October 2021 IT Projects

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Cloud Based Storage – Box to OneDrive Migration

The UMS will end its license for University-managed Box accounts on 9/30/21. Communications were sent to all users with Box accounts that remained open for external collaboration, and they were asked to complete a form to indicate whether they had an ongoing need to collaborate. If the need exists, instructions were sent on transitioning their UMS account to a free Box account. The Box icon has been removed from all campus portals.

Dell Connected Configuration Service

The University of Maine System has started work to leverage Dell’s factory imaging services, which will mean that a standard image will already be on computers when they arrive on campuses.  The work of the project team will be done in two phases – the infrastructure aspects such as VPN configuration and deployment server provisioning, and then the deployment work which will encompass the imaging and provisioning process. Project objectives include increased efficiencies in procuring and deploying PC hardware and improved customer satisfaction through a more streamlined procurement/deployment process.

Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant

The Northern Light Equipment Loan Agreement has been fully executed and we are awaiting vendor information so equipment can be ordered for UMS health partner locations. Some equipment purchased with the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant has been installed at UMFK, UMPI, and UMF. Additional equipment will be installed at these and other campus locations in the coming months.

Grants Management Solution  (Kuali)

This project will implement Kuali’s pre-and post-award solution that will provide enterprise-level grants management to support multiple campuses. Efforts are currently focused on Pre-Award configurations and initial configuration testing, as well as business analysis and planning, including regarding data migration. Additionally, the technical team has successfully developed and performed the initial load of the HR integration data to the sandbox environment.

MaineStreet UX Enhancements

The full Launch of the Student Center (aka the HighPoint Campus Experience module) successfully occurred on August 9. A Student Center button was added to the myCampus portal LaunchPads, providing direct navigation for students to access the updated Student Center and complete tasks and activities via the mobile-friendly and accessible interface. Faculty and professional advisors can access the Student Center via a tile on their MaineStreet Faculty Homepage, allowing them to view their advisees’ information and use the “Act as User” function to replicate the student’s view and aid in the advising process. The Implementation Team will monitor and address support requests and general feedback throughout the start of the fall semester and is currently transitioning to the project closeout phase.

Repaving MaineStreet

The Repaving MaineStreet initiative will be comprised of three primary projects: Implementations of HR and Finance cloud platforms, and a reimplementation of PeopleSoft Campus Solutions. The overarching goal is to implement the opportunities for improvement identified during the ERP Assessment that will optimize processes and technology to support the University of Maine System’s strategic objectives, particularly the requirements driven by Unified Accreditation. The following efforts are currently underway in preparation for the Repaving MaineStreet initiative:

  • Consultations with functional area leads for HR, Finance, and Student systems are being conducted to verify the level of priority assigned to opportunities identified during the ERP Assessment. This work will be followed by mapping the prioritized opportunities into distinct projects.
  • Demos of Oracle’s Finance and HCM cloud platforms have been scheduled. The purpose of the demos is to determine if Oracle’s cloud platforms can support the opportunities and requirements identified during the ERP Assessment or if a review of other solutions is necessary.

Preparations are underway for an RFP process to select a Repaving MaineStreet Implementation Partner that will work with the UMS during all phases of the initiative including planning, business process review, design, build, validation, transition, and initial post-go-live support. Additionally, the vendor will collaborate with the UMS to determine the appropriate resource allocation levels (functional and technical) required to complete the individual projects within the UMS’s target timeframe and will partner with the UMS to provide personnel who will work collectively as a team to make the project a success.

Team Dynamix – Knowledge Management

US:IT is excited to announce the recent internal launch of its new knowledge base! We began using the new system for internal knowledge articles and will be introducing it to the public later in the fall semester.  Along with new knowledge base software, we are making changes to our processes to document issues and questions quicker and more efficiently.

The goal of our new Knowledge Management system is to improve self-service resources for all students, faculty, and staff and to improve the ability of our help-desk staff to access answers quickly.

USM Website

This project is focused on building a new USM website based on the standard USM WordPress theme with development as necessary to meet functional requirements. Current efforts are focused on site design, fit/gap assessments of technical solutions to functional requests, and custom feature/tool development.