ANNUAL REPORT 2024‑25

FACTS & FIGURES

PROJECTS

• Science Instrumentation Video

  Requested by Leigh Komperda, Laboratory Analytical Services and Instrumentation Manager, from the College of Science. These are a set of videos on how to operate several advanced pieces of instrumentation. They are a training resource for new users (students, faculty, and staff) who can watch the videos before using the instruments. Each video follows a standard operating procedure for operating and collecting data from the instrument.

• Weber Welcome - New Student Orientation

  The CATS team used drone footage to capture different groups of students during the New Student Orientation at the WSU stadium. The success of this event was so popular that Jessica Oyler, VP of Student Access & Success, requested that this project be done annually.

• AI at Weber State University

  On May 5, 2025 Weber State University granted access to Gemini and Notebook LM to all faculty, staff, and active students (excluding NUAMES, Early College, Concurrent Enrollment, Continuing Ed and any student under the age of 18), enabling advanced academic and professional use of powerful GenAI resources.

  AI Website

• Enhanced New Student Orientation (eNSO)

  The collaboration between New Student Orientation and the IT Division has been instrumental in developing a new platform designed to track student completion of Orientation events and requirements. By working together, both teams have leveraged their unique expertise to ensure the platform is user-friendly, efficient, and accessible. Campus partner input has guided the design to meet the specific needs of students, faculty, and staff. At the same time, the IT Division has provided the technical infrastructure to support seamless tracking and reporting. This partnership reflects a strong commitment to enhancing the student experience and providing critical support for the entire community.

• Selective Admissions Platform

  In 2024, the IT Division unveiled a cutting-edge platform designed to streamline and enhance the admissions process for departments with selective admissions requirements. This new system empowers prospective students, whether external applicants or current students aspiring to join competitive programs, with a seamless and user-friendly application experience.

  The platform boasts a suite of long-anticipated features, including advanced PDF collation, intuitive web-based tools for application creation, customizable workflows, and robust data-searching capabilities. Tailored to meet the diverse needs of WSU’s undergraduate, graduate, and international programs, the platform supports offices in assembling dynamic and diverse student cohorts that enrich the university's learning environment.

  The diversity of our program offerings is a hallmark of WSU, and this new platform is vital in ensuring we attract the best and brightest students. With nearly 140 unique applications created—ranging from specialized programs in Radiologic Science on specific campuses to broad college-wide opportunities—the platform reflects the complexity and vibrancy of our academic community.

  Since its launch, the platform has facilitated over 9,000 applications to WSU programs, generating an impressive 700,000 data points for program leaders to evaluate. By integrating these powerful insights, departments can more effectively identify candidates who align with their academic and community-building goals.

• Prerequisite Verification App

  The purpose of the prerequisite verification app is to allow departments to identify students who have not successfully completed the prerequisite course with the required minimum grade needed for the next course. This happens because the university allows students to register for the next semester's courses prior to the current semester's courses being graded. Once grades are posted, departments work with these students to find other appropriate courses for them prior to the start of the next semester.

  Until the rollout of this .NET application written by Mark Isakson, departments were using an old dashboard from 2018 with limited functionality. The new app, designed in collaboration with the Office of the Registrar, is far more user-friendly and displays all students for departmental review in one screen. The application also performs the registration drop and immediately notifies students of the decision, reducing many steps for the departmental users and the Office of the Registrar.

  

  "We are grateful for the partnership with the Student Applications team to bring this redesign to fruition. The project had some complicated layers and Mark found ways to program around each wrinkle we discovered in the process of building and testing the app."

  - Amanda Young, Senior Assistant Registrar

• Adobe Creative Campus

  To strengthen our Adobe Creative Campus community, the Adobe Ambassadorship Program was piloted at Weber State in March 2024 with four student employees, three from the IT department and one from the Writing Center. Adobe Ambassadors are responsible for posting Adobe-related regularly to their personal social media accounts and hosting events on-campus, at least one per semester. Given their initial success with the program, our Adobe Ambassadors transitioned to a full-time program and created Weber's first Adobe Club with 8 members by Fall 2024. Block Party saw their highest engagement where they interacted with over 350 students. They continued to host events in the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters such as Adobe Express Brand-Making Day, Design-Your-Own Holiday Cards, and Design-Your-Own Bookmarks. We look forward to expanding our pool of Adobe Ambassadors to continue this program in the coming years and engaging with more students in our Adobe Club.

• Windows 11 Upgrade by October 14, 2025

  On October 14, 2025, Microsoft will end support for the Windows 10 operating system. When this happens, Microsoft will no longer provide important security updates for computers running Windows 10. Weber State University IT and other campus technology support groups are working to upgrade all compatible machines to Windows 11 before October 14, 2025. Upgrade of all Windows 10 machines to Windows 11 was 65% complete as of June 30th.

• Windows Encryption by October 14, 2025

  Weber State University has implemented full disk encryption on computers to increase security and adhere to USHE policies and standards (see USHE policy R345). Encryption of all Windows computers was 81% complete as of June 30. Project completion date is concurrent with the Windows 11 Upgrade project.

• Code Purple App Update

  Gone Mobile: The Code Purple app messages are sent directly through the app, which has a panic button alert system.

  Upgraded features include the ability to geo-fence messages to campus to target a specific area, two-way communication, and a minimum messaging length of up to 1000 characters, providing more information without breaking it out into multiple messages.

  Code Purple