ECAS technical issues

ASR is working closely with OIT to identify and resolve ECAS issues. Currently, we have identified specific issues with the View page.

There have also been reported problems related to starting, saving, submitting, and approving proposals, but these occur intermittently and do not impact all users. Further analysis is underway to identify and resolve the issues. Many of the issues seem to be occurring in the afternoon.

Course proposals are generally moving through ECAS, but some may experience delays. Please contact ASR Training & Support at srhelp@umn.edu if you have any questions or concerns.

PeopleSoft Campus Solutions upgrade underway

The effort to upgrade PeopleSoft Campus Solutions from version 9.0 to 9.2 started the first week in April. This project is on a much smaller scale than "The Upgrade"/ESUP that was completed in 2015. The upgrade to 9.2 will go through June 2018 and will be completed in two phases.

The first phase, the technical upgrade, is an upgrade of the technical platform from version 9.0 to 9.2. This is being done to maintain vendor support for security and regulations as well as to allow for the adoption of future vendor-released functionality. This will be completed September 24, 2017. Students, faculty, and staff will notice little to no changes as a result of this technical upgrade.

The second phase, the functional upgrade, will be dedicated to implementing process improvements and utilizing available delivered tools over several months. During this phase, functionality will be released on a monthly basis rather than one, final launch date. The project will conclude in June 2018.

Training and communication plans on the functional upgrade will be dependent on what functionality is selected to be implemented. This will be determined in the next month or so. You can learn more about the upgrade on the project website.

Get instant help using the UPK

Have you tried the Help link in PeopleSoft to access the User Productivity Kit (UPK)? The UPK is a help feature which allows you to see, try, and print instructions for U of M-specific business processes at your workstation by clicking the “Help” link in PeopleSoft. In a survey, 96% of our users who tried the UPK reported finding it very helpful. Check out our UPK guide to get started.

MyU and PeopleSoft outage

On Saturday and Sunday, April 1-2, an upgrade to the PeopleSoft development platform, PeopleTools, will occur. While the upgrade work is underway, MyU and PeopleSoft applications will be unavailable. 

Specific impacts to note:

• PeopleSoft (and dependent applications)
• APAS
• Grad Planner
• MyU (and dependent applications)

Aside from downtime during the weekend, no significant impact for end users is expected. No action is required as a result of this upgrade. Access to Moodle courses and University email will not be affected.

The upgrade ensures that our PeopleSoft systems remain stable and secure, and we retain vendor support. We encourage you to mark your calendars for the upgrade weekend so that you can plan around the service outage accordingly. During the weekend of April 1-2, updates will be available on the University’s Service Status page.

Registration times available

Depending on your campus, registration for summer 2017 and fall 2017 is underway or beginning soon. Students can find their specific registration time by logging into MyU and selecting the Academics tab, then the Registration sub-tab. Twin Cities students will see their registration times there starting March 24. The registration appointment time table is also available on the One Stop website.

Update classes before registration begins

Collaborative Class Scheduling (CCS) users should make sure classes offered for summer 2017 and fall 2017 have correct dates/times, grade basis, and credit values entered prior to registration beginning.

On the Twin Cities’ campus, registration for summer begins April 11. CCS is currently open for summer 2017 and available for schedulers to make updates. Registration for fall begins April 13. CCS will reopen for emergent changes on April 1. Other system campus staff may check with their Registrar’s office for details.

What we do and when to contact ASR Training & Support

The ASR Training and Support team supports staff and faculty, specifically users of student record systems at the University of Minnesota. Our team conducts training for University staff (both online and in person), creates UPK topics and other documentation for users, and provides support to the users of the systems on which we provide training. We are here to support staff and faculty who use:

• PeopleSoft Campus Solutions
• Collaborative Class Scheduling (CCS)
• Grades and Faculty Center
• Class Permissions (numbers)
• Student Program/Plan 
• Enrollment processing
• Service Indicators
• Student Advisor
• Student Groups 
• Program & Curriculum Approval System (PCAS)
• Electronic Course Authorization System (ECAS)
• Astra Schedule
• Reporting Center (Student Services)

We are also happy to help direct you if you’re not sure who in ASR a question should go to.

Our team is composed of four staff members: Renae Faunce, Sally Gutierrez, Heather Micek, and Jennifer Selander. Contact us at 612-625-2803 or srhelp@umn.edu whenever you have questions about the training we offer or the systems and processes we support.