To ensure the best possible connectivity experience on campus, the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) recommends two primary wireless networks tailored to your needs.

1. Retriever Home (For Residents Only)

Retriever Home is a secure, encrypted network designed specifically for UMBC residence halls to provide a private, "home-like" experience.

• Best For: Connecting all your personal gadgets in your room, including gaming consoles (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo), smart speakers (Amazon Alexa, Google Home), streaming devices (Roku, Apple TV), wireless printers, and mobile devices.

• The Advantage: Unlike standard enterprise networks, Retriever Home allows your personal devices to "see" and communicate with each other, making it easy to print wirelessly or use smart home features.

• How to Connect: You must log in to myUMBC to generate a unique personal WPA2 password. For easy-to-follow instructions, see our Retriever Home FAQ’s. 

2. Eduroam (For All Students)

Eduroam is the preferred, high-speed encrypted wireless network available in all academic and administrative buildings.

• Best For: Laptops, tablets, and smartphones used for coursework, research, and general browsing across campus.

• The Advantage: It provides robust WPA2 Enterprise encryption for superior data security. Additionally, once configured, your device will automatically and securely connect at thousands of participating educational institutions worldwide without needing new credentials.

• How to Connect: Simply run the eduroam configuration tool and follow these easy step-by-step Eduroam instructions to set up each of your devices.
  
  

Need Configuration Assistance?

For detailed setup instructions, troubleshooting tips, and FAQs, please visit our official support page at https://help.umbc.edu or contact the DoIT Technology Support Center.

This recognition celebrates Victor’s exceptional problem-solving, attention to detail, and unwavering dedication to delivering flawless audiovisual installations.

Going Above and Beyond

As a vital anchor of the Classroom Technology team, Victor is a key component in the majority of the Division of Information Technology's (DoIT) installations. His specialized focus allows DoIT to maintain a highly capable in-house installation team, a luxury that saves the University both significant time and money.

Victor's "gritty" determination was recently on full display during a high-profile installation in the President’s conference room. The project required mounting a large TV angled in a corner section of the office, integrated with a Cisco Room Bar. However, the team hit a series of technical roadblocks:

• Complex Hardware: The newly ordered, ADA-approved TV was ultra-thin at the top, resulting in an unusual mounting pattern.

• Missing Equipment: The articulating mount required to angle the TV did not come with the proper hardware to accommodate this unique design.

• Integration Hurdles: The Cisco Room Bar still needed to be securely attached to the setup, compounding the hardware mismatch.

Faced with a standstill, Victor took charge. He strategically split the install team to search different areas of campus for solutions while he personally rummaged through an endless box of spare installation materials. Thanks to his persistence, Victor located the exact, precisely measured screws and extra washers needed to securely marry the TV to the mount.

He then engineered a custom combination of hardware to perfectly integrate the Room Bar.

"Even when the install was finished, Victor made sure that the forward tilt and position of the TV were at the perfect angle for the customer. He stayed until he was completely confident that the job was done right—a small detail that many would overlook after dealing with such a frustrating hardware issue." - Khalil Alston

A Proven Track Record of Excellence

This isn’t the first high-profile success Victor has driven this year. A few months prior, Victor worked diligently alongside Sydney Kumordzie to overhaul the AV equipment in Commons 328 and 332 just in time for the critical Middle States re-accreditation meetings. Because of the immense importance of these impending meetings, the installations had to be completed with haste, yet also to perfection. Thanks to Victor's thoroughness, the equipment functioned flawlessly.

It is because of Victor’s incredible attention to detail and dedicated focus that he and the Student Install team are able to continuously produce excellent work that leaves clients thrilled.

Congratulations to Victor for a well-deserved Gritty Award!

About the DoIT Gritty Award

The Gritty Award recognizes outstanding work within the Division and beyond. Full-time employees, student employees, and teams are all eligible.

Do you know someone going above and beyond like Victor? Don't let their hard work go unnoticed; complete the Gritty Nomination Form today!

The first draft of this article was generated by GenAI and edited by the Communications Team.

You may have heard the news: RT is better, shinier, and faster than ever before! The move to RT 6 brings a more intuitive experience to our daily workflows. While there are plenty of technical improvements under the hood, here are the standout features that will make your day-to-day tasks smoother and more efficient.

What’s New in RT 6?

1. Avatars: A More Visual Experience
   RT has gotten much more colorful. RT 6 introduces native support for user avatars. Instead of just seeing names, users are now visually identified throughout the interface—such as in ticket history and menus—using either uploaded images or auto-generated initials.
   Pro Tip: Update your look on the About Me! Go to your Initials > Settings > About Me > Picture.
   
   

2. Modern Compose Window
   The editor is newly upgraded and offers a cleaner toolbar and superior native support for dark mode. Most importantly: you can now build links using text! No more messy URLs cluttering your responses. You can now also paste images directly into your reply without having to save them and attach them as an image. 

1. Calendar View
   Need to visualize your deadlines? In any saved search, look for the grid of four boxes on the top right. You can now toggle between a standard table and a color-coded calendar view. Try adding "Date" fields to your searches to see a helpful layout of upcoming due dates.
   
   

2. Smarter Inline Editing
   When you make an inline edit to a ticket, RT 6 automatically reloads the ticket history and smoothly scrolls you to the newly added transaction. Inline Editing is practically everywhere. On the ticket display page, look for the subtle edit icons next to fields like Owner, Status, or Custom Fields. You can change these values right on the display page, and they will save instantly in the background without refreshing your screen.
   
   
   

3. Seamless Mobile Support
   Working on the go? The interface now scales beautifully on mobile and zoomed-in screens. Navigational menus now auto-close on click and dynamically highlight your active sections for better clarity.
   
   

4. Log your time in My Day and My Week
   If you’re a heavy user of the “Time Worked” part of RT, updating tickets individually is a chore. Instead, go to Tools > My Week and see an overview of all tickets worked this week and an easy way to add time to all of the tickets at once. My Day provides an easy way to enter updates all at once with multiple assigned tickets.
   
   

There are many tips and tricks for the beginner to the expert - did you know…

• There’s a dark mode for RT? Set your Theme Mode to dark on the Preferences page (Initials > Settings > Preferences) and hit Save Changes. 

• That if you highlight text on the ticket display screen and reply, it quotes the text in your reply?

• There are handy keyboard shortcuts to quickly navigate and triage tickets - press the ? (Shift + /) on your keyboard to see them! 

• If you type a ticket number into search and hit Enter, RT will take you straight to that ticket?

• At the top of the Ticket History section, look for the little link that says "Hide ticket history" or the option to filter out system messages. You can toggle this so you only see the actual comments and email replies from humans, collapsing all the automated system noise.
  
  

There are many more improvements under the hood, and more to come. Let us know what you’ve been enjoying in the new RT upgrade! If you have any questions or concerns, you can Request Help here. 

Over this past weekend, April 4-5, 2026, one of UMBC’s services experienced a disruption, resulting in slower loading times. This affected some users' ability to log in to platforms such as Blackboard, Google Services, and myUMBC. This also caused a backlog of emails for some accounts. The issue has been resolved as of April 6, 2026. No action is needed by users at this time. 

Need Assistance?

If you have any questions or experience further issues, please contact the TSC at UMBC’s Help Service. 

April 2026 Issue

Repost from  the USM Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation and the USM Digital Accessibility Work Group

Sprinting to the Finish: Part 2 of 2

As the April Title II compliance deadline approaches, you've assessed your materials, prioritized strategically, and built quality checkpoints into your workflow. Now it's time to look beyond the finish line. This month, we're focusing on what happens after April: establishing sustainable accessibility practices, planning for continuous improvement, and transforming the momentum of this endeavor into lasting institutional change. The skills you've developed and the systems you've put in place over the past eight months aren't just for meeting a deadline—they're the foundation for creating accessible content as your default practice. Whether you're putting final touches on remediated materials or already thinking about next semester, this newsletter will help you transition from sprint mode to sustainable accessibility practices that serve your students and colleagues for years to come.

Beyond the Deadline: At-a-Glance

• Where We Are: April deadline within reach; remediation work in final stages
• This Month's Focus: Sustainability over perfection (build habits, document processes, and plan for accessible-first content creation)
• Quick Win: Create a "lessons learned" document capturing what worked, what didn't, and what you'll do differently next time
• Key Principle: The April 2026 deadline isn’t a finish line; it's actually a starting line. Accessibility is an ongoing practice, not a one-time project
  
  

What’s Inside

• Why Planning Beyond the Deadline Matters

• Quick Fix Guide: Your Complete Accessibility Reference Library

• Tools & Tactics: Accessibility Automation and Efficiency

• Campuses in Focus: Accessibility Champions in Action

• Looking Ahead: Your Accessibility Roadmap for Next Semester and Beyond

• Learn More

Why Planning Beyond the Deadline Matters

The difference between a short-term compliance effort and a transformational accessibility practice lies in what happens after the deadline passes. Without intentional planning, it's easy to slip back into old habits like creating inaccessible PDFs, forgetting alt text, or skipping heading structures when you're in a rush. The workflows you've established during this year are valuable precisely because they can prevent that backslide.

• Documenting your processes ensures that the knowledge you've gained doesn't live only in your head. When you create templates, checklists, and standard operating procedures, you make it easier for yourself (and your colleagues) to maintain accessibility standards post-April.

• Building accessibility into content creation from the start is exponentially more efficient than retrofitting materials later. The time you invest now in setting up accessible templates, establishing review processes, and creating reusable accessible components will save countless hours in future semesters.

• Cultivating an accessibility mindset transforms how you approach all digital content. Instead of viewing accessibility as an extra step or compliance burden, it becomes an integrated part of high-quality content creation, just like checking for typos or ensuring accurate citations.

Most importantly, sustainable accessibility practices ensure that the students, faculty, and staff who benefit from accessible materials continue to have equitable access long after April. The deadline may be finite, but your commitment to inclusion won’t be.

Quick Fix Guide: Your Complete Accessibility Reference Library

Over the past eight months, each newsletter has included a Quick Fix Guide focused on one of theSix Essential Stepsor a critical accessibility strategy. Now we're bringing them all together in one place. This complete collection serves as your go-to reference library for accessibility practices; bookmark this section or save these guides where you can easily access them when you need a quick refresher.

The Complete Quick Fix Guide Collection

• • August 2025 USM Digital Accessibility Checklist: Your foundational overview of digital accessibility requirements and the Six Essential Steps that form the basis of accessible content creation. Download the USM Digital Accessibility Checklist.

  • September 2025 Headings Hierarchy 101 Quick Fix Guide: Master the use of heading styles to create logical document structure that helps all users navigate your content, especially those using screen readers. Download the Headings Hierarchy 101 Quick Fix Guide.

  • October 2025 Accessible Links in 5 Minutes Quick Fix Guide: Transform generic "click here" links into meaningful, context-rich hyperlinks that make sense when read out of context by screen readers. Download the Accessible Links in 5 Minutes Quick Fix Guide.

  • November 2025 Color & Contrast Quick Fix Guide: Learn to test and apply color combinations that meet WCAG standards, ensuring your content is readable for users with low vision or color blindness. Download the Color & Contrast Quick Fix Guide.

  • December 2025 Quick Fix Guide Creating Alt Text for Images: Learn how to write effective alt text that conveys meaning without being overly verbose, when to mark images as decorative, and how to handle complex images like charts and diagrams. Download the Creating Alt Text for Images Quick Fix Guide.

  • January 2026 Quick Fix Guide for Tables & Data: Discover how to build tables that screen readers can interpret correctly, including proper header designation and keeping table structures simple. Download the Quick Fix Guide for Tables & Data.

  • February 2026 Multimedia Remediation Quick Fix Guide: Get practical strategies for captioning videos and providing transcripts for audio content, including how to edit auto-generated captions efficiently. Download the Multimedia Remediation Quick Fix Guide.

  • March 2026 Sprint to the Finish Checklist: Use the assessment, prioritization, and verification strategies to manage your final weeks before the deadline strategically. Download the Sprint to the Finish Checklist.

How to Use This Library

• • As a Learning Resource: If you're new to accessibility or missed earlier newsletters, work through the guides in order from August through January to build your foundational skills in theSix Essential Steps.

  • As a Reference Tool: Bookmark this page or save these guides in a folder you can access quickly when you encounter a specific accessibility challenge.

  • As a Training Resource: Share relevant guides with teaching assistants, new colleagues, or anyone who creates digital content for your courses or department.

  • As a Quality Check: Before publishing any material, run through the relevant Quick Fix Guides to verify you've addressed all accessibility considerations.

What’s Next

While this collection covers the essential accessibility practices you need for most academic content, accessibility is an evolving field. We'll continue to share updates, advanced techniques, and discipline-specific guidance in future newsletters. If there's an accessibility topic you'd like to see covered, let us know atcai@usmd.edu.

Tools & Tactics: Your Accessibility Workflow Toolkit

During the past eight months, you've become familiar with accessibility checking and remediation tools. Now let's explore tools and strategies that help you maintain accessibility with less ongoing effort.

Automate What You Can

• • Accessible Templates: Create and save document templates in Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and your LMS that include proper heading structures, color schemes with sufficient contrast, and placeholder alt text reminders. Starting with an accessible template eliminates many common errors before they happen.

  • Style Libraries: Build custom style sets inWord and PowerPointthat include only accessible color combinations and properly structured heading styles. This prevents accidental accessibility violations when you're working quickly.

  • LMS Course Templates: Work with an instructional design colleague to create accessible course shells that include properly structured modules, accessible announcement templates, and assignment submission guidelines that request accessible formats.

Build Accessibility Into Your Workflow

• • Pre-Publication Checklist: Create a simple checklist that lives where you work (pinned document, browser bookmark, sticky note on your monitor) reminding you to verify the Six Essential Steps before publishing any content.

  • Peer Review Partnerships: Establish reciprocal arrangements with colleagues to review each other's materials for accessibility before they go live. A fresh perspective catches issues you might miss in your own work.

  • Scheduled Accessibility Audits: Set quarterly calendar reminders to spot-check a sample of your materials, ensuring accessibility standards haven't slipped during busy periods.

Leverage AI and Emerging Tools

• • AI-Powered Alt Text (with Human Review): Tools like Microsoft's AI-generated alt text can provide starting points for image descriptions but always review and refine them for accuracy and context. AI can speed up the process but shouldn't replace human judgment.

  • Automated Accessibility Scanning: Set up regular automated scans of your web content using tools like Siteimprove or similar platforms if your institution provides them. Automated monitoring catches new issues as they're introduced.

  • Caption Editing Efficiency: Use auto-generated captions as a first draft, then develop an efficient editing workflow. Many instructors find it faster to watch videos at 1.5x speed while editing captions rather than transcribing from scratch.

Pro Tip: The 20/80 Rule for Sustainable Accessibility

Focus your ongoing effort on the key 20% of practices that prevent 80% of accessibility issues: using heading styles instead of manual formatting, adding alt text as you insert images (not later), and starting with accessible templates. These habits, once established, maintain accessibility with minimal additional time investment.

Campuses in Focus: Accessibility Champions in Action

As we approach the April deadline, it's worth pausing to recognize the countless individuals across the University System of Maryland who have transformed accessibility from an abstract requirement into tangible improvements for their students and colleagues. This month, we're spotlighting two accessibility champions whose journeys demonstrate that meaningful progress is possible, regardless of where you start or what resources you have available.

These stories showcase different paths to accessibility success: one person who tackled a massive remediation project, and another who built sustainable systems for their department. While their approaches differ, they share common threads: persistence, strategic thinking, and a commitment to inclusive education that extends beyond compliance.

Louise Anderson, Co-Chair Music, Theatre and Dance, Salisbury University

• The Challenge: After achieving 100% accessibility on one Canvas course, Louise recognized that many faculty colleagues were struggling with the same technical issues she had worked through—particularly around PDFs and Word documents.

• The Approach: Rather than keeping her hard-won knowledge to herself, Louise documented her process while working through her next course. She created short, focused "nuts and bolts" video tutorials targeting specific accessibility fixes: one on PDF title elements and tags, and another on Word title elements and headings. She utilized campus support documentation from SU while also conducting her own research to find solutions to Canvas accessibility issues.

We are writing to address a recent issue regarding an email that some of you may have incorrectly received, which welcomed you to UMBC as a new employee or new student worker and provided instructions on setting up your UMBC account. These emails were sent within the last week with the subject line of 'Your MyUMBC Account.' This email was sent in error to an unintended recipient group due to an internal mailing list issue.

Please note the following:

• No Action is Needed: If you are already a current student or employee, or if you received this email in error, please disregard the message. You do not need to take any action regarding the account setup instructions within that email.
• Account Safety: We want to reassure you that your existing UMBC accounts and personal information are safe and secure. This incident was purely a mailing error and was not the result of a security breach.

We want to thank those watchful individuals who reported these emails as potential phishing attempts. An unexpected email is a possible indicator of phishing, and we appreciate everyone who took the time to report it.

We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused. If you have any questions regarding this notification, please feel free to reach out to our support team at UMBC's Help Service or 410-455-3838.

Thank you for your understanding. 

Sincerely,

Division of Information Technology

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The UMBC Albin O. Kuhn Library recently partnered with the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) to solve the challenge of accessing information for all. There is a need for rapid and high-quality transcriptions. An automatic transcription is an AI-powered process that converts audio or video recordings into text in minutes. The library wanted to find a way to automate the transcription of recorded meetings, lectures, and other forms of audio media that are not already transcribed. An automated service would be beneficial for providing immediate transcripts, eliminating the need to wait for someone to manually transcribe each recording. This type of service would ideally allow a user to upload a recording of a lecture or talk and receive a transcript as a PDF or Word document. Another use case would be helping to differentiate multiple speakers in a recording by identifying "Speaker 1", "Speaker 2", and so on. 

Solution

During one of his Internet2 Cloud meetings, DoIT's own Associate Director of Research and Enterprise Computing, Tim Champ, learned of an open-source transcription program from Indiana University (IU) that was shared for testing at other institutions. Tim, having heard of the library's problem a year prior, decided to experiment with the program as a possible solution. Tim's coordination with the technical setup and creating an AWS account for the library has offered a successful process for transcripts. Additionally, there is no regular maintenance needed for this application as it uses AWS-managed services. 

The collaboration has since proved successful with the library transcribing media in their archives and on UMBCScholarworks, as well as with two weekly podcasts, I Hate Politics and I Hate the News, created by UMBC Shady Grove Political Science Faculty Member Sunil Dasgupta. At the moment, this tool is only available to the library; however, Tim sees this as a tool that could be implemented in other departments at UMBC to support increased accessibility. 

Future Opportunities

For any department or researcher interested in learning more about accessing and using this tool, you can Request Help under AI tools. 

Improving accessibility at UMBC is a major priority, both towards UMBC's mission and recent federal accessibility standards. Everyone has different needs, and it is our responsibility to adjust and adapt our existing methods to meet the needs of our community, whether in lecture halls or virtual environments. This ongoing commitment is strengthened by the collaboration between faculty and staff to improve tools and resources. 

Learn about the Indiana University Automated Transcription Service.

The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) is excited to announce that Billy Schneider has been awarded the February 2026 DoIT Gritty Award! This award recognizes Billy's technical leadership, his knack for solving problems before they even start, and his deep commitment to making our digital spaces accessible for everyone.

Billy's work is often behind the scenes, but his influence is everywhere you look online at the university. As the original architect of the Sites platform, Billy didn't just build it, he scaled it to support over 500 websites. He was also instrumental in keeping things stable during our major redesign partnership with University Communication & Marketing.

What sets Billy apart is a rare "tech-sense", an ability to anticipate downstream issues before they even materialize. By proactively shaping solutions and stepping into lead roles with minimal direction, he has saved the university countless hours of troubleshooting.

Making Accessibility Possible

Most recently, Billy has served as the engine behind the Sites Digital Accessibility Project. Beyond his day-to-day responsiveness, he developed a substantial suite of custom WordPress tools specifically for this initiative. While many of these tools function "under the hood" to help the project team track and manage remediations, their impact is university-wide. Thanks to Billy's code, they are able to make sites more inclusive with minimal disruption to the users.

"Billy has been an essential, key part of the Sites Digital Accessibility Project rollout and has gone way above and beyond in doing so."

 ~ Darcie Adams, Website Digital Accessibility Lead

Beyond Technology

Beyond his technical contributions, Billy is the kind of teammate every organization needs but rarely recognizes. He brings a calm, collaborative presence to every discussion, generously sharing his knowledge and helping others think through complex problems. His development skills rank among the best on campus, yet he wears this expertise lightly, focusing instead on mentorship and team success. While his work rarely receives visible recognition, it forms the backbone of a platform that hundreds of clients depend on daily. Billy delivers exceptional results with professionalism and a positive attitude that makes everyone around him better.

Congratulations, Billy, on a well-deserved Gritty Award!

About the DoIT Gritty Award

The Gritty Award recognizes outstanding work within the Division and beyond. Full-time employees, student employees, and teams are all eligible. Do you know someone going above and beyond? Complete the Gritty Nomination Form today!

The first draft of this article was generated by GenAI and edited by the Communications Team. 

The digital landscape of government is changing rapidly, and the State of Maryland is taking proactive steps to ensure it has the talent to keep pace. At the heart of this effort is the Maryland Institute for Innovative Computing (MIIC) program, a vital initiative administered by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County's (UMBC) Career Center and supported by state funding.

The MIIC concept was spearheaded by Jack Suess, UMBC's Vice President and Chief Information Officer, who recognized the critical need to create a dedicated pipeline for technical talent within state agencies. His vision has been instrumental in making this program a reality.

More than just an internship program, MIIC is a comprehensive strategy to recruit, compensate, mentor, and ultimately retain top college students in impactful technical careers right here in Maryland.

Between the summer of 2024 and the summer of 2025, MIIC successfully funded 34 technical internships across eight Maryland state agencies, representing an investment of nearly $174,000 in the state's emerging workforce. In total 178 interns have been supported by the program since its inception in 2022, totaling over $805,000 in state funds. 

This commitment to fostering a local talent pipeline has yielded significant results. Every single participating agency—including the Maryland Department of Information Technology (MD DoIT), the Comptroller of Maryland, and the Maryland State Archives—reported that their intern contributed directly to organizational improvement.

Agencies are quick to highlight the dual benefit. Not only does the program allow them to "discover and retain new talent," but it also provides crucial financial relief. One agency head noted the program provides "extra dollars saved" that can be redirected toward "other strategic security goals." Another supervisor praised the added efficiency, stating the intern helped them "tackle some administrative burdens."

The 34 students who participated came from a diverse mix of backgrounds, boasting a strong average GPA of 3.59 and representing seven in-state and two out-of-state institutions. Their majors read like a blueprint for the modern technical workforce: Cybersecurity, Data Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, and Software Engineering.

For these students, the internships were a critical bridge between academic theory and real-world application.

"This internship has been an extremely valuable experience for me as an Information Systems major. It has allowed me to gain hands-on experience in a field that I am passionate about and has helped me to develop both professionally and personally."
- MIIC Intern

In short, MIIC is not just finding great students; it's actively helping agencies become more secure, efficient, and productive.