Monthly Archives: May 2019

Business Improvement: Ellucian DegreeWorks

The University of Scranton is proud to announce the planned implementation of Ellucian DegreeWorks, an easy-to-use, online suite of academic planning tools that assist students and advisors in planning, tracking and auditing academic progress and completion of degree requirements.  DegreeWorks is a web-based audit tool that will provide a clear and convenient method for: viewing and tracking requirements for the degree program declared by a student; supporting more timely degree certification by reducing paperwork and manual degree certification checklists; and aiding departments in forecasting course capacity demand. The program compares degree requirements against coursework completed to produce an easy-to-read, online worksheet that displays degree requirements by categories (GE, Major, Minor, Concentration).  The University’s decision to adopt DegreeWorks, the most modern educational program planning tool in the higher education marketplace, was highlighted as a strength by the Middle States Peer Review Team in their oral debriefing.

DegreeWorks also features a Transfer Equivalency (TE) module designed to articulate and map external coursework to University of Scranton equivalencies. Its self-service tool will allow high school and transfer students to forecast their transferable credits, a utility that will greatly improve the timeliness and processing of transfer credit for these applicant populations.

Susan Bowen, CIO, and Julie Ferguson, Registrar, are the executive sponsors of the DegreeWorks project. “DegreeWorks is a university-wide initiative that will further enhance the student user experience at UofS,” states Ms. Bowen.   Ms. Ferguson added “An implementation committee, co-chaired by Rose Ann Jubinski, IT Business Applications Analyst, and Lisa Cornell, Associate Registrar, will include cross-campus representation from TAG, Faculty Advisors, Advising Centers, ORAS, Financial Aid, IT, Dean’s Offices and the Office of the Provost. Advisors, Department Chairs and Program Directors will be routinely consulted throughout the coding and testing processes.”  Extensive training will be provided to all users.

DegreeWorks is expected to launch in Fall 2020; the product will be available to undergraduate and graduate students admitted in Fall 2020 and thereafter.  CAPP will be used to track the degree requirements of students admitted prior to Fall 2020.

Written by Julie Ferguson, Registrar

Security Spotlight: Security Awareness Training Matters

Cybersecurity, data breach, privacy, phishing attempts– I am sure you are most familiar with these words, as they have been frequently used these past years in our campus presentations, national news reports and articles in industry magazines (just to name a few). The threats these words represent are escalating, complicated and quite frankly too important to dismiss.

Listed as the single most pressing issue in the Top 10 IT Issues 2019 from Educause (a non-profit association that helps higher education optimize the impact of IT), it is a University-wide challenge that we must address – together.

Our Information Security Office (ISO) has seen a steady increase in the number of phishing and social engineering attempts. Thankfully, in part due to our programming and outreach (such as cybersecurity month, wellness day presentations, email notices and training) constituents have become more aware of these types of attempts and are increasingly reporting them to the ISO and the Technology Support Center.

The ISO encourages everyone to take advantage of the security awareness training available through SANS to learn more about phishing and social engineering, and recommends that everyone regularly perform a “Malwarebytes Full Scan” to guard against malware (this program is already installed on our campus computers).

As we continue to develop our University security strategies, we ask that you remain vigilant, and never hesitate to call or email us to confirm the validity of an email or phone call. You can reach the Information Security Office at 570-941-4226 or email infosec@scranton.edu.

Free Security Resources

  • The  THINK. CONNECT. ™ Campaign is a national public awareness campaign aimed at increasing the understanding of cyber threats. https://www.stopthinkconnect.org/resources
  • Through StaySafeOnline, the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) empowers users at home, work and school with the information they need to keep themselves, their organizations, their systems and their sensitive information safe and secure online and encourage a culture of cybersecurity. https://staysafeonline.org/
  • Report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission online at IdentityTheft.gov or by phone at 1-877-438-4338.
  • Get the latest information on IRS Tax Scams / Consumer Alerts. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts

Free Security Software Resources (for home)

  • uBlock Origin Extension (in Google Chrome Browser) is a free and open-source, cross-platform browser extension for content-filtering, including ad-blocking. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en
  • Malwarebytes protects you against malware, ransomware, malicious websites, and other advanced online threats that have made traditional antivirus obsolete. https://www.malwarebytes.com/
  • Have I Been Pwned allows you to search across multiple data breaches to see if your email address has been compromised. https://haveibeenpwned.com/
  • LastPass is a password manager that stores encrypted passwords online. https://www.lastpass.com/

 

 

 

Wireless Upgrades in Student Residence Halls

Cisco Wireless Access Point

The Network Services team will be performing a wireless infrastructure upgrade to many of our student residence halls this summer.

Wireless was upgraded in Giblin-Kelly Hall as a proof-of-concept last March. During this pilot, a total of 37 new wireless access points and one additional back-end Cisco switch were placed in the dormitory to enhance and support the student increased wireless bandwidth demand.

In order to address the increasing demand for wireless capacity in the student residence halls, and to allow each student to leverage more wireless devices, a more comprehensive wireless design plan has been created. This plan calls for a wireless access point in every other student room with multiple access points in the hospitality areas.

The following student residence halls will be upgraded this summer using the same wireless design: Casey Hall, Condron Hall, Denis Edward Hall, Driscoll Hall, Fitch Hall, Hafey Hall, Lynett Hall, Martin Hall, McCourt Hall, McGowan House, GLM, Nevils Hall and Redington Hall.