New Registration training course

A refreshed version of the Registration training course will be released in early August. Only new users who are responsible for administratively registering students are required to take this course.

APAS and GPAS User Group meetings

Academic Progress Audit System (APAS) is the degree audit tool students use to track their undergraduate degree requirements. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 20, 2024, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. via Zoom. Best practices, training, and helpful tips and tricks are shared along with timely information. All APAS users are welcome and encouraged to attend. To be added to the calendar invite, email apasle@umn.edu.

The Graduate Planning and Audit System (GPAS) is a tool accessed through MyU that consists of two parts that work together: the planner and the audit. The GPAS User Group meets quarterly in January, April, July, and October on the last Monday of the month. The next meeting is scheduled for July 29, 2024, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. Best practices, training, and helpful tips and tricks are shared along with timely information. All GPAS users are welcome and encouraged to attend. If you are interested in attending the meeting, please join the GPAS User Group.

Policy update for Student Services Fee

The Student Services Fee policy was approved in June as a new stand-alone administrative policy, providing a framework for implementing and administering the Board of Regents policy. With these approval came a key change to how the fee is assessed. 

Previously, the fee was assessed based on the number of on-campus credits a student was enrolled in. Starting with fall 2024, off-campus and online courses will be included in the calculation. The fee is mandatory for all students enrolled in a degree program and registered for six or more credits per semester or three or more credits per summer session. This change will ensure students can get the support they need to be active, engaged members of the campus community through student centers, recreational centers, health and wellness services, student activities and organizations, and more. The Student Services Fee is not assessed based on an individual student’s interest or ability to access specific services funded by the fee. 

Some students remain exempt from the fee regardless of how many credits they are enrolled in:

• Non-degree-seeking students
• Students participating in a full-semester study abroad program
• Students enrolled in programs that have been approved for an exemption in the annual process 
• Post-secondary enrollment options (PSEO) students 
• Concurrent high school enrollment students
• Students receiving the Regents Tuition Benefit
• Students participating in the Senior Citizen Education Program

Because the fee is mandatory outside of the above exemptions, the Student Services Fee waiver will be retired after the deadline for summer term. 

More information about the Student Services Fee can be found at ssf.umn.edu. 

OCM leadership transition and interim

The director of Office of Classroom Management (OCM), Jeremy Todd, has accepted a position as the director of space planning and management in the department of Planning, Space, and Real Estate in University Services. His last day with ASR will be Friday, August 9. All of ASR is thankful for the significant contributions he has made to ASR and wishes him all the best in his new role. 

Sarah Kussow will be serving as interim director of OCM and will officially start on Monday, August 12. 

Astra to be replaced with 25Live

After completing the Request for Proposal (RFP) process, CollegeNET has been selected as the vendor to replace Astra for the University’s class and room scheduling system. CollegeNET’s 25Live product achieved the top score with the following highlights:

• An updated, multi-campus academic and room scheduling platform
• Improved workflow management, calendars, and customization options
• Smarter event forms and streamlined event pricing
• Increased “what-if” scenario planning
• Advanced administrative tools

A core group has conducted preliminary analysis and planning to prepare for the late July project kickoff. The project is expected to launch in June 2025. The project team will work with the University community to ensure 25Live is optimally configured. Communications will continue throughout the project with current Astra users to ensure a smooth transition. 

Astra will continue to be the University’s class and room scheduling system until 25Live launches.

UM Report Retirement

ASR’s work addressing the retirement of UM Reports last fall is now completed. Below is a list of reports that have been moved to new platforms (i.e., UM Analytics or PS Query) and are available in the Reporting Center. Permanently retired reports are no longer available in the Reporting Center. The decision to permanently retire reports was based on overall usage rates, data being available in other formats, and specialized reports that were no longer needed for the intended stakeholder groups. Ad Hoc report data requests can continue to be made using ASR’s Student Data Request form. 

Reports moved to new platforms and available in Reporting Center:

• Major/Minor Roster
• Eligibility for lower tuition fringe rate assistantship
• Student Roster Summary Statistics/Detail
• Dean’s List
• Grade Selector
• Rochester Student Roster 
• Degree Applicants
• Graduate Education Student Report for Majors/Minors
• Student Group Roster
• GE Student Non-Graded Course Enrollments 

Reports that are permanently retired:

• Student Addresses
• My Advisees - Dean’s List
• My Advisees - Graduated Students
• Collegiate Degree Honors Detail
• Degree Honors Percentage (Undergraduate)
• Grade Roster Entry Statistics
• Student Selector
• Student Photo
• Graduate Faculty Advising/Committee Summary by Field of Study
• Graduate Faculty Advising/Committee Summary by Faculty
• Athletics suite of reports
• Education Abroad suite of reports

FERPA Q&A

Q: I’m new to the University. What resources are available to better understand FERPA and student data access?

A: The following resources are available for you to learn more about FERPA and other policies: 

• FERPA resources page on the ASR website
• Managing Student Records Policy (updates to this policy will be reflected soon)
• Sharing Enterprise Data resources and training