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Division of Information Technology
P.O. Box 6888
Radford, VA 24142
Phone: (540) 831-5173
Fax: (540) 831-6217
Email: cio@radford.edu

Division of Information Technology
Radford University

Website Redesign Project Moves Ahead of Schedule

Radford University's project to redesign its web presence has entered its second year, and migration of all official university colleges, departments and administrative units into the content management system (CMS) is far ahead of schedule.

Here are some statistics on the project: 

• About 120 academic and administrative units have completed migration of their websites into the CMS, including all seven colleges, the entire divisions of Student Affairs, Information Technology and Advancement. The main divisional websites for Academic Affairs and Finance and Administration have also migrated, with many sub-departments within those divisions also migrated.
   
• Thirty departments are in the process of migrating their content into the CMS.
   
• An estimated 25 departments have yet to begin the process.
   
• More than 200 individuals have been trained on using the CMS.
   
• More than 100 individuals have attended advanced training, including training on search-engine optimization, using analytics and developing a content strategy.

As migration of websites nears completion, the Office of Web Communications will move into the second phase of reimaging the university's Web presence. This phase will involve enhancing the marketing elements of the Radford website.

Among the first enhancements to roll out will be a new component that departments can use on their websites called "Reasons to Love Radford." This component, which can be placed in the left sidebar of any website in the CMS, will randomly pull a reason to love Radford into the sidebar. The goal is to provide a tool that allows departments to embed Radford University points of pride into their websites.

Additional enhancements will roll out this fall. Watch the DoIT newsletter for more information.

RU Mobile Adds Functionality

The Web Services group is working to add functionality to RU Mobile, Radford University's mobile app. A new version will be released later this month and will allow students to view their semester final grades.

Users will also have the ability to view RU photo galleries stored within Flickr and to view events by category. The team has migrated the app framework to the latest version, which includes enhancements to the app's overall structure and navigation. The new version gives users the ability to view their class schedules in a weekly format and to display a specific date, helpful for students looking in advance to review their next term's schedules.

More enhancements are planned for release just before the fall semester, including Radford Transit bus tracking and arrival estimates, printing account balances and student holds.

Web Communications Offers More than Web Development

The Office of Web Communications offers more than just Web development services. Although Web communications is housed in DoIT, the team comprises experts in multichannel marketing, public relations and multimedia. In fact, most of the team members hold master's degrees in these areas.

The Web communications team can help you in a variety of ways. 

• Marketing your program or service online, including helping to write marketing copy, providing guidance on creating landing pages and other online marketing pieces, and offering suggestions and guidance on the use of social media
   
• Developing a multichannel marketing communications plan to include online and social media channels
   
• Producing multimedia elements, including videography
   
• Editing and proofreading content
   
• Guidance and support on optimizing content for search engines and on overall navigation architecture
   

Contact Jaime Hunt, director of Web communications, at jhunt7@radford.edu for help with marketing a department, program or unit online.

Electronic Learning Space Improvements Make For Busy DoIT Summer

The Division of Informtiona Technology's campus electronic learning space improvements will speed up soon, with work on state-of-the-art installations in the new College of Business and Economics building to be completed in mid-summer. The COBE building learning spaces will feature new ideas in room and equipment layouts and new presentation devices.

At the Department of Physical Therapy's facilities at the Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital, eight electronic learning spaces offering flexible, modern electronic learning space designs suitable to the medical environment will be installed.

An upgrade to Peters Hall will be completed in July with changes to eight rooms. Peters C116, C117, C136, C137, C144, C146, C173 and C174 will be upgraded to feature fully electronic touch panel designs.

DoIT Offers Tips for Managing the Email Inbox

DoIT offers several actions that can help you get your inbox under control and avoid the message that your mailbox is about to run out of space.

• Sort your email by size, and remove larger emails that you no longer need.
   
• Sort your email by attachments. Save any attachments you need, and delete the corresponding messages.
   
• Sort your email by sender. Bulk-remove any junk mail or email that no longer requires your attention.
   
• Take out the trash, and clear the Deleted Items folder to free up space.
   

Still pressed for email inbox space? Call the Technology Assistance Center at (540) 831-7500.

DoIT Offers Tips for Smarter Use of "My Banner"

To access forms in Banner that are used daily, DoIT offers these directions to add or delete a form to "My Banner."

Type "GUAPMNU" in the Banner "Go To…" field, and press Enter. The screen will show the available Banner forms on the left side. The right side will contain either forms that already exist on the "My Banner" list or will be empty.

To add a form: Select one or more forms on the left side of the screen by double clicking. Make certain the form name turns blue. After all selections are highlighted, press the right arrow to fill in the right side of the screen. Press "Save," and log out of Banner. Log back into Banner to see the new configuration of forms.

To delete a form: Select one or more forms on the right side of the screen by double clicking. Make certain the form name turns blue. After all selections are highlighted, press the left arrow to remove the form from the right side of the screen. Press "Save," and log out of Banner. Log back into Banner to see the new configuration of forms.

DoIT Announces System Maintenance May 6 -13

From Sunday, May 6 through Sunday, May 13, DoIT will be performing updates to several campus systems. Software updates and installation of security patches will be performed. We have scheduled these updates to minimize impact to the campus community, but there will be some brief outages as noted below. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the Technology Assistance Center at 831-7500.

Sunday, May 6, 5-11 p.m. Campus phone systems update. During this upgrade there may be intermittent phone outages.

Monday-Friday, May 7-11, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Active Directory migration. During this upgrade there may be intermittent outages to systems requiring authentication to Active Directory. Testing has taken place to ensure major systems such as the MyRU portal and Banner will continue to function.

Tuesday, May 8, 5-6 a.m. Switch updates for McConnell, Martin, Young and Davis halls. Network and phone connections in these buildings will be down for a short time. Micros point-of-sale terminals in dining areas will be down all day.

Wednesday, May 9.
     5-6 a.m. Switch and router updates for Armstrong Complex. Network and phone connections will be down for a short time.
     8 a.m.-5 p.m. RU Express CS Gold upgrade. During this updgrade you will be unable to use your RU Express card at off-campus merchants. Vending and laundry machine locations, online deposits and dining card services will all be unavailable during this time, as well.

Thursday, May 10, 5-6 a.m. Switch updates for Heth and Russell halls. Network and phone connections will be down for a short time.

Friday, May 11, 5-6 a.m. Switch and router updates for Jefferson Hall. Network and phone connections will be down for a short time.

Saturday and Sunday, May 12-13, all day. Banner INB, SSB and Banner channels will be upgraded. Banner access will be unavailable and users will not be able to register for classes or view schedules.

Meet the DoIT Staff

John Dalton
Systems Administrator

How long have you been employed in the Division of Information Technology at Radford University?
Almost one year.

Family:
My wife, Lindi, and two children, Jordan, 2.5, and Daniel, five months.

Hometown:
I grew up in Altoona, Pa., and moved to Galax, Va., shortly after graduation from college.

Education:
I have a B.S. degree in information technology from Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, Pa.

Interests/Hobbies:
Spending time with my family, mountain bike riding, teaching my daughter to ice skate and hiking with our four dogs, Ella, Dakota, Sturgis and Dale.

Favorite Vacation Destination:
San Francisco

Favorite part of your job:
Getting to work on some of the most up-to-date equipment and integrating it with the campus.