Change management is the process Information Technology (IT) uses to discuss and implement changes to the University computing environment.

All changes must be reviewed and approved prior to being implemented.  

Ensuring effective change management within the campus IT production environment is extremely important for efficient delivery of IT services while reducing risk. To learn more about the Change Management process, please review the Change Management Policy and Procedures.

Change management encompasses five service groups within IT:

  • Networking
  • Systems and Desktop Infrastructure
  • Applications
  • Research Support 

Each service group performs weekly maintenance during one or more well-defined maintenance windows in order to minimize the impact to the campus community.

The standard scheduled IT maintenance times are listed below. These times are reserved for maintenance specifically to minimize the impact any maintenance procedures may have on campus computing. Most maintenance occurs behind the scenes and does not directly affect customers of IT.

Maintenance windows

Service Primary Secondary Tertiary
Network Mon 10 p.m. - 6 a.m. Tue Wed 6 - 8 a.m. Thu 6 - 8 a.m.
Systems Thu 10 p.m. - 2 a.m. Fri Wed 3 - 8 a.m. Sat 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Applications1 Mon - Fri 5 - 7 p.m.    
Desktop Patching2 Sat 12 a.m. - 6 a.m.    
IT Research Support Tue 5 p.m - 11 p.m. Wed 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Fri 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.


Maintenance Notes

  1. Applications maintenance includes all Web applications commonly used on campus, such as PeopleSoft, Terminal Four, and the Online Help Request system. In many cases, customers will see little to no impact other than the inability to access a particular Web application. 
  2. Desktop maintenance primarily refers to the monthly Windows updates to all campus-standard installations of Windows. The updates are installed between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. Saturday mornings.


Emergency maintenance

IT reserves the right to perform emergency maintenance as needed to prevent any catastrophic events that are likely to occur or to recover services from such an event. This may result in interruptions of campus computing services lasting several hours or longer.

Change Management Freeze Windows

The CM freeze windows outlined here are necessary to help the campus during increased student and faculty need. During these
peak times when students and faculty are beginning the semester or ending the semester campus administration runs as fluid as possible without multiple changes to the IT system.

If a change is determined as being crucial to the campus infrastructure the CIO can be requested to approve the change through an emergency promotion.

  • Beginning: The freeze window will be 2 weeks prior to semester start and the first week of the fall semester.
  • End: The freeze window will be 2 weeks prior to semester end, until grades are posted.
  • Beginning: no changes one week prior to semester start and the first week of classes
  • End: The freeze window will be 2 weeks prior to semester end, until grades are posted
  • Beginning: No changes for the first week of classes.
  • End: No changes during finals week, and until grades are posted.