New APAS launches July 1

The first phase of the Transfer Articulation and Degree Audit (TADA) project will be complete when the new version of APAS launches on July 1. APAS (Academic Progress Audit System) is a tool used by undergraduates and their advisors on all five campuses to track degree requirements and progress. The University has used some version of this software for 30 years. The implementation of the most current version during this project is the first major update of the system since 2006.

The changes students and advisors will experience are contained mostly to the look and feel of APAS reports. Those who participated in usability evaluations said it is clean and easy to use.

Advisors who have access to process exceptions to APAS requirements are also excited to have an easier way to make those exceptions. This is the only group required to complete training to maintain their access in the new system and ⅔ of them completed the training in the first two weeks it was available.

The second phase of TADA starts immediately after the conclusion of the first and goes through July 2020. Work during this phase is largely focused on implementing the best practices for audit display developed during the first phase and getting transfer coursework details into PeopleSoft to enable prerequisite and repeat checking during registration.

Raffle and ASR picnic - July 25

This summer ASR is hosting a staff picnic with a raffle to raise money for the Student Success Fund. The items for the raffle are donated by our staff members—all of you! At the raffle, you will have the opportunity to purchase tickets (cash only) and submit tickets to win items.

ASR picnic and raffle

• Date: Thursday, July 25
• Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Location: Bruininks Plaza (outside)
• Catering: TBD (please RVSP to the calendar invite so we can plan for catering)

You may donate items for the raffle any time between now and the day before the picnic. Print a donation form to go with your items. (You can make a copy to fill it out online first.) Depending on which building you’re in, you can drop your donations and the form with:

• Megan Wollner in Fraser Hall 253
• Julie Selander in Bruininks Hall 225
• Eleanor Pijut in Williamson Hall 160M

In the past we have auctioned items like wall art, backyard games, gift baskets, IOUs for baked goods, handmade items like knitted mittens, board games, etc. All money collected goes towards the Student Success Fund, directly helping students to graduate.

Jadu forms in the making

The University’s new workflow tool, Jadu, will be available to use enterprise-wide later this summer. ASR is currently transitioning three forms (that were originally created with Transforms) to the Jadu tool. These include Change Estimated Graduation Term, Cost of Attendance Appeal, and Tuition Refund Appeal. We anticipate we’ll have these ready to use in July. Moving forward, we will be creating Jadu forms for the verification process for independent and dependent students, as well as the form used to activate non-degree students.

As a tool, Jadu allows us to create forms that are accessible, easy to use, and mobile-friendly. We are working on creating a workflow style guide to help make prototyping and development easier and to provide consistent user experience in terms of the workflows' content, layout, and related email notifications.

ASR Wellbeing Champions

The ASR Engagement Team recently became aware of the lack of Wellbeing Champions in ASR. For there to be a genuine culture of wellbeing and work-life balance at the University of Minnesota, the Office of Human Resources needs champions at the local level.

What do Wellbeing Champions do? They serve as an inspirational voice in their department to not only promote the U’s Wellbeing Program, but also to encourage leadership to build an authentic culture of wellbeing in the workplace. Responsibilities include:

• Promote the Wellbeing Program and events.
• Bring colleagues’ ideas and comments back to Wellbeing Program administrators and fellow Champions so programs can get even better.
• Provide leadership in your department to encourage a healthy work environment and healthy work practices for fellow colleagues.
• Encourage colleagues to be their healthy best and to better manage work-life demands.
• Serve as a role model for making healthy lifestyle choices.
• Attend two half-day retreats per year (typically scheduled in the fall and spring) and participate in an average of 1-3 hours per month promoting and sharing information.

If you are interested in serving in this role, let your supervisor know and complete the ASR Wellbeing Champion form. The ASR Engagement Team will identify Wellness Champions by the fall.

One Stop closures July 5

On July 5, some One Stop offices will be closed. The following are the details for Friday, July 5:

• St. Paul location - closed
• West Bank location - closed
• East Bank location - open normal hours
• Graduate Student Services and Progress - open normal hours
• University Veterans Services - open normal hours
• One Stop Student Services via phone and email - available normal hours

Staff take part in a diploma stuffing party

Staff take part in a diploma stuffing party, 2019

Is it work? Is it a party? It’s both! Diplomas, diplomas everywhere and envelopes to put them in!

The Office of the Registrar (OTR) has streamlined diploma processes in recent years, but we do still have to mail them. Spring brings the largest batches. Each year, OTR invites staff from the Office of Student Finance (OSF) to join them in checking diplomas for any smudges or other flaws and putting them in envelopes for mailing. Boring? Maybe, but the stacks of diplomas represent the culmination of students’ hard work and determination; sending them out is satisfying. Again this year, the party was a great way to get to know ASR colleagues from another unit, help get diplomas to new alumni quickly, and revel in our students’ accomplishments. Interested in helping next year? Contact Matt Duggan in OTR.

How to share professional development opportunities

ASR is a diverse organization encompassing a broad spectrum of work. Many staff participate in a variety of professional organizations/associations, and from time to time these organizations offer free lectures or webinars. We encourage you to share those opportunities with your colleagues and invite you to include them in News & Notes.

As a rule of thumb, opportunities we share in News & Notes should be free, topically relevant to others in ASR, and of moderate duration—an hour or so. Feel free to send the information to brow3817@umn.edu to include in this newsletter. You should also share the information with your supervisor and team.

If you’d like to participate in a professional development opportunity that costs money or requires an hour or more, complete a Professional Development Request (PDR) that will be reviewed by your supervisor. Completing a PDR will help keep a record of your development activities over time.

MyU: My Finances - new features to launch mid-June

Students will be able to view and sort the financial aid they’ve received at the University, review personalized cost of attendance and Satisfactory Academic Progress figures, and more. The new features have been designed to help students make informed financial decisions.

Students that participated in a recent usability study indicated that the revamped My Finances is intuitive, the new elements are well-integrated, and that they appreciate the new information that’s being presented. Participants were also asked to rate the revamped My Finances section using the System Usability Scale (SUS); the revamped My Finances section received an average rating of 93 (an average SUS score is 68). A frequently asked questions document with screenshots and details about the new features is available and will continue to be updated as needed.

Mid-term alert submissions increased

In spring 2019, a workgroup researched how to increase compliance with University policy that states that instructors must submit mid-term alerts for students in 1000-level classes who are earning a D, F, or N grade. The number of mid-term alert submissions had been low, and the workgroup identified specific issues and made recommendations that might make a positive effect on the number of mid-term alert submissions. One recommendation was to make specific changes to the emails that ASR sends to instructors, which we did for spring 2019. We saw a 10% increase in submissions from spring 2018 to 2019.

The table below illustrates the change over four terms for both 1000-level classes (called out in University policy) and for all undergraduate classes. It is worth noting that about 35% of rosters typically have at least one D, F, or N by the time final grades are assigned. This means that 30.2% of rosters reporting in spring 2019 is likely actually approaching 100% compliance with the policy.

	1000-level classes		All undergrad classes
Term	Reported	Not Reported	Reported	Not Reported
Fall 2017	22.9%	77.1%	8.8%	91.2%
Spring 2018	20.2%	79.8%	6.7%	93.3%
Fall 2018	22.0%	78.0%	8.7%	91.3%
Spring 2019	30.2%	69.8%	11.1%	88.9%

The workgroup made other observations and recommendations which are being brought forward to leadership.