News
New
ITCHE notified us of the FCC’s request for comment on emergency notifications by educational institutions under its robocall rules. Make sure that you take a look at the request circulated last week.
The System IT Governance development team is ready for feedback on the first part of the framework – a statement of the Values, Purpose and Responsibilities of System IT Governance. Invitations have been sent to CIOs across TAMUS to introduce the statement and bring everyone up to speed on the overall System IT governance development process. Sessions are scheduled for May 13, May 15 and May 18. Please contact Leslie W. Lenser (llenser@tamusl.edu) if you are interested in attending a session.
The University of Texas at Austin received some exciting news from the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) support team. Adoption of Canvas by faculty who use an LMS is at an all-time high of 92 percent. That is a goal that each of our universities would love to mimic.
The MAESTRO Steering Committee meets this week.
ITAC meets this week.
In Process
Registration is now open for the 2015 Chancellor’s Summit on Academic Technology, which will be held in College Station, TX on Thursday, June 25th at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. Register here: http://tx.ag/CSAT2015Registration.
The event is free of charge and open to all A&M System faculty and staff. The deadline for registration is Monday, June 22nd, 5pm. Building upon the success of last year’s summit, this event is designed to bring technology professionals and academic leadership across the A&M System to share information and ideas on important academic technology issues that impact the member institutions.
Summit keynote speaker is Dr. Ellen Wagner, Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Predictive Analytics Reporting (PAR) Network. Her talk will be about the new directions in higher education and student success.
Following the Summit sessions, there will be a reception for the summit participants, hosted by Chancellor John Sharp. The plenary sessions will be broadcast live and recorded. By registering for the event, you consent to having your image and/or audio possibly included as part of the broadcast and recording. For questions related to the Summit or if you require an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please contact:
Ms. Sheri Pappas, Coordinator of Academic Initiatives, The Texas A&M University System
sheri.pappas@tamus.edu
System-Wide Contracting News
New
Open Records Management System – The demos of the two finalists were completed last week. The participants are preparing their comments and submitting their feedback this week. The selection of the System-wide solution will be made later this month.
Adobe reached out to TAMUS about offering a revised System-wide ELA agreement. The System Office will make their revised proposal(s) available as soon as they are received.
An RFI for a replacement of the MAESTRO System has been issued. Here is the link to that posting: http://esbd.cpa.state.tx.us/bid_show.cfm?bidid=117301.
The RFP for Member Governance has been issued. You can find that RFP at the following link: http://esbd.cpa.state.tx.us/bid_show.cfm?bidid=117345.
Zerto met with the System Office last week. Zerto provides a hypervisor-based replication technology for VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V environments. This solution delivers a true enterprise-class, yet fully virtual-aware, complete BC/DR solution for all virtualized applications that require protection. If you are interested in information about Zerto, I have an overview and pricing sheet.
In Process
The RFP for a Digital COE is being reviewed by OGC.
TAMUS is finalizing the amendment to engage SolutionsPlus to provide RFP evaluation assistance for the Banner Services RFP.
Eight companies responded to an RFP for an Electronic Board Book Portal. That list has been cut down to four finalists. Dates and times for the demonstrations will be worked out this week.
Repeats
Siteimprove checks web pages, every five days, for spelling, grammar, broken links, and accessibility. The cost is 54 cents per web page per year. Any Members interested in adding this service need to contact me directly.
The System-wide agreement with Cisco WebEx allows Members to purchase licenses for their entire faculty/administrators at the low cost of $1.44/month/license.
Syncplicity licensing is available for all Members.
Projects
In Process
TAMUS provided Workday with a revised contract terms last week. Work is focused on the cost, the timing of the first payment, and a handful of services being requested.
TAMU will be continuing negotiations with the component #1 vendor (data center build out) this week. The evaluation of the second component (compute and storage) and third components (IT services) will commence in Mid-May.
Utilities & Energy Services is working with Engineering to serve as the pilot of Cisco EnergyWise.
SCIO Trips/Visits
- North Dakota (May 11-12)
- Commerce (May 15)