Graduate Aid Redesign Project
Kickoff Meeting (02/01/2000)

  1. Integration with Payroll is CRITICAL (Some quotes from Departmental users):

    2.  

    Dept A:

    If Payroll is not on board, why are we doing this?

    Dept. B:

    Last term ALL of my problems were with Payroll.

    Maria:

    Payroll’s main concern seems to be with taking changes electronically. We were thinking that maybe we could pass them the NEW appointments electronically, but still having them manually review the changes.

    Dept. B:

    But all of our problems were with getting Payroll to process our changes correctly!

    Dept. A:

    We split our full year appointments in Fall and Spring just so we wouldn’t have to ask Payroll to process any changes half way through.

    Note: This department decided to DOUBLE its data entry. It was easier to use MITSIS’s clunky interface to enter the same data twice (Fall and Spring) than to communicate to Payroll that some small percentage of their students needed to be switched from an RA to a TA or some other type of change mid-way through the year.

    Dept. C:

    Someone should maintain a list of who to call at Payroll. It’s one person for Fellowships, another for TAs.

    Dept. D:

    And another for RAs.

    Dept. E:

    And you have to talk to each one separately. Half of the problem gets fixed and the other half doesn’t.

    Maria:

    What about having to update MITSIS with SANDI changes?

    Dept F:

    I don’t have a problem with SANDI adjustments not being made through MITSIS. The Accounting Officer for our department sits right next to me and tells me about them.

    Dept G :

    I look at the SANDI and I can’t even tell which appointments on the SANDI maps to an appointment in MITSIS. Some don’t even show up.

    Dept F:

    That’s right. If it is an out of department appointment, they can make changes and I don’t even know about it. My Accounting Officer doesn’t even know about it.

  2. Training
    3.

    Plan training early. Even if it means doing it with screens that are not quite finished.

    Don’t make it too close to data entry deadlines.

  3. Same slowness/problems experienced by Grad. Admissions?
    4.

    If the new system is going to "reside" on the same machine as Grad. Admissions, are the problems we recently encountered there going to happen to this system.

    Answer: Hopefully not. ODSUE/IT has been addressing the Grad. Admissions problems and has plans to buy a new machine in a few months to replace the system that was originally "sized" for just WEBSIS but now houses Grad. Admissions.

    à Make sure System’s people think of the new Grad. Aid system when they buy the new machine.

  4. Bouncing to GEO for approval
    5.

    Too many appointments bounce to the GEO for approval.

    à We need to reduce the number.

    Some really do need approval. Some are due to student coding inconsistencies (Doctoral student not coded as such in MITSIS). Some are due to the standard stipend table not being correct.

    We discussed the idea of creating Model Appointments and having the GEO approval the models. Then anyone getting one of the Model Appointments is automatically approved.

  5. Need for Flexibility/Ability to Override Edits
    6.

    Keep the RN category. Sometimes all we are doing are RN’s!

    (Note: RN’s are where the Stipend accounts do not have to follow the Tuition accounts).

  6. Ability to UPLOAD spreadsheet data
    7.

    It would be great if we could type in the student and what type of appointment he/she got in a spreadsheet off line maybe and then upload them. This is especially true for new appointments.

    But people shied away from doing away completely with the data entry screens.

  7. Tie in with OSP
    8.

    Get OSP involved. All to often we are waiting for a new account from OSP and need to wait until it gets into the system.

    è We need to plug into the OSP system. At least connect with them in the design.

  8. Use of Suspense Accounts
    9.

    We’ve been told not to use them, but sometimes we have to get the student paid.

    Sometimes we are just waiting for the account from OSP.

    Sometimes we are guaranteed funding from an outside source but we can’t hold up the student.

  9. Make more data available for reporting and extraction
    10.

    (a) In the display by ACCOUNT -- Can we view data by more then just the term?

    (b) Can we have the work area data available in the DW?

    (c) Can we have the "sponsor" and sponsor type available and not just the account description?

  10. Planning and Budgetting
    11.

    à Getting enrollment counts and $$ for building Slots.

    Some said We don’t do that

    Others said Yes that’s great.

  11. MacDonald’s Ordering System
    12.

People liked the idea of having model appointments that can be applied to individual students.

He’ll have a number 1.

She’ll have a number 6.

Etc.
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MITDate last modified: 2/3/2000 by the GARP Team