Happy New Year to all! Today’s newsletter takes a quick look back at some of 2025’s most popular trainings and topics, and gets you tech-ready for success with key updates for January.
Microsoft Planner
Wednesday, January 28
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Parmly 302
Zach Nix, ITS
Box Office Hours: Bring Your Box Questions
Tuesday, January 20
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Parmly 302
Zach Nix, ITS
Helpdesk Technology for Checkout
Thursday, January 22
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Leyburn 109
Taylor Maxey, ITS
Register for Workshops
Planning Your Next Move With Planner
Microsoft Planner is a powerful tool for improving work efficiency by streamlining task management and team collaboration. It allows you to create visual boards for projects, assign tasks, set due dates, and track progress in real time. With integrated features like labels, checklists, and file attachments, Planner keeps everything organized in one place, reducing email clutter and missed deadlines. Its seamless integration with Microsoft 365 apps, such as Teams and Outlook, ensures that updates and notifications are easily accessible, helping teams stay aligned and productive.
Register for Planner Workshop
Check out Some of the Newsletter’s Most Clickable Links of 2025
- Why It Matters to Use University-Supported Tools and Not Google Products
- Use Mail Merge in Word to Send Bulk Email Messages
- How to Dispose of E-Waste (aka Techno Trash)
- Apple Device Update Log
- 25Live Pro Tips
- Five Benefits of Managing Work Images with the Box Mobile App
- Simplify Access to Your Favorite Applications with the Okta Browser Plugin
- Get Started With the Keeper App
Top Help Categories in 2025
In 2025, the Helpdesk handled 11,757 support tickets. Ticket volume surged in late summer and early fall, with August, September, and October each setting new monthly highs for the year. Notably, October 2025 recorded 1,364 tickets, making it the third-highest monthly total in the past five years.
365 Days of Protecting the W&L Network
Exchange Online Protection and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 are our first line of defense against email threats. However, your attention and actions are just as important.
When you spot a suspicious email, use the Phish Alert Button (PAB) to report it. Your report is automatically sent to the ITS Security Awareness team for review. This helps catch phishing attempts that slip through our filters and keeps our community safe.
Scammers Target Students with Fake Job Offers
Scammers continue to target W&L students with fraudulent offers for part-time jobs, internships, or research positions. These unsolicited messages often arrive in personal email accounts and typically promise remote work, weekly pay, and no experience required. Several students reported receiving these scams over winter break.
If you receive an unusual employment offer:
- Do not respond to the sender.
- Verify legitimacy by speaking with your professor in person or using W&L-supported communication tools (campus phones, W&L email, etc.).
- Report it to the ITS Helpdesk at help@wlu.edu so our security team can take steps to block the source.
For more information about this type of scam, please see our posts in ITS News:
Job Scams Targeting College Students
Mobile Deposit Scam
Collaborative Cybersecurity: A Shared Responsibility for 2026
EDUCAUSE, the voice of the higher education technology community, has identified collaborative cybersecurity as the top higher-education IT issue for 2026. This reflects a growing recognition that protecting our institution is not just a technology challenge, but a shared responsibility across campus.
At W&L, we are already putting this approach into practice. During Cybersecurity Awareness Month last October, ITS partnered with Human Resources to deliver targeted cybersecurity training for retirees. The sessions covered recent security incidents, simulated phishing emails, use of the Phish Alert Button, Outlook best practices, and recent DUO enhancements. Thanks to HR’s partnership, retirees were able to participate both in person and virtually, strengthening our collective security awareness.
Continuing this progress into 2026, ITS invites your department to take advantage of a quick 15–20 minute session during a meeting where we can share:
- Highlights from 2025 W&L cybersecurity data
- Recent security enhancements that impact daily work
- Practical ways departments can stay vigilant and reduce risk
These short, focused conversations help departments become active cybersecurity partners and support a culture of shared responsibility across campus.
To learn more or to schedule a session for your department, please contact the ITS Helpdesk at help@wlu.edu.
Apple Tip of the Month
Paste as Plain Text: Cmd + Shift + V
Tired of pasting text that brings along weird fonts, colors, or spacing? On a Mac, use Paste as Plain Text with Command + Shift + V. This strips out formatting and pastes only clean text. It’s especially useful in Microsoft Office apps like Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint when copying content from emails, websites, or PDFs. One shortcut, much cleaner results.
PC Tip of the Month
Paste as Plain Text: Ctrl + Shift + V
Avoid messy fonts, colors, and spacing when pasting text in Windows. In many apps, especially Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Teams, you can paste as plain text using Ctrl + Shift + V. This removes all formatting and keeps your content clean and consistent. It’s especially helpful when copying text from websites, emails, PDFs, or ticketing systems, where hidden formatting can cause issues. One simple shortcut can save time and frustration.
General Genius
Course Groups in Outlook & Box
Most faculty are familiar with Course Groups in Outlook, which make it easy to email an entire class at once. Those same Course Groups are also available in Box.
This means you can share a Box folder, such as course materials or assignments, with your whole class in just a few clicks. One economics professor uses this approach at the start of each term so all students automatically have access.
