The Arcadia University campus in Glenside is continuing it’s “IT” makeover with a new home for our data center, faster Internet and a more responsive Help Desk.

After the completion of the move of the Arcadia Data Center to an off-site facility on May 19, work started on Monday, May 21, to install a new fiber optic infrastructure that will provide for a tenfold increase in bandwidth and additional reliability for the campus. Infrastructure core and switching upgrades are also part of this upgrade.

The current Help Desk provider that was working after hours has been expanded to answer the Help Desk phone (215-572-2898) and initial e-mail inquiries (helpdesk@arcadia.edu), 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And the drop-in Help Desk moved to Dilworth Hall, just past the ARC radio station, on May 21.

“These are just a few of the improvements we are making that Arcadians will notice,” said Steve Alter, Vice President for Global Information Services and CIO. “The Help Desk is now more centralized for students, and we’ve also relocated that data center out of Boyer, which not only creates room for more science-related classroom space, but also is a key step Arcadia University Information Technology Roadmap.”

Alter also reports that GIS, collaborating with the Instructional Technology Committee, a process was implemented where faculty can use the iPads, purchased through this year’s ITC grants, over the summer to become familiar with them and determine how to use them for future classroom instruction. “We are hoping that this self-learning opportunity will stimulate the faculty to look for ways to introduce iPad technology into the classroom,” he says.