May 18, 2013

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SAP Tips and Reminders

May 7, 2012 by

There are currently 814 active users of the University’s Enterprise computer system, SAP. As the SAP Training Coordinator, I’ve probably spoken with or met every one of you!  Since we’re soon to experience some quiet time with the students off for the summer, I thought it would be a good time to share some tips and reminders that might make your daily experience with SAP easier and more effective.

  • Everybody forgets a password now and then, and we do have several to keep up with.  Luckily, we’ve centralized all password re-sets at the IT Helpdesk.  Their phone number is 915-5222 and they may be reached via email at helpdesk@olemiss.edu.
  • In order to use the SAP GUI, your department must first have a license for the position you are currently holding.  All the forms required to receive or update a license to use the SAP GUI may be downloaded from the SAP Support Website.
  • The next thing a new user needs to access SAP is training.  We offer training in twelve functional areas at least once per month.  You may find the class descriptions (what they cover) and the class handouts on the SAP Support Website.
  • In order to access the SAP system, you must have the SAP GUI (Graphical User Interface) software installed on your computer. The GUI must always be maintained at the current version and patch level.
    • If you have a PC with Windows XP or a Mac, you may choose the self-install option for installation or upgrading the SAP GUI.
    • If you have a PC with Vista or Windows 7, please contact the IT Helpdesk  to have the SAP GUI installed.
    • When requesting assistance with the SAP GUI installation, Indicate if you need it installed on a Mac or a PC.  If PC, please include your operating system information (XP, Vista, Windows7, etc.).

Finally, I’d like to say a word about testing. SAP frequently updates and improves its software.  The University of Mississippi uses a quarterly system to install these improvements on a regular schedule and we are rapidly approaching our first quarter patch.  Some of you may soon receive a notice asking that you test in QAS all the transactions that you regularly use to do your job. This is an extremely important task, as it helps us to identify any issues or authorization changes that may result when the patch is applied to the Production system.  We appreciate your help with this task; ultimately it makes your job easier, too!

If you have questions or require assistance, please contact the IT Helpdesk at (662) 915-5222 or helpdesk@olemiss.edu .

Filed Under: GUI Installation, Helpdesk, Password Reset, SAP, SAP Issues Database, Training, Upgrades

Firefox 4 – Not Recommended

April 5, 2011 by

You may have recently read about or been prompted to upgrade your Web browser to Firefox version 4.  This new version of Firefox, released on March 22, 2011, has been causing its own share of headaches on the UM campus in recent days.

Firefox 4, on both the Windows and Mac platforms, is not compatible with myOleMiss, due to issues with the SAP portal environment.  Blackboard also does not support this version of the browser.  For these reasons, the IT Helpdesk recommends that you do not update your browser to version 4 at this time.

If you have already updated to Firefox version 4 and are currently experiencing issues, you will need to roll back to an earlier version. You can download the previous version of Firefox 3.6.16 at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-older.html.

Filed Under: Faculty Activity Reports, FTDC, Helpdesk, myOleMiss, Upgrades, Web Applications, Web Site

Major Upgrade Easter Weekend: SAP Production & myOleMiss Unavailable, April 21-25, 2011

February 18, 2011 by

The SAP production system and the myOleMiss portal will be unavailable beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 21 due to a major upgrade. The system is scheduled to be unavailable until Monday, April 25 at 8 a.m. During this downtime, Office of Information Technology (IT) staff members will install the latest enhancement package from SAP, Enhancement Package 5 (EhP5) for SAP ERP 6.0.

Enhancement packages are SAP’s method of introducing new functionality into its software without requiring customers to perform a full-scale upgrade. To date, SAP has released four enhancement packages since the release of ERP 6.0 in 2006. Each enhancement package is cumulative, meaning that EhP5 contains all of the functionality delivered in EhP’s 1 through 4, as well as new functionality in EhP5. Another unique feature of SAP’s enhancement package strategy is the ability to activate only the new functionality that applies to an institution’s particular environment. This allows institutions to be selective in planning upgrades.

All new functionality for SAP’s Student Lifecycle Management application (SLcM) is delivered via enhancement packages and, typically, that is the driving force behind the decision to install them at the University. EhP5 is no exception, as SAP has introduced substantial enhancements to the Degree Audit process, namely a major revision of the user interface. The University elected to participate in SAP’s ramp-up program to take advantage of this new interface; by doing so, we will be one of the first SAP customers in the world to have this software.

Degree audit is an advising tool for viewing a student’s progress toward fulfillment of degree requirements. This application can be used by students, advisers, chairs, deans and other academic department staff. Degree audit does not replace the graduation application process; therefore, students still need to follow their respective college or school’s graduation requirements.

“The new Degree Audit system will be more user-friendly for students and will make it easier for academic administrators to apply and maintain substitutions,” notes Margaret Walden, Systems Analyst III, IT. Walden manages the Degree Audit project at the University and works with academic deans and chairs to facilitate the process and insure continued progress with this system. Walden adds, “One of the biggest enhancements with the new user interface is that it will allow the user to view details about requirements within the same window as the overall results of the audit. With the current interface, users have to scroll to the bottom of the audit to view details of the requirements or applicable courses.”

EhP5 has been installed onto our sandbox system for acceptance testing by functional testers, and the acceptance testing process is currently underway. During the acceptance testing process on the sandbox system, IT will be scheduling several training and testing sessions for the various Dean’s Offices, some of the ASB student representatives, and any other interested and authorized administrators.

In the future, Walden looks forward to the possibility of integrating GPA information and enhancing the notes functionality, which will allow advisors to communicate even more with their students and with other administrators.

Filed Under: Systems Maintenance, Upgrades Tagged With: ,