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PURPOSE:
The purpose of the Sam Houston State University (SHSU) Employee Computer Replacement Program (ECRP) Standard is to formalize the process of assigning computers to eligible SHSU employees or who in the normal course of their job duties are required to use a computer. These resources must comply with accepted specifications and conform to fiscal and security standards as determined by Information Technology (IT) and the Texas State University System (TSUS). Defining this standard enables IT and the SHSU community to make clear determinations regarding funding and technology assignment.
SCOPE:
The ECRP Standard applies to all SHSU employees who receive IT-funded computers.
STANDARD DEFINITIONS:
For the purposes of computer assignment, IT offers several configurations of employee workstation, which are defined as follows:
- ECRP Fixed Workstation Setup
- Dell Standard Desktop Computer, Standard 24” Full HD (FHD) Monitor, Wireless Mouse & Keyboard
- ECRP Laptop Docking Station Setup (must have an RA-22 on file)
- Dell Standard Laptop Computer, Standard 24” Full HD (FHD) Monitor, Docking Station, Wireless Mouse & Keyboard
- Mac OS Standard Laptop Computer, Standard 24” Full HD (FHD) Monitor, Docking Station, Wireless Mouse & Keyboard
- Some limitations with the MacOS mobile device exist which should be understood up-front:
- No Access to S or T network drives.
- Unable to leverage firewall rules for special access.
- Unable to use the campus wired network.
- (Internet Printing Protocol [IPP] printing will not work on Bring Your own Device [BYOD] network.)
- Can only print to a network printer via IPP Printing. (Printing on Campus: Wireless Printing (shsu.edu))
- Updates need to be run manually by clients because these devices aren't always connected and powered on like iMacs that can run while outside of business hours.
- The MacBook uses a local login account instead of the client's network SHSU account so the login experience will be different.
- Unable to leverage single sign-on passthrough.
- Restricted access to some Banner applications.
- Docking stations have been unstable and do not always connect with monitors/peripherals.
The ECRP Standard is dependent on employee role for assignment. Those roles are defined as follows:
- Executive
- Employee classifications which SHSU Human Resources (HR) identifies as the Skill Category “Executive/Administrative” including, but not limited to; Director, Executive Director, Associate Vice President, Assistant Vice President, Vice President, Senior Vice President, Chief Officer, Chair, Assistant Dean, Associate Dean, Dean, Associate Vice Provost, Assistant Vice Provost, Vice Provost
- Full-Time Faculty
- All faculty who are considered full-time, both tenure/tenure-track and non-tenure track including, but not limited to; Lecturer, Visiting Professor, Research Fellow, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor
- Full-Time Staff
- All staff positions that are not considered “Executive,” as defined above, and are not working on a part-time, hourly basis.
- Part-Time Faculty
- All faculty who are contracted on a term-by-term basis including, but not limited to; Lecturer-Pool, Graduate Assistant, Scholar-In-Residence, Lecturer-Special, Adjunct
- Part-Time Staff
- All staff positions that are below full-time (40 hours per week) and report their time on an hourly basis.
- Student Employee
- All student employee positions excluding Doctoral/Graduate Assistants.
STANDARD STATEMENT:
Replacement Cycle
IT funded computers assigned to employees are replaced on a five-year cycle, becoming eligible for prioritization five years after their purchase date. The monitor, docking station (if chosen), keyboard and mice will be addressed as needed. Records are maintained by IT for the replacement cycle. Non-IT funded computers are audited annually, and recommendations are provided to the department regarding replacement. Departments should budget for replacing non-IT funded computers as appropriate to comply with SHSU and TSUS security requirements (e.g., Operating System vendors such as Microsoft and Apple regularly require updated hardware features to stay on a supported and secure version of their Windows, MacOS, and iOS Operating Systems).
SEI – Information Technology highly recommends using the ECRP Laptop Docking Station Setup for the following reasons:
- Power Outage or other Campus Disruption: In the case of an electrical disruption or other type of disruption to campus, an office can move to an offsite location and resume business operations rapidly.
- Convenience and Portability: With a docking station, you can easily connect and disconnect your laptop with a single cable. This is especially convenient if you need to take your laptop to classrooms, meetings, conferences, or work remotely.
- Mobile-Ready Workforce: An important lesson learned from the COVID-19 pandemic was that the way we work and educate our students may change quickly. When these changes occur on a national or international scale, supply-chain issues can make last-minute response activities ineffective. With a mobile-ready workforce, it makes it easier to transition between on-site and remote work to maintain business continuity during rapidly changing conditions.
- Increased Productivity: Docking stations allow you to connect your laptop to additional devices like a larger monitor, keyboard, and mouse, making it easier to multi-task and be more productive. You are not confined to a small screen, condensed keyboard, and/or mouse trackpad.
- Enhanced Ergonomics: A docking station helps create a more comfortable work environment by allowing you to use a full-sized keyboard and a larger monitor. This can reduce strain on your eyes and neck. And no more having to get under your desk to connect or disconnect peripherals or have a tower computer and cables in your way.
Assigned Configuration Standard
Primary computer configurations are assigned to SHSU employees dependent on employee classification, as follows:
Executive
All executive employees will choose either an ECRP Fixed Workstation Setup or an ECRP Laptop Docking Station Setup.
Full-Time Faculty
All full-time faculty will choose either an ECRP Fixed Workstation Setup or an ECRP Laptop Docking Station Setup.
Eligible Full-Time Staff (that are required to use computers in the normal course of performing their job duties)
All full-time staff will choose either an ECRP Fixed Workstation Setup or an ECRP Laptop Docking Station Setup.
Part-Time Faculty
All part-time faculty will be assigned a Shared ECRP Fixed Workstation Setup.
Eligible Part-Time Staff (that are required to use computers in the normal course of performing their job duties)
All part-time staff will be assigned a Shared ECRP Fixed Workstation Setup.
Eligible Student Employees (that are required to use computers in the normal course of performing their job duties)
All student work areas will be assigned a Shared ECRP Fixed Workstation Setup.
Any additional computer configuration requested beyond the primary computer solution will be subject to the same accepted specifications, conform with fiscal and security standards, and is funded by the requesting division, department, office, or center, including any deviations from the standard configuration.
Variances
Variances to this standard are addressed individually, considering the unique requirements of the requesting area, and should be submitted through the IT Technology Acquisition Process (TAP) and Katalyst. The costs associated with deviations from the standard configuration will be covered by IT for the provided Dell solution and any additional expense will be covered by the division, department, office, or center making the request.
Research and Grant Activity:
For hardware being requested in connection with Research or other Grant activity, those requirements are discussed, and recommendations made by the ITAM team. The ITAM team will work to ensure that the requested hardware is procured, tagged, audited and in compliance with all SHSU and TSUS policies.