Important Info: Working remotely with AMS/SAP, HRIS, FIS etc.
Hi everyone,
EASI has received some inquiries about how staff can access central administrative services such as HRIS and FIS when working remotely. In response, we have put together the following resources and recommendations.
If you need to access AMS/SAP systems remotely, please contact your local System Administrator directly to determine the most appropriate solution for you. If your local IT has confirmed that Remote Desktop is safe and available to you, please remember the following when using it:
- Ensure that your work computer is left on. You will not be able to access your workplace computer remotely if your work computer is off.
- Bring your eToken home. It will need to be plugged into your home computer if you are using the remote desktop service to connect to AMS/SAP.
- If you are unable to set up the recommended Remote Desktop option on your computer, the alternative option is to install SAP GUI on your local computer and then set up Cisco AnyConnect VPN.
- The instructions for SAP GUI installation can be found here: https://easi.its.utoronto.ca/help/software-hardware/.
- Once you install SAP GUI, you will have to set up Cisco AnyConnect VPN. View instructions.
For those of you supported by ITS’ managed desktop service (Digital Workplace), set-up instructions for DW RDP Service can be found here (check this list to see Division/Departments supported by ITS managed desktop services).
For general telecommuting information, please refer to EASI’s remote work guide.
For assistance, please contact your local IT System Administrator. If you are unsure of your support options, please log a ticket in the IT Service Centre.
Sincerely,
EASI
Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration
TKF 2020 April 29 to 30, 2020 update: event cancelled
The Techknowfile (TKF) 2020 conference, which was scheduled to take place April 29 to 30, 2020, has been cancelled.
This decision was not taken lightly and falls under the advisement of the Provost Office and the COVID-19 committee, comprised of senior leadership at the University of Toronto (U of T).
The health and safety of the U of T community (staff, student and faculty), attendees and partners is the number one priority.
For more information on the changing landscape of COVID-19, review the University’s announcement and FAQs.
TKF will reconvene at a future date in 2021.
U of T rolls out ‘one-stop shop’ for student awards
The University of Toronto has launched the first phase of Award Explorer – a public-facing, centralized awards repository that gives current and prospective students access to thousands of awards, prizes and medals.
Undergraduate and graduate students can easily look for, and apply to, awards in a single location using a combination of keyword searches and filters, including award type, campus, college, faculty, citizenship and more.
“The University of Toronto has a wide range of need- and merit-based financial supports for students,” says Richard Levin, U of T’s university registrar and executive director of enrolment services.
“Award Explorer is a one-stop shop that will make it much easier and faster for students to find the information they need. At the same time, it will streamline the back-end experience for staff.”
The new tool, the result of a partnership between Enrolment Services and Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration (EASI), centralizes the comprehensive annual support made available to U of T students. That includes nearly 4,500 admission scholarships, 6,000 in-course scholarships and close to 19,000 bursaries to undergraduate and second entry programs. That’s on top of 16,000 combined awards, fellowships and bursaries to graduate students.
“In the past, students searched for awards on multiple sites and they weren’t always sure what they might be eligible for,” says Donna Wall, the director of financial aid and awards at Enrolment Services. “With the launch of Award Explorer, we’re moving toward a consistent user experience for students and staff. It’s the beginning of building greater awareness of the wide range of need- and merit-based supports available.”
Awards continue to be added to the repository daily by department and faculty administrators. During this transition, current award information will continue to reside on divisional and departmental websites to ensure this information continues to be accessible to the public. Students can also access the tool through ACORN’s “Awards and Aid” page.
“Since 2016, we’ve been gathering input and feedback from the academic divisions and other stakeholders,” says Farah Ally, the Award Explorer project manager. “Engaging closely with our key users, such as Laura Stathopoulos, director of financial aid at the School of Graduate Studies, has contributed to the institutional success of this project.”
Award Explorer is now the primary source of award information at U of T and its functionality will continue to expand. Future phases are already in progress, which include automatically matching students to awards, allowing students to apply for awards online and notifying them about funding decisions and payment information. They will also be able to track the status of their applications, track award payment history and access their award letters.
“This project will transform award administration at U of T and make us a leader in award administration nationally,” says Wall. “We want to continue to attract the best and the brightest students.”
U of T rolls out ‘one-stop shop’ for student awards
The University of Toronto has launched the first phase of Award Explorer – a public-facing, centralized awards repository that gives current and prospective students access to thousands of awards, prizes and medals.
Undergraduate and graduate students can easily look for, and apply to, awards in a single location using a combination of keyword searches and filters, including award type, campus, college, faculty, citizenship and more.
“The University of Toronto has a wide range of need- and merit-based financial supports for students,” says Richard Levin, U of T’s university registrar and executive director of enrolment services.
“Award Explorer is a one-stop shop that will make it much easier and faster for students to find the information they need. At the same time, it will streamline the back-end experience for staff.”
The new tool, the result of a partnership between Enrolment Services and Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration (EASI), centralizes the comprehensive annual support made available to U of T students. That includes nearly 4,500 admission scholarships, 6,000 in-course scholarships and close to 19,000 bursaries to undergraduate and second entry programs. That’s on top of 16,000 combined awards, fellowships and bursaries to graduate students.
“In the past, students searched for awards on multiple sites and they weren’t always sure what they might be eligible for,” says Donna Wall, the director of financial aid and awards at Enrolment Services. “With the launch of Award Explorer, we’re moving toward a consistent user experience for students and staff. It’s the beginning of building greater awareness of the wide range of need- and merit-based supports available.”
Awards continue to be added to the repository daily by department and faculty administrators. During this transition, current award information will continue to reside on divisional and departmental websites to ensure this information continues to be accessible to the public. Students can also access the tool through ACORN’s “Awards and Aid” page.
“Since 2016, we’ve been gathering input and feedback from the academic divisions and other stakeholders,” says Farah Ally, the Award Explorer project manager. “Engaging closely with our key users, such as Laura Stathopoulos, director of financial aid at the School of Graduate Studies, has contributed to the institutional success of this project.”
Award Explorer is now the primary source of award information at U of T and its functionality will continue to expand. Future phases are already in progress, which include automatically matching students to awards, allowing students to apply for awards online and notifying them about funding decisions and payment information. They will also be able to track the status of their applications, track award payment history and access their award letters.
“This project will transform award administration at U of T and make us a leader in award administration nationally,” says Wall. “We want to continue to attract the best and the brightest students.”
IT offboarding requests can now be submitted through the Enterprise Service Centre
Starting in March 2020, University of Toronto managers, business officers and HR generalists will be able submit requests to decommission employee IT accounts directly through the University’s Enterprise Service Centre (ESC). This simplified solution will enable managers, business officers and HR staff across the University to streamline the IT offboarding process.
The employee IT accounts and services that can be decommissioned through the ESC are:
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- Employee email accounts
- Employee access to central enterprise systems such as AMS, ROSI and Quercus
To initiate the IT offboarding process through the ESC portal, please review the relevant knowledge article here and carefully follow the links and instructions. The submission form can also be found in the IT Service Centre’s service catalogue. Please note that you must be logged in to the ESC in order to view the article.
EASI launches new Office 365 website and welcomes the Digital Workplace team
Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration (EASI) is pleased to announce that the Digital Workplace team has launched new online spaces for the University of Toronto’s (U of T) cloud-based Office 365 service and the Managed Desktop Service. Formerly known as Client Services, the Digital Workplace team has joined EASI’s Enterprise Shared Services portfolio. With Digital Workplace, EASI is excited to be in a position to begin streamlining IT services with the assistance of the U of T community. Digital Workplace provides EASI’s clients with efficient ways to manage multiple devices in a secure environment, enabling users to work and collaborate from anywhere and receive remote or on-site IT support in real time.
The new Office 365 website offers a comprehensive guide to the wide range of Microsoft applications that are available to U of T staff, students and faculty. Included in these features are:
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- Product pages with descriptions of individual Office 365 applications and their key features.
- Access guides that outline who can access each application and where.
- Curated links to training resources.
- Easy-to-locate support contacts.
The website launch also includes the migration of the Microsoft Office Agreement site to a new SharePoint site and the migration of existing Office 365 and email tips, tricks and FAQs to the IT Service Centre. This integrative approach to centrally locating knowledge articles will enable users to search for information before submitting a ticket to the Enterprise Service Centre.
U of T’s Managed Desktop Service offerings will remain the same under the Digital Workplace/Enterprise Shared Services portfolio. The new Managed Desktop site provides users with quick access to important information such as support scope, specific services offered and key contacts.
Important information for IT staff
On February 28, the following Office 365 and Client Services websites will be deactivated:
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- office365.utoronto.ca
- microsoft.utoronto.ca
- clientcare.its.utoronto.ca
Existing links on your website properties may be impacted by these deactivations. We ask that you update your affected links with the new EASI, SharePoint and/or IT Service Centre URLs by March 5. The new links are as follows:
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- easi.its.utoronto.ca/shared-services/office365/
- utoronto.sharepoint.com/sites/its-MCA
- easi.its.utoronto.ca/shared-services/managed-desktop/
We welcome your feedback
We welcome your feedback on the new Office 365 and Managed Desktop websites.
Please submit your comments to Kathleen McLeod, Office 365 Services Engagement Coordinator at kathleen.mcleod@utoronto.ca.
EASI Retirements: March 2020
Congratulations to Diana Augustin, who will be retiring on March 31 after 20 years of dedicated service to the university.
Learn more about Diana below, and please join me in wishing her all the best in the future!
Cathy Eberts
Executive Director, Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
Diana (Dee) Augustin, Information Technology Specialist
Joined U of T: November 2, 1999
Retirement and last day in office: March 31, 2020
Describe your background and how you arrived at EASI
I started in IT in 1987 at a bank downtown. I went to work at Monsanto in Mississauga in 1990. In 1994, I started working as a sub-contractor for Quantum at Dofasco in Hamilton. By 1997, I began contracting on my own at Swiss Re Life Insurance. That is when I met some of the other Natural developers, Tricia Kay and Dharmesh Amalsadia. When that contract ended it was on to CIBC Mellon where I met Nicky Lai and Luzinda van Huyssteen also Natural developers. I also met Matt Hendrickson in passing at this time on one of our lunches. When 2000 was fast approaching, it seemed that the contract market was drying up somewhat, so most of us came to work at U of T as fulltime employees. Moving from contract to fulltime here was the best decision I ever made as I spent the next 20 years working with most of the same people and loving it.
What will you remember most about EASI?
I will remember that my colleagues became like a family to me. They were always willing to help and be supportive even when it was not always work related. I was lucky to be in a group of very intelligent people who were more than willing to teach and so I continued to learn and grow which meant I never got bored. I also was lucky enough to get the best managers ever!
What will you remember most about U of T?
U of T for me represents all the good things you would want an employer to be. Through the years, I had several personal challenges and found that they were always open and willing to help in any way possible. It was very special to me to have such an accommodating employer, as we are all such unique individuals with different things to contribute.
What do you plan to do in retirement?
I am hoping to get some of my bucket list items checked off, the first one being travel. After that, I would like to take some cooking classes and spend a lot more time with my granddaughter. Doing whatever I want, whenever I want sounds wonderful to me.
What words of wisdom would you pass along to others?
Enjoy every day as though it is your last. We are not promised tomorrow so try to live without regrets, as there are no do-overs. Be HAPPY!
Less paperwork, more productivity: U of T enhances support, systems for researchers
In 2013, U of T launched the My Research Application (MRA) to provide researchers, academic administrators and staff with a tool that ensures the effective, accurate and transparent management of research activities.
To date, close to 23,000 applications have moved through MRA in a well-defined approval process, ensuring visibility and awareness at multiple levels within the institution.
The system now includes over 1,000 annual non-funded research agreements supported by the Innovations & Partnerships Office (IPO) such as confidential disclosures, material and data transfer agreements. It’s a development that will help reduce administrative demands on U of T’s 2,800 researchers research.
“MRA has been a great productivity tool and we’re delighted to celebrate its expansion,” says Derek Newton, assistant vice-president, Innovation, Partnerships and Entrepreneurship. “MRA will now include a greater range of research agreements and these can be linked to research funds, regulatory permits or requirements and will make the process easier for our researchers.”
What’s Included in My Research Non-Funded Agreements?
- Confidential Disclosure Agreements
- Data Transfer Agreements
- Material Transfer Agreements
- Visiting Scientist IP Agreements
- Research Memoranda of Understanding
- Equipment Loan Agreements
- Non-Funded Collaboration Agreements
Not only does this application streamline processes for researchers, but it also gives department chairs and deans direct visibility into these agreements.
“This application helps me to see at a glance all of the non-funded agreements at the Faculty of Medicine – in the past, this information was stored in various locations, but now I can easily view everything on my computer or phone,” says Professor Richard Hegele, vice dean, Research & Innovation. “Kudos to the way this application was developed and rolled out – the team implemented feedback from multiple testing sessions and by and large it’s been a fairly smooth transition.”
The system also provides transparency to researchers.
“The system allows researchers to identify who to contact,” says Renee Brost, chief administrative officer of the Division of the Vice-President Research and Innovation. “They know what stage their agreements are at and can follow them through the process – much easier than tracking multiple emails. Plus, the new application stores documents so researchers can quickly refer to past information.”
But building a system to support the size and scope of U of T wasn’t an easy task.
“We have researchers accessing different types of materials or data from around the world,” says Newton. “These could include biological materials for medical research, or data that can improve classroom teaching methods and student success.”
Professor Yu Sun is familiar with the complexities. His research spans biomedical engineering and mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering.
“We collaborate with hospitals and industry, and need to have agreements in place. For example, we collaborate with clinics to test new devices for IVF treatment – for less invasive penetration of cells and for non-invasive selection of a single sperm with high DNA integrity. Instead of using hand-written forms, this application is efficient and easy to use – you just click through and submit!”
The non-funded application enhancement also uses a new user interface, which will be rolled out to the rest of My Research in the future. It’s part of a three-to five- year project, called the U of T Enterprise Modernization Project, which will transform the entire HR Talent Management Suite and the core HR, Research and Finance systems.
“We’re excited to put this new user interface from SAP into practice,” says Cathy Eberts, executive director of Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration. “Our goal is to provide a consistent, intuitive and streamlined user experience so that we can support our researchers and U of T’s mission.”
What’s next for My Research?
“We’re looking forward to continuous improvements in user experience,” says Brost. “Our goal is to support U of T’s mission by improving processes for our researchers so they can spend less time on paperwork and more time focusing on their work.”
Important Update on Compensation Planning Tool Project
For those who currently do compensation planning and budgeting at the University:
As you are likely aware, we have been working with Questica to develop a new cloud-based Compensation Planning Tool to better meet institutional and divisional needs.
To date, we have completed the requirements analysis, conducted validation, and configured most aspects of the system to meet U of T’s needs. During the configuration and development phase, the functionality and flexibility offered by Questica have met our expectations; however, when loading our large volume of complex data into the Compensation Planning Tool, we have recently experienced issues with adequate system performance and processing times.
We are currently working with the vendor on a plan to substantially improve performance in order to provide users with both accurate and timely budgeting information. However, this plan requires us to delay implementation of the new Compensation Planning Tool. As a result of this, and to ensure a smooth compensation planning process for the coming year, the B6 will continue to be used to plan compensation expenses for budget year 2020-2021 while we tune the Questica platform.
Thank you for your patience throughout this process and your input and participation to date. We look forward to providing you with updates as we work to optimize the system and provide a superior user experience for many years to come.
Questions?
Contact Darshan Harrinanan, EASI Project Manager, at darshan.harrinanan@utoronto.ca
Sincerely,
Planning & Budget Office
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI)