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IT Activity ReportJanuary 2016
January 2016 Activity Report | Business Systems

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

UD Financials update

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

Database administration (DBA) update

HR systems update

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.

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:

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.

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.