Vice President for Information Technology
Status and Activity Report for April 2026
Prepared by Timothy M. Chester, Vice President for Information Technology (VPIT)
1. Key Items for Faculty and Staff Meetings
Follow Up on Lead IT Professional Development Day held March 11, 2026: Thank you to all who participated in L.E.A.D. IT symposium (Learn, Exchange, Advance, Develop), a professional development day hosted by the Vice President for Information Technology at UGA and open to EITS, USG IT, and ITMF voting members. The event took place at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education and included a keynote by Dr. Prashant Doshi on artificial intelligence and innovation in higher education, as well as 19 breakout sessions led by IT professionals across the University System of Georgia. Attendees engaged in learning about IT initiatives and best practices, exchanged ideas with peers, and explored opportunities for professional growth and collaboration. The closing Q&A with Dr. Timothy Chester and Dr. Holly Ward provided valuable insights into leadership and the future direction of IT. Participants are encouraged to share key takeaways with their teams and apply relevant strategies to their work. For additional information or follow-up questions, please contact Sara Pauff.
Spring Cybersecurity Training due April 30, 2026: State of Georgia employees, including all UGA employees and student workers, must complete spring cybersecurity awareness training by April 30, 2026. This required training takes place twice a year in April and October per USG policy and a directive by the executive order of Governor Brian Kemp. These three professionally developed courses are conducted online through KnowBe4 and provide actionable and effective training on good cybersecurity practices. To complete the training, log in to the KnowBe4 Portal, https://training.knowbe4.com/auth/saml/8840131a04b53, with your MyID@uga.edu email, password, and Duo authentication. Once you log into the KnowBe4 portal, you will be taken to UGA's training page. Click on the training to start. If no training appears, go to the dropdown menu under your name in the upper right corner of the screen. Click on the 'My Training' option to view your available training. Through April, you may receive several UGAMail reminders about completing the training until you have completed it. These automated reminders will come from Ben Myers at bmyers@uga.edu and will have the subject line: USG Mandatory Cybersecurity Awareness Training Due April 30, 2026. Faculty, staff, and student employees who have questions about the training should contact the EITS Help Desk.
Teams Phone Project Highlight: EITS has successfully completed the campus-wide transition from the legacy PBX phone system to Microsoft Teams Phone, delivering a modern, cloud-based communication solution to UGA employees. Approximately 8,500 phone extensions were migrated to the Microsoft Teams platform, significantly reducing aging infrastructure. Teams Phone allows faculty and staff to make and receive calls,
check voicemail, and manage meetings, chats, and calendars in one place through the Microsoft Teams app on laptops, tablets, or mobile devices. This large-scale effort required close coordination with departments across campus and has resulted in a more flexible, unified communication experience, along with meaningful long-term cost savings for the university. For more information, contact Steven Duffee.
Upcoming Digital Accessibility Deadline on April 24, 2026: The EITS Digital Accessibility Services Team launched the new Digital Accessibility Services Hub website in January. This site serves as a central resource for training and support on digital accessibility and includes a feature for reporting accessibility issues across UGA’s websites. The launch is part of a broader effort to comply with the new federal digital accessibility policy, which takes effect on April 24, 2026. For more information about the Digital Accessibility Hub, visit the DASH Website or contact the Digital Accessibility Services team.
Claude Now Available in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat: Users with a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license now have access to Anthropic’s Claude directly within Copilot Chat, available as a selectable option in the model drop-down alongside existing AI models. This update expands model choice within Copilot, allowing users to select the AI model best suited to their task, such as deeper reasoning, long-form analysis, or structured content creation, while continuing to operate within Microsoft 365’s enterprise security, compliance, and data protection framework. For more information, contact the AI Tools Team.
SendFiles Login Page Update, Scheduled for May 14, 2026: UGA faculty, staff, and student workers will see an updated SendFiles login page beginning May 14, 2026. This change updates the layout and appearance of the login screen but does not impact system functionality or user access. Users will see two new login buttons, one for UGA SSO login and another for Username and Password sign-on used by external non-UGA users, and then they will be able to log in as usual. Additional information and support materials will be provided prior to implementation to assist with the transition. For more information contact Lance Peiper.
2. Services for Teaching Faculty:
New Digital Accessibility Tool for eLC Launched: Ally for eLC launched on October 15, 2025, to help instructors improve the accessibility of their course content. Ally is a tool that scans instructional materials for accessibility issues and provides clear visual indicators and feedback to guide improvements. This launch supports compliance with a new federal rule from the U.S. Department of Justice, which requires all state entities to ensure their websites and mobile apps are accessible to individuals with disabilities by April 24, 2026. Starting with Summer 2026 courses, all instructional materials must comply with the new federal standard. Students will also benefit from alternative file formats offered through Ally, which support diverse learning needs. Weekly standing
DAS office hours will take place every Friday at 10 a.m. with registration available under the Events Page on the DASH Website. To view past session recordings, visit the Training page on the DASH Website. For more information, contact the EITS Digital Accessibility Services team
3. Services for Students:
Automated Student MyID Clean-Up Under Way: In 2024, EITS automated the clean-up process for student MyIDs. This automated process runs once a semester; students who left the university or graduated approximately a year ago will have their MyIDs and UGAMail addresses flagged for disablement and deletion. Alumni and former students who have their accounts flagged will receive two automated emails to their UGAMail address, alerting them that their account will be disabled and deleted soon. Account holders who are currently employed by UGA or are attending UGA for another degree program will not have their accounts deleted. The automated clean-up kicked off March 2, 2026, with two notices to impacted users. Accounts will be disabled o April 13, 2026. For more information, contact Kristi Wall at kristi.wall@uga.edu.
Wireless Upgrades Work Continues on More Than $1M in Campus Wireless Upgrades: EITS continues to work on more than $1 million in wireless upgrades across campus, with this year’s efforts focused primarily on large classrooms to address connectivity issues experienced by students during class. These recent upgrades have been completed in the Instructional Plaza Auditoriums A and B, as well as several classrooms in the Miller Learning Center. Work will continue until wireless capacity has been enhanced in all large classrooms. These improvements are part of an ongoing effort to strengthen wireless connectivity and coverage to support teaching, learning, and student life. The $1.2 million annual project, funded by Student Technology Fees, includes refreshing and redesigning wireless networks in many campus buildings. In addition to the ongoing classroom upgrades, EITS is addressing other student areas with weak wireless coverage as issues are identified or reported. Upgrades have been completed at the Health Sciences Campus, the Lucy Cobb Complex (home to the Carl Vinson Institute of Government), the Rhodes Animal and Dairy Sciences Buildings A, B, and C, River’s Crossing, the Poultry Diagnostic Research Center (PDRC), and locations on the Tifton and Griffin campuses. EITS is also supporting the UGA Police Department by installing wireless access points in the new emergency call stations as they are deployed, supporting the university’s broader efforts to enhance campus security. For more information, contact David Stewart.
Student Premium AI License Pilot Underway: The University of Georgia has launched the Student Premium AI License Pilot Program to expand student access to advanced artificial intelligence tools and further strengthen workforce readiness. Beginning in Spring 2026, a limited number of students across all degree levels and colleges are being provided premium licenses for OpenAI’s ChatGPT Edu and Google’s Gemini Pro for Education through a structured application process designed to ensure broad and equitable distribution. Licenses were assigned to participating students in March and will remain active through the 2026–2027 academic year contingent upon active use and
completion of brief end-of-semester feedback surveys. This initiative builds in-demand AI fluency and digital skills while allowing students to help shape how UGA evaluates and invests in AI technologies to enhance the academic experience. Because licenses are limited, participation and engagement will inform future expansion decisions. For more information, contact the AI Tools Team. To learn more about AI at UGA, visit the Student Premium AI License Pilot Program page on the AI Hub.
4. Services for Researchers:
GACRC Helpdesk Access and Support Services: Help with accessing and using GACRC resources is available through the GACRC Helpdesk. The GACRC Service Catalog directs users to the appropriate TeamDynamix page. There, users can submit requests for services such as lab group and user accounts, class accounts, software installations, and general support. Tickets may be submitted at any time and are addressed promptly by the GACRC Support Team. For more information, please contact Guy Cormier.
5.
Other General Services:
DNL Training set for April 17: EITS is conducting its annual audit of Departmental Network Liaisons (DNLs) to ensure every school, college, and unit has designated contacts for network and cybersecurity incidents. DNLs are IT professionals who serve as the primary contacts with EITS for network and cybersecurity-related issues. In March, vice presidents, deans, department heads, and IT directors will receive a memo requesting that they review their assigned DNLs and make any necessary updates. Changes should be submitted via the Departmental Network Liaisons (DNL) form and confirmation that no updates are needed can be sent to infosec@uga.edu. Departments will have until April 3, 2026, to complete the audit in compliance with the University System of Georgia policies. EITS will conduct an online training session for all DNLs on Friday, April 17, 2026, with the time to be announced later. For more information, contact Ben Myers.
FY26 User Access Verification Underway: In preparation for the financial state audit for fiscal year 2026 (FY26), EITS conducts a verification of all user accounts for several systems. The FY26 verification kicked off on March 26, 2026, and includes Banner systems, the UGA Financial Management System, the UGA Budget Management System, OneUSG Connect, and UGAJobs. The deadline to verify and approve access to systems is May 1, 2026. This year’s verification process will feature an updated user interface and a more streamlined workflow. For more information, contact Stacy Boyles.
Unified ERP Update: Project Coordinators and Change Champions have been identified for each major unit. These individuals will be key in ensuring robust communication through each unit over the course of this project. The Unified ERP Public Program Launch will be hosted from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. on April 16, 2026. This virtual town hall, open to all USG faculty and staff, will introduce the vision, goals, and purpose of the
systemwide Unified ERP modernization effort and explain why USG is embarking on this transformation. More information, including the event link and UGA plans, will be shared soon. To learn more, visit the Save the Date. UGA has been curating a comprehensive inventory of systems that consume data from or send data to the Financial Management System or OneUSG Connect. This inventory is being used to create plans to retrofit data feeds in preparation for the Workday implementation. UGA is also concluding its engagement with Huron Consulting this month, which will enable UGA to create a thoughtful roadmap for our resource requirements and organizational design during and after the Workday implementation. For updates and information about project activities including the project team list, visit the UGA Project Website. For more information, please contact UGA’s Unified ERP team at uga-unifiederp@uga.edu.
Digital Accessibility Tool for Websites Launched: In November, UGA launched Ally for Web, a new digital accessibility tool designed to help identify and address accessibility issues in website content. This initiative supports compliance with a federal rule from the U.S. Department of Justice requiring all state entities to make their websites and mobile apps accessible to individuals with disabilities by April 24, 2026. Ally provides clear visual indicators and actionable feedback to guide improvements in accessibility. As part of the rollout, the Digital Accessibility Services team contacted Digital Accessibility Liaisons (DALs) to collect a list of their unit's website domains. Once accounts are provisioned, DALs will gain access to Ally and can begin updating their sites to meet compliance standards. Weekly standing DAS office hours will take place every Friday at 10 a.m. Participants can register and view recordings of past sessions on the DASH Website. For more information, contact the EITS Digital Accessibility Services team.
Tentative Fall Biannual Network Maintenance Date Announcement: The Fall maintenance is currently being planned for Sunday, October 25, 2026. EITS conducts biannual network maintenance in the fall and spring each year to support the network and provide ample bandwidth and internet capacity to the university. For more information, contact Rayid Tartir at rayid@uga.edu.
Microsoft Office 2021 Reaching End of Life in October: Microsoft has announced that support for Microsoft Office 2021 will end in October 2026. After this date, the software will no longer receive updates or security patches. To prepare, EITS will work with departmental IT teams over the next nine months to ensure all Office suites are upgraded to the latest version. For more information, contact Justin Sackett.
AI Purchase Program Now Available: EITS launched the AI License Purchasing Program in fall 2025 to provide a centralized, streamlined way for UGA units to purchase premium versions of generative AI tools for faculty and staff, with the first licenses provisioned in February 2026. The program ensures these tools are covered under the university’s data protection and privacy agreements, offering enhanced safeguards not
available in individual or consumer versions. It also simplifies procurement by eliminating the need for departmental CESS requests, UGAMart purchase requests, Pcard transactions, and reimbursements, reducing administrative burden and improving efficiency. EITS will contact Chief Business Officers (CBOs) and IT Directors this month with information about the next onboarding cycle, and units must request additional licenses by May 1, 2026. The next opportunity to request new licenses will be July 1, 2026. For more information, please contact the AI Tools Team or visit the EITS Knowledge Base
6. Did you know?
Al Tools to Finish the Semester Strong: UGA students, faculty, and staff have access to three powerful Al tools through their UGA accounts: Microsoft Copilot, and Google's Gemini and NotebookLM. These tools can help streamline tasks, summarize readings, create study materials, and organize projects. When used with your MyID, your data stays protected under UGA's privacy policies, unlike with personal accounts. To explore these tools, log in with your MyID (myid@uga.edu) and password, just like you would for UGAMail. For more information on Al initiatives, resources, and tools at UGA, visit https://aihub.uga.edu.
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