State of Campus Technology 2023

Table of Contents

Summary of Known Issues

1. The podiums in Academic Hall classrooms rely on virtual desktop computers that have limited support for USB flash drives.
   Workaround: Access files through OneDrive via web browser.

2. The programming of podium A/V controllers in PAC, WAC, HH, and FH upgraded classrooms is incomplete (scheduled for completion this winter).
   Workaround: Remote controls are required for cameras and display devices.

3. The new PCCC wireless networks are secure and require a PCCC or guest account to connect. This creates inconvenience for some cohorts of users, most notably continuing education students.
   Solution: The IT office creates custom wireless logon credentials for these user cohorts upon request (email: itsupport@pccc.edu).

4. Some audio-visual components in recently upgraded classrooms are failing as the rooms see heavy technology use. Common component failures include USB extension cables or display adapters. They are small, easily replaceable components, but their failure can be highly disruptive. This is not uncommon for recently upgraded rooms, and the failure rate sharply declines after the “burn in” phase.
   Solution: IT has stocked replacement parts in anticipation of these failures and ordered extra replacement components as inventory has diminished. Supply chain issues have introduced some delays, especially for more complex parts that may have malfunctioned.

5. The scaling out of technology across almost all classrooms and campuses significantly increased the amount of management and support required by the IT department, yet the support staff has not grown.
   Solutions:
   1. The IT department is trying to hire additional part-time staff to increase coverage and reduce response times. Finding IT talent is difficult in the current market.
   2. Academic Affairs has grown the course navigators program to assist faculty that are new to teaching in concurrent classrooms.
   3. The Distance Learning department and Center for Teaching and Learning have provided professional development opportunities to assist faculty in becoming more comfortable with the concurrent classroom technology.
   4. The IT department is updating instructions on all podiums.

Employee Computing:

• Moving to Office 365 and Office 2019 in special use cases

• Manage laptops and physical desktops from the cloud

• Require all employees to bring laptops on campus to update (an IT representative will contact you to schedule an update if we do not see your laptop on the new monitoring system)

Classroom Technology

In the 2021 - 2022 time frame, the technology in many classrooms was upgraded using federal funding. Classrooms allocated for concurrent class usage also received additional technology to support interaction with remote students.

The table below provides a general status of the state of classroom technology in each building. There may be exceptions for some classrooms.

Glossary of Status Descriptions:

Wireless Network

PCCC provides two wireless networks at the Paterson, Wanaque, Passaic, and Wayne campus locations.

• PCCC_SECURED - for all users with a PCCC account

• PCCC_GUEST - for guests to campus

The wireless networks support up to Wi-Fi 6 (or 802.11ax) connectivity.

Computer Labs and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

PCCC uses VMware Horizon 8 to support virtual desktop computers in computer labs and across campus to meet specific user computing needs. The VDI environment was completely rebuilt in August 2022 in preparation for the fall 2022 semester. See below for deployment status and known issues.