9.2 technical upgrade was a success

The upgrade of PeopleSoft Campus Solutions from version 9.0 to 9.2 was successfully completed on Sunday, September 24, smoothly and on schedule Technicians confirmed this even in light of recent, unrelated issues with PeopleSoft that occurred after the upgrade was completed. Thank you to the many people in ASR who were part of the effort!

The project now moves into its next phase, which goes through June 2018. During this phase, functionality will be released on a monthly basis rather than on one, final launch date. You can expect to see process improvements utilizing available delivered tools. More details are available on the project website.

CCE to become CCAPS

As of Monday, October 2, the College of Continuing Education (CCE) is changing its name to the College of Continuing and Professional Studies (CCAPS, pronounced see-caps). The name change will be reflected on their website, social media channels, and emails. Implementing the official name change in University systems will be done at a future date, yet to be determined.

Use U-wide travel agency

The University has established a service agreement with Christopherson Business Travel (CBT), which specializes in assisting higher education institutions manage the wide range of travel scenarios associated with academics, research, and learning abroad. Whether you prefer making travel arrangements online or with an agent, it is highly recommended that you utilize the services provided by CBT when planning your next business trip.

CBT has a team dedicated to the University which can assist with finding the best options, handling changes/emergencies, and more. For more information on the services and benefits, please read the CBT Fact Sheets or visit travel.umn.edu.

MyU and Campus Solutions issues at start of term

On the first day of term for the Twin Cities campus MyU users experienced system slowness, and in many cases they could not log in due to an increase in system traffic. PeopleSoft Campus Solutions became unavailable for a period over the noon hour. OIT technical staff worked to identify the root cause of the problem and added resources to support the system traffic. The systems returned to normal at approximately 3:30 p.m. that day.

OIT is investigating solutions to prevent system slowness and handle increased traffic in the future. Thank you to the many staff that participated in resolving these issues and supported our students who experienced system issues.

New OCM website to launch in October

The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) will launch their newly designed website on Tuesday, October 3. The site’s domain will remain the same (www.classroom.umn.edu), however specific page URLs will change. When the site launches there will be redirects (instances that redirect your browser from one URL to another) in place for commonly accessed pages so you can continue to find what you need. Additionally, a feedback form for the new site will be available.

The site has a new menu structure for better navigation and pages with streamlined content. Content includes classroom technology instructions, scheduling applications, and information about Classroom Technical Services (CTS) including audio/visual equipment design and installation information.

OCM’s new site has been built on the Drupal 8 content management system and provides a better mobile experience for users. It is the first ASR website to use Drupal 8, the latest version of the University's preferred content management platform.

9.2 technical upgrade go-live information

A period of system downtime is necessary to complete the first phase of the PeopleSoft Campus Solutions 9.2 Upgrade. PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and related systems will be unavailable starting 9:00 a.m. Saturday, September 23. Work is anticipated to be complete and systems available again at noon Sunday, September 24. Please review the full details on system availability and make sure your colleagues are aware of how the planned outage may impact their work.

When systems are restored Sunday afternoon, users will notice minimal changes (restricted to look and feel). Preview these changes.

Those who use PeopleSoft frequently may need to clear their browser cache and cookies when logging in for the first time after the upgrade is complete.

Supplemental class search will be retired

Beginning September 23, 2017, the Supplemental Class Search will no longer be available. Note that this change will not affect Schedule Builder or the delivered Class Search. The supplemental class search was initially built as a temporary solution for advisors and staff during the PeopleSoft upgrade transition that happened in 2015.

ASR met with stakeholders across campus and collaborated with CLA-IT and OIT to make the Class Search feature in Schedule Builder the University’s enterprise solution. Schedule Builder Class Search rolled out in March 2017 and is now the preferred application for students, faculty, and staff.

Feel free to provide class search feedback via the comment form.