An ASR employee recently received a suspicious phone call where the caller ID came up as "US Government." When the employee answered, someone claiming to be a police officer from New York threatened to arrest the employee. While doing so, the caller brought up public information about the employee that may have been accessed through the University's website. No private personal information about the employee was mentioned. The employee filed a report with the University of Minnesota Police Department and wanted to make the rest of ASR aware in case anyone experiences something similar. The University of Minnesota Police Department can be contacted at 612-624-COPS (2677).
Thursday, September 11, 2014
OIT Outstanding Service Awards
Congratulations to Aileen Lively and Toni Pangborn who both won IT Outstanding Service Awards!
Summer classroom renovations and updates
Several general purpose classrooms received environment or technology updates during the summer. Magrath 4, Peik 165, and Peters 145 were upgraded to full video conferencing and class capture capabilities. Major renovations were conducted in Amundson B75, Smith 231 & 331, and Blegen 415, 425, and 435. These rooms received new furniture, finishes, and lighting updates. Technology feature upgrades were completed in more than 50 rooms. Room features can be found on the room inventory page.
Additionally, the Keller Atrium and Humphrey 50 were added to the inventory of study spaces and completely renovated. New fixtures include display monitors and tables for individual study and small group work.
Additionally, the Keller Atrium and Humphrey 50 were added to the inventory of study spaces and completely renovated. New fixtures include display monitors and tables for individual study and small group work.
One Stop and the first week of the semester
The first week of the semester proved to be extremely busy for the One Stop staff. In just the first week alone (Sept. 2-5):
The top 5 CRM categories were:
- 2,381 calls were answered (average wait time was 3:46 minutes)
- 2,310 emails sent
- Walk-ins
- 3,077 (STSS One Stop; HelpingU desk; Veterans Services)
- 193 (St. Paul)
- 414 (West Bank)
- 3,077 (STSS One Stop; HelpingU desk; Veterans Services)
The top 5 CRM categories were:
- Student account (billing/payment): 698
- Financial aid (loans): 594
- Financial aid (packaging): 351
- Student Accounts (refunds): 192
- Financial Aid (Disbursement): 115
Healthy Cooking Class
The College of Continuing Education is now offering multiple sessions of a 7-week course, Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives - Cooking for Wellness. UPlan members may be reimbursed for $200 of the $210 course fee and earn 50 Wellness Points; more information is available here.
Work Tip: Avoid Meeting Pitfalls
Meetings can often be the most effective way to communicate to a group or solve a problem. Other times, they can zap participants' energy. The ASR Project Management Round Table identified some common meeting pitfalls and tips to avoid them. Try out some of the suggestions for your next meeting!
1. Solicit feedback from the group before a meeting. Define what needs to be addressed, who needs to be involved, and the best format to address the problem before the meeting.
2. Always have an agenda that attendees can review before the meeting. Plan for how long each topic should be discussed.
3. Call for agenda items before a status meeting/check-in. Are there topics to discuss? If not, cancel the meeting.
4. Assess the value of standing meetings on a regular basis and make adjustments accordingly. Can your weekly meeting become a bi-weekly?
5. Try switching your Google Calendar settings to default to 50 minutes. You will likely be able to accomplish in 50 minutes what is typically scheduled for an hour.
6. Respect the meeting constraints. Do what you can to start and end on time.
7. Be a courteous scheduler. Check where participants are traveling from before you schedule them. You can't start your meeting on time if everyone arrives late.
8. Exercise defensive calendaring by blocking off travel time between meetings.
9. If needed, delegate roles in the meeting. For example, if you are facilitating, ask another participant to handle the Google Hangout or take notes.
1. Solicit feedback from the group before a meeting. Define what needs to be addressed, who needs to be involved, and the best format to address the problem before the meeting.
2. Always have an agenda that attendees can review before the meeting. Plan for how long each topic should be discussed.
3. Call for agenda items before a status meeting/check-in. Are there topics to discuss? If not, cancel the meeting.
4. Assess the value of standing meetings on a regular basis and make adjustments accordingly. Can your weekly meeting become a bi-weekly?
5. Try switching your Google Calendar settings to default to 50 minutes. You will likely be able to accomplish in 50 minutes what is typically scheduled for an hour.
6. Respect the meeting constraints. Do what you can to start and end on time.
7. Be a courteous scheduler. Check where participants are traveling from before you schedule them. You can't start your meeting on time if everyone arrives late.
8. Exercise defensive calendaring by blocking off travel time between meetings.
9. If needed, delegate roles in the meeting. For example, if you are facilitating, ask another participant to handle the Google Hangout or take notes.
Something Fun!
Need a moment of fun or a stress reliever now that the term has started? We recommend a moment of watching tiny hamsters eating tiny burritos.
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