Frequently Asked Questions: Campus Solutions
Questions and Answers from Campus Solutions Training
Following are questions from Pilot Group sessions in April 2006:
Questions about admissions, the application process, webapp, etc.
Questions about Student Self-Service and the Student Services Center component
Questions about admissions, the application process, webapp, etc.:
Q: Will legacy, common application, and new webapp be available simultaneously for a while? If so, for how long?
A: Yes, the three electronic applications will co-exist until the last application has been processed for Spring 2007. At that time, the common app and the webapp will still be available; the legacy application will officially become obsolete and no longer used.
Q: Will UMaine’s existing campus-specific “wrapper” be a part of the new webapp branding?
A: Perhaps not the exact “wrapper,” but each institution’s logos and personalizing information will appear several times within the application.
Q: Will the new webapp be specific to specific programs (that might require additional information)?
A: The new webapp will have a common bio-demographic section and then will branch into institution and graduate/undergraduate-specific design. The current design does not allow for program-specific modifications.
Q: If student Social Security Number is not required for application, what about SSN that is required for reporting financial aid to feds?
A: No problem. SSNs haven’t been required on the application for several years. At the time of financial aid processing (FAFSA), the student’s SSN will be requested, as it is now. Remember that within Oracle/PeopleSoft, the U.S. National ID is the Social Security Number. For Canada, the National ID is the Social Insurance Number.
Q: After an application is submitted, will a confirmation always be automatically generated? What text appears in the message?
A: Yes, the web application will automatically generate a web page confirmation and an email to be sent to the applicant immediately. The confirmation will be campus-specific, so the individual campus will determine the text that appears in the message.
Q: Can we tell, in PeopleSoft, if a prospective student has applied to other UMS institution(s)?
A: Yes, but access to this information will probably be restricted to only a few users on a campus.
Q: Where will confirmation of admission show?
A: On the SLA2 screen in ISIS, “student decision” will show “CY.” In PeopleSoft, until Student Records goes live, the summary page will show “intent to matriculate.”
Q: How will a student’s application “to-do” list be differentiated among several campuses to which the student may be applying, especially if different information is required by each campus (e.g. UMM and UMaine Engineering)?
A: The student will see all checklist items without necessarily being able to immediately determine which application(s) they pertain to. By clicking on the item, the student will be able to look at the details, which will indicate the specifics about the item (which institution, what information may still be needed by that institution, etc.).
Q: How will deferrals be handled? For example, a student submits application for Spring 2007 and is accepted but decides to defer until the Fall of 2007.
A: That application will need to be entered into PeopleSoft for Fall 2007.
Q: What will be the security around document imaging? Will students be able to request deletion of items in their files?
A: Many of the documents imaged will be accessed through PeopleSoft, so PeopleSoft security will apply to them. Student records, although electronic, will be treated the same as hard copies in folders. Deletion of an item from a student’s electronic folder will be at the discretion of Admissions, as it is today.
Q: Will employees be able to read application files while on the road or at home?
A: Assuming appropriate security, staff will be able to view documents and annotate them through the WebNow client, from any location. The only thing that cannot be done outside the office is the indexing, which is a Shared Processing Center task.
Q: Can the PeopleSoft/ISIS interfaces run a few times daily rather than once nightly?
A: We will begin with nightly interfaces. Depending on the time of year and the performance of the system, it may be possible to run the interfaces more frequently.
Q: Will data from handwritten applications be entered into PeopleSoft by Shared Processing Center staff (2007 and onward)?
A: Yes, that is the plan. Processing Center staff will be skilled at entering application data.
Questions about Student Self-Service and the Student Services Center component of PeopleSoft’s Campus Solutions:
Q: How best can we communicate changes (e.g. use of Student Self-service for updating bio/demo data) to current students?
A: The only thing that students currently do in Web DSIS that will shift to Oracle/PeopleSoft this summer is the ability to update a local address. When students attempt to do this in DSIS, they will be directed to PeopleSoft. Of course, in PeopleSoft, students will have the ability to change other fields of their own bio-demographic data. Notification of these changes should be publicized in all literature going to students, on websites, via emails, etc.
Q: How do prospects/applicants/new students learn of their EMPLID, etc.? Is this a campus, System, or automatic PeopleSoft responsibility? What if student is created in ISIS?
A: Prospective students who apply using the new webapp will receive an automatic confirmation including the EMPLID from PeopleSoft. It will be the responsibility of the campus to notify students who apply using other methods. Campuses need to be proactive in getting the word out in literature, by email, and on websites.
Q: Can we use a term other than “EMPLID” for students?
A: Unfortunately, we have no options here. That term is “baked in” to the PeopleSoft software. We’ll try to refer to it as “EMPL ID” (pronounced “em-pull ID”) rather than “employee ID,” however.
Q: On the student self-service page, what options can a student update?
A: Contact information (address, phone, emergency contact, email other than @maine.edu). NOT primary name, date of birth, or SSN.
Q: How can we encourage students to keep ALL of their addresses current?
A: As we do now (and it’s not always easy), through communications, publications, etc. However, in PS this should be easier, since students can update their own addresses. Also, PS uses “effective dating,” which keeps a record of all address changes and their effective dates, rather than deleting the old address when the new one is entered.
Q: What does “Campus ID” mean on the student personal data page under the general information tab?
A: Although that term will appear on the pages of PeopleSoft, we will not be using Campus ID.
Q: What student information from other campuses will be viewable in PS?
A: This will depend on levels of security. For most users, the answer is “very little.” For University College staff and others serving multi-institutional students, more information will be available.
Q: Under FERPA, what comments in the 3Cs written about students will be available to the student?
A: Students will not have access to the 3Cs portion of PeopleSoft, but can request to see any comments in their files (as they do now). 3C comments in PS cannot be deleted.
Q: When batch messages are sent via 3Cs, has consideration been given to how those messages will be handled by spam mail filters?
A: The same concerns that a campus has now will also be true when we begin using PeopleSoft. End-users will be using local software (MS Word or Outlook) to “batch email” to recruits. The emails will be sent by campus “superusers;” these folks will need to think about this issue, as they do presently.
Q: Will there be shortcuts for processes, like changing an address, which takes more clicks in PS than in legacy?
A: You can bookmark your favorite or commonly-visited screens. In PS the “Student Services Center” page will allow you to access a lot of information and make a lot of changes in one place.
Q: A lot of terminology is new. Could there be some kind of help with a glossary?
A: Yes. A Project Glossary already exists on the Project Enterprise portion of the University of Maine System website. It evolves as new terms are introduced into the language of the Project. Go to http://www.maine.edu/system/pe/project_glossary.php Or, just go to www.maine.edu and clock on “Faculty/Staff” and then on “Project Enterprise” at the bottom of that page. Find “Training and Communications” in the left side navigation bar.
Most issues of the Employee Update newsletter introduce a few new terms. All back issues of the newsletter are also available on the website.
Q: How much “old data” will be available in PeopleSoft?
A: There will be about 400,000 student records consisting mostly of everyone in ISIS with any academic history or any accounts receivable. If we bring records into PeopleSoft for their academic history, we also bring the associated admission information. In addition, we are bringing several years’ worth of applications of people who never matriculated (often referred to as “dead” files).
Q: What reports will be available and when?
A: Don’t worry! Administrative Systems Development and Support technical team members are creating an assortment of powerful reports that will be “personalized” for your university (and you won’t see another university’s data). As is current practice, access to specific reports will remain a local campus decision and will depend upon the user’s security level. Many reports will be available at the time of go-live; additional reports are created as needs evolve.
Q: When will Degree Audit be available for campuses to use?
A: Use of Degree Audit (called Academic Advising in PeopleSoft) in PS is a campus-based decision. The earliest that it will be available for use should be in December of 2008, but not every UMS institution will be required to begin using it then.
Q: Which address in PeopleSoft will populate the Permanent Address field in Financier?
A: There is no PS interface to Financier at the moment—Financier will still be getting its information from ISIS, as it does currently.
Q: Will PeopleSoft end up obsolete any time soon?
A: One of the reasons the University of Maine System chose PeopleSoft was its growth capacity and ability to change. Oracle has recently announced “perpetual maintenance” for the PeopleSoft application versions we are implementing. We’re good to go with this product for a loooong time.
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May 18, 2006/May 15, 2007