Working Off-Campus Planning Guide for Managers/Supervisors
Do these things now:
1. Have your faculty/staff update their contact information
- DEFINE - general contact information (current phone, permanent phone, work phone, work e-mail, home e-mail)
- MavAlert - additional contact information (mobile phone, text messaging, fax, etc)
2. Identify which members of your faculty/staff have high-speed Internet access and
appropriate technology to work at home
3. Make sure your staff have an active NetID and Password
4. In addition to your faculty/staff, make sure you have addressed these issues for yourself
5. Determine how you will communicate with your faculty/staff
Planning Checklist (detailed instructions below)
Make sure your group can work off-campus
1. Identify the Tools they will need to work off-campus
2. Identify the Files they will need to work off-campus
3. Arrange for new tools if you need them
4. Test your tools
Create a practical plan for working off- campus
5. Define who among your staff can effectively work off-campus
6. Define the conditions under which your staff should work from off-campus
7. Make sure they know what university resources are available to them
8. Develop a communication plan, including a department contact list
9. Troubleshoot software & software licensing issues
10.Think about security issues
Communicate with your staff
11. Share your plan with your staff
12. When working off-campus, use multiple communication tools to ensure you are
reaching all staff members
Detailed Instructions
Step 1: Identify the tools you will need to work off-campus
UT Arlington Account
To access many UT Arlington tools, including the Virtual Private Network (VPN), you'll need a UT Arlington NetID and Password.
Virtual Private Network
To work off-campus, you may need access to the UT Arlington Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPN requires an active UT Arlington Account. Use the list below to identify if the applications you use require VPN.
|
Tool |
Needs VPN |
Notes |
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|
Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Access) |
No |
You'll still need VPN access to get to shared network folders. |
||
|
No |
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|
Other e-mail clients |
No |
|||
|
Voicemail |
No |
Phone; mailbox number (usually extension) and password |
||
|
No |
||||
|
No |
||||
|
No |
||||
|
No* |
*May require VPN for access to specific databases |
|||
|
On-campus Shared Network Folders |
Yes |
|||
|
No |
||||
|
Yes |
Remote computer access |
|||
|
*DEFINE |
No |
Goes to UT Direct Logon |
||
| Sharepoint | Yes | Login will require uesers to type their username as uta\NetID | ||
These UT Arlington websites do not require VPN:
Equipment
Your employees may need special equipment to complete their duties off-campus. Determine what they will need to maintain the same level of service while working off-campus.
Department-specific tools
Determine the college/department specific software that may be necessary for your staff and communicate the information to everyone.
Step 2: Identify the files you will need to work on
Ensure that your staff understands what resources are available to them and how to apply them to their needs. Staff who have not previously accessed university resources from off-campus may need additional assistance, especially with technical issues.
If your employees will be working with files located in shared folders on the campus network, they will need VPN installed and running on their off-campus computer. In some cases, they may be able to use remote desktop to access shared files. If so, ensure that your staff knows how to use the remote desktop tool.
If the files your employees will be working with do not contain sensitive information, they might also use a USB jump drive, burn a CD, or e-mail themselves the files they need off-campus.
Step 3: Encourage security practices to your employees when working off-campus
Ask your staff to:
- Update their anti-virus software frequently.
- Check with your department to be sure their system is configured safely.
- Report any suspicious activity on their computer to security@uta.edu.
- Avoid giving others physical access to UTA equipment.
- Don't leave sensitive information unattended.
- Logout before walking away from their computer.
- Talk with you before taking sensitive information off-campus physically or electronically.
For more about Information Security, you can visit our Information Security Office website or the Texas DIR IT Security web site.
Step 4. Test your tools
Test the applications your group uses to ensure they are accessible remotely.
Step 5. Define who among your staff can effectively work off-campus
Depending on the resources needed, your staff may be able to accomplish many tasks working off-campus. It is important to realize what cannot be accomplished from off-campus and set common expectations with staff.
Step 6. Define the conditions under which your staff should work from off-campus
Develop a "Working Off-Campus" business continuity plan for your area.
Step 7. Make sure they know what university resources are available to them
Ensure that all staff understand the plan and have resources identified to meet the plan objectives.
Step 8. Develop a communication plan, including a departmental contact list
Adopt or develop a communication plan that will work for your group. Providing clear messages to your group will allow everyone to work together as efficiently as possible. A department contact list is critical to ongoing communications. At the very least, it should include home phone, cell phone (if available), if they have internet access at home, and e-mail address. Once the contact list is developed, share it with all of your employees.
Step 9. Troubleshoot software & software licensing issues
Many UT Arlington software applications are licensed for use at home as well as on campus. Some application licensing is more restrictive. You may need to verify that home or secondary computer use is allowed. Some departmental on-campus applications may require authentication (login and password)
Step 10. Think about security issues
Plan to accommodate security concerns and ensure that processes that are changed still meet security guidelines. Discuss sensitive information and what can or cannot go off-campus, as well as, how to protect data off-campus. Backups and data storage may require new solutions to meet security standards off-campus. Please contact the Information Security Office at security@uta.edu if you have any concerns regarding the protection of University data when off-campus.
Step 11. Share your plans with your staff
Once your plans have been developed, share them with all of your staff so they understand your expectations and their role in the plans.
Step 12. When working off-campus, use multiple communication tools to ensure you are reaching all staff members
The UT Arlington campus e-mail system is an excellent communication tool for all staff who have access to the internet. For those who do not have internet access, the telephone is the next best tool to stay in touch for important information.