ServiceNow Catalog Builder UT Partner Program
Engagement & Experience
The Enterprise Technology ServiceNow team has launched a partner program that enables UT partners to create catalog items and forms for the Service Catalog. This functionality is available through Catalog Builder, an application within ServiceNow. UT partners can create catalog items in a development environment, which then go through the ServiceNow Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) before being promoted to production. Once approved, catalog items are accessible via the Service Portal: UT Service Portal. CSUs can directly link from intranets or wiki pages to specific catalog items in ServiceNow. This allows CSUs to replace forms currently in Qualtrics and improve workflows for forms currently in Microsoft Forms. The partner program is yet another example of Enterprise Technology promoting the power of a single unified platform to solve unique business needs and create a more seamless experience for the user community.
Campus Solutions Launches UT Directory Rewrite
Campus Solutions
The Web Custom Solutions (WCS) team rebuilt the UT Directory in Python/Django, allowing us to retire the PHP version. This upgrade eliminates significant technical debt, and improves security, accessibility, and usability. This work was undertaken in partnership with the Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Web Content Management Solutions (WCMS) teams. The UT Directory processes up to 100 searches per minute and is used across the University. The older PHP version of the UT Directory dates back 15 years and has had no significant updates in 10 years. The PHP version also relied on the outdated White Pages Service (WHIPS), which was originally slated for retirement in 2020. The new version of the directory now utilizes TED, which makes it possible to finally retire WHIPS. https://directory.utexas.edu/
Expanding the Digital Accessibility Center (DAC)
Enterprise Learning Technology
As part of an ongoing effort to enhance digital accessibility across the university, the DAC is expanding staffing for the existing Document and Video/Audio Accessibility teams. Additionally, the DAC is building the Web and App Accessibility Team by hiring a full-time staff member with graduate and undergraduate support. This expansion will enhance the accessibility of digital content, ensuring that faculty, staff, and students have access to the information and resources needed to thrive in the UT digital landscape. The new Web and App Accessibility Team will focus on implementing accessibility standards for web spaces and applications, providing training and support to developers, and conducting accessibility audits to identify and address barriers.
Enterprise Technology Delivers Comprehensive Microsoft 365 and Copilot Training to UT Community
Enterprise Learning Technology
ET successfully conducted nine training sessions on March 25 and 26 for 173 participants with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses. The sessions covered an introduction to Microsoft 365, Copilot Chat, and Copilot in the M365 ecosystem. Additionally, 250 ET staff received dedicated training on Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Teams between March 20 and March 28. The training sessions enhanced the digital skills of 423 participants, fostering better utilization of Microsoft 365 tools. This initiative is expected to improve productivity and collaboration across the University, with participants now better equipped to leverage Copilot and other M365 tools in their daily tasks. The training sessions were part of ET's ongoing efforts to support the UT community in maximizing the benefits of Microsoft 365. The sessions included hands-on activities and demonstrations, ensuring participants could apply their new skills immediately. This initiative aligns with ET's mission to enhance digital literacy and efficiency across the University.
Enterprise Technology Infrastructure Voice Services Team Completes Lifecycle Upgrade of Campus Life Safety Analog Gateway System
Infrastructure
The team completed the implementation of the new AudioCodes gateway solution and converted life safety phones lines over the course of several months. This involved roughly 2,500 phone lines across 7 wire center facilities across the Main and Pickle campuses. This project supports the life safety telephone lines across campus including elevators, emergency call boxes, areas of refuge, tunnels, fire alarm panels and more. Due to the life safety function of these phone lines they run on a service that enables higher resiliency. These lines connect via copper cable over which power can be provided from wire centers distributed across campus. These centers possess battery backups and are in facilities with generators. This ensures life safety phones can function even if the power in the building they are in is out for an extended period of time.
Digital Accessibility Center (DAC) collaboration with ADA Coordinators and Submission of Digital Accessibility Policy
Enterprise Learning Technology
The DAC has been actively collaborating with the ADA Coordinators in the Office of Institutional Accessibility and Accommodation within the Office of Compliance to develop a comprehensive Digital Accessibility Policy. This policy has been submitted for review by the Policy Office Advisory Group (POAG), which consists of cross-divisional representatives, including members from the university’s governance groups: Faculty Council, Staff Council, and Student Government. This initiative aims to set a standard that will improve the UT digital landscape for all users and ensure compliance with the recent changes to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Driving Adoption and Enhancing Support Through Collaboration
Enterprise Learning Technology
In alignment with the Fall 2024 Provost-led Canvas Minimum Use Policy—which requires all undergraduate courses to publish a course and post the official syllabus in Canvas—the Enterprise Learning Technology (ELT) team has expanded its efforts to support platform adoption and improve teaching and learning outcomes. This spring, the team facilitated over 54 targeted workshops, 18 virtual office hours, 70 one-on-one consultations, and hosted three in-person campus events, engaging more than 195 faculty and staff. Through strategic workshops, personalized support, and cross-campus collaboration, ELT plays a critical role in helping faculty meet policy requirements, easing instructional workloads, and enhancing the student learning experience.
Success Story: Simplifying Nessus Agent Installation Across Campus
Engagement & Experience
The university now has a single, global Nessus installer that adapts automatically based on each device's department. This reduces complexity, improves security accuracy for the Information Security Office, and saves IT staff valuable time. The Global Nessus Installer is a tool that scans computers and devices for vulnerabilities, helping to protect against cyber threats. The EPM team successfully upgraded the Nessus infrastructure and then partnered with campus IT contacts to re-link broken Nessus agents after the upgrade was complete. Their efforts help safeguard sensitive data and maintain the integrity of our network. The Information Security Office uses Nessus to scan and tally endpoint vulnerabilities. This list is used to score the IT Support Organization’s (ITSO) security footprint on campus.
For years, each ITSO on campus had to maintain their own version of the Nessus Agent installer—over 50 in total—just to assign devices to the right security group. This was because the system couldn’t tell which department a computer belonged to during installation. That gap made security management more complex and harder to scale.
To address this issue, a cross-team effort was initiated. Over the last 3 years:
The Information Security Office agreed to enforce University Department Codes as identifiers for both ownership and IT support organization.
The Active Directory team-built automation to make department codes available on every computer.
In coordination with ITS Networking, the Endpoint Management team (EPM) implemented an “Always-On VPN Management Tunnel” to enable remote configuration of devices, regardless of user presence.
Finally, EPM developed a powerful script consisting of 750+ lines that runs daily on 18,500+ Windows devices to install, configure, and keep the Nessus Agent healthy and correctly categorized.