This year, the Educational Programs Committee (EPC) partnered with OIT to enhance the efficiency and consistency of program proposals. In collaboration with the Provost’s Office, this initiative focused on simplifying the submission and approval process for faculty proposing new programs, adding classes, or discontinuing existing ones—all through DocuSign. Continue reading Streamlining Educational Program Proposals for the EPC Website
Author: Laurene Klassen
Laurene is the Director of SMU’s IT Training & Communications Team. She enjoys reading, writing, and outdoor activities with her family in her spare time.
Quick Calc: A Game-Changer for Payroll Efficiency
When Oracle recently introduced a Quick Calc feature for PeopleSoft, Business Analyst Christina George recognized its potential to streamline payroll processes. After learning about the new functionality and its ability for paychecks to be calculated for an individual employee, rather than running a batch calc process each time any change is made during payroll processing, Christina knew she had to move forward with this implementation. Based on feedback and recommendations from the Oracle user community, Christina Continue reading Quick Calc: A Game-Changer for Payroll Efficiency
Enhancing Microsoft Certification Data Management
In the fall of 2023, OIT partnered with the Cox School of Business to onboard 500 new students, aiming to help them achieve Microsoft Certification for the 2023-2024 academic year. This effort was part of the Business Leaders Institute (BLI) course for first-year students. In response, IT Training & Communications expanded its certification offerings by adding ten additional class sections, totaling 564 certifications, on top of its existing commitment of 43 class sections. These sections cover certifications in Microsoft Office programs, which are widely utilized across most schools on campus, with Excel and Excel Expert required for Cox students and PowerPoint and Word for students in Meadows’ Corporate Communications and Public Affairs.
Recognizing that managing 500 additional students presented significant resource challenges, the team reviewed strategies to meet the increased demand. They extended testing times and added proctor resources to assist with physical resource limitations. Additionally, they examined the efficiency of data handling and grade reporting processes. Continue reading Enhancing Microsoft Certification Data Management
Streamlining Call Transfers with Microsoft Teams’ New Transfer Button
Microsoft has recently streamlined the call transfer process by introducing a new transfer button in Microsoft Teams that will display on your phone later this fall. This new feature will eliminate the confirmation of transfer and improve the overall user experience when transferring calls, making it more intuitive and user-friendly. Continue reading Streamlining Call Transfers with Microsoft Teams’ New Transfer Button
Seven Years of Certification: Then & Now with Cox Alumnus Jacob Becker
This summer, I had the opportunity to attend the CERTIFIED Educator Conference, which is designed to help educators around the world as they introduce and enforce the need for certification to accompany traditional learning models. During one of the sessions I attended, I was challenged to find an alum or two who had gone through our certification experience and hear their story of how certification impacted them. Continue reading Seven Years of Certification: Then & Now with Cox Alumnus Jacob Becker
