The Information Technology Executive Council (ITEC) provides direction for technology at UA.� ITEC members are selected by the President and Chancellors to provide a system wide direction for new initiatives.� Because technology is a critical component for UA research and student communities, it is no surprise that new requests are greater than resources available.� ITEC reviews system wide projects to see how they are aligned with the core business of the University.
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This past year when ITEC prioritized projects, some projects, such as Travel Management, were ranked lower than other projects, such as the Data Browser replacement and Electronic Research Administration. Data Browser is a tool that allows queries of Banner information. The current tool will not work after Banner is upgraded. The upgrade is needed to receive updates to Financial Aid and other modules. Electronic Research Administration automates manual processes to insure that researchers at UA are compliant.
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The current members are:� Mike Driscoll, UAA Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; Bruce Schultz, Interim UAA Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs; Pat Pitney, UAF Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services; Buck Sharpton, UAF Vice Chancellor for Research; John Pugh, UAS Chancellor; Carol Griffin, UAS Vice Chancellor for Administration; Joe Trubacz, UA Vice President for Finance and Administration; Saichi Oba, UA Vice President Student and Enrollment Services and Steve Smith, UA Chief Information Technology Officer.
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Local department or MAU work will continue to be prioritized and implemented with current processes.� On the other hand, ITEC members can be contacted for new system wide activities.
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More information about ITEC can be found on their web site at http://www.alaska.edu/pmo/itec/ or by emailing Steve Mullins at steve.mullins@alaska.edu.

The Procurement and Contract Services Departments continue to identify new ways to improve services.� Most recently, they worked with the Program Management Office, OIT and the system wide IT Council to develop a non-technical, almost plain English, checklist for new Information Technology purchases.
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This checklist is intended to help UA departments determine if OIT or other IT departments should be contacted to ensure any new purchases work well with UA networks, computers and Banner information.
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The current checklist can be downloaded at
http://www.alaska.edu/pmo/formsanddocuments/Procurement_Checklist.doc
or� http://tinyurl.com/acdm6d
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Departments are also reminded to check with their campus procurement offices this time of year to make sure larger purchases are submitted ahead of any purchasing deadlines to allow enough time for processing.
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For more information, contact Michael Grahek at mike.grahek@alaska.edu or Steve Mullins at steve.mullins@alaska.edu.

Complex Passwords

Several computer systems in use at statewide require strong (complex) passwords.
When was the last time you forgot one of those strong passwords?

One way to create an easy to remember password is to use a phrase:

Using one or two letters from each word in "I retire in less than two years" (no, don't get your hopes up, it's just an example) gives you� irtilt2y. By making the first letter a capital you get Irtilt2y.
This 8 character password with one capital and one number takes 217 trillion tries to break.

Check with your local subject matter experts, trainers or Help Desk analysts for password requirements on specific systems.

If you HAVE forgotten your password and need to contact someone for a reset:
For Banner, including QMenu/QAdhoc; your local security coordinator
For EDIR, AUTHSERV, MyUA: first try elmo.alaska.edu, if that does not work, call the Help Desk.
For Systems not listed here check with your subject mater expert for office specific programs, and the Help Desk for others.

And remember, don't share your password, or write it down.