OIT News
Monthly news briefs, information and announcements
Office of Information Technology, NC State University
Issue 45, July 2011
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01: University approves allowance for business use of mobile communication devices
04: Training scheduled for Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar
06: SAR training scheduled for Aug. 2
07: Use your Unity ID and password for university business ONLY!
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01: University approves allowance for business use of mobile communication devices
As a cost-saving measure, NC State is now providing an allowance for the business use of an employee’s personal cell phone or mobile communication device (MCD), with the exception of pagers and two-way radios. This measure was effective June 1.
The allowance − $35 for the voice-only or the data-only plan and $70 for the voice and data plan − may be provided only to university employees who are in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)-exempt, full-time, 12-month appointments and who are required to carry MCDs to fulfill their job responsibilities. FLSA-subject staff, temps, part-time employees, and student workers are not eligible for an allowance, but may be assigned a university-owned MCD, depending on job responsibilities. An allowance may be provided when the total allowance is projected to be less than the cost of providing a university-owned MCD. The allowance will be included in the employee’s paycheck and reported on the employee’s W2 form. The allowance is subject to all regular payroll taxes, but is not included in the employee’s State retirement computation.
The allowance eliminates the need for an employee to carry multiple MCDs and the risk that an employee might utilize a university-owned MCD for personal calls or texts and inadvertently violate State prohibitions. It also allows employees their choice of device and vendor. MCD users must follow all university policies related to storing and transferring secure data via MCDs. MCDs used to conduct university business are also subject to public information requests.
For more information, see Mobile Communication Device Requirements. For general assistance or questions, contact Kim Kelley, assistant controller, at 515-7132 or kim_kelley@ncsu.edu. For payroll- and tax-specific questions, contact Robin Nowlin, Payroll tax manager, at 515-2062 or robin_nowlin@ncsu.edu.
02: Unity/Webmail/Cyrus user account migration to Google Apps @ NC State is 99.9% complete
As of June 30, the email accounts of virtually all employees who were using Unity/Webmail/Cyrus for their official NC State University email have been migrated to Gmail in Google Apps @ NC State!
The Google Implementation Team continues to test the tool that will migrate GroupWise/WolfWise users’ accounts to Google Apps and to prepare the many other aspects of this transition. This summer, the team has begun working with a number of campus IT support staff to move them from GroupWise/WolfWise to Google Apps. The planning process to migrate all GroupWise/WolfWise accounts during the coming academic year is underway.
For the latest news on the GroupWise/WolfWise migration to Google Apps, visit:Migrations: GroupWise/WolfWise to Google (no longer available). For help with Google Apps, please contact the NC State Help Desk at 515-HELP (4357) or visit: Where do I go for Google help?
03: ComTech to discontinue RightFax service
Effective July 31, Communication Technologies (ComTech) will retire the RightFax system. The current system is out of support, and a poll of campus customers shows support for discontinuing the fax service due to cost.
Customers should make plans for alternatives that may include the purchase and installation of a fax machine. The current rate for a new phone line includes a $100 installation fee and a $7 monthly charge. Customers who need a fax line should submit an order by Thursday, July 21 via ComTech’s MySoft System, which is available only to on-campus personnel who request telecommunication services for their unit, college or department.
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04: Training scheduled for Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar
OIT is conducting Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar training sessions from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 3 and Tuesday, Sept.13 in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center.
Don Schmidt and Twanda Baker of OIT Design, Education and Outreach will cover everything you need to know to get started with Gmail and Google Calendar, including an overview of the apps and helpful resources. You must have an active Google Apps @ NC State account (not just a personal Gmail account) to participate in this training. For more information and to register, visit Classmate.
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05: OIT Lunch & Learns: “Collaborating—There’s an App for That!” and “Simplifying Telephone and Mobile Communications”
OIT’s Brown Bag Lunch and Learn series will present the following upcoming workshops:
- “Collaborating—There’s an App for That!” will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 28 in 216 Scott Hall. There are a number of apps available for the iPad and iPad 2 to facilitate collaboration — sharing files from your computer with mobile devices, designing in real-time with others on an advanced virtual whiteboard, or simultaneously connecting to create, draw, share pictures, play games, or just have fun.Jason Maners of Information Technology and Engineering Computer Services (ITECS) and Nathan Stevens of the College of Education Media Center will lead a discussion on useful applications such as iFiles, Groupboard Designer and Share Board. If you have an idea, but don’t know “an app for that” idea, you can discuss it in this class! You may also bring along apps to share. To register for this workshop, visit Classmate.
- “Simplifying Telephone and Mobile Communications” will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23 in 216 Scott Hall. Join Matt Domnick and Cheri Renninger of OIT ComTech to discuss how the new campus voice mail system can help you simplify and manage your telecommunications. You’ll learn how to:
- Receive all work-related voice mail in one mailbox
- Transition active calls from your desk phone to your mobile phone, and vice versa
- Give contacts one number to call, but receive their calls on multiple phones
- Forward specific calls to your mobile phone, and if you wish, specify when to receive those calls (e.g., during work hours) and when not to (e.g., after work hours and on weekends)
To register for this workshop, visit Classmate.
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06: SAR training scheduled for Aug. 2
Security Access Request (SAR) training for campus requestors and approvers of access to secured university data will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Aug. 2 in ITTC Lab 2 of D.H. Hill Library. Please visit Classmate to view available classes and to sign up for training.
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07: Use your Unity ID and password for university business ONLY!
Your Unity ID and password give you access to university computing resources and your sensitive personal information. To safeguard your identity, OIT Security and Compliance strongly recommends that you never use your Unity ID, your Unity password or even your unityid@ncsu.edu email address as an identifier for any account you have outside of the university.
If possible, you can use an alias such as “firstname_lastname@ncsu.edu” to create or log in to an external account; external accounts oftentimes require a valid email address. This will protect your Unity ID from exposure.
Security and Compliance proactively protects your Unity password at the university, but there have been many recent news reports of password security breaches for some external services.
If you have questions, please contact Security and Compliance at abuse@ncsu.edu or call the NC State Help Desk at 515-HELP (4357).
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