Technology News and Notices for November 21

Service Notices

BroncoDirect and PeopleSoft Maintenance

Summary: BroncoDirect and PeopleSoft will undergo planned maintenance on Friday, November 22, beginning at 5:00 p.m., through Saturday, November 23, at 6:00 p.m. All student, administration, and human resources functions will be unavailable.

BroncoDirect and PeopleSoft services impacted include:

BroncoDirect/Student Center
Class Enrollment
Payments
Degree Progress Reports
Class Search
HR Self-Service
- Time & Labor
- Absence Management
Student Employment Module
Part-Time Faculty Module
HR Reports

During this planned service interruption outside our regular maintenance windows, users will continue to be able to access MyCPP, Canvas, email, and other IT services. Areas in MyCPP that display information from BroncoDirect and PeopleSoft will be unavailable. The Division of Information Technology and Institutional Planning tries to minimize the time systems are unavailable outside our standard maintenance windows. PeopleSoft system maintenance is an exception because the Chancellor's Office schedules maintenance for all CSU campuses.

Campus Network Maintenance

Summary: The Division of Information Technology and Institutional Planning (IT&IP) will be performing maintenance to the campus networks on Thursday, November 21, from 10:00 p.m. through 12:00 a.m. midnight.

What does this mean to me? You could experience repeated two-minute disruptions to the on-campus network and Wi-Fi during this time.

Questions: If you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact the IT Service Desk.

Planned Maintenance Windows

Thursdays, 9:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., midnight.
Sundays, 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
IT Service Status

During these times, online services may be briefly unavailable without advance notice.

Questions: If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the IT Service Desk.

Cal Poly Pomona IT Service Desk

IT Service Desk Contact Information
Submit a ticket using the IT Service Portal
Service down? Check out the IT Services Status.

News

Phishing Attempts Heat Up During the Holidays

Recent email and text message phishing scams ask for Bronco credentials and Duo authorizations to access your account. These messages are fraudulent and use threats of disconnecting your email/Office365 account in order to make you take immediate action or promise fake jobs. Their goal is to steal your campus account and personal information, which they can use to phish additional victims. Remain vigilant when you receive unsolicited messages for immediate action.

As the holidays and the winter break approach, be mindful of scams related to booking travel, online purchases, or donations to charity. In 2023, $400m in losses were reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Some studies report that 1 in 3 Americans have fallen victim to holiday scams. Essential tips include researching any online retailer, being skeptical of social media ads, and being suspicious of anything "too good to be true." There are many creative scams using fake advertisements for fraudulent purchases, investments, and donations. If you receive a suspicious email, forward it to suspectemail@cpp.edu.

Holiday Cybersecurity Resources

Think Before You Click: Never provide your BroncoID, BroncoPassword, or authorize any Duo Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) to another person or unknown request. Only you should have access to your account. Important: CPP staff and faculty will never ask you for your Bronco credentials, password, or MFA authorization or to submit this information through email, forms, or websites—any email, even when from a cpp.edu address, asking for this information is likely a phishing attempt.

Use Bronco411 to verify the sender's identity and if the request is appropriate.

If you feel at risk, change your BroncoPassword immediately by using the "Change/Reset Your Password" link at the bottom of the CPP home page.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Webinar Series

NVIDIA, Mark III Systems, and Cal Poly Pomona are hosting an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) webinar series. These sessions feature industry experts who dive into current trends in AI and ML. All sessions premiere during Thursday's University Hour from 12 to 1 p.m. and later, available on demand.

Replay: Intro to Machine Learning and AI: What is it and why we do we need it?
Replay: Intro to Deep Learning: An Introduction to Neural Networks
Replay: Introduction to Datasets
February 13: Introduction to Computer Vision
March 13: Intro to Large Language Models (LLMs)
April 10: Deep Dive Tutorial into LLMs (NeMo)

Windows 11 Upgrade Timeline for Faculty and Staff Computers

The Division of Information Technology & Institutional Planning is upgrading IT-managed PCs to Windows 11, and faculty and staff are encouraged to self-upgrade their computer at their discretion using the Software Center. All faculty and staff Windows 10 computers will begin automatically receiving a Windows 11 upgrade in January 2025.

Project Timeline

All new and re-imaged Windows PCs now come with Windows 11.
May 24, 2024: faculty and staff can self-upgrade to Windows 11 using the Software Center.
Summer 2024: New and existing classrooms and labs began upgrading to Windows 11.
January 7, 2025: Windows 11 will be required for all staff and faculty PCs.
Summer 2025: All remaining classrooms and labs will be upgraded to Windows 11.
October 2025: Windows 10 reaches end-of-life. All Windows PCs on Windows 11.

The Windows 11 upgrade typically takes 60 to 120 minutes. Although you can continue to work on your computer during the upgrade process, you should minimize usage and save all documents. The process will require at least one reboot, and any open documents may be lost.

Please refer to the Windows 11 Upgrade Website for additional information.

CPP Project Management Community of Practice

The IT&IP Project Management Office is pleased to announce the formation of the CPP Project Management Community of Practice (PM CoP). PM CoP is a group for CPP employees interested in project management to share ideas, experiences, and best practices. This group benefits anyone involved in project work by providing learning opportunities, networking, resources, and updates on industry trends.

Joining the PM CoP is easy. Register to participate in discussions, training, and events. Please visit the CPP Project Management Community of Practice website for more information.