Rutgers IT Annual Review 2023-2024
Information Technology Advancing the University Mission
Download the Rutgers IT 2023-2024 Annual Review top takeaways.
Message from Michele Norin, Senior VP & Chief Information Officer
As we reflect on another year of milestones and achievements in information technology at Rutgers, one thing remains constant: progress is driven by collaboration. Our IT teams have partnered with teams across the university to advance innovation, from launching new versions of the myRutgers portal and mobile app to implementing behind-the-scenes systems essential to university operations. Looking ahead, one of the key areas we’ll be exploring together is the rise of generative AI. Like many universities, Rutgers is assessing how this technology will impact teaching, research, and other areas of university operations. Over the coming year, we’ll be working with faculty and staff to examine these implications and determine the path forward.
As you review this year’s accomplishments, I encourage you to consider the dedication and teamwork that powers IT at Rutgers. Together, we’re shaping the future of technology at the university and ensuring it continues to enhance our missions of education, research, and service.
Sincerely,
Michele Norin
Senior Vice President
and Chief Information OfficerÂ
Rutgers IT by the numbers
Explore impressive statistics, numbers, and milestones within various areas of Rutgers IT.
Supercomputers solve complex problems
Whether it’s driving research into national campaign funding or supporting star discoveries in distant galaxies, the Office of Advanced Research Computing (OARC) is leading groundbreaking and transformative research across the university. OARC provides access to world-class supercomputers like Amarel, along with expert support for researchers tackling complex computational challenges.
$130.6 million
in new research awards to the university for OARC-partnered projects since March 2016
5,600+
Rutgers faculty, staff, and students using Amarel for research, training, and education purposes
3,000+
faculty, staff, and students from over 270 departments across Rutgers campuses have attended high-performance computing training since inception in 2017
2 billion+
total Amarel compute hours,
a 6.7% increase since FY 2022-2023
120+
active sponsored project awards utilizing OARC resources for the research
Enhancing educational technology
Academic technology tools are vital for the Rutgers community to effectively learn, instruct, and work in and out of the classroom. Key resources include:
- Adobe
- Canvas
- Computer labs – in-person and virtual
- LinkedIn Learning
- Microsoft Office
Digital Learning Commons (DLC) at Alexander LibraryÂ
Web conferencing and collaboration
Web conferencing is key for collaboration and communication within the Rutgers community. With Rutgers’ three powerful web conferencing platforms—Zoom, Webex, and Microsoft Teams—faculty, staff, and students can choose from a variety of options and features when it comes to meeting, holding classes, hosting events, working on projects, and more online.
Meetings hosted over the past year*
1,406,016
86,897
199,403
*These figures are estimated throughout the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
The power of a resilient network and keeping our data secure
Generating information remains one of Rutgers’ most vital roles as a major research university, making the protection of this critical data essential for Rutgers IT. We are committed to storing and keeping it secure, backing it up to prevent data loss, and organizing it for easy access by the university community.
A significant part of this commitment involves the ongoing, multi-year enhancement of the Rutgers network. This effort is focused on increasing strength, speed, and implementing technical upgrades across all Rutgers locations, ensuring robust support for the university’s expansive projects and initiatives.
malicious network attacks blocked*
* estimated number for 2023-2024
electrical sensors making sure data is securely stored and always available by monitoring the status of the power and cooling services across OIT-managed data centers
99.7%
data center availability
Simplifying and streamlining tech with the Rutgers IT Help portal
The Rutgers IT Help portal (ServiceNow for IT Service Management) has made significant progress over the past year including, but not limited to:
- Starting on-site training in addition to virtual, including introduction of monthly ServiceNow ITSM Basics course and three ITIL 4 training classes.
- Creating additional ServiceNow workshops for users to get the most out of the ServiceNow platform.
- Facilitating a workshop on Incident Management and Change Enablement.
- Onboarding new IT teams to Change Enablement.
- Successfully creating and enhancing 100 service request forms for users.
Additionally, the Rutgers IT Service Management Office and Platform Team received the Rutgers Gateway Award for their commitment to unifying service delivery, simplifying processes, transforming the data experience, promoting excellence through ServiceNow and industry best practices.
         567,391 knowledge article views
20,572 users accessed the portal
18,544 incidents submitted through the portal
Major improvements for myRutgers
January 16, 2024 was the official launch date for the new myRutgers portal and mobile application. Faculty, staff, and students could continue to access their academic, financial, and employee self-service applications in one place, but now have the opportunity to explore the new and improved community tab features, including a social space for groups and forum discussion, a centralized news area, and an interactive wayfinding map to search for buildings, parking information, and bus routes. The myRutgers portal offers users a personalized one-stop experience, displaying relevant updates based on their role and profile at Rutgers, and much more!
132,000 total unique myRutgers users*
31,000 myRutgers mobile app downloads*
*Between 1/16/2024 and 6/30/2024.
 RU–Newark IT has been adopting new technologies like Echo Poll to enhance engagement, promote inclusivity, and ensure students can participate in class without any cost barriers?
RU–Camden IT is migrating the campus to mobile-first technology with new upgrades including universal printing queues and wireless presentation for all classrooms?
The new Five9 phone system has been rolled out as the new call center tool across 14 departments within Rutgers including the Office of Information Technology Help Desk?
Rutgers IT has provided the university with all of its technology needs – both on and off campus, near and far. These are just a few of the many IT projects and initiatives that made a major impact on the university this year.
Annual Reviews archive
The annual review highlights the wide variety of areas IT touches at Rutgers, such as high-performance computing, educational technology, web conferencing, and more. The review includes impressive data and charts and highlights various IT projects and initiatives that advanced the university’s missions of teaching, research, service, and healthcare.
Inside look at Rutgers IT resources
Learn about Rutgers IT and the wide variety of resources offered to faculty, staff, and students, including the Rutgers IT newsroom, Tech Guides, security tips, web conferencing best practices, and more.
About Rutgers IT
Helpful Resources
Remote Tips
Social
Annual review 2023-2024 credits
- Produced by the IT Communications team within the Office of Information Technology
- Communications planning, creative direction, and project management by Amanda Pecora-DeFazio
- Writing and research by Allan Hoffman, Amanda Pecora-DeFazio, Paige Geralds, and Tori Yeasky
- Website development by Rich Sese
- Website design and coordination by Anita DeSimone
- Graphic design by Kyndall Thornton
- Also, thank you to the numerous IT staff members throughout various OIT divisions and Rutgers schools, departments, and units who provided statistics and data for the 2023-2024 annual review.
Data refers to fiscal year 2024, unless otherwise noted.