Vice President for Information Technology Status and Activity Report for July 2023 Prepared by Timothy M. Chester, Vice President for Information Technology (VPIT) 1. Key Items for Faculty and Staff Meetings •
Update on Strategic Plans and Goals for the Academic Year 2023-2024: In June, Dr. Timothy M. Chester released the FY24 annual planning memorandum, covering progress on EITS strategic goals, and looking ahead at major initiatives for the coming year. Upcoming projects and goals include: o o o
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Continue collaborating with the Office of the Registrar, Financial Aid, and Academic Affairs to implement Course in Program of Study (CPOS) capabilities in Banner and DegreeWorks. Support the implementation of a virtual one-stop shop concept for students through the University's mobile app in collaboration with the vice president for instruction, the vice president for student affairs, and the Office of Diversity. Continue implementing the next-generation ERP package for the State of Georgia and develop a business case for a potential similar implementation across all 26 institutions within the University System of Georgia. Ensure seamless operation of UGA's Banner and Peoplesoft applications in alignment with these plans. Implement new information security capabilities and digital collaboration tools acquired through Microsoft A5 licenses for Office 365. Standardize and share this infrastructure across UGA's schools and colleges, reducing costs and enhancing desktop computer support efficiency. Fill critical vacancies, including the associate VP for institutional research (just completed), finance and business services director, and server and network engineering director, to strengthen our workforce.
The complete memo, as well as information on strategic goals from previous years, is available on the EITS website at https://eits.uga.edu/about/priorities_2023/. •
Duo Verified Push coming to Office 365, SSO applications, vLab: To help address multifactor authentication fatigue attacks and the risks associated with users accepting false push notifications, EITS will turn on Verified Push for Office 365 and SSO applications August 1; Verified Push will go live in vLab August 7. With the new Verified Push model, users who select Send a Push or have their Duo options configured to automatically send them a push will instead see a code displayed on their screen. They must enter this code into the Duo app on their Duo-enrolled smartphone or tablet to log in. A demo of Duo Verified Push is available on Duo’s website at https://demo.duo.com/verified-push. This new process reduces the risk that a user will accidentally accept a false push notification if a bad actor gets their credentials and spams their device with login requests. Other Duo authentication methods, including phone calls, passcodes via text and passcodes through the Duo Mobile App will not change. Users will also still have the option to remember their Duo credentials by selecting Yes, Trust Browser when they log in. Duo Verified Push will also be available for logging into the Remote Access VPN at a later date. For more information, contact Lance Peiper at lpeiper@uga.edu.
VPIT Status and Activity Report for July 2023
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