Direct deposit project completed, phase II of CS9.2

As of December 17, the first of the 16 initiatives in the second phase of the Campus Solutions 9.2 has been completed: Direct Deposit Set-up Improvements. View the latest project dashboard for more details on this initiative as well as the other 15 initiatives still in progress.

Branded templates for Google Forms

University Relations (UR) released two University-branded Google Form templates last week. Google doc and slide templates specific to each system campus are also available. Read more about the templates and how to access them on the UR blog.

WalkStation waiver

ASR has three walkstations that are available for you to use (one is in 160 Williamson Hall, and the other two are in 200 Fraser Hall). You only have to fill out the waiver to be able to use them: z.umn.edu/asrwalk. Once you complete the waiver, you will receive additional instructions on how to reserve walkstation time and what the guidelines are for proper use.

Upcoming data center maintenance

From 6:00 a.m., Saturday, January 6, until noon on Sunday, January 7, 2018, some University systems will be unavailable for planned, annual maintenance. The Office of Information Technology (OIT) has provided a list of affected services.

You can also check the IT Service Status that Saturday and Sunday morning for live updates. As work is completed, outages will be removed.

Recognition and progress—ASR’s project management series

The Project and Work Facilitation Team (ASR-IT) would like to thank everyone who has participated in our professional development offerings. Since launching in spring 2016, ASR’s Project Management series has grown to 6 courses, plus the PWF team offers additional opportunities throughout the year. This year we had 26 people complete the full six-course Project Management series:

• Amber Cellotti - OTR
• Ryan Ceresnak - ASR-IT
• Grant Clavelle - Director, ASR-IT
• Alexandra Cummelin - former ASR Central
• Kristy Davis - ASR-IT
• Deb Edwards - OSF
• Tracy Fisher - ASR Central
• Tara Fricke - OCM
• Dawn Graff - One Stop
• Holly Johnson - ASR-IT
• Katie Johnson - One Stop
• Stephanie Kearley - OSF
• Marc Keaveny - ASR-IT
• Sarah Kussow - OCM
• Jessica McCarty - OCM
• Rachel McKessock - ASR Central
• Christine Mounts - OCM
• Trinity Muller - One Stop
• Nate Peterson - One Stop
• Eleanor Pijut - ASR Central
• Mara Schneider - OSF
• Julie Selander - Director, One Stop
• Erik Sparby - OTR
• Sue Van Voorhis - Director, ASR
• Chelsea Weber - OTR
• Christina Wilson - OSF

Thank you to everyone for your participation, contributions, and continued interest in ASR’s project management and professional development initiatives.

In addition, 159 people have participated in at least one of the courses in the series and 85 employees completed two or more courses.

ASR’s PM 101: Introduction to Project Management Fundamentals has had 140 active ASR employees participate (approximately 60% of staff) (an additional 9 folks that have left ASR have completed the course as well). As a reminder, this course is required for all ASR staff. If you haven’t registered yet, please look for session availability during spring.

Special hours for some One Stop offices

Due to the staff event and office renovations, certain One Stop offices will be temporarily closed during the times below:

• West Bank, St. Paul, and University Veterans Services close early, at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 14, 2017 for the staff event
• West Bank One Stop office closed from December 22—January 12, 2018 for renovations (reopening January 16)

The East Bank One Stop Student Services office (333 Bruininks Hall) will remain open as usual during these times.

New things in Parchment, transcript vendor

The University’s online transcript ordering system, Parchment, got a few updates on December 5. There are two main changes to note: 

1. Students can now search for and select an institution’s address in the system. This will help reduce typos and shipping errors. Manual entry is still available for addresses not included.
2. The option to order a duplicate diploma through Parchment is now available. (Previously this was done only via PDF form.) Ordering a duplicate diploma through Parchment is now preferred, but the PDF form will continue to be available. The cost, delivery options, and eligibility for a duplicate diploma remain the same. More information on duplicate diplomas can be found on the One Stop website.

The REAL ID Act and traveling on University business

As many of you may know, the requirements for valid identification while flying are changing. Currently, Minnesota has been granted an extension, which means that we can continue to use traditional Driver’s License and State ID to travel by air through October 10, 2018. If another extension is not granted, then on October 11, 2018 alternative forms of identification, such as an Enhanced Driver’s License or Passport, will be required. Consider these possibilities as you plan to attend regional/national meetings in 2018.

Format your email signature

University Relations is making an effort to standardize email signatures across the University, and have provided a format to follow. Please update your email signature accordingly. To list your preferred pronoun in your email signature, list it under the telephone number line with this format: Pronouns: she, her, hers.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion update

Representatives from ASR and OUE attended the the University of Minnesota's tenth annual Equity and Diversity Breakfast that brought together the University community and external stakeholders—alumni, donors, community organizations, and corporate entities—to recognize the students, faculty, and staff doing the work, and to reaffirm the University’s commitment to equity and diversity.

The Office for Equity and Diversity’s Scholarly Excellence in Equity and Diversity (SEED) Awards program honors and acknowledges diverse students who are doing outstanding work at the University of Minnesota, both in and out of the classroom. View this year’s SEED recipients.

Green light to update Apple devices

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) has completed testing for recent Apple software updates and determined they work well with the University’s networks. This is the green light to complete software updates on your University Apple devices. Learn more about the macOS 13 and iOS 11 changes. For questions, contact Technology Help.

Old Bell Museum building has a new name

The building that used to house the Bell Museum has changed its name to 10 Church Street SE. University Services is still working to update building signs, but the new name is already in use. Learn more about the new Bell Museum building in St. Paul.

BRRN postcards

The Bias Response and Referral Network (BRRN) has created promotional postcards with its contact information. Feel free to grab a postcard to keep with you as a reference from any of the following office locations:

• Bruininks Helping U desk
• Fraser front desk
• Williamson front desk

Remember, if you experience or witness a bias incident, you can submit an anonymous report at ureport.umn.edu or call 612-314-3850. Not sure what a bias incident is? Read about it.

Lana Rosario plays SQuja' in A Klingon Christmas Carol

Do you like Star Trek, Charles Dickens, and opera? Then we've got a thing for you.

The best of these worlds collide as Lana Rosario stars in A Klingon Christmas Carol at the Mounds Theatre in St. Paul this December. See showtimes.

While Lana is a business analyst by day, she is a singer and performer by night. She plays the leading role in the Klingon opera and has performed at many theaters around the Twin Cities (read Q&A below).

A Klingon Christmas Carol is the "classic tale of SQuja’ learning the true meaning of courage and honor on the eve of the Long Night." It is delivered fully in Klingon with English supertitles (captions projected above the opera stage). Rumors has it that Lana has an uncanny ability to learn languages for opera—not your average talent!

Question and answer with Lana

Q: What part are you playing?
A: I am playing SQuja' (Scrooge). This is my sixth year in the show, but my first in this role.

Q: What is your background in theater?
A: I've been performing since I was a child. My bachelor's degree is in vocal performance and my graduate work is in opera and musical theatre performance. I've performed with Theatre in the Round, Hardcover Theatre, Nimbus Theatre, Box Wine Theatre, The Arts Nest, several Fringe Festival shows, and I'm a core member of Fearless Comedy Productions.

Q: What's your favorite part of doing this performance?
A: Being a Klingon is freeing. They tend to live life outloud, without much of a filter. You get to play lots of emotions. And speaking Klingon is an amazing intellectual workout.

See Lana perform throughout the month of December. Dates and tickets are available at moundstheatre.org. Thank you for sharing what you do outside of work, Lana!

New look for Google Calendar

Google Calendar is getting a facelift! Changes to the interface of Google Calendar will be available for University users as of Tuesday, November 28. It will be “optional” to keep the old look until February 28. Learn more about the updates from Google.

Getting reimbursed by the University

University policy requires reimbursement requests to be submitted within 60 days. Once submitted, have you ever wondered where your reimbursement is? Well, by navigating to MyU > My Pay > Reimbursement > Reimbursements/Payments, you are able to view status information once the report has been entered in PeopleSoft.

Google Meet

On November 3, the University launched Google Meet, which is the new default app for video and chat calls (such as when you “Add a video call” to a Google Calendar meeting). Refer to OIT’s website and/or read Google’s how-to guide for more details.

OIT’s help desk is called “Technology Help”

A few years ago, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) rebranded their help desk and renamed the service “Technology Help.” In order to align with OIT’s naming convention, we are combing through ASR websites to make sure we refer to OIT’s service as Technology Help (instead of a variation of the name such as 1-Help, which is just shorthand to help users remember their phone number). This is just a reminder to be aware and refer to OIT’s help desk by its right name.

ASR went to UMACRAO

Last week, a handful of ASR staff attended the Upper Midwest Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (UMACRAO) conference that took place in Alexandria, Minnesota. Other attendees came in from Iowa, the Dakotas, and Canada. The conference provided time for attendees to reconnect with colleagues from other institutions, as well as the opportunity to raise over $1000 for the chosen charity organization, Someplace Safe.

Varied session topics allowed for much discussion: creating web forms, handling campus emergencies, creating effective registrar offices, commencement, grades and end of term processes, FERPA, and conversations about gender identity, pronouns, and preferred name.

At the conference, Amber Cellotti was sworn in as 2017-18 UMACRAO president, and Erik Sparby was elected UMACRAO treasurer. ASR staff gave presentations including:

• Registrar Lessons Learned—Amber Cellotti
• FERPA Pre-Conference Session—Tina Falkner and Stacey Tidball
• Financial Aid and Records Working Together—Tina Falkner
• Reduce Debt and Improve Graduation and Retention—Tina Falkner and Holly Johnson
• FERPA Q&A—Tina Falkner and Stacey Tidball
• FERPA and Social Media—Adrienne Bricker

The Cubicle Chronicles: Tea Time by Chris Abts

Did you know that Chris Abts (GPAS team) loves to read comics and graphic novels? He has an ever-expanding library at home, and even doodles his own stories. A few of his favorite series include Transmetropolitan by Darick Robertson and The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. If you see Chris around the office, and know anything about comics, bet you could strike up a pretty good conversation with him about it.

This week, enjoy an original Chris Abts comic—a goofy take on what to do when the shared watering hole needs a refill.

Thanks for contributing, Chris!

LucidChart team account expires October 31

The ASR team account of LucidChart will expire on Tuesday, October 31. At this time, Central OIT is not supporting an enterprise-wide license of Lucid, so you will be downgraded to a free EDU license. All registrants with a .edu email address and employer of a college/university will automatically be registered for a free EDU account.

In preparation for this change, we recommended you download/export any documents you want to preserve as a back-up. If you have a business need to maintain an EDU Premium account, talk to your supervisor.

You will still be able to create documents, import from/export to Visio, and have advanced shape library access as part of the free EDU license. What you will lose as part of the premium license is your ability to collaborate with other users on a shared document. See the list of features that differ between the free and paid accounts.

All OUE Assembly date change

The date for the All OUE (Office of Undergraduate Education) Assembly has changed to Tuesday, December 5. The event will be from 10:00 a.m. to noon in the Great Hall of Coffman Memorial Union, with continental breakfast at 9:30 a.m. RSVP your attendance as soon as possible.

For those new to ASR or the University, ASR is part of the Office of Undergraduate Education. OUE holds an all-OUE assembly once per year and it is a time to connect each unit to OUE's purpose and goals through retention, student success, and timely graduation.

AACRAO conference in Minneapolis, call for presenters

The 2018 Technology & Transfer AACRAO Conference will be held Minneapolis next year. It is the perfect opportunity for ASR staff to showcase emerging technologies and pioneering solutions that help to improve services and facilitate student success. The priority submission deadline of November 15 is quickly approaching. Check out AACRAO’s website for more information on topic session ideas.

What is ASR Central?

As ASR has grown and morphed over the last few years, another sub-unit has formed called ASR Central. This new sub-unit includes Systems Campus Relations, Student Degree Progress, and Strategic Projects & Ops., all of which report directly to Sue.

Donuts, Dogs, and Donations (or, ASR floofers, puppers, and borkers)

Joplin, new member of Chelsea Weber's fam

Thank you to everyone who attended our ASR Community Fund Drive event: Donuts, Dogs, and Donations. Together we raised a total of $725.69 for the TC Student Success Fund!

The winner of the dog photo contest is Joplin (pictured left) who lives with Chelsea Weber of OTR.

Thank you Chelsea Joplin for supporting student scholarships and degree completion. We appreciate everyone who contributed to the event.

For your viewing pleasure, all the submissions are listed below. We could only include one dog per ASR unit, so while all dogs were not part of the friendly competition, take comfort that there's not a dog in the world that isn't cute.

Chunk makes life fun with Theresa Hillesheim of ASR-IT 

Emmett belongs to Joe Baker of OSF

Leon shares living space with Bob Quinney of OCM

Tonks is the herder of Mike and Domini Brown, ASR-IT and C&C

Uli is Trinity Muller's (of One Stop) pupper, see his smile?

Baylee the tiny floofer belongs to Lindsay Bork of ASR Central

This nugget, Kylo, is in Julie Selander's (of One Stop) fam

Loki lives with Christina Wilson of OSF

Murphy and Dorothy make Nate Peterson (of One Stop) and Ryan Ceresnak (of ASR-IT) happy 

Newman thinks deep thoughts as he converses with Amber Cellotti of OTR

Reeses breaks Crystal Nichols' (of C&C) heart when he sleeps like this

Remy hogs the bed (likely) at Michelle Boland's (of OSF) home

Roxy wants Katie Johnson of One Stop to throw the ball (more more more!)

Sugar co-habitates with Dave Dueck of OCM

Renae Faunce (ASR Training Team) has noble Watson to keep her on her toes

Callie waves hi from Christina Yoong's (C&C) backyard

Not done with your dog fix yet? Try this »

E2 survey available on Monday

The Employee Engagement survey will become available on October 16 and remain open until November 3. You will get access to the survey via email from UofMNSurvey@us.confirmit.com. The email will have your own unique link to take the survey. All survey responses are confidential. If you have trouble accessing the email, see Employee Engagement.

There are terms on the survey which may be vague. We would like to keep terms in the survey data as consistent as possible across ASR units, so please refer to the list below when filling out the survey:

• “University of Minnesota” = University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
• “College leadership” = ASR Directors
• Sue VanVoorhis, Grant Clavelle, Stacey Tidball, Jeremy Todd, Julie Selander, Tina Falkner, Adrienne Bricker
• “Department” = Your ASR department
• ASR Central (staff who report directly to Sue)
• ASR Information Technology (ASR-IT)
• Continuity and Compliance (C&C)
• Office of Classroom Management (OCM)
• Office of the Registrar (OTR)
• One Stop Student Services
• Office of Student Finance (OSF)
• “Manager/Supervisor” = Your director supervisor (the person who conducts your performance review)

If you missed it, catch up on the latest ASR in-service presentation given by the Employee Engagement Team. They shared about the Employee Engagement (E2) survey from past years, the measures and initiatives ASR units took on as a result of survey findings, and what to look for in the coming E2 survey.

Mid-year performance appraisals

It is time for mid-year performance appraisals and the form is ready! The form and other instructions are available on the ASR Intranet. To navigate, go to ASR Intranet > Human Resources > Performance Appraisals.

Deadlines for mid-year appraisals are as follows:

• Employees submit completed form to supervisor by November 13
• Supervisors complete form and meet with employees by December 8

IMPORTANT: On some computers, the PDF may open by default in a web browser window such as Internet Explorer. Do not fill out the form in a web browser window. Take the extra step to find the downloaded file and open the file in Adobe Reader DC. For questions about mid-year reviews, speak with your direct supervisor.

Community Fund Drive

The University’s annual charitable giving campaign, Community Fund Drive, is open until October 31. The drive allows employees to give to charitable causes that they care about through payroll deduction. Since 1995, the Community Fund Drive has raised $22.7 million. Last year, a record 31 percent of employees on the Twin Cities campus donated more than $1.16 million to the community.

Relevant to our work in helping students find success, ASR has created the TC Student Success Fund. The fund helps undergraduate students overcome financial barriers that prevent opportunity and success during their academic careers. Help us increase the impact we have on student success by giving a gift to the TC Student Success Fund.

ASR z-link consolidation effort

An effort is underway to transfer all ASR-related, individually owned z-links into departmental accounts. This will ensure that if/when a destination link behind a z-link changes, the change can be made by people in a unit or department instead of just one individual. When a z-link is created, it is “owned” by the Internet ID that created it, but ownership can be transferred.

If you have created a z-link with your own Internet ID that is used on a website, a mass email, or otherwise widely distributed, the goal is to get it transferred to a departmental account. For assistance, contact Matt Tveter at tvet0004@umn.edu.

As a bit of background, the website z.umn.edu is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator, or the address of a webpage) shortening service and many of us across ASR use the service. To learn what a z-link is, visit z.umn.edu and view their short (entertaining!) video on the homepage.

WiFi network “UofM Secure” to retire

The WiFi network “UofM Secure” is scheduled to be retired at the end of December 2017. You should now continuously connect to eduroam, the new, preferred, secure network for students, faculty, and staff. UofM-Guest is available for guests and visitors. OIT-managed devices will continue to connect to UofM Secure for the near future until all areas and places have been transitioned.

Things we do (outside of work): Amber and Stacia run TC Marathon!

Stacia Madsen (left) and Amber Cellotti (right) are co-workers, friends, and long-distance runners. Stacia hails from the GPAS team in Continuity and Compliance, and Amber leads Grad Ed Records in the Office of the Registrar. Together (as well as separately), they have braved all kinds of crazy conditions to crush miles in their tennies. Most recently they ran in the Twin Cities Marathon—notably one of the most beautiful urban marathons in the country (see the map). Together they also completed the Hotdash 10 Mile and Captiol Run 20 Mile, but these are just a few.

For fun, we did a Q&A and they each shared personal tidbits about running. Next time you pass Amber or Stacia in the halls, give them a high five for their accomplishments!

Q: Why do you like running?

Amber: Running is my stress relief. It's the best way for me to get out of my head and clear my mind when there's a lot going on. There is also a really great community when it comes to running.

Stacia: Because I get to eat more food! I run for bacon! (Seriously, I do!) I continue to run to feel empowered, accomplished, and a bada$$! 

Q: When and why did you start running long distance, or have you always?

Amber: I started running about 3 1/2 years ago and did it initially as a way to get in shape. My first race was a 5k through the Minnesota Brewery Running series, because beer. That same year I did the Twin Cities 10 mile and that is what hooked me on distance running. Being a part of the marathon weekend and running part of the marathon course was exhilarating (and exhausting). Part of distance running, for me, is the challenge and testing my limits. 

Q: What kind of training do you do for these races?

Amber: Oy. The training. It's soooo time consuming. I started training in April through my gym's run club doing speed drills and hills along with strength training and then got into my marathon training program at the beginning of June. I run 3-4 times a week and then cross-train (yoga, strength training, etc.) on the days I'm not running. I've never skipped a weekend long run (ranging 8-20 miles during the training), but mid-week runs were a bit more lax...due to laziness and not wanting to get up at 4am to run. :)

Q: What does it feel like when you're done with a race?

Amber: Sweaty and sometimes sore. Also, accomplished. 

Stacia: Running is not easy! No matter how many times I run, the first 10 minutes are always hard. But each run is an opportunity to persevere and challenge me to do more than I think I can. No matter how bad a run is, I always feel like I have accomplished something. This year I completed a 50K (31ish miles) trail race, a marathon, 1/2 marathon, and a trail RAGNAR in Wisconsin. I had doubts about my ability to complete each of those events, but after completing the 50K, I felt like I could do anything.

Q: What running shoes do you wear? Give geeky details.

Amber: I've changed up my running shoes a bit over the last three years trying to find the right one. Right now I'm bouncing between Saucony and New Balance. I prefer a neutral shoe with a wide toe-box and not a ton of cushion. I really like to feel the road when I'm running. My feet probably don't appreciate it, but it makes me feel more connected. 

Q: Headphones or no headphones?

Amber: No headphones! I joke that I like to listen to the sound of my labored breathing while I run. Also, for safety reasons, it's best to not wear headphones so that you are more aware of your surroundings. I do a lot of running in the street and do my best to not get hit by cars/bikers.

Last words: 

Amber: There's a really great community when it comes to running. I've been fortunate to meet a lot of great people through run clubs and there's a lot of support and encouragement. I don't always like running. There are times when it feels like a chore and I have to do a lot of self talk to get myself out the door, but in the end, I very rarely regret lacing up my shoes and running.

Stacia: The hours of training and pain are made easier by the support and community of runners and others who I get to run with and who continually inspire me. Thank you to all who have supported me and asked me about how a race went over this past year.

9.2 technical upgrade was a success

The upgrade of PeopleSoft Campus Solutions from version 9.0 to 9.2 was successfully completed on Sunday, September 24, smoothly and on schedule Technicians confirmed this even in light of recent, unrelated issues with PeopleSoft that occurred after the upgrade was completed. Thank you to the many people in ASR who were part of the effort!

The project now moves into its next phase, which goes through June 2018. During this phase, functionality will be released on a monthly basis rather than on one, final launch date. You can expect to see process improvements utilizing available delivered tools. More details are available on the project website.

CCE to become CCAPS

As of Monday, October 2, the College of Continuing Education (CCE) is changing its name to the College of Continuing and Professional Studies (CCAPS, pronounced see-caps). The name change will be reflected on their website, social media channels, and emails. Implementing the official name change in University systems will be done at a future date, yet to be determined.

Use U-wide travel agency

The University has established a service agreement with Christopherson Business Travel (CBT), which specializes in assisting higher education institutions manage the wide range of travel scenarios associated with academics, research, and learning abroad. Whether you prefer making travel arrangements online or with an agent, it is highly recommended that you utilize the services provided by CBT when planning your next business trip.

CBT has a team dedicated to the University which can assist with finding the best options, handling changes/emergencies, and more. For more information on the services and benefits, please read the CBT Fact Sheets or visit travel.umn.edu.

MyU and Campus Solutions issues at start of term

On the first day of term for the Twin Cities campus MyU users experienced system slowness, and in many cases they could not log in due to an increase in system traffic. PeopleSoft Campus Solutions became unavailable for a period over the noon hour. OIT technical staff worked to identify the root cause of the problem and added resources to support the system traffic. The systems returned to normal at approximately 3:30 p.m. that day.

OIT is investigating solutions to prevent system slowness and handle increased traffic in the future. Thank you to the many staff that participated in resolving these issues and supported our students who experienced system issues.

New OCM website to launch in October

The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) will launch their newly designed website on Tuesday, October 3. The site’s domain will remain the same (www.classroom.umn.edu), however specific page URLs will change. When the site launches there will be redirects (instances that redirect your browser from one URL to another) in place for commonly accessed pages so you can continue to find what you need. Additionally, a feedback form for the new site will be available.

The site has a new menu structure for better navigation and pages with streamlined content. Content includes classroom technology instructions, scheduling applications, and information about Classroom Technical Services (CTS) including audio/visual equipment design and installation information.

OCM’s new site has been built on the Drupal 8 content management system and provides a better mobile experience for users. It is the first ASR website to use Drupal 8, the latest version of the University's preferred content management platform.

9.2 technical upgrade go-live information

A period of system downtime is necessary to complete the first phase of the PeopleSoft Campus Solutions 9.2 Upgrade. PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and related systems will be unavailable starting 9:00 a.m. Saturday, September 23. Work is anticipated to be complete and systems available again at noon Sunday, September 24. Please review the full details on system availability and make sure your colleagues are aware of how the planned outage may impact their work.

When systems are restored Sunday afternoon, users will notice minimal changes (restricted to look and feel). Preview these changes.

Those who use PeopleSoft frequently may need to clear their browser cache and cookies when logging in for the first time after the upgrade is complete.

Supplemental class search will be retired

Beginning September 23, 2017, the Supplemental Class Search will no longer be available. Note that this change will not affect Schedule Builder or the delivered Class Search. The supplemental class search was initially built as a temporary solution for advisors and staff during the PeopleSoft upgrade transition that happened in 2015.

ASR met with stakeholders across campus and collaborated with CLA-IT and OIT to make the Class Search feature in Schedule Builder the University’s enterprise solution. Schedule Builder Class Search rolled out in March 2017 and is now the preferred application for students, faculty, and staff.

Feel free to provide class search feedback via the comment form.

System campus visits—Crookston

Each year Sue and a few other Twin Cities’ staff take time to visit each of the system campuses. Most recently, Sue, Eleanor Pijut, Adrienne Bricker, and Tina Falkner visited Crookston and had a terrific discussion with many staff there who are always very appreciative of ASR’s work. Topics discussed at the meeting include student finance and registrar projects, technology updates, system-wide efforts, policy updates, and Crookston-specific topics.

ASR book club leads to keynote speaker for fall event

Over the summer, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee held an ASR-wide book club that was built on momentum of the micro-grant-funded diversity book club in 2016. The group read The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir by author Kao Kalia Yang.

During a series of five peer-led meetings, the book club members enjoyed getting to know one another while learning about Yang’s Hmong family and their refugee and resettlement experience. Some of the members of the book club are on this year’s ASR Development Team.

While planning for the fall ASR development event, the Development Team learned of Yang and her experiences, and decided to extend an invitation to have her speak at the event. Yang accepted and will be joining us as the keynote speaker for the fall development event on Wednesday, October 11.

To learn more about Yang, visit her website. In addition to the Latehomecomer, she wrote The Song Poet which is a current nominee for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Yang’s talk will be of interest to all, even if you have not read either of her books.

To those who participated in the book club over the summer, thank you! Thank you especially to the members who volunteered to lead the meetings. We hope to make the book club an annual tradition!

ASR budget update

ASR will receive its budget instructions this week from OUE. Since the legislature provided all funding upfront, there will be no new funding for the University next year. This provides ASR with opportunities to model various budget changes; we will be submitting a proposal within three weeks.

Immigration Response Team—policy briefing

At the August 24 ASR in-service, guest Marissa Hill-Dongre gave a presentation about the Immigration Response Team. As director of the team, Marissa shared who they they are, what their goals are, and how their work affects ASR. Slides from the presentation are available for review »

On Monday, September 25, the team will be holding an Immigration Policy Briefing from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Best Buy Theater, fourth floor of Northrop. See more details of the event »

Things we do (outside of work): Amanda quilts

Though there are many makers in ASR, one in particular earned recognition for her work at the Minnesota State Fair this year. Amanda Temple (OSF) won first place in the quilting category called “pieced; machine quilted by someone other than the entrant.” She also won a special award from Bear Patch Quilting Company. Her work was on display in the Creative Activities Building. Congrats, Amanda!

More from the quilter:

The quilt is an adaptation of The New Hexagon by Katja Marek that consists of many small pieces of fabric hand stitched together using the “English Paper Piecing” process. There are a total of 246 2" hexagons, with up to 10 pieces in each hexagon. I started in January 2015 after I was laid up with a broken leg and not able to do other quilting and it took about two years to complete. Each piece is "fussy cut" from a specific design in the fabric, which makes the end result very precise. The quilting itself was done by Steffani Burton. The State Fair has different categories for quilts that were hand quilted, machine quilted, and quilted by someone else. I won first place in the "pieced; machine quilted by someone other than entrant" and a special award from Bear Patch Quilting Company.

​The thing I like about quilting is that it allows me to be artistic and creative even though I don't really have traditional artistic skills like drawing or painting. And hand quilting is portable, so I could work on it anywhere. Pieces of this quilt have travelled with me on many derby trips, to work, in front of the tv, and several road trips.

Thanks for sharing, Amanda, and congratulations on the blue ribbon!

Go-live for Campus Solutions 9.2 Technical Upgrade

A period of system downtime is necessary to complete the first phase of the PeopleSoft Campus Solutions 9.2 Upgrade. PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and related systems will be unavailable starting 9 a.m. (previously reported as 7 a.m.) Saturday, September 23. Work is anticipated to be complete and systems available again at noon Sunday, September 24. Please review the full details on system availability and make sure your colleagues are aware of how the planned outage may impact their work.

When systems are restored Sunday afternoon, users will notice minimal changes (restricted to look and feel). Preview these changes.

Those who use PeopleSoft frequently may need to clear their browser cache and cookies when logging in for the first time after the upgrade is complete.

ASR August monthly update

Constitution Day on campus

September 17 is Constitution Day, commemorating the formation and signing of the US Constitution by thirty-nine brave men on September 17, 1787. It recognizes all who, born in the US or by naturalization, have become citizens. In 2004, under Senator Robert Byrd's urging, Congress changed the designation of this day to "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day."

In celebration of Constitution Day, the Humphrey School Center for the Study of Politics and Government is hosting the 2017 Minnesota Election Summit: The Impact Of Social Media On Modern Elections on on September 14. Learn more about the event at z.umn.edu/mnelectionsummit.

If you would like to share this information with other colleagues or students you work with, please refer them to z.umn.edu/constitutionday.

E2 team updates

Previously led by John Vollum, the ASR Employee Engagement (E2) coordinator and team lead is now Dave Crane from OCM. Dave will work with directors and the E2 team to prepare for the upcoming 2017 E2 survey, as well as develop a response plan for the survey results. Dave has a rich background in organizational work in OCM and has been actively working on the E2 team since its start.

John Vollum will continue to assist the team in operationalizing its efforts as ASR’s Organizational Effectiveness Lead in Continuity and Compliance.

More about E2: the E2 team was formed out of a need to create effective responses to the engagement survey results at both the ASR and the unit levels. The survey, if you are new to ASR, is a survey sent out bi-annually to gather feedback from employees about working in ASR.

Current E2 team members are Christine Mounts (OCM), Ben Resman (OTR), Mara Schneider (OSF), Matt Tveter (Continuity and Compliance), Ryan Ceresnak (ASR-IT), Maia Noll (One Stop), and Eleanor Pijut (ASR Central).

Telecommuting info on ASR Intranet

New information regarding telecommuting for ASR employees was added to the ASR Intranet recently. You can find information about telecommuting, eligibility, employee responsibility, as well as a form to sign to enter into a telecommuting agreement. ASR is in a pilot phase of telecommuting, though not all units will be starting the pilot at the same time. Talk with your supervisor for details.

To navigate to the information online, go to the ASR Intranet homepage > Human Resources > Work rules and guidelines. If you have questions, please talk with your supervisor

Helping U: Students helping students navigate the U

One Stop Student Services and the Office for Student Affairs have partnered together to enhance the Helping U desk in Bruininks Hall. Student-staff have been trained to connect fellow students to University-based resources such as academic support, career help, and health services. The desk is open M-F 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you know a student or department who may benefit from the Helping U desk, please share this message.

Bias Response and Referral Network and Campus Climate initiatives

Bias Response and Referral Network
The Bias Response and Referral Network (BRRN) shared their Year-One Report that highlights the 76 bias incidents reported over the past year. It shows how the incidents break down into the various types of bias incidents associated with protected identities including religion, race, gender, sexuality, national origin, and disability. Learn more or submit a report of a bias incident »

Campus Climate initiatives
President Kaler has made the campus climate initiative one of his top priorities. If you’re not sure what this means, there’s a website for it. Learn about initiatives in progress, submit your stories, ideas, or accomplishments to cclimate@umn.edu, or even just subscribe to receive weekly updates on the topic.

ASR meets the Great American Eclipse

Many ASR folks were able to see what is now referred to as the “Great American Eclipse” on August 21. Some even traveled outside the boundaries of Minnesota to witness totality. Check out a collection of pictures your colleagues snapped from the day of the eclipse


On the way towards totality, taken by Sarah Hoegger in Aurora, Nebraska



Totality! as seen and taken by Sarah Hoegger in Aurora, Nebraska



As the moon and sun part ways again, taken by Sarah Hoegger in Aurora, Nebraska



Lines of cars full of expectant people in Nebraska, taken by Sarah Hoegger

Rainbow ring around the eclipse, taken by Chris Abts

The eclipse, as seen (or not seen) on campus, taken by Julie Selander



Julie takes in the Great America Eclipse, selfie, Julie Selander



Eclipse watchers gather on the Mall, taken by Kate Sophia



The eclipse, there it is!, taken by Kate Sophia



Fraser folks checking out the eclipse. It seems they need a little extra direction... taken by Kristy Davis

A couple ASR employees and their family in Green Lake, Wisconsin, gazing at the sky through welding glass, taken by Domini Brown

A moody eclipse from Green Lake, Wisconsin, taken by Domini Brown


Thanks to all who contributed these great photos! I'm sure there are more out there that I missed. If you'd like to add yours, email Domini Brown (brow3817@umn.edu).

Preparing for the Campus Solutions 9.2 Technical Upgrade Go-Live

The first phase of the PeopleSoft Campus Solutions 9.2 Upgrade is the technical upgrade of Campus Solutions from version 9.0 to version 9.2. In order to complete this phase, Campus Solutions will be unavailable for approximately 30 hours over the September 23 weekend. During this time, students, faculty, and staff will not have access to functions such as registration, student account payments, and grading. Human Resources and Financials systems and Moodle will have regular availability.

While this time frame was selected to minimize impacts to the University community, we would like to hear from you if there are activities that will be negatively affected by this downtime. Please contact project manager Carrie Otto (zast0020@umn.edu) with details.

System changes as a result of this technical upgrade are minimal and restricted to look and feel. Preview these changes.

GSSP content transition to One Stop

Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) content will move from the Graduate Student website to the One Stop Student Services website on August 24, 2017. Redirects will be set up, and only Twin Cities, graduate student content is affected. Faculty and staff content will remain on the Graduate School. For more information on this transition, please see the News & Notes blog. Contact Chris Abts at cjabts@umn.edu with any questions.

Earlier Summer Registration

For summer 2018, degree-seeking students will be able to register on March 1. Open registration would start on March 8. The change will allow students more time to be proactive in their planning and help to spread out advising appointment times. The change might boost summer enrollment and classroom utilization, and help students with timely degree progress by taking classes during the summer term. Read more about the change on the News & Notes blog.

ASR was asked to look at the pros and cons of moving the first date of summer term registration to an earlier date resulting in a longer registration period. ASR worked collaboratively with the colleges to get their feedback on this idea. Most colleges believed pros outweighed the cons. The collected feedback was provided to the college deans and they decided to move the date from mid-April to early March.  

Work is underway by a group of ASR staff to make the necessary changes in the various PeopleSoft tables, adjust batch jobs that need to run to set enrollment appointments and update various online publication dates and websites. A comprehensive communications plan is also being developed to share this information with all of the appropriate stakeholders, including students, advisors, and other student services staff.

Academic calendar changes

Beginning with the 2018-19 academic calendar, the spring term for Twin Cities and Rochester will change from having 74 instructional days to having 70 instructional days. This change means that fall and spring semesters will have the same length going forward, and there is room for an additional study day for students in the spring term.

Spring 2019 notes

• Spring term will continue to start on the Tuesday after the MLK holiday
• Second half of the term will still begin the Monday after spring break
• There will be no finals on the Sunday of finals week

The full calendars for 2018-22 can be viewed on the University Senate page.

New form for changing graduation term and Transform pilot update

One Stop Student Services released a new form this month under the pilot program for TransForm. Called “Request to Change Expected Graduation Term,” the form is available to Twin Cities undergraduate students on the One Stop website. It enables students to submit a formal request to change their expected graduation term. Read more about the new form and Transform project.

The form requires an active University account to log in, and it validates a student’s eligibility to submit the request via PeopleSoft data. The Student Degree Progress team assesses the request, and OTR processes the change.

OIT will formally announce a TransForm enterprise-wide adoption plan sometime in the near future. For now, ASR’s two TransForm forms (the other is Cost of Attendance appeal) are live and working. The pilot program was a success and a great example of collaboration between One Stop, SDP, OSF, OTR, ASR-IT, Communications, and OIT.

U of M Service Day: October 14, 2017

Mark your calendars to volunteer in your community on October 14! Join fellow Gophers, family, and friends wherever you are for U of M Day of Service. We have many locations with organized group sites, so check to see if one is planned in your area. It's one big day of service and gratitude!

Registration coming soon.See more information and the growing list of official Day of Service sites on our Day of Service Page.

Employees can now cancel absence requests

The PeopleSoft Tools update that took place over the weekend included a great new improvement in Absence Management: Employees can now cancel a vacation, personal holiday, or comp time absence request themselves. To do so, the absence request must be in a Saved, Submitted, Approved, or Pushed Back status. The cancellation of an absence will be routed to the employee's supervisor for approval.

OHR has updated the job aids on editing and approving an absence request:

• Approving Absence Request or Absence Cancellation Request job aid
• Editing or Canceling an Absence Request job aid