EASI Go Prod NGSIS Updates – Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, 2024

Date:  November 29, 2024
To:  ROSI Users; ROSI Express Users
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re: EASI Go Prod NGSIS Updates – Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, 2024

 

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. The following are major changes from October 1 to November 30, 2024:

Accommodated Testing Services (ATS) 
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:

  • Implemented an improvement to allow ATS staff to send bulk emails within the instructor emailing functionality.
  • Added a CIS Submissions Dashboard, where ATS staff can search and filter CIS submissions and view pertinent statistics for a given data range.

Course Information System (CIS)
The Course Information System streamlines syllabi and exams processes for instructors and administrators. The following improvements have been introduced: 

  • Removed a marking scheme rule from the Syllabus Builder module for the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.
  • Updated exam information notice in the Exam Details module for the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Curriculum Management (CM)
CM provides a centralized and searchable inventory of all approved undergraduate and graduate course/program information from current participating divisions at the University of Toronto. Between October 1 to November 30, new reports were published on Power BI for graduate administrators using CM for their governance cycles.

Curriculum Publisher (CP)
The Curriculum Publisher is an online application that allows divisions and departments to publish course and program offerings. Between October 1 to November 30, a divisional calendar was published for the Faculty of Information.

eMarks
eMarks enables the online submission of course grades and amended grades. It also allows instructors and departments to track any changes made to a student’s grade. The following improvements have been introduced:

  • Developing a new administrator manual.
  • Updated help menu links.
  • Added messaging to advise against using copy and paste when editing email message templates to avoid unexpected issues due to special characters.

Student Information Systems (SIS) Core Systems 
The administrative and student core systems, including ROSI, ROSI Express, OASIS, ACORN, and Degree Explorer completed the following major releases:

  • Added Transitional Year Programme (TYP) to ACORN’s Confirmation of Enrolment letter.
  • Implemented a fix to better handle OUAC transcript job failures caused by duplicate records.
  • Completed the Ontario Education Number (OEN) process for Fall 2024 late registrants.

Application Support and Training
EASI has completed the first annual cycle of “just-in-time” and topical training for staff who use systems such as ROSI, ROSI Express, and ROSI Files. At the beginning of each month, new ROSI users are invited to a system and resource session. Later in the month, Connect+Learn sessions are offered covering processes and functionality relevant to upcoming activity in the academic cycle (e.g., course setup in advance of summer and fall enrolment). Sessions are also offered on changes or enhancements to systems (e.g., introduction of the new Power BI class list reports in ROSI Express). These Connect+Learn sessions have been supported by newly revised procedure documents and manuals on the SIS website.

EASI has created a new eMarks manual for administrators in Registrars’ Offices who manage the configurations for their divisions. It is in the final stages of review by EASI and the divisions and will be released on December 10.

Sincerely,
Student Information Systems

EASI Go Prod AMS & Enterprise Shared Services Updates – Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, 2024

Date: November 29, 2024
To:  AMS and Enterprise Shared Services Users
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re: EASI Go Prod AMS & Enterprise Shared Services Updates – Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, 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 (AMS) and Enterprise Shared Services.

The following are major changes from October 1 to November 30, 2024:

Administrative Management Systems

SAP GUI Upgrade (October)
U of T has completed the transition to the new version of SAP GUI. Digital Workplace clients received the upgrade from SAP GUI 7.6 (Patch 6) to version 8.00 (Patch 4), and IT administrators facilitated the upgrade for divisions. The new version includes performance improvements, as well as enhanced stability and security, and represents minimal change to business processes.

S/4HANA Upgrade (November 2)
As part of yearly system and application maintenance, U of T upgraded from SAP S/4HANA 2021 to version 2023 on November 2. Over a six-month period, the team conducted extensive testing (including 2,500 test cases) and performed multiple dry runs to ensure a smooth transition. The twelve-hour upgrade included post-upgrade tasks and final testing. It also included removal of Question-Based-Authentication from Employee Self-Service (ESS) and Manager Self-Service (MSS) and UTORMFA enforcement for ESS/MSS, Employee Reimbursement Direct Deposit, My Research, and the Capital Projects Portal. By leveraging the latest advancements in SAP technology, U of T is better positioned for future upgrades and innovations.

Human Resources Information System

Removal of Question-Based-Authentication (November 2)
On November 2, EASI and People Strategy, Equity & Culture (PSEC) removed question-based-authentication from Employee Self-Service (ESS) and Manager Self-Service (MSS). This change improves security across U of T applications and offers a simplified user experience, allowing users to access ESS/MSS immediately after authenticating with UTORid, password and UTORMFA.

Technical Services & Architecture

StarRez Cloud Migration Project (November)
StarRez is a system used across all three U of T campuses, and 13 residence operations, to manage the application, operation and management of residence services, including undergraduate, graduate, and family housing. The StarRez Migration Project, launched between September and November, moved the on-premises system to a modern and secure cloud platform that is hosted and supported by StarRez. Migrating to StarRez Cloud has many technical and user benefits, including user interface improvements, up-to-date releases, 99 per cent uptime and full technical support from StarRez. At the same time, EASI has worked to modernize StarRez integrations with other systems such as AMS, Student Accounts, and TCard Photos to provide better security, and more frequent and accurate data exchanges.

Enterprise Shared Services

M365 Email Reconciliation Project (October 31)
The M365 Email Reconciliation Project was successfully completed by the target deadline of October 31, 2024. The project decommissioned approximately 382,000 accounts and provisioned 23,000 alumni accounts. To date, the team has received 33,432 alumni opt-in requests, 1,368 status verification forms, 8,241 incident tickets, and fielded 1,715 support calls. Project support is ongoing, and the team continues to provide assistance.

Enterprise Service Centre (ESC)/ServiceNow Upgrade (November) 
ServiceNow, the underlying platform powering the Enterprise Service Centre (ESC), was successfully upgraded to the latest release overnight from November 18 to 19. The new release, named Xanadu, brings stability and security enhancements as well new features such as an improved rich text editor.

Entra ID Connect Upgrade (November 19)
On November 19, U of T upgraded Entra ID Connect, a service used for Microsoft identity management. The goal of this upgrade was to improve performance, security, and compatibility, to support long-term sustainability of U of T’s identity infrastructure.

Admission Deposit Setup and Administration

Join us for a Connect+Learn session about Admission Deposits. Several ROSI data points control the ACORN Credit Card Admission Deposit function and determine whether or not a student is prompted for an admission deposit upon logging in. Responsibility for the creation and maintenance of these data points must be coordinated across separate offices in order to work.

This session will guide staff in Divisional and College Registrar’s Offices and graduate units through the process of implementing and maintaining deposits, referencing the business rules and applicable ROSI screens.

In the session, we will discuss:

  • Configuration of Deposits in ROSI
  • The Eight Rules of ACORN Admission Deposits
  • How to Avoid Errors

Resources

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
  • Student Information Systems 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

UTmail+ Calendar Update: U of T Holidays and Religious Observances for 2025-2026

Date: November 26, 2024 
To:
Infotech
From:  Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re:  UTmail+ Calendar Update: U of T Holidays and Religious Observances for 2025-2026

 

As part of our annual process, we will be updating all UTmail+ Calendars to include the 2025-2026 official U of T Holiday and Religious Observances dates. This update will occur in mid-December and will take at least three days to complete. Individuals will see the following in their calendars:

  • Holidays will be marked as: all day event, out of office, no reminder and the location set to ‘U of T Holidays’.
  • Observances will be marked as: all day event, free, no reminder and the location set to ‘Non-Statutory Religious Observance’.

View the full holiday schedule and the full religious observances schedule.

Questions? Please contact Vicki Vokas, Senior Manager, Digital Workplace at vicki.vokas@utoronto.ca

Sincerely,
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration

Student System Application Support During 2024 Holiday Closure

Date:  November 25, 2024
To: ROSI Users
From:  Student Information Systems
Re: Student System Application Support During 2024 Holiday Closure

 

Hi everyone,

We will be maintaining the same levels of application support for Student Systems over the December break as we have in other years. ACORN and other student information services will be available over the holidays and will be checked periodically to ensure they are running. We will respond to Enterprise Service Centre tickets when we return at the beginning of January.

Please note that online payments will be recorded as “pending” in students’ ACORN accounts from December 23, 2024 to 3-5 business days after January 6, 2025. Bank payments will be updated on January 6, 2025.

See a detailed description of support.

Sincerely,
Student Information Systems

AMS Holiday System Availability 2024

Date: November 25, 2024
To: AMS Users
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re: AMS Holiday System Availability 2024

 

Hi everyone,

As we quickly approach this holiday season, we would like to notify you about upcoming system closures.

Here is a full list of the closures between December 23, 2024 and January 6, 2025, and the regular system availability during December 2024:

https://easi.its.utoronto.ca/system-availability/

Please note that if a system/interface is not available, reasonable but limited attempts will be made to fix the problem. There will be no HR or Financial Services staff available to help resolve problems for administrators.

We hope you enjoy the time off for the holidays.

Sincerely,
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration

AMS System Outage – December 7

Date: November 22, 2024
To: AMS Users
From: Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re: AMS System Outage – December 7

 

Dear AMS Users,

Please note that the systems below will be unavailable on Saturday, December 7 from 5 to 11 a.m. due to system maintenance:

  • Academic Administrative Appointments (AAA)
  • AMS SAP GUI
  • Capital Projects 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)

Updates on the University Mobility Contract (VOR 2.0) with Rogers

Connect+Learn invites you to attend an information session presented by the ITS Telecommunications Department, focused on the recent updates to our mobility VOR contract 2.0 with Rogers Inc.

This meeting will cover essential topics, including reduced monthly plan costs, new hardware discount rates, revised roaming fees, and the introduction of a device recycling program.

Join us to gain valuable insights, clarify any questions you may have, and learn how to take full advantage of these improvements to enhance your mobility experience.  Your participation is crucial as we navigate these exciting changes together.

Resources

Entra Connect Upgrade 

Date:   November 11, 2024
To:   InfoTech Listserv
From:  Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Re:   Entra Connect Upgrade 

 

Dear colleagues,

We would like to inform you about an important upcoming upgrade to Entra Connect scheduled for Tuesday, November 19, 2024. The new version of Entra Connect introduces critical updates that improve performance, security, and compatibility, supporting the long-term sustainability of our identity infrastructure. Microsoft has announced end-of-support dates for older versions of Entra Connect. 

Upgrade Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2024, 10:00AM to 4:00PM
Impact on Users: This upgrade is expected to have no anticipated disruption to end users or services during the maintenance period.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work to ensure our systems remain secure and up to date.
If you have any questions or concerns, please submit a ticket to the Enterprise Service Centre at (https://uoft.me/m365help).

 

Kind regards,

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI)
Information Technology Services, University of Toronto