MyU and PeopleSoft outage June 1-2, 2019

PeopleTools, the PeopleSoft development platform, will be updated this Saturday and Sunday, June 1-2, 2019. During the update, MyU, PeopleSoft, and their dependent applications will be unavailable. The following are specific impacts to note:

• ECAS and PCAS
• APAS and GPAS
• Grad Planner
• Perceptive Content
• WorkflowGen

Note that Schedule Builder (schedulebuilder.umn.edu) will still be available for planning coursework, but students will not be able to use the shopping cart and register during the update. Access to Canvas (canvas.umn.edu) and University email (mail.umn.edu) will not be affected. Visit the IT Service Status page for the latest information on system availability.

After the update, it is recommended to clear your cache before logging into the affected systems. Job aids on the new PeopleSoft homepage and navigation options are linked via MyU > Key Links > PeopleSoft.

PeopleTools 8.56 update

PeopleTools, the PeopleSoft development platform, will be updated June 1-2, 2019. During the update, PeopleSoft and MyU will be down. The update includes new homepages and navigation options. All PeopleSoft users will start receiving messages in May with more information on what to expect, including an overview video and detailed guides on the new features.

June deadline to apply to graduate - graduate and professional students

The June 1 deadline for graduate and professional students to apply to graduate has been extended to Monday, June 3, 2019 due to the planned MyU and PeopleSoft outage between June 1-2. Please note that this change only applies to the month of June, and the following deadlines will continue to be on the first of the month. The change has been made on the One Stop website.

Two new electronic forms for graduate students

A cross-functional project team transitioned several PDF forms used by graduate students to electronic forms using WorkflowGen. They are the Reviewers’ Report and Final Exam forms, replacing the paper versions of the master’s and doctoral Reviewers’ Report forms and the Final Exam form for master’s (Plan A/B) and doctoral students. We have shared this information with graduate program coordinators, college coordinators, and directors of graduate study. New process guides related to the forms are available on the Grad School website under “Examination Procedures.”

As with many electronic forms, there are benefits for students, instructors, and staff. The electronic forms are easier to use and result in faster processing times. For questions about the Reviewers’ Report of Final Exam forms, contact gssp@umn.edu.

FERPA Q&A

Q: Your college wants to post event photos on its website. Is posting these photos permissible under FERPA?

A: Depending on the photos, the college may be able to post them. At the University of Minnesota, photos are not directory information, so students need to grant permission for them to be publicly displayed if they can be identified in the photos. If the photo is a large group photo where faces cannot readily be identified, it may be posted on the website. Otherwise, student permission is required.

PeopleTools 8.56 update

PeopleTools, the PeopleSoft development platform, will be updated June 1-2, 2019. The update includes new homepages and navigation options. All PeopleSoft users will start receiving messages about one month prior to the update with more information on what to expect, including an overview video and detailed guides on the new features.

Mid-term alerts project wrap-up

Last fall we began a project to improve the mid-term alerts process (see story from November). Our findings and recommendations fall into four different areas:

• Terminology: There are several terms in use for mid-term grades which has caused confusion. We recommend using one term: “academic alerts.” This would encompass/replace “mid-term grades,” “mid-term alerts,” “in-progress notifications,” and “progress reports.”
• Communications: We currently send a start-of-term policy email and a follow-up email to 1xxx-level instructors with information about academic alerts and will continue to send these. In the messages, we added language about the benefits of academic alerts and provided more information about how the alerts are used. We recommend expanding the recipient list beyond 1xxx-level instructors. We have heard from advisors that it is important to have this information on how the student is performing across all their classes, not just the 1xxx-level instructors.
• Policy: We recommend expanding the policy beyond 1xxx-level classes (possibly all) and beyond D, F, and N grades (possibly all). We would need to update the FAQ regarding systems (if not using PeopleSoft to collect the alerts).
• Systems: We recommend transitioning from PeopleSoft to APLUS to collect academic alerts either via Canvas or “Instructor view” (there are advantages and concerns with each). We should continue to require progress reports for student-athletes as this is working well with a high compliance rate.

If you have questions or feedback on this effort, please contact Adrienne Bricker (abricker@umn.edu). This information was presented at the March RAC meeting and slides are available on page 84.