Information Technology updates (September 2018)

Destiny One Registration System
The latest version of Destiny One software, v5.6, was delivered on July 29, 2018. New functionality includes:

• Conference letter of accreditation - If professional credits are awarded for a conference there is now the ability to configure a report in Conference Manager to display what was earned and additional text if needed.
• The conference registration confirmation email now includes session information.
• Functional testing of the Destiny One-Salesforce integration is scheduled to begin mid-September.

Custom Solutions
The Custom Solutions development team continues their work to support the TADA project (uAchieve implementation) and will be testing progress toward degree data in uAchieve starting in October. The benefits of PTD encoding include:

• Ability to provide more targeted service to students in their final year.
• Ability to identify and anticipate program bottlenecks.
• Foundational work for more innovative data analytics over time.

Student Data and Analytics
The advising leadership working group has been granted access to two dashboards in a production like environment. Feedback they provided has been incorporated into the first release of a dashboard that delivers Progress Towards Degree data. This includes the ability to identify the count of students who are on track/off track, information on admission to the college as well as entry college information, enhanced details around degree applicable and excess elective splits, as well as a direct link to the students APLUS page.

Program and Plan data has been added to retention risk modeling related to a students career. The team is analyzing how the timing of when students add, drop, or carry multiple plans and relates to retention. The team has reviewed the current results based on the static training data with other data analyst around the institution.

Crookston updates (September 2018)

BOR approves Crookston vice chancellor
John Hoffman’s appointment as vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs at Crookston was approved by the Board of Regents in it’s September meeting.

New dual admissions agreement
University of Minnesota Crookston and Red Lake Nation College (RLNC) have announced a new comprehensive dual admissions agreement. The agreement establishes a cooperative academic relationship between the two institutions. RLNC president Dan King and U of M Crookston chancellor Mary Holz-Clause signed the new memorandum of agreement on Aug. 7.

Crookston Homecoming
Homecoming 2018 takes place September 28 and 29. The theme for this year’s activities is “There’s No Place Like Homecoming.” For more information view homecoming activities, visit www.crk.umn.edu/homecoming.

Duluth updates (September 2018)

MidHEUG Alliance conference presenter
David Norman, Duluth OTR Business and Information Analyst, will be presenting a pre-workshop session called “Deep Dive into Google Data Studio Visualization” at the MidHEUG conference in October.

Morris updates (September 2018)

Sustainability efforts at Morris
Our green campus continues to collect recognition for its sustainability efforts:

• The National Association of College and University Business Officers recognized Morris with a 2018 Excellence in Sustainability Award.
• Sierra chose Morris as one of 40 "Cool Schools" for 2018.
• Morris earned a STARS Gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Staff updates
Nick Skulan joined One Stop Student Services on September 4, serving as our newest One Stop counselor. Welcome, Nick!

Rochester updates (September 2018)

BOR approves Rochester vice chancellor
Jeffrey Ratliff-Crain’s appointment as vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Innovation at Rochester was approved by the Board of Regents in it’s September meeting.

Staff updates
Rochester campus has had a flurry of staffing activity. The following people have joined:

• Cassie Zell, Admissions
• Ramiro Alvarez, Health CORE and Access Student Services Coordinator
• Jeff Baier, Disability Resources Coordinator 

Also two new Success Coaches have been hired and will begin October 1.

Twin Cities updates (September 2018)

ASR-IT leadership changes
Jaime Wascalus has accepted the ASR -IT leadership role of Chief Information Officer. Her technical background, strategic vision and collaborative team focus will allow ASR to continue to be successful. Jaime has degrees in Mathematics and German and a Master’s in Management of Technology from the University of Minnesota.

Kristy Davis will assume the title of Director, ASR-IT. project management skills and experience working with ASR units.

Grant Clavelle, former ASR-IT director, retired from the University on September 4. Grant has been an instrumental part of student success, employee development and system oversight in ASR. We thank him for his years of service in enhancing the student experience across the system.

Other Staff Changes

• Brittany Greaner began work on Wednesday, September 12. She is a Developer 2 on the Custom Solutions team. 
• Chris Lynch has joined the Student Data & Analytics team on September 4, 2018.
• Kristin Hummel was recently promoted to the role of One Stop Counselor 4.

Open positions

• Business/Systems Analyst 1, ASR Central, job id: 326479
• Executive Office and Administrative Specialist, OTR, job id: 326434
• Campus Ops/Protection Manager 1, CTS, job id: 325842

Duluth updates (July 2018)

Phase 1 of the first floor of Darland refresh project starts on Monday, July 23. Look for new lighting and a new ceiling in the coming weeks.

Staffing update
Natasha Mykkanen, the Office of the Registrar’s new athletic and academic records coordinator, began June 25. Welcome, Natasha.