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

Project & Work Facilitation - Upcoming Classes

Upcoming Project Management Classes

• Thursday, September 14 - 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - PM 203: Project Risk Management
• Thursday, September 28 - 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - PM 301: Evidence-Based Portfolio Management
• New cycle of classes starts in October - Registration available

New Data Driven Decisions Class - NEW Class

• Tuesday, September 19 - 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Upcoming SQL Tutorial

• Tuesday, October 10 - 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

REGISTER HERE!

Questions: pwf-team@umn.edu

ISSS Intercultural Workshop Series for Fall 2017

International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) recently announced its Intercultural Workshop Series for fall 2017. There are six sessions focused on the development of intercultural competency and skills and include discussions about unique practices, customs, and values of some of the largest international student populations on campus. There is an additional training session on October 18 for advisors and student services staff. More information about the dates and registration process can be found here.

LucidChart Free Webinars

LucidChart is a tool used by many folks in ASR to create diagrams and charts.  We have a department account that staff can be added to as needed (you can also create a free account for personal use; department account access needed for file sharing). LucidChart offers free webinars each month that many have found helpful to learn the basics and how to leverage system features. A great one to get started with is “Master the LucidChart Basics,” which is offered every Wednesday at 1 p.m. CST.  

For more information on LucidChart, check out ASR’s LucidChart License Access document, or email Kristy and Ryan at pwf-team@umn.edu.

Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) content transition to One Stop

On August 24, 2017, Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) content will be moved from the Graduate School website to the One Stop Student Services website. Users looking for GSSP content on the Graduate School website will automatically be redirected to One Stop during the transitionary period. Faculty and staff content will remain on the Graduate School’s website, and only Twin Cities websites will be affected.

GSSP content will appear under the Academics tab on One Stop in the following pages:

• Degree completion steps
• Examination committees
• Doctoral oral exam scheduling 
• Thesis/dissertation submission and formatting
• Contact GSSP

GSSP forms will be housed on the One Stop forms page. Application for degree and other information related to graduation will be updated on the ‘apply to graduate’ and ‘checklist for grad students’ pages that already exist on One Stop.

The goal of this content transition is to better serve students by housing content in one place and making navigation easier. Integrating GSSP with One Stop also better aligns with GSSP’s organizational structure.

Please communicate this change with students, staff, and faculty who may not be aware. Contact Chris Abts at cjabts@umn.edu with any GSSP questions. Thank you.

Academic calendar changes

Beginning with the 2018-19 academic calendar, the spring term 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.

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

Spring 2019

January 21 (Monday)	MLK holiday
January 22 (Tuesday)	Classes begin
March 18-22 (Monday through Friday)	Spring break
May 6 (Monday)	Last day of instruction
May 7, 8, and 12 (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday)	Study days
May 9-11 and 13-15 (Thurs.-Sat. and Mon.-Wed.)	Final examinations
May 15 (Wednesday)	End of term

Note that spring term will continue to start on the Tuesday after the MLK holiday, the second half of the term will still begin the Monday after spring break, and there will be no finals on the Sunday of finals week.

Because some classes may have 1 to 2 fewer meeting dates (depending on meeting pattern), syllabi may need to be reviewed. Please communicate these changes to those within your departments so that they are able to prepare accordingly.

ASR summer picnic recap

This year’s summer picnic was an incredible opportunity for staff to gather and continue to build our ASR community. We had some terrific contributions for the ASR student scholarship fundraiser and learned that many ASR staff have been hiding secret talents. With a total of 81 items donated for auction, we raised $1,370 for student scholarships. Thank you to everyone who was able to participate!

Those scholarship funds will go toward helping students achieve success at the University of Minnesota and making a positive impact on their lives. Recently, a student contacted ASR’s Student Degree Progress team after being awarded funds to say, “I took the weekend to process everything that you all have done for me. I am extremely grateful and basically in shock (a good kind of shock!) ... I now can focus on actual classes, instead of paying for them. I feel like I can accomplish anything now.”

Thanks, again, to everyone!

Astra upgrade August 11

Astra Schedule will undergo a planned system upgrade on Friday, August 11. Access to Astra Schedule will be completely unavailable during the upgrade. This upgrade does not affect PeopleSoft or CCS. Updates on the outage will be available on the University's IT Service Status page.

Find out more on the OCM blog.

Student Success Analytics project update

To foster student success and positive academic outcomes, a new Student Success Analytics (SSA) project has begun at the University. The project is being led by a cross-organizational group including Colleges, OUE, and OIT staff. The project seeks to:

• Increase student retention and timely graduation
• Improve curricular design, delivery, and transparency
• Reduce student debt upon graduation
• Enhance the student academic experience

The SSA Steering Committee has met with student services staff and advisors and has prioritized its upcoming and short-term work. The ASR team will continue to build on the progress of existing University best practices like degree-planning resources and dashboards for students and advisors (APAS, APLUS), resulting in an At-Risk Student Dashboard, Retention-Risk Predictive Model, Graduation Proximity Reports, and Transfer Student Models. Stay tuned for future updates.

Tuition rate change

Starting fall 2017, there will be two tuition rates for Twin Cities non-resident, non-reciprocity (NRNR) students. Incoming high school and new transfer students will pay the published nonresident tuition rate, which is a 12.5% increase over last year’s tuition rate. Continuing NRNR students will pay a lower tuition rate based on a 5.5% increase to last year’s tuition rate. Last year, the University committed to a 5.5% limit on tuition increases for NRNR students who started attending the University prior to fall 2017 and have maintained their enrollment.

Changes to Non-Resident, Non-Reciprocity (NRNR) scholarship process

Also starting in fall 2017, the Twin Cities Undergraduate Admissions office changed the awarding process for incoming first-year and transfer non-resident, non-reciprocity (NRNR) students that receive scholarships meant to bring their tuition rates closer to the in-state rate. Students now receive flat-rate scholarships; the amount of the scholarship will remain consistent as long as the student continues to meet the terms and conditions of the scholarship. Previously, students were awarded full or half-waiver scholarships, whose amounts would fluctuate based on the tuition rate. Continuing NRNR students that were awarded full or half-tuition waivers will continue to receive their scholarships in that manner.

ASR TransForm pilot now live

Over the past several months, ASR has been participating in an OIT pilot program for a new tool, Perceptive TransForm, a digital form and workflow tool that allows for digital signatures and multi-step workflows. We selected the Twin Cities undergraduate Change of Expected Graduation Term (EGT) and the Cost of Attendance (COA) Appeal Requests for both undergrad and grad students on the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses. Both forms are now live.

Thank you to everyone on the pilot program team for your hard work and contributions during our development period, and for those who helped review and test these processes. For questions regarding ASR’s involvement in this pilot program or about ASR usage of this system, please contact the Project & Work Facilitation Team at pwf-team@umn.edu.

TransForm provides an easy to use form designer, multi-directional routing capabilities, PeopleSoft integration (with writeback possible in the future), SalesForce and other system integrations, and the ability to attach multiple files to a form when submitted. By converting these requests to electronic forms, we have decreased processing time, increased data validation and accuracy, and created a better and more reliable user experience for the student. Perceptive TransForm integrates easily with Perceptive Content, our document management system, creating an instant process from submission to filing.  

Transform will be a valuable tool, along with WorkflowGen and PeopleSoft Tools, for units looking to streamline the intake and processing of student requests.  OIT will be making an official announcement in the coming weeks about enterprise-wide adoption. In the meantime, we are working on identifying and prioritizing additional student requests that are good candidates for TransForm.

Classroom updates moving along

The Office of Classroom Management has been updating classroom equipment in nearly 70 rooms -- so far having updated 40. The project is expected to minimize breakdowns and maintain the functionality of the classroom's technology system. A big push remains in order to bring the building and new classrooms online for John T. Tate Hall. Only one week until building occupancy!

Project highlights:

• Final construction details continue throughout as well as corrections noted by the design team;

• Sitework continues around the building and landscaping will begin in the near future;
• Delivery and installation of furniture continues through August;
• Relocation of the Ely greenstone core from Pillsbury Hall to Tate Hall is slated for August 14th;
• Occupant move-in throughout the month of August (will require limited sidewalk/road closures around Pillsbury Hall - logistic plans have been prepared).

New study space tool available

A new study space tool has launched for students that includes images, building features, and locations. This is a joint project between the Office of Classroom Management (OCM), University Libraries, Student Unions, Office of Information Technology (OIT), AHC Classroom Services, and Facilities Management (FM). Technical fixes are still in progress, but issues should be resolved by the end of August. Find more information on the OCM blog. 

IDPs should be review in August

It is time for IDP review again. Supervisors should meet with employees to review IDPs in the month of August. In case you missed it, Sue shares information about her IDP in her recent ASR Monthly video.

What’s in a name?

It’s important to understand the student perspective on various topics related to our work. U of M student, Narmada Venkateswaran, shares her experiences related to her name and identity. Read Narmada's full article on the Campus Climate website. How does your name affect your identity?

Welcome Students Posters

This year’s poster to welcome students (which has been created annually for the past 20 years), highlights the many languages spoken by our students on campus. Posters are available to all students, staff, and faculty. Learn more on how to get your free poster. 

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

HR updates

Congratulations and best wishes to Marit! Marit Gladem is retiring September 8. Mary Stein, another member of the HR team, will be the new HR partner for ASR effective September 11. Mary worked as an HR generalist with OIT, and later as an administrative assistant in the Vice Provost's office. She has been with the Morrill Hall Shared Services team since April 2015. She is highly knowledgeable in the area of human resources as well as with the Office of Undergraduate Education and the University in general, so she will be an excellent fit for ASR.

New ASR Class: Data Driven Decisions

The Project & Work Facilitation (PWF) team is excited to announce a new workshop that will be offered semi-annually in September and March: PWF 303: Data Driven Decisions is aimed at the person who is interested in analytics and data-driven decisions. We will discuss theory around the practice of using analytics to inform everyday decisions, as well as expose attendees to some key foundational concepts. The course's focus is on the possible applications of analytical and statistical concepts and not the mathematical equations or complex processes involved. No prior analytics training necessary. The first session will be on September 19 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in Fraser B20. To register check out the PWF 303 page at the ASR Projects site. Registration is also available for other ASR workshops in the Project Management series. Upcoming Project Management Workshops There are 3 more project management classes this quarter:

• PM 202: Creating & Maintaining a Project Plan - Thursday 8/17, 10a-11:30a, Fraser B20
• PM 203: Project Risk Management - Thursday 9/14, 10a-11:30a, Fraser B20
• PM 301: Evidence-based Portfolio Management - Thursday 9/27, 10a-11:30a, Fraser B20

All classes in the PM series are also available to register for the fall quarter (October-December). Check out ASR Project Short Courses page to register for all available classes. Winter and spring 2018 (January - June) course sections will be available for registration in early September.