Responsibilities for
Computing Services

Draft: October 10, 2002

 

This paper is intended to document the way in which responsibilities for computing services are currently distributed between OIT and other units. It was produced by a OIT committee chaired by the CTO, and has been reviewed within OIT. OIT is asking for individuals and groups throughout the University to review it and provide feedback. While we would welcome feedback of any kind, we are primarily interested in knowing of areas where the responsibilities need to be adjusted.

Contents

Network Services

Network Architecture and Plant

OIT is responsible for all aspects of networking between buildings, as well as for routers and other equipment that connects a building into the campus network. While departments are responsible for many aspects of networking within the building, OIT is taking an increasing role there as well. OIT maintains building network maps showing cable locations, as well as a cable database. This information is complete for areas wired by RUNet 2000. Data is being collected in other areas as new projects are done. In order to keep this data current, and to build it in areas with legacy wiring, OIT needs to be involved in all wiring projects, for both voice and data.

Departments with networking needs should contact OIT, and work with the Project Management Team to develop a scope of work.

Departments are responsible for contacting the OIT Project Management Team (PM) for new networking projects, as well as for moves, adds, and changes to the existing cabling infrastructure. The Project Management Team should also be contacted for work at off-campus locations, where they will work with the building owners and/or management to ensure the occupant’s needs are met.

When contacted by a department, OIT assigns a member of the PM Team to coordinate the project. The PM Team works with the Network Plant Team (cable plant) and Network Architecture Team (network architecture and implementation), as well as the Telephone Services Group where required. OIT also consults with departments regarding using the network in areas outside normal computer data networking needs, such as integration of energy management and/or security into the network.

In new construction projects, OIT is an integral part of the building design team. Basic voice, data wiring and infrastructure equipment are usually included in the building budget. A Telecommunications budget will be assigned to the project. This budget will fund the purchase of voice, data and video electronics, as well as all OSP and ISP connectivity needs. The OIT NP and PM staff will work with Facilities and outside architectural firms to ensure that the telecommunications needs of the building are met and incorporated into the building design documents. The PM Team will coordinate the project teams to ensure that a new infrastructure is designed and installed to the University Telecommunications standards.

LAN Design and Operations

Overall design and operation of departmental networks is the responsibility of the department. This includes equipment maintenance and replacement for equipment attached to the network (e.g. workstations, servers, printers) as well as LAN equipment such as switches and hubs.

The OIT Network Switch Management Team (SM) will manage access layer equipment installed as part of the RUNet 2000 project, as well as equipment purchased and installed through the PM process. (see link) Some management responsibilities can be assumed by the department if they prefer. (Guidelines are currently under development)

Switches maintained by OIT must be covered by an annual support contract. This contract is currently paid by OIT for areas funded by the RUNet 2000 project. In other areas, funding must be supplied annually by the user department.

For switches maintained by OIT, there is no charge for switch configuration network adds, moves. However if wiring has to be added or changed, there will be a charge. Details concerning network wiring are covered by the previous section.

Network transition teams within the campus divisions are available to help departments with LAN design and operation. As part of the process of moving from the legacy network to the new RUNet 2000 backbone, this group focuses on assessing department servers, usage patterns, software, etc, in order to determine the best way to configure and use the network and network-related departmental infrastructure such as servers, printers, etc. Depending upon the nature of a project, departments may work both with the Project Management Team for wiring and switches, and the Transition Teams to help with integrating the network with servers, hosts, and software.

Network Address Allocation and Hostnames Assignments

The OIT hostmaster manages allocating Rutgers domain space. Departments are responsible for making sure that hosts are properly registered, and that contact information for all networks and hosts are kept up to date. They may contact the OIT hostmaster to allocate network numbers, and to register or update host information. However departments are encouraged to use available OIT tools to manage their own name/address allocation within their networks.

Departments are encouraged to use DHCP to distribute addresses to individual systems. While departments can manage their own DHCP service, OIT can supply this service. Because the OIT DHCP service is integrated with the hostmaster address allocation process, in many situations the OIT service will be easier to use.

Wireless Networking

OIT is working with groups such as the Libraries and academic planning groups to develop a university model for wireless, through pilot installations in a number of public areas. Wireless infrastructure in other areas is generally the responsibility of building occupants. However OIT can be contacted regarding options for extending the university wireless infrastructure to departmental facilities.

Departments should be aware that wireless technology is changing rapidly. This is true for all areas for technology. So all IT implementations need to take into account needs for life-cycle maintenance and technology upgrades. However wireless is unusual, because the basic standards are changing. In particular, standards for security and authentication are not yet complete. Thus any current implementations should be regarded as pilots. It may well be necessary to replace them within a few years, when standards are available that deal with all of the issues. It is unlikely that most equipment purchased now will be capable of being upgraded to meet the final standards.

Wireless technology raises a number of serious security issues. OIT is preparing standards for wireless network implementations. The standards will cover primarily security and authentication. Until these standards have been published, departments should consult with OIT before doing any wireless implementations.

Departments are also responsible for consulting with other departments in the same or nearby buildings, to make sure that wireless implementations in nearby departments do not interfere with each other. We encourage departments in the same building to do joint projects.

UCS has developed a recommended approach that deals with both security and management issues. Thus the preferred approach is to consult with OIT prior to installing and operating a wireless network.  OIT also provides contract services to install and operate wireless networks for departments who can’t or don’t want to manage such networks on their own.

Voice Services

Funding for telephones and other voice services is the responsibility of departments and other users. However work on the voice wiring and telephone systems may only be done by OIT and OIT-approved technicians. OIT is responsible for installation and operation of campus telephone systems, and for working with departments to specify and procure departmental systems, working with outside vendors as appropriate. OIT can help both with usage of the base-level Centrex system, and with evaluating, installing and operating PBX or other more advanced technology.

New Buildings – The OIT voice services group will work with the occupants and appropriate contractors to assess requirements for voice services, plan an appropriate implementation, and then work with the OIT Project Management Team, the general contractor and specialized voice vendors on installation and configuration.

For off-campus buildings, OIT will work with building management or other outside organizations as appropriate.

In undergraduate residence halls and some other areas, telephone service is provided by Student Telephone Services, a joint project of OIT and the Rutgers Housing Office. In graduate and family housing, telephone service is provided directly by Verizon.

Video

The campus video network, RU-TV, is a joint project of OIT and University relations. Between them they can handle a full range of video requirements, from arranging for a building to be wired for video to contracting for development of programming. Video wiring is done through OIT.

Residence Hall Support – In New Brunswick, RU-TV runs a video distribution system for residence halls, with 65 channels of commercial television and 2 channels for Rutgers-developed programming. Residence halls in Newark, Camden, and University Center in New Brunswick are wired by commercial cable TV providers. Residents deal directly with those providers.

Digital video – OIT (in N&C, NB future) and Media Services run streaming video servers, which can be used to make video available over the IP network. Creative Services can contract to develop programming for this digital technology, as well as conventional video. For those who wish to develop their own digital programming, OIT has audio and video editing facilities available through the Digital Media Lab in New Brunswick. While there is no Digital Media Lab in Camden, the TEC has facilities to help provide streaming video content for faculty.

Video Conferencing – Video conferencing is used in a number of areas within Rutgers, both internally and to support instruction and other activities outside of Rutgers. Continuous Education is the lead in this area, but there is also some expertise within both OIT and the Libraries. OIT is responsible for setting standards, and for making recommendations on the network infrastructure necessary to do video conferencing projects.

Continuous Education will make recommendations on the appropriate conferencing hardware and software. There are example sites in a number of areas which departmental staff can look at as models.

Network Access

Access – OIT has the primary responsibility for network access. This includes both access from Rutgers to the Internet and facilities to permit access from homes and other locations to Rutgers. OIT provides the following major services:

• Connection from the Rutgers network to the Internet, currently with two Internet feeds providing 185 Mbps total bandwidth.
• Connection to the high-speed Internet2 research backbone, currently with 155 Mbps bandwidth.
• University firewall to provide a controlled interface between Rutgers and the Internet. This protects Rutgers systems from a number of common security attacks.
• Network address translation (NAT) is available to University departments that choose to allow Internet access from networks that use private address space (IP addresses from a range that cannot otherwise access the Internet).
• Dialup access to the Rutgers network and the Internet is available to all faculty, staff and students, using modems located in Camden, New Brunswick, and Newark.
• VPN (Virtual Private Network) access. VPN technology supports users who need to access services that otherwise would not be permitted by the firewall. The VPN provides authenticated Internet access to University resources which are protected by the University firewall.

Residence Hall Networking

OIT operates networks in all residence halls except Corwin, Old Gibbons, 29 James St. and 77 Bleeker St. OIT works closely with Housing to facilitate students getting connected to the network when they move in. Highlights of this operation include documents to help students connect to the network, sales and installation of network interface cards in the Computer Store location in Records Hall and the Computer Repair location at 35 Berrue Circle, software for students to register on the network and enable their connections, and a multi-tier support group to provide help desk services and assistance with problems.

In addition, OIT monitors bandwidth usage on an ongoing basis, taking action to deal with students who use an unreasonable amount of bandwidth.

Residents are responsible for equipping their computer with an Ethernet card, providing an Ethernet cable, registering their computers using the provided online registration tools, abiding by the Rutgers Acceptable Use policy and other regulations of the residence hall networking project, and keeping their bandwidth usage within permissible limits.

Computer Systems

Departmental IT Planning

Departments are responsible for planning and implementing services within their departments, and deciding which services from OIT and other outside providers to use. All departments should have a IT plan. This plan should define goals, based on the department’s overall strategic planning, and establish specific approaches for meeting those goals. It is important for plans to take into account security, disaster planning, and the need for license compliance.

The OIT campus divisions provide planning assistance and consulting to help departments assess their computing needs and develop approaches to meet those needs. Individual services will be listed below, but for more complex projects it may be better to work with the campus divisions, who can identify appropriate services, and help departments coordinate them.

In general OIT staff are available to provide a limited degree of advice, planning help, and support for almost any IT-related issue. However if OIT staff are asked to do actual implementation (e.g. to install or operate a computer system, or develop software), it will be necessary to charge. It is also worth noting that there significant staffing limitations within OIT, so the amount of assistance that can be provided without charge is limited. It is possible to go somewhat further on a chargeable basis, because OIT has a separate set of aux staff, who are funded from charges.

Hardware Sales, Installation and Configuration

Departments are responsible for purchasing, installing and configuring computer equipment for their departments, in accordance with procedures established by University Procurement.

OIT operates a computer store, located in New Brunswick. The Computer Store offers aggressive pricing on many popular models and negotiates special bid pricing on selected systems and configurations with deliveries to all Rutgers campuses. Store staff can help potential purchasers assess what hardware and software are appropriate for their needs. The store can arrange shipment directly to the department, or orders can be held in secure storage until the purchaser is ready to receive the system. The base price includes delivery and for an additional charge, store staff can install and configure systems, basic software packages and remove packing materials. In addition, these systems can be further customized to meet clients’ special needs via upgrades by OIT Computer Repair. More complex installation and setup, particularly for servers, can be contracted through the campus divisions.

The Computer Store can make its secure storage available in situations other than purchases, e.g. when a department is moving and needs a temporary place to store equipment. It can also remove and reinstall equipment. Because the Store is self funding, there is a fee for these services.

Computer Repair

Departments are responsible for paying for maintenance of equipment, to the extent that it is not covered by warrantees.

The OIT Computer Repair group is an authorized repair agent for a number of major vendors. It can handle warrantee and (on a fee basis) non-warrantee repairs. In order to provide more local service, the Newark campus division also provide campus-based repair services for computer repair, installation, software support, network support and other areas. Camden generally does not provide this service but will direct users to local vendors in the area, they will do some basic installation of RAM or hard drives for a fee. Because Apple equipment has more specialized repair requirements, we recommend using the New Brunswick-based Computer Repair group for it. Shipment of equipment to and from other campuses can be arranged.

Systems Administration

Departments are responsible for administering systems which they have purchased or otherwise obtained. Systems administration includes installation, configuration, development or purchase and setup of applications and services, regular installation of software updates, diagnosis and troubleshooting, backups, disaster planning, and other tasks related to the ongoing operation of computer systems. In today’s climate, a good deal of the responsibility of systems administration relates to protecting systems against attack by hackers, and recovering from security breaches when they occur. It is important to make certain that every system connected to the Rutgers network has someone responsible for its administration, and that there is a security plan with proper staffing and other resources assigned to it.

OIT has a number of services to help.

Contract staff: The OIT campus divisions have staff available on a contract basis either to work within a department regularly, or to do specific projects such as installations, upgrades, security work, or development of applications.

Support for departmental staff: The various support services intended for departmental staff are listed below in the section on information and training. In addition to services from OIT, there are regular meetings and mailing lists that allow staff from departments to work together and help each other.

Operations: OIT can house and provide operations support for departmental services, on a contract basis.

Staffing

Departments are responsible for hiring staff as necessary to support the computer and networking equipment in their area.

The OIT HR group and the campus directors can help departments who are looking for staff. The HR group can help build an applicant pool, by using the results of the job fairs and advertising done by OIT, and can do preliminary screening. Campus directors and their senior staff are available to help formulate job descriptions and assess applicants.

Software

Departments are responsible for providing necessary software for all computer systems in their area, except where there are specific arrangements in place for software to be provided from other sources. Departments are responsible to make sure that all software on their systems is properly licensed, in compliance with University policy and copyright law. They should make certain that all staff and users understand their responsibilities under any licenses that apply.

OIT arranges for site licenses for many major software packages. Depending upon the package, software may be available to departments at no charge, or at discounted and/or subsidized prices. Before equipping a system, departments are advised to consult the software web page to see what software is recommended.

OIT will arrange site licenses for software that is of interest to several departments, where there significant cost savings available through a combined license. In most cases it will be necessary to pass the costs on to departments, but such combined purchases can still result in savings.

OIT also maintains a software mirror server ftp.rutgers.edu which houses over 1/2 terabytes of free software. The Microcomputer Support Services Group (Windows and Novell), the Open Systems Support group (Unix and Linux), and the Residence Networking staff all maintain collections of free and shareware software recommended for use by their user communities.

Training for desktop software is provided is provided by OIT, the campus Teaching and Excellence Centers, and the Libraries. OIT also provides trainng for certain more specialized software, operating systems, and security.

Common applications software is available in the public labs. This includes standard tools such as Office packages and graphics software, and discipline-specific software that has been requested by faculty. Faculty who want to make additional software available for use in courses should contact the local OIT campus division as early as possible. Depending upon the nature of the software, it may take significant time to arrange for licensing, and to make sure that the software runs in the lab environment.

Limited assistance in using standard software is provided by the help desks. In New Brunswick and Newark, the Teaching Excellence Center provides more in-depth assistance in the use of desktop software, particularly for academic departments.

In addition to help desk support for end users, second-level support is available for departmental computing staff. This focuses on software for servers and other items of interest primarily to computer support staff. OIT staff will help departmental staff with planning and solving problems, as well as pointing them to outside resources. OIT also runs training courses specifically for departmental computing staff, particularly for new operating systems or other major changes.

OIT also provides site licensed McAfee antivirus software free to faculty/students/staff.

Application Development and Support

OIT Administrative Computing Services has been given responsibility for a number of key University-wide applications. Other projects are the responsibility of departments. OIT strongly recommends that departments consult with OIT in the early stages when developing any project that will use or affect University-wide data, which might benefit by integration with applications maintained by OIT, or which will call for technology that is likely to have wider applicability within the University. Even when OIT does not have the resources to do the development, they can recommend approaches that will help in long-term integration of projects throughout the University.

NBCS has a consulting group that will develop applications for University departments, on a fee basis. Most of the applications they deal with are web-based, with an integrated Database. It is possible to contract with them to provide ongoing support for the application, as well as operations of the server on which the application runs.

For web projects where the primary focus is on artistic design, departments can contract with University Relations – Creative Services.

Departmental Labs

Departments are responsible for arranging all aspects of support for departmental labs. In many cases some elements can be funded from student fees. Allocation of student fees is handled at the campus level.

When departments are planning a lab, they should consult with OIT as early as possible. OIT networking staff can help assess bandwidth requirements, and recommend approaches to make sure that it is available. OIT staff can recommend approaches to establish a software environment that is as similar as possible to the OIT labs.

In other respects, departmental labs are handled on the same basis as other departmental facilities: OIT can provide consulting and advice, but OIT staff can do actual installation, upgrades, and operations only on a contract basis.

Accessibility

All units in the University are responsible under University policy and laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to make all of their services accessible to users with disabilities.

An ADA coordinator is available through the OIT Information Protection and Security Division for information about accessibility for computer services. This division can advise on regulations and on solutions commonly used at Rutgers. They also have access to resources from around the State, which in specific circumstances can include loaned hardware and software.

All units that are developing web-based services should be aware that accessibility is a particular concern for web applications, as well as other online services. The University has a policy statement on design of official web pages.

Security Services

Security is an increasing problem throughout the Internet. All systems need some attention to security because system compromise is likely. The OIT Information Protection and Security Division, as well as other parts of OIT, provides a variety of services to help departments improve security. These range from planning through dealing with problems. However the responsibility for taking action remains with the owner/administrator of each system.

Departmental Security Planning

Departments are responsible for the security of all computer systems and networks within their area, and for the integrity of information and services provided through them. This responsibility includes protecting systems from intentional compromise as well as providing for recovery from failures and disasters of various types.

We strongly urge all departments to have a security plan. Information Protection and Security Division has developed a standard process for security planning. It is documented on the web site RUSecure (http://rusecure.Rutgers.edu). Information Protection staff are available to help plan security needs and evaluate current IT security status.

While it is possible to spend significant time doing security planning and implementation, there are some things that can be done relatively quickly. Even following baseline standards which include implementing virus protection and making sure that staff is assigned to keep software up to date can produce worthwhile benefits.

OIT services are available on a fee basis to do various types of projects to improve information protection and security. OIT can take on system administration either as a whole, or do certain parts (e.g. backups) or one-time projects (e.g. system upgrades or reconfigurations needed to improve security).

Security Training

Information Protection can help departments arrange security training for staff. This includes both introductory security presentations for entire departments and more specialized training for technical staff. Some training is done at Rutgers. In other cases they will help you identify other sources of training and information.

Scanning

Information Protection staff regularly check all systems connected to the Rutgers network, looking for common vulnerabilities. These checks are done using automated software that connects over the network. Such automated checks cannot locate every security problem. However they have proven useful in locating systems that need attention. While some assistance is available to interpret the results of these checks, it is the responsibility of the department to reassess systems where problems are found, and bring them up to a proper level of security.

However OIT efforts alone are not enough. A departmental security plan should include ways to verify that major elements of the plan work. It is common for installation of new software versions or changes in system configuration to disable security precautions. It is particularly important for departments to check systems that are protected by firewalls, since the OIT automated checks often can’t reach those systems. It is also important to check firewalls periodically, to make sure that they are still having the intended effect.

Virus Protection

Virus protection is necessary to effectively operate computing equipment in today’s Internet environment. It is the responsibility of departments to make sure that its equipment has appropriate virus protection software, and that both the software and any virus definition files are kept up to date.

OIT has a site license for McAfee anti-virus software, and makes it available without charge to all faculty, staff and students Windows or Mac platforms. This license includes products for servers, and tools for automated updates and management of the anti-virus software. Consulting services are available to department administrators needing recommendations/information for server level antivirus software. OIT provides support for all users of anti-virus software via the antivirus_support@rutgers.edu mailing list

Firewalls

Most departments today need either a network-level firewall or firewall software on individual systems. It is the responsibility of departments to assess their security needs, and determine where a firewall will be necessary to meet the required level of security.

For situations where a network-based firewall is necessary, OIT has developed an approach for implementing them. The campus divisions can help departments evaluate and implement firewalls. Depending upon how much of the implementation is done by OIT, there may be a charge. (As in other areas, in general OIT staff will provide guidance to departmental staff without charge. However, OIT will charge if OIT staff are asked to do the project.)

In less complex situations, it may be appropriate to use host-based firewall software such as Zonealarm or TinyFirewall. OIT has arrangements to get Zonealarm firewall software at reduced cost for departmental systems. (It is free for personal use.)

University Firewall

OIT maintains a firewall between the Rutgers network and the Internet. This firewall protects systems at Rutgers from certain types of common attack. However it is not practical for a University-wide firewall to provide the same level of protection as a properly configured departmental firewall. Furthermore, a University firewall can’#t protect against spreading of damage from systems within the University that are compromised.

Incident Handling

The OIT Information Protection and Security Division monitors abuse@rutgers.edu email, as well as other sources of complaints regarding Rutgers’ systems. The IP staff forwards these reports to staff responsible for the systems involved. The most common types of report describe symptoms indicating that a system is compromised in some way. E.g. it may be sending email containing viruses, or programs may be running on it that are probing the security of other systems. Another class of reports involves abusive or harassing email or other contacts from users of the system.

It is the responsibility of departmental staff to deal with reports of problems with their systems. Typically doing so will involve assessing the situation and then upgrading software, disabling unnecessary services, improving system configuration, and even reinstalling the operating system if necessary.

IP staff can often provide advice or assistance to staff in handling incidents. IP also maintains regular contact with Law Enforcement agencies and University Counsel to help with policy and enforcement issues.

For situations that individual users can reasonably handle (e.g. virus contamination), the help desk is available to work with them.

Authentication

Departments are responsible for controlling access to their systems, to make sure that only authorized people are using University resources. In most cases this means that non-public resources are protected using passwords. Departments are responsible for implementing password protection, and for setting and enforcing the policies needed to maintain good password quality and to prevent unauthorized sharing of passwords.

Where departments provide services to a large segment of the Rutgers community, they may find it useful to use OIT accounts and passwords to control access. Most faculty, staff and students now have a OIT account/NetID. OIT maintains web-based tools by which users allocate a NetID and password, as well as tools for changing the password reviewing status of accounts, etc. Under appropriate circumstances, OIT can give departments access to NetIDs and passwords, using common protocols such as Radius, LDAP and Kerberos. However any department using a OIT password will need to meet basic security requirements, including use of SSL or equivalent technology to protect transmission of the password.

Common Computer Services

OIT maintains a number of central facilities which can be used by all faculty, staff and students. In many cases these services can also be used by departments to support their own internal operations. OIT is willing to do a certain amount of customization to help support departmental activities. E.g. OIT can provide web hosting using a “virtual hostname”, so that the web site appears to be on a departmental system. Email can also be set up using departmental email addresses.

OIT services are supported by a 24x7 operations staff. Those in New Brunswick are housed in areas with good air conditioning and generator backup. While no one can guarantee perfect reliability, OIT systems use a greater degree of redundancy than is normally practical in departments.

Many departments choose to operate their own facilities. In that case, OIT can provide limited assistance to the departmental staff that operate the facilities, particularly when departments use the same technology OIT uses.

Email

OIT maintains email systems, which are available to all faculty, staff and students. Arrangements can be made to provide mail service for departments using OIT facilities, with email addresses using departmental domain names. As part of the email service Web Mail is available at all campuses. Email OIT central systems is scanned for viruses.

If departments choose to operate their own email systems, they are responsible for following best practices. This includes protecting against use by spammers, and protecting against viruses.

Mailing Lists

OIT maintains mailing list systems which are available to the Rutgers community. The software used on these systems permits lists to be maintained by a list owner, with the ability for users to enroll themselves automatically if desired.

Lists can also be generated automatically from administrative information. For example, a list can be created that includes all faculty, staff and students who are members of a particular unit or enrolled in a particular course. This facility is limited to groups who are responsible for the specific set of people. E.g. deans can create lists of faculty or students in their college, etc.

Web Hosting

OIT maintains central web servers, which any department can use. These include software that allows web-based applications using databases, forms, etc. Departmental web sites hosted on OIT servers can use a departmental domain name. OIT can also host web pages and web-based applications for departments with more specialized requirements on a chargeable basis.

If departments choose to run their own web servers, they are responsible for security of the systems, as well as for maintaining privacy, data integrity, etc. Be aware that security-related bugs are very common for web servers are related software. Thus anyone operating a web server must allocate sufficient staff time to keep software up to date and deal with security issues. If there is any private data, the department is responsible for maintaining access controls, and for protecting the privacy of any passwords. If there is any confidential data on the site, or if the site uses OIT passwords, it will be necessary to use SSL or a similar technology.

File Storage

OIT provides file space on central servers for individuals and departments. This space can be used locally from the server for applications such as web service. It can also be used to store backup copies of desktop files. Base level file storage is available without charge. It may be necessary to charge departments that have requirements for very large storage, specialized security, or that wish OIT to back up departmental systems.

It is common for departments to mange file servers. They are responsible for administering those systems in a secure way. It is very common for file servers to be misconfigured in such a way that anyone can change files on the system without a password.

DNS Services for associated organizations

DNS is the basic technology used by the Internet to look up hostnames. E.g. when you type www.rutgers.edu, the DNS system is used to translate that name into a network addresss.

As indicated in the network support section, OIT maintains DNS service for names ending in .rutgers.edu. However a number of departments have projects that involve other names. Typically these are for scholarly organizations or projects that prefer to use names ending in .org.

The OIT campus divisions can provide limited DNS service for names outside of .rutgers.edu, when they are used by Rutgers departments for Rutgers-affiliated activities.

There is no charge for this service. However departments are required to obtain the hostnames and pay the associated annual charge, from Network Solutions/Verisign or some other authorized registrar. Departments could also do this for themselves. However providing this service requires arranging for a backup server at another location.

Online Discussion Groups

OIT provides several types of support for online discussion and collaboration. In New Brunswick and Camden, we recommend using WebCT. This service, which is run by OIT, has facilities for discussions, chats, and file sharing. The Newark campus has made arrangements to use Blackboard, which has similar facilities.

Calendar Service

[This service is in a pilot stage in Fall, 2002, with full availability scheduled for early 2003.] OIT operates a calendar server. It can be used to maintain individual calendars, as well as calendars for departmental resources such as conference rooms. It has facilities for doing group scheduling. While the primary access is via the web, it will synchronize with Microsoft Outlook and handheld devices.

Departments may run their own software to handle calendars. At Rutgers, Microsoft Exchange is fairly common in departments. However Exchange is a complex system, with significant requirements for administration. Any department running it will need to allocate enough staff time to follow security bulletins and software updates.

Research Support

Many departments choose to use departmental computing resources for much of their research computing. In many cases this is the most cost-effective approach. For this reason, OIT has developed a variety of services to help departmental staff in supporting their own facilities. These second-level support services are shown elsewhere in this document. However OIT has identified several areas in which it does make sense to supply central facilities for researchers. They are listed in this section.

General-purpose Unix Timesharing

OIT maintains Unix systems on all three campuses they can be used by all Rutgers faculty, staff and students. These systems are useful for problems that are somewhat beyond the capabilities of a desktop system, but which do not require large parallel systems. A variety of standard numerical and statistical packages are available on these systems.

Large-scale parallel computing

For larger computing problems, OIT has made arrangements with the CAIP center to give researchers throughout the University access to large-scale parallel computing systems. In Camden, via the Science Vision Group, access to several parallel processing systems and their related software is available. (Sun HPC 3500 and Compaq/Alpha systems) These systems are useful for problems that are too large for type desktop systems, particularly those that require very large memory. Some changes in programs are needed to take full advantage of these systems, but in general the changes are not a significant as the changes needed to use distributed computing.

High-Performance Computing Project

There is a University-wide High-Performance Computing project, supervised by an interdepartmental steering committee. This committee has coordinated development of the Rutgers Computational Grid, a strategy for solving large problems using distributed computing.

The HPC project also maintains contact with a set of national labs, with a variety of large-scale computing resources. Rutgers researchers have been very successful in obtaining computing from these sources.

The computational grid uses a computing paradigm that splits a project across multiple computers. This is an extremely cost-effective approach for getting large amounts of computing power. However it requires somewhat more work to adapt a program to use this approach than for the computing systems in CAIP and Science Vision.

The Large DataSet System

In cooperation with a group of statistical researchers, OIT operates a facility for doing large-scale statistical processing. It has 2 terabytes of disk storage, specialized tape drives, and a high level of security. Access to this facility is coordinated by a faculty committee.

Instructional Support

Many departments support instruction using departmental facilities, particularly web sites. However there are several resources in OIT and elsewhere for instructional support.

Computing Labs

OIT operates computing labs on all campuses for students enrolled in Rutgers courses, as well as Rutgers faculty and staff. They have Windows systems, Macintoshes, and X Terminals or UNIX workstations. These labs have both standard desktop software and software requested by faculty for specific disciplines. They are accessible to users with disabilities.

Faculty who wish to request additional software to be made available are advised to contact their OIT campus division as soon as possible. Depending upon the situation it can take from 2 weeks to 90 days to install new software in the labs.

Instructional Micro Labs

The Instructional Micro Labs (IMLs) are special labs intended for hands-on instruction. In most cases they are located in the computing labs, and are used as general computing labs when they are not scheduled for a course. The IMLs are equipped with video projectors and other instructional equipment.

Networked Classrooms

There are over 100 networked classrooms throughout Rutgers. These have a range of equipment, including video projection equipment as well as equipment for computer-based presentations. They are connected to the Rutgers network. First-level support varies by campus. OIT provides network connectivity, and support for network access in these rooms.

OIT Web hosting

OIT web servers are used by both departments and individual instructors to host course-related material.

Web-based Instructional systems

In cooperation with the Teaching Excellence Centers, OIT supports WebCT and Blackboard, web-based systems that combine a number of facilities useful for supporting instruction. This includes online content presentation, testing, grade/roster maintenance, and communications facilities such as discussions and chats. At the Newark campus NCS provides first level of support for Blackboard, second level support issues are referred to Rutgers Business School or the TEC.

Mailing lists and WebCT rosters can be populated automatically from class rosters maintained by the administrative systems. That is, it is possible for a faculty member to create a mailing list or a WebCT course, and have its membership maintained automatically. Rosters have to be downloaded into Blackboard.

eCollege, another web-based instructional environment, is available through Rutgers Continuous Education.

Training and Consulting

The Teaching Excellence centers provide training and consulting for instructional support, and have funded development of specialized web-based tools in several areas.

Optical Scanners

Optical scanners are available to process tests and questionnaires. In Newark and Camden they available through OIT, in NB through the Teaching Excellence Center.

Outreach

OIT is available to work with departments on Rutgers-related Outreach activities that require Information Technology facilities. OIT-operated labs have been used for many programs of this sort. OIT also works with a variety of community-based activities.

Information and Training

Services for Individuals

Services for individuals are intended to help faculty, staff and students use Information Technology intelligently. Responsibility for individual training in New Brunswick is split between OIT and the Teaching Excellence Center. The Teaching Excellence Center concentrates on common desktop applications, and software commonly used for teaching. OIT concentrates on all other software, such as applications more commonly used in research, statistical analysis, web development and more specialized topics.

Help Desk

The OIT help desks are the primary interface for faculty, staff, and students who need help using OIT services. They can help with setup issues, particularly with connecting to the network from at home and in the residence halls. They also handle trouble reports for all OIT services. While their historical focus has been OIT services, the help desks can often assist users in departments with departmental and Internet services, as long as the technology involved is compatible with technology used by OIT.

Training Courses

OIT runs a set of regularly scheduled courses on all three campuses, referred to as the “Education Series”t;. These are open to all faculty, staff and students, without charge. Registration is on-line. Training is also available from the Teaching Excellence Centers, the Libraries, and from certification programs available through Continuous Education.

FAQ’s

The campus divisions maintain collections of Frequently Asked Questions, to help members of the Rutgers community solve problems for themselves.

Documentation and How-to Guides

OIT maintains a large collection of documentation and how-to guides. These cover setting systems up to use the network, and using the range of OIT facilities. This information is available online. A set of handouts of particular interest to students is also available in the student labs.

Some of the most important sets of documentation are the Frequently Asked Questions collections maintained by the campus divisions, the Students Guide to Computing Services at Rutgers, and the Faculty and Staff Guide to Computing Resources at Rutgers.

Student Lab Consultation

Consultants in the student labs can help students with a variety of computing questions. While their primary focus is to help with the hardware and applications in the labs, the consultants can also provide help for other student-related services, such as residence hall networking, and more general advice on use of technology as well as issues which are normally referred to the helpdesk.

Student Orientation and Open House

OIT works actively with all areas of the University to support orientations, open houses, and other activities for current or prospective students and their families. OIT staff are available to make presentations on OIT services and other computing topics, and to facilitate setting up accounts.

New Faculty and Staff Orientations

[In Progress] OIT will be working with University HR to provide orientations for new faculty and staff in computing-related topics.

Services for Departments and Support Staff

Services for departmental and departmental support staff are intended to help departments who operate services for themselves. One major goal of these services is to maintain a continuing community among staff working in common technology areas, both with staff in other departments and OIT.

Monthly Operating System Meetings

There are regular meetings on all campuses with systems and support staff who work with common technology, such as PCs and Unix systems. These include various types of activity, such as updates on services and the network, discussions of new technology, and vendor presentations. In addition to presenting information to staff, these meetings a major way for OIT to get feedback from departments, and for staff to get to know those in other departments who are doing similar things.

Other Meetings for Support Staff

In addition to the regular operating system-related meetings, meetings are scheduled several times a year for staff in other areas, such as web support. Web activities are guided by a web coordinating committee involving OIT and University Relations.

Expositions, Demonstrations and Technology Briefings

Expositions, demonstrations, and technology briefings. OIT regularly schedules events for faculty and staff in key areas, to review strategy or present developments in technology or applications. The Newark Information Technology Forum holds an annual exposition that is an educational technology conference and vendor show.

Mailing lists

There are mailing lists for major operating systems and technology areas. These permit staff responsible for those areas to consult with each other and with OIT staff. In addition to communicating with OIT staff, these lists provide an opportunity for staff in departments to share experiences and help each other.

Online Information

OIT maintains web sites associated with major technology areas, including PC and LAN operating systems, Unix/Linux, and security. These sites contain information specific to Rutgers, as well as pointers to outside resources.

Training for Department Staff

There are a number of sources of training and professional development. OIT training activities are focused on specific needs for the Rutgers community, e.g. major operating system releases or transitions. Currently security is a primary focus. OIT can help departments identify appropriate training from vendors and other outside organizations.

Arranged Training

OIT and the Teaching Excellence Centers (depending upon topic) are available on a limited basis to do training within departments. This is commonly used when a department is making a major technology change. OIT staff are also available for presentations in courses, particularly to help students use OIT services.

Evaluation Facilities

OIT can provide access to a lab that has PCs with a variety of current operating systems. These permit departmental staff to get hands-on experience with new operating systems before deploying them, as well as to test or gain experience with new software.

Application Services

OIT provides a wide range of application services to the University community mainly by means of the computer systems that are built, managed, maintained and enhanced by the Administrative Computing Services (ACS) Division of OIT. These systems primarily support core University-wide business functions across the three Rutgers campuses. These services provide University administrators the tools and information they need to do their job whether the job pertains to student and course administration, employee administration, institutional research or financial management. These systems provide Rutgers faculty with various online services that assist in the organization, scheduling and administration of classes. They provide students and prospective students a variety of online services that assist them in adapting to and thriving as part of the university community.

ACS systems are regularly supported and maintained in order to ensure stability of service for existing applications and to provide accurate processing for the “cyclical” or recurring activities of the university (examples of recurring activities include admissions and registration cycles, financial aid disbursement and student billing). These systems are regularly enhanced, new features are added and new systems are built to satisfy requests from the university community, to comply with mandates from the federal and state government and to ensure that Rutgers offers technical solutions and a service level comparable to other higher education institutions. Over time, these systems are reengineered and/or rewritten in order to remain on par with current state-of-the-industry solutions.

The application services provided by ACS systems exist in a variety of technologies and platforms. A base of “legacy” systems running on an IBM/MVS mainframe platform provide many of Rutgers core application services. A diverse offering of web-based application services running on UNIX and Windows-NT platforms are available to authorized users who need nothing more than a web browser to take advantage of these services.

Core Application Services

ACS systems provide the core application services that support the “running of the university” including administration of students from the time they are prospectives through graduation, administration of faculty and staff, university financial management and a variety of auxiliary services.

Student Information Management and Registration

The Student Information Management System (SIMS) supports the University Registrar’s Office and has as it’s hub the Students Record Data Base (SRDB) which is the central data repository for student information and student records management. Online application services allow authorized users to search for, view and update student records data and student transcript and degree data, display enrollment and projected enrollment data, display commencement data, perform registration and add/drop for individual students, set registration restrictions for individual schools, request transcripts and certifications and set control dates that define designated registration, add/drop and withdrawal time periods.

The Touchtone Registration System (TTRS) which is tightly coupled with SIMS gives students the ability to register and check the university schedule of classes via telephone as an alternative to registering in person at the registrar’s office.

SIMS also supports the Office of Continuous Education and Outreach by providing an interface to a commercial software product (e-College), licensed by the Continuous Education Office that students use to register for winter session. The SIMS interface allows the student’s e-College winter term registration transactions to be loaded to the SRDB in order to provide full integration of student registration data for all terms and allow GPA calculation and transcript generation to include all terms.

SIMS batch services include term grade processing, calculation of GPA and term averages, registration cancellation for non-payment and academic or financial holds and the generation of student transcripts, class rosters, term grade reports, certifications, diplomas, academic warning notices, student enrollment reports, term grade mailers, registration cancellation notices and classroom change notices for late-breaking changes during summer session.

Financial Aid Management

The Financial Aid Management System (FAMS) supports the University Office of Financial Aid. Online services allow authorized users to view and update student financial aid data, student award data, Direct Loan data and Pell grant data, track student-submitted documents and update fund balance information and specifications and restrictions on a given fund.

FAMS batch services include processing student aid application data, packaging student awards, disbursing aid into students accounts and the general ledger, providing all necessary interfaces to federal and state lending programs and printing award letters, promissory notes, student employment authorizations, missing document letters and reconciliation reports.

Student Billing and Payment Processing

The Student Accounts Receivable (SAR) System supports the University Student Financial Services (SFS) Office. SAR processes transactions related to student billing and accounts receivable and is tightly integrated with SIMS and FAMS. Online SAR application services provide authorized users the ability to view student charges and credits, make adjustments to student accounts, create or cancel student refund checks, create financial holds for individual students and update control dates that define designated time periods when adjustments and exceptions are allowed

SAR batch services include calculation of term bills and student refunds and generation of term bills. SAR also provides an interface to a commercial product licensed by SFS for collection of transactions from the distributed network of SFS cash registers. This SAR interface collects student financial transaction data and books it to the Financial Accounting System (FAS) general ledger and to the SAR system.

Course and Room Scheduling

The Course and Room Scheduling Systems support the University Scheduling Office. Online services allow authorized users to view and update course/section data, assign prerequisite and special permission numbers for courses, view schedules for a given classroom, search for classroom availability, make classroom assignments, view and update building/room information, view and update course scheduling assignments, assign rooms for special events and view and enter details for special events.

Batch services include initializing new terms for classroom, special events and final exam assignments and generation of master course listings, scheduling construction sheets, event confirmation notices, classroom change notices, space availability reports and data file creation for printing the official Schedule of Classes Catalog.

Undergraduate Admissions Processing

The Undergraduate Admissions System (NJAS) supports the Undergraduate Admissions Office in various undergraduate enrollment management activities. Online Services provide authorized users the ability to enter student application data, view and update student biographical data, academic credential data, admission decision information, student scholarship and financial aid information and student notification letter text.

NJAS batch services include processing applications and fees received from Fleet Bank (lock box), applications and fees processed from the Undergraduate Web Application and Web Online Payment (WOLP) process, applications received from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions optical scanning process and applications received from the college-to-college transfer process. Also processed are admission test scores received from the Educational Testing Service (ETS), generation of student notification letters, admissions certificates, reports for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, data feeds from Undergraduate Admissions containing updated high school rank and GPA data and a data feed for the University Housing Office.

Graduate Admissions Processing

The Graduate Admissions System supports the Office of Graduate Admissions in various graduate school enrollment management activities. Online Services provide authorized users the ability to view and update student biographical data, academic credential data and admission decision information.

Batch services include processing application data received from the Graduate Admissions web application and from the individual graduate schools and admission test scores received from ETS.

Financial Accounting

The Online Financial Information System (OFIS) supports the Controller’s Office and Rutgers departments. OFIS provides access to University financial accounting, budget and payroll data. Online services provide authorized users with the ability to monitor budgets, actual expenditures and commitment information in the general ledger and to determine balance available at the individual account level or higher summary levels. In addition to general ledger inquiry, OFIS provides the ability to inquire on payroll distribution and budgetary line control.

Batch services include nightly updates of commitments and actuals to the general ledger, generation of monthly accounting reports and data files for Rutgers departments, annual creation of 1099 and 1042 reports and data files for the federal government and receipt and loading of transactions from the departmental Grant Accounting System for chart of account maintenance and budget allotments for grant accounts.

Budget Preparation and Management

The Online Working Budget System (OWBS) supports the Controller’s Office, the Office of Budget and Resource Studies and Rutgers departments. It provides authorized users with inquiry and updating functions during the non-salary working budget cycle. Online services allow authorized users to create, analyze, approve and adjust budgets.

Batch services include the annual creation of the working budget, weekly updates of general ledger and salary actuals for reporting purposes and generation of monthly budgetary control reports.

Payroll/HR Processing

Payroll online services support the Human Resources and Controller Offices and allow authorized users to search and view employee payroll and HR data.

Batch services include calculation of biweekly payrolls, transmission of direct deposit funds, generation of payroll checks and W2 annual statements, generation of data files for the State and Federal government, processing and reporting of annual benefit statements, employee time reports and employee benefit reports, and generation of reports of retirement plan, time reporting and benefits information.

College Assessment Research

The College Assessment Research System (CARS) supports the Office of Institutional Research. Online services allow authorized users to view demographic data from the SRDB and test scores and placements for English, Mathematics and Foreign Languages for first time and transfer students. The placement information is also used by the Touchtone Telephone Registration System for course enrollment decision making.

Batch services include generation of a series of reports used by university departments to place and advise students in registration decisions.

International Student Tracking

The International Student Tracking System supports the Center for International Faculty and Student Services. Online services allow authorized users to view and update current status of international students.

Off-Campus Reporting

The Off-Campus Reporting System supports the Office of Budget and Resource Studies. This system runs in the fall, spring and summer to reflect head-counts, courses and credits by school for off/on campus students and courses.

Student Unit Record Enrollment (SURE)

The Student Unit Record Enrollment System provides enrollment and degree- awarded data to the Office of Institutional Research and the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education. This data is used for reporting institutional data to the US Department of Education, Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for the Federal Government and official enrollment and degree statistics.

Institutional Research Reporting

The Institutional Research Reporting System provides statistical analyses for requests received within and outside the university by the Office of Institutional Research. These analyses are for various student populations, graduation rates, surveys (i.e. Money Magazine, US News and World Reports, NCAA Enrollment Survey, Biology Gateway Study (RU)).

Longitudinal Database

The Longitudinal Database System (LDB) provides data for Institutional Research to track students and produce statistical reports. The LDB creates cohorts for incoming students and tracks information for 7 years. This data is used for graduation and retention reporting.

Chemistry Inventory

The Chemistry Inventory System is used by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) NB Chemistry Department to track chemical and equipment usage by departmental faculty across the university. The system maintains inventory and performs billing and accounting functions.

Student Health System/Student Health Online Tracking

The Student Health System supports the Rutgers campus health centers. A weekly data file created from the SRDB and Payroll presents health service eligibility information.

The Student Health Online Tracking System (SHOTS) provides authorized users with the ability to input immunization data that is collected in accordance with the New Jersey Immunization Law.

Batch services include the creation of weekly reports distributed to university health centers and compliance letters for students who are out of compliance with requirements.

Auxiliary Services

Various online application services support University “auxiliary” operations. Online services are available for the Parking Office to view details of parking permits and violations. Online services are available for the Telephone Office to view and update information on University telephones.

Transaction files are submitted from University auxiliary systems such as Facilities, Housing and Dining Services that include financial transactions to be posted to the FAS general ledger and the SAR system.

Internet Application Services for Students and Prospective Students

OIT provides a variety of web-based application services for students and prospective students. These internet application services provide students online access to many services that traditionally could only be provided in person. These application services also allow students to self-manage various activities and interactions with the University.

Undergraduate Admissions On-line Application and Application Status

This application service provides the ability for prospective students to complete and submit an application for admission, pay the application fee online, check their application status and pay the admissions acknowledgment fee online.

Articulation System (ARTSYS)

This application service allows NJ community college students the ability to articulate community college courses into Rutgers course requirements in order to allow them to more effectively manage their academic program in preparation for transfer to Rutgers.

Graduate Admissions On-line Application, Application Status, Index of Programs and Catalogue/Application Request

This application service provides the ability for prospective graduate students to complete and submit their application for admission, check the status of their application and pay application fees online. This site also provides details on graduate programs, degrees, deadlines, requirements, and campus locations and allows prospective graduate students to request a printed catalog or admissions application form.

Financial Aid Application, Document Status and Award Status

This application service provides students with authorized access to their financial aid award information including approved disbursed financial aid and requirements related to outstanding documents needed from the student.

On-line Registration, University Schedule of Classes, Individual Class Schedules

These application services allow students to check the university schedule of classes for course offerings (time, location and availability) in order to make registration decisions. Students with authorized access can register online, add/drop courses and generate their personal schedule of classes with meeting times and locations.

Student Financial Services Statement of Accounts

This application service gives students authorized access to view a current snapshot of their financial statement of account including tuition, fees, payments, refunds and remission information. Students can also pay term bills online.

Online Grades and Transcripts

This application service provides students with authorized access to their semester grades and full transcripts.

Student Online Directory Management and Address update (home and campus)

These application services allow students to update their home and campus address, home telephone number, student email address and personal URL in the online directory. Students can also restrict the display of their student information in the Online Directory through this site.

myRutgers Portal

Offered initially as a pilot for Rutgers College, this application service provides students with an easy and flexible method to design an individualized web portal. The student can choose from among many external and Rutgers-specific application services and web content in order to customize their portal view.

Internet Application Services for Faculty and Staff

OIT provides a variety of web-based application services for faculty and staff. In many cases, these application services have replaced manual and paper-based activities. These application services allow faculty and staff ease and convenience in performing various aspects of their jobs. (In a few instances as noted below the application service is offered as a client/server architecture. It is anticipated that these services will be re-engineered for web delivery in the near future).

Class Rosters and Online Grading

This application service allows authorized faculty and departmental administrators the ability to view up-to-date course rosters, generate class email lists, submit warnings and grades online and manage the granting of user roles and privileges. This application also provides the University Registrar with the ability to track and audit the submission of grade rosters.

Course Synopsis System

This application service allows authorized users to enter and maintain URL addresses of specific course synopsis pages that are maintained by faculty members. The URL address entered provides a link from the Schedule of Classes web page to the departmental synopsis page to allow students to view synopsis information while making course registration decisions.

First-Year Sectioning (client server architecture)

This application service provides college deans for the New Brunswick Schools with an automated mechanism to generate class and section assignments and schedules for incoming freshman.

Faculty Survey

This application service enables the collection of data on scholarly, creative and professional activities of the University Faculty. Statistical information and reports and statistical information are generated from collected data and provided to the Office of Institutional Research.

Course Analysis System (CAS)

This application service allows academic departments to input data on the workload performed by their faculty. Information collected from this process assists the Office of Institutional Research in supplying data requested by various University administrative departments for budget and resource analysis.

Articulation System/Electronic Transcript (ARTSYS/ET)

This application service allows Rutgers and NJ Community College administrators to define articulated course requirements in order to assist community college students and counselors define programs of study to prepare students for transfer to Rutgers. Artsys/ET also provides automatic articulation of community college transcripts submitted to Rutgers and transmission of articulated transcripts to NJAS and SIMS.

Undergraduate Admissions Application (Administrative Site)

This application service provides authorized administrators with the ability to access and administer undergraduate admission applications that were submitted over the internet.

Grades, Transcripts and Class Schedules (Administrative Site)

This application service allows authorized administrators to view a currently registered student’s full transcript and grade history.

Student Financial Services Statement of Accounts (Administrative Site)

This application service allows authorized administrators to view student financial account information including tuition, fees, payments, refunds and remission information and to maintain student transaction and accounting information.

Student Campus Mail Service - Camden and New Brunswick (Administrative Site)

This application service allows authorized administrators to access and maintain campus post office box data for New Brunswick and Camden students.

Privilege View and Dean’s View

This application service provides authorized administrators access to Rutgers directory information on students, faculty and staff. Users may view selected student information on the Rutgers People Database. One particular use is to resolve conflicts in computer account creation.

People Database Guest Account Creation

This application service allows authorized administrators to add a person to the people database in order to allow the creation of computer accounts for university guests such as visiting faculty.

Address Update for Faculty/Staff

This application service allows faculty and staff to manage their directory information. Changes to home address, work and home telephone numbers, emergency contact information, and email address can be made with updates immediately reflected in the Online Directory.

Rutgers Integrated Administrative System (RIAS) Procure-to-Pay

This application service allows authorized users to requisition goods and services directly from their desktops. Requisitions are electronically routed through a streamlined departmental approval process directly to University Procurement or, in the case of a preferred supplier, directly to the vendor (auto-sourcing). Auto-sourcing of requisitions directly to contract vendors eliminates the need for buyer intervention and allows approved departmental requisitions to be automatically converted into purchase orders and sent to vendors.

This application is integrated with Oracle exchange, an electronic marketplace website where suppliers maintain product catalogs. This provides users with the ability to search for catalog items by supplier, commodity or description and have requisition forms automatically populated with required information.

This application service also allows users to track and monitor order status and electronically acknowledge receipt of goods and services before invoices will be paid.

This application service also allows authorized administrators to maintain workflow and approval hierarchies and to define workflow business rules.

The Procure-to-Pay application generates checks and purchase orders. Checks are created to pay vendors for goods and services, reimburse employees for expenses, and refund students for overpayment of tuition and fees. Purchase Orders are printed, emailed, and faxed to suppliers throughout the day. In addition, there is a nightly process to email copies of purchase orders to departmental preparers.

Pay for Performance

This application service supports the Rutgers HR performance management and compensation program and allows authorized departmental administrators to view and award salary adjustments and bonuses for departmental staff. In addition, Provosts and Vice Presidents have the ability to review, approve, and or modify these recommendations. University Human Resources can produce recommendation letters which are distributed to each department. A variety of reports are available providing information on employee eligibility, awardees and non-awardees, and not-appraised employees.

FASIP (client server architecture)

This application service supports the faculty performance management and compensation process. It allows authorized departmental administrators to view and award salary increases and bonuses for faculty.

HRINFO

This application service allows authorized users to view Rutgers staff personnel data. This information includes employee address/personal/benefits, job related data, pension data, employee history as well as a number of lookup tables such as job class/group, salary, campus, location and benefits.

Data Dictionaries

This application service allows authorized users to search for the values and description of data dictionary elements using keywords or other selection criteria for the Student Records Database, Scheduling Database, Course History Database, Admissions, CARS, SHOTS and FAMS dictionaries.

SEVIS (International Student Tracking and Reporting)

This application service (scheduled for January, 2003 implementation) will provide authorized administrators in the International Student Offices the ability to track and report data pertaining to foreign students. This application will satisfy expanded information requirements mandated by the federal government

Internet Application Services for All University Constituents

Calendar of Events

This application service allows public viewing of event information and posting of events by registered users. Any registered Rutgers organization, department, affiliate or alumni group can post events. Searching of events can be done by specific date, date range, event category, key word or location. A link to online campus maps provides exact building location and directions.

Online Directory

This application service provides easy access to up-to-date directory information for students, faculty and staff. Search capability allows the user to easily locate a person and obtain contact information

Other Support Services

Web Online Payment (WOLP) Implementation

WOLP is an application service that can be invoked by any authorized Rutgers application to provide online payment services. WOLP provides a “front-end” interface for users to enter, transmit and validate online payment information. The WOLP application “back-end” supports the University Controller by providing a settlement and reconcilement process in order to ensure transaction matching between the Payment Processor (Verisign) and the Settlements Processor (NOVA). Reconciled transactions are posted to the FAS general ledger. Reports are produced for the accounting department to support their reconciliation process.

Planning, consulting and software testing services are provided to the user department to assist with their online payment implementation. Establishment of merchant accounts, security controls and registration with Verisign Payment Services is also provided with this service.

WOLP is currently being used for online payment of undergraduate and graduate admissions application fees, SFS term bills and parking registration and tickets.

Data Management Services

Data analysis and data architecture services are provided to core administrative offices and data custodians to define data requirements for new or enhanced applications, to define data quality standards to ensure accuracy and validity of university data and to define data security standards to ensure security of university data. Data dictionaries are maintained for student, course, admissions, immunization, placement testing and financial aid data for use by authorized administrators. Online data warehouses of student, course, HR and financial data are maintained and end-user decision support tools and services are provided in order to make administrative data easily available for adhoc use by authorized departmental personnel. Data extracts and reports are provided to numerous university constituents, university systems and external agencies for analysis, reporting and processing.

Software Development Process (SDP) Consultation

The Software Development Process (SDP) is provided as both an internal service for OIT staff and an external service for administrative clients. The SDP methodology offers a structured and methodical method to partner with clients in project planning, feasibility assessment and requirements analysis.

Clients are assisted in feasibility analysis for new projects in order to help determine whether to undertake a given project. Typical elements of feasibility analysis include vendor product evaluations, development of Requests for Proposals (RFPs), cost/benefit evaluations and time and cost impact analysis.

Computer System Security Management

Procedures are in place for requesting computer accounts and access to administrative applications in order to ensure secure access to administrative systems and maintain data integrity. These procedures ensure that the appropriate levels of approval are received prior to establishing a user account or providing access. Assistance is available to users experiencing difficulty when logging into a system or accessing a specific application.

Technology Assessment

This service is provided to continually provide state-of-the-industry solutions. Technology assessments may call for research, trend analysis, comparative evaluations, performance evaluation, prototyping and testing. Technology assessments include software for off-the-shelf applications, development productivity tools, performance monitoring tools, security management tools and hardware for various components of the technical infrastructure.

Technical Architecture and Infrastructure Support

This service is provided to continually provide a stable and high performing infrastructure to support mainframe and UNIX/Windows web-based core applications and in certain instances departmental specific needs such as imaging servers for admissions and financial aid.

Oracle University Site License Management

This service provides coordination for the management of the Rutgers University-wide Oracle site-license. Activities include providing primary liaison with the vendor and assisting departments assess the potential for use of Oracle tools.