In December we announced a new VPN system, named GlobalProtect, is now available to the campus to enable access to restricted services from off-campus. Global Protect is scheduled to replace the current VPN, PulseSecure, tomorrow January 7th 2020. The GlobalProtect VPN is fully operational and users are encouraged to migrate to the new client now as the legacy VPN system will no longer be operational starting tomorrow.

The GlobalProtect VPN has the same access and permissions as our existing VPN, and the client works with the latest versions of Windows, Mac, and Linux, as well as iOS and Android mobile platforms.

For more information on getting started with GlobalProtect please see the FAQ here. If you have additional questions or would like assistance please submit a help request through the TSC here or via phone at 410-455-3838.

Thank you,
Ray Soellner
rays1@umbc.edu
Associate Director Telecommunications
DoIT - UMBC

More than 70% of 606 student survey respondents who took a course that used Ultra during the FA2019 semester said they were satisfied with the experience. When asked, students described Ultra as easy to use and visually appealing. “It’s new and fun,” said one respondant. “I love the sleek format. Ultra is neat, colorful, and polished,” said another student. Many appreciate the aggregated calendar of due dates and seeing grades posted to their activity stream. 

Ultra was initially piloted in SP2018 with four courses. Over the last 18 months, Ultra adoption has increased considerably, but student feedback was not recorded until a larger population of users was available in FA2019 to provide insight. Recent feedback from students is consistent with survey responses following the pilot and with feedback from faculty who have responded to surveys in SP2019 and FA2019. 

Figure 1. Student satisfaction with Ultra

Both faculty and students like Ultra for its interface and usability. Faculty find the streamlined tools easier to use in a clean and modern interface. Students generally like the look of Ultra and the ease of finding instructional materials, especially in a well-designed and organized course. About 79% of students were able to find course content and files, and more than 82% said their courses flowed in a logical way. 

About 61% of students who completed the survey said they wished more of their courses were using Ultra, citing the flexible environment and convenient structure brought by the redesigned infrastructure. These students may be happy to hear that more than 80% of faculty who have used Ultra over the past year indicated they might or would use Ultra again for their courses. 

Despite this insight, qualitative feedback from student surveys suggests a challenging paradox for faculty. Wherever students were concerned about potential lag when opening folders or perpetual scrolling, they generally observed it was due to poor course organization and excessive file load or links in the course. Students who enjoyed opening several folders on the page at one time said consistent course design helped identify where content was located.

In observing how Ultra courses were organized, students wondered if faculty had access to or participated in sufficient training and support for Ultra. Poor organization in a course “makes the exchange of information more difficult,” said one student. DoIT offers multiple training options to faculty who are teaching with or preparing to use Ultra -- boot camps, webinars, customized department workshops, and more. More than 52% of faculty, however, prefer to teach themselves, and more than 47% request support via RT. 

The Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) Initiative is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals for the 2020 OER Grant Program. For 2020, M.O.S.T. is seeking proposals for two grant programs. Learn more below. 

Faculty OER Mini-Grant Program
The Faculty OER Mini-Grant Program supports faculty efforts to increase access, affordability, and achievement for students at Maryland’s 2-year and 4-year public higher education institutions through the incorporation of open educational resources (OER) into teaching practice.

The 2020 M.O.S.T. faculty mini-grants will provide recipients with unique opportunities to engage in communities of practice related to teaching with OER, creation of OER in high-need areas, and evaluation of OER use in relation to student success. 

Available grants for 2020:

• Adopt/Adapt OER ($1,000 grant + Participation in the M.O.S.T. Teaching Fellows Program);
• Create OER ($2,000 grant + Participation in the M.O.S.T. Textbook Success Fellowship Program); and
• Evaluate OER ($3,000 grant + Dedicated Coaching)

Institutional OER Grant Program
The M.O.S.T. initiative is also seeking proposals for a new Institutional OER Grant Program, which supports strategic institutional efforts to increase access, affordability, and achievement for students at Maryland’s 2-year and 4-year public higher education institutions through more systemic incorporation of open educational resources (OER) into teaching practice. 

For 2020, two institutions will be awarded $20,000 grants to support significant advances in OER adoption, scaling, and sustainability in support of student success. In addition, grantees will receive strategic planning and implementation support for their projects from M.O.S.T., as needed, in the form of consultations and regular check-ins. 

Institutions applying for these grants should be able to articulate a vision for how OER will help them achieve strategic goals and explain how the campus will nurture and sustain this next-level work after the funding period ends.

Access and Review Request for Proposals

All proposals must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, February 28, 2020.  

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Informational Webinar
Join us on Thursday, January 23, 2020 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET for an Informational Webinar to learn more about the grant requirements and expectations for successful grants. We will also answer any questions about the grants at that time. Register for the Informational Webinar

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Please feel free to share this information with interested faculty and staff. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at most@usmd.edu. 

Thank you for your support in increasing access, affordability, and achievement for all Maryland higher education students through open educational resources (OER).
 

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    Subject: On Campus and Available?
    To:
    Are you available?I need you to handle something for
    me Now, i'm currently in a meeting with the International
    Advisory Committee (IAC) with limited phone call
    ( phone got broken) and also experiencing some
    difficulties at the moment, just reply to my e-mail as
    soon as you get this. Are you available?
    
    Best Regards
    
    (Academic Department Chair)
    University of Maryland Baltimore County
    1000 Hilltop Circle
    Baltimore, MD 21250
    
    Sent from my iPad, please excuse any typos or
    strange auto-corrections”
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