Page 19 - OIT Progress Report: 2023 Edition

Improving Enterprise Systems for Faculty & Staff
BUILDING ON THE COMPLETION OF DEGREE PLANNER, THE DIVISION OF ENROLLMENT SERVICES RECOGNIZED AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE THE REQUEST PROCESS FOR CHANGES TO DEGREE SEQUENCES. TO MEET THE CHALLENGE, WE CREATED A CUSTOM SOLUTION USING MICROSOFT POWERAPPS TO SUPPORT DEGREE PLANNER ISSUES AND REQUESTS. OIT BUILT THE POWERAPP TO ALLOW FACULTY AND STAFF TO REPORT DEGREE PLANNER ISSUES, TRACK THE STATUS OF THOSE REQUESTS TO COMPLETION, AND PROVIDE A CENTRAL TRACKING FOR THE ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT TEAM. “THE OIT TEAM WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN CREATING THE NEW DEGREE PLANNER ISSUES/REQUESTS TRACKER,” SAYS WESTON SIMMONS, ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT SPECIALIST.
Administrators use the Grade Point Average (GPA) for many reasons, including scholarship eligibility, Greek
life, and group membership. OIT staff worked with the Division of Enrollment Services to create a new user- friendly dashboard that takes GPA data from my.SMU into a simple-to-use dashboard. The dashboard harnesses the power of Tableau and simplifies searching by using several filters that can be applied in one place.
The team continues to improve processes for faculty and staff. Over the past year, we introduced new functionality to my.SMU that supports the inventory, tracking, and billing of grant-sponsored research. The implementation is a significant improvement for the team that manages grants and contract accounting while also setting the stage for improved tools for Principal Investigators. For example, milestones now indicate essential dates, such as closeout preparation. Over the academic year, we will work with Principal Investigators and departments to improve
“ With this new tool, faculty and staff
will be able to easily submit Degree Planner issues in a centralized location, as well as keep up
to date with any progress made on their requests. In addition, the tool will assist the Academic Advisement
team with the organization and prioritization
of requests to streamline the request process and fix issues promptly. We are certain the tool will be a great asset to both our team and the rest of the university.”
WESTON SIMMONS,
MANAGER FOR DEGREE PLANNER
ImPROvInG EnTERPRISE SySTEmS FOR FAculTy & STAFF
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