Duplicate records reminder

The creation of duplicate student records has become a significant problem and results in an incomplete student transcript. The process of combining multiple records for a single student involves the collaboration of many people in several units and is very time consuming. Before creating a new record, please consider the following:

1. If the student application indicates the applicant attended the University as a student or is (or has been) an employee, then a record already exists. Also be sure to ask the student whether or not they have had a name change. This will eliminate duplicate records under two different names.

2. Consider variations of names when searching (i.e. William, Bill). Also look for a match in birth date, Social Security number, address, phone number, and email address.

3. If you suspect a previous record exists but cannot find one, contact the Imaging/Files unit at asrfiles.umn.edu, and they will check for you. They will also search for students who attended the University prior to the mid-70s.

To perform a search for a duplicate record, please follow the steps below:

1. In the "Names panel" in PeopleSoft, search by entering the last name and first name of the student. You can also search by entering the first 2-3 letters of both the first and last name. If a potential match is found, click on "Primary Name" in the "Names" panel to see if a middle name is entered and a match is made. If the middle name could be a previous last name, proceed with another search using the middle name as the last name.

2. In the "Names" panel in PeopleSoft, you can also do a search for the student's National ID number (Social Security number). This number could be associated with another record. Before you search, though, be sure to remove both the student's first and last name.

3. Sort your search results by clicking on the individual column headings (name, birth date, SSN, etc.). This will help narrow your search.

4. Follow up with all results. Personal data comparisons can be made by following the path in PeopleSoft under Campus Community > Personal Information (do not choose Personal Information Student, because you want to search all records for that person, not just a student one) > Add/Update a Person. The name, ID number, birth date, address, phone number, and email associated with that record will display.

5. Perform a final search. If no match is found, you can perform a final search by following the path in PeopleSoft under Campus Community > Personal Information (do not use Personal Information Student) > Search/Match. Click "Search." In the results list, click on "UM Person Search." Type in the first and last name of the student. Then click on the "Search Result Code" spyglass and click on "Look Up." When the search results appear, click on UM_RESULT_NOMSK, then click on "Search." Look for possible matches by checking both the "Results" and "Results2" tabs. Be sure to check all rows at the top right of the column headings.

If you are in contact with the student, please ask him or her for information to help you determine if a record already exists. Please be very diligent in checking for already existing records before you create a new one. For questions regarding duplicate records, please contact Pat Rickard.