Benefits of IDM in Higher Ed - Harrison College Case Study

Often, when we begin working on identity management projects with an educational institution, we really are starting from scratch. The organization typically has been relying on a series of manual processes, scripts, and utilities which can be quite limiting in today's modern environment.  Below is a summary and actual case study that was written by Harrison College in Indianapolis, IN detailing why they had to move forward with IDM and their results working with Tools4ever.

Problem
With over 6,000 students using one student Active Directory account, there was a huge opportunity to streamline the management of individual accounts as well as deploying a self service password reset solution. Harrison only had a single generic student Active Directory account used by all students. Each student was provided a thumb drive and would log into accounts using the same credentials and would have to save work on their local drive. Additionally, each student was responsible for creating their own email accounts.

Solution
Automated solution for managing student user accounts and self-service password reset.

Connectors
Google Apps
CampusVue

Results
Increased efficiency in managing user accounts and self service password reset management.

 
Considerations

Before Harrison could implement an identity and access management solution they had to ensure the solution they chose met the following requirements:

Was cost effective;
Experience with Google Apps API and provisioning accounts;
Self-service tools that can run 24/7;
Could integrate easily with CampusVue.

Being able to integrate fully with Google Apps was critical because the project to bring on an identity management solution also coincided with a project to have each student have a Google account. This would give them access to an email and Google Apps account. Managing the users’ lifecycle for this endeavor called for a robust user management tool.

Solutions

With over 6,000 students and 900 staff, Harrison College looked to Tools4ever for a solution to help them with their identity and access management challenge. Tools4ever’s User Management Resource Administrator (UMRA) proved to be the best option in managing the users’ lifecycle and provisioning into the applications and systems the students needed. Additionally, there was a need for Harrison to implement a self-service password reset tool that could also work seamlessly with user accounts.

Jason Stele, Assistant Director of Information Services, described their need as, “We could have never brought on student email or student Active Directory accounts without Tools4ever. They helped enable us to effectively manage large numbers of individual user accounts with minimal staff resources by leveraging UMRA.” 

Around the clock support

Because Harrison College is spread out among 13 campuses and offers an online program they serve students from any given time between 7:00 AM and 10:00 PM. But since most support staff members only work until 5:00 PM it was important that they implement a solution with around the clock support. By also implementing Tools4ever’s Self Service Password Reset Management (SSRPM) solution Harrison College has placed the ownership of password resets into the hands of the student. This has not only allowed password resets to happen after hours, but has also greatly reduced calls coming in during standard work hours.

Improved Efficiency

According to Stele, one of the greatest advantages of deploying UMRA has been a significant resource reduction in managing the users’ accounts. Together, UMRA and SSRPM have enabled Harrison College to utilize connectivity with Google Apps as well as CampusVue to roll out efficient tools to the student population. UMRA has also laid the groundwork for the implementation of additional technologies that will allow both the staff and students to have fast and secure access to the tools and systems they need.

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