Weekly Tech Update: Your what's what of IT news
Welcome to the weekly newsletter dedicated to everything IT! Newsy, fun, informational—get your quick digest of tech content and then go about your day.
Check for updates here every Monday (and Thursday on busy news weeks!).
MiamiOH.edu/ITHelp
May 22, Monday
IT Services is ready and excited to share information and tips with the incoming class, as orientation starts this week!
Other than that, we have a lot of news to share about IT at Miami. Let’s see what all we have on deck!
CrowdStrike Victorious: A big win for cybersecurity at Miami
After several months of coordination and careful execution, we are happy to announce that CrowdStrike Falcon has been successfully deployed at Miami.
Check out our recap of the powerful detection and elimination tool in the news.
ShredFest 2023 highlighted by large community support
Our annual shredding event has come and gone. We were able to collect over 11,000 pounds of paper to be shredded, which is over 800 more pounds than we did a year ago. An amazing show of community support for IT Services and the Office of the General Counsel! Thank you to everyone who made this possible.
Read more about the successful event.
Come see us at Orientation!
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Previous Updates
May 8, Monday
Reminder: Shred your sheets with ShredFest!
Come hang out with us in Oxford on Tuesday and shred any documents you have accumulated in the last year since the last ShredFest. We’ll be outside Cook Field from 12 to 4 p.m. Everyone is welcome, including students. Please be aware that the University is under a broad litigation hold and you will not be permitted to shred any University records. But any personal information, bank statements, old tax returns, and more can be shredded!
Visit the ShredFest site for more information.
Notice: Upcoming changes to Shared Drives for students
Some changes are on the horizon for Miami Google Drives, specifically the Shared Drive service. As originally noted in the Google Storage FAQ, the Shared Drive service will be limited to faculty and staff. As of May 15, 2023, students will no longer be able to create Shared Drives.
Read more about Shared Drives.
Ever seen a shredding truck do its work? Come see one in person!
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May 1
Tech Fee call for proposals coming in August
With the end of the school year and graduation activities right around the corner, it is never too early to look ahead to the fall and the next round of the Student Technology Fee Competitive Proposal Process (Tech Fee). The complete schedule for FY24 is available at MiamiOH.edu/TechFee, but we wanted to highlight a few items early.
Read more and mark the date for when you can submit!
Changes Coming to Office Telephone Billing
Beginning on July 1, 2023, the telecommunications funding model will change to a simplified, fixed-cost model based on 2021 levels to accommodate the ongoing costs of operations for the telephones and underlying network. This new funding model was created through a partnership between IT Services and Finance and Business Services.
See the IT News item for more information.
Reminder: Shred your sheets with ShredFest!
ShredFest is coming up the week of May 8, 2023. Come hang out with us and shred any documents you have accumulated in the last year since the last ShredFest. Everyone is welcome, including students. Please be aware that the University is under a broad litigation hold and you will not be permitted to shred any University records. But any personal information, bank statements,old tax returns, and more can be shredded!
Visit the ShredFest site for more information.
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April 24
Notice: Upcoming changes to Shared Drives for students
Some changes are on the horizon for Miami Google Drives, specifically the Shared Drive service. As originally noted in the Google Storage FAQ, the Shared Drive service will be limited to faculty and staff. As of May 15, 2023, students will no longer be able to create Shared Drives.
Read more about Shared Drives.
Office 365 scam making the rounds once again
The information security team has received numerous reports that a fraudulent email message about Office 365 accounts has been circulating. The message is being sent from a compromised Miami email account. The ISO has prevented further emails from being sent from one affected account, but there may be more compromised accounts.
Read more about this scam and remember to stay vigilant.
Tales from the data center: Our anachro-knight CIO secures our data
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April 17
Office 365 scam making the rounds once again
The information security team has received numerous reports that a fraudulent email message about Office 365 accounts has been circulating. The message is being sent from a compromised Miami email account. The ISO has prevented further emails from being sent from one affected account, but there may be more compromised accounts.
Read more about this scam and remember to stay vigilant.
Changes coming to office telephone billing
Beginning on July 1, 2023, the telecommunications funding model will change to a simplified, fixed-cost model based on 2021 levels to accommodate the ongoing costs of operations for the telephones and underlying network. This new funding model was created through a partnership between IT Services and Finance and Business Services.
April 10
Reminder: Shred your sheets with ShredFest!
ShredFest is coming up the week of May 8, 2023. Come hang out with us and shred any documents you have accumulated in the last year since the last ShredFest. Everyone is welcome, including students. Please be aware that the University is under a broad litigation hold and you will not be permitted to shred any University records. But any personal information, bank statements,old tax returns, and more can be shredded!
Visit the ShredFest site for more information.
Myaamia Center and IT Services win CIO 100 Award
In case you hadn’t heard yet: We’re excited to celebrate the @myaamiacenter receiving a CIO 100 award!
Featured Knowledge: Google Workspace / Guide: Download data from your Miami account using Google Takeout
Here, find out how to download and transfer all of your data from your Miami account to a personal account using a helpful Google utility, Google Takeout. This will be helpful in your journey if you’re trying to get within quota or simply need to take personal information out of your Miami drive.
Spring clean your digital life
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April 6
EDR Project update
So far, our CrowdStrike deployments are moving forward successfully. We are still hoping to have most academic divisions moved to Phase 3 by the end of the spring semester – there are several departments that have opted to wait until the summer session. The project team is pleased with the progress and looking to get institutionally owned mobile devices under the CrowdStrike umbrella soon.
IAM Program: Big updates coming soon!
Be on the lookout for the big announcement of the vendor Miami is choosing for the new Identity Governance & Administration tool. The team is deliberating this week and will make final recommendations very soon.
The team has also added a new member: Josh Senn! He was hired as the IAM Solution Engineer to orchestrate and facilitate the migration to the new solution. We’re happy to have him on board.
As always, visit the IAM website for information about this important project and what's next for the university.
Time for Spring Cleaning!
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April 3
It’s solidly springtime in the Midwest, and as leaves bud on the trees and lilies try to poke their heads out of the thawing soil, it gives us a ready opportunity to clean out some of the cobwebs in different parts of our filing cabinets and harddrives…
Shred your sheets with ShredFest!
ShredFest is coming up the week of May 8, 2023. Come hang out with us and shred any documents you have accumulated in the last year since the last ShredFest. Everyone is welcome, including students. Please be aware that the University is under a broad litigation hold and you will not be permitted to shred any University records. But any personal information, bank statements,old tax returns, and more can be shredded!
Visit the ShredFest site for more information.
Google Drive: It’s time for some spring cleaning!
Now, onto your Miami Google Drive! You know by now that we are implementing limits to Google Drives, depending on your role at the university. Take some time this spring to see what you’ve got in your Drive taking up space – and see if any of that stuff is not Miami-related. Personal items can be moved to your own Drive by following the instructions in the Knowledge Base.
Save the Date!
Come celebrate with us at the official Workday Project kickoff event scheduled for Thursday, April 27 from 4 - 6 p.m. in the Shriver Center Heritage Room.
March 30
Save the Date!
Come celebrate with us at the official Workday Project kickoff event scheduled for Thursday, April 27 from 4 - 6 p.m. in the Shriver Center Heritage Room.
Myaamia Center and IT Services win CIO 100 Award
We’re excited to celebrate the @myaamiacenter receiving a CIO 100 award this week!
View this post on Instagram
March 27, Monday
Welcome back from spring break!
Cross-promotion: Across the Divide Conference
This Friday, March 31, the Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion is hosting the fourth annual Across the Divide: Innovating Inclusive Excellence conference. It’s a full day (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) of activities and sessions focused on centering diverse voices. Faculty, staff, and students are welcome.
The keynote address will be made by Ron Crutcher, Miami's first African American Provost, University of Richmond President, and Miami alum, and his speech is titled - I Had No Idea You Were Black: Navigating Race on the Road to Leadership’.
More information can be found on the program’s website.
Notice: Laravel applications getting back-end upgrades this year
Beginning in January, IT Services has been working to upgrade all Laravel applications to use newer versions of PHP and the Laravel framework. That work will continue for the better part of this calendar year.
Laravel applications include things like CourseList, MyCourses, FindUser, and other Miami-developed resources.
We are hoping to be finished with all upgrades by August 2023.
For more info, visit the IT News site.
Featured Knowledge: Google Workspace / Guide: Download data from your Miami account using Google Takeout
Here, find out how to download and transfer all of your data from your Miami account to a personal account using a helpful Google utility, Google Takeout. This will be helpful in your journey if you’re trying to get within quota or simply need to take personal information out of your Miami drive.
March 20
Happy spring break, RedHawks! We hope you’re enjoying the week so far and, no matter whether you’re traveling or working, are ready to welcome the first official days of spring this week.
Reminder: Moving Banner applications to new hosts on Tuesday
IT Services will be migrating some Banner applications to new hosts. They will be moving from Weblogic hosts to Tomcat hosts.
This work will take place Tuesday, March 21, starting at 6:30 a.m. Please be sure to save your work before this window opens. This work will take approximately two hours. If your app is not loading during this window, please wait and reload.
We do not expect any outages – the cutover for these applications will be quick. When this maintenance is completed, any users currently using one of the affected apps will need to log out and back into the app they were using.
For a full list of affected apps, please see the IT News article.
Reminder: DMARC subject line warning on emails
Over the past couple of months, you may have received an email to your MiamiOH.edu address with the subject line: “DMARC Failure - Notify Sender.” On Jan. 30, we implemented a new compliance rule in Google that has resulted in this subject line appearing on some emails.
DMARC is being implemented by IT Services to better protect the MiamiOH.edu domain from unauthorized use by phishers and spoofers thereby protecting Miami’s brand. DMARC verification uses information in email headers to verify a sender's authenticity.
If you receive an email marked with “DMARC,” please contact the sender and ask them to put in a ticket with IT to get that header removed.
If you have any questions, please check out the IT website for more information.
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March 16
Upcoming work: Moving Banner applications to new hosts
IT Services will be migrating some Banner applications to new hosts. They will be moving from Weblogic hosts to Tomcat hosts.
This work will take place Tuesday, March 21, starting at 6:30 a.m. Please be sure to save your work before this window opens. This work will take approximately two hours. If your app is not loading during this window, please wait and reload.
We do not expect any outages – the cutover for these applications will be quick. When this maintenance is completed, any users currently using one of the affected apps will need to log out and back into the app they were using.
For a full list of affected apps, please see the IT News article.
Travel Tech: Spring Break 2023 Edition
This week, we put up some helpful tech-related tips for those in the Miami community getting ready to go out of town for spring break. These tips are also great advice for folks who are staying in town – something for everyone!
Take a gander at our top tips for tech travel this spring.
Spring Break Tech Tip: Unplug!
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March 13
Upcoming maintenance: Production Oracle patching scheduled for March 24
On Friday, March 24, 2023, between 6 p.m. and 12 a.m. (March 25), IT Services will be installing a patch to the production Oracle grid infrastructure (specifically on the databases that are on 19c).
For the full announcement, visit the IT News.
Featured Knowledge: Download Google data in your browser
Recently, we announced that Miami will be implementing quotas on Google Workspace storage. This means that if you have any personal files in your Miami Google Drive, now is the time to remove them! There are a lot of benefits of separating work and personal documents, and we’re here to help you do that.
Follow this article for more information about how to download data from your Google account so you can transfer it to a different account: Google Workspace / Guide: Download data from your Miami account in your browser.
From around the University: New Workday resource
In preparation for the move to Workday, there is a brand-new resource for info about the project. Bookmark this page and visit for more info!
March 9
Important Update: Changes coming to Google storage
In the next year, Miami is going to be making some adjustments to our Google Workspace storage environment. In short, due to new restrictions coming from Google itself, we will be implementing storage quotas on all Miami accounts.
The good news is: Very few people (less than one percent) will be impacted by the new storage limitations, and these folks will be contacted individually.
Read on to learn more about the new storage quotas and what this means for you.
Data Summit is next week!
The next Data Summit will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 1:15 - 4:30 p.m. The keynote speaker is Geoff Smith, Co-Chair of the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable and Sr. Technology Advisor for the Cincinnati Bengals. He will share how he helped build a data and analytics culture with the AFC North champion Bengals!
The theme: Miami Data Madness.
Congratulations to David Seidl!
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March 6
Data Summit is next week!
The next Data Summit will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 1:15 - 4:30 p.m. The keynote speaker is Geoff Smith, Co-Chair of the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable and Sr. Technology Advisor for the Cincinnati Bengals. He will share how he helped build a data and analytics culture with the AFC North champion Bengals!
The theme: Miami Data Madness.
From Across the University: Get Ready for a Workday Transition
In preparation for the move to Workday, there is a brand-new resource for info about the project. Bookmark this page and visit for more info!
Reminder: Whitelabel error in myMiami
Unfortunately, the Whitelabel error that you sometimes receive when trying to log in to myMiami is a known issue with the service. We are working hard on a solution and hope to have this resolved soon.
If you receive a Whitelabel error, here’s what you should do:
- Try to log in to myMiami in an incognito or private browser. This essentially strips your browser of any identifying information (any cookies you may have accumulated throughout your journey through the internet). Yes, this means you’ll have to Duo again!
- If that works, return to your non-private browser and clear your cache and cookies. This will allow you to log in.
- If incognito doesn’t work, please contact IT Help and we can investigate!
Words to Live By: Power of Will
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March 2
Update on LastPass breach and recommendations
The LastPass password management tool has suffered a new breach that involves user data. The Information Security Office (ISO) is aware of this latest situation and is thus making several immediate recommendations.
If you are a LastPass user, either personally or using the Miami enterprise account, we request that you IMMEDIATELY reset your master password as a precautionary risk-reduction measure. Your new master password should have a minimum of 12 characters. (This is a policy for Miami enterprise users.) For instructions on how to change your LastPass master password, please visit the LastPass support page.
View all of our recommendations now.
Dates set for ShredFest 2023
The dates have been finalized for ShredFest 2023, so make sure you have them on your calendar. ShredFest is your opportunity to bring confidential office and personal documents for secure, on-site shredding at the various Miami campuses.
Reminder: Miami Data Summit scheduled for March 16
The next Data Summit will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 1:15 - 4:30 p.m., with the theme “Miami Data Madness.” The keynote speaker is Geoff Smith, Co-Chair of the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable and Sr. Technology Advisor for the Cincinnati Bengals. He will share how he helped build a data and analytics culture with the AFC North champion Bengals! The event will be completely virtual.
Registration is now open, so if you are interested in attending, check out the event website for more information, a full schedule, and to reserve your spot today!
February 27
Congratulations to College@Elm!
Last week, the ribbon was cut on the College@Elm Innovation and Workforce Development Center. This center, which has been lauded as a future center for economic development for small businesses in Oxford, is (among other things) a feat of collaboration between the University and IT Services, as our folks were heavily involved with the technologies that needed to be in place at the unveiling. Congratulations to everyone involved!
More information about College@Elm can be found at the Aspire website.
Reminder: Miami Data Summit scheduled for March 16
The next Data Summit will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 1:15 - 4:30 p.m., with the theme “Miami Data Madness.” The keynote speaker is Geoff Smith, Co-Chair of the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable and Sr. Technology Advisor for the Cincinnati Bengals. He will share how he helped build a data and analytics culture with the AFC North champion Bengals! The event will be completely virtual.
Registration is now open, so if you are interested in attending, check out the event website for more information, a full schedule, and to reserve your spot today!
Thank you, President Crawford!
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February 23
Miami Data Summit scheduled for March 16
The next Data Summit will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 1:15 - 4:30 p.m., with the theme “Miami Data Madness.” The keynote speaker is Geoff Smith, Co-Chair of the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable and Sr. Technology Advisor for the Cincinnati Bengals. He will share how he helped build a data and analytics culture with the AFC North champion Bengals! The event will be completely virtual.
Registration is now open, so if you are interested in attending, check out the event website for more information, a full schedule, and to reserve your spot today!
Featured KB article: Filelocker / Transfer Files Securely
Filelocker is an open source program created by Purdue University. Miami faculty, staff, and students can use Filelocker to conveniently and securely share files with other people both on and off campus.
Sharing passwords, private information, and other files without using Google Drive is possible with Filelocker. These shares are secure and easy to do!
Read how to share files in Filelocker
Miami University celebrates Black History Month
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February 20
It’s Presidents’ Day, and you know what that means: The tech content you know and love is still right on time!
DMARC: New subject line warning on emails
Over the past couple of weeks, you may have received an email to your MiamiOH.edu address with the subject line: “DMARC Failure - Notify Sender.” On Jan. 30, we implemented a new compliance rule in Google that has resulted in this subject line appearing on some emails.
DMARC is being implemented by IT Services to better protect the MiamiOH.edu domain from unauthorized use by phishers and spoofers thereby protecting Miami’s brand. DMARC verification uses information in email headers to verify a sender's authenticity.
If you have any questions, please check out the IT website for more information.
New tool helps Miami students, faculty, and staff share name pronunciation
Miami students now have the ability to record the correct pronunciation of their names and list that pronunciation on their Canvas profile.
NameCoach, a tool that helps provide pronunciation information for student, faculty, and staff names, is now available for Miami users in Canvas and online!
Read more about NameCoach in the ITNews!
IT Services folks honored for years of service
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February 13
Identity and Access Management Program: Phase 1 heading for the finish line
The IAM Program team has been working hard behind the scenes to move the project along. This sometimes means that we have been outwardly quiet, but hours of weekly meetings continue to take place as we get closer to deploying a comprehensive identity and access management solution. To that end, the first phase of this transformational project is nearing completion.
Read more in the IT News bulletin.
Top IT Initiatives in the Spotlight
It’s no secret that IT Services is busy with a lot of projects aimed at improving processes, fulfilling requests from University partners, and fortifying the technological environment at Miami to facilitate learning, instruction, research, and service. This is all part and parcel of being the information technology experts at a university; all projects, big and small, are important pieces of our ongoing strategy to better support Miami’s mission.
Some of those projects deserve a little more time in the spotlight, though. These are projects that take a little more elbow grease, a little more intentional thought, and a lot more involvement from the Miami community.
Read more about our top initiatives we're focusing on this year.
Miami is at the forefront again
Two of the products in our Top IT Initiatives ran ads in this year's Super Bowl! Neat!
Did you watch #SuperBowlLVII? Did you catch the #Crowdstrike and #Workday commercials?? We love when our #TopITInitiatives are in the news!! https://t.co/6mC983zNkU
— IT Services @MiamiOH (@miamiuit) February 13, 2023
February 6
Happy February, Lovebirds! We’re spending the shortest month of the year on the biggest projects for IT Services. Check out a brief overview of what we’re up to here!
Identity and Access Management Program: Phase 1 heading for the finish line
The IAM Program team has been working hard behind the scenes to move the project along. This sometimes means that we have been outwardly quiet, but hours of weekly meetings continue to take place as we get closer to deploying a comprehensive identity and access management solution. To that end, the first phase of this transformational project is nearing completion.
Read more in the IT News bulletin.
Top IT Initiatives in the Spotlight
It’s no secret that IT Services is busy with a lot of projects aimed at improving processes, fulfilling requests from University partners, and fortifying the technological environment at Miami to facilitate learning, instruction, research, and service. This is all part and parcel of being the information technology experts at a university; all projects, big and small, are important pieces of our ongoing strategy to better support Miami’s mission.
Some of those projects deserve a little more time in the spotlight, though. These are projects that take a little more elbow grease, a little more intentional thought, and a lot more involvement from the Miami community.
Read more about our top initiatives we're focusing on this year.
DMARC: New subject line warning on emails
Over the past couple of weeks, you may have received an email to your MiamiOH.edu address with the subject line: “DMARC Failure - Notify Sender.” On Jan. 30, we implemented a new compliance rule in Google that has resulted in this
DMARC is being implemented by IT Services to better protect the MiamiOH.edu domain from unauthorized use by phishers and spoofers thereby protecting Miami’s brand. DMARC verification uses information in email headers to verify a sender's authenticity.
If you have any questions, please check out the IT website for more information.
Reminder: Get Office on all your devices!
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January 23
Welcome back to campus for the Spring 2023 semester! We hope you are settling into your classes (if that applies to you) and feeling positive about the rest of the semester. Here are some weekly news items to pay attention to as we start a successful season at Miami!
Out of the breach: Protect your data in 2023
In the information security world, “data breach” is somewhat of a dirty phrase. It represents something none of us want to happen – yet continues to happen at a distressing rate.
What can regular consumers of the internet do to prevent data breaches? What happens when your credentials are compromised in a breach? Let’s take a look at some key factors and learn more about this not-so-nice phrase. Read our guide here.
Reminder: IT Services Provides a Full Collection of Technology Support Options
IT Services provides systems, software, and support to Miami University. As we embark on a new school year, it’s a good idea to take a deep breath, quiet your nerves about the brand-new semester, and review who to call when you need technology support.
IT Services in the wild!
We spend time at orientation events to give students information about the services and support that we offer. This past week, we attended the Spring 2023 orientation event in the Armstrong Student Center. Thanks to everyone who came out!
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January 17
Happy Tuesday, Miami Tech Heads! We hope you had a restful, contemplative Martin Luther King, Jr., Day yesterday and are ready to get back at it today for a short week! We hope you enjoy this Tuesday edition of the weekly newsletter. Let’s see what IT Services is up to this week:
TODAY: Authentication forced in myMiami
At 6 p.m. this evening, myMiami will switch to authentication-only. This means that when you go to myMiami.MiamiOH.edu, you will see the red Miami login page and need to log in before seeing any content.
This change is being done to bring the new portal more in line with the previous version of myMiami, so the change should not be disruptive. Entity accounts and courtesy accounts will still be able to log in to myMiami as usual.
EDR rollout continues
We are continuing to work hard on the rollout of our endpoint detection and response (EDR) tool, Crowdstrike Falcon. By the end of this month, each Miami-owned device will have Crowdstrike installed and running. More information can be found on our website.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Day - Miami University
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January 9
EDR rollout continues
We are continuing to work hard on the rollout of our endpoint detection and response (EDR) tool, Crowdstrike Falcon. By the end of this month, each Miami-owned device will have Crowdstrike installed and running. More information can be found on our website.
Join the TechNews listserv!
Do you wonder what we’re up to on a more regular basis? Are you interested in learning the updates and upgrades that don’t make major IT News headlines? Subscribe to the TechNews listserv to be more informed about IT activities that could impact your daily work.
IT Services honored by President Crawford at One Miami event this weekend
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January 5
Happy New Year, fellow Miamians! To staff, faculty, and students returning to campus in early January, welcome back from a hopefully restful break. This year is going to be a good one – and we’re excited about all the things happening on the information technology front in 2023. We’ve got EDR continuing to be rolled out across campus, new technologies making their way to our doorstep, and many more updates coming.
Strap in, folks. We’re heading for great things!
Speaking of great things…
New ERP system on the horizon
Miami University will soon replace its current legacy Banner system with Workday, a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
Miami’s Board of Trustees adopted a resolution supporting the switch during its recent December meetings. An ERP system allows an organization to manage its day-to-day operations, including payroll, finance, and student information.
Deployment of the Workday system will begin in July 2024 with the human resource and finance divisions, followed by a phased student implementation in 2026.
More information can be found in our joint announcement.
Update: IAM Program
Remember the IAM Program? A dedicated team of folks from IT is steadily working through proposals sent in response to the RFP we issued in late 2022. The RFP was for a partner to help us implement an IGA tool this year, and the response so far has been quite good. We will have more information to come about IAM and what it means for University offices soon!
Read more about the IAM program and what we've been up to.
New year, new job?
We are looking for someone who loves all things data, loves a challenge and is looking for a dynamic and highly rewarding position at a nationally respected university. Is this you?
Our Ideal candidates, like you, will help Miami University to continue to take big steps forward with our data analytics environment that is unifying multiple successful data-driven business intelligence and data analysis efforts across campus. This is a chance to help guide Miami’s data-driven future. The University Data Modeler position is a highly technical position with responsibility to lead the development, validation, publishing, and maintenance of logical and physical data models. You’ll be an integral part of providing data-driven insights that inform significant University-wide decisions.