News Archives

UBCO Employee IT Onboarding & Offboarding Forms

Do you have new staff starting or staff leaving? Need IT equipment, phones or printing accounts for new staff? Have you requested the cancellation of phone lines or Zoom accounts for staff who have transferred departments or left UBC?

Did you know that UBCO employees have unique accounts and equipment that aren’t coordinated via Workday? We’ve created two simple forms to help manage the IT needs of staff joining or leaving UBC Okanagan.

New Employees

Administrators looking to set-up IT services for individuals that are new to UBC or new to the department, can use the Okanagan - Employee IT Onboarding form in the UBC Self-Service Portal.

Applies to: Contractors / Researchers / Faculty / Staff / Student Employees

Purpose: This is a one-stop form with the ability to request accounts, phone services and IT equipment.

This Okanagan - Employee IT onboarding request is for additional items a new hire might need like:

  • Novell account for print and network access.
  • Computer Equipment like CRP, Loaner, Research Gear etc…
  • Voice services items (e.g. telephone, long distance pins)
  • Zoom Account
  • Departmental website access or departmental staff listing update

NOTE: The form cannot be submitted until the new employee has been processed through Workday and they have completed the Simplified CWL sign up process sent to them by HR AND have a UBC FASmail account.

If you need to order equipment (4-6 weeks in advance is recommended) please submit an Order New Hardware ticket in the Self-Service Portal to get this started before a CWL is issued.

For more details on the hiring process in Workday and known CWL and FASmail creation delays click HERE.

LEARN MORE ABOUT UBCO ONBOARDING HERE

Leaving or Transferring Employees

Administrators looking to discontinue IT services for individuals that are leaving UBC or transferring to another department, can use the Okanagan - Employee IT Offboarding form in the  UBC Self-Service Portal.

Applies to: Contractors / Researchers / Faculty / Staff / Student Employees

Purpose: This form completes the IT accounts and access termination process for Okanagan based employees. It is required IN ADDITION to the  Termination BP in Workday. This form initiates the disconnection of Okanagan accounts, phone services and IT equipment which is not currently triggered via the Workday termination process, including:

  • UBCO Novell account for print and network access
  • Voice services items (e.g. telephone, long distance pins)
  • Zoom accounts
  • UBCO website or application access
  • Returning UBC funded computer equipment including  Computer Replacement Program (CRP) and loaner equipment

NOTE: Account Extension: If some accounts need to remain active after the official termination date, this will need to be activated within the Termination Business Process in Workday by requesting a Grace Period.

LEARN MORE ABOUT UBCO OFFBOARDING HERE

2021 ARC Research Computing Bootcamp

UBC Advanced Research Computing (ARC) is hosting a 3-day Research Computing Bootcamp from Monday, July 12 – Wednesday, July 14 2021. This virtual training program will feature beginner and intermediate level courses on GNU/Linux, HPC, Cloud Computing and more. Additionally, ARC is hosting a DRI Open House and taking questions regarding the use of UBC ARC Sockeye and UBC ARC Chinook. 

Note: The interactive sessions are now full.

UBC Forms Retiring Fall 2021

UBC IT Okanagan will be retiring the UBC Forms service by the end of this year. Existing forms will be disabled by September 1, 2021 and the site turned off completely by December 1, 2021.

If you no longer need your form(s), please unpublish them and ensure you have kept any data required.

If you need to recreate forms or develop new ones, we recommend using Qualtrics. More details on using Qualtrics including on-demand training and other support can be found on the UBC IT Survey Tool page.

If you have any concern with this timing, or questions about alternative options or actions required, please contact the Web and Applications Team or submit a ticket via the UBC Self-Service Portal (Get Help -> Issue: Website).

Get Your MS Teams News on the Get Started Portal

Starting today, Microsoft (MS) Teams end users will see a “News” section on their Get Started Portal. This new feature will keep you updated on the latest MS Teams information from Microsoft, as well as from UBC. 

The introduction of the News section is part of a multi-phase approach to redesign the Get Started portal, making it more user-friendly and informative while supporting end users’ day-to-day use of the collaboration tool. 

Click on the Get Started Portal on your Microsoft Teams dashboard to learn more.

Delays for IT Equipment Purchasing

Lunch & Learn: Using MS Teams @ UBC

UBC IT is decommissioning Skype for Business (UBC Collaboration Suite) on May 31, 2021. All remaining accounts will be automatically switched to Microsoft (MS) Teams to continue supporting your collaboration needs. MS Teams enables chat, video conferencing, and collaborating in real-time on documents.

MS Teams Training for UBCO Staff & Faculty

If you’d like to learn how to use MS Teams (and OneDrive) with your department, faculty, class or project, join our Lunch & Learn sessions hosted by UBCO IT: (click a session below for more details and to register)

  • Tuesday May 25 – Getting Started I: Creating Teams, Channel & Files
  • Thursday May 27 – Getting Started II: Using Chat & Hosting Meetings
  • Wednesday June 2 – Advanced: Teams & OneDrive
  • Friday June 4 – Teams & OneDrive: Review & Open Q&A

To learn more about MS Teams, please check out the following resources:

May 2021 IT Update: IT Equipment and New Hires – Early Resumption Planning Tips

While the university is currently determining the approach and guidelines for the resumption of onsite teaching and learning, we wanted to highlight a few things to help you better prepare for any IT equipment purchases or new hires you may need for fallWe will provide additional information and resources to support your resumption planning when further details are confirmed. 

IT Accounts & Access for New Staff/Faculty & Student Hires

There are some known limitations with the hiring and IT account creation processes within Workday. This includes not being able to easily provide access to UBC accounts earlier than 2 pay periods before the new hire start date and if the employee has an existing CWL account prior to being onboarded in Workday.

These limitations are known and are actively being worked on, however in the meantime PLEASE follow these instructions or reach out to myself or the IT Helpdesk (UBC Self-Service Portal) BEFORE trying to provision email or other IT account access prior to Workday onboarding.

UBCO IT Onboarding

Also, please note, that there are specific accounts and services required for employees working in the Okanagan that will not be activated until the Okanagan - Employee IT Onboarding (CWL login required) form in the UBC Self-Service Portal has been submitted. This includes Novell account creation, printing access, phones, computer equipment and Zoom accounts.

More details on how to complete this form and the accounts & services it will enable can be found HERE. (Note: This form cannot be completed until after the employee has been issued a CWL within the Workday onboarding process).

IT Equipment Purchasing Delays

Global shortages in technology components (semiconductors) used to build PCs, is resulting in delays of 6-8 weeks for ordering new IT equipment. This is affecting almost all equipment including laptops, docking stations and monitors.

If you anticipate needing new equipment for the fall, for new hires and/or to accommodate hybrid working arrangements, please ensure you submit a ticket to the UBC Self-Service Portal for these purchases at least two months in advance.

Please note you can also make IT equipment orders directly in Workday including webcams, monitors, headphones, etc. Click HERE for more details:

Computer Replacement Program (CRP) for New Hires

The CRP program is centrally funded to provide UBCO IT supported equipment for permanent ongoing positions at UBCO. This program is currently being reviewed to ensure we are able to meet the technical needs of our growing campus in a fiscally responsible way. CRP requests for new positions filled by internal candidates will be validated with finance to determine whether an existing position is being backfilled. In the event staff end up changing roles, equipment may move with that staff member if there is no immediate backfill for the vacated role.

More details on CRP can be found HERE.

Retirement of McAfee Encryption Management Service – June 24, 2021

UBC IT will be retiring the McAfee Encryption management service on June 24, 2021.  We will continue to manage encryption for supported devices by leveraging the capabilities of existing licensed products (MS InTune for PCs and Jamf Pro for Macs).  This change will result in significant cost savings for the University.  

 

Remember to close off your Qualtrics account before end of term

Its almost the end of term and those of you leaving UBC will want want to make sure your Qualtrics surveys and respondent data are properly dealt with. By attending to any administrative tasks now, you can avoid causing issues that could impact colleagues who may rely on your survey data for their work.

Skype for Business Decommissioning on May 31, 2021

UBC IT is decommissioning Skype for Business (UBC Collaboration Suite) on May 31, 2021. To continue to support your collaboration needs, your Skype for Business account will also be automatically switched to Microsoft (MS) Teams on that day. MS Teams enables persistent chat, video conferencing, and collaborating in real-time on documents.  To learn more about MS Teams, please visit the MS Teams service catalogue: https://www.it.ubc.ca/teams.

To help get you oriented with the platform, UBC IT is offering two MS Teams Overview sessions:

  • Thursday, April 29 | 2:00pm – 3:30pm
  • Tuesday, May 26 | 1:00pm – 2:30pm

To sign up for a session, please click here: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4NnQLz3Kxt6rvyC.  An Outlook invitation will be sent to end-users closer to their training date.

Switch to MS Teams before May 31

You can also switch to MS Teams if you prefer to be migrated before May 31. Please note that this option is not available to contractors.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact the IT Service Centre: https://www.it.ubc.ca/helpdesk

How to Get Started with MS Teams

Once migration is complete, review the “Get Started” Portal on MS Teams to familiarize yourself with the platform. The Portal includes quick start guides, tips, and additional resources:

Please note that any recurring meetings previously scheduled in Skype for Business will need to be rescheduled in Microsoft Teams.

To learn about the differences in features between Skype for Business vs. MS Teams (Teams Only Mode), click here: https://it.ubc.ca/services/email-voice-internet/microsoft-teams#further