2026-02 - Tech News Town Hall

February 2026

Good morning and happy Friday. I hope you will take advantage of the warmer weather - I hear the Twin Cities will be experiencing 40's and 50's weather (and sunshine) for the next few days.

IT is doing 'business as usual'... we're 5 weeks into the semester and we are into our normal patterns of work.

We are focusing on cybersecurity and ensuring that our college-owned devices are receiving required security patches. The second Tuesday of the month is Microsoft Patch Tuesday, so you should see an Ivanti Neurons pop-up reminding you to reboot your computer within 4320 minutes. It's a good practice to reboot your computer periodically. Most people reboot nightly, but you should reboot at least once a week.

Here are a few other helpful hints to keep your computer running optimally:

1. If you like to research websites and keep your tabs open, note that this uses computer memory and can slow your machine down. Consider bookmarking your favorite articles and closing the tabs.
   1. Create Bookmark Folders to help manage bookmarks.
      1. In the Chrome browser, use the Bookmark Manager --> three dots upper right corner --> Add New Folder, then rename the folder to help group your bookmarks
      2. In the Edge browser, go to the three dots at the upper right corner and choose More Tools --> Collections, and create a collection for your webpages, OR, Tabs to create Tab groups, OR the Star (to the left of the three dots) and choose the Folder + to create a Bookmark folder group
2. When your computer seems to be running slowly, reboot your computer.
3. When using your personal device, run Windows Update at least once a week (Start menu, type "Check for Updates", then press Check for Updates).

Additionally:

• The service desk is busy with day-to-day support and getting laptop loaners in the hands of our students. 
• The network services team is working on an internal and external security audit and project planning for the next two years.
• The data services and IR team recently met with Tom Bruflat to do a StrengthsFinder team-building exercise and with Pepe Wonosikou to help us understand how important data is to support our students. We are striving to make stronger connections to the data and student success. 
• The Service Desk will have their team retreat in early March where we continue to focus on connecting our work to student and employee success.
• Later this month, we are inviting Paula Kinney to lead us in how the Promise Plan connects the work that we do at Saint Paul College. 

We continue to strive to improve our services and the support we provide to our college and stakeholders.