• Microsoft Copilot Is Available at UMB

• Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that is now available at UMB! Copilot says it “can handle your questions and complete tasks for you via generative AI. Copilot can be used to solve complex tasks like math problems, create images using Bing’s Image Creator, and more.” 
• Specifically, Microsoft Copilot is protected, which means user and business data will stay within UMB. So as you begin to use Copilot, always be sure to be in the Enterprise version, which is attached to your UMB Microsoft account, and a green “protected” icon will appear.
• Copilot used to be referred to as Bing Chat Enterprise.
• To learn how to access Copilot, please view either this short video or the  Accessing Microsoft Copilot PDF.  

• Poll Everywhere Is Now Available

• Poll Everywhere is now available at UMB to all faculty and staff! What is Poll Everywhere? It is a web-based application that allows you to embed interactive polls and questions (called activities) into presentations, including Zoom, to help engage your audience. 
• To access Poll Everywhere, view Accessing Poll Everywhere PDF.
• To learn more about Poll Everywhere:
• Live training sessions have been scheduled — visit the Training Enrollment Database to view dates and times. Poll Everywhere can be found under the “Virtual Meeting Tools” course type.
• Visit Poll Everywhere Training for self-guided training options.
• Additional information on Poll Everywhere at UMB can be found at Poll Everywhere.  

• October is Security Awareness Month

• October is Security Awareness Month so be on the lookout for security related Elm items all month.

• IT Security Training begins next week!

• • Each year, UMB is required by the Office of Legislative Affairs Audit and the USM Security Standards to administer IT security awareness training.  The training needs to cover the most relevant and current IT security topics.

• • This year’s training will begin on April 8^th.  You will receive a welcome email from “University of Maryland, Baltimore do-not-reply@umaryland.edu” this is not SPAM and should not be deleted or reported. 

• • It will contain the link and information needed to complete your 2024 Awareness Training which is provided by UMB’s training partner, Knowbe4.

• • You will have four weeks to complete the thirty minute training module.  After the welcome message you will receive weekly reminders and another two days before the campaign ends.  If you haven’t completed the training by the due date, you will receive daily email reminders until you complete the training.

• • If you prefer to use your mobile device to complete the training, the KnowBe4 Learner App is available for iPhones in the Apple  store and Android devices in Google Play.

• CITS Website Redesign Project Wants Your Opinions!

• • Over the next six months, CITS will be redesigning our website to create a more user-friendly experience on our webpages. Our goal is to create a better experience for UMB students, staff, and faculty — and we are looking for your input!

• • To gather your insights and opinions, CITS has created a user survey that you can access by clicking the link here. Whether you’ve interacted with our webpages before or not, your opinions are valuable to our research. We hope that you will take the time to complete our five- to seven-minute survey to share your experiences, opinions, and preferences. We look forward to your feedback!

• Need IT Help?  
• If you have questions about any of these topics or any other type of IT assistance please contact us at help@umaryland.edu or 410-706-HELP.  We have support staff both onsite and virtually to help with all of your IT needs!

For more details or to learn more please visit our online IT Newsletter here. 

• Webex Meetings Is Going Away

• Meetings/Recordings

• Before July 31:

• ALL Webex meetings/classes/trainings need to be moved to either Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
• Any recordings that need to be saved need to be downloaded and stored in SharePoint or OneDrive.

• Voice Calling (Unified Calling)

• After Aug. 1:

• Unified Calling will continue to be licensed, and all employees who use Unified Calling will be able to continue using this feature through the Webex app.

• Microsoft Copilot (formerly “Bing Chat for Enterprise”)

• Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that is now available at UMB!

• Copilot – and this is directly from Copilot – “can handle your questions and complete tasks for you via generative AI. Copilot can be used to solve complex tasks like math problems, create images using Bing’s Image Creator, and more.” 

• Specifically, Microsoft Copilot is protected, which means user and business data will stay within UMB.  So as you begin to use Copilot, always be sure to be in the Enterprise version, which is attached to your UMB Microsoft account, and a green “protected” icon will appear.

• Copilot used to be referred to as Bing Chat Enterprise.  Additional Copilot features are not presently available at UMB.

• To learn how to access Copilot, please view Accessing Microsoft Copilot. 

• Introducing CITS Shorts!
• CITS Shorts are a series of quick and easy-to-follow instructional videos designed to jumpstart and build upon your Microsoft 365 experience.  CITS Shorts are geared toward both new and veteran users and intended to provide pertinent information and support to UMB users.  Topics include “Where Should I Store My Files?”, “What Is Microsoft Teams – an overview”, “How to Use the Teams Application”, and more!  Please visit and re-visit the CITS Video Shorts as new topics will continue to be added!

• OneDrive Migration – Notice
• CITS has been engaging users and departments with migrating files to OneDrive and SharePoint.

• If you have not already moved your data to OneDrive please complete this transition by December 31, 2023.
• If needed, please reach out to Desktop Support (pcsupport@umaryland.edu) for assistance.

• REMINDER - Need training?

• The CITS Training & Communication team is available to provide training for your team or department on a number of Microsoft tools – Office 365, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Planner and Forms. 
• If you would like to discuss your needs and set up a session, please email the CITS Training & Communications team at CITSTraining@umaryland.edu.

• WebEx Going Away!?! – REMINDER!

• You may have heard that WebEx is going away, what does this mean?
• PLEASE submit questions or concerns to help@umaryland.edu so that we can address them prior to the July 2024 transition deadline.

• Webex Going Away?! - The Elm (umaryland.edu)

• Now until July 2024
• WebEx meeting software will continue to be licensed through July 2024
• There will be no changes to the functionality that you have during this time.
• You will continue to be able to host and attend WebEx Meetings.
• You will continue to utilize Unified Calling (if you are a Unified Calling customer).

• Post July 2024 (this is when the change occurs)
• WebEx meetings will no longer be licensed.
• You will be able to attend meetings but limited in other meeting abilities (i.e. creating and hosting meetings)
• Unified Calling will continue to be licensed.
• You will continue to utilize Unified Calling (if you are a Unified Calling customer).

• Need training?

• The CITS Training & Communication team is available to provide training for your team or department on a number of Microsoft tools – Office 365, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Planner and Forms. 
• If you would like to discuss your needs and set up a session, please email the CITS Training & Communications team at CITSTraining@umaryland.edu.

• WebEx Going Away!?!

• You may have heard that WebEx is going away, what does this mean?

• Now until July 2024
• WebEx meeting software will continue to be licensed through July 2024
• There will be no changes to the functionality that you have during this time.
• You will continue to be able to host and attend WebEx Meetings.
• You will continue to utilize Unified Calling (if you are a Unified Calling customer).

• Post July 2024 (this is when the change occurs)
• WebEx meetings will no longer be licensed.
• You will be able to attend meetings but limited in other meeting abilities (i.e. creating and hosting meetings)
• Unified Calling will continue to be licensed.
• You will continue to utilize Unified Calling (if you are a Unified Calling customer).

• OneDrive and SharePoint Migration - UPDATE

• As mentioned previously we are working to migrate our files to OneDrive and SharePoint as part of the ongoing endeavor to utilize updated technologies.
• This will afford us the protection of our Microsoft security standards and agreements while providing greater accessibility to files. 
• CITS has been engaging users and departments with migrating files to OneDrive and SharePoint.
• If you have not already moved your data to OneDrive please reach out to Desktop Support (pcsupport@umaryland.edu) for assistance.
• Tom Hockensmith and Adam Ziman are continuing to contact departments and transfer files to SharePoint.
• Please reach out to them if you have any questions or concerns.

• UMB Acceptable Use Policy on IT Resources

• The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Acceptable Use Policy applies to authorized users who are defined as students, employees, visitors, and guests of UMB who use UMB information technology (IT) resources. The purpose of this policy is to state what constitutes the acceptable use and what constitutes the misuse of UMB IT resources.

• All authorized users are required to read and accept the Acceptable Use Policy. Before the implementation of the non-expiring password for user accounts, you were required to agree to the acceptable use policy during your annual password reset.

• To have a record of user agreement of the policy, we are implementing an annual review and acceptance when you log in to the myUMB campus portal. When you log in, a pop-up window will appear prompting you to review the policy and accept it. After the initial review and acceptance, you will be required to review and agree to the policy annually.

• This new initiative will go into effect Aug. 1, 2023 (today).

• Encrypting Your Email Messages

• UMB faculty, staff and students have the ability to send encrypted emails.

• More information is available from the recent ELM Article located here. 

• OneDrive and SharePoint Migration - UPDATE

• As mentioned previously we are working to migrate our files to OneDrive and SharePoint as part of the ongoing endeavor to utilize updated technologies.
• This will afford us the protection of our Microsoft security standards and agreements while providing greater accessibility to files. 
• CITS will begin to engage users and departments with migrating files to OneDrive and SharePoint starting this week, following this newsletter. 
• Details, timeline, and resources will be included in the direct communications.

• Training Resources webpage

• To help make our training resource guides and videos easier to find we have created a new webpage located here.

For this month’s newsletter we wanted to remind and share the available tools for keeping your information secure. 

Below are topics on applying sensitivity labels, sending secure encrypted emails and securely sharing large files/folders.

• Office 365 Sensitivity Labels

• Microsoft Office offers a Sensitivity feature that allows the owner of a document to place a label that restricts access.  This feature is now available to staff for use.
• Once a label is applied, only the person who assigned the label can remove it.  The label will follow the document, regardless if it is emailed or saved under a different name. 
• To learn more about this feature, please view the job aid here and a video on how to use here. 

• Sending Secure Encrypted Emails

• UMB faculty, staff and students have the ability to send encrypted emails. More information is available here. 

• Securely Sharing Large Files

• OneDrive allows you to securely share large files and folders.  More information is available is available by viewing this job aid here which is located on the OneDrive for Business page here.  

• Need IT Help?  
• If you have questions about any of these topics or any other type of IT assistance please contact us at help@umaryland.edu or 410-706-HELP.  We have support staff both onsite and virtually to help with all of your IT needs!

For more details or to learn more please visit our online IT Newsletter here.