OIT Annual Report 2021-2022

OIT Values

• People
• Integrity
• Collaboration
• Resourcefulness
• Service
• Fun
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Canvas Implementation

With a short timeline in the middle of a global pandemic, OIT, the Office of Academic Innovation (OAI) several other units on campus worked together on a large-scale project to deploy our new learning management system (LMS), Canvas. As a complete replacement of the most active student-facing platform on campus, this endeavor required massive efforts to configure, test, and deploy the new learning environment. This work included the development of integration with Banner and our identity system, the configuration of nearly 30 learning tools integrations, the management and testing of a 3rd party data archival system, and much more. Extensive preparation and work by all parties provided a new, easy to learn system for students starting in the Winter term of 2022.

Improved Document Collection for Financial Aid

OIT worked in collaboration with Financial Aid (FA) to create a solution in OnBase that allows for student parents and spouses to securely upload information needed for financial aid processing and disbursement. Prior to this project, parents and spouses would mail, fax, drop off, or upload documents to a generic “uploader” form, which required more processing time and validation by FA staff, and was often less secure.

Implement Banner 9 allows parents and others (when set up by the student) to view and modify information in Banner 9 Self Service.  This will reduce password sharing and reduce support phone calls to Registrar's Office, Student Financial Services, and FA, as well as provide a much desired new feature for PSU students.

Banweb Proxy Access for Parents and Others

Students now have the ability to authorize proxy access for parents and others to view and modify information within Banweb. This will reduce password sharing and reduce support phone calls to the Registrar's Office, Student Financial Services and Financial Aid, as well as provide a much desired new feature for our students.

Increased Work Environment Flexibility

OIT has remained diligently focused on employee connection and support, as people are our number one value. OIT developed a framework to offer employees flexibility and  choice in their  work location and environment, depending on position responsibilities. 

This shift provided an opportunity for OIT to establish new all-staff  hybrid meetings, which brought all OIT employees together for an engaging experience, regardless of work location. This new hybrid meeting structure incorporated both on-site and virtual activities and games, utilizing conference  rooms outfitted with excellent hybrid capacity to reinforce opportunities for connection and innovation.

OIT is committed to providing the best work environment for all OIT employees, as well as PSU students, staff, and faculty. We aim to foster experiences in OIT that continue to make OIT one of the top 100 Best Places to work in IT.

Summer Classroom Training

Over the course of Summer 2021, OIT held 22 training sessions for110 faculty on how to use classroom technology. With 60 lab sessions hosted, faculty were able to practice using the new technology. To accompany the growing demand for the service, OIT created training videos and a Classroom Technology landing page.

Service-oriented Cost Analysis

OIT launched a Service-oriented cost analysis project to assess the costs associated with providing specific customer-facing services. This will assist OIT and PSU in making well-informed, strategic, and business-driven choices about how to fund IT efficiently and effectively.

Virtual Desktop for Employees

OIT improved the Employee Virtual Desktop service by enhancing the user experience.  Prior to the improvement, users logged into a shared Windows Server desktop that auto logged-off idle sessions after 8 hours. In the new environment, employees have a private, one-to-one, desktop OS experience. The session and any open apps will continue running in the background for up to five days of inactivity, making it easy and convenient to pick up where users left off.

Remote Work Agreement: OnBase Integration with Banner "My Team"

OIT worked with Human Resources (HR) to bring employee Remote Work Agreement (RWA) information into the Banweb "My Team" page, providing managers with easier access to this information.

Expanded Race and Ethnicity Project

In collaboration with Admissions, the Registrar's Office (RO), Global Diversity and Inclusion (GDI), and Office of Institutional Research and Planning (OIRP), OIT expanded the race and ethnicity options in Slate and Banner. This provides students and employees with more options for self-identification.

Employee Anti-Discrimination Module

OIT supported the office of Global Diversity & Inclusion (GDI) to track employee completion of a new anti-discrimination training module. OIT provided a way to record compliance in Banner, remind employees to complete the module, and automatically inform supervisors of employees who have not.

Non-Inclusive Language Discovery Project

As a department, we inherit the legacy of non-inclusive and inequitable language that permeates the information technology field. The purpose of this project was to identify, track, and work towards changing any non-inclusive language that exists within systems and documentation that are maintained by OIT. Through the process of locating and documenting the use of non-inclusive language in our systems and documentation, this project raised awareness within the department, and laid the foundation for systematically replacing non-inclusive language across our environment. Every employee in OIT engaged in this project. OIT discovered over 630 non-inclusive terms, and is now recommending next steps to begin the second phase of this project remediation. 

Inclusive Hiring Practices in OIT

Recruitment

In addition to PSU’s advertising, OIT invests in targeted recruitment for minority job seekers through an array of organizations, such as Partners in Diversity, PDX WIT (Portland Women in Tech), Urban League of Portland, Diversity.com, Women in Higher Ed (wihe.com), and many others. OIT’s goal is to ensure our positions reach all qualified candidates, and that our organizational practices support increasing diversity in applicant pools. 

Redact Identifying Information from Application Materials

OIT has begun redacting identifying information of all employee materials including names, pictures, addresses, school names, dates, etc. to mitigate bias throughout the review process. Adding this step to our applicant review process helps to ensure committees evaluate candidates based on their skills and experience, instead of factors that may lead to unconscious or conscious bias.

Measuring Candidates Objectively

OIT evaluates candidates based on clearly identified objective qualifications and incorporates those into a matrix. Committees use this tool to identify how well the candidate meets the qualifications of the position. This process also helps to remove bias during the assessment and supports the hiring committees focus on only those skills that apply to the position requirements. 

Global Header and Academic Program Page Realignment

OIT, in collaboration with University Communications and Enrollment Management, completed two projects to enhance the experience of all (prospective, current, and former) students, staff, faculty, and any other visitors to PDX.edu. The first project involved redesigning the Academic Program pages to better support the needs of prospective students, provide a unified presentation of all academic programs, and to drive recruitment efforts for individual programs. The second involved redesigning the global header and navigation for PDX.edu, providing enhanced clarity to site visitors and improved promotion of individual sites.

Oregon State Treasury to KeyBank Transaction

PSU agreed to participate in a pilot program with the Oregon State Treasury that will send ACH files directly to KeyBank, removing a step in the process. This transition created efficiencies and simplified the process. 

Research Computing Enhancements

OIT enhanced the capabilities of its centrally managed research high performance computing (HPC) cluster Coeus by adding ten new graphics processing unit (GPU) servers. The new GPU servers offer massively parallel processing capabilities for enhanced machine learning research. OIT deployed these servers using a new operating system which offers improved compatibility with modern machine learning software libraries and the newest versions of HPC programs.
 
Additionally, OIT piloted an effort with a PSU researcher providing them the capability to install their own specialty research programs. Empowering HPC experts in this manner allows for rapid program installation to meet their evolving research needs, ensures complex research programs are performing optimally, and provides opportunities for other HPC users to benefit from the availability of these programs.