News & Updates
Four Score and Seven Days Ahead
By Dave Smallen
May 26, 2016
It is hard to believe, but the 2015-2016 academic year is complete. At Class and Charter day we celebrated faculty and student achievements, the staff recognition luncheon did the same for our non-faculty employees, and Commencement celebrated the graduation of our seniors. When our students leave the campus, many Hamilton departments move into high gear to prepare for the start of the next year.
What is LITS planning for the eighty-seven days between Commencement and the start of Orientation? These days, when our academic facilities are not as heavily used, are the only realistic time to implement major changes to our campus information and technology environments. Here are a few of the highlights:
We will be replacing/upgrading almost 600 computers, printers and control systems in classrooms, public computing facilities, and offices. As we replace employee computers we will encrypt the data contained on them to reduce the risk of compromising sensitive information.
Over the summer we will be adding 3-D printing and modeling services to the "Research & Design Studio" space on the first floor of Burke Library. The Studio includes research and multimedia production assistance, collaborative work areas, specialized design software, and a variety of research and digital tools, including a Game Creation Work Station and expanded Collaboration Spaces for group work. In the coming year, our innovative workshop series, Burke-shops, will continue to offer students the opportunity to learn a wide array of research and technology skills.
Dramatic increases in the availability of multimedia information, and the increase in the use of mobile devices for accessing that information, will require our campus network to become faster. The first steps in a major multi-year upgrade to our campus network will take place over this period.
As you’ve likely heard, the campus web site is being substantially redesigned for the first time in more than a decade. Our web team is implementing the underlying infrastructure to support the new look, while the Communications team in C & D is overseeing the migration of content to the new site. The new web site will focus on communicating with our prospective students and our alumni. More extensive use of visual materials, both pictures and videos are part of the design. We hope the new site will be ready to launch before we convene in the fall.
Significant software changes are planned for our critical campus information systems including Blackboard, our document management system, Onbase, and our Colleague enterprise information system. Included in these changes are a new approach to student registration and planning that was piloted by faculty and students this spring. In addition, the admissions world is undergoing changes to the application process, and the support for these changes need to be ready prior to the class of 2021 expressing their interest in Hamilton.
Four score and seven days ahead Hamilton will bring forth a new entering class, conceived in the work of our admissions office, and with the dedication of LITS providing the information and technology environments equal to the challenges they will face at Hamilton.
