ASR strategic direction: University initiatives and support

ASR’s University Initiatives and Support strategic direction supports student success throughout the University of Minnesota by assisting the initiatives of other campus units and needs of the University community. Ultimately, all of these initiatives support student success, even if some are a few steps removed.

Current, in-progress initiatives include:

• PeopleTools 8.55 upgrade - Provides improvements to the user interface of PeopleSoft making it easier to use for students, faculty, and staff.
• PeopleSoft 9.2 upgrade - Provides new PeopleSoft functionality for students, faculty, and staff.
• Identity Management upgrade - Replacement for the (very) old x.500 system bringing improvements to security and access levels for systems.
• Oracle Database upgrade - Improvement to the underlying product that maintains, secures and manages that vast amount of data we have in PeopleSoft and other systems.
• CRM (Salesforce) support and strategic planning - Assisting the University in determining the strategic direction of this powerful system.
• CollegiateLink data provisioning -  Assisting the Office for Student Affairs in setting up the data needed to populate their new Experience Record for students.
• Destiny One non-credit system - Continuing to assist in meeting the University's need for non credit courseware management and registration.

Not all ASR staff are aware that many of these initiatives exist, and while some of this work may only peripherally affect you, it is important to remember much of what we do is instrumental in keeping University systems running, secure, and up to date. By assisting our University colleagues, who depend on our expertise to keep their systems running, ASR is constantly and consistently contributing to the success of students, faculty, staff, and the entire University community.

New ASR website to launch September 12

A cross-functional team has been working on redesigning the ASR website for some time; the new site will launch on September 12. One key benefit of the new site is that it will utilize the University’s new Drupal lite platform to replace the older ASR website, which will provide an updated look and feel, a mobile-friendly experience, and should require fewer resources to maintain. The new website will also be a resource for non-ASR University staff and faculty, connecting them with key resources and information. Most internal resources for ASR staff will be housed on the ASR intranet. The project team will be working with ASR colleagues to finalize the site over the next few weeks.

If you have questions about the new ASR website, please contact Matt Tveter at tvet0004@umn.edu or contact the project team member from your department:

• ASR-IT: Ryan Ceresnak - rceresna@umn.edu
• Continuity & Compliance: Renae Faunce - faunc008@umn.edu
• Office of the Registrar: Amber Cellotti - knap0071@umn.edu
• Office of Student Finance: Regina Moran - moran014@umn.edu  

One Stop website redesign update

The One Stop redesign was assessed in usability the week of August 8th; 15 students participated from three University campuses. During usability, the high-level navigation performed well and students understood the parallels with the MyU tabs for academics, finances, and personal information. The most common words used to describe the site in a word matrix of 60 choices included clean, efficient, and easy to use. Students experienced some difficulty with the functionality and look of the navigation menus. The project team is working on a new iteration for usability in September in response to that feedback. Additionally, the team is evaluating content on the home page, and developing a strategy for making dates more prominent and usable on the site.

ASR moving updates

• ASR staff completed move to Fraser: ASR’s Office of the Registrar and Office of Student Finance staff--formerly located on the St. Paul campus or in Williamson,Fraser and Bruininks Halls--are now officially in 200 Fraser Hall. The move took place earlier this week. Staff still have their same phone numbers if you need to contact them.

• One Stop’s St. Paul office move delayed: the St. Paul One Stop office move has been postponed by one week due to construction delays. The move from 101 Coffey to 130 Coffey will now take place on Friday, August 26. Staff are working on a plan to condense moving to one day rather than two days to minimize impact to students and the University community during a busy time of year.

Cross-functional team completes Time Conflict Workflow Gen project

A new online Class Time Conflict Approval form launched on August 15 for all University of Minnesota students. Completed by staff from the Office of the Registrar, One Stop, ASR’s Web team and system campus partners, the project allows students to complete a form online when requesting to enroll in classes with overlapping times. The paper form will remain available until the start of spring 2017 registration, but staff are encouraged to start using or sharing the new online form before then.

FAANs sent, undergraduates now see borrowing history before accepting loans

18,880 Financial Aid Award Notices (FAAN) have been sent to undergraduate students and 11,307 students have already responded to their award offers.

When the University's degree-seeking undergraduate students with a loan history respond to their financial aid award, they will be presented with an estimate of their total borrowing (if their financial aid package includes loans). They will be able to review the estimate of their total loans, an estimated monthly payment, and how that compares to other University of Minnesota graduates. Similar initiatives at other universities have yielded positive results.

Fleet car rental agreement updated

The University’s fleet car rental agreement has been updated. As of July 29, individuals picking up vehicles are responsible for knowing who is going to be in their party, including all passengers. Additionally, fleet car users will now sign an agreement to personally pay for their own tolls and any hitches that are not returned to Fleet Services.

One Stoppables take 4th in Zap Team Biking Challenge

The One Stoppables, One Stop Student Service's bike commuting team, placed 4th in their division of the Summer Zap Team Biking Challenge -- just short of having their name engraved to a bike rack plaque.

If you bike to and/or from work and would like to help lead the team to a medal (and plaque) winning victory during the next challenge, you are invited to join the team. Suggestions for an ASR-wide team name are currently being solicited. To join or suggest a team name, please contact Trinity Muller at mulle276@umn.edu

ASR strategic direction: analytics and data integration

As of last week, ASR’s Analytics and Data team is fully staffed. The team consolidates existing ASR staff and resources, and combines them with new hires into a centralized team. This perspective will allow the team to better prioritize and develop work for ASR-wide analytics, data and reporting initiatives. Additionally, this affords the team an opportunity to not only complete work within ASR, but better position themselves to lead data and analytics work for the University.

This team is currently focusing on five key areas:

• Measuring and tracking workload

• Identifying priorities

• Staff orientation

• Connecting with University-wide stakeholders

• Building out a forward-looking strategy 

OTR staff moving to 200 Fraser Hall

The Office of the Registrar staff currently located in 160 Williamson Hall, 20 Fraser Hall, and Bruininks Hall will be moving to 200 Fraser Hall the week of August 15, 2016.The move will create more opportunities for integration and cross-training across the OTR units.

Time for the Individual Development Plan (IDP) quarterly check-in

Don’t forget to update your IDP and schedule a review with your supervisor in August or September. The purpose of the IDP is to help employees communicate their personal and professional goals, what they’ll need to meet those goals, and how those goals intersect with ASR’s needs as an organization. Ensuring that you work together with your supervisor on your professional development goals, progress, and needs will help you develop as an individual and ASR develop as a whole. If you joined ASR sometime after May, please speak with your supervisor about starting your Individual Development Plan. 

St. Paul campus construction update

The St. Paul location of One Stop Student Services will be closed Thursday, August 18 through Friday, August 19 to facilitate a move back into the newly renovated Coffey Hall 130 space. This new space will contain both One Stop Student Services and CFANS Academic Advising. While the space will reopen on Monday, August 22, the official open house will take place in late September to welcome students, staff, and faculty to the space. Everywhere possible, sustainable materials were used in an effort to increase the “go green” atmosphere of the building.

Williamson Hall elevator repairs

Repairs will being on the Williamson Hall elevator on Monday, September 12, with approximately three weeks of expected down time. Please plan accordingly and if you anticipate needing accommodations work with your supervisor.

Safety update: Fraser Hall break-in last week

Last week, police responded to a report of an unconscious intruder in Fraser Hall.
Please remember to stay aware and report any suspicious activity in your work areas. Keeping yourself and others safe is a community effort. Here are a few public safety tips from UMPD:

• Avoid thefts of opportunity by never leaving your property unattended or unsecured

• Familiarize yourself with emergency exits

• Always secure valuables in locked cabinets or drawers

For additional safety tips, visit the University of Minnesota’s “Safe U” website.

University travel policies

Many ASR staff have recently traveled or will be in the near future, please take a few moments to review tips, policies and resources in the Travel Policy Refresher posted to the News & Notes blog. In order to receive reimbursement for travel, receipts are required and booking policies must be followed -- for example, if you use Kayak or Orbitz you need to have itemized receipts that keep hotel and airfare separated.

ASR computer purchases

ASR is systematically replacing computers each fiscal year, with a standard to replace desktop computers with a new Windows-based laptop, docking station and dual monitors. ASR will continue to purchase desktop computers for student workstations, communal workstations, or for staff needing the additional processing power. ASR directors will help coordinate and finalize the FY17 computer replacements, contact your unit director if you have questions.

If you are having a computer issue (computer / battery failure, unreliable operation, or excessive demands on computer from new software or growing data stores), submit a PDR.

ASR summer picnic recap

Last Thursday’s ASR Staff Appreciation Event and 3rd Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser was a great success. Staff enjoyed plenty of barbecue fare, frolicking games of foursquare, and fierce bidding on auction items. Your generous support in donating items, time, and bids for the auction resulted in ASR raising $939 for student scholarships this year! These funds will be used to support one of ASR’s strategic initiatives: Student Degree Progress completion funds. Thank you for going above and beyond.

Most prizes have been delivered, but if you have not received your winnings yet, please check this drawing spreadsheet, Auction Winners, and contact the representative for your building: Trinity Muller (Bruininks), Eleanor Pijut (Williamson) and Mara Schneider (Fraser).