About STC Software Sponsorship Agreements

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Overview

The UITS Student Technology Centers (STCs), in partnership with other units of UITS as well as various academic departments, provide IU students, faculty, and staff with access to a broad selection of software applications in support of the academic mission of the university. These applications are available in STCs on many IU campuses, in addition to departmentally owned and operated computing labs in many campus locations.

An STC Software Sponsorship is established when a department sponsors an additional application to be deployed in the STCs for instructional and student use.

Note:
UITS cannot honor student requests without accompanying departmental sponsorship for instructional purposes.

Occasionally, conflicting needs impact the ability to fulfill a particular request. In such instances, UITS will make every attempt to address the conflict, so long as doing so does not compromise the reliability or consistency of the STC environment.

UITS reserves the right to deny any software request determined to be detrimental to the security or stability of the STC environment.

Important:
Departmental sponsorship means that the department or requester takes full responsibility for support of the application, including the acquisition of licenses. Further, the department is responsible for monitoring the software for updates, notifying the STC team when an update needs to be applied, and providing files needed to apply the update.

The sponsoring department agrees to be a full partner through testing, certification, and deployment. The STC Software Sponsorship continues as long as the application is deployed in the STCs.

Requests pass through seven steps toward STC deployment:

  1. Request: The faculty or staff sponsor submits a software request.
  2. Approval: STC staff will review the request for accuracy and completion.
  3. Licensing: The IUware team will confirm that licensing is in order.
  4. Packaging: To be completed by the STC development team
  5. Deploy for certification: The requested application will be deployed to a designated certification workstation, and the requester will be notified.
  6. Testing and certification: The requester will certify that the application is working properly and notify the STC team via the original request ticket.
  7. Deployment to production: Once certified, the requested application will be deployed to the designated STC or partner locations.
Notes:
  • Departmentally sponsored applications cannot be deployed to production until they have been certified by the requester.
  • For information about deadlines and expected lead times, see Request software for the STCs or IUanyWare.
  • All software deployed in the STCs during the current academic year will remain deployed for the remainder of that academic year (through the following summer).
  • Deployed applications are reviewed annually; if a deployed application is not requested for the upcoming academic year, it will be phased out of the STCs during the summer upgrade cycle.
  • If you are dependent upon an application for which you are not the sponsor, submit a request to keep it available.

Terms

Review the terms of this agreement before submitting software requests. When you are familiar with this agreement, use the Software Requests system to submit requests. For detailed instructions, see Request software for the STCs or IUanyWare.

  • On-time requests will be available no later than the beginning of the fall semester, provided that the application media and installation keys (if any) are provided to UITS Student Technology Computing within one week of the date of the request via one of the following:
    • Upload to the Software Requests system at the time the request is submitted (preferred)
    • A direct path URL to download the requested software; the following cannot be accepted:
      • Incomplete links (for example, the vendor's homepage)
      • Links that require additional information (for example, authentication)
      • Links to a generic download site (for example, Download.com, Softpedia, SourceForge)
    • Secure FTP to Secure Share
    • Other secure file share (for example, department server)
    • CD, DVD, or USB flash drive, delivered in person; UITS cannot guarantee the return of your media
  • If delivery of your media will be delayed due to matters beyond your control, provide an estimated delivery date. Request priority cannot be set until media is provided.
    • Demonstration or beta (pre-release) versions of applications are not generally acceptable for deployment in the STCs.
    • The sponsoring department agrees to arrange for the acquisition of media and licensing of all requested applications.

      Indiana University takes copyright compliance and software licensing very seriously. All software requested for installation in the STCs must be properly licensed. Responsibility for appropriate licensing lies with the requester.

      If the software in question requires a license server, the sponsoring department agrees to establish and maintain that server on its own premises. UITS cannot support applications that are dependent on client-side HASP devices for license enforcement.

  • UITS strongly recommends that sponsoring departments establish a group account to use as a secondary point of contact. This helps ensure continuity of support regardless of unanticipated changes in staffing. Group accounts cannot be used to request software, but can be added as secondary contacts, which will receive all communications regarding the request.
  • Software deployment is a cooperative effort. Deployment of sponsored software will take place only after all licensing and certification requirements have been met.
    • Respond promptly to requests for information and certification to avoid unwanted delays and lost class time.
    • After STC Development staff have prepared the requested software for use in STC labs, they will deploy the application to properly configured certification systems for the requester to certify proper functioning. Testing needs to be against all functionality of the program that will be required for instructional use, as any issues not caught during the certification phase may result in a deployment that is not fully functional. The STC team is not responsible for the deployment of improperly functioning software after it has been certified, nor can they guarantee prompt deployment of any fixes deemed necessary by the requester.
    • Upon completion of testing, the requester is asked to report whether the software is installed correctly. This process is repeated until the requester can certify that the application is performing as expected. By certifying the application, the requester is stating that the specific version tested will be acceptable for deployment without further modification.
    • To protect against unforeseen software conflicts, the policy is to deploy only a single version of each program on the build. Certification of software signifies that this version of the software is suitable for meeting anticipated needs throughout the academic year. Mid-year requests to upgrade deployed applications are discouraged, but will be handled on a case-by-case basis through the normal software request process.
    • If two versions of the same program are requested for deployment during the same academic year, UITS will work with both requesters to determine if either version will be sufficient to meet both needs. While UITS will make every effort to accommodate both needs, incompatibilities may preclude the co-existence of two versions in the same build.
    • If a patch (or minor upgrade) is required for an application requested but not yet deployed in the STCs, the partner department is expected to advise the STC Development Team as soon as possible via the "Comments" section in the original request ticket. The requester will then be notified of options.
    • Partners should provide access to the appropriate patch immediately upon request in order to avoid delays in deployment.
    • Applications certified prior to submission of the patch will need to be recertified prior to final deployment.
    • Patches to any deployed application will be treated as an upgrade to an application, requiring a software request.
  • Those dependent upon instructional software sponsored by UITS or other departmental sponsors are urged to request that software annually.
  • UITS cannot deploy any application that compromises the security of the IU network, interferes with the operation of other applications, or requires access to services not provided by the STCs.
    • Should a security vulnerability be found in any requested software, UITS retains the right to remove the offending software from the build pending an upgrade to a non-vulnerable version.
    • If an upgrade is required, the requester will need to recertify the software.
    • If the software is unsupported or does not have a patch to correct the issue, UITS may remove the software from the build until the security issue is resolved.
    • If the manufacturer of the software no longer supports the software, neither can UITS. Furthermore, UITS cannot install software that is not vendor-supported.
  • UITS may with little or no notice discontinue deployment of any application that ceases to function properly or causes issues with the successful operation of the system.
    • The STC computing environment may undergo significant changes from year to year, as well as throughout the academic year. Most of these changes are the result of periodic operating system upgrades or software updates, but may also include changes to the STC environment itself. Occasionally, applications cease to function when the STC environment undergoes such a change. UITS will work with vendors whenever possible to seek out a suitable solution, and will make every effort to accommodate departments dependent upon such software.

      This includes problems arising after updates to core software (for instance, Java or Shockwave) that may render a requested application no longer compatible with the environment.

  • All departmentally sponsored applications will be reviewed annually.
    • Each spring, departmental sponsors will be asked to review the applications deployed on their behalf during the current academic year.
    • Sponsors will have the opportunity to indicate if they wish to renew deployment for the upcoming academic year or upgrade the application (for example, to a newer version).
    • If UITS does not receive a request for renewal or upgrade of an application, the application may be retired.

Terms are subject to change without notice. This information addresses a number of contingencies. Still, some circumstances require unique partnership arrangements. Over time, this information will be modified to reflect those changes that can be applied broadly.

For additional information, contact STC Help at stchelp@iu.edu.

This is document auvr in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2023-12-08 13:06:59.