Archive for 2016

Spring 2017 major project review cycle now open

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The Spring 2017 major project review cycle is now open.

Campus units and organizations may submit requests for major IT projects between December 1, 2016 and January 17, 2017 during this cycle.

T&C has a bi-annual cycle for major project review; the spring cycle corresponds with the campus budget planning process, to help ensure that campus budget and project requests are appropriately aligned. Projects approved during the spring cycle typically will begin on or after June 1.

For details on how to submit a major project request, please visit T&C New Project Requests page.

Q&A regarding the IT procurement process

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In an October session of CI's Academic Senate, a number of questions were raised regarding the purpose and intent of the revised IT procurement process. For the benefit of the campus community, we're pleased to share the feedback which we provided.

Clarification on the new paperwork for Technology purchases - What is the purpose?
The Division of Technology & Communication (T&C) has always had the responsibility to review most technology purchases; however, this was taking place behind the scenes as an inefficient, ad hoc, email-based process. We were losing track of procurement requests at an unacceptable frequency.

The updated procurement process (launched in March 2016 and developed through a partnership between Procurement & Logistical Services and T&C) was developed to provide a more consistent, transparent, efficient and "paper less" procurement experience for IT products and services; and to assure the we are effectively managing risk throughout the procurement process.

What category of equipment need to have the paperwork?
Consumable items (e.g., blank DVD media, etc.) & incidental computing accessories for personal use (e.g., flash drives, external hard drives, keyboards, mice, etc.) are exempt from this process.

All other procurements for IT-related products and services (including computers, printers, hardware and software) must be submitted online as described at http://www.csuci.edu/tc/purchasing/ . There are 2 categories: standard (for standard IT equipment as described on the T&C Quotes page) and custom (which includes all non-standard procurements, including new software or hardware procurements, software renewals, and consulting services).

Because they are non-standard, custom procurements typically require more detailed evaluation to determine the impact on the campus. The documents required to complete a custom IT procurement are described on the Information Technology Purchasing page at: http://www.csuci.edu/tc/purchasing/ . The process automatically adjusts evaluation requirements according to the type and complexity of the procurement.

What is the implication on the time of processing for the additional paperwork?
The time that it takes to complete a procurement varies widely on the complexity and impact of the procurement, as well as current capacity within T&C and Procurement. Typically custom procurements take longer than standard procurements. We understand this process is time consuming. There were some delays as we implemented the new process, but we are seeing significant improvement in processing time. ​​Please be assured that T&C and Procurement stakeholders meet regularly to continue to review & refine the process.

Since the launch of the new process in March, T&C and Procurement process on average 40 IT procurements per month. Here are some statistics for October 2017:

Standard procurement (start-to-finish) completion time:
Average: 5 days
Minimum: 3 days
Maximum: 8 days
3-month maximum: 69 days

Custom procurement (start-to-finish) completion time:
Average: 7 days
Minimum: 0 days
Maximum: 12 days
3-month maximum: 54 days

If we are using an external vendor for the equipment and they maintain the equipment, why is the extra paperwork needed?

T&C is obligated to ensure that IT products and services procured by the campus align with campus & CSU policy, applicable laws, and industry best practices so that we can continue to have an efficient, effective, reliable and secure campus technology infrastructure. It's important to evaluate all IT products & services delivered by our partners to ensure they can be installed, used and supported without imposing undue burden or risk on campus operations.​


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In conjunction with the Division of Business & Financial Affairs (BFA), T&C also held two IT procurement workshops this fall to review the current process and answer questions. Further workshops will be held in spring 2017 and during future semesters. For further questions or comments, or to inquire about the next IT procurement workshops, please contact Peter Mosinskis, Director of IT Strategy at peter.mosinskis@csuci.edu.

2015-16 T&C Annual Report

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The Division of Technology & Communication (T&C) is pleased to share its annual report for the 2015-16 fiscal year for your review:

View the 2015-16 Annual Report (in PDF format)

Thanks to T&C staff and the University community for their ongoing support in creating a technology environment that enhances the educational experience and University operations at CI.

Join the Social Stream: go.csuci.edu/social

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There’s a new way to view all of CI’s social media feeds (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and more) all in one place: the Social Stream.

Visit http://go.csuci.edu/social to stay up-to-date on all the great things happening in the CI community. There you’ll also find a comprehensive Social Media Directory for the campus.

The Social Stream is brought to you by the Division of Technology & Communication.

How to Buy IT Equipment, Software and Services

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Did you know that CI's online requisition (also known as the RGS) is no longer the beginning of the process for procuring standard or custom IT equipment, products and services?

In March 2016, the Division of Technology & Communication, in conjunction with Procurement & Logistical Services, launched a new web-based review & approval workflow for IT procurements.

Whether you’re buying a single desktop or computer; five iPads; a new system licensed by the Chancellor’s Office; or a major software upgrade for an existing system, all requests for IT procurements now begin on the T&C Purchasing web page: www.csuci.edu/tc/purchasing/ .

There you will find detailed step-by-step instructions for initiating and tracking your procurement of IT equipment, products and services.



Please direct any questions about the new process to Peter Mosinskis, Director of IT Strategy, at peter.mosinskis@csuci.edu or call 805-437-8587.

Get to know your Division Project Coordinators

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During the spring 2016 term, CI’s division vice presidents each appointed a Division Project Coordinator (DPC) to assist in gathering and prioritizing any requests for major IT projects and major IT procurements. You can view the list of Division Project Coordinators here.

Effective March 1, 2016, any new major IT-related projects or procurements must be submitted to your division’s DPC and will be reviewed by campus governance in accordance with the T&C Business Practice on IT Project and Procurement Governance. The review & submission process takes place during a bi-annual cycle.


The spring 2017 submission cycle is now closed, and the fall 2017 submission cycle is scheduled to open on December 1, 2016 (for projects to begin after July 1, 2016). You can review timelines for each submission cycle here.

Want to know what qualifies as a major IT project or procurement, or have further questions about the bi-annual submission & review cycle? Please contact your Division Project Coordinator, or contact Peter Mosinskis, Director of IT Strategy, at peter.mosinskis@csuci.edu or 805-437-8587.

Who Owns Your Computer?

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I recently received a question from a faculty member that gave me the opportunity to explain better CI's responsibilities and obligations for campus-owned computers. To paraphrase her question:

If I use my faculty startup funds to purchase a laptop or iPad, does that become property of the university? And, is the entire computer searchable under the Freedom of Information Act, or only the files/documents pertaining to work and the university? I am looking to use start-up money to replace my home laptop, which I use 99% of the time for teaching and research. However, I do store personal items on the computer (family photographs, music,  personal email, etc.), so I would like to understand the nuances of university ownership of any computers I purchase with my research start-up money. 
Here's my reply, which is valid for any computer purchased with California State University funds, regardless of the source.

Start up funds are state resources, so any equipment purchased with them is property of the State of California. Technically, you are not using the funds to purchase a laptop or iPad – you are requesting that the funds be used to purchase a computer which is then assigned to you for your use. It’s probably more than you want to read, but if you’re interested, the full policy that addresses the use of any campus computer is here - https://www.calstate.edu/hrs/policies/policies_internet_use.shtml. Bottom line - for most purposes you can treat it as your computer, but really it’s a university resource as long as university funds are used to purchase it. Storing some photos or using your computer to buy something on Amazon is not a problem – It’s called “incidental use” and it’s explicitly permitted under CSU policy.

There are a few ways documents could be searched on your computer. The California Public Records Act (our version of the federal “Freedom of Information”) states that nearly anything you create as part of your employment is available upon request (including email and other things you might consider private, with just a few exceptions). However, these requests generally have to be somewhat specific, e.g “Every document that Professor X has regarding her Intro to Algebra Class”). So I’m not aware of any case where your personal items like family photos would be part of the search.  Caroline Doll is our campus expert on CPRA so she may have additional comments.

However, there are at least 3 other situations that I can think of where we have to search computers. These are all pretty rare, but here you go. One is when there is litigation – a judge can require that we search a computer or even turn over the entire contents as part of the evidence in a legal case. Second, if for some reason the university police have cause to believe that the computer was used for a crime (even if not by you) they could ask us to search it or they could confiscate it. Third, if your computer got “hacked” we might need to search it to try to determine what had happened and also to see what information might have been compromised. As I say, these are rare, but they do occur now and then. And we would certainly do our best in such a case to respect the user’s privacy and just look for the information that we needed, but of course it’s not always easy to determine that until you look.

Thanks for offering me the opportunity to provide this clarification. When you’re ready to purchase you can find models and pricing here - http://www.csuci.edu/tc/compquotes/. Your department coordinator should be familiar with the process.

Fall 2016 Major Project Review - submission deadline July 15

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We are pleased to announce that the fall 2016 project review cycle is now open, and the submission period runs from June 1 - July 15.  Major IT project & procurement requests submitted for this cycle are expected to begin in early spring 2016 (if approved).  

One significant change we've made for the fall submission cycle is that the project request will be submitted electronically (via TeamDynamix), in replacement of the MS Word form used previously. This update should help streamline electronic collaboration on new project requests and facilitate the submission process. Melissa Bergem, T&C Project Coordinator, has been meeting one-on-one with the DPCs to review the new submissions process. To submit a project request, visit the fall 2016 project review cycle page.

The deadline for Division Project Coordinators (DPCs) to submit their draft project list to T&C for review during this cycle is 5:00PM on July 15.

Requests received after July 15 shall not be evaluated by T&C during this cycle. More importantly, major projects or procurements which fail to be submitted during this cycle are not likely to be completed during the 2016-17 fiscal year. 

Please contact your Division Project Coordinator (DPC) with any questions about submitting a new major project or procurement request.

For general information about the fall 2016 review cycle, please contact Peter Mosinskis at peter.mosinskis@csuci.edu. 

Service Alert: Campus Email and Telephone Outage Update 3-9-16

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UPDATE 3:25PM: The employee email issue has been resolved, and the system is working as expected. Emergency maintenance on the email servers will be performed this evening to ensure ongoing system stability; however, no downtime is expected. Thank you for your patience & cooperation. 

 12:48PM: Please note that an earlier issue today with the central disk storage system caused users to experience slowness when accessing campus email and dropped calls through campus telephones.  T&C Infrastructure has resolved the issue with campus telephones but email is functioning sporadically for some users.

T&C continues to work with technical support to resolve the issue and we will provide an update at 3 p.m. today.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

If you’re still experiencing issues, please contact the HelpDesk at 805-437-8552 or helpdesk@csuci.edu.  Thank you for your patience as we work to resolve this problem. 

Changes to IT project & procurement processes

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I'm excited to announce some significant changes that the Division of Technology & Communication is implementing for the processes surrounding IT project & procurement management.

Our division is initiating these changes because our current processes aren't sustainable, mostly because we don't have strategic alignment at the campus level for our largest, most complex project & procurement requests. This means that as an organization, T&C is getting bogged down by uncoordinated requests from campus organizations for same small, finite set of information technology resources. These resources are being affected by inefficiencies, waste, conflict and delays related to constantly shifting priorities, so we are taking steps to improve the way we manage these processes.

Stephen Covey provided a great analogy about prioritization called "The Big Rocks of Life" which is illustrated here. This principle underlies the goal of our changes: to focus on the high-value, high-impact activities that must be done first.

We met on Thursday, March 3 with project requestors, sponsors and stakeholders to discuss these changes. You can watch a video presentation about the forthcoming changes, or plan to attend an upcoming information sessions (dates TBD).

At the meeting, we shared a one-pager (in PDF format) summarizing these changes with the attendees.

We also launched an updated T&C procurement web site, which describes a 7-step process to successfully complete procurement of IT-related products and services. 

Finally, today we published an updated business practice on IT project and procurement governance, which goes into a lot of detail about how our new project & procurement request process is supposed to work. 

This is a big change, and we don't expect the first iteration to work perfectly. In fact, we expect there to be some problems that we have to work around. 

On behalf of Michael Berman and all of the staff in the Division of Technology & Communication, I  appreciate your patience, feedback and ongoing support as we transition to this new process, and thank you for being our valued partners in creating an exceptional University. If you have any questions, or can think of any ways in which we can improve the speed, quality or efficiency of this process, please contact me at peter.mosinskis@csuci.edu.