Engineering IT Purchasing Policy Compliance

MEMORANDUM

TO:                        CSE Faculty, Researchers, Graduate Students, and Purchasers                        

FROM:                  Bob Gloyd

                              IT Director, Cockrell School of Engineering

DATE:                   21 August 2023

SUBJECT:             IT Purchasing Policy Compliance

This memo serves as a reminder that longstanding campus and Cockrell School policy requires that your local IT support staff be engaged when you are considering the purchase of IT-related items with University funds.  The intent is to ensure that your acquisition meets UT standards and can be connected to the wired and/or wireless network. 

Please discuss potential acquisitions with your IT support staff at the earliest opportunity to ensure that you have their approval to proceed.  You should talk to them about anything that will connect to or interact with the UT network (e.g., CPUs, servers, software, storage, custom-tailored research equipment).  Equipment or software not endorsed by your local IT staff will not be permitted to operate in the campus IT ecosystem.

Some related items to keep in mind are:

1. IT equipment will most likely need to be actively managed in order to keep it secure.
2. Most equipment will need to be placed onto UT inventory and consistently tracked.
3. Compliance with the IT Purchasing Policy is required, no matter the type of University funding and whether or not a ProCard is used for purchases.
4. Similarly, items acquired from UT Surplus also require prior approval from your IT support staff; just because an item is at UT Surplus does not guarantee that it meets today’s standards.
5. Personal laptops/phones/iPads that connect to the UT wireless network are subject to being scanned by networking tools and can be quarantined from the network, if they pose a security risk, so it is prudent to check with your IT support staff in advance of personal purchases.
6. UT data should not be stored on any personally-owned computer (apps that check email are excluded from this requirement).

Please contact me or your local IT support staff if you have any questions.  We want to proactively assist you in making purchasing decisions that are compatible with UT policy.

Policy Details:

1. Information Resources Use and Security Policy (especially Section 19.6)
2. Minimum Security Standards