The Office of Information Technology (OIT) IT Help Desk will have reduced hours next week with walk-in, phone, and chat support ending at 6 p.m. On Thursday, support will wrap at 5 p.m. The IT Help Desk will be closed for regular business operations from Friday, December 22, 2023, through Monday, January 1, 2024, for the winter break. Continue reading Winter Break (2023) Hours for the IT Help Desk
Changes to Turnitin AI Detection Tool at SMU
As we constantly adapt to the changes in educational technologies, we have an important update regarding our use of the Turnitin anti-plagiarism tool. Since last year, SMU has been participating in a beta trial of Turnitin’s AI-based anti-plagiarism detection tool. However, as of December 31, 2023, SMU’s temporary license will expire for this specific function of Turnitin due to its extremely limited success and negative track-record. Continue reading Changes to Turnitin AI Detection Tool at SMU
Open Enrollment: Working Behind the Scenes to Serve Our Community
As an SMU employee, I’ve never really thought too much about all the work that happens for us before open enrollment in order for us to access our benefits. According to Priyanka Nigam, an OIT employee, “when no one notices, and everything magically works right to access benefits, that’s success.”
Meet Priyanka Nigam, a seasoned Senior Business Analyst in the Office of Information Technology (OIT) at SMU. With five years of dedicated service, Priyanka has been a crucial player in the intricate process of setting up the back end of my.SMU for the prior Open Enrollment period.
In a recent conversation, Priyanka shared Continue reading Open Enrollment: Working Behind the Scenes to Serve Our Community
Halcyon Anti-Ransomware to Protect Campus Devices
Over the past decade, the threat of ransomware has affected institutions ranging from hospitals to commercial businesses to K-12 and higher education. Ransomware consists of nefarious software installed on devices clandestinely to eventually encrypt your data to prevent access. The criminal then requests a ransom in order to decrypt your data. OIT will begin implementing a new software, Halcyon Anti-Ransomware, starting Tuesday, December 19, 2023, to help find and prevent ransomware, further protecting SMU’s sensitive data and business processes. Continue reading Halcyon Anti-Ransomware to Protect Campus Devices
College Access Programs, OIT Create New Digital Document Repository
SMU’s College Access Programs office within the Simmons school have long helped first-generation, underrepresented, and low-income students achieve their dreams of a college education here on the Hilltop since 1966. Including TRIO programs like Upward Bound and McNair Scholars, this office has previously handled thousands of student records and grant financial data largely with paper forms and manual storage methods. Both the College Access office and OIT staffer Keven Jones saw a unique opportunity to leverage OIT resources and College Access’ trove of useful data to create a digital document management repository for past and future students and initiatives. Continue reading College Access Programs, OIT Create New Digital Document Repository
