Data security. There was a day when your Social Security Number could be printed safely on your personnel and financial documents, and your mail. Those days are gone. From childhood we are now taught to guard personal information and identifying numbers as if our identity depends upon it. Because, well, it does. Those whose identity has been stolen know too well the challenge of rectifying the status of their personal information.
At Terra Dotta, we fully understand the importance of securely handling the data of our clients and their travelers. Your traveling students and faculty must be able to trust us; your administrators must be able to trust us; and your IT Department certainly must be able trust us. For those reasons we have sought and obtained one of the highest security certifications available — PCI DSS Certification. To understand more about Terra Dotta's data security and certification, I recently spoke with Scott Burkett, Terra Dotta's Information Security Officer.
Study Abroad and ISSS Boot Camps will be held in conjunction with the NAFSA Tri-Regional next month. These basic training workshops guide you through exercises that teach core features for building your site and completing daily tasks and processes.
As a participant, you will receive access to your own Terra Dotta software test site for 30 days. You will start with a blank copy of the software and wind up with a complete site similar to those used in real-world applications.
Learn more and register today!
Terra Dotta is pleased to host a Forum workshop on Friday, November 17. Using Standard 8 of The Forum’s Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad, participants will assess and improve programs on health and safety issues. The workshop is designed for those responsible for developing, managing, assessing and improving education abroad programs. Participants are expected to have familiarity with either hosting or sending students on education abroad programs. This workshop will be presented in Chapel Hill, NC.
Keith Rokoske joined the Terra Dotta family in January of 2016 as a Software Engineer. His daily responsibilities entail developing new and exciting features for Terra Dotta like the Submit Button, Prospects, and putting TDS in a responsive UI, as well as fixing bugs and responding to client inquiries.
Before joining Terra Dotta, Keith worked as a cartographer for the US Census Bureau and a GIS developer for GenaWare. He also developed online mapping systems at TerraVerge and developed many applications, including a virtual university at RTI International.
Keith graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science in Geography with a French minor. He also obtained a Master of Arts in Geography from the University of Colorado. Although he did not study abroad in college, Keith was a year-program AFS exchange student in Fribourg, Switzerland after he completed high school.
Outside of work, Keith enjoys reading, photography and traveling but he spends most of his spare time outdoors with his wife and 12 year-old son hiking, biking, skiing (downhill and x-country) and going on adventures. Recently, his family went to the path of totality for the eclipse. He also volunteers at a homeless shelter and works to support those who are less fortunate. One activity he has always wanted to experience is trekking in Nepal or somewhere in the Himalayas!
Keith says his favorite part of working at Terra Dotta is that “I really like the people I work with and enjoy solving problems with them. Even on a bad day, I know that what I’m doing is helping to make people happy by allowing them to pursue their dreams of studying abroad!”
Don’t miss your chance to participate in the learning event of 2018. The Annual Terra Dotta Global User Conference (TDU Global) is a jam-packed, 2-day event designed to build your skills and inspire ideas for your Terra Dotta software (TDS) site. Here is a sneak peek at what you can expect:
- Keynote Speaker at the Opening Plenary
- Tech Talk - Two 1-hour open sessions with Brendan Haggerty (CTO), Garrett Christian (CSO), and Tim Wojoski (Dir of Product Dev)
- TD Future - Two 1-hour open sessions with Brandon Lee (CEO), Cheryl Boeckman (SVP), and Susan Young (CFO)
- Table Top Exercises on risk situations with risk experts from iJET
- TDS Guru Sign-Ups for one-on-one Q&A with a TD professional
Presenters: Sakiba Dzelil & Aaron Rhoney
In this webinar, we will demonstrate the many exciting changes made to Terra Dotta Software with the TDS 17.3 release. We will cover everything you need to know to make the most of the new and updated functionality to your office. This includes customizable email templates, WYSIWYG editor updates, and new account settings.
OCTOBER 184:00 PM EDT
Presenter: Lisa Tauferner
When it comes to making changes in TDS, efficiency is crucial. Come and learn how to make the most of your time by performing admin tasks in bulk instead of one at a time. We will review the steps to send mass emails, update program information, and process applications in groups. In this session, we will show you these functions while demonstrating how to incorporate them into your daily routine.
OCTOBER 254:00 PM EDT
Presenter: Garrett Lucas
Integrating a payment gateway into your Terra Dotta Software is an easy way to connect your applicants’ credit cards to the programs they are applying to. Automating this step allows your study abroad office to redirect human resources from time spent manually taking payments to accomplishing other tasks. In this session we will review the fundamentals of a payment gateway integration, methods used to take payments, and conduct a live demonstration showing the administrative and applicant perspectives when interacting with a payment gateway.
NOVEMBER 294:00 PM EDT
Between printed and online materials, it can be daunting to keep up with the professional literature. Let us help you. Each month we will list several online articles that we hope you will find interesting.
Find an article that you believe others will want to read? Send the link to kerry.geffert@terradotta.com! Here are some to get you started:
Is your email mobile enough?
From ICEF Monitor
Online Abroad, and Beyond Title IX’s Reach?
From Inside Higher Ed
“It was different times, with no communication”: how education counselling evolved in 20 years
From The PIE News
The new nationalism and internationalisation of HE
From University World News
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