ACM SIGUCCS 2025 Conference

Volunteering to help with the conference? Join us for an overview of duties and expectations.

Conference opening event with SIGUCCS and Conference welcome and celebrating the annual SIGUCCS Awards.

In today’s rapidly evolving Higher Education environment, IT professionals of all types face a unique set of challenges that require constant adaptation and innovation. Navigating these challenges alone is not only daunting but can limit both personal and institutional growth. This is where communities of practice, like SIGUCCS, become invaluable. These communities offer a supportive network where professionals can share experiences, solve problems collaboratively, and develop new skills. More than just a professional network, SIGUCCS is a space where IT professionals can thrive together by leveraging collective knowledge and shared resources.
This session is designed to set the tone for the next three days of the conference by highlighting the critical role that communities of practice play in the professional development of Higher Ed IT professionals. Participants will be introduced to the concept of leveraging communities like SIGUCCS to not only address current challenges but also to foster long-term success and innovation in their institutions. Through real-world examples and personal anecdotes from SIGUCCS members, we will explore how these networks have contributed to problem-solving, professional growth, and the development of lasting relationships that transcend individual roles and campuses.
The session will feature interactive activities, including group activities foster immediate connections and shared insights. These discussions will allow participants to reflect on how being part of a community has helped them overcome professional challenges and develop innovative solutions in their roles.
By the end of this session, participants will have a clearer understanding of the value of communities like SIGUCCS in shaping their professional journeys. They will also be energized and ready to fully engage with the conference, making the most of the networking, learning, and sharing opportunities available. Whether you are a new member or a seasoned SIGUCCS participant, this session will help you tap into the collaborative spirit of the community and leave you poised to make the most of the next three days.

Denver local dining information is available in this Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K9snhUccv-uiEpWbZuEaoaZO8328zS1llzrvNmixY_U/edit?usp=sharing

In an era of budget cuts, shifting policies, and increasing demands for efficiency, IT teams in higher education are being asked to do more with less. But instead of working harder, it’s time to work smarter. This session will explore how to identify software and space oversupply, renegotiate licensing, and virtualize resources to optimize IT spending—without sacrificing the people who keep everything running. Through data-driven insights and strategic IT asset management, you’ll learn how to plan ahead, reduce emergency fixes, and make informed decisions that future-proof your IT environment.

Despite significant advancements in technology, the gender gap in the IT industry remains a pressing issue. This panel aims to shed light on the challenges women face in tech, explore the underlying causes of gender disparity, and discuss actionable strategies to foster a more inclusive and equitable environment. Join us for an engaging discussion as we navigate the complexities of achieving gender equality in IT and share insights on how to create a supportive and diverse workplace.

Higher education IT departments face a critical challenge: efficiently onboarding new student employees with limited time while ensuring accessibility and engagement. This presentation introduces a practical approach to training using Arcade Software, combining microlearning principles and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines. Arcade is an interactive demo platform that allows users to create engaging, personalized product demonstrations quickly and easily, requiring no coding skills. We'll showcase how this method tackles common issues such as time constraints, information overload, and the need for accessible, engaging content.

Learn how giving colleagues access to data through familiar tools like Excel can enable better decision-making and bring people together through shared and easily accessed information. If you have data from one or more systems that can be exported to csv and access to Excel, you have everything you need to build dashboards that will give both your techy and non-techy staff access to those systems data! Microsoft’s Power Query makes it simple to work with .csv files by letting you filter, sort, split, and clean your data through an easy-to-use interface. Once you’ve set it up, all you need to do is save a fresh .csv file and click “Refresh All.” Excel will automatically apply the same steps and show the updated data in the familiar Excel interface. This allows even non-techy folks to navigate and access shared data. This session will showcase examples of existing Excel and Power BI dashboards used to elevate data driven decision-making, and then walk attendees through the steps to make their own in Excel using Power Query. You’ll leave with example dashboards and the steps you need to get started building your own Dashboards using Power Query in Excel or Power BI. Elevate your discussions to be more data driven by giving all your staff access to your data in the familiar Excel interface.

Our mission: Unify a university IT environment by consolidating over 600 IT staff utilizing more than eight work management systems onto a single platform. The goal was to harmonize these systems, standardize our metrics, and establish consistent processes to enhance the support we provide to over 40,000 customers.

Communication, though an integral part of life, can be a weird phenomenon for many. Some find it easy to voice their concerns and opinions in such fluidity that it can only be described as second nature. Alternatively, others will find it difficult, often bottling up the things bothering them until they reach their breaking point. In the workplace, actions like this can lead to deeper issues, such as frustration, disengagement, and ultimately, the deciding factor for an employee to leave the company. In this presentation, I aim to explore communication styles in various aspects of the work environment through the lens of the beloved Australian kids’ show, Bluey. I will be delving into helpful communication tips with peers, managers, and other departmental/end-user interactions while referencing lessons taught throughout the show. The presentation aims to be fun and educational, all in the same beat.
Together, we will explore the dynamic between characters of the show, how they communicate with each other to solve problems collaboratively, how active listening is portrayed throughout conversations, navigating specific topics, and bringing it back to how this mimics interactions in the workplace. There are many examples throughout the series in which talking things through has helped clear up situations, providing a better understanding so that both parties can move forward. For example, in the episode “Wagon Ride,” the kids, Bluey and Bingo, along with their dad, Bandit, are all heading to the park. On the way, Bandit runs into another dad, Rocko, and they stop to have a conversation, pausing their trip to the park. As the dads talk, this delay upsets Bluey, causing frustration, interruptions in Bandit’s conversation, and unexpected outbursts. Bandit addresses the frustration that both of their actions have caused one another and together they create an action plan to avoid frustration in the future.
Effectively communicating allows open dialogue and aids in resolving interpersonal situations, as well as bringing opportunities for learning and collaboration. With Bluey as our guide, we are reminded of the value of open and honest communication and its application in the workplace - not only will everyone feel as if their voices are being heard, but they will feel as if, no matter what, there will always be a way forward.

The success of any IT team is dependent on having the right people who meet the team's needs and who can work together to accomplish the team's goals. The unique challenges of IT work in a higher education environment, such as evolving workloads, diverse user needs, and budgetary constraints often require novel solutions when trying to find the right people and build an effective team. In this presentation, we will explore the strategies we use at the University of Hawaii to build a resilient and adaptable IT team. We'll discuss our recruitment and selection processes, including leveraging student employment to identify and cultivate emerging talent. Furthermore, we'll share some of our training and development approaches designed to equip employees with the tools they need to succeed.

Throughout the changing landscape of Higher Education, the models for student and classroom support have drastically changed over the past five years. One of those major changes is how we provide supports in the technical sphere, specifically with changed staffing models. One such model eliminated the specialized support technician as dedicated classroom support in lieu of a generalized support staff which not only covered IT and Media Services, but also testing, tutoring and library support. Due to this change, there was an influx of support staff serving as technicians in non-technical roles.

This presentation covers the process for training these non-technical staff into their technical roles to provide support equal to the specialized staff of years past. Topics covered would be how a training plan was developed utilizing staff knowledge-gap surveys, specific training plans, individualized training plans (from both internal and external sources) and industry certifications. Finally, it would cover the ongoing planning for assimilating new staff, as well as how to continuously check that skills remain up to date.

Methodologies used to deploy and configure Windows PCs have evolved significantly. This paper examines a 20-year timeframe at Lehigh University and chronicles changes in tools and techniques, as well as lessons learned. Microsoft 365, Microsoft Intune, Autopilot, and other elements of modern endpoint management are discussed in detail.

Join us to watch the Men's NCAA Basketball Final Game and enjoy tailgate hors d'oeuvres

Hang out with your SIGUCCS friends, play games, and enjoy some late-night snacks.