ASR staff picnic reminder

Date: Thursday, July 27, 2017

Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Where: Bruininks Hall Plaza (food), 512B Bruininks (silent auction) 

This year's event will again be catered by Deli Double. Food includes: 

• BBQ beef sandwiches
• Chicken breast sandwiches
• Veggie black bean & corn burgers 
• Italian pasta salad
• Fresh fruit medley
• Vegetarian baked beans
• Assorted cookies 

Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite & bottled water will be provided. Outdoor seating is available behind Bruininks and indoor seating will be available in 303 Appleby. Silent auction located in 512B Bruininks. In the event of rain, all components move to 101 & 102 Fraser.

Silent auction items

Please consider bringing an item (or items) for ASR’s scholarship fundraiser. As of right now, we are pretty thin on fund-raising items, so please donate if you are able. These items can be purchased or homemade and can range from artwork to cookie gift certificates. If you would like to win it, likely someone else will too! The funds we raise go directly into a scholarship fund to support our students. Silent auction items may be delivered to Mara S. (Fraser) or Eleanor P. (Williamson).

PeopleSoft 9.2 upgrade

The Technical Upgrade (phase one) is moving along as planned. We are making plans to move to the last testing environment at the end of this month as we are just two months away from go live for this phase.

Communications and change management plans are in progress. The Functional Upgrade (phase two) has been scoped to these initiatives. Close to half of these groups have kicked-off and are actively chartering and gathering requirements. The other half will be kicking off in the coming 1-2 weeks. You can now get weekly, high-level updates regarding each initiative in the project status dashboard. Contact Carrie Otto to be added to the distribution list.

Destiny One Registration System (DORS) updates

DORS, the University's system for non-credit registration activity, has generated over $20,000,000 in revenue with 110,000+ registrations since launching in July 2015. The latest version of the software -- with new core functionality, bug fixes, and change requests -- was delivered to the Test environment on July 5 for validation and testing with CCE and individual business units. Deployment to Production is expected the first week of August. Other updates:

• The DORS team is working with OIT to deliver an integration with Canvas. 
• The DORS Reporting Center went live on June 23rd for staff users of Destiny One.

Hogan assessments piloted

As part of ASR’s staff development efforts, a group of 21 staff, including ASR directors and supervisors, piloted two complementary inventories: the Hogan Personality Inventory and the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory. The inventories are designed to help individuals understand and reflect on how others perceive them in their workplace role.

After receiving their results, the group learned through interactive activities how their personality, motivations, and values positively impact their leadership style in the workplace. Participants in the OHR course, “Leading on All Levels” also complete the inventories.

Given the positive response to the pilot, ASR directors will be setting up another group to take the two inventories. Please contact John Vollum if you have questions.

Some MyU services unavailable overnight July 29–30

Due to a planned software update the weekend of July 29 and 30, some MyU features will be unavailable from 6:00 p.m. Saturday through noon on Sunday. During that time, you will not be able to access the My Time, My Pay, My Info, My Benefits, and Manager Info tabs, along with HRMS-related queries in the Reporting Center.

Use eduroam WiFi network

Faculty and staff are encouraged to use eduroam, the preferred secure WiFi network for the University of Minnesota. To log in, choose "eduroam" from your WiFi network options and enter your full University email address and password. The eduroam network is available at all campuses.

ASR Project Management Classes

ASR’s Project Management series has upcoming workshops:

• Thursday, 7/27, 10:30-11:30 a.m. - PM 102: ASR Business Needs Lifecycle
• Thursday, 8/3, 10:00-11:30 a.m. - PM 201: Supporting an Effective Project Team
• Thursday, 8/17, 10:00-11:30 a.m. - PM 202: Developing & Maintaining a Project Plan
• Thursday, 9/14, 10:00-11:30 a.m. - PM 203: Project Risk Management
• Thursday, 9/27, 10:00-11:30 a.m. - PM 301: Evidence-Based Portfolio Management

Register at ASR Project Page. Questions? Contact pwf-team@umn.edu.

UMN's new budget website

The University has learned, from the Public Perceptions study and working at the Legislature, that Minnesotans find it difficult to understand the University of Minnesota’s budget -- how we get our money and in turn, how we spend it.

In an effort to respond, the University has launched a new budget website. This site will be regularly updated with new information. Check out the new budget website.

ASR Picnic and Fundraiser

When: Thursday, July 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Bruininks Plaza (outside), or inside Bruininks Hall if it rains

The silent auction fundraiser will be held for the same time and duration as the picnic (exact room in Bruininks Hall to be determined).

This year's event will again be catered by Deli Double.

As noted in an earlier News & Notes, please consider bringing an item (or items) for the scholarship fundraiser. These items can be purchased or homemade and can range from artwork to cookie gift certificates. If you would like to win it, likely someone else will too! The funds we raise go directly into a scholarship fund to support our students. It would be wonderful if we could beat last year's $900 total.

Items can be dropped off at Mara Schnieder's office in 253 Fraser Hall, or Eleanor Pijut's office in 160 Williamson Hall.

Save the Date - Greater Than 7

Make your calendars for this year's Office of Equity and Diversity sponsored initiative designed to engage our entire University community in the work of co-creating an environment where all can thrive.

Greater Than 7: Courageous Conversation, Courageous Action is scheduled as a week-long series of events from September 25 - October 7. Similar to last year, this initiative expects to have dozens of events on and off campus focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The ASR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee is seeking your ideas on possible events/workshops that ASR can propose for inclusion in this year's published events. Send your ideas to Julie Selander.

Wellness points deadline August 31

As you enjoy the incredible Minnesota summer, here are some ways you can earn more wellness points to save either $400 or $600 next year on the UPlan before it’s too late, all while improving your health along the way.

UMN Farmer's Market opens on July 12

The 2017 University of Minnesota Farmers Market will run from July 12 to September 27 on the Gateway Plaza, just outside the McNamara Alumni Center. 

The market is held rain or shine, every Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

Discover Canvas each Thursday this summer

Earlier this month, it was announced that Canvas was selected to be the successor to Moodle. As the University begins the transition process, a Discover Canvas event will be held each Thursday this summer. At this event, members of the Canvas Transition Team will be available in person and online to help faculty and staff explore this new learning environment.