January 31, 2022 is the last day to use class permission numbers for full semester and first 7-week session classes. Then, all class permission numbers are deleted from PeopleSoft for full semester and first 7-week session classes.
Class permissions become student specific beginning the third week and through the end of the term for full semester and first 7-week session classes. Please consult our User guide for Assigning student Specific Permissions.
Friday, January 28, 2022
Native American Tuition Promise Program update
Starting in fall 2022, the Native American Tuition Promise Program, which will provide financial support to first-year undergraduate students and transfer students from Tribal colleges who are enrolled citizens in one of Minnesota’s 11 federally recognized Tribal Nations, will be available to students. Work on the program is underway. A Jadu form for collecting students' tribal affiliation documentation is now live. Submissions will be reviewed by our financial aid staff. Information about the Native American Promise Tuition Program will also be added to the One Stop website for all system campuses.
The project team has shared the latest business process details and program updates with One Stop and financial aid staff, so campuses can help address any student or parent questions regarding the program. Communications about the program and eligibility criteria will be sent out to incoming and admitted students in the coming weeks. More information about the program is available on the Native American Promise Tuition Program website.
The project team has shared the latest business process details and program updates with One Stop and financial aid staff, so campuses can help address any student or parent questions regarding the program. Communications about the program and eligibility criteria will be sent out to incoming and admitted students in the coming weeks. More information about the program is available on the Native American Promise Tuition Program website.
Caucus night February 1
Tuesday, February 1, 2022 is caucus night. Per Board of Regents resolution, the University may schedule classes or events on caucus night with the Board’s authorization. However, students and/or instructors are permitted to attend their party’s caucus night if they wish. Students must notify their instructor in advance, and instructors are expected to accommodate their requests. If enough students indicate that they will be attending their caucus so that holding class becomes impractical, instructors may cancel the class or make alternative arrangements.
Extended pause on student loan payments
The U.S. Department of Education recently extended the pause on student loan payments through May 1, 2022, which is a 3 month extension of what has been in place since the middle of 2020. This pause is really aimed at alumni and not currently enrolled students. Enrolled students who have unsubsidized Direct loans can see a benefit of no interest being assessed, as would normally happen. Interest will then resume as of May 1, 2022.
Students graduating in May need to understand that they need to do their Exit Counseling as usual since loans will be entered into repayment status as they normally do. Students with unsubsidized loans will only have interest that accrued prior to about June 2020 and interest accrued after May 1, 2022. They will need to consider this when determining what loan amounts they will have and how to best handle them after they graduate. Students and alumni can learn more at COVID-19 Emergency Relief and Federal Student Aid.
Students graduating in May need to understand that they need to do their Exit Counseling as usual since loans will be entered into repayment status as they normally do. Students with unsubsidized loans will only have interest that accrued prior to about June 2020 and interest accrued after May 1, 2022. They will need to consider this when determining what loan amounts they will have and how to best handle them after they graduate. Students and alumni can learn more at COVID-19 Emergency Relief and Federal Student Aid.
CARES update
The last round of CARES (HEERF III or ARP) funding for spring 2022 is scheduled for early-February. The primary focus will be block grants for low-income students, but a portion of the funds will be allocated to emergency grants for undergraduate students, which students can apply for by emailing onestop@umn.edu. More information is available on the One Stop website. Many students have already requested these funds since applications have opened. Graduate students are not eligible for emergency grants. However, institutional grant funds are still available for graduate students.
DegreeCat update
After a thorough RFP process that involved representation from all campuses and extensive testing for usability, Coursedog was selected as the vendor to replace ECAS, PCAS, and the University catalog.
Some highlights of Coursedog:
The implementation of Stellic—the new tool for graduation planning and schedule building—has been delayed. The initial timeline was created without a full understanding of the work required to have our system integrations working well. The project is prioritizing “getting it right” over “getting it done soon” because there is a need to establish trust in the system; we are taking the time to get accurate, actionable data into Stellic.
As before, a small group of University colleges and campuses—called Wave 1—will launch first. The new timeline for Wave 1 would have their students using Stellic as soon as May 2022. On the Twin Cities campus, CBS is in Wave 1. The rollout to remaining undergraduate students is targeted to be complete around the start of the fall 2022 semester. Regardless of when a college begins using Stellic, advisors will have access to the system prior to students in order to become familiar and comfortable with it.
Information about the project is available at DegreeCat Project and questions can be sent to degreecat@umn.edu.
Some highlights of Coursedog:
- Intuitive design with course and program workflow approval systems in the same interface with data deeply connected Ability to upload PDFs (e.g., syllabi) or other documentation
- System allows for publishing of accurate curricular data beyond the official catalog (e.g., department and collegiate websites, Admissions, major exploration tools, reporting tools)
- The product design approach makes it easier to implement configurations and handle University complexities
- University staff can easily configure workflows and forms without vendor support
- Robust reporting interface with features that allow for better reporting and data analysis
The implementation of Stellic—the new tool for graduation planning and schedule building—has been delayed. The initial timeline was created without a full understanding of the work required to have our system integrations working well. The project is prioritizing “getting it right” over “getting it done soon” because there is a need to establish trust in the system; we are taking the time to get accurate, actionable data into Stellic.
As before, a small group of University colleges and campuses—called Wave 1—will launch first. The new timeline for Wave 1 would have their students using Stellic as soon as May 2022. On the Twin Cities campus, CBS is in Wave 1. The rollout to remaining undergraduate students is targeted to be complete around the start of the fall 2022 semester. Regardless of when a college begins using Stellic, advisors will have access to the system prior to students in order to become familiar and comfortable with it.
Information about the project is available at DegreeCat Project and questions can be sent to degreecat@umn.edu.
Grade submission updates
Our grade submission statistics for fall 2021 were slightly improved from this time last year. The key areas we focus on are Not Reported or NR grades as these can have consequences for students' degree progress and financial aid. Thanks to everyone for their work and efforts this last fall. The grade submission counts for fall 2021 are available below:
- I: 1583
- K: 1186
- X: 1185
- NR: 1026
Juneteenth
Juneteenth has officially been approved as a systemwide No Classes Day effective this summer, which will be celebrated on Monday, June 20, 2022. There will be no classes on this day, but it is not currently designated as a University Holiday for faculty and staff. HR continues to work on these plans and more communications will be forthcoming.
February RAC meeting
Academic Support Resources will distribute written updates for February’s Registrar’s Advisory Committee (RAC) meeting and host drop-in, virtual office hours on Thursday, February 17, from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. via Zoom. Please note that you do not need to schedule time to attend the virtual office hours. This will be a community session for those who attend and no preparation is needed other than your questions.
In addition, content will not be prepared by ASR representatives. It is intended as a place for you to come and ask any questions regarding the content provided in the written update. An email with the meeting information, updates, and Zoom link will be sent to all members of the RAC Google Group. This will also be added to the RAC’s Google calendar for further reference. Past RAC meeting minutes are available.
In addition, content will not be prepared by ASR representatives. It is intended as a place for you to come and ask any questions regarding the content provided in the written update. An email with the meeting information, updates, and Zoom link will be sent to all members of the RAC Google Group. This will also be added to the RAC’s Google calendar for further reference. Past RAC meeting minutes are available.
FERPA Q&A
Q: Should I add a confidentiality notice to my signature line in emails? I have noticed others at the University have done this.
A: Academic Support Resources advises against putting these statements in your emails. Notices like this do not carry legal weight outside of certain areas like attorney-client privilege, and we still need to follow our policy of reporting security incidents and notifying individuals involved in the event private data is misdirected. The University of Minnesota email accounts are secure and have authentication requirements to ensure security.
A: Academic Support Resources advises against putting these statements in your emails. Notices like this do not carry legal weight outside of certain areas like attorney-client privilege, and we still need to follow our policy of reporting security incidents and notifying individuals involved in the event private data is misdirected. The University of Minnesota email accounts are secure and have authentication requirements to ensure security.
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