In observance of Martin Luther King Day, the ITS Support Center will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, January 15 and will re-open on Tuesday, January 19 at 8:00 a.m. If you have an emergency while the ITS Support Center is closed, please call 703-993-8870 and listen to the prompts to be connected to a representative. Up-to-date information regarding alerts can be found at its.gmu.edu/alerts/.
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Recent changes to the university’s Network Access Control system enforce the use of NetIDs to access the Mason’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) and Mason-Secure Wi-Fi network. Information Technology Services (ITS) has received reports of users experiencing issues when logging in to the VPN and Mason-Secure Wi-Fi. Many login errors can be avoided by logging in with just the NetID, rather than entering the full email address (NetID[at]gmu.edu or NetID[at]masonlive.gmu.edu).
For more details about logging in to the VPN, see How to Use 2FA with VPN.
If you have any questions or experience issues accessing these systems, please contact the ITS Support Center at 703-993-8870 or [email protected].
On Sunday, January 17, Information Technology Services (ITS) will retire Skype for Business at Mason in preparation for Microsoft’s planned retirement of the service in early 2021.
Any meetings you have scheduled to use Skype for Business will automatically be converted to Microsoft Teams. This change will not impact MasonLive. If you currently use the Skype for Business desktop app, ITS recommends you download the Microsoft Teams desktop app, which is available in Mason Self Service (Mac) or Software Center (Windows) on Mason-managed devices.
Visit Microsoft for more details on the changes to Skype for Business, and see Microsoft Teams for training and information about Microsoft Teams.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the ITS Support Center at 703-993-8870 [email protected].
In observance of Winter Break, the ITS Support Center will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, December 18, 2020 and will re-open and resume normal business hours on Monday, January 4, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. If you have an emergency while the ITS Support Center is closed, please call 703-993-8870 and listen to the prompts to be connected to a representative. Up-to-date information regarding alerts can be found at https://its.gmu.edu/alerts/.
Information Technology Services (ITS) is changing the retention policy for Zoom cloud recordings and the default recording settings for Mason-licensed Zoom accounts. These changes are required to prevent additional costs to the university. See details below.
Change to Zoom Cloud Recordings Retention Policy
Effective Monday, January 11, 2021, Zoom recordings will be deleted from the Zoom cloud after 120 days.
Since July 31, 2020, all recordings are automatically uploaded to Kaltura Course Media in addition to being available in the Zoom cloud. Recordings that are older than 120 days (before September 13, 2020) will be deleted from the Zoom cloud (Zoom cloud ONLY, recordings will still be available in Kaltura). Future recordings will automatically be removed from the Zoom cloud after 120 days. Recordings are stored indefinitely in Kaltura, which can be accessed in Blackboard or directly at https://coursemedia.gmu.edu/user-media.
- Learn more about working with Zoom in Blackboard
- Learn more about adding Kaltura media to a course in Blackboard
Changes to Zoom Recording Defaults
Effective Monday, January 11, 2021, Zoom recording defaults will no longer include Gallery view nor the additional audio-only file.
“Active speaker with shared screen” will be the default recording type. Transcripts of recordings will still be made by Zoom. These additional recording options will still be available, and users may update their personal defaults after this change is made.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the ITS Support Center at 703-993-8870.