How to Find the Older Version of FerrisConnect Courses

You might recall that you could get there multiple ways to get to the different versions of FerrisConnect --you could click on the FerrisConnect icon, go through the My Courses channel on the Academics & Services tab, or

Help Spread the Word About Maintenance Night!

Instructors - please consider adding a link from your on-line courses, or considering handing out/physically posting this
 "mini poster" to let students know about scheduled maintenance nights and all the ways they can contact the Technology Assistance Center.

New Technologies in the Classroom

The TAC's Audio/Visual team was busy upgrading the technologies in many classrooms this summer.

• PHR 101 received system control and audio upgrades
• MCO 210 now has video conferencing capabilities
• MCO second floor seminar rooms added digital controls and inputs

Free Technology Learning Opportunities for Ferris Employees!

New to the TAC this fall, the Technical Education & Outreach team provides learning opportunities on the use and application of standard technologies (both hardware and software) to employees (including student
employees) of Ferris State University.

Student Technology Services (STS) and Telecommunications Have Moved

The STS store has moved from the West building to to room 108 in the Rankin Student Services Center (above the bookstore) effective August 6, 2012. The hours of operation will continue to be 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday. 

Tegrity Lecture Capture Updated

This summer, an upgrade was applied to the Tegrity Lecture Capture Service to add new features and capabilities, including new upload recording options

New Ferris WiFi

Don’t you hate it when you try to use the campus wireless network and that pesky Cisco Clean Access (CCA) authentication web page pops up, asking for your ID and password, sometimes multiple times a day? Well, we have some good news for you! The network techs are rolling out a new, secure wireless network service on the Big Rapids campus to eliminate that annoyance starting the morning of

August 14. After going through a quick one-time registration process with

Adobe Acrobat X Pro Training

There will be an Adobe Acrobat X Pro Training session offered by the Technical Education & Outreach team on September 7th at 11:00am, in FLT 114. In this session, participants will learn about Adobe Acrobat X Pro. Participants will also create, edit, manipulate, import, and export PDF files/documents. This session is designed for staff or faculty members who desire to gain the necessary skills

Licenses Added for Lynda.com Access

Due to the increased demand for access to Lynda.com online training videos, the TAC has increased from 10 to 20 concurrent user licenses. This means more people will be able to request access to Lynda.com and keep their access active for longer periods of time.

Contact the TAC at 231-591-4822 to request

TAC Redeploys Technicians to Academic Buildings

The TAC has redeployed computer technicians out to four different geographical pod locations on the main campus. Technicians will now be closer to the customer areas to address emergencies.

You will still contact the TAC first to place a work order for assistance. Technicians will continue to receive their work from the TAC's work order system.

Written by Jody Gardei

Meet the New TAC Staff

The TAC has some new faces since last spring. Check out the TAC's staff directory listing to learn more about them and the veteran TAC staff.

New employees:

• Josh Cochran
• Robert Hazekamp
• James Swearingen
• Sean Waanders
• Nathan Wallace

Project Roll-out: Concur Travel Management Service

It's been coming and it's finally here. This past month the ITS department rolled out  a new application called Concur.

Now that Concur has been launched, what now? Well that's a good question.  We would like your help. This August the University launched

NetSupport School v11

For those of you who have never used NetSupport School before, it is classroom training software that provides teachers the ability to instruct while also maintaining their classroom management skills in a computer lab setting. As the instructor, you will have access to each student's computer without having to look over their shoulders. NetSupport School allows you to view, direct, and even

Apple OS Update - Mountain Lion

Apple recently released a new version of the Mac OSX operating system, which some of you my know as Mountain Lion.  At this time, ITS is recommending users do not upgrade to Mountain Lion due to unknown compatibility issues that may arise

Provide Building Information When Hiring New Employees

It is important to include a building name for a new employee when filling out documentation provided to HR, even if you are unsure of the exact office location. The work order system used by TAC technicians to respond to work orders uses the building name to forward work orders out to technicians

End of Free Antivirus for Students

Symantec Endpoint Protection is no longer available for free to students at Ferris. Students will need to have one of four antivirus/security software packages to get their computer on the network. Click on this link to learn more. 

Meet the New First Level Support Coordinator in TAC

The TAC is happy to introduce Nate Wallace, the new coordinator for First Level Support. He comes to us from Calvin College where he received 6 years of experience as a Customer Support Specialist. Nate also played a more technical role as the Systems Engineer for the Windows Desktop Environment and was instrumental in the implementation of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) system into Calvin’s computer lab environment. His experience with

FileBank Alternatives

With the increase of free online services that provide large file transfers, the Ferris IT department will be decommissioning the large file transfer service called FileBank. FileBank will be taken offline permanently in mid September 2012. We encourage you to look at one of the following links for a

Missing Left Menu in FerrisConnect Learn

If you are missing the left menu in Blackboard Learn, it is because the menu has been collapsed.  Hover your mouse over the line located on the left of the screen.  When the line becomes bold or lights up, double click on it to expand the menu and get it back. 

Written by Jackie Hughes

New Respondus 4.0 Key

Respondus 4.0 is a program used by many instructors here at Ferris to create and upload assessment questions into FerrisConnect. After July 31, 2012, Respondus 4.0 users will be prompted to enter the 2012-2013 installation password. If you need the password, call the TAC at 231-591-4822.  

August Resale Store Promotion

Receive 50% OFF all items at the Computer Equipment Resale store on August 1^st through August 31^st, 2012 when you enter the promotion code "ABCDEFG" on the Payment Methods page. Item availability is limited.  Also, check out our Facebook page for additional savings opportunities.