Knowledgebase: Department Chair FAQ
Important Things for Department Chairs to Know (Faculty/Staff/Chairs)
Posted by Christy Mattingly on 25 January 2016 01:50 PM

A number of processes explained in this article are specifically for the work of department chairs though may apply to other faculty. Establishing regular communication with your LFC (Liaison for Computing) will enable IT to best support the needs of your department.

AAC (Academic Affairs Committee) web site
Find deadlines for course and program submissions and approvals.


Budget Access
The LFC will submit a ticket once notified of when you need access. The Senior Financial Analyst is responsible for approving the request. Then, access will be set up by a member of the Administrative Information Systems area of IT.

Department Websites
Each department has a web content editor assigned who is often a faculty member within the department. Web content editors are required to go through web accessibility training. Contact Marketing and Communication for more information. Faculty listed on the department web site are removed at the end of the account auditing process.

Directory Updates
Contact your LFC for any changes needing to be made.

E-mail "Distribution Lists"
Moodle Community Major sites provide QuickMail with students auto-enrolled in their declared major / minor site and listed by category in the QuickMail Sections field to enable you to email particular groups of students in your area. Google Groups may be requested to manage email lists for full-time vs. part-time faculty within a department. These groups must be maintained by someone within the academic department.

Faculty On-boarding Process (*Augnet sign in required*)

Faculty Research Equipment
Your department liaison for computing can assist with purchasing hardware and software that will be used for research. IT needs to maintain inventory of these items for auditing and insurance purposes. In some cases, management software needs to be installed so we can push security updates to these devices. Another benefit of IT making the purchase is that the purchasing paperwork can be handled via our P-cards instead of faculty buying equipment and then waiting for reimbursement.

Office Moves
Academic LFCs need to be made aware of office moves by faculty and/or department chairs. How we assist with office moves:

  • Ensure damaged Ethernet cables are replaced
  • Help move computer, peripherals, and the phone
  • Update the Directory, which pushes to the public facing department websites

Options for Moodle/EdTech Development
A general overview of AugNet resources is offered by the LFC,  as well as a Library Orientation. If a new instructor is teaching in the hybrid format, additional time with the E-Learning Specialist can be scheduled. New faculty receive an  “IT Welcome Letter” and emailed invitation to schedule an individual orientation.

Moodle development sessions can be requested for your department or inter-departmental groups at any time. Departmental Moodle Huddles, offered in the past, were typically scheduled in May. Moodle Co-horts, approved by the Deans, are offered to address specific needs. The E-Learning team presents on relevant and timely features, showing the possibilities of available technology. A collaborative site with multiple instructors and Department Chair as a space where faculty can work together to develop a course can be set up by request.

One-on-one scheduling is available either in-person or via a remote session based on availability anytime throughout the year. Please keep in mind that the first few weeks of a term are extremely busy, particularly with new hire orientations. Online development is available for faculty via Moodle 101, http://go.augsburg.edu/moodle101 followed by successive interactive online courses developed by the E-Learning Team.

Options for Professional Development:   Center for Teaching & Learning

Public Facing Faculty Web Sites
Each faculty member has direct control over their own site, and can use a web platform (rather than web-accessible Word or PDF documents) to showcase their work and scholarship. Individual faculty web sites can be requested through Marketing Communication's Project Request System. Send a photo, or request a professional photograph be taken, and a bio. If a faculty member appears in your department on the Inside Augsburg Directory, then they will appear on the list for your department.

Personal Web Sites for Faculty, Staff, & Students via Engage (AugBlogs)
Log into Engage with your Augsburg credentials (username and password). Engage is based on the WordPress platform.

University Social Media web site (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
Some departments have social media accounts. Accounts must be set up in coordination with the Marketing and Communication Department and your LFC. An email alias will be created and can be assigned to a member of your department to receive notifications for said account. The LFC will share the username/password info with the IT Director and list the account email alias and contact in a Google Sheet shared with Marketing and Communication.

Student Workers
Please inform your LFC of when Student workers are hired and when they end their service. There are two important things LFCs on the backend of the network to assist with student workers: 1) Set up printing so that they may charge departmental print jobs appropriately; 2) Add or remove them from your department directory to allow or remove access to your department files and email lists.

IT Department Structure  

The Information Technology Department is composed of three areas: User Support, Systems/Network (SysNet), and Administrative Information Systems.

User Support includes:

  • Administrative Liaisons for Computing (LFC) for business staff support
  • Academic LFCs and an E-Learning Specialist to support faculty/academics
  • Teaching and Learning Spaces LFC
  • TechDesk, which provides both student and faculty support

IT Policies

  • Printing - The print "count" is counting units, not actual print jobs or dollar costs. See the IT policy on printing to view how units correlate to each type of print job.

Faculty and Staff Main Computers
Faculty and staff computers are ordered in the spring. Please let your LFC know if any additional faculty or staff will be joining the department who warrant an Augsburg computer.

  • Computers are leased on a multi-year cycle. The Augsburg College UPC label on the computer notes the year a computer lease ends. The two digits before the hyphen indicates the year, for example “YY” indicated the year: xxxxxxYY-xxxxxx. So if YY is equal to 20, then the computer will be replaced in the summer of 2020.

  • Computers are provided to faculty teaching .75 FTE or higher with a choice of Mac or Windows & desktop or laptop. Instructors below this level will need to use adjunct desktops on campus or provide their own laptop. Microsoft Office software is available for faculty, staff, and students at no cost.

  • This is a “flat lease” so it is important to indicate what computers are needed in the Spring. LFCs will reach out to faculty and staff to determine the type of computer to order. Customizations are not available. Choices are limited to either Mac or Windows machines and either laptops or desktops. You will need to predict how many computers are needed for the entire year as the number of computers purchased is determined once a year. Faculty may need to consider selecting the computer which works best for the software they use. Once the order for the lease is made, no further computers will be ordered until the next year's leasing cycle. IT starts working on the lease order in February, finalizes numbers by April, and orders in May.

  • External monitors for laptop users can improve efficiency with more screen real estate. Consider purchasing one per year out of your Department budget.
  • With the exception of external optical CD/DVD drives, peripherals (mouse/keyboard) for laptops are not covered under the IT budget.

  • Computers come with the latest stable operating system that is compatible with our network, Microsoft Office, three browsers, a video player. Additional software can be installed. LFCs will install SPSS or other software specifically needed for your discipline.

 

(keywords: department chair)
http://go.augsburg.edu/chairs
Last Modified: 2020/02/25 (updated attachment)


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