Change in Administrative Support Contact (ASC)

We are pleased to announce a change in the ASC responsibility split - Lindsay Bork Nichols has been the primary ASC for all of ASR for the past several months since Mara departed. Now, we will once again split the contact role based on building (see below).

With any administrative support type of questions, please first reference the handy, dandy Resource Guide, and then reach out to your ASC if you have additional questions.

	Lindsay Bork Nichols lindsay@umn.edu 160 Williamson	Megan Wollner woll0122@umn.edu 253 Fraser
Bierman Field		X
Bruininks Hall	X
Coffey Hall	X
Fraser Hall		X
Medical School		X
West Bank Skyway	X
Williamson Hall	X

Community Fund Drive - October 1-31

Last year ASR hosted “Donuts, Dogs, and Donations” and raised $725 for the TC Student Success Fund in support of the annual U of M Community Fund Drive.

This year’s event will be “Cookies, Cats, and Cash” on Thursday, October 25 from 9-10:30 in Fraser B20. Stop by and enjoy a treat while perusing cute cat photos. Bring cash to vote for your favorite photo. Each vote is a donation to the TC Student Success Fund.

Submit your cat’s photo to Megan Wollner (woll0122@umn.edu) by Thursday, October 18. One photo will be randomly selected to represent each unit in ASR at the event.

New template for external presentations

The Board of Regents recently approved a new template for external presentations. The template must be used when you present to external audiences.

There are templates for both PowerPoint and Google Slides in the ASR Team drive (ASR Staff Team Drive > Presentation Templates). Note that there are two choices for introductory slides. There is a final slide that says "Driven to Discover", which is optional.

Please delete/archive your old presentation templates and use the new approved template. When you create a copy of the template, be sure to save it in a separate folder. If you need a different version or have other specifications, contact Crystal Nichols (nicholsc@umn.edu).

2018 election - campaign activities

The University encourages students, faculty, and staff to engage and vote. However, be reminded that federal and state laws prohibit the use of University resources to support specific candidates, ballot initiatives, or referenda. University of Minnesota political engagement policies reflect these legal regulations. More information is available via the 2018 guidelines for political campaign related activities.

Successful completion of work study audit

This summer the University’s Internal Audits audited administration of the federal and state work study programs. Their primary scope was to determine whether:

1. The University and participating departments are taking full advantage of the work study program and ensuring that all University work study funds are used
2. No student is earning more than their approved work study fund allocation
3. No student is earning work study funds after their enrollment has fallen below eligibility

They concluded that the programs are well managed and that the manual monitoring processes are effective. They also found the automated controls in place to prevent students earning more funds than they were allocated were also effective.
Huge thank you to Deb Wilkin and Christopher D. Peterson from the Office of Student Finance for their tireless efforts to assist the audit.

EGTs added for students admitted for fall 2018

On September 18, 2018, we entered an Expected Graduation Term (EGT) into the Student Program/Plan for all new Twin Cities undergraduate admits. Both New High School (NHS) and New Advanced Standing (NAS) students now have an EGT applied to their records.

On November 12, 2018, we will add the degree checkout status of “applied” to the Student Program/Plan for any Twin Cities undergraduate who has achieved 75% progress toward their degree.

• Several reports were updated to add the degree checkout status data:
• Major/minor roster
• Student group roster
• Student roster detail list
• My advisees with confirmed education abroad programs
• Education abroad confirmed students by college

We are developing a query to help identify students who have a missing EGT. It is currently in the testing phase and in the future will be available in Reporting Center.

Suggestion box submission - ASR Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee

We recently received a question about whether ASR has a committee that addresses topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The ASR DEI committee focuses on topics related to many aspects of ASR’s mission including recruiting and hiring a diverse workforce, as well as providing information to staff about DEI events, news, and educational opportunities. This committee includes a representative from each unit in ASR and are responsible for sharing their unit’s perspective on ideas and initiatives, as well as to report updates back to their unit. To learn more about ASR DEI activities, please contact your unit rep:

• Continuity & Compliance: Christina Yoong
• ASR IT: Chris Johnson
• Office of Classroom Management: Jessica McCarty
• Office of the Registrar: Kate Hemmer
• Office of Student Finance: Penny Levine
• One Stop Student Services: Josh Geiger

Auditors in Fraser

External auditors from Deloitte will be in the back portion of the 220 Fraser space next week to begin their annual University financials and financial aid audit. If an auditor approaches you to request student information, please direct them to Regina Moran in the Office of Student Finance Fiscal unit. Regina serves as the primary contact for any audit related matters.

Remember: while the auditors are here, be more cautious than usual about discussing students in shared spaces where it’s easy to overhear.

Orientation & Transition Experiences temporary move

The Orientation & Transition Experiences office relocated to 150 Williamson on September 10 and will remain there for about 10 weeks while construction takes place in their main offices. As always, they can be reached online via ote.umn.edu, oteinfo@umn.edu, or by phone at 612-624-1979.

One Stop contacts increase, but wait times are down

This time of year is such a busy season for the staff and units of ASR. One Stop Student Services is no exception. For two of the busiest weeks of the year (the week before classes start and the first week of classes), One Stop has seen increases in all modes of service (phone, email, and in-person), yet has seen decreases in wait times for our students, their families, and other customers. Thank you to the Office of Student Finance staff that helped out at our East Bank counter during the increased volume!

New GPAS Google site

The Graduate Planning and Audit System website has moved from old Google Sites to the new Google Sites. This change improves navigation and maintains a consistent look between ASR-owned websites, while following University Relations branding. If you have bookmarks for the old GPAS site, please update them. You can use the same Z link: z.umn.edu/gpas.