Current Projects & Initiatives

Page Menu

	Accomodate by Symplicity William & Mary now has a solution for its accessibility office to streamline the approval and delivery of accommodations for students with extenuating needs. Accommodate is a software that will allow the College to better manage the population of students with classroom accommodation requirements. The software features a dedicated student portal, where students can submit forms, request appointments, upload documentation, and view all information that has been sent to them by administrators. It also allows students to independently search for note-takers in their classes.
	Argos Reporting Tool Argos is a robust tool for viewing and reporting data from Banner. The current reporting tool, Discoverer, will remain intact, but Argos will give users the opportunity to generate reports beyond what Discoverer offers. Argos has the capability to provide reports from simple ad hoc queries to advanced dashboards with interactive charts and data cubes, and to connect to multiple data sources simultaneously. With reusable DataBlocks and the ability to share DataBlocks with the Evisions CO-OP User Community, users can benefit from Argos as a collaborative tool. The project is in the implementation and training phase, and the campus roll-out schedule has not yet been determined. IT plans to offer training to the campus community in the future.
	Athletic Ticketing A new and improved online presence is coming to Athletic Ticketing. The new system will include an improved mechanism for purchasing tickets to cheer on the Tribe, featuring online accounts for patrons, improved seating charts and seating selection, and a function to view purchasing history. The new system will also be based in the cloud, replacing the old hosted system. Rollout is planned in time for purchasing tickets for the Fall 2014 sports season. Go Tribe!
	Degree Works Students and advisors will soon have a new way to track and plan degree progress. Degree Works by Ellucian, a new degree audit software being implemented, will allow users to view progress by degree, major, minor and concentration in ways that the current software in Banner cannot. Students and advisors will be able to work together to map out plans for coursework in upcoming semesters within the program, as well as running “What If” analyses for changes in classes or majors. Program implementation is planned for Summer 2014.
	Document Imaging and Workflow This environmentally conscious campus is about to get even greener! William & Mary IT, in partnership with the Office of Undergraduate Admission and the Registrar's Office, is working to make the admissions process completely paperless. Undergraduate admissions imaging is live, meaning that almost all applications are now coming in electronically via the Common Application via Axiom and then Banner Document Management. Additional documents are being scanned in by Admissions to keep the process paperless. Deans are able to read applications online in the office and at home via the secure VDI connection. In just a few weeks’ time, 13,000 documents were loaded, comprising over 80,000 pages! More offices will be getting involved over the coming months.
	eLearning Kit Faculty at William & Mary now have access to technologies that can assist them in developing alternative methods of teaching. IT has made elearning kits available to faculty who wish to create presentations and recordings for their classes. With these kits, faculty can develop intricate visual aids from the comfort of their home. The kits can also be used for conducting online classes. There are a limited number of these kits due to the infancy stage of their implementation, but IT hopes to increase their stock as demand grows. For more information about the elearning kits, contact [[w\|jgdrummond, John Drummond]].
	Enterprise Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Evaluation William & Mary IT is currently in the process of evaluating our Enterprise Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. This evaluation will explore a CRM platform that touches most of the College’s activities. The evaluation aims to reconcile needs in all of the schools on campus, as well as those of Enterprise eLearning. It will not only look to improve the student experience with advancements in student organizations and academic advising, but it will also improve the advancement efforts of University Development and its related constituencies (athletics, Swem Library, etc.) Upon success, this evaluation will benefit all William & Mary community collaborators, from students to donors.
	International Office Module The Reves Center for International Studies, department of International Students, Scholars, and Programs, will implement Sunapsis, a software program designed to manage international populations. International students and faculty are required to complete and maintain information with the department, and an online portal to that information does not currently exist. Sunapsis includes a web portal that will allow students and faculty to make requests and submit information online. The software will also automate the required information transfer between the College and federal reporting agencies, as well as give the office more opportunities for reporting and sharing information with Banner.
	Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) William & Mary and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation are collaborating to create a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). This online course will combine the historical resources of the two institutions to provide a first-of-its-kind course to students in Williamsburg. Due to the complex nature of the online course logistics, W&M IT specialists are at the forefront of the MOOC’s design. IT’s role in this project is especially important, as the majority of its setup is technology based. The MOOC is set to launch in September 2015.
	Mobile App William & Mary IT is proud to present the College’s first mobile application. This app will be an easy resource for everything William & Mary, from blackboard and banner integration for students and faculty, to resources solely dedicated to alumni. Featured within the app are separate editions geared towards students, faculty and alumni. Each edition contains readily available information specifically intended for its intended audience. The app can be used on smartphones and tablets, and will be available in both the Google Play and Apple app stores in late July 2014.
	Optimizing the Enterprise IT Organization IT project teams are working to identify and realize opportunities to better align IT with the business objectives of the College. Through a combination of one-on-one interviews with staff and surveys that will assess current IT resource allocation and aggregate data for IT expenditures, the project teams will create a baseline of the College’s IT organization, infrastructure and expenditures. From this information the teams will develop specific recommendations and plans for action to run the organization more efficiently.
	Printer/Copier Efficiency Improvements The IT Department is starting an initiative to improve the efficient use of William & Mary’s network of digital, multifunctional devices and network printers. The department will partner with a vender to initiate and maintain a managed print services program. As part of this effort, all printing on campus will be evaluated to determine if the right size device is being used for the printing that is required. Initially, there will be full-time support for less than half of the College’s 400 printers as efficiencies are implemented. However, IT intends to retire, relocate or upgrade the remaining printers not included in the program over time.