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7/22/2006
Kogut and his central IT team are responsible for UC-Merced’s entire IT infrastructure and application portfolio, with the exception of financial and personnel systems hosted by a sister campus. The build-out is far from complete, but Kogut is pleased that the portal and identity management system supports applicants, students, staff, and faculty, and incorporates e-mail and Sakai as tabs. The same ID and password are used for the portal, calendaring, e-mail, VPN, wireless authentication (802.1x), registration, bill payment, vacation/time reporting, printing, file services, document management, and other applications, giving UC-Merced a terrifically user-centric and sustainable IT infrastructure.
Next Steps
For UC-Merced, a vital ongoing task is to continue to bring more applications and content into the portal, and to expand the reach of single sign-on. The school has joined InCommon, and will participate in UC Trust, a Shibboleth-based federated identity and authentication program supporting access across the entire UC system.
Advice
Kogut recommends establishing a clear vision and strategies early on. “Technology changes frequently, and it is important to plan with that in mind,” he says. “Well-understood strategies allow greater delegation of investigation and decision-making to a wider array of staff, increasing productivity.”
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