University policies for comprehensive review

Academic Support Resources serves as the policy contact for many University policies. There are several policies up for comprehensive review in 2025-26, and we are currently gathering feedback from our stakeholder communities. Please see the list below of policies that are up for review. You can share your feedback to asr@umn.edu. When writing, please be sure to include which policy you are providing feedback on. 

• Undergraduate Degrees with Distinction and Degrees with Honors: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester
• Credit and Grade Point Requirements for an Undergraduate (Baccalaureate) Degree: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester
• Using Email as Official Student Communication
• Academic Calendars: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester 
• Grading and Transcripts: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester
• Class Scheduling: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester

Graduation Planner will be retired January 2026

Graduation Planner will be retired on January 30, 2026. While Academic Support Resources (ASR) is planning to implement a new tool for students, there will be a period of time when no long-term course planning tool is available. 

The retirement is due to multiple factors, but primarily because it will no longer function once the uAchieve Cloud project is completed (mid-February 2026), and it will not meet digital accessibility requirements by the April 2026 deadline. 

There is no current timeline for the new long-term planning tool yet, but ASR will begin making plans once the uAchieve Cloud project is complete. This means there will be a gap between when Graduation Planner is retired and the new tool is launched. The intent is to make this period of time as short as possible.

Communication to students about this transition will be handled centrally, coordinated by each campus’ Registrar’s Office. A message will be added to Graduation Planner in early October informing them of the retirement timeline and directing them to more information. Additional communications to students will be available for reference on the uAchieve cloud project page. Colleges, departments, and advisors are welcome to supplement those communications for their students.  

A town hall meeting was held on September 25, and a recording of this meeting will be available the first week of October. More information (and future updates) is available on the uAchieve cloud project page. 

The newly updated Academic Support Resources (ASR) website

The Academic Support Resources (ASR) website was updated on September 22, 2025. The goals of the redesign included helping users find the processes and resources they need quickly and efficiently and improving accessibility and usability.

The website features streamlined navigation and an improved user interface. All existing links have been redirected, so any bookmarked links to the old version of the ASR website are still usable. 

Policy reminders

As we near the start of the term, we wanted to share a few policy reminders. The Mandatory Attendance policy requires students to attend the first class meetings for all enrolled classes unless they have prior approval from their instructor to be absent. Please consult the policy FAQ for more details on how this policy applies to online classes or when students register after the first day of classes. 

Please also consult the Excused Absences and Makeup Work policy and the Makeup Work FAQ. Reasonable accommodations must be made for students who miss class due to excused circumstances, including:

• Illness, especially for in-person or blended classes
• Religious holiday observance
• Pre-approved first-day absence
• Late registration

Instructors are expected to observe scheduled class times as stated in the Teaching and Learning policy. 

We also recommend reviewing the Student Conduct Code.

U Card reminder

With the start of the term approaching, remember to bring your U Card to ensure access to campus buildings. You can find entrances with a card reader by reviewing Campus Maps and turning on the layer for Accessibility in the top right. 

Directed Activity Contract: Transition to new solution

The new version of the Directed Activity Contract in the Jadu platform will go live the week of August 4. All new contracts will be initiated and carried out using the new solution. Any in-progress contracts will finish out using the previous version in WorkflowGen. 

The new version follows the same workflow and requires the same information. There are changes and updates to the language, question format, and interface. All in-progress contracts in WorkflowGen must be completed by Friday, September 12, 2025. Any in-progress contracts may no longer be available after this date, as WorkflowGen is prepared for retirement. For questions about Directed Activity policy and procedures, please contact oue@umn.edu. 

Academic Standing training course

A refreshed version of the Academic Standing training course was released earlier this month. Only new users who are responsible for updating the academic standing of undergraduate students are required to take this course.