Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Official State Closure Map


This comes from Bonnie Waninger of the Lamoille County Planning Commission:

“VTrans and Google have collaborated to create a road closure map for Vermont.
You can find the map at the following address:


This map is the official State closure map.”

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

From President Murphy


Thanks to all of you for your patience and helpfulness as we work through our Information Technology challenges.  I am tremendously grateful for your positive attitude and willingness to “go with the flow” as systems get back to normal.

I am pleased to announce that substantial progress has been made.  While the portal (MyJSC.jsc.edu) is still not functioning,
JSC email and Internet access have been restored. In addition, for those who are enrolled in Moodle and online classes,
Moodle is now accessible at https://moodle.vsc.edu.  This means that all online classes, including EDP courses, are now in session.

Please be aware that while considerable functionality has been restored — ahead of schedule, thankfully — connectivity may be sporadic at times. This means you may lose connection from time to time. If that happens, please be patient and know that someone is working on the problem.

Again, thanks for your help. We will update you as additional progress is made.

Tuesday Morning Update (8/30/11)



 All of us at JSC  understand how difficult and frustrating the system outage is for everyone. All colleges in the Vermont State Colleges system are affected and are working around the clock to remedy the situation. The IT folks made a lot of progress yesterday, so we are hopeful that systems will be restored soon. Access to Moodle is a top priority.  In answer to specific questions:

Professors will be flexible and understanding if you cannot attend class, whether online or on campus.

> If you are taking classes on campus or at any EDP site and can safely get to campus or that site, you are expected to attend. JSC on-campus students should call the class-cancellation line to make sure your class is being held, however, as some professors are unable to get to campus as well. That number is 800-635-2356, ext. 8. EDP students should contact their class site to confirm their class is being held.

> Online classes (including EDP online classes) are delayed until such time as Internet and portal access is restored. Again, we expect that to be SOON.

> The "class attendance" requirement for financial-aid recipients will not be enforced during this time.

Status updates will be posted on this Facebook page and at our temporary website at www.jsc.edu. Please check these sites regularly for updates. Of course, once Internet ad portal access is restored, we will notify you via email to your JSC email address and announcements on the portal as well.

Please know that people are working around the clock to return systems to normal, and progress is being made. During this time we may have intermittent access to email and the portal, but we will notify you only when access is fully restored.

Again, thanks to everyone for their patience, understanding and cooperation during this difficult time.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Update on Post-Tropical Storm Irene Internet/Web Issues

Thanks to the cooperation and goodwill of all, we weathered Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene very well at JSC. The College suffered  minimal property damage, and a few downed trees were removed promptly.  We applaud the level of responsible student conduct throughout our hurricane warnings and the ensuing storm. Classes are running, all College facilities are open, and activities are proceeding as planned.

As you know, our current challenge is re-activating our website, portal and external email communications, which went offline when the Vermont State College’s data center in Waterbury was flooded last night (Sunday). At approximately 8:50 p.m., Stanley Hall (where the VSC data center is located) was evacuated and power was shut off.  At this time, access to the portal (myjsc.jsc.edu) is unavailable both from on- and off-campus locations.  Email is available only to and from JSC.EDU email addresses as long as both the sender and recipient computers are physically located on campus.  All access to the internet from JSC also is down at this time.

Johnson State College is taking the following actions:

·         Our www.jsc.edu website is being re-routed to a temporary site that provides basic information and a way for us to post updates for the public until our Internet presence is fully restored. If you are using campus computers or Ethernet connections on campus, you may continue to access our regular site using www.jsc.vsc.edu.  This on-campus direct link allows you to access the majority of features of the system.

·         The VSC is working closely with Moodle Rooms to provide us with an alternative means of accessing our Course Management System so that students taking online courses may continue uninterrupted.  As soon as this solution is in place, we will notify you of the access method. 

·         The VSC also is working on an alternate means of providing Internet access from the JSC campus.  We will keep you apprised.

·         In addition, we will be making greater use of our Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/JohnsonStateCollege, to share information until this situation is resolved.

As a reminder, adjustments to class schedules will be posted on the class-cancellation telephone line.  You may access this feature by dialing 802-635-2356, then 8.

Despite the storm and the aftermath we are now dealing with, we are off to a good start at JSC. We welcomed 365 new JSC students to campus (including 290 entering first-year students) plus another 125 new students to our off-campus External Degree Program, and we had a wonderful first week. We are looking forward to a productive and enriching year as we move forward.

Thank you for your patience as we work through these issues.