Information Technology Has Established These Guiding Principles As Touchstones to Management Tand Strategic Planning

BALL STATE UNIVERSITY

INFORMATION 1918TECHNOLOGY 18Annual Review 20 CONTENTS Welcome 1

Our Mission 3

Our Role 4

2018 Activities & Accomplishments

Supporting the Academic Mission 5

Supporting the Enterprise 9

Improving Customer Service 13

Securing Information & Privacy 17

Technology Innovation 21

Community Engagement 25 WELCOME Loren Malm Vice President

ur 2018 Information reliable manner possi- OTechnology annual ble. In reviewing this an- report highlights some nual report, I hope you of the most visible and will come away with a important work in divi- view into the many ser- sion happening during vices we provide, and the past year. The initia- the pride with which we tives, projects, and ac- deliver them to campus. complishments height- I would like to offer my ed in this report reflect a “In reviewing this most sincere thanks team effort of nearly 200 annual report, I hope to the entire Informa- IT professionals working you will come away tion Technology team to support our shared with a view into the of professionals and mission of providing ex- many services we student employees for cellence in technology provide, and the pride their exceptional efforts and services needed to with which we deliver and dedication over this engage students in ed- them to campus.” past year. ucational, research, and creative endeavors. The accomplishments in these pages are your Our diverse portfolio of story. Thank you for all services serves every you do! academic and administrative department, and we are constantly striv- ing to provide these ser- Loren vices in the most effec- tive, efficient, secure and

1 KEY INITIATIVES FROM 2018

Supporting the Academic Mission Supporting 1 the2 Enterprise

Securing Information & Improving Privacy Customer 4 3Service

Technology Innovation Community 5 Engagement 6 2 OUR MISSION

he Division of Information Technology has established these guiding principles as touchstones to management Tand strategic planning.

Standardize to better organize our operations. Agree to reduce custom-built technology environments whenever possible, instead selecting technologies that can be acquired elsewhere or achieved through leveraging what others have done (purchased, shared community, or freely available).

Consolidate to reduce what we manage. Agree to seek “core” components and processes which are accepted in the industry, ubiquitously supported, and easy to integrate. Agree to simplify management processes and avoid overly complex administrative overhead.

Listen. Agree to be collaborative and work toward shared institutional goals.

Increase student, faculty, and staff involvement by providing the skills to participate in an open technology environment. Agree to place the power of configuration, customization, and competency in the hands of students, faculty, and staff. Agree to provide students, faculty, and staff the ability to negotiate technical complexities

Aspire toward universal openness and accessibility. Agree to work toward smaller footprints, easy to adopt processes or technology, and an environment where students, faculty and staff are richly empowered.

Be open to constant review and evaluation of our efforts. Agree to vigorously assess our processes to determine the educational effectiveness of choices, technologies, and systems.

3 OUR ROLE

he Division of Information Technology at Ball State Univer- sity provides and supports technology, communication, Tinformation, and collaborative services to faculty, students, and staff in the pursuit of excellence in teaching, learning, and research. We serve as a catalyst to the campus community using technology in creative and innovative ways to advance and support the mission and goals of the university, as well as providing and supporting enterprise-level applications, websites, and other technologies across campus. Our mission focuses on our four core services.

Enterprise Systems & Support 1 Strategic planning of enterprise-wide systems and technologies, resources to support those technologies, and information security.

Individual Technology & Customer Service 2 End-user support for computing devices and technology, access to individual and departmental technology purchases, and the voice of information technology to campus constituents.

Technology Innovation 3 The promotion and use of technology, design & systems thinking, and the exploration of technology as a catalyst for improving the lives of the students, faculty, and staff; the people of the surrounding community, and the world at large.

University Information Services 4 Access to information systems and data; exposure to information, culture, and thinking from outside the university, the country, and the world.

4 SUPPORTING THE ACADEMIC MISSION

Commitment to a1 New LMS

Achievements Platform

2 Student Relationship Management

5 3 1 Commitment to a New LMS

fter a successful pilot program Banner are accurate and work as Afor the Canvas learning man- needed to maintain the student’s agement system, Ball State made record. the decision to switch fully from 2 Collaborating with Online and Blackboard to Canvas as the exclu- Strategic Learning to help fac- sive LMS for the university. ulty and staff make the user ex- Information Technology, in collab- perience transition as smooth as oration with Academic Affairs and possible including setting up the various academic colleges and de- university testing labs to acco- partments, including Online and modate tests in Blackboard and Strategic Learning, set up and man- Canvas during the transition. aged the technology behind the 3 Partnering with Strategic Learn- Canvas pilot and in 2019 will fully im- ing to provide support and train- plement Canvas as the official LMS ing for Canvas to students, facul- for Ball State. ty, and staff. In addition, archiving Since the commitment to Canvas, and /or transferring historical Information Technology has been Blackboard data into Canvas. IT working to create a smooth transition has also set up 24/7 Canvas Tier from Blackboard in three key areas. 1 support with Instructure and Tier 2 support though the Tech- 1 Creating integrations between nology HelpDesk during regular Canvas and Banner and ensur- business hours. ing the data feeds to and from

Indiana Public Radio: The Scene 4 6 2 Achievements Platform pearheaded by Student vendor development, review SAffairs and Scott Reinke, responses, gather and formalize the Achievements platform is requirements, communicate a mobile app for all Ball State technical and functional needs University freshmen that rewards with the vendor, test and identify students for their engagement issues with the vendor solution, and success at the University. The and guide the overall development Achievements App has tons of process. activities and goals which reward students with “Bennies,” allowing They have also provided support them to purchase real items from for the existing system, assisted the Ball State Bookstore, Tech with the project management Store, and Rec Center. for the development efforts, collaborated with the Digital Corps The Information Technology on design and usability studies Developing Technologies for the mobile app, and will be Team has worked closely with responsible for the development Scott during 2018 to help of the mobile app. define the RFP for the external

7 3 Student Relationship Management 018 saw Ball State commit to relationship solution for recruiting 2Slate as our official enterpise re- and admissions. cruitment and admissions relation- Information Technology team ship management tool. Informa- members are also working with tion Technology collaborated with these academic and administra- Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, tive areas as an integral part of the Business Affairs, and all of the ad- implementation and rollout pro- missions and emrollment areas— cess for the Slate application. This undergraduate, graduate, online implementation team was also learning, and international admis- trained in the Slate application’s sions—to develop requirements features and functionality in order for and select a campus-wide re- to onboard the rest of the universi- cruitment and admissions solution. ty personnel that will work with the As a result, the committee chose system. Slate as the enterprise student

4 Indiana Public Radio: The Scene he Scene is a weekly public performed in local venues catered Tradio show produced by Ball by a team of people who simply State students in an immersive love music. in the School of learning course The Scene, which will celebrate its Music with production assistance 10th year of broadcasting in 2019, from Indiana Public Radio students is produced at Indiana Public Ra- and professional staff. dio in collaboration with Ball State’s The Scene features music in per- Music & Media Production depart- formance from around the great ment and is made possible in part Hoosier state. Each week listeners by the Office of the Vice President drop-in on an hour of live music for Information Technology. 8 SUPPORTING THE ENTERPRISE

BSU Multisite 1Platform

ERP Systems Upgrade

2 Improvements in Classroom Technology3 9 1 BSU Multisite Platform

oming off a successful part- plishments, university centers or Cnership of analyzing and up- institutes, and other web initiatives dating portions of the Ball State that didn’t fit cleanly into the prima- website, University Marketing and ry Ball State site. Communications asked the Digital Corps to assist with additional web The Digital Corps oversaw the cre- tools for the campus community. ation of these “multisites” from start to finish. This included holding fo- Through the interdisciplinary col- cus groups of early adopters who laboration of designers, develop- helped narrow down the scope ers, user experience researchers, and define the requested tools, and communication strategists, designing brand-friendly web lay- the Digital Corps was able to deliv- outs with options for all types of er on this challenging new project. content, implementing the required Wordpress tools and plugins to The desire from the campus com- scale the initiative campus-wide, munity was to build a suite of easy beta testing with a diverse group and professional web publishing of campus collaborators, provid- tools, while also remaining loyal to ing one-on-one support to guide brand guidelines set forth by Uni- early users through the new plat- versity Marketing & Communica- form, and ultimately launching the tions. Ultimately, a series of Word- platform with University Marketing press-based themes were created & Communications for widescale to feature individual faculty accom- adoption.

10 2 ERP Systems Upgrade

ith the release of Banner work on larger-screen mobile W9, Ball State began to plan devices, such as iPads or other and implement the upgrade of tablets. our ERP system. In 2018, Infor- In addition to the Banner 9 im- mation Technology upgraded plementation, Information Tech- the infrastructure to support the nology collaborated with the move to Banner 9, and worked University Data Stewards to with the HR and Finance areas test the application before plac- to begin the implementation. ing it into a production environ- In general, the upgrade chang- ment, as well as creating train- es are user experience improve- ing materials for end users. ments, but also include moving Moving forward, the team will Banner to a web-based appli- begin the process of updat- cation, giving it a more mod- ing the student and employee ern look and feel. In addition, Self-Service modules, and will the upgrade expands the web roll those updates out in 2019. browser choice to any modern web browser, and it will now

11 3 Improvements in Classroom Technology

he Large Lecture Hall Refresh • Provides the ability to play and Tis a three year project to up- stream high definition video. grade the technology in Large Lec- • Eliminates the need to replace ture Halls across campus. Started batteries for new rechargeable during the summer of 2017, the wireless microphones. project is now in its third year. • Offers the ability to play high • Summer 2017 upgrades: AJ definition Blu-ray discs as well 175, AJ 225, AJ 289, and RB as standard definition DVDs. 125. • Leaves more free space on • Summer 2018 upgrades: AC the desktop by installing new 114, HP 200, LB 121, and LB document cameras with a 125. smaller footprint. • Planning is in progress for the • Provides easier interaction with next round of upgrades. the new classroom technology Along with other technology im- with an improved touch panel provements, these upgrades will screen experience. provide better support for faculty • Delivers higher video resolution, and staff who present in these lec- clearer pictures, and improved ture halls. Benefits include: reliability through HDMI • Replaces dated computers connectivity. (VGA connectivity with new high-end computers will also continue to be available). that offer both Mac OS X and Windows on a single all-in-one computer, allowing the user to select their desired system.

12 IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE

Repurposing Excess Computers1

Technology Recycling 3Program Customer Service Best Practice 2Training 13 1 Repurposing Excess Computers he Information Technolo- sets-up each computer for a Tgies Tech Center began a new user. new initiative in 2018 to eval- These repurposed computers uate all viable computers that have been placed in the Ball various departments normally State Police Station, the Child send to Inventory Control for Study Center, Strategic Learn- recycling. In this new program, ing, the Operations Control any computer that is 4 - 5 years Center, Student Center Oper- old or newer that appears to be ations, Speech Pathology and in good condition and has sol- Audiology, and the Internation- id specifications can be repur- al Travel loaner laptop pool. In posed for use in areas where all, nearly 50 computers have the need for technology is been acquired and repur- greater than the budget allows. posed to various departments Each computer is run through and organizations on campus. hardware diagnostics. If the In addition, the program has computer passes the diagnos- repurposed 42 computers from tic tests, it is deemed as a com- an academic department as puter than can be repurposed. part of a computer lab upgrade. The Information Technology These computers were were team then wipes the hard drive, then allocated to the Muncie installs a clean operating and Community Schools.

14 3 Technology Recycling Program all State University has The program accepts desktop been a leader for many and laptop comuters, monitors, Byears in contributing to a safe printers, and networking hard- and healthy environment. The ware, along with personal de- Office of Information Technol- vices such as cell phones, tab- ogy and Business Affairs are lets, and music players. proud to continue that tradition Students, faculty, and staff fill by creating a new Go Green out a recycling release form, Technology Recycling Program. and Information Technology Beginning in March 2018, stu- disposes of the item in a con- dents, faculty and staff could venient and environmentally bring their old and outdated friendly manner. technology hardware to the Tech Center in Bracken Library for recycling.

15 2 Customer Service Best Practice Training o ensure the Tech Center • The correct way to give direc- Tstudent staff provide the best tions and to walk with clients to possible customer service to our destinations, if that is helpful. clients, Information Technology • The importance of asking follow- personnel provide customer up questions in order to insure service training to all students directions or instructions meet

in forward-facing job positions the client’s needs. at the start of Fall and Spring semesters, and prior to general • How to take complete messages. student orientation. • Proper posture while seated at Each training session includes a the desk or their primary work presentation, in-session exercises, area. and a question and answer segment. • Work attire requirements, includ- Supervisors provide additional one- ing hygiene and “what not to on-one instruction for their specific wear.” work areas/assignments. • Introductions to their department The training focuses on best management (titles, view photos, practices for customer service work locations, org chart, etc.). including: • How and when to seek assistance • The importance and value of when they don’t have a response Information Technology services. or if the client is challenging or • An explanation of why customer difficult. service is essential and the • General emergency and securi- expectations of an Information ty procedures. More specific in- Technology employee. structions are given by their im- • How to greet/welcome clients in mediate supervisor. person, via phone, and through • How to thank clients upon exiting email communications. and how offer additional services or resources.

16 SECURING INFORMATION & PRIVACY

Policies & Procedures Repository2

Information Security Improvements

17 3 Enhanced Account Protection1

1 Enhanced Account Protection n order to further protect the name and password. This sec- IBall State community from in- ond factor reduces the threat formation security threats, the of a malicious attempt to use Office of Information Security a faculty or staff members log- rolled out an enhanced account in credentials to gain access to protection called “two-factor their personal information, or authentication,” to all current our campus networks and ap- Ball State employees during plications. 2018. Information Technology and the Using the Duo mobile applica- Office of Information Securi- tion or security token, all Ball ty also plan to roll out this en- State employees must acknol- hanced account protection to wedge a login to their BSU ac- all students by 2020. count after they enter their user

18 2 Policies & Procedures Repository

uring 2018, Information Tech- ities to Student Affairs, Business Dnology and the Office of Infor- Affairs, and other areas, and then mation Security began rolling out collaborated with them to plan and a centralized policy and procedure implement Policy Tech in their ar- repository for all of campus. The eas. software, Policy Tech, allows both Information Technology then academic and administrative de- trained key personnel in each area partments to organize their policies to allow them to author, review, and and procedures, as well as estab- approve policies and procedures lish authorship and approval work- using Policy Tech’s workflows. flows for them. Information Technology presented Policy Tech features and capabil-

19 3 Information Security Improvements nformation Security continuously • Partnered with our peers at the Istrives to proactively prevent and Ball State Technology HelpDesk address cyber security risks to the to provide enhanced device university. Our employees stay up protection installation for our to speed with cyber threats, tech- sensitive data users including nological advances, and address our College of Health employ- alerts related to vulnerabilities, ees. Some of the enhanced threats, and unusual behaviors. device protection includes anti-virus, no local administrator The information security land- access, encrypting worksta- scape is constantly changing and tions, and application whitelis- evolving. As such, detection and ting software that only permits mitigation of malicious activity approved software installation must evolve as well. IT has made and execution (for example, a strong commitment to meet the coupon printing software would challenges of this changing land- be stopped). scape. In order to accomplish this, our employees have: • Researched and learned ways to continuously identify and • Migrated over 50% of the uni- check unusual behaviors re- versity from traditional (file sig- lated to changed credentials, nature) to next generation (be- malicious connection attempts, havior) anti-virus. threat detection and mitigation, • Moved all server local admin- and privileged account usage. istrator accounts to our Enter- prise Random Password Man- ager (ERPM) to better audit server administrator activity.

20 TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

The David Letterman Learning Experience1

The Loading Zone: WIPB/ PBS2 Kids BSU AthlEATS 3App

21 1 The David Letterman Learning Experience he Information Technology sist with design and develop- TDeveloping Technologies ment for storytelling on a 98- team and the Digital Corps col- inch touch wall screen, a touch laborated with graduate and table, virtual reality experiences, undergraduate students in the and several other technologies Emerging Media Design & De- and software and development velopment (EMDD) program, led tools. by Dr. Jennifer Palilonis, to cre- Developing Technologies also ate the David Letterman Learn- collaborated with the Digital ing Experience. Leveraging the Corps to create an augmented rich narrative potential for items reality experience and mobile in the collection, this immer- app prototype that allows peo- sive learning class explored ple to explore the Letterman intersections between story- collection, along with providing telling, technology, and art. general support and guidance dditionally, the class worked for technology decisions. to develop a model for on- A EMDD graduate and undergrad- going immersive learning expe- uate students worked closely rienced related to the Letterman with Digital Corps to create two Collection that can provide fac- unique augmented reality expe- ulty and students new opportu- riences featuring items from the nities in the future. Letterman collection. The Dig- The Information Technology ital Corps also assisted in vid- Developing Technologies team eo production for the “Learning worked closely with EMDD with Dave” component of the graduate students, the Digital experience. Corps, and Jerry Pierce to as-

22 2 The Loading Zone: WIPB/PBS Kids

nformation Technology’s Digital minute per video. Plus, to fit into ICorps has been supporting the the animated programming of PBS work of WIPB for years, but 2018 Kids, there needed to be visually brought the first opportunity to interesting “hosts” guiding viewers produce and distribute an entirely along the way. new idea for young viewers of PBS In the end, the Digital Corps’ Kids. tech-savvy team crafted “The The challenge presented seemed Loading Zone,” a series of one-min- simple: create short, easy-to-un- ute interstitials explaining tech-re- derstand videos about technolo- lated topics to a young audience. gy that will fit seamlessly into the The series is “hosted” by Billy and children’s television programming Penelope, two curious robots who block each morning. turn to their real-world friends at the Digital Corps to explain com- The reality, of course, was much plicated ideas. harder! Complex subjects–from wifi to solar power, and prosthet- The series began airing on WIPB in ics to saving energy–needed to be December 2018 and has spread to simplified for a very young audi- numerous other outlets throughout ence and presented in under one Indiana.

23 3 BSU Athl EATS App n cooperation with Ball State Developing Technologies has IAthletics and the department worked to create a mobile app of Emerging Media and Digital to motivate athletes through Design, Information Technology’s competitions, challenges, and Developing Technologies Group incentives. This includes the created BSUathlEATS, a three-part development of a custom backend experience for Ball State athletes database, administrative website, and coaches to gain the necessary and native mobile app for Android knowledge and support to sustain and iOS. good nutrition, encourage healthy Through the research conducted eating habits, and promote a by the EMDD graduate students, support culture. this project has the potential for The goal of the project is to commercial success, as nutrition provide athletes with nutritional in college sports is not only a support through a diverse media multi-million dollar industry, but a experience, capitalize on the challenge many smaller to mid- athletes’ love for competition, and sized universities are faced with as use existing dietetics and nutrition a competitive advantage. expertise to inform the project direction.

24 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

1 Innovate WithIN Initiative all State University built a the entire initiative, developed Bunique relationship with the unique and dynamic websites Indiana General Assembly, the for the pitch competition and Indiana Economic Development the conference, assisted Corporation, the Indiana in event planning and Department of Education, and management, provided digital several internal departments marketing strategies, facilitated to create the Innovate WithIN online registrations and idea initiative. Ball State was tasked submission, and shot and with developing two unique edited video highlights from all types of programming: an of the programming. innovation pitch competition The event gathered significant for high school students, and a interest, including attendance day-long workshop for Indiana at the state competition by educators. the Superintendent of Public Information Technology’s Digital Education, the President of Corps created the branding Ball State University, and the elements and brand guide for Governor of Indiana.

25 Innovate WithIN 1Initiative

The Facing 2Project Muncie Community 3Schools

26 2 The Facing Project he Facing Project is a and features performances of Tnew, locally produced IPR stories that follow The Facing program that started in 2018. Project’s model. The show seeks to strengthen Indiana Public Radio has also communities by connecting created a podcast of this people through stories. program that features extended Hosted by the founders of commentary on the stories, The Facing Project non-profit encouraging listeners to share organization, J.R. Jamison their own stories and reinforcing and Kelsey Timmerman, each the empathy to listen to others. month’s show carries a theme

27 3 Muncie Community Schools s part of Ball State’s com- en Library materials and the Amittment to Muncie Com- ability to purchade Recre- munity Schools, Information ation Center memberships. Technology provided both equipment and expertise to ex- • The Office of Information pand and improve the schools’ Security Services met with technology capabilities. Muncie Community Schools personnel to discuss tech- • Our Hardware Repair de- nology security issues, partment refurbished 42 performed a vulnerability computers previously used assessemnt, and made rec- in a computer lab and pro- ommendations for technol- vided them on loan to Mun- ogy security tools and pro- cie Community Schools. cesses.

• Information Technology per- • Information Technology personnel worked with Muncie sonnel continue to meet with Community Schools tech- Muncie Community Schools nology staff to provide new IT staff on a quarterly basis ID cards to the schools’ to share knowledge and pro- staff, with additional privileg- vide guidance on technology es such as access to Brack- issues.

28 BALL STATE UNIVERSITY