Events

Optimize Celebration 11/7/13

Signed Optimize Wall

Remember when the Optimize wall was bare?

Let’s celebrate all we’ve accomplished together over the past two years!

Please join us for refreshments, music, and fun as we mark the culmination of
Optimize Puget Sound and all the hard work everyone has put into making this project happen.

Thursday, November 7, 2013
4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Wheelock Rotunda

This is a major milestone for our campus, so please share
with everyone in your area so they can join the celebration!

Thanks, Farewell, and Let’s Party!

As finals draw to a close, students are packing up and heading out for the summer. Alas, the class of 2013 will not return in the fall, which means we must say good-bye to three student staff members of the Optimize team. They are:

SONY DSC
Erin Byrne – For the past two years, Erin has contributed to the project in many ways, particularly as a creative resource. We very much appreciate her excellent contributions to the Optimize SoundNet site and other project communications.

SONY DSCKenzie Miller – Kenzie’s bright smile and good nature have been invaluable assets during her two years on the project. We are grateful for her adaptability, as she has jumped in with minimal direction and supervision to tackle any task asked of her.

ShelbyShelby Lee – Shelby came on board this year and contributed greatly in her time with us. As a major in computer science, she was put right to work helping build queries in PeopleSoft and performing many other technical tasks.

Congratulations to all three graduates, and special thanks for all you have done to enrich the university and further this project. We wish you the very best for the future!

Today also marks the departure of MIS, the firm that has been with us through the core implementation of PeopleSoft. Moving forward, we will utilize outside consultants as needed to assist in refinements and enhancements to the system.

So, now it’s time to celebrate the implementation of the Campus Solutions module. Please join us for cake and other refreshments Thursday, May 23, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the garden level of Howarth Hall. This will be a great opportunity to catch our collective breath as we congratulate the team and express our thanks for a job well done!

Student Financials Goes Live

On Monday, April 22, the student financials portion of Campus Solutions went live in PeopleSoft, allowing students to see their accounts and due dates through Student Center. This follows implementation of the early decision process by Student Financial Services last December.

With this latest go-live behind them, the Campus Solutions team is ready to party! Please plan to attend the implementation celebration Thursday, May 23, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the garden level of Howarth Hall. This will be a great opportunity to congratulate these hard-working folks on all they’ve achieved while enjoying some delicious cake and other tasty refreshments as well.

On the HR side, Benefits Administration is now in production and a group of beta users are trying out the functionality in order to fine tune things and develop training materials. Most campus members won’t interact with this component of the system until open enrollment in the fall. But Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Career and Employment Services Cindy Matern is pleased with what she’s been seeing, noting that “it’s going to be a good system.” HR also continues to work with Career and Employment Services on the new employment recruiting system set to go live May 3.

Lots to Celebrate!

The HR module team: (l-r) Cindy Matern, Katie Holmes, Shannon Briggs, Andrea Shea, Jeff Strong, Mona Lawrence, Ana Burns-Johnson, Scott Dunham, Jessie Carter, and Nancy Nieraeth.

In case you missed it, there was a rockin’ party in the lower level of Howarth Hall this past Monday afternoon to celebrate the accomplishments of the HR module team! Colleagues, dignitaries, and just general fans came by to congratulate team members on going live and making payroll in the new system (twice now!).

There was  greeting, eating, and, of course, music to enjoy. All team members autographed the individual HR logo sign, and team leads Jessie Carter (general HR), Katie Holmes (payroll), Mona Lawrence (Career and Employment Services), and Shannon Briggs and Ana Burns-Johnson (benefits) added their signatures to the Optimize wall in the project lab.

Kudos, too, to the Financials team, which went live this week with the Wells Fargo Payment Manager! The team is now focused on refining various aspects of this most helpful tool which provides one source for the processing of internal and external payments of all forms.

The Campus Solutions team is making significant progress as they prepare to roll out components of their module over the next few weeks.  The Office of the Registrar is verifying enrollment data, building reports, and tracking graduation, among other things. Student Financial Services has been working on such items as the student checklist for financial aid, federal application processing, financial aid packaging terms, and the interface with the general ledger and third-party payment system, Nelnet.

Academic Vice President and Dean of the University Kris Bartanen sent a message to faculty this week detailing expected changes with the go-live of Campus Solutions on March 25. Training is planned for faculty and administrative staff during the weeks of March 4 and March 11 in various academic buildings on campus. Topics will include tasks related to course schedule, class lists and management of courses, and advising. More information will be sent to faculty as it becomes available.

Human Resources Team Processes Payroll

The Human Resources team has reason to celebrate after successfully completing the first payroll processing in PeopleSoft.  This achievement marks several months of hard work by the team and will be celebrated with a party Monday, January 28th from 3:00 – 4:00pm in the lower level of Howarth Hall. Please join us to show appreciation for the effort of everyone who made this go live possible.

Round one of Program Plan validation was completed by the Campus Solutions team. The team continues to work through the remaining configuration and data conversion tasks as they begin the home stretch towards the March 25 go live.

A Time to Celebrate!

Jody Putman signs the Optimize sign.

Jody Putman signs the Optimize wall.

A cheerful group of campus members gathered yesterday in the lower level of Howarth Hall to celebrate the successful implementation of PeopleSoft Financials. The event featured refreshments, cake, live music, and lots of opportunities to visit and reflect on the accomplishments of the Financials team. Team leads added their signatures to the large wall sign in the Optimize computer lab, and representatives from Accounting and Budget Services autographed a Financials logo sign to place in their department.

Meanwhile, the Human Resources team participated in some final discovery sessions on core HR functionality, time and labor, benefits, and payroll. They are looking forward to their first Fit-Gap sessions next week.

Training on purchasing and budget administration continued this week as well. We greatly appreciate the good feedback we’ve gotten from participants in training sessions. Such comments and suggestions are very helpful as we plan and conduct future sessions.

The Financials celebration this week marked a significant milestone in this important project. We happily anticipate more celebrations as the Human Resources and Campus Solutions teams move forward with their work!

Financials Marks Milestone, Campus Reviews Registration

The Financials team reached an exciting milestone Monday with the presentation and review of their first Fit-Gap summaries. These documents are critical in guiding the configuration and testing of the system which is scheduled to go live in July. MIS is now integrating feedback from the team as they set up the module.  

Discovery sessions for the Campus Solutions team focused on registration. The group was particularly happy to learn the new system will automate some important processes currently done manually.

Those who attended last week’s Higher Education User Group (HEUG) conference in Nashville shared their experiences with campus colleagues in a one-hour session on Monday. Learning the meaning of technical jargon, networking with counterparts from other institutions, and building rapport with Puget Sound colleagues were cited among numerous benefits of the conference.

Jody Putman of Accounting and Budget Services sends a big thank you to those 80 respondents who heeded her call to take the Budget Administration survey.  If you did not get a chance to complete the survey, please contact Jody at jputman@pugetsound.edu.

HEUG and Other Happenings

This week, over 3000 people from 24 countries attended the annual conference of the Higher Education User Group (HEUG) in Nashville, TN. Fourteen members of the Optimize team were among them! Three and a half days of wall-to-wall sessions provided excellent opportunities to network and learn from other institutions utilizing PeopleSoft. Project Manager Travis Nation noted that “learning what not to do is as valuable as learning what works.” A debrief on the conference is scheduled for Monday, March 26.  If you are interested in attending, please contact Emily Precht-Patterson at 253.879.2596 or eprecht@pugetsound.edu.   

Meanwhile, back in the Underground at Puget Sound, the Campus Solutions team participated in remote discovery sessions on tuition calculation. The Financials team engaged in productive discussions on annual budget processes. 

Project Coordinator Emily Precht-Patterson provided an overview for team members who access the Optimize SoundNet site (requires Puget Sound login). The site is a key tool for facilitating collaboration and managing the wealth of documents related to the project. To learn more about SoundNet, see the schedule of training sessions offered by Technology Services.

Survey on Budget Administration Now Available

Jody Putman of Accounting and Budget Services is managing a survey on the Optimize SoundNet site to gather campus input on budget administration. The survey has 10 questions and takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Survey results will aid in designing the new Chart of Accounts (COA). Please complete the survey by Monday, March 26. For any questions about the survey, please contact Jody at jputman@pugetsound.edu.

This week the Financials team marked an important milestone in the data conversion process by loading the first set of test data in the new system. Procurement module work focused on the approval workflow structure, while Jessica Ewald and Robbie de Leur from MIS worked on site with the Campus team to map admission and academic processes. 

Several campus representatives are heading out for the annual conference of the Higher Education User Group (HEUG) scheduled to begin Sunday in Nashville, TN. Hope everyone packed their shorts, since the forecast is for temperatures in the 80s during the conference! Besides soaking up a little sun, it will be a great opportunity for our team to engage with colleagues from similar institutions who use PeopleSoft and other Oracle applications.

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