Message from the VPIT-CIO
Working as one Michigan IT community, we have accomplished a lot during the past year, and I know our best is yet to come. I am looking forward to an exciting year ahead!
Category Archives: Top Stories
Data mapping helps inform decision-making for Student Life
Sometimes timing is everything! This was the case when Student Life partnered with Information and Technology Services (ITS) on a data mapping proof-of-concept for its “Where is our Data?” initiative. Back in April, a story in Michigan IT News updated the U-M community about the effort to better understand where our institutional data lives within ITS systems, how… Read More »
Profiles in IT: Lovida Roach—MLearning marvel
Lovida Roach was recently interviewed about her work with MLearning, her views on customer service, and balancing work and life while working full time and pursuing an MBA.
Online communities platform enhances U-M alumni engagement
U-M Alumni Association recently launched Alumni Online Communities, an engagement platform where alumni can reconnect through an all-alumni directory and form community groups based on popular topics of interest.
ITS interns showcase bright futures
47 interns participated in the ITS Summer Internship Program. Wondering how much they accomplished in 13 weeks? As it turns out, quite a lot. And it had little to do with running for coffee.
ITS, Dentistry collaborate to upgrade EHR system
Electronic health records are crucial to the daily functioning of the School of Dentistry. So, when the school reached out to ITS for help with a system upgrade, both teams knew it was a mission-critical project.
Message from the VPIT-CIO
In just a couple weeks, I will be celebrating my first full year as your VPIT-CIO. It is a pleasure to be part of the vibrant Michigan IT community and I look forward to the year ahead.
Dissonance events explore tech-based policy and legal subjects
Technology changes at an ever-increasing rate, almost always outstripping policy, privacy, security, and legal considerations. ITS Information Assurance (IA) collaborates with faculty, researchers, students, and external industry experts to create a forum, Dissonance, for public discourse on the tensions surrounding technology, policy, privacy, security, and law.
New charter, leadership, and name for IT governance group
The Unit IT Steering Committee recently adopted a new charter and began meeting under a new name—the Strategic Technology Advisory Committee (STAC). The revised charter incorporates the group’s experience and growth, as well as how the larger U-M technology environment has evolved over time.
ITS to retire Adobe CS6 Aug. 1, opens ETLA enrollment
ITS is retiring Adobe CS6 products from its services (Campus Computing Sites, UMichITAM, and MiWorkspace) by August 1 and recommends units transition to the Adobe Enterprise Term License Agreement (ETLA) or Value Incentive Program (VIP).
Med student challenges: How HITS combats graduation confusion
There is a growing need for assistance as medical students transition from medical school to other institutions for research or residency programs. Issues such as access to email, U-M Box, and MiChart are relevant worries as more than 150 students near their graduation dates. A recent medical school graduate, Balaji Pandian, also the M4 class’ medical technical representative,… Read More »
MACC network power validation aims to improve reliability
The Network and Data Center (DC) teams recently partnered to perform a power validation for the network devices at the Michigan Academic Computing Center (MACC). The focus of the effort was to conduct a field audit to evaluate the current state of the network device power, identify areas of improvement, and make recommendations for future changes. This validation… Read More »
Message from the VPIT-CIO
The goal to “improve the way we serve the U-M campus by providing proactive, laser-focused customer service” truly boils down to working with our customers to understand and help achieve their goals, and to tackle projects and problems with their needs in mind.
New report highlights ITS’s achievement in DEI
A new ITS webpage outlines progress to make its workplace more diverse, inclusive, and equitable: Over 450 DEI course completions by 276 staff, a new set of Guiding Principles for Accessibility, and more.
Profiles in IT: Mahathy Kuchibhatla—Patient Portal expert
Michigan IT News recently interviewed Health Information Technology and Services staffer Mahathy Kuchibhatla, M.S., about her work building and managing the Patient Portal (MyUofMHealth.org). An undergraduate project that used Artificial Intelligence got her interested in computers that has led to a 10-year career in IT that improves patient engagement. Tell us about your background. I have a master’s… Read More »
Unizin institutions join pilot of learning analytics tools developed by U-M
The University of Michigan, Indiana University, and the University of Iowa have announced an initiative to coordinate on a joint pilot of the My Learning Analytics (MyLA) tools that have been developed at U-M and leverage the new Unizin Data Platform. MyLA is a set of visualizations designed to promote metacognition, facilitate self-regulated learning, and provide students deeper… Read More »
M-Write: A model of campus technology and academic collaboration
In fall 2018, Information and Technology Services became the sole technical supporter of M-Write, a program designed to apply “writing-to-learn” pedagogies in university courses. The move represented the culmination of a multi-year journey that provides a model of how campus technology and academic units can collaborate successfully to support teaching and learning. M-Write helps students develop a deep… Read More »
Message from the VPIT-CIO
Our work in technology connects countless alumni, faculty, students, and staff studying, researching, and working abroad and at home. Working together as a Michigan IT community, we support the technology that fuels the U-M mission and Michigan spirit.
How a simple question grew into a vision for a data-informed future
Some of you may have heard folks from ITS talking about the “Where’s Our Data?” effort that spun up around seven months ago and probably wondered: What exactly does that mean? When our new VPIT-CIO Ravi Pendse arrived on campus last August, he spent several months listening to the U-M community about IT needs and asking questions. With… Read More »
BlueJeans key to success for distance learning partnership in Rwanda
In October 2017, Michigan IT News reported on videoconferencing that enables clinical education in Ethiopia as part a project led by Center for International Reproductive Health Training at the University of Michigan (UM-CIRHT). The year after, UM-CIRHT launched a two-year project with the University of Rwanda. The partnership strengthens family planning training and builds student and faculty capacity… Read More »