IT Updates - August 14, 2026

August 14, 2026

Greetings Colleagues,

We have had a whirlwind of a summer, but it was a nice change from the Summer of 2025! We started the summer off strong with the addition of our new Directors, Tabatha Ries-Miller and Vicky Shine, as well as improvements to our processes and procedures, upgraded infrastructure technologies, and service offerings. We continue to be security-minded as we implement new process and procedures and look forward to receiving your feedback on our service to the college. As a result of our tireless efforts to work towards a common goal of providing technology services to our college, students, faculty, staff, and guests, the IT/IE department was awarded the Team Collaboration Award. Shared with our amazing colleagues in Student Life, this award embodies the spirit of team collaboration! We are honored by this recognition and look forward to carrying our collaborative spirit into the coming year.

Please read below for more updates.

Staffing Updates

The IT/IE department is working on filling a few vacancies:

• Institutional Research positions (2) - responsible for supporting the work that Tabatha Ries-Miller's team provides
• Service Desk Operations Lead (1) - responsible for supporting User Services ticketing, key performance indicators, and metrics, and will report to Vicky Shine
• EndPoint Administrator (1) - responsible for managing computer software, imaging, and distributions, and will report to Sonya Zuker
• Project Coordinator (1) - responsible for supporting the IT/IE projects and the IT leadership team, and will report to Sonya Zuker
• Multiple Student Employee positions (capacity = 20) - responsible for supporting IT functions including the Service Desk, Computer Lab, Network Services, and Audio Visual tasks. These student report directly to Nhia Xiong, but receive work direction from different IT team members.

Guillermo Blumberg (2026 SPC Graduate) is working with the Data Services and Institutional Analytics (DSIA) team for one year for practical 'real world' experience while he takes a gap year. This is the third year that we have been able to offer this opportunity to a recent graduate. We previously offered this opportunity to Rejoice Odochukwu '24(now at Minnesota State University, Mankato) and Falnyi Bitrus '25 (Concordia University). We look forward to the work that Guillermo will do this year!

Room Readiness

The team completed room-readiness tasks to ensure computer classrooms and instructor stations are ready for the start of the Fall Semester. These activities included:

• Reimaging Instructor and Student computers
• Reimaging Open Area, Library, Computer Lab, and other student-facing computers
• Testing AV connections and instructional technologies
• Ensuring specialized software is installed in the correct classrooms (Specialized Software in Classrooms)
• Wiping down computers and technology spaces
• Performing preventative maintenance on printers several weeks prior to the fall start

Classroom Computer Replacements

This year we are pleased to share that the Computer Science classrooms, Piano Lab, and DGIM classroom are receiving new computers. The demand for these computers is very high, so we will be replacing the computers after the fall start. 

Software Standards & Updates

Software must be updated to meet the college's and its users' needs. We will update software versions, perform risk assessments (when necessary), and follow procurement processes.

Software standards are located here (Software and Hardware Standards), and we will continue standardizing on:

• Office 365 in Classrooms
• Office 2024 in Conference row
• Helper applications

Additional changes:

• In addition to Windows 11 updates, we have migrated our Microsoft License Subscriptions to a higher level ("A3" to "A5"). With this level, not only do we increase our security posture, we also have additional software features such as: PowerBI Pro (for all employees); Premium (data) Encryption; PowerAutomate for Office 365.
• Adobe Creative Cloud, which provides a suite of Adobe products, has been renewed and Full-Time Employees have access to this feature. We increased the number of student licenses to support the DGIM courses that require the software. Please note that this is one of the few SPC application that requires your college email for sign-in (firstname.lastname@saintpaul.edu or firstname.lastname@my.saintpaul.edu). Signing in with your StarID credentials will not work.
• Office 365 Web Access/Online only for admitted students until they register for classes
• “Admin by Request” software agent for Employees to allow for easier software installation for approved software on college-owned devices (implementing in late September, early October)

Service Portal Changes & Updates

The Service Portal (https://services.saintpaul.edu) has been updated to include a Student Login Information link and an Employee Technology Links section, which displays prominently at the top of the service offering. The Student Login Information link is paired with the New Student Orientation email and D2L course. IT continues to work closely with Human Resources to support technology onboarding, ensuring supervisors and new employees have the technology they need on day one. Our goal is to reduce the number of clicks needed to find the resources required to complete technical tasks.

Additional Projects

Our department has also enhanced the student experience by creating a 'touch board' for common IT questions. Showcasing it at the Fall Start session on 8/14/2026, we will place the touch panel in two prominent locations - outside of 1470 and the Learning Commons - before it finds a permanent home on the wall outside of the Service Desk (1470). The goal of this project was to put the information at students' fingertips whenever the building is open, regardless of our department's operational hours. By providing this feature, we are able to meet students where they are, whenever they need it. (This project was made by Samual Abraham Michael, our Student Employee. He is enrolled in the Cybersecurity and Network programs.)