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2010

Annual Report
Information Services
& Technology
Pepperdine University, Malibu, California
Brian Aasen Travis Padgett
J.J. Akilu Jackie Paicius
Chiconia Anderson Dennis Papenhausen
Terence Anderson Kevin Phan
Thor Anderson
Dianne Asis Contributors Carter Quinn
John Quinn
James Ballacchino Hector Ramirez
Felix Baronikian INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIVISION EMPLOYEES Alan Regan
Tom Bashara (August 2009 - December 2010) Novita Rogers
Tim Bodden Timothy Rogers
Scott Bolan Erik Rush
Brian Bowen Rita Schnepp
John C. Buckingham Jonathan See
Matthew Bush Brian Fujitani Henry Lai Prakash Sharma
Ross Canning Danna Gianforte Luis Lara Bronson Somerville
Kim Cary Mark Giglione Ernie Lauer Ronn Stinson
Omar Cayasso John Gladwin Tom Layman Vixay Suphasiri
Jennifer Cha Canon Hamlin Toney Lewis Robert Telmar
Lotte Cherin Jose Juan Hernandez Shu Chi Liou Cesar Uribe
Lance Coert Dave Holden David Lockett John Vannoy
Anthony Cortez Dana Hoover Christopher Low Martin Vazquez
Ted de Guzman Jerry Hoover Michael Lucas Micheal Waitley
Ory De La Rosa Thomas Hoover Dustin Luck Ronit Weiss
Rebekah Dillingham John Horton JoAnn McNayr Lisa Welch
Jason Eggleston Joel Howard Rene Mendez Michael Weng
Sara Fernandez Peter Kain Joe Munoz Lynn White
Sean Fife Zorinan Kasilag Ken Noone Karen Whitney
John Figueroa Hong Kha Raphael Norton
Gerard Flynn Ryan Kim Marc Olano
Dr. Timothy M. Chester
Vice Provost and Chief Information Officer

Our faculty, students, and staff continue to be very successful in leveraging our technology services across the
University. In this annual report, we share with you some of their stories.

Through engagement with our faculty and One of the more exciting changes occurring
students, we now have a new Learning in 2010 was an extensive integration of
Management System (LMS) that is better Information Technology and the Office of
suited to the needs of the University Institutional Effectiveness. Combining these
community. Working with our colleagues in resources has delineated key performance
financial aid, we were able to foresee the indicators that are now being proactively
need to change our funding model for disseminated among key decision-makers at
students, and we established a new service Pepperdine University. We are just now
that has greater efficiency and reliability. beginning to scratch the surface of what is
possible in this area. These are just some of
Through a partnership with the Center for the stories covered within this report.
Human Resources, we introduced new
opportunities for training and professional Above all, our staff remains our most
development, available to all employees. valuable resource. The successes outlined in
Lastly, we implemented a new this report would not have been possible
communications platform, replacing our without the professionalism, dedication, and
aging telephone system with a Unified hard work of our partners throughout the
Dr. Timothy Chester Communications infrastructure that more University.
fully supports voice, video, and Web
In 2010, Information Technology continued conferencing.
to deliver both new and innovative services
to the Pepperdine community.
Implementing the Federal Direct Lending Program
Enterprise Information Systems staff member Novita Rogers and Seaver College Associate Director of Loan
Programs Vickee Killian partnered with Pepperdine colleagues to implement the Federal Direct Lending program.

Due to the recent instability in the United Together, Rogers and the financial aid staff
States financial markets, a number of members collaborated to address how
private lenders stopped participating in the these loan data should successfully transmit
Stafford and PLUS federal loan programs between software systems at Pepperdine
that provided Pepperdine University and the Department of Education.
students with financial aid options.
By the time Congress passed the Health
At Pepperdine, this change in the financial Care and Education Reconciliation Act of
loan market did not go unnoticed. Thanks 2010, requiring all schools to use Direct
to active discussions held by the Lending by July 1, 2010, Pepperdine
University’s financial aid offices and University was already successfully awarding
University administration, Pepperdine began students financial aid with this program.
to address this challenge early.
“The University’s transition to Direct
In January 2010, a decision was made to Lending was very smooth,” said Killian, “The
adopt the Federal Direct Lending program other financial aid directors and I worked
at Pepperdine. This program provides low- closely with EIS staff Novita Rogers and
interest educational loans for students and John Horton to address any and all
parents where the lender is the U.S. technical and process challenges associated Novita Rogers and Vickee Killian
Department of Education rather than a with this transition. This level of
private bank or lending institution. collaboration was a critical component in
ensuring the program's successful launch that Pepperdine students who choose to
Due to this change in process, Vickee and implementation at Pepperdine.” use federal education loans as part of their
Killian, associate director of loan programs, financing solution will continue to be able
financial assistance, and enrollment From a student and staff perspective, the to borrow low-cost loans," said Killian.
management at Seaver College, and her financial aid process is more streamlined.
financial aid colleagues worked quickly to Killian noted that students receive their To learn more about the Direct Lending
establish and learn new policies and disbursements much faster than in previous program at Pepperdine, visit the
procedures. As part of the Enterprise years, and because there is only one lender, University's website at http://
Information Systems (EIS) group, Novita the process is the same for every student. www.pepperdine.edu/admission/
Rogers lead the implementation of the financialaid/.
Direct Lending component in PeopleSoft "The most significant value this program
and coordinated training sessions for staff. brings to the University is that it ensures
Researching a new Learning Platform at Pepperdine
The Technology and Learning
group partnered with faculty to
research learning management
systems, pilot test a new platform
called Sakai, and ultimately adopt
Sakai as the University’s official
learning management system.

With Blackboard’s license renewal


approaching in December 2010,
Information Technology’s Technology and
Learning group launched a study in May
2009 to identify faculty members’ learning
management system (LMS) needs and to
determine if Blackboard was meeting
those needs.

By working closely with faculty to gather


feedback on Blackboard and other Learning group to compare the systems’ In late spring 2010, the Technology and
systems used to support teaching and abilities to meet the needs of the Learning group surveyed students and
learning, the Technology and Learning Pepperdine learning community. faculty who used Sakai during the fall 2009
group discovered that faculty members and/or spring 2010 terms. Of the 94
were not satisfied with the current "Faculty were included at every step and faculty members invited to participate in
solution; it was decided to engage a small made to feel central in the process of the user satisfaction survey, 35 responded
group of faculty volunteers in a year-long evaluating the tools," said Dr. Margaret Riel to the survey. When asked, “Would you
pilot study of the Sakai platform while of the Graduate School of Education and recommend that Pepperdine discontinue
continuing to identify faculty members’ Psychology, "I am really impressed by the the use of Blackboard and adopt Sakai?”
LMS needs. clear and open way in which this change Ninety-one percent of the 33 faculty
was approached." members who answered the question
Throughout the 2009-2010 academic said “yes” or “yes, with comments.”
year, Sakai and Blackboard ran parallel at
the University, allowing the Technology and
Two hundred and ninety-one students responded to the student user
satisfaction survey. When asked, “Would you recommend that Pepperdine
discontinue the use of Blackboard and adopt Sakai?” Seventy-five percent
of the 264 students who answered the question said “yes” or “yes, with
comments.”

Based on the results of the LMS study, in July 2010 a decision was made to
adopt Sakai as the University’s official learning management system. A
press release was posted
on the University’s website
“Sakai is better than at http://
www.pepperdine.edu/pr/
Blackboard in the way releases/2010/september/
that it allows students sakai-adopted-by-
pepperdine.htm
to share information.” All faculty and staff were
- A Seaver College Faculty Member
notified of the decision to
adopt Sakai via email.
Faculty members were also
encouraged to attend workshops to learn how to use the new learning
management system, renamed “Courses” at Pepperdine.

Overall, Courses provides faculty members with an improved online


environment for pedagogical engagement with students. Many faculty
members noted that the flexible interface in Courses is more intuitive to
use than Blackboard.

“Sakai is better than Blackboard in the way that it allows students to share
information,” said a Seaver College faculty member. “My favorite thing
about Sakai is the ease of grading discussion posts. I can click through the
threads and grade as I go rather than having to read the thread first and
then go to each student to grade them.”

To learn more about Courses, visit the Technology and Learning website at
http://services.pepperdine.edu/techlearn/movetocourses.htm.
Photo Class Rosters for Faculty
Information Technology staff partnered with Seaver faculty to implement a module inside WaveNet and
Courses that allows faculty to put a face with a name when former students reach out.

As the years progress, students come and go The same module also allows faculty to view
from the Pepperdine campuses, however their photographs of new students before their
faces are never forgotten. A recent addition to course begins. Faculty can learn the names of
the WaveNet portal now makes remembering new students quickly and conveniently from
students even easier. their office or home.

In May 2010, the In addition, the rosters


Enterprise Information are updated as soon as
Systems group "Students who students add or drop a
launched a new course, allowing faculty
module inside graduated years ago members to quickly
WaveNet that gives
faculty members a way often ask me for letters identify new faces in
the classroom or to
to put a face with the
name of a student who
of recommendation. confirm that a student
has dropped the
may have graduated
years ago.
Now I can just look course.

them up." To offer additional


Faculty can see a class - A Seaver College Faculty Member convenience for
photo roster for any faculty, the photo
course dating back to rosters have also been
the fall 2008 semester, when PeopleSoft integrated into Courses, Pepperdine's learning
Student Services was first implemented. As the management system. By clicking on the
years progress, these rosters will be "Roster" option in their course site, faculty can
continuously available to the faculty who see their students' information, email
taught the course. addresses, and University ID card photos.

"Students who graduated years ago often ask To learn more about photo class rosters, visit
me for letters of recommendation," said a the IT website at: http://
Seaver College faculty member. "Now I can services.pepperdine.edu/it/wavenet/
just look the students up." news.htm#photo
Online Technology Training for University Community
Human Resources and Information Technology teamed up to offer the Lynda.com Online Training Library service
to Pepperdine University faculty and staff.

When it comes to encouraging the use and adoption of new


technology, training is a critical component. However, with the busy
schedules of faculty and staff combined with geographical and resource
challenges, Information Technology and Human Resources realized that
they needed to find a better solution to offer this essential service.

In February 2010, Jonathan See, deputy chief information officer, and


Sean Michael Phillips, professional development manager for Human
Resources, introduced the University community to Pepperdine’s new
online training program through Lynda.com.

The Lynda.com Online Training Library offers over 900 online courses
for various software applications ranging from Microsoft Office to
Adobe Photoshop, keeping faculty and staff members proficient in
important software applications.

"I am extremely pleased to have this as a resource available to me at


Pepperdine. I appreciate that I can access this resource when needed
to sharpen or develop new skills," said one anonymous user.

Other users provided feedback about flexibility, stating "Flexibility was


key. I could log on whenever/wherever I wanted, and I had the ability to
go back and repeat sections to clarify a point or take better notes," and
"The videos are organized into small segments, so it was easy to select
a few and feel as though I really learned something in a short amount
of time.”

The Lynda.com service fills a gap in the training services offered by the
University. While classroom training continues to exist for PeopleSoft
applications and technology and learning tools, it was not enough to
meet the general needs of the University community.
"In an economic climate where training budgets are being cut or in some
cases eliminated, I was thrilled with Pepperdine's commitment to adopt
Lynda.com," stated Sheryl Kelo, assistant dean for administration at the
School of Public Policy. "The convenience of anytime and anywhere training
has been crucial for the public policy staff who have varying work and
recruitment travel schedules. In addition, the extensive library of training
modules provided something for every skill level and job function."

Faculty and staff members can now train in applications on their own time
and engage in multiple training sessions for each application to ensure
proficiency.

Since February, 177 unique faculty and staff users signed up for a two-week
license to engage with Lynda.com's offerings. Almost 60 percent of these
177 users requested additional training periods.

"I am extremely pleased to have this


as a resource available to me at
Pepperdine. I appreciate that I can
access this resource when needed
to sharpen or develop new skills."
- Anonymous

"Today you expect these services to be online and available anytime,


anywhere. By providing the Lynda.com Online Training Library, we are
delivering the services right to our community the way they expect to
receive them," said Jonathan See, deputy chief information officer.

Learn more about the Lynda.com Online Training Library by visiting the IT
website at: http://services.pepperdine.edu/it/tools/lynda/default.htm
CommonApp System Implemented for Seaver College
Cindy Morgan and Lauren Broussard, Seaver College Admission staff, reached out to application developer Sean Fife to
integrate CommonApp, an online system that simplifies the undergraduate application process.

Working closely with Cindy Morgan and Lauren Broussard in the Seaver Fife, Morgan, and Broussard collaborated to address the complexities
Admission Office, Enterprise Information Systems’ staff member Sean Fife involved in integrating CommonApp Online with existing University
developed a plan to integrate CommonApp Online, a system that allows systems such as Nolij, the document management system, and PeopleSoft,
applicants to complete and submit a universal application to multiple the data management system.
schools via one environment.
By January 2010, the system was tested and ready and applicants began to
Most colleges and universities have a slightly different undergraduate submit their admission materials to Pepperdine using the CommonApp
application process causing applicants to take time to learn each system Online system.
and submit a variety of required documents.
"Integrating CommonApp
Using CommonApp Online, applicants seeking admission to Pepperdine
are now afforded a more streamlined process that does not require
Online with our current
systems was a challenge, Application files and
additional time spent on a Pepperdine-specific application. but Sean understood our
needs and processes and
supporting documents
worked with us to make it
a success," said Cindy
are now processed
Morgan, associate director twice as fast.”
for admission and - Cindy Morgan
enrollment management
for Seaver College.

With CommonApp Online, Admission staff reported a 26 percent


increase in student applications over the 2009 admission year.

Morgan noted that the new system also increased productivity for
Admission staff. “Application files and supporting documents are now
processed twice as fast and students are emailed pertinent information
within two days of submitting their application," said Morgan, "The constant
communication between Admission staff and prospective students helps to
create a favorable impression of Pepperdine.”

Cindy Mogan, Sean Fife, Lauren Broussard


New Communication Platform for Faculty and Staff
Information Technology’s Network Engineering staff visited faculty and staff offices around the University to
install a new platform to meet the community’s growing communications needs.
As the University continues to grow in size faculty and staff via informational and
and reach, the ability for faculty, staff, and training sessions provided by Information
students to stay connected across Technology’s Client Services group.
campuses is more essential than ever
before. In addition, the Technology and Learning
group is exploring the use of Cisco
For faculty and staff who routinely travel technology in Pepperdine’s blended learning
between Pepperdine’s Southern California courses. The audio and face-to-face video
campuses or live abroad, and for students conferencing elements have been used in
enrolled in blended learning programs who the Graduate School of Education and
seldom set foot on campus, convenient, Psychology to connect students across the
universally-adopted communication United States with each other and their
channels are critical to helping them feel faculty member.
connected to colleagues and peers.
"The system’s ability to deliver multi-party
In spring 2009, Systems and Networking video conferencing is invaluable in
director Kevin Phan and colleagues Rita cultivating learning relationships," said Noah
Schnepp, Vixay Suphasiri, Zorinan Kasilag, Sparks who joins his class online each week
and John Figueroa began to explore new from Salt Lake City, Utah, "Using the face-
technologies to meet these growing to-face video component, the nuances of
communication needs. Los Angeles campuses. Faculty and staff conversation and body language come
attended information sessions and began to alive. It's nice to feel that kind of
Later that fall, they announced a solution - a familiarize themselves with the new connection.”
new platform from Cisco, that merges platform. "The new phone is great, but I'm
voice, video, and web conferencing. In fall excited to learn more about the chat and "The Cisco system is a critical element in
2009, a multi-year project to replace the desktop sharing features," said a GSBM staff connecting the University community. We’re
University's existing telephone system with member. a small, close-knit University, but sometimes
the new Cisco system was launched. our geographical separation can get in the
The chat, video, and web conferencing way of building and maintaining
Soon thereafter, old desktop telephones features have been introduced to a small relationships. That’s no longer a problem,”
were replaced with the new units at the group of users for testing, and in spring said Phan.
Irvine, Encino, Westlake Village, and West 2011, the system will be introduced to
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness Partners with
Information Technology
Staff from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness
and Information Technology work together to
provide more data for University planning.

In early January 2010, Pepperdine's Office of Institutional


Effectiveness (OIE) staff members Lily Pang and Dianne Asis
teamed up with Information Technology's Enterprise Information
Systems' staff Henry Lai and Tom Layman to provide University
decision-makers with more information and data analysis from
the PeopleSoft and legacy systems.

Together, the team began to address the major challenges related


to extracting the data from University systems, creating access to
the data for University administrators, and developing dashboards
to allow administrators to easily interact with the data.

"We have all these data, however we didn't have a systematic way
to extract or display these data so that they could be readily
accessed or used by University administration,” said Dr. Timothy
Chester, vice provost and chief information officer. “The work
produced as a result of this relationship is key to facilitating more
evidence-based decision-making at the University."

First, the team needed to create a common reporting


environment to reach both historical student data in the legacy
system and current student data in the new PeopleSoft system.

"Having data in two different environments made longitudinal


studies difficult. When the requested data included legacy system
data, I worked with Henry or Tom to develop a custom process

Tom Layman, Lily Pang, Dianne Asis, and Henry Lai


to extract it," said Lily Pang, director of institutional research. "This integration was essential for
extracting the proper and most accurate data."

Utilizing the multi-dimensional database (a.k.a. “Cube”) reporting, the team put their heads
together to address end user data visibility and accessibility. Over 120 key performance
indicators were created, including tables to show graduation and retention data for all schools
annually, dating back to 2003.

The work produced as a result


of this relationship is key to facilitating OIE Staff: Christopher S. Collins, Dianne Asis, Christine Tsui,

more evidence-based Lily Pang, and M. Teresa Taningco Kaldor

decision-making at the University.


- Dr. Timothy Chester, vice provost and chief information officer.

Lastly, the team developed a new OIE website to serve the University community. A document
repository with customized permissions was integrated into the website, allowing OIE to share
information with select groups of individuals. In addition, the team created interactive graphs
and tables to show enrollment data for all schools.

Using these new procedures and systems, this team played an important role in producing over
50 data tables for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation reaffirmation Banowsky Boulevard, Malibu Campus
visit in fall 2010.

To learn more about the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, visit their website at http://
services.pepperdine.edu/oie/.

Charles B. Thornton Administrative Center, Malibu Campus


Partners
We would like to give special thanks to a few wonderful people who partner with us on a daily basis to
ensure the success of technology initiatives. Your effort, patience, and enthusiasm are critical to our work
and we share the success and accomplishment of these initiatives with you. - Information Technology Staff

Carla Anderson Steve Hewgley Lily Pang


Phillip Bohl Kimberly Hogan Linda Polin
Lauren Broussard Megan Huard Margaret Riel
Christopher Collins Linda Hulsey Tracy Barry Rolston
Lauren Cosentino Susan Imholz Shelley Saxer
Janet Davis Bernie James Eryn Seltzer
Michelle del Guidice Sheryl Kelo David Smith
Robert deMayo Vickee Killian Michael Stamper
Michael Dula John Kim Brian Thomason
Kyle Dusek Hung Le Phil Thomason
Michael Feltner Bob McQuaid Linda Wallace
Constance Fulmer Matthew Midura Ed Wheeler
Deborah Galuhn Cindy Morgan Michael Williams
Susan Gautsch Bill Mosley Construction and Campus Planning
Owen Hall, Jr. Maire Mullins Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Ron Hall Robert Overton Facilities Management and Planning
Christopher Heard Dave Page
Pepperdine University Information
Services & Technology
24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, California 90263-4173
T (310) 506-4173
F (310) 506-4353
http://services.pepperdine.edu/it

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