Thursday, May 17, 2018
Eleanor’s update (May 2018)
Seems to be that time of year again, spring. Along with many annual updates like doing performance reviews, working on individual development plans, updating and signing the data privacy pledge, and taking the mandatory sexual misconduct training there is that whole other business of graduating students. As you can see from this month’s newsletter there is a lot going on and we often forget to celebrate our mutual successes. I hope that somewhere in your day you can find a moment to reflect on your contribution and celebrate a little bit of the success of those graduating students.
Sue updates (May 2018)
We are headed into the summer months which brings a lot of activity, not all realized by many outside of our work. It is so rewarding to see the success of students and the entry of the next class on our campuses. Our work is rewarding and worthwhile. I love seeing students in their regalia with friends and family taking pictures. I saw a graduate in the airport wearing their regalia which made me smile. Another student entered a restaurant with regalia on and I took the opportunity to send over a beverage. All of us should feel gratitude that we have contributed in helping students like these.
As we work to close the 9.2 Campus Solutions PS project, there have been some setbacks. The teams are working to resolve these and not hinder future projects. The uAchieve implementation project is close to kickoff and the team has been meeting to prepare and get this moving forward. Plus we have hosts of other projects to start moving ahead on in short order.
As many of you know, Ted Skogman from student finance has retired after more than 40 years of service to the University. He has been a terrific colleague and we wish him well. Also, Grant Clavelle has announced his retirement date for this September. I am working to get this position posted very soon. Grant has been instrumental in moving the University forward in the technology world and in putting students first. Thank you to both Ted and Grant.
As we work to close the 9.2 Campus Solutions PS project, there have been some setbacks. The teams are working to resolve these and not hinder future projects. The uAchieve implementation project is close to kickoff and the team has been meeting to prepare and get this moving forward. Plus we have hosts of other projects to start moving ahead on in short order.
As many of you know, Ted Skogman from student finance has retired after more than 40 years of service to the University. He has been a terrific colleague and we wish him well. Also, Grant Clavelle has announced his retirement date for this September. I am working to get this position posted very soon. Grant has been instrumental in moving the University forward in the technology world and in putting students first. Thank you to both Ted and Grant.
May Board of Regents meeting
President Kaler presented his recommended FY19 (July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019) annual operating budget. Here are a few items of interest:
- Twin Cities: A proposed tuition increase of 2% on the resident undergraduate rate maintains its position in the middle of the Big 10. (Some or all of this $258 increase may be offset for students who qualify for the Minnesota State Grant Program. The Office of Higher Education intends to make formula changes that will benefit students up to $120.)
- In addition, the current guidance from the federal government indicates a $175 increase in the maximum Pell grant for the 2018-19 academic year. Pres. Kaler requested a 15% increase in the undergrad non-resident/nonreciprocity (NRNR) tuition rate as approved by the Board of Regents in December. This represents another step in a longer-term strategy to move this rate from the bottom of the Big 10, while maintaining NRNR enrollments.
- Morris: A proposed tuition increase of 1% ($126) on the undergraduate rates for the Morris campus to recognize both their competitive position for recruiting, but also some of the cost pressure they face related to the American Indian Tuition Waiver requirement.
- Crookston, Duluth, Rochester: Flat resident undergraduate rates to bolster recruitment and retention opportunities.
Recall that beginning in FY14, President Kaler announced a goal to reduce administrative costs throughout the institution, across all funding sources, by $90 million over six years. FY19 is the final year of that plan. This budget continues to meet that goal to internally reallocate funds for higher spending priorities. In total, it includes $22.3 million of internal reallocations for FY19 across all funds. With the implementation of this budget, the University will have achieved the $90 million goal by reducing $91.3 million in administrative costs as part of the annual budget balancing process over the last six years.
CS PS 9.2 Upgrade Project Phase II heads toward completion
The work continues on the Phase II projects. The Parent/Guest Access project and the fit/gap analysis of the delivered Admissions Application Tracker were completed in April. The Payment Plan, Health Professions Entrance Counseling, and One-Term Automated Packaging projects are all on track for completion in May.
In June, the Gender Identity, Preferred Name, and Pronouns; Education Abroad; Guide to Graduation; Communications Review and Standardization; and Veterans Benefits Pages projects will be completed.
The 1098-T project is gathering and documenting information for the work that will happen beginning in June. The GPAS project has proven to be even more complex than first expected and a recent review with OIT developers has revealed the need for more development time, delaying its completion beyond June.
In June, the Gender Identity, Preferred Name, and Pronouns; Education Abroad; Guide to Graduation; Communications Review and Standardization; and Veterans Benefits Pages projects will be completed.
The 1098-T project is gathering and documenting information for the work that will happen beginning in June. The GPAS project has proven to be even more complex than first expected and a recent review with OIT developers has revealed the need for more development time, delaying its completion beyond June.
Training Hub, Google Meets, and Duo
ULearn transition to the Training Hub
Google Hangouts are changing. You will need to convert any existing meetings with a Google Hangout to be a Google Meet. See OIT’s site for more information.
And coming soon: Google Hangouts Chat available May 23. Whether in a 1:1 conversation or a dedicated group workspace, Hangouts Chat makes it easy to collaborate with teams in an organized way. Slack or HipChat users may find the features of Hangouts Chat to be familiar.
Duo Two-Factor Authentication
Duo Two-Factor Authentication is now available for University sign-in pages (Shibboleth). Enabling Two-Factor at Shib helps protect your email, your password, and ultimately your paycheck and identity. Visit z.umn.edu/2factor for instructions.
- May 7 at 8 a.m. - Training administrators gained access to the Training Hub.
- June 1 at midnight - Learners no longer have access to ULearn.
- June 5 at 8 a.m. - Learners gain access to Training Hub.
- June 30 at midnight - Training administrators no longer have access to ULearn and all content and data in ULearn is no longer available to anyone at the University.
Google Hangouts are changing. You will need to convert any existing meetings with a Google Hangout to be a Google Meet. See OIT’s site for more information.
And coming soon: Google Hangouts Chat available May 23. Whether in a 1:1 conversation or a dedicated group workspace, Hangouts Chat makes it easy to collaborate with teams in an organized way. Slack or HipChat users may find the features of Hangouts Chat to be familiar.
Duo Two-Factor Authentication
Duo Two-Factor Authentication is now available for University sign-in pages (Shibboleth). Enabling Two-Factor at Shib helps protect your email, your password, and ultimately your paycheck and identity. Visit z.umn.edu/2factor for instructions.
FCoP—challenges of online meetings
Based on governance feedback, it’s become apparent that many across the University experience challenges in successfully facilitating and attending meetings online. In response, an FCoP was formed to bring together staff and faculty from a variety of roles across the system to help us understand challenges posed by online meetings, and propose how University can improve the experience. The FCoP has identified five focus areas:
- Best practices and meeting etiquette
- Resources
- Standards and design
- Support by staff
- Support of TeleHealth
System Registrar Council (SRC) updates (May 2018)
New Incomplete Grade Contract workflow
A new Incomplete Grade Contract (WorkflowGen) is now available for students to use when receiving an Incomplete (I) grade. The goal was to make a form that students and instructors could choose to use if their academic department or college does not already have a process or form in place.
When a form is submitted, a copy is sent to Perceptive Content. Twin Cities collegiate stakeholders and the SRC weighed in last fall on common contract language. The next step in this project will be to update the form’s logic to route to separate drawers for the system campuses, making it usable by students and instructors system-wide.
2020 calendar change—move spring break for Twin Cities
SCEP approved the moving of spring break for March 2020 and forward. Spring break is currently scheduled for the second week of March with A-term before break and B-term following spring break. The move would result in the final Monday of A-term being after spring break. While there was no perfect option, this was the one that worked best for the A-term/B-term split. If approved by the Faculty Senate, the change would start with the spring break in 2020. The calendars currently published for 2019-2020 onward will be updated with any changes.
Diplomas
As students graduate this spring, their diplomas are now ordered weekly and processed each Monday. Batch posting of degrees starts May 18 and diploma orders for those degrees starts. Previously, the order would have been placed after the June 11 posting date. This means that the earlier students are cleared, the earlier they get their diploma.
A new Incomplete Grade Contract (WorkflowGen) is now available for students to use when receiving an Incomplete (I) grade. The goal was to make a form that students and instructors could choose to use if their academic department or college does not already have a process or form in place.
When a form is submitted, a copy is sent to Perceptive Content. Twin Cities collegiate stakeholders and the SRC weighed in last fall on common contract language. The next step in this project will be to update the form’s logic to route to separate drawers for the system campuses, making it usable by students and instructors system-wide.
2020 calendar change—move spring break for Twin Cities
SCEP approved the moving of spring break for March 2020 and forward. Spring break is currently scheduled for the second week of March with A-term before break and B-term following spring break. The move would result in the final Monday of A-term being after spring break. While there was no perfect option, this was the one that worked best for the A-term/B-term split. If approved by the Faculty Senate, the change would start with the spring break in 2020. The calendars currently published for 2019-2020 onward will be updated with any changes.
Diplomas
As students graduate this spring, their diplomas are now ordered weekly and processed each Monday. Batch posting of degrees starts May 18 and diploma orders for those degrees starts. Previously, the order would have been placed after the June 11 posting date. This means that the earlier students are cleared, the earlier they get their diploma.
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