OUE Leavers project outreach efforts underway

One Stop Student Services has begun another round of outreach in the Leavers project to help retain 122 undergraduate students in their first year at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. The Leavers project is a proactive Office for Undergraduate Education initiative with cooperation between many UMN departments and units. One Stop is collaborating with the Office of Student Finance and Student Account Assistance to reach out to first-year students with past due balances who are not registered for classes, find possible solutions, and help them resolve any issues.

ImageNow kickoff recap and upcoming test labs

The OIT ImageNow team held a kickoff event on December 7 and continues to progress towards upgrading to version 7.1 which includes bug fixes, new features, improved search performance, and a new product name - Perceptive Content - among other enhancements. The upgrade to 7.1 is scheduled to take place February 6-7, 2016. In order to prepare for the upgrade, OIT has scheduled test labs for users through January 7, 2016. Prior to attending a test lab, please send any capture profiles that you are using to the team at oia-imaging@lists.umn.edu.

A copy of the December 7 kickoff presentation is available here and the webcast recording can be accessed here.

One Stop & SAA preparing spring 2016 cancels list

One Stop Student Services will begin working on the cancel list for students who are registered for classes but have a past due balances at the University. If students are registered for spring 2016 and have a past due student account, their registration will be cancelled. Each account is examined closely to ensure that students do not have any aid options or charges that look out of the ordinary. One Stop works closely with the Office of Student Finance and Student Account Assistance to present any options to students to retain their registration.

Lessons learned at the ASR staff appreciation event

By: Marcia DeGaetano

I arrived later than I hoped to the ASR staff appreciation event and walked into a sea of crowded tables at The Library Bar. I thought to myself that I would be lucky to find a seat when I spotted a table with three lovely ladies, two who I did not know, and one empty seat. I asked the group if I could sit with them.

During the raffle, in between trying to remember our ticket numbers and straining to hear Ingrid's enthusiastic calling of the numbers, I resigned myself to not really caring if I received a prize as we had decided to get to know each other. A prize in and of itself. But, then I heard Ingrid announce that the DVD player was the next prize. I chuckled and said, "Oh.. but I would like that prize.” My son and I had just recently had a conversation about needing to purchase one if we wanted to watch our favorite holiday movies together.

The number was called and, low and behold, the winning ticket belonged to one of the women sitting at my table who I had just met. When she returned to the table, prize in hand, she handed me the DVD player! I tried to resist her generosity, but she insisted. I was extremely touched. I handed her my raffle ticket and wished her luck. The very next number called was that ticket! So, what are the lessons you ask? You decide! There is more than one. Thanks, again, Val!

Fuji upgrade to ServiceNow is complete

The ServiceNow upgrade to Fuji was successfully completed. While extensive testing was completed, the Office of Information Technology would like to encourage users who encounter technical issues to contact Technology Help at (612) 301-4357 (1-HELP on campus), help@umn.edu or online chat.

Save the date: January ServiceNow and IT process improvement event

The latest upgrade has generated many questions about the state of ServiceNow and IT process improvement at the University. In response to this growing interest, the Office of Information Technology will host an interactive event on the topic on Wednesday, January 6 from 10-11:30 a.m. in 312 Bruininks Hall.

ASR Staff Engagement team looking forward to 2016

The results from October’s Employee Engagement survey are scheduled to be released to the Office of Undergraduate Education’s leadership team in January 2016. The results are expected to be available for ASR leadership’s consideration in February. Moving into the 2016 year the current ASR Staff Engagement team structure will remain the same and the group will continue to facilitate collaboration across ASR Units to identify development opportunities as a result of the survey.

Even as the group begins looking towards next year, they continue to actively implement initiatives identified from the October 2014 survey. Most recently the group has recommended piloting a group of ASR staff to participate in the new cohort for Leadership Training for Individual Contributors offered by the Office of Human Resources in January. The program uses personal development assessments and feedback, group work and presentations, and an Individual Development Plan. It is well aligned with ASR’s current plans regarding employee development.

Leadership development plans ongoing

The ASR directors held an all-day meeting on December 16th to continue work on the items discussed in the TED-style talks at the ASR staff event, including strategic planning, breaking down silos, and creating a line of sight to our processes. A more detailed email communication will be sent very soon. There have been initiatives related to leadership development in ASR since October. For example, a team has been working on the design of our Individual Development Plan process and documents. The team has a draft form and supporting document and are currently gathering feedback. The directors have looked at leadership training and other opportunities already available to ASR staff such as the OHR training previously advertised in The Brief. A thorough inventory of these opportunities will be created in January 2016. Look for updates in News & Notes and via email to the ASR staff list.

Sunsetting the Perkins Student Loan program

Many people do not realize that there is another federal loan program besides Direct Loans - but there is! The Perkins Loan program started in 1958. Perkins loans are only awarded to students who still have financial need after having been awarded Pell grants and Direct loans, so the Perkins Loan program is much smaller than the Direct Loan program.

Unlike Direct Loans, the Perkins Loan fund consists of money provided by both the federal government and the University. Money in the Perkins loan fund “revolves,” which means that the University gives it to students, who then repay the loan to the University. The University then re-awards the funds that have been repaid to a new group of students.

Congress has not given additional money to the Perkins loan for about 10 years. So why has it only reached its “sunset” now?

A few years ago, a clause was added to the Higher Education Act (HEA), which authorizes all major federal aid programs, that states that the Perkins program would “sunset,” or end, on September 30, 2014. The clause was added so Congress could list the Perkins loan program as an asset when compiling the federal budget. It had not been listed as such previously. The “sunset” provision means that the program stops and the money is to be given back to the federal government.

Congress did not Reauthorize the HEA by the September 30, 2015 (after a one-year extension) date. For the other major aid programs, there was no immediate impact, as those programs are “forward funded,” so continue to have funds through this year. However, the Perkins loan sunset clause took effect.

What impact does this have on the University of Minnesota? 

As of September 30, 2015, the University cannot award Perkins funds to new borrowers. If a student was awarded a Perkins loan for the 2015-16 academic year and received their first advance by September 30, they can still receive the rest of their 2015-16 award. However, if their first advance was not completed by September 30, they will not be eligible to receive that funding. When that happens, a Grandfather Clause takes effect. This clause allows the school, if they choose, to award a Perkins loan to a student who had received a Perkins loan from that same school prior to June 30, 2015 and is still studying in the same degree program. If a student changes schools or change their degree program, they lose eligibility.

What now? 

A bill was recently passed with bipartisan support in the House that would extend the Perkins program for one year. A majority of the Senate has signed a letter of support for the extension of Perkins. Many letters of support have also been sent to Congressional leadership from higher education organizations. These letters included one from the Big 10 Presidents, which President Kaler signed. A coalition of 535 schools and 53 higher education organizations produced an additional letter, which was also signed by President Kaler. The champions of the Perkins program in both the House and Senate continue to work to get the extension passed outright or attached to another bill. The University supports their work.

If you would like to learn more, watch the Let’s Save Perkins Now video or visit the Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations website.

System Campus retention and recruitment consultations

With the new Board of Regents Maroon and Gold Progress Card initiative released this past October, all the campuses have begun exploring how to meet the stated goals.

As part of this exploration process, Sue and Eleanor have been invited to attend meetings with each campus in December and January to discuss their proposals for the University’s system-wide recruitment, retention and graduation initiatives, as well as share best practices from ongoing efforts on the Twin Cities campuses. These meetings will begin next week with Morris and Crookston.

Image Now upgrade kickoff meeting

The OIT ImageNow team has begun work on an upgrade to version 7.1, scheduled for completion in February 2016. There will be a Kickoff Meeting/Webcast hosted by the OIT ImageNow team for unit and departmental administrators on December 7, 2015 from 11-12 p.m. in room 140 of the Nolte Center for Continuing Education. The session will cover:

• New features in version 7.1
• Testing approach, timeline and a request for your involvement
• Planned production upgrade dates
• Future plans for ImageNow

Contact oia-imaging@lists.umn.edu with any questions.

Bringing the house down: Fraser Hall ceiling demolition begins

On November 30, two huge moveable scaffolding apparatus were erected in 200 Fraser Hall—a sure sign that the ceiling removal process will begin in the near future. As mentioned in previous articles, the 200 Fraser Hall space will be off limits during the deconstruction and construction work. In order to access the area in the back of the 2nd floor you must enter the building through the south door (closest to Appleby Hall) or take the elevator from the first floor. If you don’t use the elevator, you will require UCard access for the Fraser Hall doors. Please contact Mara Schneider to be added to the access list.

Search update for new OSF director

ASR has received applications for the Office of Student Finance director position. Jeremy Todd will be leading a small search committee that includes staff, assistant directors, and system campus representatives to determine if we have viable candidates. We will keep you posted if they believe we can move to interviews.

Twin Cities transitioning to new voicemail system

UMN IT began the process of introducing a new voicemail system to the UMTC campus in late October. All current voicemail users will need to transition to the new system before December 11, 2015, in order avoid interruption in their voicemail service. Visit z.umn.edu/voicemail for more information.

Williamson Hall elevator repairs beginning on December 28

The elevator in Williamson Hall needs to undergo a mandatory mechanical upgrade that will take seven working days to complete. The work has been scheduled for December 28, 2015 through January 7, 2016.

Duo prompt to be updated by vendor on December 8

An update to DUO's authentication prompt, is scheduled for implementation by the vendor on Tuesday, December 8. The authentication prompt is the method by which you choose how to verify your identity each time you log in (push, phone call or SMS password). DUO users will not need to take any action when the change occurs. Functionality will remain the same, but the prompts will have a different look.

ServiceNow upgrade

ServiceNow users who would like to familiarize themselves with the new Fuji interface before the Dec. 12-13 upgrade can do so in test environment at z.umn.edu/tst.

Watch a short video about the Fuji upgrade.

Electronic W-2 forms available for first time

For the first time, you may elect to receive your W‐2 statements online through MyU Self-Service in an IRS-approved PDF format. This allows you to print and send the online form with your tax return. Federal regulations require that employees give their consent to receive the W-2 in an electronic format. Once you consent, it carries forward each year and does not need to be repeated.

Step-by-step guide from HR:

1. Sign in to MyU with your username and password (secure access login).
2. From MyU, click on My Pay.
3. Click on W-2/W2C Consent.
4. Click on the checkbox giving your consent to receive your W‐2 statement online.
5. Click Submit.
6. The system will then prompt you to enter your password, providing an extra level of verification. This is the same password you use to log in to MyU.
7. You will receive an email from the University verifying your consent.

Please contact HR with questions or visit HR’s webpage on taxes for additional information.

Evaluating the ASR performance evaluation, what’s next?

ASR’s performance appraisal process is undergoing some renovation by five small task teams. The 1-5 rating system is being revised, metrics of quantity, quality and timeliness are being reviewed, self and peer evaluation procedures are getting clarified, and achievement and goal documentation is being reviewed. In addition, the possibility of providing a 360 degree-type evaluation for supervisors is being considered.

The teams are actively working on these identified areas and expect to make a final report on their efforts by March 2016. Please contact John Vollum or Stacey Tidball with questions.

CSE Light Show premiers on December 4

College of Science and Engineering students are again presenting their Winter Light Show. This year’s effort will be twice as big as last year featuring more than 200,000 LED lights set to music!

The show premieres on Friday, December 4, with additional shows on December 5, 10, 11 and 12. Shows are at 5:30, 6:00, and 6:30 p.m. each night. Find out more.

Registration numbers for spring 2016

This registration period for spring 2016 has begun well for system-wide students. Thus far 31,785 University of Minnesota students have successfully used the upgraded system to register for spring 2016 classes, with 22,187 students having completed registration from the Twin Cities campus.

Twin Cities begins transition to new voicemail system

UMN IT began the process of introducing a new voicemail system to the UMTC campus in late October. All current voicemail users received a voicemail message with instructions about the transition, including what users need do before December 11, 2015, in order avoid interruption in their voicemail service. If you don’t go through the process of setting yourself up in the new voicemail system before that transition date, you will not have voicemail until you set yourself up again. The new system offers the same features, including a voicemail-to-email tool. You can visit z.umn.edu/voicemail for more information.

Community Fund Drive update

Thank you to everyone who has participated in this year’s Community Fund Drive. Through the four weeks of fundraising efforts, the Office of Undergraduate Education had a 22.06% participation rate and $23,089.44 donated. Those numbers are just under our totals from 2014, where 30.98% of OUE employees participated and $25,028.57 was donated. Visit the Community Fund Drive’s web page for more information about this year’s effort »

One Stop’s Jenni Peterson wins U.S. Department of Defense’s Patriot award

While on deployment in 2014-15, Jake Murphy nominated his manager, Jenni Peterson, for the Department of Defense Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve's Patriot Award. The nomination and award recognized her tremendous contributions and selfless support for service members that contributed not only to a successful deployment of a soldier under her management, but it set the tone and exemplified the principles that should be the standard for all employers.

OTR’s St. Paul staff moving into Williamson Hall

The staff from the Office of the Registrar (OTR) in 130 Coffey Hall on the St. Paul campus will be moving to a new location beginning Monday, November 23--160 Williamson Hall on the Minneapolis East Bank campus. This move will allow the OTR staff to be closer to other Academic Support Resources colleagues and allow for more integration and cross-training opportunities across the OTR units. The One Stop staff on the St. Paul campus will remain and be available for service during and after the move.

The OTR team began moving their offices today, November 19, meaning they will have limited service availability until they re-open on November 23. If you have an urgent question and OTR staff are unavailable, you may contact One Stop at onestop@umn.edu or 612-624-1111 for assistance.

GSSP move to One Stop completed

Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities has completed the transition into One Stop Student Services at the Bruininks Hall location. While the staff, phone numbers, and emails have not changed, the physical location has changed from Williamson Hall to Bruininks Hall. During the transition time, there was minimal service disruption to students and other constituencies. At this point, service has been fully integrated into the One Stop model in Bruininks Hall and has been met with positive feedback from current graduate and professional students.

Reviewing ASR’s Individual Development Plans process

As part of the most recent ASR Directors retreat and ongoing evaluation of Employee Engagement survey results, the directors identified a need to cultivate leadership within ASR. Part of this effort is to examine the current ASR process for Individual Development Plans (IDP). 

This week John Vollum and a consultant have been conducting interviews with a sampling of ASR staff to learn more about how we are using -- or not using --  our IDP forms and what we can do to create a better process to support professional development. Stay tuned for additional updates from the directors in future News & Notes.

Professional Development Requests

The Staff Engagement Team would like to remind everyone about ASR's Professional Development Request (PDR) process and how staff are using the process to support development opportunities.

The Professional Development Request, is the workflow process used by ASR to route professional development or funding requests for approval. 

You should submit a PDR whenever you are requesting:

• approval of time or funding needed to pursue a professional development opportunity

• purchase of new equipment (i.e. computer hardware or software)

Last month was a busy time for professional development opportunities, as there were 39 approved PDRs in October 2015. Many ASR staff members took part in attending conferences, gaining certificates, or participating in on-campus activities.

Please speak with your supervisor or fill out a PDR form by selecting "Submit a PDR" from the Quick Links on the ASR Intranet if you would like to take part in an opportunity.

Being gracious

Cultivating an “Attitude of Gratitude” has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher life satisfaction, and kinder behaviour toward others. But, how can we be more gracious? Read more from the New York Times »

Expectations for degrees at the University of Minnesota

The Board of Regents created progress cards that ASR needs to make sure we are aligned with, so that we are better situated to accomplish the various goals set forth for the University of Minnesota. To better understand the expectations for the Provost, Vice Provost and ASR regarding graduation, please read the following:

• Students are expected to complete their degree in 4-years.
• There is an ongoing discussion about how to handle students who finish their degrees before 4 years and whether or not they need to be cleared.  Stay tuned.

• Students that have completed all degree requirements are expected to be cleared for their degree to remain in federal aid compliance:
• A student who completes the academic requirements for a program but does not yet have the degree or certificate is not eligible for further additional FSA funds for that program.
• Degrees should be posted so that students do not receive aid for courses that are not applicable to their degree

• And, here is the link to the whole segment of the handbook, if you need some additional information: http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1415Vol1Ch1.pdf

• Students that have completed degree requirements but are still pursuing a second major (including Honors) or minor get their degree posted and become non-degree students

• Students that have completed degree requirements, have not applied for graduation and are not taking classes should be cleared for graduation (right now this should be initiated by the college, but this may change with the Timely Graduation Policy proposal).

• Students that have completed degree requirements but have in progress coursework that is not applicable to their program should be cleared for degree.

• Colleges should not be forcing students to fill out a readmission form for the sole purpose of degree clearance/posting.  Colleges should contact their OTR representative.

• Colleges should use comments/notes section on the degree clearance page to identify the term in which the student completed their degree requirements (rather than have the student change their grad application term).

Please contact me if you have any questions, as we are not always providing correct information even within our own unit and to others.

Thanks,

Sue

2015 Community Fund Drive

The theme is Do Good. Feel Good, where employees give to the causes they care about - ending hunger, curing diseases, helping students pay their college tuitions, preserving the environment, sheltering the homeless, or supporting the arts.

The Community Fund Drive reflects the University's long tradition of giving back to the community and includes seven federation partners that represent nearly 500 agencies/charities. You can also make a pledge to your own favorite charity as long as it's a 501(c)3 organization. Select the federation or charity you want to support and give online at www1.umn.edu/cfd/ today.

Giving Made Easy
Last year units reporting to the Office of Undergraduate Education had a 31% participation rate. This year we'd like to raise that--everyone can make a difference. You can donate as little as $1 per pay-period or sign up to provide a modest one-time donation.

The Community Fund Drive is unique because you can give a small gift from each paycheck or a one-time gift. Donate online through the University. Printable forms are also available here.

Time is running out to Do Good. Feel Good. The 2015 Community Fund Drive runs through November 13.

Help us improve the ASR website

Please take a few moments to give us your input on the ASR website. We know you’ve been asked to take a lot of surveys recently, but this one should only take about five minutes. Your input will help guide future improvements to the ASR website.

You are invited to the 9th annual Student Veterans Appreciation Day

Join us for the 9th annual Student Veterans Appreciation Event on Tuesday, November 17 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in Coffman Great Hall. Say "thank you" to student veterans, participate in some games, and grab a slice of pizza. Everyone is welcome! Can't make it? Stop by our booth to write a thank-you message to our veterans. Dates and locations are available on the One Stop website.

Carolee Cohen recognized with IT@UMN Outstanding Service Award

Ten University IT staff received an IT@UMN Outstanding Service Award for their contributions to the mission of IT@UMN. The biannual award recognizes those demonstrating high performance in the areas of creativity, organizational abilities, work success and teamwork. Among this year’s recipients was Academic Support Resources’ Carolee Cohen. Congratulations, Carolee!

OCM will staff front desk after GSSP move out

With GSSP moving out of Williamson Hall 160 and into Bruininks Hall, the Office Classroom Management will begin supporting the front desk with a rotating team of students and OCM staff. Stop by to say hello!

Academic Support Resources technical projects updates

ASR has created a resource for the U of M community to track planned, in-progress and completed projects that our technical staff are or were recently working on related to the PeopleSoft Upgrade. This information is being compiled on the new ASR Technical Project Updates webpage . These projects largely address issues that our users have identified related to their work with the Office of the Registrar, the Office of Student Finance, the Office of Financial Aid, the Office of Classroom Management, and One Stop Student Services.

IT Service Management Tool (ServiceNow) Upgrade

To maintain vendor support and take advantage of an improved user interface, the Office of Information Technology will upgrade the enterprise-level IT service management tool, ServiceNow, to its latest release (Fuji). The activities will occur behind the scenes over the weekend of December 12-13 (pending final approval by the enterprise IT Change Approval Board), and no service disruption is expected.

Increased Email Spam

Last Thursday, the University experienced a significant unplanned email disruption. In response, the email infrastructure was updated to accommodate new security standards. Users have been reporting more spam messages in their inboxes, and the OIT team is working to reinforce and update the University’s spam filters in order to reduce and eliminate spam resulting from this event.

Visit the University’s Service Status page for updates.

Introducing the Staff Engagement Team

Academic Support Resources’ Staff Engagement Team started in the summer of 2015 to help coordinate unit engagement efforts across ASR. Within the group, each unit is being represented. It’s current members include Christa Nichols, David Crane, Eleanor Pijut, John Vollum, Betsy Everts, Mara Schneider, Tonisha White, and Matthew Tveter. This group has been charged with:

• Improving E2 Survey follow-up on 2014 results and following years
• Addressing development opportunities for staff
• Communicating progress to staff

Please look for more to come in News and Notes from the Staff Engagement Team!

Fall Staff event video now posted online

The event planning team wants to thank everyone who was able to attend the Fall ASR Event. If you were not able to attend or would like to relive the experience, a video of the event is available on the ASR Intranet.

Password managers

From “Ouch!”, Securing the Human’s monthly security awareness newsletter: “One of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself online is to use a unique, strong password for each of your accounts. Unfortunately, most of us have so many accounts that it’s almost impossible to remember all of our passwords. A simple solution is to use a password manager, sometimes called a password vault.” Read more about password managers.

The Regents’ Gold and Maroon measures for progress cards

At their October 9th meeting, the U of M Board of Regents discussed what their expectations are for setting goals and measuring the success of the University and its institutional strength using a progress card framework. The measures they are recommending for implementation are broken into two groups, Gold measures that establish a future-looking road map and Maroon measures that indicate current performance.

Gold measures and goals:

• 4-year graduation rate of 65% for the Twin Cities 2017 cohort
• 6-year graduation rate of 82% for the Twin Cities 2015 cohort
• 4-year graduation rate of 54% for system Pell-eligible students in 2017 cohort
• Twin Cities freshman average ACT score greater than 28

Maroon measures and goals:

• 3-year graduation rate greater than 65% for Twin Cities transfer students
• More than 5,250 graduate and professional degrees awarded
• Median undergraduate debt at graduation for system-wide students to grow no faster than CPI (corrected for federal and state policy changes)
• Maintain recent gains in the Graduation Success Rate for athletics

You can read even more about the Regents progress card goals in the docket materials from their October 2015 meeting.

Update on the ongoing Graduate and Professional support alignment efforts

Last Spring,  Provost Karen Hanson proposed a new model to realign our institutional support for graduate and professional education in response to concerns expressed by numerous faculty, staff and students. These efforts are ongoing, but there have been a few updates recently:

• Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education Henning Schroeder has been asked to transition to a new role to lead the development of a professional education community
• A search committee will be developed in the near future to identify a new Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education
• An FAQ has been posted addressing some of the most common questions and feedback themes about the current version of the proposed model

U of M’s accreditation efforts underway

Every ten years, the University of Minnesota goes through a re-accreditation process with our accreditation agency, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). This process is required by the U.S. Department of Education to assure that all members of HLC meet specific regulations and expectations, and being accredited has significant impacts on the University, including the ability to offer degrees and the availability of federal financial aid for our students. As foundation of the University’s student finance, financial aid and student records, ASR plays an active role in the accreditation efforts.

There are five criteria for accreditation upon which the University will be assessed: Mission; Integrity (Ethical and Responsible Conduct); Teaching and Learning (Quality, Resources, and Support); Teaching and Learning (Evaluation and Improvement); Resources, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness.

These five criteria weave throughout the entire enterprise of the University and its offerings. ASR was tasked with providing information for inclusion in the accreditation documentation that addressed: assignment of credits, program length and tuition; information on transfer of credits to the University from other institutions; processes used to verify student identity in distance courses; Title IV status; Student Finance financial audit results; institutional default rates; participation in private loan programs; campus crime information, athletic participation and financial aid, and related disclosures; Student Right to Know information; and Satisfactory Academic Progress and Attendance Policies.

The HLC evaluation team will be on campus October 26 and 27 for their on-site visit and interactions with the campus community. After their visit is complete, the University will hear whether or not it remains accredited by HLC.

Read more about the University's accreditation.

All Campus meeting recap

Approximately 60 student records, financial aid, student finance, and One Stop staff from all five University of Minnesota campuses convened in St. Paul this past Monday and Tuesday for the 2015 Fall All Campus meeting. The meeting consisted of general sessions which provided information of interest to all attendees, including:

• Sue Van Voorhis and Grant Clavelle provided a look forward to the initiatives and priorities facing our groups in the upcoming year. 
• John Vollum provided a glance back at the lessons learned during the Upgrade.

Staff continued to build relationships with their peers and network at the Monday evening reception. Thank you to all the participants who helped support another successful All Campus Meeting.

ISSP annual conference hosted by U of M

Approximately 190 higher education administrators attended the 2015 Institute for Student Services Professionals (ISSP) annual conference hosted by the University of Minnesota on October 11-13. Robert McMaster, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, presented to attendees with a keynote entitled "The Role of Student Services in Student Success: How does the work within One Stop align with University goals?" The conference also featured a tour of the One Stop Student Services center and other student services offices in Bruininks Hall.

Look for more information about this event in an upcoming News & Notes article from the Employee Engagement committee as they highlight professional development and opportunities for ASR staff.

Next week’s Fall Staff event

Don’t forget the ASR Fall Staff event starting at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 28, 2015! Here are a few updates and reminders:

• Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about ASR's units and leadership during a poster session with prizes.
• Coffee will be provided, but to promote sustainability, please plan on bringing your own water container.
• Reciprocal parking information can be found here. For people without reciprocal parking, validation will be provided at check-in.

New location for Graduate Student Services & Progress starting November 9

On November 9, the Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) office currently located in 160 Williamson Hall will move to the One Stop Student Services center in Bruininks Hall. The GSSP office in 160 Williamson Hall will have limited service (no walk in service; available via email and phone) after Wednesday, November 4 for the move and re-open with full service in its new location on November 9.You may continue to contact GSSP at 612-625-3490 or gssp@umn.edu.

Office of the Registrar's St. Paul staff moving to Williamson Hall

The St. Paul Office of the Registrar staff will be moving to Williamson Hall between November 19-20, 2015. The move will allow the staff to be closer to their colleagues and create more opportunities for integration and cross-training across the OTR units.

E2 survey reminder

The Employment Engagement Survey is now open through Friday, October 30. Please remember to complete the survey by this date. As of October 16, the Office of Undergraduate Education has 43% participation; the University overall has a response rate of 32%.

Spring 2016 registration updates

Students will have access to their spring 2016 registration queue time starting November 2. The spring 2016 registration time table can be found on the One Stop website and will be updated the morning of November 2. As a reminder, spring 2016 registration begins Tuesday, November 10 for students admitted to degree and certificate programs. Open registration begins Friday, December 4.

New Schedule Builder available Oct. 26

A new version of Schedule Builder will be available on Monday, October 26. Under the new version, students will have the option to explore, plan, and see a calendar view of their schedules. With the start of spring 2016 registration quickly approaching, we anticipate this new version of Schedule Builder to be highly accessed and we encourage you to notify other staff members about this change.

UMTC begins transition to new voicemail system

UMN IT will begin the process of introducing a new voicemail system to the UMTC campus starting Oct. 26. Voicemail users will receive a voicemail with instructions for the transition, which can be done anytime before Dec. 1. The new system offers the same features, including a voicemail-to-email tool.

Contingency planning for the unexpected

Academic Support Resources units are beginning work on contingency plans to evaluate and better prepare themselves in case of future, unexpected system outages during critical times, such as registration and the beginning of spring term. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. These types of forward-thinking efforts are critical to ensure the success of U of M faculty, staff and students during high-stress parts of the year.

E2 Survey available on October 12

On October 12, all faculty and staff systemwide will receive this year's employee engagement survey from the Hay Group. The survey will take staff and faculty about 10 minutes to complete and the results will be made available in early 2016. ASR uses these results to create annual action plans to address employee concerns and build on strengths. A message earlier this week from UMN President Eric Kaler encouraged staff to participate and provide feedback about their work experience at the University.

Invite: ASR Fall Staff Event

Click here to find directions to Hubert H. Humphrey Hall.

Check out a sample TED Talk here.

Save the Date: OUE Staff event

Please save the date for the Office of Undergraduate Education’s staff upcoming event on Monday, November 30, 2015 from 9:30 - 11 a.m. in Coffman Memorial Union’s Great Hall. Stay tuned for additional details.

Vacation, Sick & Comp Balances report available

UMN Human Resources would like to remind you that you can review a summary report of your vacation and sick leave accrued and taken for each pay period. Here’s how:

• In MyU, click “Key Links” then “Reporting Center.” 
• Under Human Resources Management, find and click “Payroll & Time.”
• Select the “Vacation, sick and comp balances” report.
• Enter your Employee ID and submit.

When the report comes up, click on your ID on the left-hand side of the page, and select the fiscal year 2015-2016 to view this report  for balances since the start of the new payroll fiscal year.

Wondering how the Tate Renovation project is going?

There’s a webcam for that! The College of Science & Engineering has set up a Tate Science and Teaching Renovation webcam, so that the campus community and general public can keep tabs on the construction progress. Check it out here, the Tate Renovation webcam.

What are the financial impacts of graduating (or not) in four years?

At the Registrar’s Advisory Committee meeting on Monday, October 5, Tina Falkner highlighted some of the key impacts to students for graduating, or not, in four years. The Office of Student Finance has been compiling data and research to determine the long-term effects of staying in college longer than 4 years and what impact completing a degree can have on lifelong earnings.

View the full Financial Impacts of Graduating in 4-years handout for all the details*.

*Data and information based on UMN Twin Cities campus.

Looking at the impact of the Upgrade on ASR Training & Support team inquiries

• First week of fall term 2014 (92 calls and emails)
• First week of spring term 2015 (95 calls and emails)
• Week that grades were due spring 2015 (394 calls and emails)
• First week of fall 2015 (214 calls and emails)

OSF director job posted

The search for a new Office of Student Finance director is underway with the job officially posted to the UMN employment/job openings page. Current UMN employees can view the posting through the Employment/Job Openings resource in the Employee Center of MyU, or by clicking here.

We encourage you to share the posting with qualified, external applicants using the following:

• Job posting, or
• Go to the UMN Employment Opportunities page and search for Director, Office of Student Finance, or by job ID 304869

Destiny One Registration System update

The Destiny One Registration System (DORS) is live and the rollout continues across the University community. There has been $395,000 in registration revenue with 1,423 enrollments in 107 different courses and 179 sections.There are currently nine units live in production with 12 more testing and soon to be live. There have been more than 200 users trained in the system and the interest keeps growing. Duluth will be the first system campus to utilize the Destiny One Registration System.

One Stop Student Services begins with a busy start of the term

One Stop's fall traffic has been feeling the effects of Upgrade-related changes in business processes and the system’s early-term problems. Within the week prior and the first week of classes there were 6,058 calls answered, 6,566 walk-ins, and 6,677 emails sent to customers. Overall, this is approximately a 15% increase in traffic from last year at the start of the term.

A new structure to meet ASR’s student data reporting needs

To meet the reporting needs of ASR, Ingrid Nuttall, Emily Holt, and Justin Pouliot have been working to develop a process for the intake, review, and prioritization of requests to help ensure they are put in the appropriate work queue.

The ASR Student Records Training & Support team will continue to be the main point of contact for staff who have reporting-related questions and requests. From there Ingrid, Emily and Justin will quickly assess the requests and work with functional areas to review and prioritize the work. This process is a work in progress, please contact Ingrid, Emily or Justin if you have any questions or comments.

Save the date for the ASR Fall Staff Event

This year’s ASR Fall Staff Event will be held from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. on October 28, 2015 in the Humphrey School Atrium and Auditorium (301 19th Ave S). Please remember to block off time for the event!

U of M's official Constitution Day 2015 event

The University of Minnesota celebrated Constitution Day on September 17 with higher education institutions around the United States to honor the U.S Constitution and fulfill a requirement to maintain eligible for Title IX federal funding opportunities. But, the celebration didn’t end there, as the Twin Cities campus will be hosting an event to further celebrate the U.S. Constitution and its impact on October 23, 2015 with the Immigrant American Conference.

Upcoming PCMC event on Project Initiation

The Project & Change Management Collaborators (PCMC) are excited to kick off the 2015/2016 Academic Year with a session on Project Initiation next Wednesday, September 30 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m in Walter Library room 101. If you are interested in project work, work on projects daily, or lead a project from time to time this is a good opportunity to connect with others who have similar interests or do similar work while learning a bit more about this important step.

The Project Initiation Phase is the 1st phase in the Project Management Life Cycle. Here you start a project by defining its objectives, scope, purpose and deliverables. You'll also secure project resources and gain approval to move on to the next phase. During this session you'll hear from a Senior Project Manager in OIT, Lisa Zinnel. She will also share details about the University strategy for IT Capital Planning and the work they are doing to create a solid methodology, best practices and resources within OIT. The PCMC group will also share details about a resource library that we are working to build that will provide templates for managing various stages of a project and process delivery.

Date and Time: Wednesday, September 30th @ 1:00 to 2:00PM

Location: Walter 101

To RSVP: please Click Here for the Google Event

Rochester named Livability.com’s Most Livable City

Rochester, MN was named Livability.com’s Most Livable City in America earlier this month due in no small part, we’re sure, to the incredible work of our counterparts at the University of Minnesota Rochester campus.

MyU issues

This week the MyU system experienced issues during peak traffic that affected users ability to access certain functions. These issues were most pronounced on Tuesday, but improved throughout the day Wednesday and today with the around-the-clock work being performed by the University’s technicians and analysts. The ASR IT team is doing a great job of staying on top of the issues.

However, issues are still popping up here and there. Don’t assume that something has already been reported and if you notice anything odd open a ticket with help@umn.edu.

OCM plans 2016 classroom technology renewal projects

The Office of Classroom Management will be updating classroom equipment in more than 70 rooms in 2016. The project is expected to minimize breakdowns and maintain the functionality of the classroom's technology system. Improvements include: HDMI and Mini-Display Port input cables, and upgraded control systems.

ASR’s Ingrid Nuttall to lead Analytics and Data Integration fCoP

Formal Communities of Practice (fCoP) are created by the University’s IT leadership with clearly defined goals and scope. They work to advance specific information-related work at the University. This year, ASR’s Ingrid Nuttall, Director of Academic Records, will lead the Analytics and Data Integration fCoP to help improve the university’s ability to make data-driven decisions. Read about the other fCoPs and their leaders »

So, just how important is moving?

The effects of a sedentary lifestyle, sitting 8 or 9 hours a day, are becoming increasingly well researched. Here are some tips from the UMN’s Center for Spirituality and Healing to improve your wellbeing:

• Be mindful of your body and make healthful decisions
• Move more! Combine aerobic exercise with mindful movement
• Be gentle on yourself, creating a habit takes time

Preventing theft: Tips from campus police

Don't give thieves an opportunity

Never leave valuables unattended - even for a minute. Lock your door when you leave, don't prop open doors and never allow anyone to tailgate in behind you through a secure door.

Trust your instincts

If you see someone unfamiliar in your work area or in the hallway, or if you see someone acting suspiciously, call the police.

Be a good reporter to the police

If you call to report someone acting suspiciously, give a good detailed description. Make note of what the person was wearing, logos on their clothing, tattoos, hair color, or the direction they were headed.

What does development mean to you?

As part of ASR’s follow up to the E2 Engagement Survey, the ASR Staff Engagement group is working to improve development opportunities within the organization and needs your input. Please take a moment to complete this one-question survey to tell us what you think would be the most valuable development opportunities that ASR could provide for you. The survey is anonymous. Find out how else you can contribute to these efforts

Part of the effort will include highlighting staff development stories in News & Notes. If you have a story about how a development opportunity had a positive impact on your career or life that you would like to share, contact the E2 facilitator from your unit.

John Vollum - ASR
Eleanor Pijut - ASR
Matt Tveter - C&C
Christa Nicols - IT
Dave Crane - OCM
Mara Schneider - OSF
Tonisha White - OTR

ASR business units busy as bees with start of term activities buzzing

Please be patient with fellow ASR staff and our partners as we head into one of the busiest times of year using a new system for the first time. It's exciting, but there will be bumps.

You can help! Does something in the system looks like it's not working correctly? Are you wondering if it's a bug? Or maybe you don't quite understand why something is working the way it is?

Please submit a ticket to one of our teams set up to provide assistance. Questions and issues related to:

• Financial Aid should be submitted to fahelp@umn.edu
• Student Financials should be submitted to sfhelp@umn.edu
• Student records and training-related questions or issues should be submitted to srhelp@umn.edu
• Communications assistance, please reach out to asrcomm@umn.edu

Submitting tickets to our 'help' areas instead of to individuals that work in those areas, helps ASR track and ensure that your issue will be addressed, and allows us to look for trends that can help our teams understand emerging issues.

ASR Directors Retreat recap

On Friday, August 21, 2015 the ASR directors trekked out to the MN Landscape Arboretum to discuss the future of ASR. This is the first time these six individuals have reserved a full day away from the office to discuss long term strategy, office work alignment and learn more about the inner workings of each unit. We hope our efforts over the coming months will result in an aligned and strong ASR, poised to meet the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

The ASR Directors started the day talking about the relevance of the ASR mission and what “Making a Positive Difference in Students’ Lives” really means for the work that we all do. It does not mean that we are to make the student happy at all costs or that the student is always right; sometimes telling the student no and teaching them there are consequences to their actions is making a positive difference (despite the fact that the student may not see it that way in the heat of the moment).

Each of the directors talked about the key strengths and present challenges for their areas. Not surprisingly, there was significant overlap in these two areas for the ASR units. Building off of the articulated challenges and strengths, the directors engaged in a risk analysis to identify potential mitigation strategies. An affinity exercise was used to ‘lump’ like ideas together to create themes for our continued alignment and capacity-building work.

The directors will continue to meet and discuss ways to align ASR based on our priorities and manage risks. Keep tuned as more information will be shared.

Education Advisory Board, Student Success Collaborative updates

ASR is helping coordinate the planning and implementation of the EAB platform at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. The project will launch with a pilot program to help the University analyze whether or not the data provided will benefit us and integrate well with APLUS. Currently a project plan is being developed and EAB staff will visit UMNTC in the coming weeks to continue the discussion around next steps.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the ASR Picnic

Last year ASR raised an impressive $811 for students in need, this year we did even better raising $1,001 for our scholarship fund!

A huge and grateful thank you to Mara, Debbie and Regina for their exceptional coordination efforts that helped make the picnic and fundraiser a success. And, thanks to all the ASR staff who donated items and to those who helped with the scholarship fund. We have a lot of talent and big hearts in ASR, and during events like this it really shines through.


Reminder: Please check the winning ticket spreadsheet and contact Mara Schneider to schedule a time to pick up your prize.

Merit pay for 2015-16

For this fiscal year, salary increases were tied to performance appraisals by awarding a flat rate raise based on the overall performance appraisal score. Supervisors have been gathering feedback on this process to evaluate the best way to implement merit pay next summer. Ideas for salary increases include continuing with the flat rate, using a percentage increase, and blending flat rates with small percentage increases. As this project continues, we will share updates with supervisors and all ASR staff.

Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources policy was recently updated

• Vendors need to follow the University Information Security policy. A vendor management standard will be made available to the University Community for comment.
• The procedures in the Internal Access to & Sharing University Information and the Public Access to University Information policies now include information on how data analysts share University information with audiences internal or external to the University.

Read more about the policy.

Pleasant Street Construction updates

• The paved roadway from University to Arlington will be opened on Monday, August 31 for northbound and southbound traffic as well as bikers.
• Everything, including sidewalks, will be opened north of Pillsbury Drive on Monday, August 31 and site fence will be removed in this area.
• The west side of the sidewalk south of Pillsbury Drive is scheduled to be opened on Friday, September 4.
• The east side of sidewalk south of Pillsbury Drive will continue to have work completed and is scheduled to open on September 17.

Work Tip: Updated Google and PowerPoint Presentations

The ASR Communications team has compiled all updated Google and PowerPoint presentation slide templates in one convenient location for staff use. Please use these wonderfully designed templates for your upcoming presentations! View the templates »

Completion Scholarships

Bob McMaster has been working with the University of Minnesota Foundation to utilize some unrestricted scholarship funds (meaning, that these scholarship funds do not have predetermined purposes) to assist Twin Cities students in completing their degrees. Identifying the students who will be granted these scholarships will be a true collaborative effort within ASR, as the Student Degree Progress team, One Stop and the Office of Student Finance will all be involved. At the moment $67,500 is available to award annually. The scholarships are for Twin Cities undergraduate students who are on track to graduate, but need financial support to finish their remaining requirements. This is very exciting news and we can hardly wait to award our first scholarship.

ASR takes their “show on the road” with recent campus visits

On Friday, August 7 and Monday, August 10, ASR’s Director Sue Van Voorhis and System Campus Relations Coordinator Eleanor Pijut went on the road to visit the Duluth and Rochester Campuses. The day-long visits included discussions on the One Stop website redesign project, updates on the OSF Director position, and much more. Overall, the meetings were highly successful with system campus staff complimenting and expressing appreciation for the support provided by Twin Cities ASR staff. As for next steps? The visits led to nearly 50 items of follow-up, and ASR staff are already busy working on those requests.

Changes to SAP policy

Beginning fall semester, all students receiving financial aid (federal, state or University aid) will be required to meet satisfactory academic progress (SAP) standards to continue receiving financial assistance. Previously, students who only received University scholarships were not included in the financial aid SAP review.

Managers getting together to plan for a strong ASR

With the Upgrade behind us, it’s time to look ahead to coming challenges. The ASR Managers are planning a session on August 21st to assure that ASR is aligned and ready to be a strong partner for students, staff and faculty.

We are engaging: E2 follow-up underway

Last year’s engagement survey showed ASR staff are interested in development opportunities, and that is a focus for our overall efforts. Additionally, on August 19th ASR Managers will review each unit’s plans and priorities to check progress and coordinate efforts.  The entire university will be surveyed again in late October. To provide continuity, each unit has a facilitator tasked with helping to develop and implement ongoing engagement priorities: ASR IT - Christa Nichols, Continuity and Compliance - Matt Tveter, OCM - David Crane, OSF - Mara Schneider, OTR - Tonisha White, One Stop - Betsy Everts. Eleanor Pijut and John Vollum are coordinating ASR’s overall efforts.

Merit pay for 2015-16

For this fiscal year, salary increases were tied to performance appraisals by awarding a flat rate raise based on the overall performance appraisal score. Supervisors have been gathering feedback on this process to evaluate the best way to implement merit pay next summer. Ideas for salary increases include continuing with the flat rate, using a percentage increase, and blending flat rates with small percentage increases. As this project continues, we will share updates with supervisors and all ASR staff.

One Stop’s financial services getting news coverage

One Stop Student Services has been in the news recently for their efforts related to the financial knowledge and well-being of UMN students, including counseling surrounding how to live on a budget, minimize debt, and curb expenses on rent, food and textbooks. Read more at the Star Tribune and MN Daily below:

• Star Tribune: “University of Minnesota to offer free financial counseling”
• MN Daily: “One Stop adds personal finance options”

Reporting Errors and Incidents - do not submit tickets

As a reminder, all ASR staff have access to submit and report their own errors and incidents by clicking on the “Report Errors & Incidents” quick link listed in the ASR Intranet’s sidebar. Please do not send tickets in to FAHelp, SFHelp, or other units asking that they report an error or incident for you. Submitting them directly is the best practice to report and accurately track system problems. If you have questions about submitting an error or incident, please speak with your supervisor.

Visit the ASR Intranet to "Report Errors & Incidents". 

How-To Guides for students learning the new system

For ASR staff who work with students, a reminder that the How-to Guides posted on the One Stop website are a great resource for guiding students and staff about processes in the new system.

See what topics are covered at the One Stop website.

Scheduled UMN data storage maintenance

On Aug. 16, 2015 from 6 a.m. to noon, UMN IT will perform maintenance in order to increase the capacity of part of the central storage service, which is currently near 70% of its limit. During this maintenance, the University’s networked data-storage system (also known as General Data storage, Active Directory Shared Drives, eNAS, Files and bulk storage) will be completely unavailable to users.

Learn more about who will be affected.

Wifi Upgrades at UMNTC

University of Minnesota wireless engineers intend to upgrade the software that runs the WiFi network on the Twin Cities campus over the next few weeks which will require two 10-minute service interruptions within the maintenance window. The schedule for upgrades:

• St. Paul and the Fairgrounds on Thursday, Aug. 13 between 9 p.m. and midnight
• Morris, Rochester, and most of the Twin Cities East and West Banks on Thursday, Aug. 20 between 9 p.m. and midnight
• Sports facilities (any facility with InfoTech as its routing core) on Sunday, Aug. 23 - between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact the WiFi engineering team at wifi@umn.edu

Lyris retirement on September 1

The Lyris mass email tool will be retired on September 1. The ASR Communications team is currently in the process of transitioning to the new system, Salesforce Marketing Cloud. It’s an exciting transition that will give the Communications team greater flexibility and efficiency for completing email messages, and access to more metrics. If you work with the Communications team regularly, you may notice some minor adjustments during this period. The team appreciates your patience as they continue to learn and adjust to this new tool.

Reminder to earn Wellness Points before September

In order to save either $400 or $600 on your 2016 UPlan premiums, you must earn your full wellness points by August 31, 2015. As noted by the Wellness Program there’s still time to earn points with:

• A Biometric Screening - 150 points 
• Non-tobacco User Pledge - 25 points 
• Flu Shot Pledge - 25 points 
• Self-reported Wellness Activity - 50 points 

 You can check your wellness points balance in your StayWell Online profile.

Director of the Office of Student Finance (OSF) search update

During the past month, OSF staff (and a few non-OSF staff) have shared their insights with John Vollum, Jeremy Todd and Tina Falkner regarding their work, work processes and organization, as well as the qualities they seek in a new director, and OSF organizational culture. Staff have been candid, thoughtful, and open to thinking about doing work differently.

The information is being used to formulate the OSF director job description, set next steps for the organization (and ASR), and discover opportunities to improve the work culture and climate. It is anticipated that the job description will be finalized in the next few weeks, so recruitment can begin in earnest prior to the start of fall semester.

GSSP integrating with One Stop student services

Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) and One Stop Student Services have discussed ways to better align their work and responsibilities to best serve students. As a result, GSSP customer service staff will be integrated into the One Stop location at Bruininks Hall in order to better streamline service and processes for the University’s graduate students. Many logistical details are still being worked out, but the transition will begin in mid-October.