State relations update for the University

President Kaler released a statement calling on the legislature to invest in the University of Minnesota's shared prosperity with the state. He also sent a letter to the higher education conference committee chairs outlining the University of Minnesota's positions on current house and senate versions of the bills.

President Kaler announces new Immigration Response Team

President Kaler announced the creation of the Immigration Response Team at his State of the University address in March 2017. The mission of the Immigration Response Team is to ensure that all who are affected by immigration policy changes have access to resources and support. Check out the Immigration Response Team website where you can sign up for updates and event announcements, volunteer, or request a presentation. 

Term end dates for Twin Cities undergraduate and graduate students

• Last day of instruction: Friday, May 5
• Study days: Saturday, May 6, and Sunday, May 7
• Final exams: Monday, May 8, through Saturday, May 13
• End of semester: Saturday, May 13

ASR cleaning half-day

The annual ASR-wide cleaning half-day is scheduled for Monday, June 5, from 12:00 until 4:30 p.m. Take this time to organize your files, wipe down your surfaces, get rid of old or unused equipment, and help your neighbor get organized. 

It is completely acceptable to spend the entire afternoon of June 5 cleaning and organizing your workspace. It is not acceptable to leave early for the day unless you have received approved vacation time in advance. More details to come.

Call for volunteers: RFP committee for transcript vendors

OTR is looking for 4-6 ASR staff to volunteer to serve on an RFP committee for transcript vendors. The University of Minnesota currently uses Parchment, but the contract ends in February 2018 and the Board of Regents requires us to go out to bid. This opportunity would be ideal for ASR staff interested in learning about the RFP process and reviewing proposals. If you are interested, contact Mike Brown at mlbrown@umn.edu.

Process for subpoenas

If you receive a subpoena, forward it to Debbie Henderson at d-hend@umn.edu, so that we have a consistent ASR process. Prior to Debbie’s retirement, we will announce the new contact for subpoenas. Because not all subpoenas are valid and FERPA requires that we provide notice to students, you should not respond to a subpoena yourself. If you have questions, please contact Stacey Tidball, tidball@umn.edu.

University Veterans Services participating in Military Action Group

University Veterans Services (UVS) now has a presence at the state capitol. Jabra Kawas, Assistant Director of One Stop and Veterans Services, has been attending the monthly Military Action Group caucus meetings. UVS strives to better understand how legislative changes may impact veteran students, as well as build relationships between the University of Minnesota and Minnesota legislators who are working on issues related to veterans and service members.

The next meeting is scheduled for May 15, and UVS will be presenting on the U of M’s Senior Citizen Education Program, emphasizing how this program can help veterans over the age of 62 whose military benefits have lapsed.

Spring staff event reminder

The ASR Spring Staff Event is around the corner: May 17! If you haven’t already, please respond to the Google calendar invite for the event. We will hear from a few key speakers, including guest Rev. Dr. Nekima Levy-Pounds, and have a terrific set of breakout sessions planned. Review the event information on the ASR Intranet, which includes descriptions of the breakout sessions. Lunch will be provided, but please bring your own coffee/water for the morning.

ASR Book Club

The ASR Summer Book Club is returning for a second year and needs your input! Please vote on the book related to diversity, equity, and inclusion that you would be most interested in reading. In addition, the book club is seeking volunteers to lead the discussion around the book selected. If this is something you might be interested in, please indicate it on the form. There will be four meetings during the summer; exact dates and times to follow. The sign up to participate in the book club will go out in the next News and Notes, so vote now! Contact Darcy Fastner at dfastner@umn.edu with questions. 

ASR Project Management Series

Sections of all 6 courses for the remainder of the year are now available for registration.

Upcoming in May:  

• Thursday, May 4, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - PM 201: Supporting an Effective Project Team
• Thursday, May 25, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - PM 202: Developing & Maintaining a Project Plan

Check out all available course sections and further resources at asrprojects.umn.edu. 

SafeU announcement

Find out more about the University’s new mass notification text messaging system Safe-U. This system replaces TXT-U and if you were enrolled in that your number has been added to Safe-U. 

Personal Web Space retirement

As announced in July 2016, the University of Minnesota Personal Web Space (PWS) service will be retired on June 30, 2017. Personal websites hosted with this service appear in the format www.tc.umn.edu/~username. Other services with similar URL formats, such as d.umn.edu/~username and umn.edu/~username will not be impacted.

If you have a Personal Web Space account or are aware of others in your unit or department, please share this message and/or complete the survey to move your content before June 30, 2017. 

PeopleSoft Campus Solutions upgrade underway

The effort to upgrade PeopleSoft Campus Solutions from version 9.0 to 9.2 started last week. This project is on a much smaller scale than “The Upgrade”/ESUP that was completed in 2015. The upgrade to 9.2 will go through June 2018 and will be completed in two phases. 

The first phase, the technical upgrade, is an upgrade of the technical platform from version 9.0 to 9.2. This is being done to maintain vendor support for security and regulations as well as to allow for the adoption of future vendor-released functionality. This will be completed September 24, 2017. Students, faculty, and staff will notice little to no changes as a result of this technical upgrade. 

The second phase, the functional upgrade, will be dedicated to implementing process improvements and utilizing available delivered tools over several months. During this phase, functionality will be released on a monthly basis rather than one, final launch date. The project will conclude in June 2018.

You can learn more about the upgrade on the project website, or by attending the ASR in-service on Thursday, April 27 (invitation in Google has already been sent). It will take place in 101 Fraser from 8 to 9 a.m.

Fraser Hall open house

Fraser Hall will be hosting an open house and tours of the ASR spaces after the ASR in-service event about the PeopleSoft 9.2 Campus Solutions Upgrade on Thursday, April 27, from  9 to 11 a.m. There will be donuts!

Debbie Henderson retiring in early June

Debbie has been in the office for the past 33 years providing great customer service to many of us. She has continued to learn new technologies as we’ve implemented them and kept the office running smoothly day in and day out. She has taken care of us by providing equipment, furniture, and reimbursements to make our jobs more pleasant. Debbie will be missed by many of us here in ASR and around the University, but, let’s congratulate her on her retirement! She deserves it!

Congratulations to Debbie; and, thank you for your numerous contributions and your dedication to us, ASR, and the community.

More information regarding how we will continue to provide ASR staff services will be forthcoming.

Student Success Conference posters

As a follow-up to our story on presenters at this year’s Student Success Conference, here is a list of ASR staff that participated in the conference’s poster sessions. The poster sessions allowed staff to interact with smaller groups on more focused topics.

• Richard Campo, Cathy Schuster, and Larry Bloom - Funding an Education: Financial Aid Basics for Advisors
• Betsy Everts, Karen Magness-Pokornowski, Kristin Hummel, Andy Hoeveler, and JoJo Botzet - Financial Wellness at the U: 4 years in the life of an undergraduate student
• Julie Selander, Rachelle Hernandez (representing a broad group from the RaOS committee) - Retaining All Our Students (RaOS) Initiative Update

Equity & Diversity Resource guide

In an effort to support ongoing education about the histories, theories, and lived experiences of members of marginalized and underrepresented communities, the Office of Equity and Diversity and the University Libraries have created an Equity and Diversity resource guide on Pinterest (note: you do not need a Pinterest account view the guide).

WiFi upgrades

WiFi access point hardware upgrades began for the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus on Monday, April 12, 2017. This work will impact every WiFi access point in buildings and structures across campus. Replacement of access points is a bit like replacing a light bulb; the old one is removed and the new one is installed and turned on. Service disruption is expected to be minimal. Visit the OCM blog for more info »

Implicit bias lecture with Dr. Benjamin Reese, April 21

Join students, faculty, and staff from around the campus in an exploration of implicit bias with Dr. Benjamin Reese, an internationally renowned scholar on implicit bias. Dr. Reese will be speaking about the development of implicit bias in early childhood, research findings, the impact of implicit bias on decision-making, what helps to diminish implicit bias, and implications for future research. This event is free and open to the public.

Pride Not Pity: Disability as Culture, April 21

Engage in a conversation with diverse panelists from the disability community to gain greater understanding of the implications of disability culture within disabled communities and for American culture at large. This event is free and open to the public. Live streaming of the event is also available.

ASR Project Management Series

Upcoming workshops: We have started a new cycle of our 6 courses today for the second quarter of 2017. Please see the schedule at the ASR Projects site Short Courses page. Sections for July to December of this year will be available for registration on Monday, April 17.  

Managing your registered courses: To manage your ASR PM courses or any non-credit coursework registered through Destiny One, go to learning.umn.edu and click login in the upper right corner. From there, you can view or print a transcript, drop or transfer courses, and manage your profile.

Call for new topics and instructors: If you have any suggestions for new course topics and/or are interested in facilitating any of our courses, please do not hesitate to email Kristy & Ryan at pwf-team@umn.edu.