See CAS-IT Services On-boarding Procedure, Off-boarding Procedure, and Data Retention Policy below for details.

CAS-IT offers numerous network file shares. The CAS - Accessing Private, Office Files, Project, and Labs Drives article outlines each file share system, as well as provides a tutorial for how to access them.

For the Student Hand-in folder and Instructor Public folder, see information under Deprecated Services in our Service Policies and Procedures below.

CAS-IT supports Illinois State-owned equipment that meet our Minimum Support Requirements like computers, printers, displays, and iPads so that CAS faculty and staff are enabled to perform their assigned duties.  

We update new computer purchase recommendations on our Buying Computers page as appropriate.

CAS-IT has made a list of commonly requested software available for install on supported Microsoft Windows-based computers via Software Center. These applications are pre-approved and tested for common functionality and integration with Illinois State systems. Faculty & staff may request software to be added to the list of available software. See Software Center for Windows article for more information.

The CAS-IT Event / Conference Support Guide helps you welcome guests to campus. CAS-IT is not capable of providing dedicated event support staff but can help you during the planning process by providing consultation for your technology needs.

CAS Faculty, department, or service unit website design and development.

• About.IllinoisState.edu Websites
• Custom-developed Websites

CAS-IT can host applications. Please consult the Director of CAS-IT before acquiring any applications.

• Arc GIS (licenses only)
• Scientific Instruments Repair Requests System (login required)
  • Tech Login
• CAS Budget System (login required)
  • CAS Budget System Basic Video Tutorial
  • CAS Budget System Tutorial for Requesters
  • CAS Budget System Tutorial for Department Reviewers
  • CAS Budget System Tutorial for College Reviewers
• CAS Collaboration System
• CAS Faculty/Staff Intranet
  • Tutorials for CAS Dean's Office Staff with Editing Permissions
  • Terms & Conditions of Use (TBD)
• CAS Internship Posting System
  • Tutorial
  • Information and resources
• CAS Syllabus Database
  • Terms & Conditions of Use
• CAS Travel Funds System (login required)
  • Tutorial for Applicants
  • Tutorial for Department Application Approvers
  • Tutorial for Department Application Viewers
  • Terms & Conditions of Service
• Faculty Success (formerly Digital Measures) by Watermark (login required)
  • Information and resources (including tutorials)
• Matlab (licenses only)
• PaperCut MF - Printer allowances, secure code releases, and other management features
• Psychology - School Psychology Annual Review of Doctoral Student Performance (login required)
• Psychology Services Center Observation System

See CAS Faculty and Staff Technology Equipment Reservations for more information.

Documentation of Faculty Success by Watermark is available for individuals to manage their own profiles, and for department/college editors with elevated permissions.

A list of endpoint device minimum support requirements is provided below. Additional teaching, scholarship, or service responsibilities will most likely require more capable configurations. Software used by faculty or staff will have their own minimum and suggested specifications for hardware which may cause the need for different equipment. This list can be used to determine when endpoints (including desktops and laptops) are no longer usable and should be sent to surplus. Please coordinate all technology purchases with your local CAS-IT representative.

Computers that do not meet the following specifications (and cannot be easily upgraded to do so) are not supported by CAS-IT and should be decommissioned (last updated 8/13/2024).

• i-series encryption capable processor.
• 8 gigabytes RAM.
• 256-gigabyte hard drive.
• Windows 11 drivers available from the manufacturer or macOS Ventura capable.

• All devices that can store data must be encryption capable.

A standard exception to this policy is any computer hardware necessary for specific equipment that would impose a financial or functional hardship to replace.  For example, computers connected to scientific or a/v distribution equipment will be supported to the best of CAS-IT’s ability.  Mitigating controls must be put in place to meet Information Security Office requirements defined at Security Exemption Process and Procedure.

Unit Security Liaisons

According to University policies, requests for access to services or data must be approved by Unit Security Liaisons (USL). USLs in specific cases are as follows:

• College-wide scoped: CAS Dean
• Department/school scoped: relevant Chair or Director
• Instructor "lab folders": Instructor owner
• Project Shares: Project owner or, if unavailable, CAS Dean

In the event that the designated USL is not available within the target resolution time (indicated within tickets entered in the IT Service Management tool), the approval request may be sent by IT to that USL's superior.  In the event that the Dean of CAS is the designated USL and they are not available within the target resolution time, the approval request may be sent by IT to the designated Dean on Duty. 

Under no circumstances can a student approve or deny access requests. This responsibility may not be delegated.

Role Based Access Permissions

As logical, CAS-IT applies permissions to a CAS Role Group instead of an individual's ULID. Other IT teams and other ISU systems may also be able to utilize CAS Role Groups; CAS-IT encourages requesting permissions be applied to CAS Role Groups instead of ULIDs when possible. This practice helps for a smoother transition and more consistent experience when an employee's responsibilities change. A single person may fulfil multiple roles and can be a member of multiple CAS Role Groups. Many people may also fulfil a single role. CAS-IT can create as many CAS Role Groups as needed. To request onboarding to a particular role, simply submit a typical onboarding request and specify in the ticket description the role that should be applied.

Process

This is the general process for requesting access:

1. The requester should submit a Detailed Request.
   1. Visit the Get IT Help page.
   2. Login using your ULID and password if you have yet to login.
   3. Click 'Submit Detailed Request' under the 'Requests' heading.
   4. Click 'Accounts and Security.'
   5. Click 'Request or Change Access.'
      • Requests that fall on a weekend, university holiday, or administrative closure day will be processed the following business day.
2. The appropriate CAS-IT support person will get approval from the USL.
3. The USL indicates "approve" or "deny" in a reply-to-all email.
   • The address supportcenter@ilstu.edu should be included.
   • The subject of the email and the embedded CID code must not change.
4. CAS-IT support staff fulfills the request if approved.

Getting Started

Employees who are new to the University or newly serving in a role, like an Assistant/Associate Director, should be onboarded to CAS-IT services. A ULID is not needed to initially inform us. To begin the CAS-IT onboarding process:

1. Visit the Get IT Help page.
2. Click 'Submit Detailed Request' under the 'Requests' heading on the right-hand side.
3. Log in with your ULID and password.
4. Click 'Onboard an Employee.'
5. Provide all requested information.
6. Click 'Save.'
7. Click 'Ok.'

Requests that fall on a weekend, university holiday, or administrative closure day will be processed the following business day.

Equipment

Equipment should be ordered by the school/department that will keep the equipment in inventory and should be available for deployment by the faculty member's start date or another agreed-upon date. New faculty may be allotted a specific dollar amount for startup equipment or may have negotiated for an amount needed to begin their research. CAS-IT maintains a list of recommended equipment at our Buying Computers page. Please always consult with your local CAS-IT representative before ordering equipment.

Role Based Access Permissions

As much as possible, CAS-IT applies permissions to a CAS Role Group instead of an individual's ULID. Other IT teams and other ISU systems may also be able to utilize CAS Role Groups; CAS-IT encourages requesting permissions be applied to CAS Role Groups instead of ULIDs when possible. This practice helps for a smoother transition and more consistent experience when an employee's responsibilities change. A single person may fulfil multiple roles and can be a member of multiple CAS Role Groups. Many people may also fulfil a single role. CAS-IT can create as many CAS Role Groups as needed. To request onboarding to a particular role, simply submit a typical onboarding request and specify in the ticket description the role that should be applied.

New Employee Access Permissions

New employees will be given access to the following CAS-IT services as a part of the onboarding process, without further approval:

• Faculty Success (formerly known as Digital Measures) by Watermark.
• The department share on the Office Files drive (formerly known as the Shared Drive).
• The root department Teams site.
• Subscribed to CAS-faculty or CAS-staff listserv appropriately.
• PaperCut Managed Printer Access (if applicable).

Any additional access may be requested by adding specific systems to the 'Description/Additional Comments' field in the onboarding request form or by following the 'Requesting new access or changes to existing access' process. CAS-IT staff does not model access from other employees as this typically results in unnecessary access to systems or requests for access to systems not managed by CAS-IT. Additional access requests will require Unit Security Liaison approval. CAS-IT does not have the ability to grant access to campus-wide systems like Campus Solutions, iPeople, ReggieNet, etc. Separate access requests must be submitted for non-CAS-IT supported systems as the request likely will be processed by different IT teams across campus.

The appropriate CAS-IT support person(s) provisions access.

• CAS-IT Local support person owns the request until all work is completed and:
  • Collects any needed approvals for requested access (if applicable).
  • Adds the new employee to any other local security group as needed.
  • Runs the Cherwell One-Step called 'CAS-IT General On-Boarding.'
  • Coordinates any computer hardware or software requirements with the department designee.
  • Provides a brief overview of CAS-IT services to the new employee (does not need to be completed before the request is closed).
• A CAS-IT server team member:
  • Assigns the task for the Server Team to themselves.
  • Adds the new employee to department 'people' groups.
  • Adds the new employee to CAS-faculty or CAS-staff listserv.
  • Fulfills any other requested access as appropriate, if approved by the USL.
  • Marks the task as completed.
• A CAS-IT Training and Advanced projects staff person:
  • Assigns the task for the Training and Advanced Projects to themselves.
  • Adds the employee to the Department/Schools primary Teams/SharePoint Site with Member permissions.
  • Creates a Basecamp to-do for the Digital Measures GA to add the new employee and offer them training.
  • Provisions requested web-based resources as appropriate.
  • Marks the task as completed.

The requester is informed that all work is completed by a CAS-IT support person setting the request as 'fulfilled pending confirmation.'

Employees who no longer serve in a role within CAS, like an Assistant/Associate Director, are offboarded from the role only. They maintain the IT permissions managed by CAS-IT associated to any remaining role(s) and lose IT permissions managed by CAS-IT associated with the role(s) they no longer serve. When submitting a ticket, indicate if the employee should be removed from a specific role only.

CAS-IT Off Boarding from all roles is necessary when an employee is no longer actively teaching, researching, or otherwise providing service to their hiring department. There are many people or groups to notify when an employee leaves your department or school. The HR web page When an Employee Leaves is a great guide. The Department Separation Responsibilities document guides departments to contact their IT support, this page describes CAS-IT's part in this. During the 'CAS-IT All Roles Off Boarding' process we generally:

• Disable their Faculty Success (formerly Digital Measures) by Watermark profile (entered productivity information is not deleted).
• Remove access to shared department resources like the Office Files Drive, websites, Microsoft Teams, and SharePoint sites.
• Delete any CAS-IT hosted web presence the employee may have had including removing their profile on a department website.
• Remove the employee from the CAS faculty or staff listserv.

CAS Department chairs/directors/executive directors may initiate the CAS-IT Off Boarding process by notifying CAS-IT of an employee's change of status. If someone other than the chair/director/executive director notifies CAS-IT of the separation, the appropriate department chair/director/executive director (the Unit Security Liaison or USL) will be contacted for confirmation of the change in status. This process may be requested for a future date, and it is not necessary to wait until the offboarding date. If there are any confidential or special circumstances regarding offboarding, the chair/director should contact the CAS-IT Director to discuss before submitting any requests.

1. Visit the Get IT Help page.
2. Click 'Submit Detailed Request' under the 'Requests' heading on the right-hand side.
3. Login with your ULID and password.
4. Click 'Accounts and Access.'
5. Click 'Offboard an Employee.'
6. Provide all the requested information.
7. Click 'Save.'
8. Click 'Ok.'

Requests that fall on a weekend, university holiday, or administrative closure day will be processed the following business day.

The following roles have the described responsibility in the offboarding process:

1. The USL:
   • Informs this leaving employee that access will be removed according to the CAS-IT Data Retention Policy (see Data Retention Policy below) and that they should immediately make any personal backups of files as they wish to keep.
   • Indicates "approve" or "deny" in a reply-to-all email.
     • Include any changes in Rank (ex: Professor to Emeritus or Professor to Retired, etc.).
     • The address supportcenter@ilstu.edu should be included in the reply.
     • The subject of the email and the embedded 'CID' code must not change.
2. CAS-IT support staff:
   • CAS-IT local support person owns the Cherwell request until all work is completed and:
     • In Cherwell:
       • Change the Customer field to the person being offboarded.
       • Open the Approvals page in the arrangement.
         • Click 'New Approval.'
         • Enter the USL in the 'Approval Name' field.
         • Save the Request record (do not click the Approve button).
       • Run the Cherwell One-Step called 'CAS-IT All Roles Off Boarding - Step 1.' This process:
         • Properly categorizes the Record Type as Service Request, Service as Accounts and Security, Category as Onboarding/Offboarding, subcategory as Offboard an Employee.
         • Emails the employee's name, effective offboarding date, and a link to the CAS-IT web page that describes the off-boarding procedure to the USL and asks them to approve or deny.
           • Occasionally check the request record for an unread mail or approval status to change to "approved" then proceed if approved. If denied, close the request with this as a resolution.
       • When it is at least the date listed under "What is the date and time access should be be removed."
         • Run the Cherwell One-Step called 'CAS-IT All Roles Off Boarding - Step 2.' This process:
           • Creates tasks for Server Admins, Training and Advanced Projects, and local support staff.
           • Auto-populates the resolution field.
           • Removes access to any department-specific resources as necessary.
           • Disables automated folder sync redirections (ex: My Documents to Private Drive).
           • Coordinates any computer hardware moves with the department's inventory steward.
           • Coordinates any computer software changes with the department's fiscal agent.
             • When all tasks are complete set the Cherwell record to 'fulfill pending confirmation.'
   • A CAS-IT Server Team member will:
     • Take ownership of the task.
     • Remove the employee from:
       • CAS related AD Groups, including the 'people' groups.
       • CAS-faculty and CAS-staff listservs.
     • Mark the task as completed.

The requester is informed that all work is complete by a CAS-IT support person setting the request as 'fulfilled pending confirmation.'

The annual Review of Computer Security is an internal audit that began in 2019 as the result of an audit conducted by ISU auditors.  Each year around mid-October (as determined by the CAS Council of Chairs in 2019), the Director of CAS-IT conducts this annual computer security review to ensure proper management and security of IT resources. Authorizers of CAS-IT resources, receive emails from “CASGroupMemberAudit@ilstu.edu” with details about access.

This review is crucial for:
    1. Maintaining security by preventing unauthorized access.
    2. Ensuring compliance with policies and regulations.
    3. Updating access permissions for current users.
    4. Identifying and addressing access issues.

Expect these details in the emails:
    1. Security Group: this is a technical name used by IT. As a reviewer, you can ignore this.  
    2. Description: this is meant to be a meaningful description for you as the reviewer. It should convey the thing in which access is being granted, for example a lab “Server Share,” “Shared Drive,” or CAS Role Group assignment.  
    3. Group Manager (user or group): identifies the person(s) responsible for reviewing. 
    4. Group Manager email: email address of the identified Group Manager. 
    5. Current Members: ULIDs of the people, or CAS Role Groups, who have been granted access to the service described. 

Participation is vital for our data security. If Current Member updates are needed, forward the email to ithelp@ilstu.edu and describe the necessary changes.  No action is necessary if Current Members are accurate.

Thank you for your cooperation. Feel free to reach out to the CAS-IT Director with any questions or feedback.

As approved by the CAS Technology Advisory Committee on 02/13/2015, data associated to a specific employee as the data owner will be deleted no sooner than 6 months after that person is no longer an active employee. For example, a faculty member that takes employment elsewhere is no longer an active employee. The 'Private Drive' and a faculty member's personal website are examples of data that belong to a specific employee. Retirees or emeriti faculty can be considered active if their ULID is still active and they still teach, conduct research, or otherwise provide service to CAS. Exceptions may be requested to the Director of CAS-IT before the deletion occurs as outlined. Data that does not have a specific owner but is shared between multiple people may be retained while it serves a purpose or as other factors dictate. The 'CAS Office Files Drive,' organization websites, or SharePoint collaboration sites are examples of data that shared between multiple employees.

CAS-IT strives to keep all of our services up-to-date and free of any disruptions or unscheduled downtime. To facilitate this, we implement a planned maintenance window in which we might take some to all of our services off-line to perform maintenance or upgrades. Most Maintenance Windows will begin on the 3rd Friday of each month at 7:00 p.m. (Friday) – and end at 7:00 a.m. (Saturday). Planned outages will be rescheduled when they fall on the first week, last week, finals week, or the time between finals week and the time grade submission are due during the Spring or Fall semester. An extended maintenance window will be scheduled each May beginning the day after grades are due at 8 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. the following day. An extended maintenance window will be scheduled each December beginning the day after grades are due at 8 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. two days later. View all scheduled maintenance dates.

The following services may not be available or may be degraded (slow) during this time:

• CAS-IT server shares including CAS Private Drive (FKA R: Drive), CAS Office Files Drive (FKA S: Drive), CAS Project Drive, CAS Lab Drive, etc.
• Printing to CAS network printers and print management with PaperCut
• License servers for Maple, Intergraph, GE Healthcare, FlexNet, Texas Instruments, Harris Geospatial, WinEdt, EViews, PTC Mathcad, Excelis, Bruker Top Spin, Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC)/ Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), and MaxQDA
• CAS-IT hosted websites, including department websites, CAS Syllabus Database, CAS Collaboration System, CAS Internship Posting system, Mind Project, WGLT Audio Clip Downloader, WZND, Water Research, etc.
• All other CAS-IT hosted servers or services, including CAS-IT remote application server, CSD PnC Remote Web, CSD Cochlear system, Inception, some functions of the CAS Chemical Inventory System, etc.

Please Note - Computers may restart as a result of installed updates. Logging in to Windows computers maintained by CAS-IT will take longer than usual.

The following services are not impacted by CAS-IT maintenance:

• Zoom, Canvas, Microsoft 365, Qualtrics, Remote.illinoisstate.edu, About.IllinoisState.edu, Adobe Creative Cloud, ArcGIS, Omni Update/OU Campus/Modern Campus CMS department websites, Proctor Track, or other University-wide services
• Faculty Success (formerly Digital Measures) by Watermark, faculty may still enter teaching research and service work information, run reports, and submit workflow tasks
• CAS Faculty/Staff Intranet
• CAS Budget System
• CAS Travel Funds System
• CSD Noah system
• Scientific Instrument Repair Request System
• School Psychology Annual Review System

We recommend that all Faculty and Staff computers are logged off, yet remain powered on, when not in use to help facilitate system updates.

A list of future CAS-IT scheduled maintenance windows is available at Scheduled Maintenance Dates.

If you experience any trouble with these CAS-IT supported services after this maintenance window, please attempt to restart your computer and if the issue persists, report it on the Help.IllinoisState.edu website or by calling 438-HELP (4357).

Workarounds - Move files from CAS-IT servers to OneDrive or Microsoft Teams ahead of the maintenance window. Websites might show a temporary page announcing that the servers are under maintenance.

Non-emergency, planned maintenance, planned degraded performance, or planned outages of any CAS-IT service will be posted on the Alerts website. CAS-IT highly recommends that all faculty and staff subscribe to Tech Alerts by clicking the 'Subscribe to Updates' link. Emergency maintenance, unplanned outages, and unplanned service degradations of CAS-IT services that affect multiple CAS departments will be posted to the Alerts website and emails will be sent to CAS Faculty and Staff list-servs. Planned or unplanned events of single department services will be coordinated with their service owners and notifications may vary.

The following items are services that are no longer being offered but current users may be grandfathered use.

CAS URG System

In 2018 the CAS-IT custom developed URG system was decommissioned. URG applications were moved to Faculty Success (formerly Digital Measures) by Watermark at that time.

Select Survey

As of 12/19/2017 the CAS-IT hosted version of Select Survey is no longer available. Qualtrics Survey Platform is available as of 05/17/2017 to all Illinois State faculty, staff, and students. Select Survey was outdated and no longer supported by the vendor.

CAS Open Journal Systems (OJS)

As of 07/19/2016, OJS is no longer available. OJS was a journal hosting system used primarily by the SPORA journal, the Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology, and by the English Department's Publications Unit. The system was outdated and no longer secure. Both SPORA and CeMaST began using BePress from Milner Library as an alternative.

CAS Hand-in & Instructor Folders

Deprecated as of 11/05/2015.

COINS

COINS (CAS Intranet) was a system that allows faculty and staff of CAS to keep an updated profile, store syllabi digitally, and securely distribute grades to students.

Deprecated as of 01/05/2015.

WordPress Blog Hosting

Deprecated as of 07/01/2014.

CAS Secure Folders

Deprecated as of 03/01/2014.

Faculty HTML (non-cms) Website Development

Service replaced by About.IllinoisState.edu content management system (CMS).

Deprecated as of 07/01/2014.

CAS Files Private and Shared Drives Web View

Deprecated as of 06/23/15 due to a purchased product failure. This product was no longer supported, and a replacement was not available. The interface for this system was at this address.