CAIT Newsletter - Fall 2022

CalArts has a new Learning Management System! 

Replacing Learn and Access, the Canvas platform provides a robust new environment with a rich feature set. Canvas also offers a comprehensive eco-system of partner products that we can tap into over time.

Sign up for Canvas training on September 22nd!

We have been working steadily on moving more and more services behind our Single Sign-On (SSO) portal. We now have over a dozen applications using this service, offered to various sections of our community. This is an exciting, secure, and convenient “one stop shop” for applications here at CalArts.

In support of being more mobile in our teaching and learning environments, CAIT has been centrally providing laptops to regular faculty for the past year. Thus far, we have deployed 39 laptops to faculty across all schools. These computers are on a sustainable 4-year refresh cycle, meaning that there is a purposeful and funded plan to keep them up to date over time.

Ahmanson Hall has been upgraded with brand new network connectivity in the common areas. This upgrade will facilitate better group work and socialization for the MFA students residing in the dorms.

CAIT Customer Care is busy! In the last year, we have received 10,591 support requests and closed out 7,430 requests within the Customer Care team and 10,607 within the entire CAIT team. Most of the support requests have been closed out within our internal “acceptable time windows”. We continue to work hard to be responsive to the community. 

You can reach the CAIT team at cait@calarts.edu or access many how-to articles at cait.calarts.edu.

We have a lot going on with data storage! From changes to Google Drive to implementing an entirely new, state of the art in-house solution, we’ve been busy.

Google ended their decade-long policy of unlimited storage this past July, replacing it with a relatively small allocation per institution (and one that is especially constraining for media-heavy CalArts users). In response to this, we have already eliminated Google Storage solutions (e.g. Drive) for alumnx. In support of that significant change, we’ve received and addressed nearly 260 support requests from alumnx to help them migrate their data to other solutions such as personal Google accounts.

Of course, we have to provide alternative solutions, too. To that end, we are rolling out a new in-house network storage solution. Importantly, this storage will operate very much like Google Drive or Dropbox, but with capacities and other management within our control. This storage will be available across the internet with a desktop synchronization app that will keep your files up to date across multiple devices.

We’ve made a number of notable additions to Self-Service for faculty, staff, and students. We migrated W2 forms last year, added the ability to update addresses recently and are in the process of moving HubTime over (the existing system is out of date and no longer supported). We will continue to expand Self-Service to be a true go-to spot for taking care of many of your needs.

You are all aware of our implementation of Zoom Phone as our new telephony solution, but did you know that we also replaced all fax services with a new eFax solution that lets you send and receive messages directly to your computer?

Here are some fun Zoom numbers:

• 169 physical phones for faculty and staff
• 177 physical phones for common areas
• 64 call queues
• 780 Zoom virtual phone numbers
• 128,409 calls logged since Zoom phone was implemented

During the summer, CAIT asked the community to take part in an IT climate survey. We thank all of you that participated and provided such valuable feedback about our operations, services, and capabilities. We are still going through all the data, but please know that we are dedicated to operating at a high level. We will continue to provide the highest quality service we have done in the past and will work to improve where indicated by the community. We’re here to provide the best user experience in all areas.