Annual Report 2025

Students have an easier way to update their class schedules with a new schedule change process in Workday. For the fall 2024 semester, ITS teams supporting Workday built a simplified process for students to update their schedules after week one of classes. A new interface that captures key details of requests to add, swap or withdraw from course sections greatly reduced manual work required from campus offices. The new steps for a late schedule change are more straightforward on the student-end, as well.

Diving into Artificial Intelligence

Through convening a working committee and acquiring new, secure tools, ITS is bringing AI to Iowa State University. Throughout the last year, campus subcommittees focused on policy, teaching, research, communications and operations continued to develop guidance for ethical and innovative integration of AI. ITS oversaw the acquisition of university-wide AI tools including Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. With these tools, students, faculty and staff have access to capabilities ranging from content creation to coding, spreadsheet analysis, brainstorming and more. Into the next fiscal year, ITS will continue to support the campus community by making AI tools accessible, affordable and secure. 

Campus units are better prepared to manage survey response limits thanks to proactive planning led by ITS. In response to new restrictions in Iowa State’s Qualtrics license, a team of campus stakeholders developed and shared a university-wide feedback form to understand how the tool is used. The feedback informed how to go about sharing best practices, such as using alternative tools or configuring quotas, to help avoid unnecessary costs and stay within the annual response cap. On top of that, ITS facilitated the creation of a decision document outlining how overage charges will be assessed and shared equitably among users. 

After a multiyear effort, the Data Center Hardware Replacement project future-proofed equipment for sustained researcher work. New hardware was installed to replace aging equipment in the data center, making sure network connections stay reliable and secure. With it consistently supporting up to 100 gigabytes per second, large files, research datasets and media can be transferred or accessed almost instantly. ITS teams replaced all network switches, moved server connections, updated routing services and set up firewall and load balancer systems. As a result, researchers relying on the data center experience more efficiency and can expect it to handle demands without needing another major overhaul soon. 

Administering Virtual Desktop Technology

Research Administration Platform Connects to Workday

An integration between Workday’s finance modules and the administrative research software, Streamlyne, ensures Iowa State can easily track research grants and awards. Streamlyne Research is a centralized platform that launched in 2023 for managing the full lifecycle of research proposals. The system is used by principal investigators, departmental research administrators and others for proposal development, routing and compliance. With the integration to Workday, seamless data exchange between financial and research systems reduces duplication and improves reporting. The effort supports Iowa State’s commitment to advancing research through modern, user-friendly administrative tools.

 

New Phones Enhance Calling and Safety

To improve campus communications and emergency response, the university began the transition to Microsoft Teams as the enterprise calling platform. The shift largely replaces physical desk phones with software phones and consolidates messaging, meetings and calling into one familiar tool. It also offers E911 location services that follow users on and off campus. ITS teams supporting the project equipped senior leaders with outreach materials, hosted preview sessions and launched the Teams Voice Coach program to support impacted areas. More than 30% of campus has migrated, and transitions will continue through spring 2026. 

Connecting Key Systems for Facilities Operations

A new connection between two campus systems – Workday and FAMIS – resolves work order and purchase order challenges. Team members supporting Facilities Planning and Management reworked the existing integration between Workday purchase orders and FAMIS work orders. Now, when someone at Iowa State creates a purchase order in Workday – for example, to buy parts or services for a building repair – the system automatically syncs it with the corresponding work order in FAMIS where maintenance work is assigned and logged. From the technical work, location mismatches are fixed and accurate, supplier information is updated and troubleshooting is easier. 

Preparing for Windows 11

As the university’s changeover to the Windows 11 operating system approaches, IT teams supporting central services along with teams for neighborhood support of colleges including Liberal Arts and Sciences, Health and Human Sciences and Agriculture and Life Sciences have undertaken extensive preparation. To minimize disruption for employees using university-owned devices, ITS has proactively configured self-service update packages, provided technical assistance and reimaged or replaced machines that cannot be upgraded. Unique solutions that provide only security updates or isolate external connections have been implemented for devices tied to research or specialized equipment. With this preparation work, secure, up-to-date systems remain on the campus network. 

Shared Effort Boosts Data Archiving

Campus Login Experience Modernized 

To improve security and unify access, ITS replaced the Okta dashboard with the Microsoft Sign On Dashboard. Over 40,000 Net-IDs and 600 single sign-on applications were successfully migrated by the project team.

The new dashboard enhances login security through Microsoft multifactor authentication and introduces background security features to protect campus. It also creates a more cohesive experience with Microsoft apps already in use at the university. In addition, it brings previously unknown apps like Loop, Planner and Bookings to the forefront, making them easier to explore.  

Database Reset Simplifies Device Support

IT support staff more easily manage device information and locations, network settings and more with the rebuild of the ServiceNow Configuration Management Database. The CMDB is a single, central place to log certain technology details. The ServiceNow and Endpoint Services teams collaborated for the reset of the CMDB in ServiceNow as part of ongoing project work. By removing the various customizations, ServiceNow at Iowa State University is becoming more aligned with established best practices that pave the way for growth. Streamlining the CMDB not only simplifies management of the database but also supports the corresponding efforts to meet IT inventory audit recommendations. 

Help Ticket Updates Easier to See

Customers can more easily track their support tickets through the ISU Service Portal for human resources service delivery. Previously, ticket status updates and interactions were only available via email notifications, making it difficult to locate threads and stay informed. ITS helped implement changes that allow anyone who submits or is added to an HR help ticket to view all related incidents directly in the portal. This change allows users to view all updates in one place without sifting through emails. 

Preparing Campus for Digital Accessibility Compliance

The Iowa State community is benefitting from enhanced resources and a clear framework designed to support federal accessibility compliance. In response to the U.S. Department of Justice’s updated ADA Title II rule, the ITS Digital Accessibility team developed a comprehensive suite of tools to help campus units. They also developed and shared a framework for progressing toward compliance, that helps areas identify what to do. The team will guide campus through auditing web content and applications, identifying accessibility gaps and remediating materials. These efforts support equitable access for individuals with disabilities and position Iowa State to meet the April 2026 compliance deadline.

Taking Inventory of Computers, Websites and More

From recommendations by the Office of Internal Audit, ITS and campus partners embarked on four primary initiatives for managing IT inventory. The application rationalization effort aims to publish a list of technology applications along with a dashboard, for reducing redundant tools. Website inventory tracking includes policy updates and a tool to ensure websites meet minimum security standards and are centrally documented. Inventory and asset management focus on hardware tracking, with ServiceNow being established as the authoritative source of inventory data. Finally, updates to IT purchasing processes include enhanced guidance and the integration of an approver role in Workday for in-scope items.