Online training course availability

Due to the Moodle Lifecycle Process, access to student records online training courses (e.g., Student Data Inquiry, Student Data Update) have been limited to those who are on the University campus network, effective October 1, 2016. Those who are off campus may access our online training via Virtual Private Networking (VPN).

ECAS updates

Several new updates went into the Electronic Course Authorization System (ECAS) on September 25. Users will notice the following changes:

• New functionality added to identify Twin Cities Freshman Seminars with an attribute instead of using 19xx catalog numbers or topics courses.
• New functionality to identify Twin Cities Learning Abroad courses in ECAS.
• New functionality to the Course Equivalency field to gather information on cross-listing as well as course equivalency.
• Improved text descriptions for the following sections: Student Learning Outcomes, Writing Intensive, Course Syllabus, and Strategic Objectives-Consultation.

Additional ECAS improvements are in the works. The following changes are anticipated for implementation on October 23:

• Remove the CCE Catalog Description field for all system campuses.
• Remove 'Additional Course Information (for catalog production)' field for Morris campus.
• Remove the Student Learning Objectives, Writing Intensive, and Strategic Objectives & Consultation sections for Rochester.
• Improve functionality and text description of the Instructor Contact Hours field.
• Add functionality for the Community-Engaged Learning course attribute (all campuses except for Morris).
• Adjust which courses are routed to the Twin Cities’ Graduate School approval level.

De-combining class changes

Previously, whenever a CCS user de-combined a class, the meeting pattern(s), instructor(s), and classroom were deleted for all sections of the combined section ID. A new system modification now allows such classes to retain their meeting pattern(s) and instructor(s). Classroom assignments are affected as follows:

• The classroom assignment will still be removed for the section that is de-combined. 
• Any classes still left in the combined section table will keep the classroom. 
• If all classes are deleted from the combined section, the classroom is released.

Search for online classes by Mode of Instruction

In an effort to reduce confusion on how to search for online classes, the "Online course" course attribute has been removed from the both the class and course searches. Effective immediately, users should use instruction mode "Completely Online" in the Class Search to search for online classes.

In the Course Catalog Search, the text "online sections may be available" will display in the results if the course has the ONL course attribute, but "Online course" is no longer a search option.

In CCS, users will notice that the ONL course attribute is now view only. This attribute is present when the course has been approved in ECAS to be offered online. CCS users should use the instruction mode of "CO" (Completely Online) to indicate a particular class section will be taught online.

Mid-term grade rosters

Mid-term grade rosters are available for fall term regular session classes. A quick start guide on the manual entry of mid-term grades is available. New this year, instructors have the option to upload mid-term grades from a spreadsheet. Grade upload instructions are available from a link within Faculty Center.

New ASR website launched September 12

A redesigned Academic Support Resources (ASR) website launched Monday, September 12. The new ASR website hosts information on training, support resources, ASR departmental contacts, and links to applications managed by ASR. Watch a short video introducing the new site.

The url for the site remains the same (asr.umn.edu), but internal links have changed. This means you may need to update any bookmarked pages you have from the old ASR site. Redirects have been set up for the most commonly accessed pages.

You can find our complete list of trainings under Training and support > Register for training. Our quick start guides and other support materials can be found under Training and support > System support resources.

Entering Leave of Absence on Student Program/Plan

If a Leave of Absence (LEAV) row is added to the Student Program/Plan page before the student’s registration is dropped for the term, the system will provide a warning message when the user attempts to save, but it will not stop the user from saving the change.



It is best practice for staff who process student leave of absence requests to ensure that any registration for the term of leave is dropped before adding the LEAV row. If registration existed for the term, the LEAV row must then be added with an effective date of the second day of the term (for fall 2016, this is 9/7/2016 on the Twin Cities campus).

Beware, should any day prior to the second day of the term be used for the LEAV row and the student has not yet dropped their classes, the student will be unable to do so. If you make an error and haven’t used the correct effective date, please email srhelp@umn.edu and we can correct it for you.