Navigating Student Invoices & Financial Arrangements

Please join us for an exclusive Connect+Learn session featuring insights from Student Accounts within the University Registrar’s Office, and Student Receivables & Accounting Office within Financial Services. The session will delve into essential topics such as guidance on interpreting official U of T Student Financial Invoices and explore the diverse options for establishing and maintaining Financial Arrangements (e.g., fee deferrals).

Topics will include:

  • Exploring invoice views in ROSI; highlighting key features and crucial line items.
  • Guidance on where and how students can access instructions for making payments or self-initiating a fee deferral.
  • How staff can effectively maintain Financial Arrangements in ROSI (e.g., major award).

 

Resources

Recording [Stream]
Slides [SharePoint]

EASI Go Prod AMS & Enterprise Shared Services Updates – Feb. 1 to May 31, 2024

Date: May 31, 2024
To:  AMS and Enterprise Shared Services Users
From:  Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re:  EASI Go Prod AMS & Enterprise Shared Services Updates – Feb. 1 to May 31, 2024

 

Hi everyone,

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI) would like to update you on the latest major production releases and updates for U of T’s Administrative Management Systems and Enterprise Shared Services.

The following are major changes from February 1 to May 31, 2024:

Administrative Management Systems

SAP GUI Upgrade (May/June)
U of T will be transitioning to the new version of SAP GUI as the current version is no longer supported. Digital Workplace clients have received the upgrade from SAP GUI 7.6 (Patch 6) to version 8.00 (Patch 4, and IT administrators will facilitate the upgrade for divisions. The new version includes performance improvements, and enhanced stability and security, and represents minimal change to business processes.

AMS Disaster Recovery Solution
Since June 2023, the SAP teams have dedicated their efforts to crafting a robust Disaster Recovery solution tailored for the Administrative Management Systems environment. In the latest phase of this initiative, the SAP teams, in collaboration with other ITS partners, have diligently integrated all remaining infrastructure components necessary to enable SAP web applications such as Employee Self-Service and MyResearch to operate seamlessly from disaster-affected regions. Presently, the team is fully engaged in conducting mock tests to thoroughly evaluate and fortify the resilience of this environment.

Financial Information System

AMS Fiscal Year-End Closure 2024 (May 1)
Multiple teams from EASI and Financial Services worked together to ensure the 2024 FI Fiscal Year End event was successful. The benefits of the SAP S/4HANA environment continue to reduce overall processing time. Fiori Launchpad Reporting continues to allow users to carry on with their business operations during the fiscal year-end closure period. Throughout the year, the teams worked to optimize system efficiencies and continued to reengineer programs to decrease processing times.

Enterprise Shared Services

Accruent EMS – Space Management Solution (February 1 to May 31)
EASI has been implementing Accruent EMS, which is a comprehensive cloud-based space management solution. The scheduling software facilitates the efficient booking and management of meeting rooms, hoteling workstations, training rooms and event spaces. The EMS platform integrates with both hardware and software infrastructures to enhance efficiency, optimize space utilization, and streamline the process of scheduling and managing spaces, especially in a hybrid work environment. For the first phase of the project, the solution is being implemented in select buildings on the St. George Campus, including 215 Huron Street, Simcoe Hall, Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, Experiential Learning Commons and the Fitzgerald Building.

UTMail+ M365 Reconciliation Project (May 8)
On May 8, U of T’s M365 team began issuing deactivation notices to inactive or ineligible email accounts as part of an organizational effort to safeguard online data and manage U of T’s resources more effectively. Learn more about the project and understand its role in safeguarding online data.

Human Resources Information System

Employees@UofT (April 2)
On April 2, the Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture, with EASI’s assistance, migrated Employees@UofT to Tableau. The new Employees @ U of T site features improvements to navigation and an increased range of filters on the data available for generating reports. For more information, visit the new PSEC Reporting & Insights SharePoint. The Employees@UofT application webpage on the EASI website will be retired once users have made the transition to the new platform.

AMS System Outage – June 15

Date: May 30, 2024
To:  AMS Users
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re: AMS System Outage – June 15

 

Dear AMS Users,

Please note that the systems below will be unavailable on Saturday, June 15 from 6:00 am to 12:00 pm due to system maintenance:

  • Academic Administrative Appointments (AAA)
  • AMS SAP GUI
  • Capital Project Portal
  • Employee Self-Service (ESS)/Manager Self-Service (MSS)
  • EvoSuite Applications (EvoOrder, EvoPlan, EvoNotify)
  • Expense Reimbursement Direct Deposit (ERDD)
  • Fiori Launchpad Reporting
  • Invoice Workflow
  • My Customer Account
  • My Research (MR/Portal)
  • SAP Asset Manager Mobile (sync will not work)
  • uSOURCE

See our System Availability page for a list of ongoing information on system status.

Sincerely,
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI)

U of T 30-day Microsoft Teams Chat Retention Policy coming September 16

Date: May 29, 2024
To: ACE-IT, EITU, MTRC, InfoTech, Broader Channels
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re:  Reminder: U of T 30-day Microsoft Teams Chat Retention Policy coming September 30 

 

Dear colleagues,

As an important element in records management and data security, the University of Toronto will be implementing a 30-day retention policy for all individual Teams chat messages that occur outside of a designated Microsoft Teams Channel. This policy will take effect September 16, 2024. The policy is designed to enhance data security and promote efficient communication practices within the university.

What messages are impacted? 
Individual Teams chat messages are ephemeral, one-on-one communications, similar to a phone call or in-person conversation with a colleague, that are intended to disappear after the communication. Messages within group chats (including meetings) are also considered one-on-one communications and will follow the 30-day retention policy.

What messages are not impacted? 
Chat messages within a designated Teams channel that are directly related to a project, group or committee are intended to serve as a record for the entire team and will not be impacted by this policy.

Next steps 
We are giving all faculty, staff, librarians and students advance notice along with the opportunity to review their chat history in case they have any important links or files that need to be retrieved and kept. Moving forward, if users feel there are chats that are pertinent to projects or other teams, it is recommended to initiate these conversations and share these links within a specific Microsoft Teams channel. Staff, faculty and librarians may also want to consider reverting to email for pertinent conversations and information rather than Microsoft Teams chat.

Support

  • To learn more about this university-wide effort to enhance data security and data management, please visit our Teams chat retention web page.
  • Please refer to the knowledge base article to learn more about the Teams Chat Retention Policy implementation.
  • Information sessions: We invite you to join our Connect+Learn sessions where we will provide an overview of the 30-day Teams Chat Retention Policy and an opportunity to ask questions.
    • Teams Chat Retention Information Session 01 – June 12, 11 a.m. Add to Calendar
    • Teams Chat Retention Information Session 02 – June 19, 11 a.m. Add to Calendar
  • If you have questions regarding this policy, please feel free to contact the support team.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We appreciate your understanding as we work to enhance security, promote efficient communication practices and adhere to industry standards.

Kind regards,

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI)
Information Technology Services, University of Toronto
215 Huron Street, Toronto
Ontario M5S 1A2
easi.its.utoronto.ca

 

Channel owners and administrators can now archive channels

As per Microsoft latest update, Microsoft Teams channel owners and administrators can now archive channels to avoid any activity on them and can restore if needed. Channel members will not be able to take actions on the channel like messaging, reacting, commenting, editing etc., but they can still access and read through the channel content.

Channel owners and administrators now have the ability to archive channels. This new functionality is designed to preserve the integrity of the channel’s content while halting all active participation and interactions.

Once a channel is archived:

    • All activities within the channel will be suspended. This means members will not be able to send messages, react to posts, comment, or make any edits.
    • Despite the suspension of activities, all channel content will remain accessible. Members can still view past discussions, files, and other shared materials for reference or record-keeping purposes.

Should the need arise, archived channels can be restored to full activity by an owner or administrator, allowing members to resume interactions as before.

This feature is particularly useful for:

    • Preserving historical data of projects or events that have concluded.
    • Reducing clutter in the channel list without losing valuable information.
    • Maintaining compliance with record-keeping policies.

Navigating Student Invoices & Financial Arrangements

Date: May 10, 2024
To: SIS Users
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re:  Navigating Student Invoices & Financial Arrangements Session

Dear SIS users,

Please join us for an exclusive Connect+Learn session featuring insights from Student Accounts within the University Registrar’s Office, and Student Receivables & Accounting Office within Financial Services. The session will delve into essential topics such as guidance on interpreting official U of T Student Financial Invoices and explore the diverse options for establishing and maintaining Financial Arrangements (e.g., fee deferrals).

The session will take place on Thursday, May 30 at 11 a.m.

Topics will include:

  • Exploring invoice views in ROSI; highlighting key features and crucial line items.
  • Guidance on where and how students can access instructions for making payments or self-initiating a fee deferral.
  • How staff can effectively maintain Financial Arrangements in ROSI (e.g., major award).


Registration is not required for this event. You can access the meeting via this 
Teams Meeting Link.

Sincerely,
Student Information Systems

Important SAP GUI Upgrade Instructions

Date: May 8, 2024
To: SAP GUI Users
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re:  Important SAP GUI Upgrade Instructions

 

Dear SAP GUI users:

As you may be aware, U of T will be transitioning to the new version of SAP GUI as the current version is no longer supported. We have notified divisional IT administrators about this change, and they will help to facilitate with the upgrade from SAP GUI 7.6 (Patch 6) to version 8.00 (Patch 4). The new version includes performance improvements, and enhanced stability and security.

This upgrade represents minimal change to business processes – once upgraded, you will see a simplified list of connection entries on the Logon Pad, and you will be able to connect to the AMS environment. There will be no changes to the theme.

Logon Pad:

Current View New View
SAP GUI Logon Pad with many connection entries SAP GUI Logon Pad after the upgrade showing fewer connection entries

If you have questions about timing for the upgrade, please contact your divisional IT administrator.

If you do not have a managed desktop or a local IT administrator, you can submit a ticket to the Enterprise Service Centre.

Sincerely,

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration

Monthly SIS Training Resources & Support Session

Join us on the first Thursday of each month for an informative Connect+Learn session on SIS Training Resources & Support, tailored primarily for new ROSI users. The Student Information Systems (SIS) group manages enterprise student and curriculum applications, and processes for the University.

SIS provides reporting tools, enhancement and production request forms, and support for the SIS applications. In the session, we will discuss:

  • Student Information Systems – What we do and how to get help
  • ROSI and OASIS Training Materials & Resources
  • What we support and what we do not (and where to go for those)
  • When to use ESC and how to write a ticket and use ESC appropriately

 

Resources

Recording [Stream]
Slides [SharePoint]

Generating ROSI and ROSI Express Reports

Join Connect+Learn for a session on Generating ROSI and ROSI Express Reports. This session will explore several methods that staff in academic units and Registrars’ Offices can use to generate class lists, reports, and downloads of ROSI information. The initial focus of this session will be on the new class list report which is generated from ROSI Express using Power BI. Attendees will be shown a basic feature set and how to navigate the refreshed interface. Current ROSI screens used for report generation and how to pick up the file output from ROSI Files will also be explained. Similarly, the downloads portion of this session will explain how to access file output and formatting files, including headers, for practical use.

Topics to be addressed:

  • New Class List reports in ROSI Express (Power BI)
  • Sending ROSI reports to ROSI Files (pdf and Excel formats)
  • Download basics (time permitting)
     

    Resources

    Recording [Stream]
    Slides [SharePoint]