 central processing unit (CPU) hours. The Research Computing Center saw spikes in account signups and jobs submitted at the beginning of the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, with a total of 173 new account signups in FY2021.
414.99
teraflops of peak performance
29
million CPU hours delivered by Research Computing Center
850
high performance computing users
Infrastructure
FSU disaster recovery moves to the cloud
How would a hurricane, cyberattack or other disaster affect the technology that supports the university? Florida State University's IT disaster recovery plan helps ensure the university can resume normal business as quickly and completely as possible in the event of a natural or manmade disaster. In 2020, ITS transitioned the university's disaster recovery solution from a physical hosting site in Atlanta to the cloud. The new solution, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), provides FSU with a more robust disaster recovery environment that promises faster recovery times, less manual prep time and the ability to support production-level workloads for critical FSU enterprise IT systems. This means that during a disaster, you can expect full functionality of university systems—including payroll processing, disbursing financial aid, registering for classes and attending online courses. Additionally, the new, cloud-based service can easily scale to meet the university's growing needs. With the university's disaster recovery plan in place, you can sleep easy at night knowing FSU is capable of getting back to business quickly and confidently.
ITS standardizes VPN service for remote access to FSU network
During the university transition to remote operations in 2020, ITS implemented several virtual private network (VPN) solutions to meet the overwhelming need for remote network access. The VPN provides a secure connection with the FSU network from anywhere with internet service. Once operations evened out, the FSU Technology Architecture Committee proposed that ITS should offer a single VPN for long-term use. The committee, a group of 23 IT leaders from across the university, examined the available VPN solutions and selected Cisco AnyConnect as the best VPN option for FSU. Additional capacity was added to the Cisco AnyConnect VPN to accommodate more users and is now the sole VPN offered through FSU.
University email accounts centralized in Office 365
In Spring 2019, ITS started a multi-year project to centralize university email systems in Office 365. At the time, 34 departments across FSU were using an email system separate from Office 365. ITS coordinated discussions with these departments to understand their email requirements and find ways to align ITS-supported email services with departments' specialized needs. These needs ranged from administration and security purposes to specific requirements for distribution lists and mail forwarding. After analysis, ITS decommissioned ten email systems, and 22 email systems representing over 3,000 users were identified and scheduled for migration to the university's central Office 365 email system. By working to understand and accommodate departments' unique needs across FSU, including the College of Engineering, College of Medicine and WFSU, ITS delivered a customized solution that concurrently streamlined and unified the university's email infrastructure.
VoIP upgrade increases reliability of FSU phone and voicemail system
In Spring 2021, the university's enterprise phone and voicemail systems, known as VoIP, received a major upgrade that provided a more robust and resilient system. The upgrade impacted all campus phones and voicemails at the Tallahassee, Panama City and Coastal Marine Lab campuses. Significant benefits of the upgrade were to provide enhanced security measures, an updated voicemail system and a new, secure method for remote softphone users. Also, the upgrade provided better ways of securing multiple paths of communication and redundancy in the various data centers and brought secure integration with Office 365. The upgrade was conducted mainly behind the scenes over the past year, and the timing of upgrading the servers was crucial to have the least possible impact on the campuses. Information Technology Services worked with University Communications to get the word out about the changes and coordinated with the FSU Police Department to have extra officers patrolling campus during the upgrade of the blue light emergency phones. The upgrade went smoothly at all campuses, and, at completion, 8,000 university phones received new software with security and performance updates that will be updated on a bi-yearly schedule.
1.9
million authenticated sign-ins to FSU systems
555,000
Active Directory user accounts
5,973
Wi-Fi access points across FSU campuses
NWRDC and FLVC Annual Reports
Want to hear about the latest accomplishments of the Northwest Regional Data Center and Florida Virtual Campus? View their annual reports:
Security
ITS receives CSO50 award for cybersecurity efforts
Hard work pays off. In Spring 2021, ITS was recognized for our work on the Seminole Secure business impact and disaster recovery program. FSU was one of two universities nationwide to receive the CSO50 award, a recognition by cybersecurity publishing company CSO. "This year's class of CSO50 winners represent an elite group of risk and security thought leaders, and we are pleased to give them the recognition they deserve," stated Amy Bennett, executive editor of CSO. Seminole Secure was created out of necessity when it came to the university's attention that many university units did not have a disaster recovery plan. To fill this gap, ITS worked with the FSU Emergency Management division to develop Seminole Secure, a guided program university units can use to build a business impact analysis and IT disaster recovery plan, perform periodic risk assessments, complete monthly vulnerability scans of department systems and devices and maintain a continuity of operations plan (COOP). The Seminole Secure team identified 54 university units providing vital services to guide through the program. While the type of disaster may vary, the end goal is the same—Seminole Secure will enable essential university business functions and services to continue to support the FSU community during a disaster.
2-factor authentication significantly reduces compromised accounts
When ITS added 2-factor authentication (2FA) to all FSU single sign-on systems and Office 365 applications in October 2020, Duo Mobile quickly became a household name. 2FA gives individuals an extra layer of security designed to prevent unauthorized access to their accounts. Upon signing in, individuals are asked to verify their identity twice—once with their password and once with a mobile device using the Duo Mobile app. 2FA existed at FSU for years but was in place only on select pages within FSU systems. Students, faculty, staff and retirees now encounter 2FA and Duo Mobile whenever they access myFSU Portal, Canvas, university email and several other applications. Since implementing 2FA, FSU has seen a 96% decrease in compromised accounts. In 2020, 6,927 accounts were compromised at FSU. In 2021, that number is projected to be fewer than 300. "2FA works," states chief information security officer Bill Hunkapiller. "FSU accounts are more secure than ever, and the numbers prove it."
Stop the Spread cybersecurity campaign sets participation record
Cover your password. Disinfect your devices. Mask your identity. These were some of the tips provided as part of the annual ITS Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign. The Stop the Spread campaign encouraged the FSU community to practice healthy online habits and stay safe in today's virtual world. The past year brought the importance of cybersecurity to the forefront as people everywhere headed home for remote school and work. Suddenly, the security of home networks and devices became paramount. Our 2020 Stop the Spread campaign focused on current events to encourage healthy habits to stop the spread of cybercrime. The focal point of the month was the Seminole Safe exam, an online quiz that tested participants' knowledge of healthy online practices. A record number of 5,733 people completed the exam for a chance to win one of two $500 FSU scholarships or an iPad. The average score on the Seminole Safe Exam was 73%, with the most missed question focused on Zoom security. Virtual cybersecurity training sessions were also held throughout the month and explored topics ranging from Zoom security to phishing.
"Ensuring everyone in the FSU community is regularly monitoring their cybersecurity online is more crucial than ever."
Cybersecurity study identifies need for more cybersecurity advocacy and training
"We think we're safe until we're not." In Fall 2020, ITS conducted research to explore the university community's thoughts on cybersecurity at FSU. We found a need to elevate the cybersecurity mindset at FSU and better educate the university community on the shared responsibility of cybersecurity. The study gathered feedback from 34 students, faculty and staff via virtual focus groups and interviews. Participants recommended more cybersecurity training and education, targeted communication campaigns and the need for university leadership to champion and encourage a unified effort to uphold cybersecurity. In the words of one participant, "The more people that we have in leadership roles willing to devote time and resources, the more that trickles down and shows this is something that's important." While cybersecurity has been a hot topic for years, the sudden and worldwide shift to virtual operations pushed the matter into the limelight like never before in 2020. Now, more than ever, ITS must look for ways to elevate cybersecurity awareness and habits at FSU.
3.68
million malicious attacks blocked through email filtering
96%
decrease in compromised accounts since the implementation of 2-factor authentication
93%
completion rate for faculty and staff cybersecurity training
4.3
petabytes of data protected by ITS enterprise storage
Security
ITS expands virtual computer lab service
myFSUVLab is one of many free services ITS offers to the university community. The virtual computer lab provides students, faculty and staff the opportunity to access premier programs anywhere, anytime. While the virtual lab features over 30 unique software titles, during the 2020-2021 school year, ITS partnered with various campus departments to provide additional remote access to departmental systems and applications through myFSUVLab. By expanding partnerships, ITS increased the number of virtual computer lab logins to 33,436 while also incorporating new software essential in different departments. For example, a partnership with the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy supplied virtual access to dedicated geographic information system (GIS) applications and resources. Similarly, around 200 lab computers in the College of Business and College of Education were remotely supported for students through myFSUVLab. This allowed students who were remote due to COVID-19 to access the same resources as their in-person peers. Another new addition to the virtual lab, the FSU Young Scholars Program invited high school students to attend a virtual summer camp through the biology department. These programs showed the multifunctionality of myFSUVLab in a COVID-19 world.
OnBase provides electronic storage for university documents
Digital clutter is real. Thankfully, ITS launched a new document management platform called OnBase to help. OnBase allows departments to manage content efficiently by creating a central electronic location for storing university documents, enabling multiple users to share instant access to up-to-date files. With OnBase, departments can access the exact document they need when they need it. In addition, OnBase helps minimize risk and support compliance by securely storing, protecting and destroying information per industry regulations. OnBase saves time, increases productivity and improves data accuracy by automating tasks that were manual in the old system. Since OnBase launched in August 2020, 11 departments have used the system to store more than 14 million documents.
Device backup safeguards university files from system crashes and ransomware
If your computer crashed today, what would you lose? Backing up work and research files is an essential task, and a new device backup service provided by ITS makes protecting files easier than ever. The university's device backup service launched in Fall 2020 to provide a worry-free, cloud-based storage solution that automatically backs up files and data each time a device connects to the internet. During the pandemic, the service was critical for ensuring the safe storage of important university data while people worked remotely from all over the globe. The service also plays a vital role in the fight against cybercrime; having a reliable device backup system in place can nullify the effects of a ransomware attack, saving the university hundreds, if not thousands, of hours and dollars.
"Marketing Cloud allows us to [be efficient] in ways that none of our other systems ever did in the past."
Marketing Cloud enhances communications at FSU
Here's something to talk about … ITS launched a new communication and engagement tool, Marketing Cloud, to make communicating with the FSU community more manageable and calculable. The new tool replaced the legacy Blackboard Connect mass email system and brought a host of new features and functionality. New features include email personalization, automated journeys for advanced marketing campaigns and better analytics to track open rates, click-throughs and overall success of messages. Since Marketing Cloud launched in July 2020, a total of 1,315 university messages have been sent, averaging an open rate of 35.5% and a click rate of 7.6%. ITS continues to maintain the system and fulfill requests for mass emails from departments across campus, but more university departments want to get on board. ITS has onboarded and created accounts for the Division of Student Affairs, Center for Global Engagement, Housing, College of Business and New Student and Family Programs. Ultimately, Marketing Cloud will give FSU departments the ability to control and customize communications with their audiences like never before.
488
million Zoom meeting minutes
17,097
hours of online training streamed from LinkedIn Learning
1,315
Marketing Cloud emails sent
230,100
myFSU Mobile app visitors
398
terabytes of files stored on FSU OneDrive
Efficiencies
New CRM system improves customer service experience across FSU
ITS launched a new customer relationship management (CRM) system for FSU in Fall 2020. Powered by Salesforce Service Cloud, the new system upgraded the existing myFSU Service Center case management system to a modern, cloud-based customer service and support application. The user-friendly system was designed with the customer in mind. The new system features a mobile-friendly webform with simplified dropdown menus for submitting cases and a self-help knowledge base where users can search for support articles. The system also provides an enhanced dashboard of case metrics and collaboration tools for agents and automatically differentiates between service requests and incidents to quickly route cases and better serve the FSU community. Since launching in October 2020, 105,860 service requests have been created in the new myFSU Service Center, of which 94% have been resolved. The new system was built over nine months and incorporated feedback from groups across FSU. To date, 39 departments are using the system and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
New major incident process expedites service restoration
Major incidents occur when a campus-wide, business-critical service becomes unavailable and can severely interrupt university operations. To help alleviate the impact of such occurrences, ITS launched a new major incident process in June of 2021. The new process provides a structured framework that enables ITS to respond quickly to major incidents. The process also designated a new major incident manager role to orchestrate the timely resolution of incidents. The major incident manager assesses each incident as it is reported and declares major incidents based on the ITS service incident priority model. If a major incident is declared, the major incident manager sends an alert requesting all ITS service owners and service offering managers to convene on a Microsoft Teams call. The all-hands-on-deck approach is a collaborative, team response to synchronize efforts and expedite service restoration in critical situations.
FSU introduces The Work Number verification process
ITS partnered with the Office of Human Resources to launch The Work Number database during the Spring 2021 semester. The Work Number is the official employment and income verification tool at FSU. It is most helpful in cases of employees applying for credit, leasing and renting, financing a purchase or applying for government programs. Using The Work Number, FSU employees have a quick and easy way of sharing their employment and income information with any company they need. Since employment data and income information are highly sensitive, the Human Resources and Development team went through the necessary design, building and testing of the third-party vendor to guarantee the security of the shared data before the service launched in February 2021. The database is available 24/7, which means employees do not have to wait to submit important information and can complete an application or close a deal at any given time.
"[Salesforce] has helped with effective communication and avoiding duplication of effort to resolve issues. We look forward to further developments with the myFSU Service Center and other Salesforce offerings from ITS."
ITS named PeopleSoft Innovator
ITS recently was recognized for our industry-leading work in system automations and was named a PeopleSoft Innovator. A university as complex as FSU requires highly customized enterprise systems—and our student information, human resources and finance systems are no exception. ITS made use of PeopleSoft deployment packages to help make system upgrades as efficient and error-free as possible. By configuring the deployment package scripts to add a multitude of custom FSU steps, ITS has taken what used to be a long, drawn-out process and fully automated it. Since implementation, the deployment packages have cut the time spent installing external PeopleSoft upgrades and patches by 50-70%. "The project was something we had been looking to do all along, and it was rewarding to finally get it done," says Ryan Lane, ITS ERP analyst IV and senior PeopleSoft administrator. By embracing available tools and finding ways to make them work for the unique needs of FSU, ITS has automated and streamlined application updates and patches, and in doing so, has received industry recognition for our innovative efforts.
Virtual lab provides solution for remote GIS courses
Geographic information systems (GIS) courses historically were designed with physical lab locations in mind. When COVID-19 hit and face-to-face instruction was impossible, the College of Social Sciences & Public Policy (COSSPP) needed to pivot to a remote solution. To do so, COSSPP contacted ITS for expertise and infrastructure. Creating the virtual environment for students to do spatial analysis work included improving hardware resources in the existing virtual computer lab, myFSUVLab. GIS software can be graphic and processor intensive, and ITS provided the extra resources to create the virtual GIS lab. Students, faculty and staff are now able to access GIS packages and the resources they need using myFSUVLab, regardless of their operating system or hardware, simply with an internet connection and web browser. The solution was so successful that the COSSPP is expanding the offering by purchasing another server to add nearly 50 more seats to the virtual environment. Suddenly, technology once deemed too expensive became a viable option for remote courses that do not offer access to brick-and-mortar computer labs.
Smart Onboarding system receives interface upgrades
A recent upgrade to the FSU Smart Onboarding system dramatically improved the portal's interface with a sleeker appearance and responsive pages that respond to fit the screen of different desktop and mobile devices. The Smart Onboarding system, the university's electronic onboarding portal, streamlines new hire paperwork and guides candidates through the entire hiring process. In addition to a new look, tools within the onboarding system were enhanced, allowing administrators to send on-demand emails to external recipients. Hiring reps can now effortlessly communicate within the onboarding system, making it easier to collaborate with applicants and colleagues. Another benefit of the upgrade is the creation of a single sign-on solution that makes it easier for individuals to keep track of their pending applications. In the past, applicants who applied to multiple positions had to create multiple logins. The upgrade enables applicants to use a single profile for various applications and allows previously employed FSU applicants to complete onboarding using their FSUID and password.
75
custom applications created for FSU departments and colleges
1,151
self-help FAQs created in ITS knowledge base
2,753
orders placed by students, faculty and staff for discounted software through the ITS Software Store
Collaborations
ITS outfits historic Italian palace with modern tech
Benvenuti to the Florence study center! The new study center, constructed in a fifteenth-century Italian palace, welcomed its first class of students for the Spring 2021 semester. Before opening its doors to students, figuring out how to outfit the historic Palazzo Bagnesi residence with modern classrooms and the latest technology was no small feat. To help with the task, FSU International Programs turned to ITS. International Programs is a member of the ITS Information Technology Administration Partnership Program (ITAPP), meaning ITS works hand-in-hand with them to help manage their IT resources. The goal of the renovation was to create a study center that melds history with modern amenities and technologies. "We wanted something special to mix in the Renaissance and Florence culture and still have students and faculty have the best experience," stated Lucia Cossari, former associate director of the FSU Florence program. Today, the completed study center includes student living space, culinary arts kitchen, multimedia lab, café, modern office space, technology-enhanced classrooms and conference rooms. Improved internet and Wi-Fi connections speeds are available throughout the palace, and the library, which serves as a hub of the building, boasts a large video wall for events. Thanks to this unique ITAPP partnership, ITS staff played an integral part in the Florence study center renovation and got to see our work reach around the world.
Research Computing Center pairs with FSU Libraries for virtual workshops
The Research Computing Center (RCC) paired with FSU Libraries for the 2020-2021 school year to provide students, faculty and staff free virtual workshops as part of the Data @ Your Desk series. During a global pandemic, virtual workshops were the safest and most effective way of teaching programs of interest to FSU students, faculty and staff. With that in mind, the first virtual workshop taught by the RCC and FSU Libraries was a two-part introduction to Linux seminar that taught attendees how to work with files within Linux and use popular Linux distributions and basic system administration concepts. Following the Linux sessions, the Data @ Your Desk classes covered topics such as high performance computing, Open OnDemand and Python, just to name a few. These RCC-themed workshops taught 66 attendees a variety of programs that will be useful in current and future careers. Ultimately, the RCC and FSU Libraries started an important partnership that will last for years to come.
ITS donates $200K of tech to Leon County Schools
"We scrambled, but we wanted to help our schools," recalls senior director of community technology services Ken Johnson. When Leon County Schools (LCS) placed an order for Chromebooks to help aide students with online learning, they didn't expect the shipment still to be backordered at the beginning of the Fall 2020 school year. Seeing an opportunity, ITS collected and distributed 450 computers and 310 monitors for K-12 students in need. ITS staff gathered already available devices in queue to be upgraded and pushed for faster upgrades so the existing devices could be sent out to LCS. In total, the value of the donated goods amounted to $200,000. Thanks to the efforts made by ITS staff, the computers and monitors were distributed to LCS just in time for the start of the fall semester.
"I want to tell you how much we appreciate everything you have done for us. We can't do our job without you..."
Diversity, equity and inclusion initiative drives conversation and growth in ITS
Throughout the last twelve months, ITS weathered many changes and challenges that brought out the best in our team and helped us grow closer. But we recognized there was still so much more to do. ITS launched a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiative in Spring 2021. The Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging for All track developed by LinkedIn Learning was selected to provide everyone with an opportunity to learn more about this important topic. Our team watched two videos each month from the track, then gathered in small groups for facilitated discussion and reflection of the topics. The discussions each month were an opportunity to engage in open conversation and more deeply connect with our colleagues and peers. As a group, we started by learning about unconscious bias and how to counter bias in our words and actions. We also explored how to communicate about culturally sensitive issues to drive more productive and meaningful conversations on diversity and how to transition from bystander to upstander and speak up for others' rights. Following the sessions, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee was formed to guide the diversity and inclusion strategic planning process for ITS. ITS will continue its DEI efforts with guidance from the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee in the year ahead. We each have the power to reactively and proactively affect change in our workplace and beyond, and this initiative remains a top priority for ITS.
202
live websites on central website content management system
131,740
ITS Service Desk support requests
$7,863
raised for Second Harvest of the Big Bend during annual ITS holiday charity drive
1,504
members of FSU community surveyed by ITS in FY2021
14
members of ITAPP program
COVID-19
Contact tracing app helps slow the spread of COVID-19 at FSU
In August 2020, with students about to return to campus for the first time in five months, ITS was tasked with the critical role of standing up the technology to support the university's contact tracing efforts. And we had two weeks to do it. Knowing the technology had to be right the first time, ITS worked hand in hand with the university SAFER team to develop an application that supports the entire contact tracing process, including receipt of positive test results, identification and monitoring of close contacts and notifying those in isolation or quarantine of when they can safely return to campus. This application played a critical role in slowing the spread of COVID-19 at FSU by alerting students, faculty and staff who may have been exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine and monitor their health for symptoms. "This project showcased what we can do together," remarked Dan Powell, ITS director of community engagement technologies.
FSU utilizes Microsoft Bookings for COVID-19 vaccine registrations
The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm in March 2020. Along with being a COVID-19 in-person test site, FSU also became a vaccine registration location. In collaboration with Microsoft, ITS made it easier than ever for students, faculty and staff to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in the first iteration of the university's vaccine registration process. Using Microsoft Bookings, FSU students, faculty, staff and members of the Tallahassee community were able to book their vaccine appointments seamlessly and effortlessly. The technology allowed members to pick a date and time that worked with their schedule and then book it from their mobile device. Once the vaccine appointment was confirmed, members received an email confirmation of their upcoming vaccine along with the ability to link the registration to their calendar. In the end, the inventive application of Microsoft Bookings showed another way technology could be used to solve real-world problems.
ITS preps classrooms for socially-distanced classes
After five months of remote operations, FSU geared up for a unique blend of in-person and virtual instruction for the Fall 2020 semester. University officials were concerned about a potential spike in COVID cases as students converged on campus. To ensure a safe return, ITS Technology Enhanced Classrooms worked alongside FSU Facilities throughout the summer to prep university classrooms for the return to campus. ITS helped install signage and technology resources and arrange classroom furniture to promote social distancing within classrooms. Disinfecting wipes were provided for individuals to sanitize desks, podiums and electronic equipment in classrooms. To support remote learners, ITS installed over 400 cameras in classrooms and trained faculty on how to use Zoom. ITS even played a cameo role in the Stay Healthy FSU video for COVID-19 classroom guidance. The return to campus would not have been possible without the dedicated, behind-the-scenes work of ITS and FSU Facilities.
"Salesforce has stood up to the test. Our colleagues are jealous of our ability to pivot quickly and prioritize via dashboards. It is really amazing what you have built into reality!"
Softphone support keeps university call centers operating during pandemic
Remote work for 13,000 university employees entails much more than opening up laptops on kitchen tables. For the university's five call centers (SAFER, ITS Service Desk, Office of Digital Learning and Academic Technologies, College of Medicine Primary Health, Enrollment Management), employees needed a way to field massive amounts of calls from afar. ITS met the challenge by configuring almost 600 softphones for departments and individuals across FSU. Softphones use a headset and microphone to make calls over the internet from a laptop, desktop or another device, making it easy to field business calls while working from home. Softphones do not require actual telephone hardware and can even make outgoing calls appear to come from a university number. Throughout the pandemic, ITS provided customer support for these softphones, fielding service requests and helping employees get back on their feet assisting the FSU community.
10,000
COVID-19 vaccine registrations through ITS-supported systems
85,955
COVID-19 daily wellness checks through Stay Healthy FSU app
5,900
guest devices connected to eduroam wireless network (roughly half the amount of a non-COVID year)
Financials
ITS manages an annual budget of more than $49 million to provide essential technology to Florida State University. Our budget directly supports the equipment and management of the technical resources necessary to advance university strategic initiatives. ITS is continuously working to establish and adopt a sustainable financial model to provide superior service to the FSU community.
FY2021 Expenses
| Salaries & Benefits | $29,831,744 |
| Software Expendable & Maintenance | $7,331,716 |
| Telecommunications & Network | $3,930,320 |
| Consulting & Professional Services | $3,536,482 |
| Hardware Maintenance & Supplies | $2,559,704 |
| Servers & Storage | $960,905 |
| General Operating | $773,620 |
| Other Capital Outlay | $343,172 |
| Facilities & Fleet Repairs/Maintenance | $247,113 |
| Travel & Training | $202,292 |
| TOTAL | $49,717,068 |
Year Ahead
Empowerment through technology
The past two years have made clear the power technology gives us to pivot in an ever-changing world. Through technology, we can assess, pivot and thrive, even in turbulent times. In 2022, ITS will use big data to drive personalized and customized experiences at FSU. We will further expand our involvement in the university's Health Data Sciences Initiative; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative; and related strategies. ITS will leverage location-aware technologies to provide pertinent data to students as they need it. And we will work with faculty to develop instructional technologies for online, hybrid and classroom learning in today's post-pandemic learning environment.
Strategic asset for university
Whether teaching class, conducting research or supporting student success, technology is the backbone of today's campus environment, and ITS is constantly seeking ways to support university operations and advancements. In 2022, ITS will expand the university's customer relationship management service to implement a strategy that tracks interactions across the university to create a holistic student view. This data can be used to create customized program plans and communications to increase student retention and engagement, further propelling FSU in national rankings. ITS will also seek out new ways to strategically reduce expenses and establish a sustainable financial model to improve efficiencies across the university. Finally, ITS looks toward the horizon at the expansion of data governance at FSU to ensure data-informed strategies in the year to come.
Harden network security and data ecosystem
The world of cybersecurity is an ever-changing ecosystem that requires constant vigilance. ITS will take strides to construct a network that will further reduce the risk of intruders accessing and exposing private data in the coming year. We will expand the technology used to monitor and remediate risks across the entire university network. A university-wide effort to extend disaster recovery abilities to units and applications beyond currently supported, mission-critical systems is underway. Another large-scale project to merge student and employee email systems into a single Office 365 environment will provide a more streamlined and secure email system for the entire university. These efforts and more will help FSU evolve and ultimately outmaneuver impending cyberthreats.
Improve researcher access to secure and stable computing
Research is a pillar of the university's mission. As such, it is our responsibility to provide researchers at FSU access to secure and stable computing. ITS will remove silos and barriers by creating a governed data environment to support all systems, research and analytics at FSU. We will pursue collaborations with national and international institutes—including the Health Data Sciences Initiative—to increase grant productivity. Finally, we will apply our expertise in research computing to help secure funding and maximize research grant dollars to further support research discoveries at FSU.
Credits
Writing
Megan Del Debbio | ITS
Emily Krna | ITS
Hannah Hull | ITS
Design
Derek Kooi | ITS
Photography
Bruce Palmer | University Communications
Bill Lax | University Communications
Katrina Lago | ITS
Samantha Klupchak | ITS
