IT Update: Top 5 changes this fall

Dear staff and faculty:

Welcome to the fall semester! It has been an extraordinarily busy summer at the College with lots of exciting updates. We want to make sure you are informed about these changes as many of them impact you and your work.

What we’ve been up to this summer: 

• Office computer upgrades – We have replaced/upgraded many workstation computers to Windows 10. Roll-out will continue this semester.
• Citrix lab upgrades  – Citrix labs have been upgraded to Windows 10.
• Lab upgrades – The GIS Lab has been upgraded to Windows 10.
• U-Pass for Continuing Studies – Select full-time CS students are now eligible for U-Pass.
• AV upgrades in classroom – We have upgraded some classrooms to new AV setup.
• Accessibility Services has a new tool – Accessibility Services is launching Symplicity Accommodate, a new case management tool.
• Counselling has a new tool – Counselling has launched Titanium, a new intake and scheduling tool.

Top five changes coming this fall:

1. 1. 1. Workday testing and training sessions begin.  The first wave of Workday launches on January 6, 2020. The launch will affect the way you access your pay, leaves, timesheets, expenses, and more. You may be asked to try out the training materials to help support a successful transition to our new system. Training to help you navigate the system will start in November and include instructor-led, online sessions. Learn more at one of the September 17 events. Contact: workday@langara.ca 
      2. Multi-factor Authentication is coming. Starting in mid-November, we will be introducing 2-step verification as a part of our cybersecurity program. This means you will have a secondary authentication step when you log into Office 365 (email, SharePoint) and Workday. Contact: jyau@langara.ca
      3. Employee SharePoint is replacing myLangara Portal. Most browsers will no longer support the myLangara portal, a 20-year-old system, by early 2020. For this reason, resources and forms will move to a new Microsoft SharePoint intranet site starting mid-November. The Langara Post will also move to this space to become a one-stop-shop for faculty and staff. Contact: stuason@langara.ca
      4. Student email is moving to Office 365.  Student email is transitioning from myLangara to Office 365. Student email addresses will change from student@mylangara.bc.ca to student@mylangara.ca. This transition will give your students a better user experience and access to more productivity tools. Contact: o365student@langara.ca
      5. Lynda.com is moving to LinkedIn Learning. Lynda.com is moving their content to a platform called LinkedIn Learning. All of your lists will be retained and transferred over. This transition will begin in Fall 2019. Contact: ithelp@langara.ca 

We look forward to sharing more updates with you in The Langara Post  and via email. If you would like to learn more about these changes, and to see demos at an upcoming division or department meeting, please reach out to Justin Yau at jyau@langara.ca.

One more thing to be aware of.
We’re increasing our cyber security efforts. We all need to be diligent and proactive in protecting your information, your students’ information, financial data, records, and more. We have started to build out a comprehensive cybersecurity road map which we will share with you later this semester. We will need your input and more importantly, your support to help put the plan into action.

Here are some recent articles on The Langara Post that we encourage you to read:

• Cyber security – and you thought that was IT’s problem 
• Protecting your online identity  
• Cyber security breaches can happen to anyone 

Please continue to watch The Langara Post for more updates and contact me if you have any questions. Have a wonderful fall semester and thank you for patience as we work to improve our systems.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me

Sincerely,

Dave Cresswell
Chief Information Officer, Information Technology