Faculty Support

Viterbi IT, the School’s central IT, services the following core set of IT services to current tenured, tenure-track, and full time teaching faculty within the School. Viterbi IT provides IT support to faculty members in ASTE, BME, CEE, CHEMS, CS, Data Science, ECE-EP, Engineering in Society Program, ISE, and Information Technology Program. Faculty members in AME and ECE-S, please refer to your respective department’s IT group.

Computer (desktop and laptop) support service
- Trouble shooting
- Patch management
- Setting up a new computer
- General assistance to improve security posture
Mobile devices - Activation, Configuration, and Email setup
Shared network storage.
Shared calendars and collaboration tool.
Online data backup (Code42 CrashPlan)

Services Provided

25GB quota.
Email retention is 16 months, in line with University policy.
Email is currently delivered with Microsoft Exchange 2013 Server. You will be able to connect your smartphones to the Exchange server to get your email, contacts and calendar(s).
Exchange is a collaboration platform so calendar(s) and contacts may be shared.
Delegation of email rights to assistants is also possible.

Viterbi IT offers network storage to tenured/tenure‐track and full time teaching faculty (with titles of Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor of Engineering Practice, or Professor of Engineering Practice) in departments supported. This service is available at no cost. Highlights of the Viterbi Network Storage:

40GB network storage at no cost; requests for higher storage quota will be evaluated on a case‐by‐case basis.
Network storage is accessible anywhere with Internet.
Data saved on network storage is securely replicated to a remote site for service protection.
Data saved on network storage is backed up daily with data retention up to 4 weeks.
Enhanced data security compliance ‐ data stays within Viterbi IT storage infrastructure at both local and remote sites.
Data accessible via multiple access protocols: CIFS/SMB and SFTP.
Cross‐platform client support: Windows, Mac, Linux.

Please visit here for more information.

Instructional Software Request (ISR)

To request an instructional software to be mounted in the Viterbi VDI system, please use Instructional Software Request (ISR) tool in myViterbi, https://myviterbi.usc.edu/.

The intention for the ISR is to provide faculty with a way to request software for instructional purposes. The ISR processes takes into the account the following:

Approval by the Department Chair
Approval by the School
Procurement of the software includes the following:
- License agreement
- Purchasing
- Obtaining the software
Installation and initiate testing in Viterbi IT supported classrooms or the School's Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Distribution of the software if the licensing agreement permits
Final testing with the subject matter experts (Faculty, TA...) to ensure the software is working as it should.

To ensure that instructional software is obtained, installed and ready for class use; the deadlines for submittal of ISRs are below. If the request is received after the deadline, there are no guarantees that the software will be available for use when you need it for class.

For software to be available by that start of:	The ISR must be submitted by:
Fall Semester	March 1
Spring Semester	October 1
Summer Semester	January 1

Faculty should be reminded that instructional software used in Viterbi IT-managed environments are installed on a year-by-year basis and should not be assumed to remain installed indefinitely.
Faculty should include when the instructional software will be used in class. Please provide a time frame. For example, some faculty will not be using the software until the second half of the semester.
Viterbi IT is proactive about notifying faculty of pending software license renewals, but ultimately it is the responsibility of the faculty member using the software for instruction to notify Viterbi IT that a particular instructional software suite will be required for the upcoming academic year.
In the absence of an explicit, annual notification of continuing instructional need via the ISR Manager tool in myViterbi, Viterbi IT will retire the software from use, and need not provide the software in subsequent years.

Computer Support Plans

Faculty in ASTE, BME, CEE, CHEMS, CS, Data Science, ECE-EP, Engineering in Society Program, ISE, and Information Technology Program will be supported by Viterbi IT. Faculty members in these departments may choose a computer support plan on a per computer basis. Each faculty member may enroll up to two computers.

Faculty in AME or ECE-S should inquire with your respective department’s IT group for service scope and availability.

Enrolling your Computer in a Support Plan

Eligible faculty may self-enroll computers to a computer support service plan of your choice at MyViterbi web portal.

Go to http://myviterbi.usc.edu
Login using your USC NetID credentials and Duo2FA
Select “Equipment Inventory Manager” tool
Select “Request New Computer Service Enrollment” option

Plans Available

Plan A

This plan is most appropriate for the following types of users:

Users who have desktop computer on USC campus.
Users who do not want to deal with software installation, upkeep, maintenance. This includes OS patching and updates.
Users who do not want or need to tinker with their computers but just want it to work.

Plan Details:

Viterbi IT will retain administrator rights on the computer. User will not have administrator rights.
User will use a standard account for every day computing.
Automated Windows update and patching.
Automated Microsoft Office update and patching.
Automatic mapping of network drives where applicable.
Other software update and patching. Some example, Firefox, Adobe Reader, QuickTime, Safari.
Access to school-licensed software such as Microsoft Office productivity suite.
Software installation assistance – faculty must provide appropriate license key for other licensed software.
Installation, setup and restoration of Network backups. The user will also have the option to set up and restore data personally.
Computer equipment is tagged for identification purposes only and does not denote ownership. Tags assist with tracking software installations for licensing purposes.
Computer hardware and software troubleshooting.
For out of warranty hardware, costs of parts and of any repairs by non-Viterbi IT personnel is the responsibility of the faculty member.

Plan B

This plan is most appropriate for the following types of users:

Road warriors. Users who have laptops that are used on and off campus.
Users who need to retain administrative rights for flexibility to install software but do not mind sharing administrative rights with Viterbi IT for system maintenance.

Plan Details:

Shared administrator rights between user and Viterbi IT.
User will use a standard user account for every day computing.
Scheduled appointments to update and patch the operating system (Mac or Windows).
Scheduled appointments to update and patch other software. Some example, Firefox, Adobe Reader, QuickTime, Safari.
Access to school-licensed software such as Microsoft Office productivity suite.
Software installation assistance – faculty must provide appropriate license key for other licensed software.
Installation, setup and restoration of Network backups. The user will also have the option to set up and restore data personally.
Computer equipment is tagged for identification purposes only and does not denote ownership. Tags assist with tracking software installations for licensing purposes.
Computer hardware and software troubleshooting.
For out of warranty hardware, costs of parts and of any repairs by non-Viterbi IT personnel is the responsibility of the faculty member.
Computer hardware and software troubleshooting on a time-available basis after Plan A subscribers.

Plan C

Information is forthcoming so as to be in alignment with USC Information Security Policies.

Published on October 9th, 2019

Last updated on November 21st, 2022