Employee IT Handbook

• Getting Help

  The Information Technology and Audio Visual Services department at the Law School is known simply as LawIT/AV. The most efficient way to request computer or printer assistance, training, consultation, room reservations, or audio visual equipment and services is to place a request via the Law School’s web-based “work request” system.

  Submit a Work Request

  • Hardware 
  • Software (PowerPoint, Word, etc.)
  • Troubleshooting
  • Maintenance of computers and printers
  • Instruction/training (Canvas, Seating Chart, etc.)
  • Network access
  • General advice concerning computer purchases
  • Audio visual classroom support (see below)
  • Viruses/spyware problems
  • Data security concerns
  • Zoom support

  A/V Services

  All requests for A/V services and equipment, no matter how simple, must be placed through the online Event Reservations system. Advance notice is extremely important, especially if it requires staff to work overtime and weekends. Give as much notice as possible for major events (at least a month for symposia, one week but preferably more for video conferences). Even simple requests must be made at least two working days in advance to ensure availability of equipment and support staff.

  Submit an Event Request

   

• Uniqname

  A computing ID (a three-to eight-letter personal identifier) at U-M is called a uniqname (pronounced "unique name"). It is public information and is printed on your MCard along with your full name. You may tell anyone your uniqname because it will be part of your e-mail address. (Your e-mail address is your uniqname@umich.edu). 

  If you do not already have a uniqname, the Assistants to the Dean aid new regular faculty in acquiring a uniqname. The Assistant to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs performs the same service for visiting and adjunct faculty and lecturers. New staff should receive their uniqname during their orientation. Law IT can also create uniqnames upon request for guests, visitors, and groups for special purposes.

  Submit an IT Work Request

• UMICH Password

  Your UMICH password authenticates you—or proves you are who you say you are—when you use most centrally-provided and many Law School-provided computing services.

  NEVER tell anyone your UMICH password. Keeping your password secret helps to guard against unauthorized use (or misuse) of U-M computing services in your name and protects against exposure of your personal private information (your social security number, paycheck etc.) stored in Wolverine Access, which is the gateway to all administrative systems at the University.

  Your UMICH password is your key to:

  • Google email provided by Information and Technology Services (ITS)
  • connecting to the U-M computing environment when you are not on campus
  • accessing your personal information in Wolverine Access
  • accessing Canvas
  • logging in to your computer at the Law School
  • accessing cloud storage services such as U-M Dropbox
  • accessing video conferencing services like Zoom
  • remote desktop access to a Law School server
  • making changes in your MCommunity directory entry

  Create (or change at any time) your UMICH password. Find out how to select a safe password.

   

• Two-factor Authentication

  Two-factor Authentication means that when you log in, you provide two proofs of your identity. At U-M, that means your password plus Duo.

  You have multiple options for using Duo. See this guide for a list of Duo options as well as considerations for each option.

  This Duo management page will allow you to manage a device that you have already enrolled in Duo or enroll a new device for use with Duo.

  To request assistance with any of these, please submit a work request or ask someone in your department to place a work request for you.

• Phone

  The university currently uses ITS Exchange for voice mail. A user guide is available to help you access and manage your voicemail.  We are slowly transitioning to Zoom phone.

• Email

  The Law School uses and supports the university's Gmail system for email. The preferred interface is Google Chrome, but other browsers will work as well.

  Tour Gmail

  Google at U-M

   

• Email Groups

  Name	Owner
  Law School staff and Faculty	Kurt Kaiser, Jenny Rickard
  Law School Faculty	Robyn Grimes
  Law Emeritus Faculty	Robyn Grimes
  Law Fall Visiting Faculty	Robin Grimes, Jenny Rickard
  Law Regular Faculty	Robyn Grimes
  law voting faculty	Robyn Grimes
  Law TenureTrack Faculty	Robyn Grimes
  Law Tenured Faculty	Robyn Grimes
  Law Visiting Faculty Winter	Robin Grimes
  Law School Staff	John Loyd
  Law Library Staff	Lisa Carey
  Law School Above Ground Staff	John Loyd
  Law School Development and Alumni Relations	Jenni Borden
  Law School Staff Admissions	Shannon Briscoe
  Law School Staff Career Planning	Tammy Sindlinger
  Law School Career Services	Tammy Sindlinger
  Law School Staff Clerical	Jenny Rickard
  Law School Staff Communications	Shelley Rodgers
  Law School Staff Dean's Office and HR	Rachel Perrell
  Law School Staff Facilities Distribution and Receiving	Jenny Rickard
  Law School Staff Financial Aid	Nate Bauer, Kathy Johnson
  Law School Staff Financial Operations	Christina Luo/Joe Castillo
  Law School Staff Information Technology	John Loyd
  Law School Staff International Programs	Stephanie Wiederhold
  Law School Staff Records	Rashida Douglas
  Law Temporary Staff	Robyn Grimes, John Loyd, Rachel Perrell

   

• Email Away Message

  MCommunity Away Message

  MCommunity Group Away Message

• Calendar

  The Law School uses and supports the university's Google Calendar as its shared calendaring system.

  Tour Google Calendar

  About U-M and Google Calendar

   

• Computer Backups

  Individual user devices (laptops or desktops) can be backed up with the University supported program called CrashPlan. The program will backup your user directory and all sub-directories on up to nine University owned and supported devices.

  Law School Information Technology staff can help you set up CrashPlan on your workstation or laptop to help you get started, and explain the basic functions of the program. After that you can fully manage the system without intervention. 

  About U-M Computer Backups

• Standard Software

  The standard software package provided to new employees varies from time to time. Currently, it consists of:

  	Windows	Mac
  Operating System	Windows 10 Enterprise	macOS
  E-mail	Google Mail
  Business/Productivity	Microsoft Office 2016 / 365	Microsoft Office 365
  	Adobe Acrobat DC
  	Adobe Reader DC
  Collaboration	Google Apps (Docs/Spreadsheet/Presentation)
  	Dropbox
  Communication	Zoom
  	Google Meet
  File Transfer	Filezilla
  Web Browsers	Edge	Safari
  	Mozilla Firefox
  	Google Chrome
  Utilities	IrfanView
  	7-Zip
  	NotePad ++
  	VLC
  	Crash Plan
  Security	Crowdstrike Falcon

  Several applications are available upon request. You may request specialized software not included in the standard software package by submitting a work request.  

• Shared Equipment

  Laptop Loaners

  There are a few laptop computers available to faculty and staff for limited periods of time. Laptops should be reserved at least 48 hours in advance by submitting a work request. A Request for Removal and Use of University Equipment form must be completed and signed prior to taking the laptop home.

  Network Printers, Copiers, Scanners, Fax Machines

  The university has encouraged schools and colleges on campus to decrease local printing/personal printers and move toward shared network printing in order to save money and resources. Employee computers will be configured to print to the most convenient network printer in their area. 

  Many of our printers are multi-function devices, incorporating print, copy, scan to email, and fax features in one machine. 

  If you wish to use any of the network printers listed in the table of shared equipment locations and features, please submit a work request. 

  Toner

  LawIT has developed an online form to facilitate distribution of toner cartridges and track toner usage. Please request toner cartridge replacements by completing the toner cartridge request form. 

  Instructions are provided to assist you with filling out the form.​

• Energy Efficient Computing

  Computer/monitor

  • Do not leave your computer running overnight and on weekends
  • Try to plan your computer-related activities so you can do them all at once, keeping the computer off at other times
  • A modest amount of turning on and off will not harm the computer or monitor. The life of a monitor is related to the amount of time it is in use, not the number of on and off cycles
  • The best screen saver is no screen saver at all - turn off your monitor when you are not using it. This option is second best only to turning off your computer all together

  Printing/copying

  • Review your document on the screen instead of printing a draft. If you must print a draft, use the blank back side of used paper
  • When making copies, use double-sided copying
  • Do not print out copies of email unless necessary
  • Use "paperless" methods of communication such as email, Google Chat, and scan-to-email

   

• Statistical Assistance

  The Center for Statistical Consultation and Research (CSCAR) provides free statistical consulting to all UM faculty, staff, and graduate students to help with the design, planning, analysis, and presentation of results of research studies.

  CSCAR also offers workshops for a fee on statistical methods, including sample size calculation, basic and advanced regression, structural equation models, data mining, and spatial statistics; basic and intermediate use of statistical software, including SAS, Stata, R, SPSS, and ArcGIS; and a brief one-day overview of important statistical topics called Statistics: A Review, which is offered in the Fall and Winter.

  Read more

• Other Resources
  • Installing faculty and staff network printers.
    Network printing
     
  • Maintaining Xerox network printers for key operators.
    Xerox information
     
  • Access cloud storage services, and the Law School VPN.
    Remote work resources
     
  • Identify ITS solutions to common faculty and researcher computing needs.
    Faculty and Researcher Guide

Classroom Applications

• Room and Event Scheduling

  Allows law students, faculty, and staff to reserve Law School rooms, request audio-visual support, and post events on the Law School calendar. All requests must be made at least four business days in advance.

  Enter scheduler

• Class Participation

  Can allow students to opt-out (or opt-in) to being called on in class. Faculty can manage these and other settings. You can generate randomized reports or integrate with the Interactive Seating Chart program.

  Class participation portal

• Interactive Seating Chart

  Add student images to a classroom template. It can be used interactively during class to track how many times each student was called. Integrates with Class Participation to make sure the program does not choose students who opted out for the particular day.

  Interactive seating chart

• Exam Instructions

  Collects faculty instructions for regular exams, Electronic Blue Book exams, and take-home exams.

  Access exam portal

• Class Registration Setup

  Allows faculty to provide registration information so that classes are set up properly for students to enroll.

  Set up class registration

Administration

• Faculty Annual Report​

  Enter Faculty Annual Report information for tenured, tenure-track, and clinical faculty.

  Faculty Annual Report portal

• Teaching Preferences

  Collects class and scheduling preferences from faculty as a first step toward building a schedule of class offerings for the next year.

  Update preferences

• Law Photos

  A photo directory of all current Law School students, faculty, and staff. It allows you to change your image, or block the image if necessary.  It also allows you to hear how a student pronounces their name.

  Photo directory

• Cook Grant Application

  Collects application materials for the Cook Summer Grant, released time, and Grant-in-Aid programs.​

  Access application

• Protection provided by the Law School

  The Law School has several measures in place for protecting computers and the network:

  • The school is firewalled as a whole
  • Each computer has a local firewall enabled
  • Anti-virus protection software is loaded on each computer and is updated regularly through the University
  • CrashPlan is installed on each computer to provide a daily backup of local files to the network, the purpose of which is to restore lost data from local machines.
  • LawIT maintains regular backups of network servers. The purpose of these backups is to restore the system in case of data loss due to a system crash
  • We have an incident response team for security incidents and questions who should be alerted by way of the work request system 
  • LawIT gives 'User' level access to reduce the exposure of workstations by default
  • LawIT uses computer patch management software to automatically update software on school computers as needed 
• U-M Resources

  The threat landscape is constantly changing. To address this, the University has departments that keep up with all the changes and provide information and tips to the U-M community. Some of the issues tracked include phishing, virus outbreaks, security updates for operating systems and applications, and hoaxes.  The links below and to the right point to some of the security services offered by the University.

  Antivirus information

  Consult an IT User Advocate

  Read about U-M information assurance

  U-M IT policies

• Personal Identifiable Information (PII)

  As a member of the University community, you may have access to personally identifiable information (PII). It is essential that this PII is protected. Never save PII to your workstation without consulting with LawIT about encrypting the data.

  What is PII?

  PII is Personally Identifiable Information. It is information which can be used to uniquely identify, contact or locate a single person, or may enable disclosure of personal information.

  See more examples of sensitive data.

  Why protect PII?

  • Unauthorized disclosure of PII may lead to identity theft or may otherwise harm the University or an individual
  • It is required by U-M's Standard Practice Guide 601.12
  • It is required by federal, state and industry regulations

  Note: Any virus on any machine with PII constitutes a security breach, according to the University Security group (IA).

  Who should I tell if I recognize that PII has been compromised?

  Inform Kurt Kaiser, the Law School’s security administrator at kkaiser@umich.edu 

• Computer Patch and Power Management

  Patch management

  In order for LawIT to successfully perform security updates and patches to Law School computers to protect our machines from ever-increasing vulnerabilities and malware attacks, it is required that you turn off your computer at the end of your work day. Shutting down your computer at night and on weekends will ensure that your work is saved properly before the patches are applied. Not doing so could jeopardize the integrity of unsaved work. Your assistance will not only protect your computer from security threats but will also have a big impact on the Law School‘s efforts to save energy.

  If there are reasons why you cannot participate in this process, please contact LawIT via the work request system.

  Power management

  As part of the university’s green computing effort, the Law School has implemented power management strategies to reduce electricity consumption by default on local work computers. Power management is a feature that turns off computers or switches them to a low power state when not in use. Applying power management settings to faculty and staff workstations at the Law School will save substantial energy over time.

  If there are reasons why you cannot participate in this process, please contact LawIT via the work request system.