Registrar's Office 2002-03 Annual Report

Registrar's Office

Unit Annual Report

2002/2003

Personnel

Ruth Thielke — Director

Clare Strand — Assistant Registrar

Bonnie Gulbrandson — Student Support Services Assistant

Jeri Mullin — Student Support Services Assistant

Thelma Wilson — Principle Secretary (1/2 year)

Ide Hagg — Office Specialist (1/2 year)

Lori Borowski Office Specialist (1/3 time for ½ year) (full-time for ½ year)

Diane Kill — Office Assistant

Student Clerical Assistants —

Kelly Alsdurf (Fall 2002)

Alisha Block

Ramsay Bohm (Fall 2002)

Jennifer Gill (May Term & Summer 2003)
Jennifer Huselid (Summer 2003 )

Meghan Jensen

Rebekah Kilen

Stephanie Reid

Shantel Smith (Summer 2002)

Danielle Sonsteby (Spring 2003)

Purpose

It is the primary purpose of this unit to maintain official student academic records within FERPA guidelines. The mission is manifold including providing special services to help retain students, providing additional support services for graduating seniors; participation in all-University enterprise computing student records systems, publication of the UMM Class Schedule and other records publications and documents; issuance of academic transcripts; certification of attendance, degrees and awards; special exam, study abroad, and transfer credit evaluation; degree clearance; issuance of diplomas; compilation and distribution of various data reports for institutional research; service on UMM and all-University committees; and providing support for advising. The role of the Registrar's Office as the primary source of student academic and demographic information is of utmost importance to the functioning of the University of Minnesota, Morris. Storage of source document information including applications for admission, UMM transcripts, transcripts from transfer institutions, registrations, cancel-adds, degree application, transcript requests, grade reports, and miscellaneous administrative forms shape our function as the central student academic information bureau for the campus.

Functions

University of Minnesota Enterprise System for Registrar's Office Computing Functions

A. Work with All-Campus Group in design & operation of Enterprise system.

B. Work with All-Campus Group in development & enforcement of All-University academic policies.

C. Work with All-Campus Group in process flow and forms design.

D. Work with All-Campus Group in design and implementation of web self service functions and web publications.

E. Enforce FERPA regulations in release of confidential information and in providing staff access to computing systems and student academic files.

F. Update PeopleSoft tables on all student records data elements.

UMM's Academic Calendar

A. Prepare preliminary calendar for UMM.

B. Post UMM calendar on web.

C. Prepare and publish final examination schedule.

Transfer Student Services

A. Create from transfer catalogs transfer articulation tables and grade tables in DARwin.

B. Evaluate transfer credits in individual student records.

C. Enter transfer credits and produce TRAC reports in APAS displaying UMM general

education requirements.

D. Process applications for transfer within the University.

E. As UMM's Transfer Specialist, serve as contact for transfer colleges.

UMM Catalog

A. Contribute script for sections of catalog.

B. Assist in editing courses & degree requirements.

C. Distribute printed catalogs to students.

D. Provide link on Registrar's Office web page to web version of catalog.

E. Provide copies of course descriptions on demand of older catalogs.

Scheduling of Rooms and Courses

A. Forecasting of class enrollments and sections needed.

B. Room scheduling for classes and non-classroom use.

C. Schedule courses/sections for academic year.

D. Data entry of course schedule in PeopleSoft, Schedule 25.

E. Publish Class Schedule in web & PDF (Printable) formats.

F. Process schedule, room, and faculty changes.

Course Prerequisites

A. Assist disciplines in determination of appropriate prerequisites.

B. Assist Curriculum Committee in definition of prerequisites.

C. Build approved prerequisites into Class Schedule in PeopleSoft and on web.

Annual Planning

A. Work with Advising Office to develop memos to students.

B. Prepare APAS reports to accurately reflect student program/plan information.

APAS Reporting System

A. Build requirement tables for majors, minors, teaching licensure programs, and

UMM honors program.

B. Build articulation tables for transfer credit and quarter to semester articulations.

C. Build string, command, and repeat tables.

D. Monitor grade tables for UMM courses and transfer colleges.

E. Enter exceptions for transfer courses, course and requirement waivers, course

substitutions, catalog changes, adjustments to credit or course requirements,

and completion of non-course requirements as approved by academic

disciplines and the Scholastic Committee.

F. Provide web access to students, advisers, and appropriate staff.

Support Advising Effort

A. Explain degree requirements to advisers, students, and staff.

B. Work with students and families during times of trauma due to extenuating

circumstances.

C. Assist students experiencing academic difficulty.

D. Assist students interested in pursuing internships.

E. Assist students developing areas of concentration or areas of emphasis.

Consortium Agreements and Study Abroad

A. Provide prior approval to students for general education requirements.

B. Help students obtain prior approvals from faculty for major and minor

requirements.

C. Work with Financial Aid staff in approval process.

D. Assist students with enrollment in term following their off-campus study.

E. Transcript courses from consortium/study abroad term and make appropriate entries

into APAS system.

PeopleSoft Technical Support for Registrar's Office Functions

A. Provide training for our staff and other staff using Registrar's functions.

B. Maintain all tables for student academic records.

C. Monitor security access for staff working with PeopleSoft.

Web Development

A. Build Morris Registrar's web pages and links to student service web functions provided by TC campus.

B. Continually update web pages as changes occur.

Degree Program/Plan

A. Provide training for staff in our office and other offices updating student

majors, minors, teaching licensure, and honors program information.

B. Monitor and update changes in program/plan table for Morris campus.

C. Update information from degree applications.

D. Update information when clearing degrees to match completed plans.

Annual Planning

A. Provide instructions and planning materials on web for students and advisers.

B. Help students determine version of catalog for program/plan.

C. Process exceptions in APAS as reported by advisers.

D. Place & remove Annual Planning registration holds for advising visits.

Registration

A. Publish lists of courses recommended for freshmen.

B. Prepare set-up tables in PeopleSoft and on the web.

C. Brief Advisers and train staff who work with registration.

D. Notification of queue times, holds & process for clearing them.

E. Publish registration policies and procedures on the web.

F. Set enrollment max's and other types of access controls to courses.

G. Provide "magic" numbers to faculty for courses with controlled access.

H. Enter advising holds on freshmen and sophomore records.

I. Release advising holds when notified by advisers.

J. Provide registration system verification of student Health Insurance.

Wait Lists & Permission Numbers for Closed Courses

A. Monitor class size during enrollment to spread enrollment in sections.

B. Save spaces for freshmen and sophomores in lower division courses.

C. Provide and process Wait List forms for closed classes.

D. Assist students with time conflicts and closed courses.

E. Provide reports of wait list activity to division chairs and VCAA.

Student Name and Address

A. Maintenance of student addresses (various types), & phone info in PeopleSoft

B. Assign UMM P.O. Box numbers to students.

C. Prepare student address information for publication on web.

D. Update alumni addresses and phone numbers from transcript requests.

E. Develop name change forms and process student name changes.

Cancel-Add

A. Publish Cancel-Add Deadlines for approvals and grading policies.

B. Set up Cancel-Add deadlines in PeopleSoft enrollment tables.

C. Enforce withdrawal after 9^th week for one-time drop and extenuating circumstances.

D. Monitor refund deadlines in PeopleSoft for tuition reimbursement.

E. Publish refund schedule on web and assist Business Office in determining refunds.

Class Lists

A. Provide training for accessing Class Lists from Management Reports on web.

B. Work with All Campus Group on class list design and provision of faculty access.

Course Inventory

A. Work with All Campus Group in developing Course Inventory reporting system.

B. Provide assistance to division secretaries as they compile data for reports.

C. Oversee collection of data and reporting for UMM campus.

Institutional Data Reporting

A. Provide data summaries of enrollment statistics.

B. Provide ad hoc reports of institutional data.

C. Provide student origin report.

Cancellations from College

A. Serve as a contact for students and their families.

B. Recommend visits with adviser, Counseling Center, & other units.

C. Develop cancellation forms.

D. Process cancellations.

E. Work with Financial Aid to determine financial impact to student.

F. Work with the VCSA and Scholastic Committee to enforce policies.

Grading System

A. Provide grade reporting system and train faculty and staff in its use.

B. Publish grade policy on web and explain grading system.

C. Monitor grade reporting activity to encourage faculty to meet grading deadlines.

D. Process grade changes.

Athletic Eligibility

A. Assist with verification of athletic eligibility.

B. Sign eligibility certification rosters for each sport each term of participation.

Certifications & Transcripts

A. Provide certifications of attendance, G.P.A., degrees, good student discounts.

B. Issue transcripts in accordance with FERPA regulations.

C. Provide transcript service in person, by fax, same day and rush service.

D. Charge, collect and report transcript fees.

E. Convert linen transcript to PeopleSoft.

F. Post transcript memos and degrees awarded.

Commencement

A. Process degree applications.

B. Determine list of eligible degree candidates.

C. Prepare official list of candidates for Commencement Program.

D. Assist in planning Senior Salute Day & Commencement Ceremony.

E. Prepare and distribute index cards to seniors to be read at Commencement Ceremony.

Student Service to Seniors

A. Meet with seniors early in fall to initiate degree applications.

B. Conduct individual senior appointment to answer questions on degree requirements.

C. Correspond with faculty and students (20-50 messages and phone calls per day).

D. Process exceptions approved by advisers, disciplines, & Committee in APAS.

E. Between fall & spring semesters notify seniors of missing requirements on APAS.

Degree Clearance

A. Review all candidates' APAS to determine completion of all degree requirements.

B. Send lack notices to degree candidates whose degrees did not clear.

C. Order and issue diplomas for graduates without holds on their records.

D. Notify graduates of holds that prevent them from receiving their diplomas.

Teaching Licensure

A. Develop APAS reports for licensure requirements.

B. Work intensively with education staff on review of APAS reports.

C. Assist education staff in communication with faculty and division chairpersons.

D. Assist education staff in communication with school superintendents and state

teaching licensure boards.

Committee Service and Association Memberships

A. Ex-Officio member on Curriculum Committee.

B. Ex-Officio member on Functions & Awards Committee.

C. Ex-Officio member on Scholastic Committee.

D. Member of UMM Administrative Committee.

E. Member of UMM Campus Assembly.

F. Member of UMM Consultative Committee.

G. Member of University of Minnesota All Campus Group.

H. Member of Upper Midwest Assn of Registrars and Collegiate Admissions Officers.

I. Member of Minnesota Transfer Specialists for Minnesota Transfer Curriculum.

Evaluation

PeopleSoft Version 8.0 Upgrade

Version 8.0 of PeopleSoft was successfully installed in Spring semester 2003. The upgrade was rolled out just as UMM Registrar's Office staff began enrolling students for Fall 2003 classes. Trainers from the Twin Cities campus tried to cover all units in a whirlwind visit. Staff did not have an adequate opportunity to become familiar with the new web based version of PeopleSoft before they were expected to use it with our customers. Staff made it work, and have now become proficient, making excellent use of the new upgrade to serve customers.

DARwin

In October 2002, DARS (Degree Audit and Reporting System), which is the backbone for the University of Minnesota's APAS (Academic Progress Audit System), was replaced with the new windows product, DARwin. After kinks were worked out of the system, the ability to use the transfer tables was a tremendous improvement. We can now store transfer decisions that are made about courses on transfer institution tables, doing away with the previous ad hoc nature of transfer decisions that affected one student at a time. The time involved in creating the transfer articulation tables, however, is rather daunting. The CAS project will be rolled out Fall 2003, and without a staff member to create the transfer articulation tables, Morris does not have tables ready for that release. Additional staff is needed if UMM is to be "on the page" in this web release that will be used by potential students and academic advisers at our transfer institutions.

Mid-Term Alert System

The Mid-Term Alert grade reporting system was implemented in fall 2002. The participation of the web grading team at UMM in 2001-2002 helped greatly in the system design to include concerns of faculty from the Coordinate Campuses. Faculty are not required to use the Mid-Term Alert system at the Morris campus, but were encouraged to do so as a preliminary step to become familiar with reporting grades on the web. The look and feel of the web grading system would be similar.

Web Grading System

The support of the VCAA and Division Chairs to require that all grades be entered on the web grading system and to encourage all faculty to enter their own grades was also a key to the success of web grading at UMM. Demos were given in division meetings in each of the academic divisions on campus which were well attended. Discussions among the faculty brought further encouragement from peers to "get on board" and use the new system. There were some bugs that were quickly addressed by the web development team on the TC campus. Staff in the Registrar's Office made office visits on call to help faculty use web grading on their own computers. The UMM campus had the highest percentage of grades recorded on time of the four U of Minn campuses.

Conversion of Approximately 13,000 Morris Student academic transcripts

Conversion of legacy transcripts to PeopleSoft was for all practical purposes completed by December, 2002. There are a very small number of transcripts that need to be updated with transfer credits for some of the older records. If any of these students have requested transcripts, their records have been converted. The few remaining records will be finalized in Summer 2004.

Registrar's Office web pages

Our web pages are perhaps more frequently accessed than any other web site on campus. We need to continue to provide expert support for web design and development as most of our service is now available both in person and on the web. Students expect high quality interactive response from self service systems that are intuitive and complete with excellent migration tools and links to related information and services. The Registrar's Office web site became a class project for a CSCI web software course during the early summer 2003. Working together with the Twin Cities Registrar's Office web team, UMM students and faculty developed a course search engine that was finished by the TC team. All web pages on the Registrar's site are continually monitored and revised as information is updated, and as new features and improvements are requested by our customers.

Prerequisite Project

The prerequisite information that was gathered in 2001-2003 was routed through the Curriculum Committee and Campus Assembly last year. The new prerequisite information was updated in the Course information in Peoplesoft, and in the UMM Class Schedule. Faculty selected courses they wanted to have the prerequisite checking feature activated in PeopleSoft. We are working with faculty and students to understand this new feature and the need to approve transfer exceptions and other types of exceptions to the UMM course prerequisites the registration system is able to handle.

Web Registration for New Student Registration

The Registrars Office worked with the Admissions Office to eliminate registration lines for the new students who enroll for fall classes during the summer. Andy Lopez helped set up labs in the Science Building for use by advisers and their new student registration groups. Each registration day more groups were added, until during the final day all new students were registered in the computer labs. The students learned to use the web registration system very quickly, and seemed happy to be in charge of their section selection process. They didn't seem to feel at the mercy of a staff member. New students are also familiar with web technology, and seemed to appreciate the University of Minnesota's web registration system and web Class Schedule with current section status registration tallies that helped them select open sections.

Transfer Articulation Agreements

In spring semester the Registrar was contacted by Alexandria Technical College requesting the formation of transfer articulation agreements with the Morris campus. Alex TC was contacting several baccalaureate degree granting institutions in MNSCU and the U of MN to establish articulation agreements. Their history of cooperation with the Morris campus was one they wanted to continue. UMM's VCAA encouraged the Registrar to work with faculty to examine the curricula at not only Alex TC, but also Fergus Falls CC and Ridgewater CC to determine transferable courses in a few of the majors at UMM where transfer articulation is now working. These could be discussed with the other three college academic administrators and if new programs emerge the plans would be brought to the Curriculum Committees and Campus Assembly for approval as needed. The Registrar worked with the Psychology discipline coordinator on various pathways for students from Fergus Falls CC, Ridgewater CC & TC, and Alex TC to satisfy requirements for the LAHS major and presented them to UMM's VCAA.

Creation of PDF Class Schedule

With budgetary cutbacks, the decision was made to discontinue the printing of a paper version of the Class Schedule. Colleges across the nation have discontinued their printed versions. Only a handful of colleges in the upper Midwest still provide paper copies. To address the concern of faculty and students who prefer a printed version, a PDF version of the Class Schedule was created and made available on the web for ease in downloading to a printer.

Office Redesign

The stage area of the Registrar's Office was removed in the summer of 2003. Staff were given more working space. In addition, the window area was changed from a staff service area, to a self service area with staff instruction on use of self service features on the web. Some painting was done, but touchup needs completion during the semester break between fall 2003 and spring 2004.

Major Changes Recommended/Plans for 2003-2004

A. There is much work remaining on development of Transfer Articulation Agreements with Fergus Falls TC, Ridgewater CC & TC, and Alex TC. Visits with academic administrators need to be arranged to agree upon a design for the articulation agreements in various forms. Articulation plans can include use of transfer courses in existing programs, use of Areas of Concentration, and the exploration of other degree options where technical programs can be used which would include depth at the baccalaureate level with an accompaniment of strengthening the liberal arts base.

B. Office renovation although begun in 2002-2003 will need to continue for several years as budget can become available. The Registrar's Office is one of the heaviest student traffic areas on campus where students receive on-going one-on-one help from staff within the office. Keeping sensitive confidential materials on staff desks and computers secure is a serious concern as well as space. Ventilation pipes snake exposed across the ceiling. Noise, air circulation, and lighting are problems increasing illness among the staff. Work stations from the 1960's era need replacement to bring them up to the university's ergonomics standards. Office chairs are tattered and falling apart.

C. Web self service access to official transcripts on line is "on the burner". We have had some delays related to the payment mechanism on the web.

E. The University is working to improve functionality in student and faculty access to

student data on the web through Management Reports.

F. Imaging would improve accessibility and retention of documents that now reside in student's academic personnel files.

G. The discontinuation of the Class Schedule in printed form will need to be addressed by

advising and registration staff.

H. Along with DARwin, the University of Minnesota has entered into a project for

implementing the Course Applicability System (CAS), with MNSCU. The CAS system

will be housed on MNSCU's web site for Minnesota Transfer Curriculum information. This will be rolled out for Fall 2003 on the TC campus, but the Morris campus will need greater staff support devoted to creation of the articulation tables that include entire college catalogs, rather than individual courses from transfer students' transcripts.

APPENDIX I

Due to the implementation of the new (PeopleSoft) student information system and the switch from quarters to semesters, all reports of student information have been revised. In general, historical comparisons are more complicated, and several reports are not available or inaccessible at this time. Therefore, to view enrollment statistics, the Registrar's Office suggests the following websites provided by Peter Zetterberg, Office of Institutional Research and Reporting and Nancy Helsper, Director of Institutional Research, UMM Academic Affairs.

http://www.irr.umn.edu

http://www.morris.umn.edu/academic/instres.html

The following are a summary of some of the activities where tabulations are available, but certainly do not represent all of the service that occurs in the Registrar's Office:

Hits on Registrar's Office Web Pages Since Aug 15, 2000

Registrar's Office Home Page 251,620

Web Registration & Resources 231,343 (averages 4,000 per day during queue times)

Student Grade Reports 75,168

Transcript Request Forms 25,562

APAS access on-line 19,270

Forms to download 7,058

Office personnel & services 6,921

Graduation Services & info 6,622

Policies 4,530

Transfer Actions

Student Transcript Evaluations 639

Change of College forms processed 36

Student Requested Reports

Certification of attendance and degrees 792

Official transcripts issued 3,326

Unofficial transcripts issued 145

Reciprocity Students

Wisconsin North Dakota South Dakota Total

Fall 2002 36 26 40 102

Spring 2003 35 25 36 96

Total Students 71 51 76 198

2002-2003 Course Enrollments

Fall 2002	CCE	Acad Aff	Div Educ	Div Hum	Div Sci/M	Div SSci	Total Course Enr
Reg Acad Session	192	650	580	2546	2864	2187	9019
First Half Term	25	11	145	0	13	137	331
Second Half Term	24	20	171	0	11	53	279
Extended Term	4	0	144	29	15	13	205
Total Course Enr	245	681	1040	2575	2903	2390	9834

2002-2003 Course Enrollments Continued

Spring 2002	CCE	Acad Aff	Div Educ	Div Hum	Div Sci/M	Div SSci	Total Course Enr
Reg Acad Session	194	162	388	2269	2762	2202	7977
First Half Term	41	17	160	13	29	189	449
Second Half Term	33	43	148	8	9	112	353
Extended Term	27	0	0	0	0	0	27
Total Course Enr	295	222	696	2290	2800	2503	8806

Summer 2003	CE	Acad Aff	Div Ed	Div Hum	Div Sci/M	Div SSci	Total Enr
Reg Acad Session	42	19	25	7	0	17	110
May Session	6	6	20	31	21	12	96
First Half Term	8	1	0	57	23	64	153
Second Half Term	0	3	5	25	53	45	131
Extended Reg Sess	41	21	1	24	11	24	122
Extended May Sess	0	29	0	56	0	0	85
Total Course Enr	97	79	51	200	108	162	697

5 Year Basic Data

Fiscal Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

New Freshmen (NHS) 534 549 457 474 480

Headcount 1952 1917 1855 1842 1927

Ethnicity (%)

American Indian 5.5% 6.5% 6.8% 5.9% 6.4%

Asian/Pacific Islander 2.4% 2.7% 2.5% 2.6% 2.9%

African American 5.6% 5.5% 5.2% 5.6% 4.7%

Chicano/Hispanic 1.6% 1.1% 1.2% 1.4% 1.4%

International 1.3% 0.4% 0.8% 0.3% 0.8%

Caucasian 83.3% 82.8% 83.0% 81.5% 80.4%

Not Reported 0.4% 0.9% 0.5% 2.7% 3.4%

Gender (%)

Female 57.3% 59.6% 58.7% 57.2% 59.3%

Male 42.7% 40.4% 41.1% 42.1% 40.6%

Unknown 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 0.7% 0.2%

Residency (%)

Resident 82.9% 82.2% 81.9% 84.5% 84.5%

Non-Resident 17.1% 17.8% 18.1% 15.5% 15.5%

Total FYE 1910 1799 1854 1904 na

Degrees Awarded 345 351 321 299 339

Total Degrees to date 10,263 (June '03)

APPENDIX II

Grade Submissions & Grade Distribution/Day Classes

Grades

Fall

2002

Spring

2003

Summer

2003

Annual

Total

2332

27.4%

2067

25.9%

200

30%

4599

26.8%

A-

956

11.2%

848

10.6%

8.2%

1859

10.8%

B+

808

9.5%

678

8.5%

6.7%

1531

8.9%

1016

11.9%

917

11.5%

8.5%

1990

11.6%

B-

492

5.8%

437

5.5%

2.2%

944

5.5%

C+

353

4.2%

336

4.2%

1.6%

700

4.1%

465

5.5%

506

6.3%

3.1%

992

5.8%

C-

224

2.6%

192

2.4%

1.1%

423

2.5%

D+

.9%

.8%

.6%

142

.8%

169

2.0%

164

2.1%

.5%

336

2.0%

287

3.4%

249

3.1%

1.2%

544

3.2%

1.0%

108

1.4%

6.45

238

1.4%

.2%

.4%

1.5%

.4%

.3%

911

10.7%

1084

13.6%

152

22.7%

2147

12.5%

.01%

.006%

293

2.4%

269

3.4%

3.6%

586

3.4%

.01%

.2%

.1%

Blank

.01%

2.1%

.1%

Total

8514

49.6%

7991

46.5%

669

3.9%

17,174

100.0%

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