Office Productivity Software Standards (OPSS) Project Update

January 2007

In late Fall of 2004, in a directive by the IT Steering Committee, a cross campus Office Productivity Software Standards (OPSS) Project team was formed to develop a set of standards for use of Office Productivity Software across campus. The need for such a task force was deemed necessary due to the impact of having two major Office Suites in use across campus (Microsoft Office and Corel Office). The entire report is available at http://www.uwindsor.ca/opss.

Three Year Implementation Plan

The Project Team recommended Microsoft Office as the supported standard Office Suite at the University of Windsor. The team implementation recommended the implementation is being phased in over a three year period; we are currently in the middle of year two of this implementation. The three year period was chosen so that departments with a heavy usage of WordPerfect could make the transition seamlessly. Also, with the special pricing of WordPerfect from Corel, savings were actually accomplished because departments are not making individual purchases.

Communication with Departments

The policy and its implementation has been communicated widely to the campus. Communication has involved articles in the Daily News, a dedicated Web page (www.uwindsor.ca/its/opss), features in our ITS Insight publications and sessions with our IT Leader groups on campus. Communication is ongoing.

The major issue that has needed attention are departments which send out communication in WordPerfect format. Generally these issues are dealt with by follow-up communication from the IT trainer focusing on encouraging the use of PDF documents for read only electronic and training needs or training for In dealing with issues for people who are predominantly using Corel WordPerfect and not familiar with MS Word, we have spoken directly with these departments to offer specialized training. Communication also included specific issues they were having using MS Word, or in regards to. There still are isolated locations that are predominantly WordPerfect, but they are moving to MS Word or using pdf and expect to move to WordPerfect before support is dropped. encouraging the use of PDF documents for read only electronic documents.

Other effective communication involved articles in the Daily News, a dedicated Web page (www.uwindsor.ca/its/opss), features in our ITS Insight publications and sessions with our IT Leader groups on campus. Communication is ongoing. Training

During Study week 2006 (February 27 to March 2) IT Services offered training specifically directed to those WordPerfect users wishing to learn how to use MS Word in a similar manner. This These sessions isare being offered again this year during Study week (February 26 to March 1). This is in addition to rRegularly scheduled MS Word classes that are offered every semester to faculty, students and staff. IT Services has proactively worked with departments who heavily use Corel WordPerfect. More Word training was offered and directed to our WordPerfect users in May 2006. Training has been offered and directed specifically to The Office of the President and Office of the Senate who have traditionally used WordPerfect. WordPerfect has been heavily used in the Registrar’s office and their systems, but where this will be addressed with the new migration of the Student Information System.

We IT Services will continue to offer training through Computer Literacy Series instructor led courses as well as arrange any department specific training for all faculty and staff to be sure the transition can is be a smooth one. The plan is progressing smoothly on schedule and as planned.

Summary

Below is a summary of the recommendations of the three year implementation and the tasks involved in this process. Please note that the asterisk * and bolded statements represent what has been accomplished thus far:

Year One (Phase l – June 30, 2005 to June 30, 2006)  Summer 2005 -Corel Office 12 (WordPerfect) made available to faculty and staff who require it through the UWin Software Depot. *This has been accomplished. Currently Corel Office X3 is available on the UWin Software Depot.  Directed Microsoft Word training made conveniently available to all faculty and staff. *This was is ongoingis ongoing.

Year Two (Phase ll – July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007)  July 1, 2006 - IT Services Helpdesk support was discontinued for Corel Office 8, 9, 2002, 11 (WordPerfect 8, 9, 10, 11) and Microsoft Office 97, 2000 (Word 97, 2000) at start of year two as per IT Strategic Plan. *This has been accomplished.  July 1, 2006 - All electronic readable correspondence and Web based correspondence delivered in Portable Document Format (PDF) on the one year anniversary of proposal. Requires further research into appropriate PDF writer *Adobe Professional has been made available to the campus through a bulk license on Software Depot at a significantly reduced rate from retail. It can be purchased for $27.00. PDFCreator is also available as a free download from the Software Depot PDFCreator is a free software application distributed under the GPL (GNU General Public License) and AFPL (Aladdin GhostScript Free Public License).  July 1, 2006 - All electronic writable correspondence and Web based correspondence delivered in Microsoft Word format on the one year anniversary of proposal. *This has been and is being encouraged through communication with departments.  Continuation of Microsoft Word Training through CLS program and departmental specific requests. *Training is ongoing.: Year Three (Phase lll – July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008)  July 1, 2007 - Termination of all new Corel Office Suite installations at start of year three in compliance with Corel Office campus agreement. *Existing WordPerfect installations will remain on a PC for the life of the PC.  June 30, 2008 - Discontinue IT Services HelpDesk support for all Corel Office Suites and associated applications at the conclusion of year three of the implementation plan.