IT Summer Updates

Purdue Northwest Faculty and Staff,

As the spring semester winds down, we wanted to send a few updates on projects and initiatives that will occur this summer.

Telecommunication

• Work is underway with the vendor to begin planning of the Purdue Northwest migration to Microsoft Teams calling.  Due to the upcoming Active Directory changes across campuses, the first phone numbers to be moved will be approximately 200 Jabber phone lines.  Purdue IT staff will be in touch in the next month or so with instructions for these users.  Migration planning for the remainder of the PNW campus will occur shortly after, with instructions coming prior to migration.

Purdue System Security

• Effective May 29, Purdue will adopt Microsoft Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all university accounts systemwide.  This will simplify the MFA process and eliminate the need for Duo Mobile for Purdue locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis as well as Purdue Northwest and Purdue Fort Wayne. All users will be required to enroll with Microsoft MFA to access Purdue applications including email and applications protected by Purdue Single-Sign-On (SSO) such as SuccessFactors, Brightspace, myPurdue, etc. No action is required for users already enrolled in Microsoft MFA with their username@purdue.edu account.
• In April, all Zoom MFA transitioned to Purdue’s Single Sign-On (SSO). As part of this change, Zoom shared accounts will be retired, as they are not compatible with SSO. Users will need to sign in using their individual Purdue Zoom accounts going forward. This transition supports improved security and account protection. Additional guidance and timelines will be shared as the transition progresses. By the start of the fall 2026 semester, the goal is to have all Purdue Zoom users fully using SSO.
• Purdue IT plans to consolidate regional Active Directory domains in summer 2026. Purdue currently operates multiple regional Active Directory (AD) domains (e.g., PFW, PNW, Purdue Online), which has led to duplicated effort, inconsistent policies and increased administrative overhead. This project will consolidate those regional domains into a single, centralized enterprise Active Directory (BoilerAD) while maintaining required functionality for regional and business-specific needs.
• To combat the number of phishing emails, Purdue IT has lowered the email sending limits for student accounts, effective March 13, 2026.

Digital Learning Solutions

• Beginning this summer term, PNW is transitioning from RedShelf to Kortext, for the digital eText platform of the Instructional Materials Access Program. Instructors need to take no action for this change to happen. Look for additional email communication from Follett.
• Beginning May 13, PNW instructors will have access to use a new self-service tool to merge their courses in Brightspace. This allows faculty to manage courses independently. Resources on how to perform this successfully will be shared once the tool is released.

 Desktop Support

• This summer, Purdue University will transition from Cisco Software Remote (Citrix) to Apps Anywhere as its primary platform for remote access to Purdue‑licensed software for students, faculty and staff at the West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Purdue Fort Wayne and Purdue Northwest campus locations. The transition supports the university’s ongoing efforts to modernize technology infrastructure while improving reliability and managing costs.

Visit the Purdue IT newsroom for the latest Purdue IT updates. Report issues, submit requests or find answers on the Purdue IT Service Portal or contact the PNW Customer Service Center at csc@pnw.edu.

 Thank you,

Customer Service Center