Business Systems

Two-factor authentication (2FA) with University-issued fobs

IT-Web Development (IT-WD) and IT-Network and Systems Services (IT-NSS) collaborated to offer two new ways for campus users to obtain a University-issued 2FA fob: Individuals may purchase fobs from the UD Bookstore, or departments may purchase fobs for their employees by using the Request for Service: Fob Purchase for Employee 2FA Web Form.

To activate a fob, log in to My UD Settings and choose Activate my 2FA fob from the menu. Make sure you have the fob in hand. Although Google Authenticator is the recommended method for generating 2FA authentication codes, University-issued fobs can be helpful for specific audiences, such as international students and certain employees. (More information)

Biological Material Registration Web Form goes live

IT-WD partnered with the Department of Environmental Health & Safety to develop the new Biological Material Registration Web Form. The new Web Form helps units be compliant with University policies: Research with biological materials must be registered, an inventory of biological materials must be maintained, and labs are audited on a periodic basis. The form also documents a Principal Investigator’s certification that work is done in accordance with UD policies and the CDC/NIH “Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories” guidelines.

Two more Web Forms using CFS component

The Request for Service: Shredding (non-Archives) and Request for Service: Lock Shop (keys only) Web Forms were updated to use UD’s Chartfield String (CFS) component. The CFS component centralizes the way accounting information is collected. IT-WD and General Accounting worked with Facilities, the owner for these forms.

Equipment Activity improvement for sold equipment

The University tracks sales of serviceable equipment to outside entities. The Equipment Activity Sold Web Form now requires entry of a “Cash Transmittal” Web Form ID by Procurement. This change streamlines the process of linking the Equipment Activity Web Form with the Cash Transmittal Web Form. The department selling the equipment therefore has accurate and complete cash transmittal information about the transaction. IT-WD partnered with General Accounting, Procurement, and the Cashier's Office to make this improvement.

Business forms and applications are updated for HR Upgrade to v9.2

The recent upgrade of the HR PeopleSoft system required several changes and enhancements to HR and Payroll Web Forms and Web. Forms and views that IT-WD updated include Direct Deposit, Request to Recruit, Job Data, Employee Demographic Data, and S-Contract. Modifications were made in 2016, tested, and released to production on March 5, 2017, when the upgraded HR system was made available to the campus.

Direct Deposit business controls

To continue with the adoption of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, IT-WD added many security improvements to the Direct Deposit Web Form. Additional layers of validation are now required to make changes, historical information is displayed to help identify possible suspicious activity, and email notifications have been added. On the back-end, data encryption has been enhanced. As of February 20, 2017, 2FA is now required to access the form and mitigate potential fraudulent use. HR and Payroll can answer questions on the Direct Deposit Web Form.

Database support

• PeopleSoft and Oracle Database software upgrade: The Human Resources PeopleSoft software (the Tools software and the primary application software) was successfully upgraded. In conjunction with the upgrade, the Oracle databases associated with HR were also upgraded to Oracle 12c, and relevant security patches were applied.
• Database hardware changes: Selected databases continue to be moved to the new Oracle supercluster hardware and software. The PeopleSoft Human Resource Quality Assurance database has been moved, and the Test and Development databases will follow this month.
  
  After further testing, the first of the Production databases will soon be moved to the supercluster.
  
  Work continues on the transition to the new backup and recovery strategy implemented via Oracle’s Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance (ZDLRA). IT Management Information Services (IT-MIS) database administrators are working with the Oracle technical team to resolve some intermittent technical issues.

UDSIS updates

• BHSC phase two: IT-MIS worked with the Blue Hen Success Collaborative (BHSC) office and the Registrar's office to implement phase two enhancements to the system. BHSC is an initiative that helps University departments track student progress and is expected to have a positive impact on graduation rates. For more information about BHSC, read this UDaily article or this Wilmington News Journal article.
• OISS Terra Dotta implementation: The University is in the process of transitioning international student and scholar visa processing to a third-party vendor. Daily interfaces between UDSIS and the Terra Dotta software have been implemented by IT-MIS in order to send the latest student data to the federal Student & Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) to produce visa documentation and track international students.
• SFS Third Party Billing implementation: Student Financial Services, in collaboration with IT-MIS, recently implemented the third-party billing feature in UDSIS. This feature will enable automated billing of third party entities that sponsor students at the University.
• Slate-UDSIS interfaces phase two: For the past two years, Slate has been used by the Admissions office to process undergraduate applications. Throughout the admissions cycle, interfaces run to update UDSIS with the latest information about applications. Working with the Graduate Office, IT-MIS recently implemented interfaces between Slate and the UDSIS Graduate Application, speeding up the processing of graduate student applications.
• UDOnline Destiny interface implementation: The UDOnline office is in the process of implementing new software to handle online enrollments. New interfaces to the vendor system, Destiny, have been implemented by IT-MIS. For more information, see this UDaily article.
• Curriculog: IT-MIS is working with the Registrar to implement interfaces to Curriculog, a new system that will enable faculty and Registrar staff to work on adding updates and new courses to the Course Catalog.
• Loading Grades: IT-MIS is currently working with the Registrar and faculty to develop a facility to upload mid-term and final exam grades into UDSIS from a variety of sources (e.g., Sakai and Canvas). This project will make it simpler for faculty because they will be able to enter grades in one place instead of re-entering them in UDSIS.

UD Financials news

• Concert: IT-MIS is working with the College of Nursing and Health Sciences and the Registrar's office to implement interfaces to Concert, a system that will be used to track the academic progress of Nursing students.
• Student Loans Refund Process: IT-MIS improved the Student Loan Title Four refund process so that loans required to be paid by check are separated from student refunds that the University processes via direct deposit.
• Revenue recognition: The Research Office identified several duplicate rows which resulted in erroneous amounts in revenue recognition. IT-MIS developed a process to correct the error.
• GCC/QC Interface with General Ledger: IT-MIS developed a process for Auxiliary Services to automate the loading of Monthly Printing Services (both GCC and QC) charges to General Ledger and provide a validation report.
• Non-Student Billing Interface: The Research Office introduced a bill type for the new National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) awards. IT-MIS modified the Non-Student billing interface in PeopleSoft to use purpose code NIIMBL, generate invoice numbers beginning with “NMBL,” and assign the new bill type NIIMBL to those invoices.
• Auxiliary Services data error correction: IT-MIS developed a common component to correct any Auxiliary Services data validation errors fed into the General Ledger (GL). This functionality provides the ability to correct invalid speedtypes and accounts for any Auxiliary Services charges before adding them into the GL, which reduces the manual effort needed to correct those charges.
• Spreadsheet upload of GL accounts: IT-MIS developed a utility to mass update GL accounts, helping the Controller's Office update the accounts in volume.