Procedures for Requesting Installation of Software in ITS Public Computing Spaces

(Labs, Lecture Centers and Classrooms)

Current deadlines:
Spring 2007:  December 1, 2006

Please click here for Software Request Form

Requesting Software

This document describes a process for requesting software for inclusion on the public computing facilities software image. These applications are in addition to those furnished by ITS. Please note that all software requests must be renewed each semester.

Please refer to the current software availability page to determine if the needed software is already listed. If it is provided by ITS, it is available for your use; if the software is listed as provided by departments, please check with this office for use requirements.

(http://apps.albany.edu/its/software/ur/)

Information Technology Services maintains many software programs provided by University faculty for student use in the public computing facilities. The facilities are located in LC-3, LC-4 and Library 137 on the uptown campus, DR15 and DR23 on the downtown campus and L-1 on the East Campus. Additionally, ITS maintains the software on many of the instructor station computers in the Registrar scheduled classrooms.

Requirements:
Department/faculty requested software must serve a significant number of students and be funded and supported by the requester. Generally, we require the software six weeks before the start of the semester in order to test compatibility with the operating system and ensure there are no conflicts with other software.

A separate image must be created for each public facility and then loaded on the computer hard drives. Consideration must be give to the settings and configurations for each application, drivers required for printers and other peripherals and how each applications works with the others. In order to resolve conflicts between programs, extensive testing must be done for each image. We will not install software unless it has been tested separately and with the other applications. This safeguard requires that the software image be built between semesters and cannot be changed while classes are in session.

Licensing:
All software requested to be installed by ITS on public machines must be licensed. Please note that there are different types of licenses. Some applications require a license for each machine where it is installed; others permit a site license covering all machines in a specific area. Still other vendors allow metering, i.e., ten licenses can be installed on many machines as long as only ten machines at a time are actively using the software. Other licenses are “freeware” and have no limit for installation.

Licensing documentation must be included with the software request application and the vendor must support the installed version under the current operating system. If the software you require is already installed in the lab or classroom, it is available for your use. But please be advised that the number of copies and/or hours of availability may be limited and it may be removed by the initial requester. Contact this office at 442-3647 or smartclass@albany.edu if you have questions.

The applications on the software image that are provided by ITS either have wide general use (i.e.,Microsoft Office) or have applicability across several schools and departments (SAS, SPSS, etc.) Unfortunately, budget restrictions do not allow ITS to purchase licenses for individual departments.

Support:
ITS provides support for the general-use applications that we license. Support for department licensed/requested software is limited to installation and testing. Users of department software are expected to obtain technical and operating support from the department. We expect that those requesting specific applications will test the software operation in our test environment before installation on the final image.

Deadlines:
Requests for new applications and deadlines for current software renewal for the next semester are posted in the public facilities and at the podium or cabinet in the technology classrooms. This announcement is made approximately four weeks before the end of the semester; additionally, notice is sent to the Deans and Department Chairs list and posted on the ITS webpage. Software that is not physically received by this deadline will not be installed for the following semester.

Renewal:
All software requests must be renewed each semester by the individual/department that originally requested installation. Renewal notices will be sent to the designated contact person approximately four weeks before the end of the current semester. If the software is not renewed it will be removed from the image. Additionally, if an application is no longer supported by the vendor it will be removed after notification. We will notify the designated contacts when the operating system in the public facilities is updated. Please verify that the software version requested is still supported under the updated OS.

Please note that if you are using software that you did not originally request, we will not guarantee that the application will still be available in subsequent semesters. If the software is freeware, you may request that you also be contacted for renewal; if it is licensed software, the licensing procedures detailed above must be followed.