Connect+Learn Back-to-School Microsoft 365 Tips & Tricks Series

Date: September 12, 2023
To: AMS Users
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration 
Re: Connect+Learn Back-to-School Microsoft 365 Tips & Tricks Series

 

Dear colleagues,

We are excited to introduce our Back-to-School Microsoft 365 Tips & Tricks Series! During this series, we’ll delve into three key focus areas:

  • Learning Tips & Tricks, along with recommended best practices
  • Exploring the latest M365 application features
  • Addressing user-submitted FAQs

Join us for upcoming online sessions below:

Date Topics Meeting Link
Sep 13 @11 am Microsoft 365 at U of T Add to Calendar
Sep 20 @11am Enhancing Outlook Efficiency Add to Calendar
Sep 27 @11am Collaboration & Communication with Teams Add to Calendar
Oct 11 @11am Collaboration with SharePoint Add to Calendar
Oct 18 @11am Video management with Stream (on SharePoint) Add to Calendar
Oct 25 @11am Automation and Workflows with Power Automate Add to Calendar
Nov 8 @11am Effective Surveys & Quizzes with Microsoft Forms Add to Calendar
Nov 15 @11am Empower your ideas with Microsoft Power Apps Add to Calendar
Nov 29 @ 11am Maximizing Productivity with Planner & To-Do Add to Calendar

We recommend adding these sessions to your calendar and joining us to boost your work efficiency with a better understanding of Microsoft 365 applications. If you can’t attend the entire series, we suggest joining specific sessions that align with your needs for maximum benefit.

Sincerely,
Lobsang Wangmo
Services Engagement Coordinator
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration

Jira Offboarding December 13 – Jira End of Life

Date: September 7, 2023
To:
Jira Users – EASI Partner Divisions
From:
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration 
Re: Jira Offboarding December 13 – Jira End of Life

 

Dear Jira Users,

As you may be aware, Atlassian has announced that support for Jira Server will end on February 15, 2024. As a result, Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI) will be moving its teams and partner divisions to the Azure DevOps platform as part of the Jira Migration Project.

Azure DevOps provides managers and users with more visibility into work effort, resulting in improved workload management, expectation management and improved insights for strategic decision making. This platform also aligns with U of T’s technical roadmap and future evolution with Microsoft.

We anticipate that all EASI teams will have transitioned to Azure DevOps by October 31, and we will work to onboard your division between September 30 and December 13. Throughout this migration, we will provide ongoing support, and licensing costs will be covered for EASI-related projects. Non EASI-related projects can be moved to Jira Cloud or Azure DevOps.

In preparation for the February 2024 deadline, we will be booking a meeting with you to provide an overview of the project. Please stay tuned for an Outlook invite that will be sent shortly.

If you have any questions about this project, please contact Laurel Williams, Project Lead, at laurel.williams@utoronto.ca

Thank you for your support in making this successful transition.

Sincerely,
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI)

U of T to Upgrade Timekeeping Solution from Workforce Central to Dimensions

U of T will be upgrading to Ultimate Kronos Group’s (UKG’s) Dimensions timekeeping solution in advance of Kronos Workforce Central’s end of life in 2025. After a comprehensive vendor evaluation process, Dimensions, a product leader in the labour management sector, was chosen due to its timekeeping functionality, full set of advanced scheduling features, lower implementation costs and included transition tools. Users will experience an improved look and feel with Dimensions, while retaining the robust timekeeping functionality currently available in Workforce Central. This initiative will start in late fall 2023 and full implementation is anticipated to extend to late fall 2024. Please stay tuned for ongoing project updates!

U of T to Upgrade Timekeeping Solution from Workforce Central to Dimensions

Date: September 5, 2023
To: AMS and DFO Listservs
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re: U of T to Upgrade Timekeeping Solution from Workforce Central to Dimensions

 

Hi everyone,

U of T will be upgrading to Ultimate Kronos Group’s (UKG’s) Dimensions timekeeping solution in advance of Kronos Workforce Central’s end of life in 2025.

After a comprehensive vendor evaluation process, Dimensions, a product leader in the labour management sector, was chosen due to its timekeeping functionality, full set of advanced scheduling features, lower implementation costs and included transition tools. Users will experience an improved look and feel with Dimensions, while retaining the robust timekeeping functionality currently available in Workforce Central.

This Information Technology Services initiative will start in late fall 2023. We will be working in collaboration with People Strategy, Equity & Culture, and participating divisions and faculties across the University. Full implementation is anticipated to extend to late 2024. As part of this project, we will be optimizing current application configurations to streamline business processes across the tri-campus.

As a result of this upgrade, there will be a Workforce Central production freeze starting October 1, 2023. In addition, no new client groups will be onboarded to Workforce Central until Dimensions is generally available. For existing client groups, new managers/supervisors and users can continue to be added or modified in Workforce Central during the implementation.

We look forward to providing information, support and ongoing updates as the project progresses.

If you have any questions about the project, please contact Farah Ally at farah.ally@utoronto.ca

Sincerely,
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI)

Chrome Issues Resolved – ESS and MSS

Date: September 5, 2023
To: ESS and MSS Users
From:
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re: Chrome Issues Resolved – ESS and MSS

 

***Please distribute this message widely***

Hi everyone,

As you may be aware, some Chrome users were experiencing issues when using Employee Self-Service and Manager Self-Service. Over the weekend our team worked to implement a solution and the issue has now been resolved.

Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration

Chrome Issues – ESS and MSS

Date: August 28, 2023
To:
ESS and MSS Users
From:
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration 
Re: Chrome Issues – ESS and MSS

***Please distribute this message widely***

Hi everyone,

Some Chrome users may be experiencing issues when using Employee Self-Service and Manager Self-Service. Our team is currently working with SAP to resolve the issue and will be testing a solution later this week.

While this issue is being resolved, please use an alternate browser such as Firefox or Microsoft Edge.

Thank you for your patience and we will provide an update early next week.

Sincerely,
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration

EASI Go Prod AMS & Enterprise Shared Services Updates – Mar. 1 to Jul. 31, 2023

Date: July 31, 2023
To: AMS and Enterprise Shared Services Users
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re:  EASI Go Prod AMS & Enterprise Shared Services Updates – Mar. 1 to Jul. 31, 2023

 

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 March 1 to July 31, 2023:

AMS Password Reset (June 22)
On June 22, EASI transitioned the previous AMS Password Reset form, hosted on the EASI website, to the Enterprise Service Centre. Users can now log in to the Enterprise Service Centre, fill out a pre-populated form and a new password is automatically sent to their @utoronto or associated email address. This streamlined process provides an improved user experience and increased security.

Financial Information System

Air Travel Emissions Mitigation Initiative (March 15)
On March 15, U of T launched a new initiative to mitigate the impact of emissions from air travel as part of its commitment to reduce its carbon footprint and take action to minimize climate change. The Sustainability Office partnered with the Information and Technology Services (ITS) and the Financial Advisory Services and Training (FAST) teams to build a mechanism within existing financial systems and processes to calculate offset fees during the reimbursement period and retroactively charge it to the corresponding departments.

AMS Fiscal Year-End Closure 2023 (May 1)
Multiple teams from EASI and Financial Services worked together to ensure the 2023 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.

Electronic Funds Transfer – Phase 3 (June)
In August 2022, the University launched the first phase of the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) project to transition vendor payments by paper cheque to direct deposit. Work on Phase 3 of the project, which began in June 2023, involves streamlining processes, particularly in Accounts Payable for reviewing and approving supporting documentation for payments. This phase also continues the strategic onboarding of existing U of T vendors, and the EFT team is still accepting additional vendor recommendations from the U of T community for future consideration.

AMS Printing (July 20)
On July 20, EASI defaulted SAP printing to a front-end solution that makes printing reports from AMS faster, easier and safer. Using this default printing method, users can print reports to PDF and their local printers, as well as email reports directly from AMS. This simplified approach, adopted by 70 per cent of users prior to the default, can be used in all AMS/SAP modules. Web-based applications, including Fiori Launchpad Reporting, Expense Reimbursement Direct Deposit and Employee Self-Service/Manager Self-Service, continue to print as usual.

Enterprise Shared Services

Yammer Platform Disabled (July 31)
Yammer, a Microsoft social networking service not institutionally supported by U of T, was disabled on July 31. This decision was made based on recommendations from a Microsoft Tactical Resources Committee working group in consultation with People Strategy Equity & Culture, the University of Toronto Communications Office and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Office. This committee identified several risks associated with the Yammer service, including privacy and moderation. Groups looking to establish an online community are encouraged to use Microsoft Teams.

Human Resources Information System

Kronos (March 1 to July 31, 2023)
Kronos, a convenient, cloud-based time and attendance system, eliminates the use of paper timesheets and the need to forecast employee hours through online approval processes. Between March 1 and July 31, 2023, EASI implemented Kronos Timekeeper within the Faculty of Music.

 

EASI Go Prod NGSIS Updates – Apr. 1 to Jul. 31, 2023

Date:  July 31, 2023
To: ROSI Users; Registrar’s Offices
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re: EASI Go Prod NGSIS Updates – Apr. 1 to Jul. 31, 2023

 

Hi everyone,

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI) would like to update you on the latest major production releases and updates for the NGSIS program and student systems. From April 1 to July 31, 2023, EASI completed 36 releases for a wide range of applications.

The following are major changes during this timeframe:

Rocket Shuttle Migration (May 17)
On May 17, the Rocket Shuttle Migration Project was successfully completed. All Rocket Shuttle users transitioned to Azure Data Studio and Power BI in advance of the end of Rocket Shuttle licensing. This migration provided users with enhanced reporting with access to the ROSI-REPLICA, improved query performance and improved security and alignment with U of T’s technical roadmap and future evolution.

Student Advising Service (July 26)
On July 26, the University of Toronto launched the Student Advising Service, a platform set to enhance advising supports and resources for the University’s students and advising staff, increase administrative efficiencies and increase overall student wellbeing, success and retention. The new platform serves as a single system for presenting the interconnected student story, helping advisors provide consistent, transparent, timely and comprehensive guidance, and enhance collaboration across and between divisional advising units. This initial release focuses on functionality for advisors, with all Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education (KPE) advising staff and staff working in the Faculty of Arts & Science (A&S) Office of the Faculty Registrar beginning to use the service later this summer. Staff in A&S colleges and academic units will follow in the 2023-24 academic year.

Accommodated Testing Services (ATS) (April 1 to July 31, 2023)
Accommodated Testing Services coordinates on-campus assessment accommodations for students with disabilities who are enrolled in in-class courses offered on the St. George Campus. ATS has released the following enhancements:

  • Functional and technical changes were made to existing functionality in both ACORN and ATS Core Admin required to support the differences in a Summer Academic Period.
  • UX improvements were made to the look and feel of Test Definition Maintenance functions in the ATS Core Admin Module.
  • Several technical changes were made to improve the overall performance on the dashboards.
  • Several technical housekeeping tasks were completed to improve the technical foundation and structure of the system.

Course Information System (CIS) (April 1 to July 31, 2023)
The Course Information System streamlines syllabi and exams processes for instructors and administrators. CIS has made the following releases: 

  • Maintenance Update (June 6, 2023)
    Technical maintenance and bug fixes, in addition to preparation work for onboarding new divisions to the Syllabus Builder module.
  • UTSC Syllabus Builder Launch (July 13, 2023)
    Onboard the University of Toronto Scarborough to the Syllabus Builder module. This new module provides instructors with an end-to-end experience for creating their course syllabus document, with the goal of improving the consistency of syllabi across the institution for both students and academic administrators.
  • APSC Exam Module Enhancements (July 13, 2023)
    Enhancements to the Exam Details module for the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering to improve alignment with business and administrative needs.