End-of-year updates from Information Technology Services for 2024
As we approach the end of 2024, Information Technology Services (ITS) shares the following news and reminders about campus technology.
As always, ITS is here to help with your support needs and questions during this time of significant technological change.
We periodically send out surveys when a support ticket is closed. Your feedback is valuable in helping us know how we’re doing and how we can improve. Please visit our online IT Service Desk to get started.
Windows 11 updates and OneDrive file management
More than 790 faculty and staff campus computers have been updated to Windows 11, and updates will continue over the winter and spring through October 2025. Some older computers may not be compatible with Windows 11 and will be replaced.
To streamline the computer replacement process, ITS encourages anyone who is not already using Microsoft OneDrive – especially if your files are stored only on your local computer’s hard drive – to consider switching over.
Transferring files to OneDrive before a computer replacement allows ITS to perform the replacement much more quickly, reducing your time without a computer by several hours. In addition, files on OneDrive will be available on other devices anywhere you can access the Internet, minimizing disruptions to your work.
The Windows 11 upgrade will be included as part of the standard ‘Windows Updates’ that routinely occur and will take around 15-60 minutes to complete if initiated on campus. The upgrade will take longer if initiated remotely. Additional communication regarding the upgrade dates will be sent directly to individuals who will be impacted.
If you would like to update on your own time and schedule (and your computer can support the new operating system) please look at this article from our knowledge base.
Click here for an overview on OneDrive and click here to sign up for it.
More information about Windows 11 can be found here.
Windows 10 self-identifying update to Windows 11
Campus computers currently using Windows 10 will need to be upgraded in 2025. If you would like to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 prior the start of spring 2025 to avoid the interruption, please follow the instructions here.
Print Management Initiative
ITS is currently pilot testing the new print management solution to validate various printing use cases.
ITS has started deploying new devices as part of the Managed Print Initiative. Demo units were deployed earlier in the year as part of our testing phase. The new printers will be phased in gradually, one building at a time.
A maintenance agreement was recently signed with Toshiba to provide technical support and consumables (such as ink) for a limited selection of existing Lexmark and Hewlett Packard devices already in use on campus. Those devices will receive Toshiba labels in the coming weeks. If an existing network printer or copier is eligible for support, department administrative staff will be notified in a separate email.
New copiers will be deployed to the following locations in the coming weeks:
Haggerty Administration Building
Jacobson Faculty Tower
Old Main Building
Personal printers in a building will be eliminated only after the new printers are deployed and operational. If anyone would like to volunteer to have their desktop printer removed from their office, please submit a ticket to Desktop Support.
As part of the new standard for secure printing, users will be expected to release their print jobs using their campus ID card.
Technology Acquisition Process
When purchasing new technology, there is a lot to consider. Finding a product or service to perform a task is just the first step: it also needs to integrate with our existing campus environment and comply with security and accessibility standards.
The required Technology Acquisition Review process connects individuals or departments looking to make a technology purchase with Information Technology Services staff who can evaluate products or services for security, accessibility and integration needs.
Our process begins with our Technology Acquisition Review form, which collects all relevant information and allows for discussion of the purchase between all stakeholders.
We welcome early submissions so that ineligible products can be excluded from the review process. If you have any questions about the process or completing the form, an ITS staff member would be happy to work with you.
Please note: Completing the form does not mean that funding is available for the purchase, nor does it replace working with Purchasing. Communication with the Purchasing Office should be concurrent with the Technology Acquisition Review process.
Winter 2025 Academic Computer and A/V Refresh Plans
Classrooms/Labs:
LC 110 and 112
WH 219 and 225 Wooster Engineering Lab
CSB 308
A/V Systems
Coykendall Science Building (CSB) Auditorium
Reminder – Resources Available for Remote work
Please use this link for helpful information related to remote work. Also please review the graphic below that illustrates the technology we support by location.
