December 2007 — News
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How a Security Play Streamlined a Business Process in a Texas School District
New security initiatives could be viewed as one of those ever-demanding burdens in a school district, sucking up financial resources and adding a layer of complexity to user and IT operations. Or, if you're like Kyle Berger, executive director of technology services for the Alvarado Independent School District, south of Ft. Worth, TX, you could view it as a route to gaining efficiencies in your business processes while reducing expenses.
A couple of years ago, Berger implemented a new identity management (IDM) system at the district, which comprises six schools. The same solution is used to manage student, faculty, and staff network access.
Novell-based Operations
Alvarado's network operation is Novell-based, and it has been that way since Berger joined the district four years ago. One of his first initiatives was to "stabilize the foundation" by deploying ZENworks to tighten up computer systems management. Now, along with the NetWare 6.5 operating system and ZENworks , the district currently runs Patch Management for security compliance, iPrint for network-enabling printers, GroupWise 7 for e-mail, eDirectory for network directory services, and File System Factory (now known as Storage Manager) for storage management.
So going with a Novell solution for identity management was a no-brainer, he said. A couple of years ago, Berger and his team of 11 decided it was time to "take the technology to another level and let it start managing itself." Since a third of the help desk tickets being handled by his team were related to resetting somebody's lost or forgotten password, it made sense to consider automating that.
Kyle Berger, executive director of technology services for Alvarado Independent School District
The Burden of Network Account Maintenance
Both students and staff have unique network accounts to gain access to the network. In the case of the kids, that's where--starting with second grade--their digital portfolios are maintained and where they can get access to class assignments. That student account stays with the student throughout his or her time with the district. As they get older, students are allotted greater network storage capacity.
Yet, maintaining those user accounts was a major chore for the IT staff. In order to access a computer and the Internet and have access to network storage, a student was required to take a form home that detailed the district's network and online usage policy. A parent would have to sign that, and the student would return it to school. That form would be put into inter-office mail, which would be sent to the IT department. An IT person would have to look up a given student's name to see whether it was already in use, issue a unique user name, and deliver that along with a password back to the appropriate campus and finally the student.
