Resources for Faculty

This page lists IT resources available for faculty. The links on the right-hand side are an index to all the topics on this page. Email me with any suggestions for additional topics or suggestions for improving this page. We will be updating these pages regularly, and will notify faculty periodically as new information and instructions are added.

Eric Noble
Director of Information Technology
UC Hastings College of the Law

Getting Help (How to Contact IT Department)

There are several ways to request computer support:

• Visit the Desktop Support Group — room 379 on the Faculty Floor in Kane Hall. Feel free to drop by during normal work hours (8:15 am to 5:00 pm).

• Leave a phone message on our Request Line: 415.581.8802, option 4, option 1.

• Contact HelpDesk online.

If you are experiencing a network emergency during non-work hours, contact the Hastings Security department (ext. 4611) and they can contact IT staff. This is for network emergencies only.

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Classroom Technology

For assistance with the computer projection systems installed in the large classrooms, contact the Media Services department at 415.565.4609. If you have questions about using PowerPoint or the computers in the classroom podiums, you may contact the IT department or Media Services for help.

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Classroom Clicker Response System

We are currently using the Turning Technologies clicker response system on an experimental basis. If you are interested in a demonstration, let us know. You can also get more information on the Turning Point website: http://www.turningtechnologies.com/

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Color Laser Printing for Faculty 

We have a high speed color laser printer located in the shared printer room on the 3rd floor of Kane Hall (room 379). This printer is primarily for use with color graphics. Please do not send normal black/white print jobs to this new printer—it is more costly than the normal shared laser printers. However, if you have documents that show markup changes in color coding, this color laser printer is ideal. If you would like access to this printer, contact HelpDesk and an IT technician will come to install the printer driver on your office computer.

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Computer Exams

In 1995, Hastings was the first law school to provide students the option of using their computers for taking exams. Two of our alumni subsequently invented the secure computer exam software that is used by more than 100 U.S. law schools (and several dozen state bar jurisdictions) today. This is SofTest by Examsoft, Inc. Hastings purchases a license for SofTest so that students can download and install the program at no charge. In the exam room, students running the software have no access to their computer files, to the Internet, to email, etc. They can only type their answers into a blank screen during the exam. Contact us if you would like a demonstration of the secure computer exam software.

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Course Email Distribution Groups

We create Outlook email distribution groups for each law school course section. These are created at the beginning of the semester and updated immediately after Add/Drop. Faculty will typically use the full Outlook client or the web interface, Outlook Web Access (OWA) for sending email to their classes.

Using the full Outlook Client to email your students

You will find the course email distribution groups in Outlook's global address book listed in the following format (for example):

11FA ANTITRUST McCall 24011

The naming scheme for these course groups hopefully will make it easy to find a specific course:

Using Outlook Web Access (OWA) to email your students

These instructions are for using OWA, which is accessible from any Internet-connected computer, to send email to your students. The following example would be for a Contracts teacher. Substitute the name of your course where I type "CONT" in the example below.

1. Go to the Hastings website. (You can do this in your office or from any computer that has access to the Internet.)

2. Click on the "Email" link at the top of any Hastings web page.

3. Click on "Login to Outlook Web".

4.  Log in with your username and email password.

5. When you see the Outlook Web window, click on "New" for a new message.

6. Click on the "To" button.

7. With the cursor in the "Display Name" field, type "09SP CONT" (w/out the quotes). (Note: use the last 2 digits of the current year, and "FA" or "SP" for the semester.)

8. Click on "Find".

9. Click on your course distribution group in the search results.

10. Click on "Add recipient to TO".

11. Click on "Close".

12. Your new message will now be addressed to your course distribution group.

13. Type a subject line, and type the message in the text box.

14. When you are done, click on "Send" to finish the message.

The message will now go to your students.

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Computer Replacement Requests

IT compiles a list of requests to replace computer equipment (desktop PCs, printers, etc.) in the early weeks of the Fall semester. After we have finalized the list of purchases, the process of ordering, installation and configuration continues throughout the academic year.

If your office computer (or printer) is no longer satisfactory for your research, writing or teaching, please send me a request to replace it. This does not cover home computers, which have been purchased from faculty development funds. If there is more than one item you are requesting, please indicate your priority. Any such requests will be subject to an overall prioritization for replacing the oldest equipment in the College. We try and maintain desktop computers and printers on a five-year replacement cycle. Network servers are replaced—as feasible—on a three-year cycle. We will follow up after the priorities have been set to let you know the status of your replacement request.

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Email

We use Microsoft Exchange for all student, staff and faculty email accounts. Exchange is fully integrated with Microsoft Outlook for Windows. We recommend using Outlook or Outlook Web Access (OWA) for reading your email. OWA is the web interface for reading email when you don't have access to the full Outlook client. You can access OWA from any Internet-connected computer by clicking on the “Email” link on any Hastings web page. To receive the best experience when using OWA we recommend Internet Explorer. If you use a non-Microsoft browser your features in OWA will be limited.

Exchange has numerous capabilities beyond email, including sharing of personal calendars, and remote authentication (which we use for the wireless network). All staff and faculty office computers are setup with the full MS Outlook client. Faculty with laptop computers can request that we install the full Outlook client —which will keep their remote and office machines in sync for email messages and calendar entries.

When you are first hired, the IT department will send you a memo with your Email login name and password. Your Email address is your login@uchastings.edu. When you change passwords, please use at least 8 characters, including UPPER and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. Do not share your password ever, with anyone.

Sending email through UC Hastings email servers is only permitted through the Windows version of Outlook using Exchange mode, OWA, and MS Active Sync on IPhones/Ipads and Android phones/tablets.

Please see other sections of this Help Guide for information about Course Email Distribution Groups, iPhone or iPad setup for Hastings Email, and Phishing and Spamming Help.

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Faculty Budget Information (Online Access)

Hastings faculty who wish to access their account information can now do so using WebAdvisor. The following instructions will allow you to view up-to-date balances in your account.

Accessing the Fiscal Information Reporting System (FIRS)

1. Go to the WebAdvisor login screen. (There is a link to WebAdvisor at the top of each Hastings web page.)
 
2. Click on the "Log In" tab at the top of the screen.
 
3. Login using your Hastings Email login name and password.*
 
4. Click on the "Faculty" icon.
 
5. Click on "Fiscal Information Reporting."  If you do not see this link please contact Carol Cole (ext. 4824, colec@uchastings.edu) who will work with IT to set up your user access rights to FIRS.
 
6. In the drop-down lists, choose the Fiscal Year.
 
7. Now choose the Program Code you want to view. The program code is the middle five digits of an 11-digit account.  Most faculty manage only one program.
 
8. Click Submit.
 
9. You will now be able to see all your budget accounts in a tabular format. The far-right column lists the budget BALANCE available. You can view all expenses to-date by clicking on the account number (in the first ACCT column).  Values in colored text link to expanded information (except the TOTAL row).  Use your browser buttons to navigate through screens (back, forward).

10. Once you are done, please click "Logout."

For expanded instructions, download the User Manual.

*Your WebAdvisor and Email logins and passwords are the same. DO NOT attempt to change your WebAdvisor password in WebAdvisor. If you need help with your Email password, please Contact HelpDesk online or call 415.581.8802 to leave a message on our Help Desk support line.

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Faculty Web Pages

Many Hastings faculty have created websites for posting class materials (syllabi, reading assignments, links to web resources, etc.) and/or scholarly research. Each faculty member’s website is linked from their bio page and from a main index page. The IT department can train faculty who are interested in maintaining their own websites. Otherwise, you can send materials to our web staff for posting.

In addition to web pages hosted by Hastings, some faculty use West’s TWEN and/or Lexis’ Web Courses products. These are similar to WebCT or Blackboard—full function course management systems. The Lexis and West faculty sales reps will arrange to show you more about these systems.

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Faculty Office Computers

The IT Department supplies office desktop computers and personal laser or DeskJet printers for all faculty. We install a standard suite of software, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Outlook, Adobe Acrobat, etc.

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Faculty Home Computers

Faculty have the option to purchase a laptop or desktop computer for use at home, for traveling, etc by using faculty development funds. If you are interested in this option, please contact me (Eric Noble) for more information. The IT department will service any such college-owned computers, including software installation. However, please be aware that home computers take secondary priority to office computers for handling any such requests.

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iPhone and iPad Instructions

iPhone and iPad users can send and receive their Hastings email (as one of multiple email accounts) on the iPhone (iPad). You can also maintain your contacts (using multiple categories) and calendars on the iPhone (iPad) and in Outlook. For further information, read the iPhone instructions or iPad instructions (Adobe PDF file) for setting up the iPhone (or iPad) with Hastings email.

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IT Staff

The IT department has full-time (and several student and/or temporary) staff . Here is a listing of the full-time IT department staff:

• Cory Drazkowski (Datatel User Analyst)

• Eric Noble (Director)

• John Pennington (Datatel System Administrator)

• Jim Perloff (Network Administrator)

• Joel Hood (Computer Support Specialist)

• Ron Proschan (Computer Support Coordinator)

• Marilyn Z. Smith (Web Development Coordinator)

• Ricky Thang (Computer Support Specialist)

• Nick Urrea (Computer Support Specialist)

• Kent Walker (Assistant Director, Datatel Services)

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Listserv Groups

Listserv groups differ from email distribution groups in that the messages are two-way. Faculty can send emails to their students, and when the students reply, their messages are sent to the rest of the class as well. We can create a listserv for any of your classes, in which there will be one address for the class (e.g., L-Cohen-FoodDrug@lists.uchastings.edu). Some faculty and departments use listserv groups for other purposes besides class groups. View the current directory of Hastings listserv groups.

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Mac Computers and Faculty

Several faculty have come to Hastings with Mac computers in the past couple years. While this presents some issues from a support perspective, the IT department will attempt to troubleshoot any such problems. We recommend that faculty purchase the Apple Care agreement to cover repair of their personal Mac computers. We can connect faculty Mac computers to the Hastings network and setup Hastings email (with some caveats) and network printing. We don't have direct Mac network file storage; however, we have Net Storage service available.

A few faculty have been given approval to substitute a Mac computer for the standard Windows configuration. In these cases, IT will purchase and install software, and take care of any repair services needed.

The link for our FAQ on setting up Mac email clients to the Hastings Exchange system is here.

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Network Files and iFolder

Your office (Windows-based) computer will have two drives assigned that reside on network file servers. The "H:" drive is your personal home directory on the network. The "K:" drive is a faculty-shared directory. You should make sure to use your H: (home) directory for any important documents because the network servers are backed up nightly. You also have an "L:" directory that is where you can put documents that will be accessible on the Teaching Computers in the classrooms.

An alternative to using the H: drive is to use iFolder, which can be setup for you on your local office computer and on your home or laptop computer. The advantage to using iFolder is that your important documents will be synchronized between home and office. These documents also will get backed up nightly. Let us know if you are interested in having iFolder and we can install it on your office and laptop/home computers.

On-Demand Court Proceedings

Courtroom Connect is now providing live and archived video of courtroom proceedings to law schools through on-demand Internet connections. We would like to gauge the level of interest among our faculty for such a service. Let us know if you look into this and any thoughts.

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Online Picture Book

We have an online picture book with staff, faculty and student individual photos. The database is searchable by name, department, class year, etc. This web database is confidential and intended for work-related purposes only. For instructions on accessing the online picture book website, contact the IT department.

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Online Yellow Pages

We have a networked version of the AT&T Yellow & White Pages. Once installed, it allows you to search from your desktop through business, residential and classified listings for San Francisco. If you are interested in having this resource installed on your computer, let us know.

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Phishing and Spamming

Intermittently, we see email messages purporting to come from the Hastings IT Department requesting that the recipient log into a website with their email password and other account information. This technique is known as "phishing" and has been used to get bank or online business account information. Please remember that the Hastings IT department does not send email messages requesting you to provide account information. Also, as a general precaution, do not provide password or other personal information based on email requests. Most banks or other legitimate institutions would not make such requests because of the risk of phishing.

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Printing Confidential Material (to Xerox Copiers/Printers)

If you have confidential materials to print through the network to the Xerox Copier/Printers, here are the step-by-step directions.  Printing does not start until you are at the printer and have entered your passcode. 

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Sending Email to Classes

Please review the section on "Course Email Distribution Groups."

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Takehome Exams (Online)

Faculty have the option of offering their takehome exams using SofTest, the computer exam software by Examsoft, Inc. This option provides students the opportunity to download the exams from off-campus (at home, in a coffee shop, at the library) and to note the amount of time used by the student (for time-restricted exams.) The takehome version of the software the students use is different from the proctored exam version. Students can use all normal computer resources (email, web, file access, etc.) during takehome exams. The Academic Dean's Office sends faculty information and instructions for offering this option after the start of each semester.

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Teaching With Technology

The IT department is committed to helping faculty use technology in their teaching, research, and scholarship. To that end, we have a section on the IT website with copies of materials that we have used in past workshops, and links to resources that faculty may find useful. We also have tracked past (and current debates) such as the use of laptops by students in classrooms. Feel free to comment and make suggestions on the Teaching With Technology section.

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TWEN (The West Education Network)

TWEN is the "virtual learning environment" that some faculty use to provide an online component to their classroom teaching. TWEN allows faculty to post assignments, syllabi, handouts, links, etc. Students can participate in threaded discussions, post questions, get feedback, and have direct access to Westlaw via TWEN linking. If you are interested in setting up a TWEN course page, you can contact the Westlaw account representative, Mark Cygnet or contact the IT department. We can also offer demonstrations of TWEN and put you into contact with faculty TWEN users.

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Video Conferencing System

We have one seminar room that is equipped with a video conferencing system. This allows students to conduct remote job interviews, and faculty can arrange to use the system for participating in conferences or other remote academic meetings. Contact IT if you need to set up a video conferencing session.

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WebAdvisor

Faculty can use WebAdvisor to access course rosters and also to view their development account budget information.

WebAdvisor Password

Your Hastings Email login name and password are the same for WebAdvisor. If you change your Email password, it will also be changed for WebAdvisor. 

Logging into WebAdvisor 

1. To log into WebAdvisor, go to www.uchastings.edu and click on “WebAdvisor” in the top right hand corner.

2. On the WebAdvisor main page, click on “Log In” (you will need to log in before you can access the "Faculty" icon.)

3. Once you are logged in, the “Faculty” icon is accessible (changes color to show it can be clicked on). Click on the “Faculty” icon to access this module.

4. In the Faculty module, click on the hyperlink specific to the information you wish to access. (Class rosters, etc.)

Printing Course Rosters from WebAdvisor

1. Choose "Class Roster" from the Faculty menu. Select the semester and class you wish to view.

2. Click the “File” menu at the top left corner of the browser to open the drop down menu and then click “Print” for printing options.

3. Here you can choose where and how to print. We recommend printing in Landscape to show the entire page. To print in Landscape, first click the “Properties” button and then choose Landscape in the Layout tab and click “OK”.

Accessing Faculty Budget Information

Please see the instructions on this page: Faculty Budgets (Online Access).

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Wireless Network

Your Hastings Email login name and password are also used to access the wireless network, which is located in most public areas (classrooms, library, law cafe, lounge areas, seminar rooms, etc.) The SSID of our open-access network (open to all students, staff, and faculty) is "hastings". The secure network which needs setup in the operating system is: "SecureHastings" — the latter network is preferable. Please let us know if you would like wireless network access and we will set up the secure network on your laptop computer or iPhone.

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