01-05-2019 RT (Request Tracker) NOW available DoIT staff (Ray Soellner, Toren Smith, Ed Rude, and Tim Champ) led by Jeremy Gude and Paul Riddle have completed the migration of RT to the Cloud (AWS). 

This upgrade/migration will address past volume related performance issues and provide a more robust business continuity option. 

This transition also includes a minor upgrade to the application (4.4.2 to 4.4.3).

FYI - while the system was down most of the day those queues leveraging web forms queued up requests and have been applied to RT as we came up.

Please know this was no small task and these folks did a wonderful job!!

Please submit a ticket for any issues identified and provide as much info as possible.

Thank you for your support in this major initiative.

Joe Kirby




]]> DoIT staff (Ray Soellner, Toren Smith, Ed Rude, and Tim Champ) led by Jeremy Gude and Paul Riddle have completed the migration of RT to the Cloud (AWS).  This upgrade/migration will address... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/81265/guest@my.umbc.edu/57fadf0bdfbdb85779b5b80c0938b455/api/pixel bsg Division of Information Technology (DoIT) https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/doit https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/original.JPG?1727453227 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/large.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/medium.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/small.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxsmall.png?1727453227 Division of Information Technology (DoIT) 1 0 true Sat, 05 Jan 2019 17:00:47 -0500 01-05-2019 Downtime Reminder for Request Tracker (RT)
This is just a reminder that RT will be down tomorrow, January 5th, 2019, from 5:30am - 3:00pm.

As mentioned previously we will bring it up earlier if the opportunity is available.

Please see this previous post for more detailed information.

Thank you

Joe Kirby
]]> This is just a reminder that RT will be down tomorrow, January 5th, 2019, from 5:30am - 3:00pm. As mentioned previously we will bring it up earlier if the opportunity is available.... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/81252/guest@my.umbc.edu/987f99eee1f9c64844acad461c348f1d/api/pixel Division of Information Technology (DoIT) https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/doit https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/original.JPG?1727453227 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/large.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/medium.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/small.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxsmall.png?1727453227 Division of Information Technology (DoIT) 0 0 true Fri, 04 Jan 2019 09:07:01 -0500 01-05-2019 Downtime for Request Tracker (RT)
For several months DoIT staff have been working diligently on a project to transition RT to a hosted environment (Cloud) in Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The goal is to address volume related performance issues currently being experienced and provide a more robust business continuity option. This transition will include a minor upgrade to the application (4.4.2 to 4.4.3).

Testing (rt-dev.umbc.edu) began on 12/10/2018 and will continue through 1/3/2019.

The downtime will occur on 1/5/2019 from 5:30am - 3pm. Of course if we finish earlier we will update the campus community. Access to RT will remain the same  from my.umbc.edu/Help as it is now once the upgrade has completed.

We are asking all support staff to log into the test system by 1/3/2019 and perform testing on typical tasks to ensure a smooth and successful transition.

Please note that the test system will not actually send emails to ticket participants however it will record them as if they were sent for verification purposes. You can add new tickets via the ‘New Ticket in’ button on the top right of the screen. Note, web forms will not create tickets in the test instance. This feature will be verified via the RT technical team.

The major items to test will be adjustments to existing tickets (e.g. add a correspondence, change a custom field value, resolve a ticket, change ownership, etc.).

Please note that the test system will have the BestPractical default look and feel of blue/white instead of our UMBC colors.

Please submit a ticket for any issues identified in your testing.

For those interested we are on version 4.4.2. You can review the release notes for RT 4.4.3 here.

Thank you

Joe Kirby ]]> For several months DoIT staff have been working diligently on a project to transition RT to a hosted environment (Cloud) in Amazon Web Services (AWS). The goal is to address volume related... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/81133/guest@my.umbc.edu/c69a1a12df685124b4a4eaff62da7a17/api/pixel bsg Division of Information Technology (DoIT) https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/doit https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/original.JPG?1727453227 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/large.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/medium.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/small.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxsmall.png?1727453227 Division of Information Technology (DoIT) 0 0 true Wed, 19 Dec 2018 13:08:27 -0500 Wed, 19 Dec 2018 13:27:31 -0500 DoIT's Technology Support Center Hiring for the Spring Are you looking for an on campus job? Come work for us!

The DoIT Technology Support Center is looking to hire additional consultants to work during the Spring. Please see our job description below and visit our job posting on UMBCWorks to apply. (Search for TSC Student Consultant.)


TSC Student Consultant Job Description

Technology Support Center (TSC) student consultants are the first points of technical contact for the UMBC community and those who do well often go on to work in other areas of the Division of Information Technology (DoIT). Minimally, consultants are expected to provide initial triage and support for a wide range of information technologies including accounts, hardware, instructional technologies, networking, software, telecommunications, and basic web development.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Provide technical assistance to users by phone, online and in person;
  • Answer TSC phones in a professional and courteous manner;
  • Create, update and resolve tickets in the Request Tracker (RT) ticketing system;
  • Create, update, suggest and recommend relevant FAQ articles to users (www.umbc.edu/faq);
  • Provide direct assistance to users on technical issues they cannot easily resolve on their own;
  • Complete in-person or online training about quality support as defined in umbc.edu/go/ticketrubric;
  • Respond to all work-related communications in a timely manner;
  • Escalate urgent problems to the Full-Time staff, as appropriate.

Required Skills and Experience

  • Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate by phone or in person.
  • Demonstrated writing ability.
  • Demonstrated ability to achieve successful outcomes in handling difficult situations and customers.
  • Demonstrated analytical and troubleshooting skills.
  • Ability & willingness to learn coupled with a clear understanding of one’s technical abilities, so as to triage and escalate an issue that leads to an effective solution for the user.
 ]]> The DoIT Technology Support Center is looking to hire additional consultants to work during the Spring. Please see our job description below and visit our job posting on UMBCWorks to apply.... http://doit.umbc.edu/tsc/ https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/81123/guest@my.umbc.edu/6eee51c0c278a7c816f9fee15f2e9957/api/pixel tsc Division of Information Technology (DoIT) https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/doit https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/original.JPG?1727453227 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/large.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/medium.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/small.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxsmall.png?1727453227 Division of Information Technology https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/081/123/ce51c4a67fa1626cfe35eb4b133ab589/xxlarge.jpg?1545227454 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/081/123/ce51c4a67fa1626cfe35eb4b133ab589/xlarge.jpg?1545227454 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/081/123/ce51c4a67fa1626cfe35eb4b133ab589/large.jpg?1545227454 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/081/123/ce51c4a67fa1626cfe35eb4b133ab589/medium.jpg?1545227454 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/081/123/ce51c4a67fa1626cfe35eb4b133ab589/small.jpg?1545227454 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/081/123/ce51c4a67fa1626cfe35eb4b133ab589/xsmall.jpg?1545227454 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/081/123/ce51c4a67fa1626cfe35eb4b133ab589/xxsmall.jpg?1545227454 2 0 false Wed, 19 Dec 2018 08:51:28 -0500 Quarterly patching downtime on 12/20/18 and 1/5/19

As part of our ongoing commitment to security, the Unix Infrastructure group will be conducting its quarterly system patching on Thursday, December 20th and Saturday, January 5th.  While many of the systems will be patched without any service disruption, there are some systems which require the downtime of key services.  The schedule below outlines which key services will be offline and for how long.

Thursday, 12/20/2018 between 5pm and 7pm (most systems will only be down for a short period during this time): 

Saturday, 1/5/2019 between 9am and 11am(most systems will only be down for a short period during this time):


Please let us know if you have any concerns or questions.

Thanks!

Tim Champ

Manager of Unix Infrastructure

UMBC DoIT

]]> As part of our ongoing commitment to security, the Unix Infrastructure group will be conducting its quarterly system patching on Thursday, December 20th and Saturday, January 5th.  While many of... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/81048/guest@my.umbc.edu/3495d72a9cfd1fd722d8159af88a8384/api/pixel Division of Information Technology (DoIT) https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/doit https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/original.JPG?1727453227 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/large.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/medium.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/small.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxsmall.png?1727453227 Division of Information Technology (DoIT) 2 0 true Thu, 13 Dec 2018 16:28:24 -0500 LDAP-Master and Webadmin downtime on 12/20 at 2pm

On Thursday, December 20th starting at 2pm LDAP-Master and Webadmin will be taken down for system maintenance.  During this time account creations and password changes will be unavailable.  Account authentication and logins will not be affected during this downtime.  


The maintenance window will allow staff to apply needed security and application updates.  The outage window is expected to last two hours with services being restored by 4pm on Thursday, December 20th.


During the outage window account creations will be queued and then processed upon restoration of services.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Technology Support Center at x53838.

]]> On Thursday, December 20th starting at 2pm LDAP-Master and Webadmin will be taken down for system maintenance.  During this time account creations and password changes will be unavailable. ... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/81047/guest@my.umbc.edu/7d77d50c14624aa694954c1b5ec91142/api/pixel Division of Information Technology (DoIT) https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/doit https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/original.JPG?1727453227 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/large.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/medium.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/small.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxsmall.png?1727453227 Division of Information Technology (DoIT) 1 0 true Thu, 13 Dec 2018 16:24:30 -0500 Graduate Assistantship Forms Transitioning to DocuSign! Digital Workflow Offers Expanded Functionality
The Graduate School has been using DocuSign as their e-signature and digital workflow platform, replacing many of their paper forms with electronic forms that can be submitted, signed, processed and stored with no printing required. The ease with which both students and staff can submit and sign the forms and the efficiency they generate in the workplace has encouraged the Graduate School to partner with the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) to transition graduate assistantship forms to the DocuSign platform.

However, creating a form that all departments could use while simultaneously fulfilling the individual needs and preferences of each was not an easy task. The form had to be smart enough to adapt to many different scenarios and reliable enough to remain consistent and efficient for signers.

With the help of DoIT’s assistant vice president Joe Kirby, software developer Frank Elmore, their team of student developers, and input from graduate assistants and campus stakeholders, the Graduate School created a dynamic data gathering form for assistantships. This webform allows departmental staff to quickly enter information, automatically retrieve key information from the school database, and easily identify the name and email of each required signer in the workflow. As the DocuSign form travels to each individual via secure email, administrators can track the document through recorded timestamps and easily see each time someone opens, edits, or signs it.

According to the Assistant Dean for Administration, Policy and Compliance Isabel Garrido, the ability to track the form as it progresses in the DocuSign workflow is efficient and eliminates guesswork. As an example, when graduate assistants contact the Graduate School about the status of their tuition remission, instead of referring them to their department, searching for paper forms or wondering if they have been signed, DocuSign allows Isabel and her staff to view the most recent timestamp on a form and know exactly where it is in the process in seconds.

DocuSign’s technical accessibility is also beneficial. Within moments of the form being sent graduate assistants can access, sign and submit them on their mobile device from any location. Upon receipt of the form, graduate assistants will be glad to see that not only has much of the required information been pre-populated, but the few fields they are required to complete are intuitive and come with helpful tips to guide them smoothly and quickly through the process.

Although mistakes are less likely when entering DocuSign forms, if errors occur, the process to generate a corrected form in DocuSign is quick and easy. The helpful notifications feature in DocuSign automatically sends email reminders to signers ensuring speedy compliance and provides an electronic copy of each finalized form to the Graduate School. DoIT’s recent upgrade of the forms has gone even further to make the process more flexible to the needs of graduate assistants and departments alike.

Lina Chung, Program Management Specialist in the College of Engineering and Information Technology (CoEIT) transitioned to the DocuSign process for graduate assistant forms in 2017 and praises how efficiently her office processes GA Tuition Remission and GA Appointment Letters now. “Before, timelines could be very unpredictable. Forms could take anywhere from days to weeks to fully complete. Now, it rarely takes more than a few days,” Lina explains. With most graduate students living busy lives off campus, some in other countries, a faster process that limits the need for back-and-forth communication is essential.

Information Systems adopted the DocuSign process for graduate assistantships in 2017. Chemical, Biochemical & Environmental Engineering (CBEE) implemented the process in Dec. 2018. Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE), Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics and are expected to implement shortly. A pilot group comprised of members from various departments who have not transitioned to the DocuSign process is currently testing the forms. Departments interested in joining the pilot group should contact Isabel Garrido (garrido@umbc.edu) in the Graduate School.

Campus-wide implementation of graduate assistantship forms via DocuSign is slated for summer ‘19.

]]> The Graduate School has been using DocuSign as their e-signature and digital workflow platform, replacing many of their paper forms with electronic forms that can be submitted, signed, processed... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/80948/guest@my.umbc.edu/026da833c5d97f0e3b16a61459e032f4/api/pixel bsg docusign Division of Information Technology (DoIT) https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/doit https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/original.JPG?1727453227 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xlarge.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/large.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/medium.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/small.png?1727453227 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xsmall.png?1727453227 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/021/d27760c5de12c74b73faec8d0e631acf/xxsmall.png?1727453227 Division of Information Technology (DoIT) https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/080/948/15d84e9a5eceb67bcb8fb0e8c839a903/xxlarge.jpg?1544455633 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/080/948/15d84e9a5eceb67bcb8fb0e8c839a903/xlarge.jpg?1544455633 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/080/948/15d84e9a5eceb67bcb8fb0e8c839a903/large.jpg?1544455633 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/080/948/15d84e9a5eceb67bcb8fb0e8c839a903/medium.jpg?1544455633 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/080/948/15d84e9a5eceb67bcb8fb0e8c839a903/small.jpg?1544455633 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/080/948/15d84e9a5eceb67bcb8fb0e8c839a903/xsmall.jpg?1544455633 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/080/948/15d84e9a5eceb67bcb8fb0e8c839a903/xxsmall.jpg?1544455633 9 4 true Mon, 10 Dec 2018 10:41:14 -0500 Thu, 14 Mar 2019 06:32:12 -0400 UMBC Graduate School Makes Strides In Efficient Outreach E-signatures Continue To Produce New Business Solutions
The Graduate School at UMBC takes pride in providing opportunities for student success. Through collaboration with prestigious faculty and research with groundbreaking partner institutions, graduate students can achieve personal, professional, and academic excellence. In order to better serve students and the community, the graduate school provides numerous services and programs that support non-traditional students in reaching their goals.

The Golden ID Program waives the tuition costs of certain graduate programs for qualifying Maryland retirees who are at least 60 years of age. Whether degree seeking or not, Golden ID students can continue to enrich their lives with learning and development at little cost.

The Accelerated Graduate Program allows ambitious undergrads to double count a certain number of credits for both their bachelor’s and intended graduate degrees. By making their intentions known to both their undergraduate advisor and the appropriate graduate program director, accepted students can make an academic plan that jump-starts their collegiate career.

Both of these programs offer unique opportunities for qualifying individuals, but they generally require those individuals to discover and actively pursue those opportunities. Consequently, retirees who don’t know they could attend classes without paying tuition and undergrads who are too preoccupied with their current coursework can easily miss the chance to apply. That is why the Graduate School at UMBC is reexamining their business practices and adopting new tools and technology to widen their outreach to prospective students.

DocuSign, the e signature and digital workflow platform, has provided a unique solution. In addition to making traditionally paper forms much easier to fill out and process, DocuSign’s digital envelopes can be sent out automatically to potential applicants via secure email complete with personalized messages and direct access to the electronic form. Rather than depend on students or applicants eligible for the Golden ID program to research and initiate the process themselves, Grad School can instead approach them directly with everything they need.

Converting to a new business process has its difficulties. It is often an exercise in reexamining every aspect of the workflow and defining what is essential and where the inefficiencies occur. Operations manager Dan Neeley, M.S. ‘15 Human-Centered Computing, says that change management involves balancing the needs of both staff and students, managing the workflow and accountability of designated signers, and handling exceptions and possible points of failure.

Despite these challenges, Neeley acclaims the plentiful opportunities for improvements in sensible efficiency that come in return. Improving communications between UMBC and applicants to these valuable programs goes a long way in increasing student satisfaction and success.

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UMBC’s Office of Academic Opportunities Programs (AOP) is dedicated to providing assistance, resources, and support to students who have traditionally been underrepresented in higher education in order to facilitate academic success. By coordinating with UMBC departments as well as off campus agencies such as the US Department of Education and the National Science Foundation, AOP encourages and empowers pre-college and ambitious UMBC students to achieve their academic goals.

In order to enhance its correspondence with students and their families as well as improve its business processes, AOP has adopted DocuSign as their e-signature and digital workflow tool. With help from developers in the Division of Information Technology (DoIT), AOP has converted much of their paper forms to electronic, automated forms that can be signed and submitted without ever having to print.

The McNair Scholars Program, for example, has transformed its entire application process to DocuSign, creating a digital envelope that allows applicants to upload any financial documents or recommendations directly to the form and submit it all through a secure email. DocuSign forms can also be filled out on any mobile device, which can significantly reduce the time it takes for students to submit their applications.

In addition to improving the experience for students, AOP has integrated DocuSign’s capabilities with their existing business practices to create a much more efficient system for processing and storing the submitted forms. One of the big disadvantages of paper applications is always the back and forth correspondence and approvals required when the form is filled out improperly. This takes up a lot of time that staff could be using to complete their numerous other tasks and tends to leave both staff and students dissatisfied.

With DocuSign, staff can create templates that guide signers step by step through the form, offering tooltips and validations to ensure that signers input the correct information. At any time, staff can also check on the status of each pending form as DocuSign timestamps each time the signer views and edits the form. Once the form has been submitted, AOP staff have designated Box folders into which DocuSign will automatically upload the completed application and all supporting documents. If they still need to follow up with the applicant, AOP can cancel or resend the form with just a few clicks.

McNair Scholars Assistant Director Michael Hunt, B.S. ‘06 Mathematics, says that the ability to adjust and automate the application’s workflow has gone a long way in reducing administrative work for McNair staff. Though the McNair Scholars Program has gone farthest in reducing paper, AOP’s other programs have also taken up DocuSign as well.

AOP Director Corris Davis, B.S. ‘98 Biological Sciences, praised the use of DocuSign for the many agreements and contracts used in the Upward Bound Program, which reaches out to high school students in Baltimore City and County. Many of these forms require both the student and a parent/guardian to read and agree to numerous program requirements and rules. DocuSign not only skips the hassle of having to submit all these forms by mail, but also does more to ensure that the signers fully read each section by preventing submission before each part is initialed and signed. 

In advancing their mission to enable academic success, AOP has simultaneously improved their business processes to benefit both students and staff. Moving forward, as DoIT continues to integrate DocuSign with campus systems, AOP expects to create even more efficient solutions.

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As technology continues to change the academic landscape, UMBC’s Division of Information Technology (DoIT) Instructional Technology staff are at the forefront, serving as leaders in their field and mentoring the next generation of leaders. Sherri Braxton, senior director of instructional technology, was recently named co-director of Educause’s Learning Technology Leadership (LTL) Program, an intensive, five-day residential program that offers time away from on-the-job demands for interacting with peers, recharging vision, and honing skills.


The LTL program provides IT staff whose role is to support and promote technology in teaching and learning with the decision making, relationship building, management, and other critical skills they will need as leaders in a variety of contexts and with different campus groups. Braxton, who joined the DoIT staff in 2014, had already been asked to serve on the LTL Program faculty for a three-year term in 2017 after participating in the program in 2016. As co-leader of the program, she’ll serve as co-director for one year, and then lead the program the following year. She is also co-leader of the Educause Instructional Technology Constituents Group.


John Fritz, associate vice president, information technology, says, “I'm pleased but not surprised that Educause has recognized what we've known about Sherri during her four years with us: She's not only a leader on campus but also in our profession. She leads by example, has nurtured a great team, and people want to work with and for her. She brings a lot of energy to anything she does and it's contagious.”


Braxton’s own perspectives as a leader and manager include an emphasis on communication and mentorship. “I want people to feel they have ownership over the projects they are working on. I don’t believe in micromanaging; allowing staff to be self-starters inspires their confidence,” she says. “We have great communication within the instructional technology team. It’s important for people to feel they can come to me if they’re not sure they’re doing something right - or if they aren’t sure I’m doing something right.” 


Prior to UMBC, Braxton worked as a software engineer and a defense contractor before moving into both teaching and instructional design at Bowie State University and the Johns Hopkins University. For over 15 years, she has served as an adjunct professor in the IT and computer science program at University of Maryland University College. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in computer science from Wake Forest University, a master’s in computer science with a minor in math from North Carolina State University, and a doctorate in computer science from the George Washington University with minors in educational leadership and management science.


In their own careers, Braxton says, staff should always be thinking about where they want to go next and what skills they will need. “I want to be able to support my staff in making that next step. It’s also important to network, and to take risks, to work on projects that make them uncomfortable and try as many different things as possible.”


“Being a lifelong learner is important for IT professionals,” Braxton adds. “Change in IT isn’t a matter of if but of when, which means quickly learning new tools and new ways to transform the academic landscape. It also means understanding and communicating the potential for added benefits to users.”

“It never gets dull,” she says with a smile.

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