Access to high-speed Internet is crucial to the academic success of today’s college students. Offering flexibility in how courses are delivered, high-speed Internet is a popular commodity on campuses to facilitate access to academic support services and networking among students and faculty.

The first-ever ranking of the U.S. News & World Report “Most Connected Colleges” is a measure of schools’ effectiveness in providing these online services. The University of Miami is ranked No. 4 on this list of top schools offering advanced Internet connections and online resources. This recognition reflects the UM Department of Information Technology’s commitment to providing, securing, and supporting technology resources that enable the University to achieve national and international distinction and leadership in academics, research, and clinical care.

“I’m extremely proud of my team at UM for consistently providing innovative, secure, and reliable technology solutions in support of our students, faculty, and staff,” said Steve Cawley, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer. “Being named to the U.S. News & World Report “Most Connected Colleges” list is evidence of our team’s commitment to and enthusiasm about the future of this University.”

Factors considered in the Most Connected Colleges ranking include the percentage of housing units with free Wi-Fi, the highest Internet bandwidth available to undergraduates on campus, and the ability for students to perform online tasks such as submitting tuition payments through a centralized system.

“This recognition echoes our mission to create a campus that is conducive to a terrific learning environment regardless of campus location and a vibrant student life,” said Pat Whitely, UM vice president for student affairs. “The University community continues to provide a multitude of services that support student accessibility and enhanced learning.”

The ranking is computed entirely from school responses to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges statistical survey collected during the spring and summer of 2012. The survey included questions asking schools to report on their technological offerings during the 2011-2012 academic year. Based on this information, U.S. News computed a Connectivity Index for each school: the sum of all point values awarded to schools based on their responses to the technology questions. The higher a school’s Connectivity Index, the better its Most Connected rank.

U.S. News has published rankings for all schools scoring 50 or higher in their Connectivity Index to showcase the schools that are closest to achieving the highest level of connectivity possible. The University of Miami received a score of 72, along with recognition for providing 100 percent of its college housing facilities with Wi-Fi.

Altogether, 278 out of 1,471 schools that supplied connectivity data, or 19 percent, were ranked. The Most Connected Colleges numerical rankings were assigned in descending order of schools’ unrounded Connectivity Indexes. A perfect Connectivity Index score is 100, and the lowest possible score is 0.

For the fourth year in a row, UM ranked in the top 50 in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges issue. UM is once again the highest-ranked school in Florida.

The University has been alerted to a serious bug with the most current Apple operating system, iOS6 and Microsoft Exchange (Outlook), that is affecting meeting invitations. The problem occurs when users ‘decline’ a meeting invitation using a device operating with iOS6. Instead of simply sending a notification to the meeting organizer that the user will not attend, iOS6 sends meeting cancellation notices to everyone on the distribution list, cancelling the invitation for all attendees. All employees are advised to take the following action when using iPhones or iPads:

• Only ‘read’ or ‘view’ meeting invitations from your Apple mobile device.
• Do NOT ‘accept’ or ‘decline’ meeting invitations.
• Do NOT upgrade to iOS6 on iPhones or iPads.

Apple and Microsoft are working to fix this issue, but there is currently no timeline on a resolution.

Until further notice, only ‘accept’ or ‘decline’ meeting invitations from Outlook or webmail from your desktop.

If you have any questions, please call your appropriate UM IT Help Desk:

Coral Gables/RSMAS Campuses: 305-284-6565

Medical Campus: 305-243-5999

The University of Miami has again been selected as one of Computerworld’s top 100 work environments for technology professionals, coming in at No. 9 for diversity in the workplace and placing highly in several other categories on the publications 2012 “Best Places to Work in IT” list.

“I’m extremely proud of my team here at UM for consistently providing innovative, secure, and reliable solutions that enhance teaching and learning, enable cutting-edge research, advance the clinical enterprise, and enrich the core business infrastructure,” said Steve Cawley, vice president for information technology and chief information officer. “More has changed in IT over the past year than at any other time in the University’s history. In an effort to streamline IT operations, we have launched several strategic initiatives over the last year, including the combination of the University’s medical and Coral Gables IT teams and the launch of an Enterprise Resource Planning project to enable an integrated-solutions approach to all facets of the University’s core administrative systems.

“Being named to Computerworld’s Best Places to Work in Information Technology list during this time of transition is evidence of our team’s commitment to and enthusiasm about the future of this organization,” Cawley continued.

In its 19th year, Computerworld’s “Best Places to Work in IT” showcases the IT departments that offer workers not only great benefits and compensation, but also a stimulating work environment. Since 1994 Computerworld has ranked organizations based on a comprehensive questionnaire on company offerings such as benefits, diversity, career development, training, and retention.

“The organizations on this year’s Best Places to Work in IT list consistently seek out and hire the most talented IT people, offer them competitive pay, and provide great benefits,” said Scot Finnie, editor in chief of Computerworld. “Many of these organizations have spent years building topnotch IT workplaces, and we applaud the amazing work they’ve done to sustain dynamic environments where IT professionals can work with the latest technologies and play a key role in business-critical projects.”

To view the rankings, please visit Computerworld.com.