In This Issue
Upcoming events
- WVNET Offices Closed
- November 27-28, 2025 – Thanksgiving
- December 24 (½ Day) – 25, 2025 – Christmas
- December 31 (½ Day) – January 1, 2026 – New Years Day
- January 19, 2026 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Banner & Degree Works Office Hours* – Tuesdays at 11:00 AM
- Brightspace Office Hours* – Tuesdays at 1:00 PM
- Web Wednesdays* – Web Support Office Hours – Wednesdays at 1:00 PM
*excluding holidays
As 2025 draws to a close, WVNET is pleased to reflect on a year of significant advancements and renewed commitments to West Virginia’s educational and government technology communities. Our focus has been on building a faster, more secure network while strengthening the expertise of our team
Team Growth and Leadership
This fall brought exciting professional growth that strengthens our operational core:
- Mike McDonald was promoted to Systems and Operations Manager, recognizing his 12+ years of technical leadership and dedication.
- We welcomed Wyatt Peterman to our Network Operations Center (NOC), bringing valuable experience from both NASA and technical support.
These key additions ensure we continue to deliver the reliable, innovative services our clients depend on.
Successful Client Engagement
Our West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference at Oglebay Resort was a great success and helped to celebrate our 50th anniversary as an organization. The event fostered valuable collaboration, notably featuring our Banner User Group sessions and the return of Ellucian representatives after several years. The overwhelmingly positive feedback highlights the strong partnerships we continue to build across the state’s higher education institutions.
Major Infrastructure Modernization
Our commitment to a scalable and secure network foundation is reflected in our ongoing infrastructure investments. Our Telecommunications team completed critical firewall migrations in September, with the Charleston upgrades slated for completion by year’s end. New backbone routers and switches are being deployed to greatly increase our core network capacity.
Focus for 2026
Moving into the new year, our development team is focused on ensuring our digital services are accessible to all users by prioritizing ADA compliance. Furthermore, expanded support for Degree Works will allow us to deliver updates and enhancements more efficiently.
We are deeply grateful for the partnerships that make this vital work possible and look forward to continued innovation in service to our community throughout 2026.
West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference Update
We had a great turnout at the 2025 West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference at Oglebay Resort in October. Thank you to everyone who attended, presented, and exhibited. We especially enjoyed hearing from our keynote, Mandy Froelich, about the creating workplace environments that foster sustainable innovation rather than always raising the bar. On day two we took a look back at WVNET’s 50 years as an organization. We hope that you enjoyed the conference as much as we did and if you’d like to give us some feedback on the conference or join our mailing list visit wvstc.com.
About the Moby Award
The Moby Award represents a powerful testament to workplace collaboration and mutual appreciation, where employees have the opportunity to nominate and celebrate their colleagues’ outstanding contributions. Unlike traditional top-down recognition programs, this award empowers team members to directly acknowledge the hard work, innovative thinking, and exceptional performance of their peers. By allowing employees to highlight and honor the achievements of those they work alongside daily, the award fosters a culture of genuine respect, encouragement, and collective achievement within the organization.
Moby Winners 2025
August 2025 – Rebecca Clise to Erin Grondalski
July 2025 – Kim Jenkins to Rebecca Clise
(June 2025 – no all staff meeting)
May 2025 – Anita Davis to Kim Jenkins
April 2025 – Steve White to Anita Davis
March 2025 – Phil Snitz to Steve White
February 2025 – Mike McDonald and JR Farley to Phil Snitz & Team
(January 2025 – no all staff meeting)
Department Updates
Human Resources
PROMOTIONS
Michael “Mike” McDonald: Systems and Operations Manager
WVNET announces the promotion of Mike McDonald to Systems and Operations Manager in October 2025. In this role, he is overseeing the Systems Department, NOC and DBA teams while providing strategic support for enterprise-wide infrastructure operations. Mike has been instrumental in optimizing the organization’s computing infrastructure and successfully leading migrations to new technologies. His contributions have resulted in significant improvements to system visibility and overall reliability, positioning WVNET’s technology operations for continued growth and modernization.
Mike brings over 15 years of IT experience to this position, including 12+ years of progressive advancement at WVNET. Since joining as a Network Operator in 2013, he has advanced through roles including System Administrator (2017), Lead Systems Administrator (2019), and Systems Administrator Supervisor (2022). His technical expertise spans Red Hat Enterprise Linux, VMware, Cisco UCS, Puppet, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, with a proven track record of delivering mission-critical support for Banner, LMS, Email, and core infrastructure systems. Mike holds an Associate of Science degree in Information Technology.
WELCOME NEW EMPLOYEES
Wyatt Peterman: Network Operator
Wyatt Peterman joined our Network Operations Center as a Network Operator in September. Wyatt graduated from Fairmont State University in 2023 with dual degrees in National Security & Intelligence and Political Science, bringing a unique analytical perspective to technical challenges. Before WVNET, Wyatt worked as a Geek Squad Advanced Repair Agent, where they honed their skills in diagnosing technical issues across multiple platforms, including: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Blackboard, and Canvas. Previously, Wyatt spent six years at NASA’s Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility, advancing from summer intern to a grant-funded Threat Research Analyst role, contributing to high-profile missions including the James Webb Space Telescope and Artemis lunar program.
Business and Finance
FY 2025 Financial Audit
WVNET’s financial audit was completed and issued in October 2025. This was a result of collaboration with all departments as well as the Higher Education Policy Commission.
Customer Satisfaction
The Business Office of WVNET is continuously working to improve customer and client satisfaction with regard to invoicing and agreements. Please reach out to us if you have any comments or suggestions!
Client Services
Distance Learning
West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference
Cory Morrison and Zackery Smith presented at WVSTC 2025 – Brightspace Awards in Action: Practical Applications for Multiple Tools. This session explored the use of awards, badges, and certificates in Brightspace courses to boost learner motivation and engagement. It covered practical strategies for applying awards to various tools and designing meaningful, behavior-driven awards.
New AI-powered, human-supported accessibility solution developed in collaboration with ansrsource. It is designed to help institutions deliver accessible learning content at scale while maintaining WCAG 2.2 compliance. The platform offers automated scanning and continuous monitoring of accessibility across a wide range of content types, including embedded files, assignments, discussions, HTML pages, and external links. It provides real-time accessibility scoring at multiple organizational levels and combines AI with human expertise to remediate accessibility issues in HTML, images, videos, audio, PDFs, Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations. Additionally, it includes tools for both instructors and learners—allowing instructors to view file-level scores and automatically fix issues, while learners can generate alternative content formats for improved accessibility.
Note: D2L Accessibility+ is a partner add-on that must be purchased separately.
Brightspace Certified Administrator Program
- A flexible, hands-on certification program designed to build and validate Brightspace administrator skills.
- Can be completed in 15–20 hours over three months, using your own demo site and schedule.
- Includes details on enrollment, scheduling, and requirements via the program page.
Banner & Degree Works
This fall, October 15-16, the 2025 West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference, held at the Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, WV. We had a great time meeting all the other Banner folks at our WVNET sessions (the Banner User Group (BUG) meeting and our Banner Birds of a Feather panel).
We also had the pleasure of hosting representatives from Ellucian for the first time in several years. They led their own presentations on their new products (Ellucian Smart Plan and Award and Ellucian Insights). The feedback for the conference has been largely positive, and we’re looking forward to seeing you all again soon!
In the meantime, it’s always easy to connect with us and troubleshoot an issue, search for Ellucian product documentation, or talk through a challenge. Get in touch through any of the following ways:
- IF URGENT: Call the WVNET Help Desk – 304-293-5192 (select Option 1).
- Log in / Sign Up for the OZ problem ticket system: OZ is a comprehensive problem tracking system that turns chaos into clarity. You can create, track, manage, issues at your organization from first report to completion. You can log in or sign up at: https://oz5.wvnet.edu/ozwvnet.
- Tuesday Office Hours: held online every Tuesday (except holidays) at 11am ET. It’s your opportunity to ask questions of the Banner / Degree Works experts in a casual environment. There is no need to register in advance. See you there.
- WVNET BUG Listserv*: The Banner User Group listserv is a dedicated space for year‑round collaboration regarding Ellucian products. You can connect with other institutions, swap tips, and solve Banner/Degree Works challenges together. Plus, as a bonus, we host a monthly virtual session.
- WVNET Degree Works Listserv*: This listserv is a great place for sharing ideas with your Degree Works colleagues as well as receiving news about upcoming patches or upgrades about the product.
For more information about the teams, check out the Banner Support & Training and Degree Works Support & Training sections of the WVNET website.
* To sign up for the BUG (Banner) or Degree Works listserv, please send an email to blong@staff.wvnet.edu.
Degree Works:
To better serve our institutions, we are happy to share that we have expanded our Degree Works install team. We welcome current WVNET employee, Russell McCormack – software developer, to the team. This team addition allows us to align more with Ellucian’s cadence of delivering a release in March and September, and patches in January, May, July, and November. Ensuring that we can roll out Degree Works releases in a timely fashion. For example, within a month of Ellucian delivering the 5.1.6 release we have installed the version in all our test environments.
This 5.1.6 release resolves over 80 defects and includes nearly 25 enhancements, covering all areas of functionality. We welcome our Degree Works community to explore this release and report any issues/concerns to us.
Development Team Updates
What is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance?
ADA compliance is adherence to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal law prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in areas like employment, public accommodations, and government services. Compliance requires businesses to make their physical spaces and digital platforms accessible and to provide reasonable accommodations, such as making modifications to policies or providing communication aids. Failure to comply can result in legal action, fines, and damage to a business’s reputation and revenue.
Key Aspects of ADA Compliance:
Reasonable Accommodations: Businesses and organizations must provide reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures to ensure accessibility.
Websites, applications, documents, and other electronic information must be accessible to people with disabilities, including those with impairments to vision, hearing, and mobility.
These things look like, but are not limited to:
- Ensuring screen readers (software that reads the display on a screen for blind or low-vision users) can properly navigate the site.
- That images/text can be seen clearly throughout the site for those with color-blindness or low-vision.
- That the site is easily navigable by keyboard for those with physical impairments.
- Proper Heading hierarchy is maintained across the site to ensure readability standards are met.
What are the consequences of Non-Compliance?
If an organization is found non-compliant with the ADA, the penalties can be substantial. Under 42 U.S.C. § 12188, the DOJ can sue a non-compliant business, seeking injunctions to compel compliance. Besides injunctive relief, businesses may also face civil penalties. For a first violation, the fines can reach up to $75,000, while subsequent violations can result in penalties of up to $150,000. Additionally, businesses may be ordered to pay compensatory damages to the aggrieved parties, cover attorney fees, and implement corrective actions to bring the website into compliance.
Recommended Reading:
Description: This is the official rule for ADA compliance posted on the Federal Register of the National Archives.
Summary: The Department of Justice (“Department”) issues its final rule revising the regulation implementing title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) to establish specific requirements, including the adoption of specific technical standards, for making accessible the services, programs, and activities offered by State and local government entities to the public through the web and mobile applications (“apps”).
DOJ Introductory fact sheet on ADA Web Compliance
Description: This fact sheet gives a summary of the DOJ rule on ADA Compliance. “The summary is designed to provide introductory information about the rule’s requirements, particularly for people who may not have a legal background.”
Highlights of the Requirements in the Rule:
- Requirement: The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA is the technical standard for state and local governments’ web content and mobile apps.
- Requirement: State and local governments’ web content usually needs to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA.
Requirement: State and local governments’ mobile apps usually need to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA
To find out more about WVNET’s Development Team and our Web Wednesdays Open Office Hours, contact WVNET-Support@staff.wvnet.edu. Read more about the Development Team here: WVNET – Development.
TELECOM UPDATE
Building on the major upgrade to our high-speed Transit Ring completed in July, WVNET is executing a comprehensive modernization of its entire network infrastructure to enhance security, performance, and capacity. This effort began in September when the Telecommunications Group successfully migrated all core backbone private IP addresses at the Morgantown Point of Presence (PoP) to a new, state-of-the-art firewall platform. This transition replaces aging, limited hardware with modern, stand-alone appliances built for high-speed traffic and advanced threat defense, immediately providing customers with higher throughput, increased resiliency, and less risk of service interruption.
The Charleston PoP will receive this same crucial firewall upgrade by the end of the year, completing the platform migration. In addition, WVNET has procured new backbone routers and switches to replace the older core infrastructure in both Morgantown and Charleston. This represents a massive overhaul of the network’s core and distribution layers, which will transform WVNET’s performance by delivering massive increases in switching capacity, far higher bandwidth, and lower latency.
Thanks to robust architecture featuring redundant supervisors and stateful failover, service resiliency will also be greatly enhanced, establishing a scalable, long-term foundation capable of meeting today’s and tomorrow’s traffic demands.
WVNET Staff Suggested Reads
In this issue, Supervisor of Development, Sarah Barnes, recommends “Outsmart Yourself: Brain-Based Strategies to a Better You” by Peter M. Vishton
This suggested “read” is more of a “listen.” This series of lectures is available through The Great Courses and if you have a access to a provider that offers their content (eg. Audible, Libby, Hoopla, Kanopy, etc.) you can listen for free.
Professor Peter M. Vishton’s 24-lecture course presents evidence-based strategies for understanding how your brain works and making lasting behavioral changes. The course covers practical techniques for managing procrastination, improving problem-solving, and strengthening creativity—all relevant skills for IT professionals and educators managing complex projects and daily demands.
Topics include the myth of multitasking, the benefits of focused work, and counterintuitive approaches to common challenges. The research-backed strategies offer practical ways to work more effectively, whether you’re troubleshooting technical issues, developing curriculum, or managing technology implementations.
How are we doing?
Your satisfaction is very important to us. WVNET has implemented a customer satisfaction survey link in our OZ ticketing system. When a help ticket is closed, the reporter will receive an email update with a link to allow customers to fill out the survey, and, if desired, request a call from a manager. To access the form in the OZ email, click on the link.
If you’re not using OZ and you wish to take the survey, please feel free to complete the survey at https://wvnet.edu/satisfaction-survey/. We look forward to hearing from you. Have questions? Contact Harmony Garletts at hgarletts@staff.wvnet.edu.