The ASR Customer Service Committee is excited to announce that the Internal Customer Service Kick-off event will be held on Wednesday, October 24. This all staff event will include an introduction to a common ASR customer service philosophy and attributes of great internal service. The half-day kick-off event will take place in the Northstar Ballroom at the St. Paul Student Center (a meeting will be added to your calendar). More information regarding the event's details will be shared in the upcoming weeks.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The people in your neighborhood: Robert Bode
Robert joined ASR a year and a half ago as a Business Process Analyst for the Graduate Education Transition team. When Robert isn't hard at work, he says he lives in "controlled chaos" with his wife and 11 children in Northeast Minneapolis.
He has three biological and eight adopted kids who range in age from 2 to 16 years old. Several of his children have hidden disabilities from pre-birth exposure to alcohol or drugs. "The kids love having that many siblings, and the age groups tend to team up," Robert said.
And, when Robert isn't juggling 11 children at home, he provides valuable insight for the Graduate Education Transition team. He analyzes and streamlines student administrative processes in conjunction with the Graduate Student Services and Progress team. "Either the process stays within the Graduate School, or it is moved out and becomes an ASR process," Robert said. "If it become an ASR process, we work to improve it, if possible."
He is conducting much of the groundwork for the graduate progress to degree process. He has also worked on the adviser workflow and the documentation of processes for graduate student fellowships. He is currently working on implementing checklists in Campus Solutions so a graduate student can track his or her own degree progress in one place.
"We want to provide a student with a continual view of their degree progress," Robert said. "Checklists will be much more dynamic and will allow a student to see the progress of their degree as it is updated in Campus Solutions. We want to help students see their pathways to graduation."
Before joining ASR, Robert worked at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and at Metropolitan State University (St. Paul) as director of Financial Aid.
When asked what he does in his spare time, Robert joked, "What spare time?" His free moments often involve taking a few of his children out at a time to play golf or go fishing. Earlier this year, his family took a road trip to Seattle and visited Yellowstone National Park. He would love to take another trip with his kids and drive across the country.
He also enjoys watching movies with his children. "Being a father has made me a connoisseur of children's movies," Robert said. One of his kids' favorite movies is The Incredibles, which sometimes inspires fantastical thoughts. "If I were a superhero, my super power would be to control the weather," Robert said. "But 'no capes!'"
Fun facts about Robert:
1. His favorite movie is Casablanca.
2. His favorite book is Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
3. He enjoys jazz music.
4. He loves to vacation in the Boundary Waters.
5. His favorite food is the salmon at Ivar's Salmon House in Seattle.
6. Robert's first concert was Chuck Mangione's "Feels So Good" tour.
7. He wanted to grow up to be a Blue Angels Navy Pilot.
8. f he could be any movie character for a day, he would be Sean Thornton in The Quiet Man.
9. His most memorable Halloween costume is when he dressed up as Indiana Jones.
10. He has a bachelor's degree in English and American literature from Brandeis University and a master of business administration from the University of St. Thomas.
He has three biological and eight adopted kids who range in age from 2 to 16 years old. Several of his children have hidden disabilities from pre-birth exposure to alcohol or drugs. "The kids love having that many siblings, and the age groups tend to team up," Robert said.
And, when Robert isn't juggling 11 children at home, he provides valuable insight for the Graduate Education Transition team. He analyzes and streamlines student administrative processes in conjunction with the Graduate Student Services and Progress team. "Either the process stays within the Graduate School, or it is moved out and becomes an ASR process," Robert said. "If it become an ASR process, we work to improve it, if possible."
He is conducting much of the groundwork for the graduate progress to degree process. He has also worked on the adviser workflow and the documentation of processes for graduate student fellowships. He is currently working on implementing checklists in Campus Solutions so a graduate student can track his or her own degree progress in one place.
"We want to provide a student with a continual view of their degree progress," Robert said. "Checklists will be much more dynamic and will allow a student to see the progress of their degree as it is updated in Campus Solutions. We want to help students see their pathways to graduation."
Before joining ASR, Robert worked at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and at Metropolitan State University (St. Paul) as director of Financial Aid.
When asked what he does in his spare time, Robert joked, "What spare time?" His free moments often involve taking a few of his children out at a time to play golf or go fishing. Earlier this year, his family took a road trip to Seattle and visited Yellowstone National Park. He would love to take another trip with his kids and drive across the country.
He also enjoys watching movies with his children. "Being a father has made me a connoisseur of children's movies," Robert said. One of his kids' favorite movies is The Incredibles, which sometimes inspires fantastical thoughts. "If I were a superhero, my super power would be to control the weather," Robert said. "But 'no capes!'"
Fun facts about Robert:
1. His favorite movie is Casablanca.
2. His favorite book is Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
3. He enjoys jazz music.
4. He loves to vacation in the Boundary Waters.
5. His favorite food is the salmon at Ivar's Salmon House in Seattle.
6. Robert's first concert was Chuck Mangione's "Feels So Good" tour.
7. He wanted to grow up to be a Blue Angels Navy Pilot.
8. f he could be any movie character for a day, he would be Sean Thornton in The Quiet Man.
9. His most memorable Halloween costume is when he dressed up as Indiana Jones.
10. He has a bachelor's degree in English and American literature from Brandeis University and a master of business administration from the University of St. Thomas.
Getting feedback on your performance
Getting feedback on how you're doing at work isn't always easy. Sometimes you never hear anything until there's something wrong, and perhaps you could have prevented the incident with early feedback. Amy Gallo, a contributing editor for Harvard Business Review offers some very helpful tips on getting feedback. Her article is aimed at getting feedback when you're "the boss." However, the principles she outlines are pretty universal. You might want to check out her article and see if you can use her tips to either solicit feedback or reverse-engineer her ideas to give feedback to others.
Logging into a loaner laptop for the first time?
You're at a meeting, your loaner laptop securely in hand. You try to log-in using your x.500 and username, just as you do with your own computer every day.
Nothing happens . . . except the message you receive telling you that a server can't be found. You panic. Or, you just get really frustrated.
If you're checking out a laptop, you'll need to download your credentials via an ethernet cable (usually that blue thing) in order to log-in. The laptop should come with one of these cables in its bag, but you can contact CITSU if you can't find one. Make sure you do this in advance of when you need the laptop so that you know it works before showtime.
Nothing happens . . . except the message you receive telling you that a server can't be found. You panic. Or, you just get really frustrated.
If you're checking out a laptop, you'll need to download your credentials via an ethernet cable (usually that blue thing) in order to log-in. The laptop should come with one of these cables in its bag, but you can contact CITSU if you can't find one. Make sure you do this in advance of when you need the laptop so that you know it works before showtime.
The Gold Room
The 160B meeting room in Williamson Hall now features two installations in memory of staff whose dedication to ASR, students, and the University surpass expectations.
Exterior sign. The text says, "Dedicated to our staff whose value and contributions cannot be measured."
Nancy Peterson and Vickie Roberts were ASR employees for many years. Nancy served as the scheduling unit manager and Vickie was the director of academic records. Both Nancy and Vickie passed away in 2011.
Exterior sign. The text says, "Dedicated to our staff whose value and contributions cannot be measured."Nancy Peterson and Vickie Roberts were ASR employees for many years. Nancy served as the scheduling unit manager and Vickie was the director of academic records. Both Nancy and Vickie passed away in 2011.New conference rooms in Williamson
The work to create two rooms out of the 160L room in Williamson is complete, and you can now schedule them in GCal. The room names are WmsonH-162 ASR and WmsonH-164 ASR. Any meetings that were scheduled in 160L that haven't been updated to a different location will be located in WmsonH-162 ASR.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Lock up your stuff!
Now is the time of year when valuables might decide to take a long walk, never to return. Make sure you lock up your phones, purses, galoshes, and anything else that might find its way into another person's possession. If you have a laptop in an open cube, you should lock that away in the evenings, if possible. Keep your stuff safe!
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