ECAS rewrite goes live October 28, 2018

A rewrite of the Electronic Course Authorization System (ECAS) is underway. The changes will improve system stability, streamline future development, and improve accessibility. The course add/update page will have a new look and feel, which includes informative error messaging, improved troubleshooting tools, and a user-friendly design.

The ECAS home page, search page, topic title page, and view mode will retain the old look and feel. Changes go live on October 28, 2018.

Training materials are under development and preview sessions for ECAS users are planned for the following:

• October 9, 1:30-2:30 p.m. St Paul
• October 16, 1:30-2:30 p.m. East Bank
• October 17, 10:00-11:00 a.m. East Bank

Room locations to be announced.

[9/20/18 - Correction: the go-live date for the ECAS rewrite is October 28, 2018, not October 21, 2018, which was indicated in the September Training Update newsletter]

Fall 2018 Expected Graduation Term (EGT)

On September 18, 2018, an Expected Graduation Term (EGT) was entered into the Student Program/Plan for all new Twin Cities undergraduate admits. Both New High School (NHS) and New Advanced Standing (NAS) students now have an EGT applied to their records.

On November 12, 2018, the degree checkout status of “applied” will be added to the Student Program/Plan for any Twin Cities undergraduate who has achieved 75 percent progress toward their degree.

Several reports were updated to add the degree checkout status data:

• Major/minor roster
• Student group roster
• Student roster detail list
• My advisees with confirmed education abroad programs
• Education abroad confirmed students by college

A query is being developed to help identify students who have a missing EGT. It is currently in the testing phase and will be available in Reporting Center.

PeopleSoft and MyU upgrade September 22 - 23, 2018

On Saturday, September 22, 2018, PeopleSoft and MyU applications will be unavailable from noon to midnight due to a scheduled upgrade.

On Sunday, September 23, 2018, PeopleSoft core applications (CS, HR, FS) will be unavailable from 6:00 a.m to noon due to normal maintenance. PeopleSoft Financials and Financial UM Reports will come back online at 2:00 p.m. according to the normal maintenance schedule.

You can check the IT Service Status page for updates.

Academic calendar changes for Twin Cities/Rochester

The Faculty Senate has approved moving spring break one week earlier, starting in March 2020, for the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses. This results in the final Monday of the first seven-week session falling after spring break. Syllabi may need to be reviewed due to this adjustment, so communicate these changes to your departments. As a reminder, spring 2019 for UMTC and UMR will change from 74 instructional days to 70. Fall and spring semesters will have the same length from then on. Full academic calendars for 2018-22 can be viewed on the University Senate page.