RU Home
DoIT Website
Technology Support
IT Policies & Procedures
DoIT News
DoIT News Archives

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

Deadline Approaches for Required IT Security Awareness Training

To comply with state and local policies, all RU faculty and staff are required to complete annual IT Security Awareness training. The deadline for completing this training is rapidly approaching for many users. To complete the test, log on today at https://sat.vita.virginia.gov/. Failure to complete the training by the annual deadline will result in a user's account being disabled until the training is successfully completed.

The IT training includes four modules with questions at the end. Answering incorrectly will require a user to repeat the module until the question is answered correctly. A module can be repeated as many times as necessary.

On successful completion, a certificate will be displayed that can be printed and filed. If this certificate is not presented on completion, it means one part of the training may not have been finished or a user has not agreed to the policies in the Radford University Vault at the end of the test.

For help, contact the Technology Assistance Center at (540) 831-7500.

Passwords Expiring Soon for Many Users

In the fall of 2009, Radford University instituted an automated password policy requiring all users to change their password once per year (every 365 days) to combat an ever increasing number of security threats that attempt to guess or steal passwords. As a result of this change, many people have passwords that expire in November and December. To change your password, login to the MyRU portal and click on the My Accounts tab and then look under the Account Settings channel on the left of the screen.

When changing your password, there are several things you should keep in mind.

1. Good passwords contain a mix of numbers, special characters and upper and lower case letters that are easy to remember. Ex: 1NewPa$$word4Me!
2. RU users should change their password while on campus and connected to the RU network. They can then reboot their computer after the password change to properly synchronize this new password with their computer.
3. Users should also remember to update their password on devices: smartphones, iPhones, iPads, android phones, etc.

For additional assistance in changing your password, you may contact the Technology Assistance Center at 831-7500.

DoIT Introduces New Virtual Tour

DoIT has published a new virtual tour of Radford University for prospective students and other guests. Linking to this new video resource is encouraged for any campus department whose visitors are prospective students.

Located at http://www.radford.edu/content/radfordcore/home/contact/360-tour.html, the tour enables a virtual visitor to click on 19 places on the campus map and see a 360-degree view. Photo galleries highlighting the campus and regional beauty as well as videos about visiting campus are also featured.

Each of the 360-degree views was created by stitching together 50 to 100 images from each location. Interior images will be added to the page in the future.

Deadline Is Dec. 1 for WebCT to Desire 2 Learn Course Migrations

Throughout the Desire 2 Learn (D2L) training and implementation, faculty have had the opportunity to migrate content from their old WebCT courses to D2L. Faculty should see all of the WebCT courses that have been requested for migration to D2L in their listing of "migrated" courses. If there are old WebCT courses that do not appear in that list and need to be migrated, please send an email to acadcomp@radford.edu with the exact course title along with the year and semester. After Thursday, Dec. 1, DoIT will be unable to migrate old WebCT courses to D2L.

The IT Knowledge Base is available with several D2L resources and video tutorials to help with common tasks. The Training and Development System also has a full schedule of workshops and sessions to assist with D2L use.

Spring 2012 D2L Course Shells Are Ready

The D2L course shells for spring 2012 have been created, and rosters are being updated nightly based on student registrations. Faculty who do not see the courses they are scheduled to teach next semester should verify that they are currently listed as the instructor of record. Those not listed as the instructor of record will need to work with the Registrar's Office to update Banner. Changes will be updated in D2L the following day. All spring 2012 courses include a note that reads, "NOTE: course access starts Jan. 14, 2012, 12:01 a.m." This indicates when students will be able to access the course. Courses that are so noted are available for faculty to add content immediately.

During the fall semester some faculty requested that their courses be split into individual sections because of how the courses are structured. Faculty wishing their courses to be split into individual sections should send an email, including the course's exact D2L name, to acadcomp@radford.edu.

Meet the DoIT Staff

Bill Abplanalp
Identity and Access Management Architect

How long have you been employed in the Division of Information Technology at Radford University?
I have been employed three months. I previously worked for the university in another role for three years.

Family:
I am married and have a "zoo" of cats and dogs at home.

Hometown:
Baltimore, Maryland.

Education:
I have my undergraduate degree in business information technology and an MBA, both from Virginia Tech.

Interests/Hobbies:
I love to run, and I enjoy tinkering with computers.

Favorite Vacation Destination:
Las Vegas and anywhere with a beach.

Favorite part of your job:
Getting to work with a bunch of great people and being able to solve folks' problems.