Presentation Abstracts

Student employees are essential to IT in higher education, yet their full potential often remains untapped. Tapping this potential feels like an insurmountable burden to your already full schedule. This two-part SIGUCCS Academy workshop is designed to provide you with a strategic, low-effort approach to maximizing the return on investment (ROI) for both student employees and your department. We’ll explore how a small upfront investment of time leads to significantly more engaged, productive, and fulfilled student workers.

Part 1 introduces the “aptitude and ambition” meeting—a brief, structured conversation that helps uncover a student worker’s skills, interests, and career goals. This isn’t about adding another task to your plate; it’s about shifting your approach to better understand their skills, interests, and career aspirations beyond their immediate job description and introduce practical, low-effort strategies for crafting specific projects and opportunities tailored to these individual insights.

In Part 2, we’ll focus on how to align this insight with your team’s real-world needs. You’ll learn how to delegate tasks that genuinely contribute to student development while simultaneously freeing up your time and increasing departmental output.

By the end of this workshop, you’ll have actionable techniques to transform your student employee program into a powerful engine for talent development and departmental success, all without significantly increasing your supervisory workload.

SIGUCCS 2026 invites us to rethink and revolutionize IT—why not start with how we grow our next generation of IT professionals?

Tired of scrolling through spreadsheets? In this two-part SIGUCCS Academy workshop, you’ll learn how to turn those raw data files into clean, interactive dashboards that give your team the answers they need—fast. Bring your own dataset (from helpdesk systems, surveys, inventory—anything you use) and learn hands-on how to import, clean, and transform it using Excel and Power Query. Throughout the workshop, you’ll work directly with your own data to build something your team can actually use. The example data the presenter is using will be available if you don’t have your own data available.

In Part 1, you’ll learn how to import, clean, and transform data using Excel and Power Query. We’ll walk through practical, repeatable techniques that will help you make messy data manageable—without needing advanced Excel skills.

In Part 2, you’ll turn that cleaned data into a functional dashboard. You’ll use Excel Tables and Slicers to create interactive filters, giving your team the ability to explore the data on their own. Then, you’ll use Pivot Tables to build summary views that quickly answer common questions.

You’ll leave with a working file you can take back to your team and repeatable skills that help you do more with the data you already have.

This workshop is all about developing skills to change your contribution from “just reporting” to surfacing stories your data tells—a perfect fit for professionals and organizations moving from quills to quantum.

Our college is transitioning from on-premises Configuration Manager to cloud-based Intune for Windows device endpoint management. At the SIGUCCS 2025 conference, we were in the early stages of exploring and gathering information on how to approach this migration. While we learned a great deal from other attendees, a presentation from MSU Denver provided a key insight that reshaped our strategy.

We faced a challenge where many team members needed to configure computers, yet few had the necessary access or training for our endpoint management systems. The MSU Denver model involved leveraging an inventory management system to set device properties and syncing that data to Intune. Intune then used this asset data to dynamically dictate device management policies. This approach offered a solution where the entire team gained enhanced visibility and simplified device configuration directly through the inventory system, eliminating the need for specialized access or training.

After attending their session, I was determined to implement this solution in our environment. In this presentation, I will cover the challenges we faced, from transitioning our endpoint management system while simultaneously moving to a new inventory management platform to handling staffing changes throughout the process. I will discuss how we kept our approach adaptable to ensure a seamless transition in all these areas.

Generative AI has accelerated change across higher education, placing IT professionals at a revolutionary crossroads at the intersection of service innovation and traditional higher education IT support roles. The rise of generative AI has created a shifting landscape where the usefulness of tools varies widely by person and task—and changes rapidly over time. At Lewis & Clark College, we’ve embraced the idea of the “jagged frontier”[1] where the pace of change and uneven applicability make traditional support models, such as the break-fix approach, insufficient. To thrive in this new era, we as IT professionals must do more than reactively troubleshoot; we must declare our relevance as strategic partners.

This presentation explores how IT staff can stay professionally relevant amid this rapid change, while also serving as trusted guides for faculty and staff navigating AI’s implications in ways that serve our institutional values and goals. We’ll share lessons learned, practical approaches to institutional engagement, and strategies for fostering curiosity, resilience, and ethical decision-making around GenAI adoption using a grassroots approach with the flexibility to adapt to resource challenges and the absence of high-priority institutional mandates. Attendees will leave having identified specific opportunities for leadership around GenAI, as well as insights to put forth their own learning journey, followed by time for open discussion and Q&A.

Supporting accessibility doesn’t always require expensive upgrades or complex installations. This poster shares how separate classroom support teams at Lewis & Clark have been collaborating to leverage Windows 11’s built-in Live Captions[1] feature to support real-time captioning across diverse campus spaces particularly in spaces where current solutions like CART or Zoom captions may be impractical, unavailable, or limited to individual accommodations. While traditional accommodations like CART are essential for some, one of our goals was to explore how built-in tools could provide a consistent baseline of access for a wider audience and potentially meet individual accommodation needs. We piloted Live Captions in various settings—including large classrooms, event venues, and seminar rooms—using a dedicated Windows 11 computer connected to an external display. We piloted both integrating our set-up into existing space classroom control systems as well as making it available as fully standalone system. The standalone configuration enabled rapid deployment and broader visibility. Integration with classroom-dedicated systems and computers presented hurdles, revealing limits in our existing infrastructure. Through this pilot, we developed a clearer understanding of the technical challenges involved in using Live Captions beyond high-touch, one-off support scenarios. While the setup works well with dedicated assistance, scaling to more turnkey solutions in lower-support spaces presents challenges. We also identified infrastructure improvements that could support broader deployment, help to inform capital planning and justification in a resource constrained environment. We are also developing guides and training to support do-it-yourself (DIY) use by employees and students. We look forward to sharing what we’ve learned, discussing our next steps, and hearing from colleagues about what is and isn’t working on their campuses as we work together to support accessible, inclusive learning environments.

Maintaining cybersecurity is a major challenge everywhere, including for families, companies, and universities in Japan. However, the number of cybersecurity specialists is too small to address the current problem effectively. In 2022, the Japanese government confirmed the establishment of a fund to train experts in digital transformation and carbon neutrality. In 2023, it launched the project for promoting higher education enhancement. Fukuyama City University is a small public university. To address the changes in the global industrial structure and meet the demands of manufacturing companies and high school students in Fukuyama City, the university applied for the project, and its application was approved. To address the changes in the global industrial structure, Fukuyama City University plans to establish a new department with a specialized course in cybersecurity and IT infrastructure operation.

At Osaka Kyoiku University (OKU), we renovated a classroom that had previously functioned as a PC laboratory and transformed it into a “PC-less ICT (Information Communication and Technology) laboratory” designed for BYOD and VDI. In this room, large displays were installed at each table, creating an environment that supports group discussions and wireless screen sharing for classroom-wide idea exchange. In its first year of operation, the room was used on a trial basis in teacher-training courses for information education, where undergraduate students utilized the space to conduct practice lessons designed for high school students. Feedback from students indicated that screen sharing made discussions easier, sparked interest in new experiences, and highlighted the potential for deeper learning through differences in the quality of presentations.

On the 23rd of July 2025, Instructure, the founder of Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) announced a global partnership with OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company, to embed large language model technology into the Canvas LMS platform. This partnership is the “first-of-its kind” in the learning management system space. This integration will enable educators design learning activities and allow student to interact with AI within the Canvas environment using OpenAI enabled LLM capabilities. This paper presents a targeted review of studies from the Scopus database, exploring how AI has been used in Canvas prior to this partnership. According to [1], there is a need to investigate emerging trends in the use of AI in learning management systems as technology and education practices evolves. This study examines various emerging use cases of AI in the Canvas environment and serves the purpose of a baseline study for future research specifically exploring the evolving use of AI in the Canvas LMS.

Today’s information systems are becoming increasingly advanced and diverse, and help desk inquiries have become broader and more complex, making the streamlining of inquiry handling an urgent issue. However, users tend to contact help desks expecting human support, so it is necessary to encourage them to accept automated assistance. This study focuses on the finding that user resistance decreases when human support is guaranteed. Based on this, we propose a semi-automated user support system that attaches relevant FAQs to automated response emails. Furthermore, when operated as an actual service, the system must reduce workload while satisfying the requirements of both users and help desk staff. This study analyzes these requirements considering real-world operations and describes the system’s design and implementation. The paper reports on a trial operation and performance evaluation using actual inquiry emails at our university, demonstrating the proposed system’s potential to reduce workload. It also provides insights into effectively integrating automation with human support.

In today’s rapidly evolving higher education IT landscape, the demand for authentic leadership is essential to foster trust, engagement, and innovation amid constant technological and organizational change. Recognizing this need, an in-house IT Leadership Development Cohort was designed to strengthen leadership capacity, improve employee retention, and cultivate high-performing, values-driven teams. Without intentional leadership development, institutions risk stagnation, disengagement, and decreased morale in a field that depends on adaptability, collaboration, and innovation. The program empowers individuals to lead with purpose, integrity, and self-awareness while embracing vulnerability and continuous personal and professional growth. The cohort was structured around key leadership modules—Self-awareness, Well-being, Purpose/Mission/Values, Talent Management, Communication, Team Development, Decision-making, Strategic Planning, and Mentorship. Each session integrated self-reflection exercises, peer collaboration, and experiential learning designed to help participants identify personal strengths, uncover growth opportunities, and align leadership practices with the institution’s mission and values. Participants reported significant increases in self-awareness, confidence, relational effectiveness, and collaboration—resulting in improved communication, decision-making, and stronger, more trusting teams. These outcomes highlight the importance of fostering leaders who model authenticity, empathy, and ethical decision-making, which in turn strengthens organizational trust, engagement, and retention. Ultimately, the IT Leadership Development Cohort serves as a transformative framework for building authentic leaders in a tech-driven world. By developing self-aware, resilient, and purpose-driven leaders, higher education IT organizations can inspire innovation, adaptability, and integrity—qualities essential for navigating the complexities of modern technology environments. This initiative reinforces that true innovation begins with empowering the leaders of tomorrow.

Earlier in my IT support career, I emphasized the importance of employee reviews and did whatever I could to obtain highest marks throughout the review period. I chased meeting Service Level Agreements, First Contact Resolutions rates, high marks on customer satisfaction surveys, and other criteria that was set forth by management. Chasing those tiers of excellence led to burnout, resentment, and eventually job dissatisfaction.

In the past decade, I shifted my focus from meeting competency marks to exploring curiosity about the daily work. I began to ask, “What can I do to add more value to my everyday work?” I stopped asking for permissions, ran experiments, embraced boring (but important) tasks that no one wanted to do, and pursued new opportunities that I would have missed out on otherwise.

This lightning talk will discuss why it is important to seek curiosity in IT work, and how to find opportunities to elevate job satisfaction.

SUNY Empire, like many colleges and universities, has been faced with an ever-increasing number of cyber attacks. While the addition of multi-factor authentication to the login process has helped, it hasn’t been enough to fully stem the tide of attacks. While SUNY Empire met the 8-character minimum password requirement set by the SUNY system, we decided to go even further and move to a 14-character requirement. Implementing a campus-wide password change to a 14-character minimum required a strategic, phased approach to ensure security, compliance, and user adoption. SUNY Empire is also unique in that student accounts are never deleted – even after a student has graduated or stopped attending the university. This presents a unique challenge with respect to the password reset process while also maintaining account security moving forward. This session will outline the step-by-step process by which we deployed this new 14-character policy, from initial planning to full implementation. It will also cover the additional ways we protect and restrict student user accounts after they have left the university, with the hopes of balancing the needs of the campus community with the need to keep our systems secure from attack. Key topics include stakeholder engagement, technical enforcement, user communication, and phased rollout strategies. By sharing best practices and lessons learned, this session will provide a practical roadmap for institutions planning similar security enhancements.

This paper presents a case study of DNS security implementation at Fukuoka University in Japan, where a multi-layered defense strategy has been adopted to enhance campus network resilience. The deployed measures include DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions), OP53B (Outbound Port 53 Blocking to prevent unauthorized name resolution paths), and DNS Firewall technology.

Among these, the DNS Firewall has demonstrated particularly significant practical effectiveness. By filtering DNS queries using threat intelligence feeds, it blocks access to known malicious and policy-violating domains before attacks progress further in the cyber kill chain. Multi-year operational statistics – including overall DNS query volume, block rates, and the number of unique source IP addresses associated with blocked traffic – provide a quantitative overview of DNS-related threats affecting a large academic network.

The results show that DNS-layer protection can substantially reduce exposure to external threats while maintaining usability, especially in environments with diverse unmanaged devices such as BYOD endpoints. This case study offers practical insights for higher education institutions seeking to enhance cybersecurity through DNS-based controls, demonstrating a replicable model for strengthening network defense with manageable operational overhead.

What could a tabletop role-playing game like Dungeons & Dragons possibly have in common with IT in higher education? As it turns out, quite a lot! Both rely on strategic thinking, collaboration, adaptability, and a willingness to navigate the unknown. In both worlds, plans are made, risks are taken, and outcomes are shaped as much by teamwork as by chance. The roll of a die in D&D can determine whether a player achieves a “natural 20” success or faces a “critical failure” and in IT the same spectrum of outcomes plays out daily through system roll-outs, infrastructure challenges, and unexpected victories. What matters most isn’t the roll itself, but how teams respond, adapt, and carry the story forward.

This interactive panel blends the storytelling spirit of D&D with the realities of higher education IT work, using shared language and game mechanics as metaphors for leadership, risk management, and resilience. Panelists will explore parallels such as Rolling for Initiative (setting team priorities), Nat 1s and Nat 20s (learning from both failures and successes), The Dungeon/Game Master and IT Leadership (balancing structure with flexibility), and The Tavern Trope (how diverse teams come together to solve shared challenges).

Audience members will be invited to “roll for perspective” on common IT scenarios, contributing their insights and experiences as part of the collective narrative. The session aims to spark meaningful reflection on how creativity, communication, and flexibility can strengthen IT culture and collaboration; reminding us that even when the dice don’t roll our way, the story continues, and we have the power to shape what comes next.

As higher education institutions increasingly integrate artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions into teaching, learning, student services, and campus infrastructure, it is crucial to develop and integrate secure and trustworthy AI frameworks not only within each campus but also across multiple campuses for efficient and secure information sharing. We present our ongoing research at the Security, Optimization, and Learning for InterDependent Networks Laboratory (solid lab) on distributed and trustworthy machine learning algorithms tailored for cyber-physical environments. We explore three key advances based on our prior research: (1) a federated learning framework tailored towards resource-constrained edge devices to preserve local data privacy by eliminating raw data sharing¹; (2) a secure blockchain layer that embeds adversarial-resilience into federated model updates²; and (3) an overview of our work on quantized homomorphic encryption with pruning for secure federated learning³. The advantages of these methods include, but are not limited to: reducing the computational burden of large-scale decision-making, protecting student and institutional data while facilitating collaborations, and enabling scalable deployment across campus devices and services. We will also share a framework to demonstrate how secure distributed learning can contribute to AI infrastructures within a university setting. We plan to provide the audience with actionable insights into how secure AI methods can be synergistically integrated into institutional IT operations to support evolving teaching, learning, and operational needs.

We work in an industry that is highly routine and extremely cyclical. Along with this, our student employees come and go, sometimes too quickly. If we are lucky, we get them for all four years of their undergraduate experience but for some that may not be the case. For many, their work with us is their first job ever and their first taste at professional experience but do we ever know if we have done enough and provided them that necessary experience to propel them into the working world? Are we making an impact? Is there more we can do? Let’s find out together. This presentation will be a virtual panel discussion with former student employees that worked for Technology Services at Whitman College from years past. The panel will discuss hard and soft skills that were learned on the job and how those skills and their work at the college has influenced and helped their current career paths. The panel would consist of 3-5 virtual attendees and 1 in-person facilitator to keep the conversation going. The panel will be open to questions from audience members as well.

Access to reliable technology is essential across the entire campus community. Whether it’s a student without a laptop, a faculty member facing a hardware failure before class, or a staff member awaiting a replacement device, loaner programs have become vital to sustaining continuity in teaching, research, and administrative work. This panel explores how institutions have built and evolved their loaner device programs to meet diverse needs, balancing short-term support with long-term sustainability. Panelists will discuss funding models, device lifecycle management, software provisioning, and accessibility considerations. They will also talk about inventory tracking, data security, and user experience. The conversation will highlight lessons learned from scaling during the pandemic, and how these programs now serve as essential components of digital equity and institutional resiliency. Attendees will leave with practical insights, creative approaches, and shared strategies for managing programs that ensure every member of the campus community has the tools they need to stay connected and productive.

Success in higher education IT depends on far more than technical skill. It is equally shaped by the professional habits, expectations, and shared values that guide how individuals participate in the academic technology ecosystem. This lightning talk presents a concise yet meaningful framework for developing these habits through three simple principles, originally articulated by actor Tom Hanks which was bluntly given to him by his mentor, and director at the time, Dan Sullivan:

As a recent adopter of fidget tools, my experience with these objects has increased my awareness of why it is important to address sensory input and stress management. Engaging in learning and working can be stressful no matter where we are, and these tools help us cope with anxiety and nervousness. I’ve also learned that people seek relief in different ways, and why it’s important to make space for them.

This Lightning Talk will focus on my personal journey of exploring fidget tools and how that experience has changed the way I view the different ways in which we learn and work.

Training in the Arts can give you a unique perspective — Especially on giving, receiving, and responding to feedback. Feedback is something we interact with daily at work as IT professionals at higher education institutions, but it can be challenging to separate ourselves from our work. This can lead to misunderstandings, resentment between coworkers, and mental health repercussions. Additionally, when we’re afraid of giving our colleagues honest feedback, everyone’s quality of work suffers.

In arts spaces, it’s essential to divest yourself from your work when receiving critiques — And artistic feedback can be brutal. It’s important to be able to accept and apply external feedback without taking it personally. This skill has countless applications in any professional environment.

Both of the authors of this presentation have degrees and personal backgrounds in the arts: Clare primarily in music and theatre, Jess primarily in fine arts and digital media. Now, we work as project and change managers at Swarthmore College, where we find ourselves using these artistic skills daily in unexpected ways. Specifically, we have to give and receive feedback on personal work, which is something we’re accustomed to because of our artistic backgrounds.

In this presentation, we will review tips for separating yourself from your work and providing critiques tactfully without sacrificing your relationships with your coworkers. We’ll also go through examples of how to respond to feedback, even when it isn’t helpful. We’ll share examples of effective vs ineffective feedback exchanges and provide attendees with tools for navigating difficult critiques at work.

This paper presents Ritchy, an AI chatbot for the RWTH Aachen University IT-ServiceDesk combining retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) with systematic human quality assurance. Operating since February 2025, Ritchy has processed nearly 4,000 conversations with a 76% satisfaction rate. The system demonstrates that scaling AI support while maintaining quality requires more than technology: a four-person team invests eight hours weekly reviewing all conversations, correcting inaccurate user ratings and identifying documentation gaps through a plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle. Notably, only 11% of messages receive user feedback, making systematic human review essential for accurate quality assessment.

The system is based on Microsoft Azure OpenAI services with GDPR-compliant EU data residency. The system synchronizes nightly with a knowledge base of 3,334 documentation articles maintained by 27 editors. A parallel internal assistant (SeKoGPT) extends the same architecture to support IT-ServiceDesk staff with access to internal documentation. We share operational metrics from eleven months of production use, practical examples, and lessons learned for implementing quality-assured AI support in university IT services.

Multi-institutional AI infrastructure faces a fundamental tension: centralized solutions risk single points of failure and reduced flexibility, while decentralized approaches lead to duplicated efforts and fragmented expertise. This paper presents KI:connect.nrw, a platform addressing this challenge through distributed procurement combined with centralized infrastructure. Individual institutions maintain procurement autonomy while sharing development costs, technical infrastructure, and operational expertise.

Building on initial deployment at RWTH Aachen University in 2024, multi-institutional onboarding began in April 2025. The platform has achieved rapid adoption: 18 institutions have joined within eight months, serving over 35,000 users. The distributed procurement model eliminates central financial risk while enabling institutions to join within 4-6 weeks. Token-based billing provides precise cost control, and the centralized architecture enables rapid adoption of market price reductions across all participating institutions. Multi-tenant architecture accommodates diverse institutional profiles without fragmentation.

The implementation validates key principles: governance processes determine onboarding timelines rather than technical barriers; shared development resources significantly reduce duplication; and user-facing API access enables distributed innovation beyond centralized feature development. This approach offers transferable insights for multi-institutional IT service delivery extending well beyond artificial intelligence.

Extended Reality (XR) systems have become affordable and easier to use. The availability of easy-to-use consumer devices has led to explorations into the feasibility of integrating XR into higher education teaching and learning. However, adoption of XR in higher education has been limited so far, especially due to the complexities involved in creating XR experiences. This paper outlines emerging ways in which new Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) technologies can overcome some of those barriers by facilitating the XR development processes. The topics of this paper include the role of GenAI in supporting: 1) the coding side of XR development; 2) the generation of 3D content such as objects, scenes, and worlds; 3) the incorporation of intelligent XR agents as interactive characters; and 4) the enhancement of accessibility features. These topics are considered, in turn, from the perspective of how academic technology service models can evolve to support these new GenAI-based approaches to academic XR development.

Higher education organizations face continual pressure to adapt to evolving student needs while maintaining sustainability and fiscal responsibility; this also includes academic libraries. This presentation explores how the University of Oregon Libraries leveraged the success of a single strategic initiative to reimagine physical spaces, technology integration, and service delivery, creating a model for responsive, student-centered, and technology-enabled learning environments. At SIGUCCS 2023, we presented “We Built It and No One Came: Visualization Lab Redesign, Take 2, in a Pandemic” on the redesign of one of our technology rich learning spaces. The success of that project led to the creation of the Research and Learning Spaces (RL&S) unit. This marks a fundamental shift in how our library administration approaches technology and space management. By uniting technology support, instructional design, and public computing under one umbrella, RL&S enabled a more cohesive and sustainable service model. Key lessons from the Visualization Lab project shaped the development of RL&S: opening spaces to the entire campus community rather than limiting them to specialized researchers, establishing RL&S as the library’s liaison to campus IT, and investing in staff and student training to support all library spaces. New staff were hired to design programming that boosts engagement across spaces, while a single unit head now coordinates space planning and communicates needs to library administration. This unified structure has also become a clear focal point for administrative funding and strategic investment. Using recent data and real-world examples, we will show how aligning space design with instructional technology strengthened student and faculty engagement while improving overall efficiency. We will also share lessons learned from managing budget pressures, prioritizing space use, and maintaining sustainability. Key takeaways include: Leveraging successful pilot projects to build larger strategic initiatives with lasting institutional impact. Practical approaches to integrating technology, space design, and accessibility for maximum student benefit. Building and sustaining a collaborative team culture that blends IT expertise, instructional support, and service design. Frameworks for making data-informed, equitable decisions during budget crises that preserve mission-critical services.

There is growing interest in computer programming given its role in advancing automation, robotics and for its use in developing computer and mobile applications. Some programming concepts such as the use of loops, functions, testing and debugging can be challenging and abstract for students. Unlike other sciences where students often interact with external material and elements during lab sessions, computer programming labs typically only utilize a desktop computer or laptop reducing interaction with physical elements. In this work, we propose an approach which increases interaction with physical elements using the Internet of Things (IoT) during computer programming labs. Our platform Wi-ProgramIoT enables students to practice their programming skills using a low-cost IoT system which is designed based on a relatable scenario. The scenario is based on the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) and focuses on electricity challenges which students from the University of the Virgin Islands could relate. Wi-ProgramIoT employs an ESP8266 NodeMCU board which enables students to connect using a Wi-Fi capable device with a web browser. Students currently enrolled in an introduction to computer programming course at UVI were surveyed using a six- point Linkert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 6 = strongly agree). Participants’ expectations of how a scenario-based system with physical elements would aid their understanding of loops, function/methods, testing and debugging were generally positive. Students’ experiences after using Wi-ProgramIoT were also evaluated, and results remained positive indicating the WI-ProgramIoT met the participants’ expectations of aiding them in understanding difficult computer programming concepts.