Information
Technology Activity
Contact Information
Technology
Anytime Support Desk
Available 24 hours a day,
7 days a week
(310) 506-HELP (4357)
or (866) 767-8623
Technology and Learning
for Faculty
http://services.pepperdine.
edu/techlearn/
techlearn@pepperdine.edu
Office of the Vice
Provost and Chief
Information Officer
(310) 506-4501
Request IT Services
http://services.pepperdine.edu/it
/forms
and Status Report
August 2010
Announcements for Faculty and Staff Meetings
Pepperdine Adopts Sakai as Official Learning Management
System. On Friday, July 9, 2010 all Pepperdine faculty and staff were sent
an email about Pepperdine’s decision to adopt Sakai. This decision was
based on data collected during a 13-month study conducted by Information
Technology's Technology and Learning group. The collected data and feed-
back indicated that Blackboard was not meeting the needs of many Pep-
perdine faculty members and that Sakai could not only meet those needs,
but do it with greater ease and flexibility. An executive summary of this
study has been posted on the Courses implementation page on the Tech-
nology and Learning website.
All faculty are encouraged to begin using Pepperdine's version of Sakai,
named "Courses," for their fall 2010 courses. The University's contract with
Blackboard will expire on December 31, 2010 and will not be renewed. For
questions about the transition to Courses, please contact the Technology
and Learning group at techlearn@pepperdine.edu
Courses Workshops Now Available for Faculty. The Technol-
ogy and Learning group is encouraging all faculty to prepare for the fall
term by posting course materials online using Courses. Staff has partnered
with Seaver College technology liaisons and graduate campus support staff
to provide numerous workshop opportunities for faculty. Workshop topics
include:
• Getting Started: A 90-minute Introduction to Courses
• A Closer Look at Courses: A Half Day Workshop
• Migration: Moving Your Blackboard Material to Courses
Workshop registration is required because seating is limited. Visit
http://services.pepperdine.edu/techlearn/events/ for the full schedule and
registration. Contact Hong.Kha@pepperdine.edu for more information.
1 Information Technology Activity and Status Report, August 2010
Administrative Support for Schools
GSEP Tests New Cisco Telephone System for Distance Learning. Margaret Riel and
Paul Sparks, instructors at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP), are collaborating
with Technology and Learning instructional technologist Hong Kha to pilot test the new Cisco telephone
system's communication and collaboration features with distance learners. The features allow students
and faculty to conduct instant messaging, quick audio and video conferences, desktop sharing, and to
place phone calls from computer to computer or computer to land line. Pilot participants hope to use
the new system to provide greater audio and visual interaction among remote learners and to promote
more frequent and effective collaboration among students in the distance learning program. Please con-
tact Hong Kha at Hong.Kha@pepperdine.edu to learn more about this pilot test or to discuss how
technology can enhance learning at Pepperdine.

GSBM Takes First Steps Towards Paperless Admissions. The Graziadio School of Busi-
ness and Management (GSBM) has made significant strides in their use of Nolij, Pepperdine's document
imaging system. In July, GSBM introduced electronic voting using Nolij web forms and workflow for ac-
tive committees. Admission decision votes are now being submitted through Nolij to accelerate the re-
view process for part-time program applications. Full-time program review committees will begin using
Nolij as an admission tool in the fall semester. In addition, GSBM's Admission office is taking steps to-
wards becoming paperless. This summer, fully-employed, full-time, and executive program offices were
set up to access Graziadio Admission files and Registrar files through Nolij. According to Michael Stam-
per, GSBM's director of technology, faculty and staff are pleased with the changes being made and ap-
preciate the convenience of accessing files online. GSBM hopes to have all programs and applications
available through Nolij by spring 2011.

SPP Saves Energy with Virtual NComputing Units. The School of Public Policy (SPP) re-
cently virtualized the public computers in a writing lab that students use to work on resumes and apply
for internships. Erik Rush, IT’s Drescher campus lab manager supported SPP with the NComputing set
up. NComputing is a virtual computing technology that allows one computer to support multiple com-
puters.

Administrative Support for the University

Software to be Available on Pepperdine Network this Fall. For the past year, IT staff
members have been investigating the virtualization of software applications at Pepperdine University. The
applications Pepperdine chooses to virtualize will be centrally located and managed in the University’s
data center, allowing them to be instantly available to end users via the Pepperdine network. Virtualizing
applications not only saves the University money on software licensing fees, but it also allows Mac, Win-
dows and mobile users to access the same applications from anywhere, anytime.

Citrix XenApp, a virtualization solution, will allow Pepperdine IT to host and operate select applications,
such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook on the network instead of installing and run-
ning them on a specific computer. The virtualization solution, which will be known as "MyApps" at Pep-
perdine, is currently being tested by IT staff members and the technical teams at GSBM, GSEP, and the
School of Law (SOL). For questions about software application virtualization, please contact Thomas
Hoover at Thomas.Hoover@pepperdine.edu.

2 Information Technology Activity and Status Report, August 2010

Public Safety Saves Time and Funds with iPad Use. During a two-week period in the
month of July, student officers from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) used an iPad that was lent
to them by Pepperdine IT to stop by offices and work stations to renew parking permits for faculty and
staff. Over 350 permits were handed out during the visits and DPS saved approximately $2,500 by not
using iParq, the online permit store, to ship the permits to the community members. IT staff member
Terence Anderson worked closely with DPS staff to set up the iPad and troubleshoot any issues that
surfaced during the process. Due to the success of the initiative, DPS has ordered a few iPads and is
looking forward to future uses of the iPad.

Infrastructure, Systems, and Networking Updates

Wireless Access Improves in Malibu Campus Apartments. Since May of this year, IT
staff have been working with various students to troubleshoot wireless access issues in the Towers
apartments. The faulty wireless access points have been identified and improved. Interference from non-
Wi-Fi devices such as cellular phone headsets, game controllers, and microwave ovens continue to be a
problem for some students. IT staff is in the process of finalizing a plan to add additional access points to
improve wireless coverage and performance in the apartments.

Cisco Telephone System Deployment to West Los Angeles Campus Underway.

One year ago, IT staff began a multi-year project to replace the University’s existing telephone system
with a new platform from Cisco that merges voice, video, and web conferencing. In March, the new sys-
tem was installed on the Irvine and Encino campuses, and in April, the Westlake Village campus tele-
phone system was updated with the new system. This month, nearly 400 new phones are being de-
ployed on the West Los Angeles campus and later this fall, IT staff will begin the planning and assessment
phase for the Malibu campus deployment.

Administrative Support - Software Tools

New Login Process for WaveNet Portal. On Thursday, July 1, 2010 Enterprise Information
Systems (EIS) staff members Scott Bolan, Tim Rogers, and James Ballacchino worked with Chief Informa-
tion Security Officer Kim Cary to place the WaveNet portal under the University's single sign-on sys-
tem. Single sign-on means that one login with a Pepperdine NetworkID and password provides access
to all applications that use the single sign-on service, without having to log in repeatedly. Each single sign-
on session lasts for two hours. Unlike other University applications that use single sign-on, the WaveNet
portal has an extra layer of security and therefore requires all users to log in before accessing secure
content. For more information about single sign-on via a central authentication system, please contact
Kim Cary at Kim.Cary@pepperdine.edu. For more information about the WaveNet portal, please con-
tact Portal Manager Scott Bolan at Scott.Bolan@pepperdine.edu.

WaveNet Travel and Expense Module Testing in Progress. A new PeopleSoft module
for travel and expense reporting has been implemented and is currently being tested by finance and IT
staff. The module will support all University departments in reconciling travel and expense charges. Ex-
pense receipts will be sent to the Finance Department for supporting documentation. Using the mod-
ule, select departments will have the ability to make electronic petty cash requests, prior to travel and
expenses. Campus-wide implementation and training is planned for this fall.

3 Information Technology Activity and Status Report, August 2010

Direct Lending Progress Update. As a participant in the Federal Direct Loan program, Pep-
perdine provides students with a simplified and secure process for receiving loans. Over the past few
months, EIS staff developed software tools and documentation to help Pepperdine's financial aid staff
identify and answer student inquiries with ease. Compared to previous loan years, the project has been
a success. Over $134 million in loan money is being offered to Pepperdine students for the upcoming
academic year. Approximately $6 million in loans have been accepted by students thus far.

Presentations
Dr. Chester Presented "Pepperdine University's ‘A Tale of Two Help Desks’". Dr.
Chester presented "Pepperdine University's ‘A Tale of Two Help Desks’" in a Chronicle of Higher Educa-
tion webinar on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Nearly 100 educational institutions listened in on the presenta-
tion. Read more here.

IT Staff Presented on Pepperdine’s Newest Technologies. Gerard Flynn, director of

technology and learning, and Thomas Hoover, director of instructional technology, presented “Forecast
for Malibu: Cloudy with a Chance of Virtual Computing” to over 100 attendees at the annual Campus
Technology 2010 Conference in Boston from July 25- 28, 2010. The presentation focused on Pepperdine
IT's implementation of desktop virtualization (NComputing), online storage (Xythos), and application
virtualization (Citrix XenApp). Flynn and Hoover also presented a poster session entitled "Virtual Desk-
tops: 60% Cheaper But Are They Worth It?" which focused on Pepperdine's virtual computing initiative.
Read more here.

4 Information Technology Activity and Status Report, August 2010

Benchmarks and Accountability
Anytime Support Help Desk Statistics for July. During July 2010, there were 1775 re-
quests for support managed through the Anytime Support Desk. Of these requests, 58 percent were
resolved within two days and 96 percent were resolved in fewer than five days. The average wait time
for individuals calling the Anytime Support Help Desk was 59 seconds. Seventy-nine percent of the re-
quests were resolved on the first call.

Online Requests. In July 2010, there were 226 additional requests for support managed through
online web request forms. The top two types of online requests were for departmental phone services
(75) and requests for access to network resources (33).

Anytime Support Desk User Survey Results for July. Through an automated feedback
process, all Anytime Support Desk callers have the opportunity to complete a web-based satisfaction
survey. In July 2010, 307 (16.8%) of 1825 survey requests sent to customers were submitted. The four-
question survey uses a “1 to 5” scale with “4.00-5.00” equal to excellent.

Response Overall Customer Resolution

Month Competency
Rate Satisfaction Service Timeliness
May 11% 4.37 4.43 4.26 4.41
June 13.2% 4.65 4.7 4.53 4.72
July 16.8% 4.55 4.59 4.47 4.6

Staff Support by Major Area. All Pepperdine IT staff allocate their day-to-day efforts using client,
project, and task codes; using this data, total division-wide staff effort for July 2010 was distributed as
follows:

University Administration Support 1,676 hours 11.36% $73,559.03

Colleges, Academic Affairs 2,690 hours 18.23% $73,422.43

University-Wide, Common Services 4,003 hours 27.00% $163,246.67

IT Administration and Management 2,871 hours 19.46% $110,850.91

General Overhead (Leave, Holiday) 3,513 hours 23.81% $142,728.20

Total: 14,753 hours 100% $563,807.24

Support for Schools. Pepperdine IT staff effort provided to Pepperdine schools is as follows:

Month Seaver GSBM GSEP SOL SPP

May 49.57% 24.73% 23.98% 0.29% 1.42%

June 47.99% 27.17% 21.91% 0.92% 2.01%
July 48.28% 25.94% 19.29% 0.57% 5.92%

How to Subscribe to this Report. If you would like to be added to the distribution list for this
report, please contact Dana Hoover, communications manager, at extension x4948. The Monthly IT
Status Report archive is available online at services.pepperdine.edu/it/about/status-reports.htm.

5 Information Technology Activity and Status Report, August 2010