This sunshine and burst of warm weather has really increased my energy, which is a good thing because there’s a lot going on!
At a recent directors meeting, we reviewed and prioritized projects for the next quarter. This included a large number of compliance and mandatory projects, such as FAFSA simplification, the South Dakota tuition reciprocity end, and regulatory changes to our transcript hold practices. We also have a slate of upcoming projects related to improving efficiency or the student experience. That being said, we really need to focus on these mandatory items for the next quarter.
In my opinion, the ASR structure we’ve implemented for prioritization is paying off: We are prioritizing high-value work, refining our ability to predict team bandwidth, and saying “no” when we need to. I am able to provide stakeholders with strong explanations for why work is on hold, scheduled for a future quarter, or realistically unlikely to move forward. If you would like to know about this process and how work is prioritized or not, I would appreciate your feedback! We are always striving to improve our communication and transparency.
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Estimated Financial Aid Notices
UMNTC began sending estimated Financial Aid Notices (FANs) to new incoming students on the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses on Tuesday, April 16. This is later than typical, and some students still do not have packages due to delays and errors by the US Department of Education (DOE) with FAFSA processing. As updates come from the DOE and the State of Minnesota, we will continue to implement solutions and resolve errors that impact our students. Questions and talking points have been prepared related to this year’s estimated FAN rollout. Please refer to them if you have questions or hear questions from others.
Preparing this year’s estimated FANS has been a tremendous feat that has impacted work across all of ASR, as well as the University. Admitted students and their families depend on estimated FANs when deciding which institution to attend because it helps them understand how to cover the costs of attendance. So huge kudos to all staff who have had a part in this process, and advance appreciation for the work that will continue.
Preparing this year’s estimated FANS has been a tremendous feat that has impacted work across all of ASR, as well as the University. Admitted students and their families depend on estimated FANs when deciding which institution to attend because it helps them understand how to cover the costs of attendance. So huge kudos to all staff who have had a part in this process, and advance appreciation for the work that will continue.
Project prioritization for next quarter
The OSI Projects team prioritized 9 projects for the Quarterly Planning Period 4 (P4) of 2024, which starts in May. This is in addition to the 16 projects that are currently in the analysis or implementation phase. A comprehensive view, which includes the “Project Backlog,” is also available on the ASR Project Plan Preview.
Any project requests that were not prioritized for the upcoming planning period will be held in the Project Backlog for reconsideration in either the Mid-Quarter Review (if urgent) or the next Quarterly Planning Period. If you would like to submit a project request for the next Quarterly Planning Prioritization (P1 2025), you can do so via the ASR Project Request form.
Any project requests that were not prioritized for the upcoming planning period will be held in the Project Backlog for reconsideration in either the Mid-Quarter Review (if urgent) or the next Quarterly Planning Period. If you would like to submit a project request for the next Quarterly Planning Prioritization (P1 2025), you can do so via the ASR Project Request form.
DEI professional development opportunities
As we move past performance appraisals and into the year, many of you might be working toward ASR’s DEI and IDP goals and looking for DEI-related professional development opportunities. To help, the DEI committee compiled a list of upcoming conferences, workshops, and webinars that center on diversity, equity, and inclusion and can assist you in meeting some of your personal DEI goals. You can also check out the Office of Equity and Diversity’s Deep Dive Resources for more ideas!
Free webinars, talks, and courses
Free webinars, talks, and courses
- Insight Into Diversity webinars (past webinar recordings available)
- National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) webinars (past webinar recordings available)
- Leading for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education, Coursera course
- The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America, College of Liberal Arts, Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender & Sexuality Studies
- 2024 Phyllis L. Mable Emerging Leaders Institution, The American College Personnel Association (ACPA)–College Student Educators International (registration fee required)
- NAFSA Annual conference and & expo, NAFSA Association of International Educators
- Diversity and Inclusion Conference: U.S. Focus, AACSB
- Equity Certificate Hosted Online (ECHO), Office of Equity and Diversity
- Rethinking Mentoring: Building Communities of Inclusion, Support, & Accountability, Institute for Diversity, Equity & Adversity
- Online Module: The Confidence Gap, Office of Equity and Diversity: The Women’s Center
- Unraveling the Blanket for Liberation: The Abolitionist Cause for Public Health, School of Public Health
- Injustice in our Backyard: The Unspoken History of Genesis & Genocide at Bdote, School of Public Health
ASR Staff Engagement April 18 Survey
This week’s ASR Staff Engagement Survey asks about the Regents Tuition Benefit program. Thank you for continuing to share your stories and experiences.
According to the last survey on virtual meetings, all respondents typically use Zoom as their meeting platform and most feel that they have the optimal settings configured for the platform (87.5%). In addition, about two-thirds of staff do not use a virtual background while in a Zoom meeting (65.6%).
Finally, we asked about your feelings on April Fool’s Day. Most have mixed feelings (51.6%) while 25.8% dislike it and 22.6% enjoy it. Thanks all for your continued participation! It is very much appreciated. The results from the last survey are available below.
April 4 survey results
Which virtual meeting platform do you typically use?
According to the last survey on virtual meetings, all respondents typically use Zoom as their meeting platform and most feel that they have the optimal settings configured for the platform (87.5%). In addition, about two-thirds of staff do not use a virtual background while in a Zoom meeting (65.6%).
Finally, we asked about your feelings on April Fool’s Day. Most have mixed feelings (51.6%) while 25.8% dislike it and 22.6% enjoy it. Thanks all for your continued participation! It is very much appreciated. The results from the last survey are available below.
April 4 survey results
Which virtual meeting platform do you typically use?
- Zoom (100%)
- Google Meet (0%)
- Yes, I believe so (87.5%)
- No, I don’t think so (6.3%)
- I’ve never adjusted the settings (6.3%)
- Yes (34.4%)
- No (65.6%)
- I enjoy it! (22.6%)
- I dislike it! (25.8%)
- I have mixed feelings (51.6%)
Tony's tech terms: Relational database
We’ve mentioned Oracle databases a lot. Oracle is just one type of database called a relational database. A relational database is designed to limit the amount of duplicate data by splitting up different types of information by their types. The different types of data are stored in separate tables that have a defined relationship. That relationship makes the data easier to query.
For example:
Now imagine this data in a spreadsheet. Each row would have a column for campus, college, student, and course.
Those first three columns all have redundant data. This example doesn’t seem so bad, but if you multiply that by millions of students going back decades, that information starts to take up a lot of space. Not only that, but updating a single student might mean updating hundreds or thousands of rows. Splitting the data up into related tables like this is called normalization.
We can create a report like the spreadsheet by joining tables on their related IDs. It’s intuitive that the campus_id field in the colleges table maps to the ID field in the campus table. Joining them is fairly straightforward. We handle queries that are much more complicated than this simple example.
There are many other kinds of databases that structure their data differently depending on the use case. However, Oracle is the University-provided solution that holds all our Peoplesoft data. Retrieving that data is easier for us if we stay in that world. Besides, we don’t want to run and manage our own databases.
For example:
- A campus will have many colleges
- A college will have many students
- A college’s students will have many courses
| Campus | College | Student | Course |
|---|---|---|---|
| UMNTC | CEHD | Example Student | Intro to Basket Weaving |
| UMNTC | CEHD | Example Student | Basket Weaving Lab |
Those first three columns all have redundant data. This example doesn’t seem so bad, but if you multiply that by millions of students going back decades, that information starts to take up a lot of space. Not only that, but updating a single student might mean updating hundreds or thousands of rows. Splitting the data up into related tables like this is called normalization.
We can create a report like the spreadsheet by joining tables on their related IDs. It’s intuitive that the campus_id field in the colleges table maps to the ID field in the campus table. Joining them is fairly straightforward. We handle queries that are much more complicated than this simple example.
There are many other kinds of databases that structure their data differently depending on the use case. However, Oracle is the University-provided solution that holds all our Peoplesoft data. Retrieving that data is easier for us if we stay in that world. Besides, we don’t want to run and manage our own databases.
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Update from Stacey
First, for those that celebrate, happy Twins Home Opener! I'll be at the game on Thursday afternoon and hopefully the predicted sunshine will appear.
As I've shared before, my eldest son is a freshman here at the University, and it's been a great experience for him thus far. It’s also been fun for me to see the University from a parent’s perspective. When it comes to the freshman experience, I often picture large lecture halls and potentially distant faculty. However, he is having the opposite experience; he has several classes with fewer than 20 students. He’s also shared with me how dedicated his professors are, even reaching out to him after a missed class to make sure he is okay (he is).
Making this big place operational requires zooming out and making processes that work for many students in an efficient way. But the student experience is also individualized, and when we’re able to make it personalized, it's incredibly effective. Thank you to all of you for making a difference for students, whether on a big scale or small, direct or indirectly.
As I've shared before, my eldest son is a freshman here at the University, and it's been a great experience for him thus far. It’s also been fun for me to see the University from a parent’s perspective. When it comes to the freshman experience, I often picture large lecture halls and potentially distant faculty. However, he is having the opposite experience; he has several classes with fewer than 20 students. He’s also shared with me how dedicated his professors are, even reaching out to him after a missed class to make sure he is okay (he is).
Making this big place operational requires zooming out and making processes that work for many students in an efficient way. But the student experience is also individualized, and when we’re able to make it personalized, it's incredibly effective. Thank you to all of you for making a difference for students, whether on a big scale or small, direct or indirectly.
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