Beginning with Academic year 2016/2017, Windows 10 will be the standard Windows Operating System (OS) at UMD for all Faculty and Staff. In addition, ITSS will be working throughout the summer to update all ITSS Computer Labs to Windows 10. Please contact ITSS if have you have any questions or concerns regarding these changes.
History of the Move
Fall 2015: Windows 7 Standard OS
ITSS began the current academic year with a word of caution surrounding Windows 10 and the implications of its use here at UMD. We announced that for the 2015/2016 academic year, Windows 7 would still be the standard Operating System supported by ITSS for both Faculty/Staff machines as well as ITSS supported computer labs.
January and Spring 2016: Windows 10 Testing
In January of 2016, we conducted an Extended Beta test with approximately 25 volunteers from across campus. This test was largely a success! All but one of the users was able to cleanly migrate their current PC from Windows 7 to Windows 10. User data was successfully transferred and software was re-installed. Standard University applications such as Office 2016, PeopleSoft, Compass/FAMIS, etc were tested on the Windows 10 OS and found to function normally. The few issues that were reported were able to be resolved in a timely manner.
Another part of the Extended Beta test was giving the end users local administrator rights on their individual workstations. This was also a huge success, expanding the ability of ITSS to meet its Security requirements as set forth by University Policy, while giving end users greater flexibility and control over their individual workstations. Local admin access is available to users most academic and administrative units.
Based on the results of this test, ITSS began to install Windows 10 at the individual request of Faculty and staff. In addition, OIT has made the infrastructure updates required to fully support Windows 10. These updates have allowed ITSS staff to migrate the automated computer imaging process used for Windows 7 into the Windows 10 environment.