UC advances digital transformation in FY 2025
The latest University of Cincinnati Digital Technology Solutions (DTS) semiannual report highlights FY 2025 milestones on the university's digital transformation journey. From secure and compliant AI tools to wireless network improvements and everything in between, DTS remains committed to accelerating UC's shared Next Lives Here strategic direction from foundation to breakthrough.
“The incredible progress toward our strategic focus areas — increasing IT operational excellence, bolstering cybersecurity and resilience, modernizing organization and systems and transforming digital technologies — would not have been possible without the university community’s partnership in FY 2025,” said UC Vice President and Chief Digital Officer Bharath Prabhakaran. “Together, we are harnessing the power of technology to create meaningful change within our community and ensure our students thrive and succeed.”
Together, we are harnessing the power of technology to create meaningful change within our community and ensure our students thrive and succeed.
Bharath Prabhakaran, UC Vice President and Chief Digital Officer
Students, faculty, and staff can access AI tools including Microsoft Copilot Chat, LinkedIn Learning AI-powered coaching, and Zoom AI Companion with their UC username and password. Adobe Creative Cloud – Firefly and Microsoft Copilot for 365 are available to faculty and staff as paid add-on license.
DTS established the AI Enablement Community of Practice, which brings together UC’s academic, research and administrative functions to advance AI innovation and application. The project's focus on the secure and responsible use of AI led to many accomplishments in FY 2025, including a suite of UC-supported AI tools and resources.
Its production pilot of BearcatGPT, a UC-only OpenAI/GPT environment, even supported the development of custom GPTs/agents for AI-powered personalized tutoring.
DTS continuously works to improve wireless service. Staff proactively identify and address areas for improvement, ensuring the university’s wireless network meets the needs of the university community. In FY 2025, DTS completed the process in many student-centered locations, including residence halls, classrooms, and lecture halls such as Zimmer Auditorium.
DTS teams also made strategic upgrades to technology infrastructure—both on premises and cloud—to position the university to meet evolving operational needs and support innovation across the institution.
The modernized infrastructure provides the necessary foundation to build a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification compliant cloud environment in partnership with the Office of Research — a critical step for maintaining eligibility to compete for federal grants. Once completed, UC will be one of the first higher education institutions to implement a CMMC-compliant cloud environment, setting a new standard for cybersecurity in academic research.
DTS also supported the modernization of technology in university spaces and systems in FY 2025.
DTS completed upgrades to 12 classrooms in Swift Hall during the spring semester, with an additional 19 classrooms in Arts and Sciences Hall slated for completion the start of the fall 2025 term. Forty-five university conference rooms now enable hybrid meetings with the touch of a button. The rooms run Microsoft Teams Room technology, which seamlessly integrates with many Microsoft 365 apps.
UC Food Services and Parking Services partnered with the DTS Campus Services IT team to facilitate the technical side of the on-campus food provider transition and parking permit management and gate system replacement, two significant system transitions in FY 2025.
Key stakeholders from core functional areas such as Human Resources, Finance, and Enrollment Management joined DTS at the first-ever Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Futures Summit to begin building an ERP strategy now that will meet the university’s future, next-level needs.
For more details about DTS’s FY 2025 achievements, view the DTS Semiannual Report.
Featured image at top: UC's Digital Technologies Solutions shares its progress in updating technology on UC's Uptown Campus. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
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