Business Systems

Slate implementation for UD Admissions

In 2015, Admissions began configuring a Slate Technologies' system for use by prospective and incoming UD students. IT-WD worked with Admissions and other departments to provide UD authentication, data views, and deposit payments for incoming undergraduate students. IT established a "handshake" between Slate and UDSIS so that student views—such as Student Financial Services' Financial Aid view, Registrar's Office Transfer Credit view, or the Mathematical Sciences Learning Lab Math Placement test—could be securely shared with incoming students.

Other Slate interfaces with existing UD systems allow student deposits to be collected in CashNet, UD's secure payment processor, and enable students who accepted admission to go through IT's authentication process and then access systems such as Housing and Dining. Once student data is exported from Slate to UDSIS, the Registrar's Office can matriculate and activate students so they can enroll for classes. 

The rollout of Slate services will continue into 2016. Questions on the Slate implementation should be addressed to Admissions.

Transfer credit evaluation available in Slate

With the migration from Blue Hen Home to Slate, the Preliminary Transfer Credit Evaluation was turned into a standalone application that prospective students are now able to access from within the Slate portal. The Preliminary Transfer Credit Evaluation allows prospective students to view how their advanced placement test scores, and credits from other colleges and universities, are likely to transfer to UD. IT-WD worked with Admissions on the Slate interface and with the Registrar's Office on the view.

Diploma validation

In cooperation with the Registrar's Office and Paradigm, IT unveiled a new service to validate the authenticity of University of Delaware's Certified Electronic Diplomas. Known as the CeDiploma Trust Store, graduates' prospective employers are able to verify the CeDiploma provided by Paradigm through the service. CeDiplomas are optional for students graduating in fall 2015 and beyond. All UD graduates are still issued a free paper diploma.

My Finances enhancements for prospective and current students

IT-WD and Student Financial Services enabled access for prospective and current students to the My Finances system's Financial Aid Award Notice. The Financial Aid Award Notice presents the description and amount of financial aid awards a student is being offered. This view was previously only available to students during the admission process, but is now available through My Finances for a students' entire career.

During this upgrade, My Finances was rewritten to interface with Slate.

Other UDSIS updates

• UDSIS was patched with the January round of patches and fixes from Oracle on Jan. 9. This round included the latest updates for SEVIS and Financial Aid.
• A new set of data extracts now sends data from UDSIS to the Faculty 180 system used for a pilot of faculty evaluations.

UD Financials update

The IT Management Information Systems (IT-MIS) group performed several PeopleSoft upgrades to enhance services and security.

• On Nov. 14, 2015, new Oracle and Solaris patches were applied to UD Financials.
• In November and December 2015, IT-MIS applied patches for Accounts Payable 1099 reporting for fiscal year 2015. At the same time, IT-MIS and Accounts Payable tested the consolidation of multiple vendor addresses. When the 1099 processes were run in production, the new consolidation process worked, cutting two to four days from the process.
• Accounts Payable checks were converted to XML Publisher processes in the fall. On Jan. 8, 2016, the new XML Templates were changed to show the signature of the Interim Executive Vice President (H. Alan Brangman) when the Executive Vice President (Scott Douglass) finished his service to the University.
• On Jan. 15-18, 2016, the Oracle database system was upgraded from 11 to 12c, and PeopleTools were upgraded from 8.51 to 8.54. Faced with the upgrades, Procurement was able to issue 1099 forms on Jan. 11, much earlier than usual.
• There are several automated feeds of data to the General Ledger from services administered by Auxiliary Services. One such interface was modified last fall to reflect a new format. Another for University Printing is under development, and is expected to go into operation this spring.

Database administration (DBA) update

• Oracle Database Security – Software Patches
  The DBA team has continued to apply the latest security software patches to the PeopleSoft and Web Forms Oracle databases, as well as the operating system software for all production and test database servers.
• PeopleSoft and Oracle Database Software Upgrade
  In conjunction with the PeopleSoft Tools software upgrade, the DBA team has been upgrading the Oracle Database software from version 11g to the latest release, Oracle 12c. The PeopleSoft Campus Solutions modules have been upgraded for both the test and production platforms. The databases for these platforms have been upgraded to Oracle 12c.
• New Database Hardware Changes
  The DBA team is working with IT-NSS to test and implement two major changes to our database server hardware configuration. One is the use of the Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance (ZDLRA). This device is specifically designed for database backups. It uses Oracle's Exadata storage and processing technology and allows for virtual daily backups of data. Static data that has already been backed up is then merged with the new daily data. This process facilitates faster and smaller backup processing windows and reduces resource contention on the actual database servers. Testing of this new hardware and backup methodology is taking place now. The plan is to have all of production backups using the ZDLRA later in 2016.
  
  The second major, and even more critical hardware change, is the use of Oracle's Supercluster database server. This device uses storage technology similar to that currently in use; however, it will eventually store and manage all of UD's Oracle databases, as well some of the application software that uses those databases. The move to the Supercluster includes a database software configuration change that provides redundancy via the use of Oracle's Real Application Cluster (RAC) software. RAC contains mirrored instances of the databases that assist in providing high availability and a level of disaster recovery. Testing of the Supercluster is just beginning.

HR systems update

• Patches and tax updates were applied for the year-end processing and W2 printing.
• Affordable Care Act (ACA) patches were applied to keep UD in compliance with federal requirements.
• New data extracts were created to send HR data to the Faculty 180 system that will be used for faculty evaluations and tenure tracking.
• IT-MIS staff are in the process of working with payroll to prepare an upgrade to UD Time later in 2016.
• IT-MIS is working with HR to prepare for the PS/HR upgrade to PeopleSoft 9.2 later in 2016.
• Outages while the next PeopleSoft tax update is being installed will be announced after the testing of that update is complete.

Other business process improvements

Improvements to the Equipment Activity Web Form continue

In partnership with Asset Management and General Accounting, IT-WD developed new location change and asset creation options on the Equipment Activity Web Form.

• Temporary off-campus relocation: Submitted to move tagged (capital) equipment off-campus temporarily.
• Return off-campus equipment: Submitted to return to campus any equipment that was moved off-campus.
• Fabrications: Submitted to assign a tag to a new piece of equipment that was fabricated by UD and is valued over $5,000.

Additionally, the Equipment Activity Web Form was enhanced to automatically update the Asset Management system when equipment is disposed. This automation is a significant improvement to the efficiency of the equipment disposal process, as well as the timeliness and accuracy of record keeping. Up-to-date asset records are crucial for UD business processes, audits, and compliance.

Journal Voucher explanation field enhancements

Preparation of journal vouchers often requires detailed explanations, with data entered both by typing text and copying and pasting text from a spreadsheet or document. Recently a change was made in the TinyMCE editor used to enter explanations on the JV form in response to several clients' requests. The collaborative efforts of General Accounting and IT-WD staff resulted in achieving this user-requested improvement. Specifically, a new "paste as text" function allows for easier insertion and editing of Excel information copied and added to an explanation with existing text.

UDataGlance Proposal Submission Date

IT-WD and the Research Office have added Proposal Submission Date to the information available on the Proposal Tab in UDataGlance. This addition was requested by a UDataGlance client who needed to report what proposals have been submitted over a period of time. This additional information has enhanced and streamlined Research Activity reporting in departments across the campus. Feedback on UDataGlance may be submitted using the Feedback form available within the application.

New accounting shortcuts application released

General Accounting and IT-WD recently released a new version of the My Accounting Shortcuts application. Accounting shortcuts (previously called "nicknames") can be set up by individuals as a convenient alternative to constantly re-entering frequently used chartfield information. The new application uses our improved method of gathering chartfield information, dubbed the "CFS Component". All nicknames in the old version of this application were upgraded to the new format. Users may create new accounting shortcuts, or view or edit their existing shortcuts, by logging into Web Forms and clicking the My Accounting Shortcuts link, or by logging in to My Accounting Shortcuts directly. For further information, contact General Accounting.

Improved Web Forms

New and updated Web Forms have been released as the result of the collaboration between the form owners, General Accounting, and IT-WD. The new forms use responsive design, allowing them to be used effectively on any device. The forms also incorporate our new method of gathering chartfield information (the CFS Component) which continues to be implemented throughout UD forms and applications. The following forms were released with these changes this quarter:

• Request for Service - Environmental Health and Safety
• Request for Service - Academic Technology Services.

Web Application Upgrades

IT-WD continues to rewrite existing applications with both security and modernization in mind. For the applications listed below, the code has been migrated to a sophisticated and mature infrastructure and the user experience updated to reflect a more modern and responsive design.

• Effort Certification
• UDeposit
• Course Inventory.

New Vendor Payment Web Form

Procurement and IT-WD, working in conjunction with several key stakeholders, have recently deployed a new Vendor Payment Request Web Form. The form uses responsive design in order to optimize the functionality across devices. In addition, the form utilizes the chartfield component bringing it in line with other forms that handle University financial information. To further improve efficiency, the Requisition/Vendor Payment Request Web Form was split into two individual forms: PO Requisition and Vendor Payment Request. The PO Requisition Web Form is used when a unit requests that Procurement make a purchase or when a unit inadvertently made a purchase greater than $5,000 requiring a PO per Procurement Policy 5-1. The Vendor Payment Request Web Form is used to pay any invoice under $5,000 to vendors that do not accept credit cards. This form will route directly to Accounts Payable. Questions about these forms may be addressed to Procurement Services at (302) 831-2161.

Honors Degree Candidacy Web Form

A new Honors Degree Candidacy Form, developed by IT-WD in collaboration with the Registrar's Office and Honors Program, allows students to declare interest in pursuing an Honors Degree and update a student's records in a timely manner. Using the new form, students can view honors degree requirements within the degree audit and see how coursework is being applied to those requirements. The form reduces errors since it pulls data directly from UDSIS rather than requiring data be entered on a paper form. In addition, upon approval, a note is posted to students' advisement records to inform advisors of a student's intent. The Honors Program is sharing this new process and form with Deans in UD's Associate in Arts program. Questions may be sent to the Honors Program.