Tag Archives: 2020

Beware of Stimulus Check Scams!

TechNews, , , , ,
Picture of Piggy Bank

In response to COVID-19, Congress approved stimulus payments as part of the CARES Act in March 2020.  A second round of stimulus payments were approved in December.

The promise of expeditious payments has been a vehicle for scammers attempting to steal your personal information.

If you receive a text message regarding your stimulus payments, be careful. It may be a fraud!  Messages may suggest “further action is required” or contain links to a fake state agency website where you may be asked to enter personal or financial information such as a bank account number.

According to the IRS, recipients of stimulus payments will receive the money via direct deposit, and for those who do not have their information on file, the IRS will send the money by check or debit card. In general, however, no action is required.

The IRS does not send unsolicited texts or emails and would not threaten people with jail or lawsuits. It is recommended that if you receive a suspicious message related to stimulus payments, to take a screenshot and report it to [email protected]

More information about stimulus payments can be found on the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment

Workday Student

TechNews, , ,

Workday Logo

Starting with Fall 2021 registration in March, Simmons Student Information System (SIS) functions begin their move to Workday.  Simmons current SIS, known to most as Colleague or AARC, will be retired and its data migrated and maintained.  Workday Student will bring a modern system that is social, mobile, and flexible; meeting today’s expectations and plotting a strategic course for the future.

Timeline

TechNews, , ,

Workday Student’s release in March begins the final phase of Simmons Workday implementation, joining human resources and financial functions already processed in Workday.  Students and faculty in traditional “on-the-ground” programs will begin using Workday in March with Fall 2021 registration. New students starting in Fall 2021 will begin their Simmons academic careers in Workday.  Some online programs will begin using Workday at this time with all transitioning by the end of their 2020-2021 academic year.

Strategic Change

TechNews, , ,

Simmons move to Workday Student represents a major change in the way we perform our student related business.  We are making this move not for the sake of change — but strategically — implementing an advanced, extendable system based on academic best practices.  In moving to Workday Student, Simmons benefits from the experience of other institutions who have gone before us, including Wellesley, Bentley, and California College of the Arts.  As an early adopter of the platform, we have had the opportunity to collaborate with other institutions and Workday on the development of the system, ensuring the product meets our particular requirements.  In deploying the product, we have leveraged our internal expertise gained through our implementations of Workday’s Human Resources and Finance applications.  Bringing these together with Workday Student will provide one cohesive, integrated experience for academic and administrative computing. 

What to expect in Workday Student

TechNews, , ,

For Students

  • Registration, grades, and transcripts
  • Mobile device access
  • Academic plan development
  • Degree requirements progress tracking

For Faculty

  • Class rosters and grading
  • Mobile device access
  • Roster photos
  • Unified Workday experience with HR and Finance

For Staff

  • Student academic and financial records processing
  • Applying and removing student holds
  • Improved process routing between student facing offices

Stay tuned for opportunities to learn more about Workday Student including demos, Q&A sessions, brown bag lunches, and more.  For questions about Workday Student, please reach out to [email protected].

Did you know….?

TechNews, , ,

According to data breach statistics from 2019…

  • 80% of cyber attacks involved stolen credentials (logins & passwords)
  • 58% of breaches involved personally identifiable information
  • 28% of breaches reported were from the Educational Services Industry
  • 94% of malware is delivered by email
  • 48% of malicious email attachments are office files
  • $3.9 million is the average cost of a data breach
  • $150 the average cost per record stolen
  • 17 million is the average number of files that an employee has access to

Account Icon made by monkik from www.flaticon.com

What Can I Do?

TechNews, , ,

Change Your Passwords.
Use complex passwords and don’t reuse passwords between your accounts! Turn-on multi-factor authentication whenever possible

Think Twice About Sharing Information.
Receive a suspicious phone call from “Tech Support”?
Your supervisor asking you to buy a gift-card because it’s an “emergency”? Never send sensitive information to people over email. No one should be asking for your password.

Beware of Links.
Check that website address before clicking the link, and don’t download attachments that you weren’t expecting. This includes links from text messages. If it looks odd, don’t click it.

Keep up-to-date; Install antivirus
Do not put-off updating those apps, especially on your phone. There could be important security updates that you are missing! Also remember to install antivirus on your own computer and keep it up to date.

Delete or unsubscribe from unused applications or subscriptions.
If you aren’t using that app, it’s probably outdated. Consider getting rid of it! Unsubscribe from mailing lists or cancel unused application subscriptions to reduce the clutter and minimize your risk profile.

See Something Say Something.
If something doesn’t look right, report it!

Secure Icon made by Alfredo Hernandez from www.flaticon.com