Month: November 2015

Categories
OE2C

OIT Shared Services Welcomes New Academic Technology Governance Council

16427218117_5abecbb0aa_zTo ensure that technology services are more effectively aligned throughout the University and to enable the faculty and academic areas to participate directly in providing strategic direction in technology decision-making for campus, OIT Shared Services has facilitated the creation and launch of an entirely new Academic Technology Council for IT governance at SMU.

The new council is comprised of 14 members, including faculty from each school as well as Guildhall and Faculty Senate; representatives of the SMU libraries and the provost’s office; and Jason Warner, leader of the Academic Technology Team within OIT. The newly elected council chair is James Quick, associate vice president for research, dean of graduate studies and professor of earth sciences.

The council will serve as a primary steward of SMU’s academic technology strategy. Academic leaders serving on the Council will maintain an understanding of the academic technology needs of their school or organization while also advocating for technologies that enhance the capabilities of the University as a whole. Key responsibilities of members include providing input to the annual update of their school or unit’s academic technology strategy, helping to prioritize academic computing projects, providing input to service levels, advocating for SMU’s IT users, and serving as an ambassador to OIT.

“I’m excited about the opportunity this new council creates,” said Warner. “It will provide a direct voice for faculty and every academic unit in setting mandates for IT on campus and in making recommendations for IT strategies that best serve University priorities. The council’s support and input will be invaluable in making decisions about campus technology.”

The members of the council are Amit Basu, Cox; Katherine Engel, Tom Fomby and Elfi Kraka, Dedman; Mark Nausha, Guildhall; Nathan Cortez, Dedman Law; Halit Uster, Lyle; David Sedman, Meadows; Anthony Cuevas, Simmons; Theodore Walker, Perkins Theology; Sreekumar Bhaskaran, Faculty Senate; Mary Boyd, libraries; and James Quick, provost’s office.

“Our council members will talk to faculty within their individual schools about their tech needs, and also talk to peers at other universities about their IT functions to gain outside perspectives,” said Dean Quick. “They’ll collect and prioritize recommendations for technology projects that will be best for SMU, and provide open and honest feedback to OIT staff. Together with Jason and the rest of the IT team, we will work to find the best possible solutions to the tech needs of our academic departments.”

For more information, visit the OIT Governance page.

Categories
FAQ

A New FAQ on the Facilities Initiative

Q: What is the difference between a Facilities Manager, Zone Manager and a Project Manager?

A: Three divisions in the Office of Facilities Planning and Management are Facilities Management, Facility Services and Project Management Services. A Facilities Manager reports to Facilities Management and has the responsibility to ensure the quality and integrity of their respective facilities meet SMU standards.  A Zone Manager reports to Facility Services and supervises the trades personnel that are assigned to specific subsections of campus and do the physical repairs of the building.  A Project Manager reports to Project Management Services and provides overall project management services from design inception to construction completion. For more information: See SMUs Office of Facilities Planning and Management.

Categories
FAQ

New FAQ Regarding Travel Rates

Q: What do I do if the conference I am attending has a special conference or hotel rate?

A: You may still book a room directly through the conference organization to take advantage of such discounts. When Concur was implemented, SMU recognized that rates used for conferences are often discounted and therefore a general exemption was included in the travel policy.  Conference hotels can be booked outside the Concur system but will need to be reported through the expense process, whether they are booked through an SMU travel card or through a personal credit card seeking reimbursement.  As with all travel, a travel request must be submitted in advance noting that the conference hotel rate will be used.  Travel requests and travel reports should be coordinated and cross referenced.

Categories
FAQ

A New FAQ on Concur’s Travel Prices

Q: I hear rumors that Concur’s travel prices are more expensive than ones we can find on our own. Do we have any evidence we’re getting a better deal with Concur?

A: Yes! The Procurement team has been periodically pulling data to compare Concur’s prices with those of other travel sites. They’ve found that in every case, prices for hotels and flights available through Concur are equal to, or cheaper than, rates for those same hotels and flights.

For example, in a recent check of hotel prices in three major cities, Concur charged the same rate as Hotels.com, Kayak, Expedia and the hotels’ own websites for properties in Houston and Chicago and  matched the hotel website for the cheapest rate in New York. Similarly, in a check of domestic and international airfares on Southwest and American, Concur offered deals that were as good as, or better than, the prices on travel sites and on the airline websites themselves.