Campus Status Update - 11.10.21

The ETS team and its partners are steadily increasing end-user access to Howard University’s network and its applications while generating new mechanisms to access data and use tools in a secure manner. 

To date, ETS has distributed nearly 2,000 new and reimaged laptops and hardware devices to faculty and staff. While all cloud-based academic applications were not impacted by the ransomware attack, we have strengthened cloud-based security to further mitigate the risk of a breach. Renewals for enterprise subscriptions to SPSS, SAS, Mathematica and MatLab were completed for the current contractual year and are in good operating status. 

Upgraded routers and connectors have been installed in College Hall North and College Hall South. Our third-party IT vendor created a new wireless network for the exclusive service area. 

An end user-specific update of our IT progress on academic software renewals, laptop distribution and Help Desk services are outlined below:

Desktop Support 
ETS team members have provided desktop support and Hyper Care services to all buildings, with the exception of the Beltsville campus. Services included onsite laptop and desktop reimaging, software application installation, printing troubleshooting, and general IT troubleshooting. 

For further assistance, please contact the Help Desk to report desktop support issues or requests. 

Software Distribution 
We have observed that some community members are not aware of when software access is available for campus-wide use. If you do not have access to an app that is already available, please contact the Help Desk at huhelpdesk@howard.edu for assistance with Adobe, SAS, SPSS, MatLab or Mathematica. Enterprise academic software, like SPSS, can be found here. 

Laptop Distribution 
Laptop distribution will be available to employees on Wednesdays, only, for the duration of the semester. Employees can schedule an appointment here. The vast majority of employees have been served, and the foot traffic in the iLab has been reduced to less than 10 people per week, hence the reason for the change in schedule.