• April 22, 2008

Financial aid module live in iSIS

by Aimee Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center
and Robert Gamez, Student Financial Assistance
published April 22, 2008

Another milestone was reached last week in the implementation of the new student information system when an estimated 8,000 K-Staters began to receive their Financial Award Notification (FAN) for the upcoming 2008-2009 academic year. This initial offering included federal, state, and university aid totaling over $148 million.

Using the capabilities of the new student information system known as iSIS, the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) was able to execute their FAN communications with both new and continuing students. These notifications alerted the individual that student aid awards were awaiting an accept/decline response within the self-service component of iSIS.

K-Staters should note that this first round of FANs represents only the start of the awarding process. Financial aid will continue to be awarded as applications are processed. Students who receive a FAN should make every effort to respond to it within two weeks.

For help with iSIS, visit www.k-state.edu/isishelp/student or contact the IT Help Desk, 214 Hale Library, 785-532-7722, helpdesk@k-state.edu.

April 29 test of Emergency Text Messaging Service

by Molly Small, Office of Mediated Education
published April 22, 2008

K-State will test its Emergency Text Messaging Service (ETMS) starting about 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 29, to ensure that the service is functioning properly. Feedback is needed from all K-Staters who have enabled this service, since K-State cannot guarantee text messages will be received, or how quickly they will be received. An e-mail will be sent immediately after the test to gather this information. ETMS users who do not receive the test message should contact the IT Help Desk, 785-532-7722, helpdesk@k-state.edu.

Text messages for subscribers of Alltel and T-Mobile will be sent from an international number and will include a time stamp reflecting that time zone. More information is available on the Emergency Text Messaging FAQs.

K-State students, faculty, and staff may sign up for ETMS anytime through the eProfile website.

eTips April 30: Tips for making iSIS easier to use

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published April 22, 2008

Brian Arthaud-Day will present an eTips session on "Tips for making iSIS easier to use" at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, desktop webinar via Wimba. Join this session to learn how to save favorites, set user defaults, search for values, use the New Window link, and get an introduction to the Student Services Center.

Reminder: Marty Courtois will present an eTips session on "Inserting spreadsheets and charts into Word" at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, desktop webinar via Wimba.

eTips registration is required at least 24 hours in advance to allow time to add you to the session and ensure your workstation is configured properly for accessing the session.

Electronic Grade Submission system reminder

by Sarah Silva, Information Technology Assistance Center
published April 22, 2008

Instructors and their designates who want to use the Electronic Grade Submission system to submit full-semester final grades this fall can still sign up to get access to the online tutorial. The tutorial will be available until noon Friday, May 9. After that time, no more training will be offered this semester; access to the Electronic Grade Submission system will not be granted; and instructors will need to use the paper form for submitting grades.

Those who have participated in Electronic Grade Submission system training in past semesters are not required to complete training again. Those wanting to use the system can enroll in the training via the Electronic Grade Submission System training enrollment page.

IT by the numbers: Student financial aid in iSIS

by Aimee Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center
published April 22, 2008
 
NumberiSIS financial aid communications/transactions, April 2008
4,702E-mail Financial Aid Notification (FAN) communications sent to continuing students
2,298Paper/letter FAN communications sent to new, incoming students
15,000FAFSA transactions loaded into iSIS (total of 11,170 federal aid applicants)
2,000E-mail communications sent to continuing students directing them to check their To Do List within iSIS self-service
9,000 +Letters sent to new, incoming students with instructions on how to create a verified eID, as well as how to access the To Do List within iSIS self-service

Security tip of the week

Latest Symantec AntiVirus protection for Macs

by Harvard Townsend, IT security
published April 22, 2008

The latest version of Symantec AntiVirus (SAV) for Macintosh is now available on K-State's antivirus website. Version 10.2.1 officially supports Mac OS X 10.5 (aka "Leopard") and includes some bug fixes and feature enhancements. This version does not get installed by the normal automatic update process, so it has to be done manually. Installation instructions for SAV 10.2.1 recommend uninstalling any older version of SAV before installing 10.2.1. Some early adopters at K-State have reported problems when trying to install 10.2.1 on top of version 10.1.2, while others have been able to do so successfully. Contact your IT support person or the IT Help Desk if you have any questions or need help with installation.

SAV for Mac 10.2.1 only supports Mac OS X 10.4.10 and 10.5, so users of earlier versions of Mac OS X must install older versions of SAV that are available on K-State's antivirus website. Mac OS X 10.5 users who installed SAV 10.1.2, which worked if LiveUpdate was also upgraded, should upgrade to 10.2.1.

There has been some confusion about version numbers since Symantec released Norton AntiVirus 11.0 for Macintosh earlier this year, but that is the home consumer version of the product, not the enterprise version for which K-State has licenses. K-State licensed Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition, and 10.2 is the latest version of that product. Adding to the confusion is the fact that Symantec sells Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 to the enterprise market, which is more of a security suite that includes SAV 10.2.1 along with a number of other security products. K-State does not have licenses for that product.

K-Staters are reminded that K-State IT security policy (see the section on "Virus Protection") requires computers on the K-State network to run the university-supplied antivirus software, which is Symantec AntiVirus for Macintosh computers and Trend Micro OfficeScan for Microsoft Windows computers.

K-State Online

Non-K-Staters can join your K-State Online course

by Amanda Tross, Office of Mediated Education
published April 22, 2008

Want a non-K-Stater to give a presentation in your K-State Online course? Not a problem! International speakers, visiting instructors, interview candidates, auditors, and others can register for a temporary K-State eID at eid.k-state.edu.

With a K-State eID, your visitor can be added to your course Roster and interact with your class. This eID is valid for 90 days. If longer access is needed, contact the IT Help Desk, 785-532-7722.

Tip: When adding the visitor to your course, make sure to specify their "role". Roles determine the level of access the person has in your course. Common roles for visitors include Visiting Instructor, Secondary Instructor, and Student.

Selecting a low-cost headphone set?

by Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published April 22, 2008

I need a low-cost ($20 or less) headphone set with a microphone. What features should I look for? And what's available in the Union Computer Store?

Features to look for include:

  • Style -- in ear (earbuds), on/around ear, clip-on, over the head, behind the head
  • Stereo or mono sound quality
  • With or without volume controls
  • With or without microphone
  • With or without noise-canceling (of surrounding sounds)
  • Price

According to Chris Loehr, Union Computer Store manager, the store has three headphone styles in stock:

  • Mono, earclip style with microphone ($12.95)
  • Basic stereo, over the head with microphone ($9.95)
  • USB stereo, over the head with microphone (Microsoft Livechat LX-3000, $34.95)

USB headsets, which are needed for Macs, start around $20, said Loehr. "The Microsoft Livechat LX-3000 is fairly popular with the Mac crowd," he said.

Spotlight

TechWeb site has digital imaging, tips, training, resources

by Brandon Cummins, Research and Extension
published April 22, 2008 partial image of TechWeb site's homepage
Screenshot of the TechWeb homepage on K-State's
Research and Extension website

Have you visited TechWeb recently? Information and Educational Technology's TechWeb site (www.oznet.ksu.edu/techweb) provides technology resources for campus and K-State Research and Extension (KSRE).

If you haven't stopped by recently, here are some things you will find:

Weekly TechTips. We provide quick and easy solutions to tune up, clean up, speed up your computer and improve your overall technology experience. Every week, look for different tips ranging from optimizing your computer's settings, to help with digital photography.

Photo of the Week. Updated weekly, this features photos from around campus, Kansas, and the world. All photos are shot by students, staff, or KSRE members, and are archived in the Digital Image Gallery.

Adobe Connect. We are now providing help and training resources for those interested in the new Adobe Connect Video Conferencing. Stop by the Connect Conferencing page and check out what's available.

Digital Imaging Tips/Tricks. Want some tips for shooting digital photos? Curious about digital imaging? Check out our Imaging/Media section (under "Help Me With" on the site menu). Here you can find a heap of resources tailored to your digital-imaging needs, including:

  • Digital cameras and photography -- what to look for in a digital camera; photography resources; and simple techniques
  • Computer graphics -- basic concepts to spice up your computer images
  • Scanning -- basics of scanning 35mm slides and flat artwork
  • Digital video -- how to set up, shoot, and stream video over the Web

Additional Resources. Feel free to peruse our TechWeb site and discover the other technology resources at your disposal, from computer safety and security tips to our Digital Image Gallery, which includes K-State logos.

For more information about TechWeb, contact Gerry Snyder, gsnyder@k-state.edu.