Dear Roadrunners, 

I might not say this often enough, but thank you to all who read this column. The topics I cover here often have a big impact on the success of Metropolitan State University of Denver operations and, ultimately, the University at large. I hope all employees feel invested in these conversations, projects and initiatives and feel empowered to ask questions and offer feedback. 

That said, the big topic I want to cover this week is the Workday After Action Retrospective town hall, which will take place at Monday at 9:30 a.m. and cover findings and next steps.  

In 2023, MSU Denver launched our Workday Enterprise Planning system. Following the initial implementation, I committed to conducting an after-action retrospective on this complex undertaking. This town hall is a forum to share findings about the After Action Retrospective process, the overarching themes, recommendations and next steps. This is also a time for the key leaders surrounding this effort to talk with and answer questions from our community. 

In-person seating is limited to first-come, first-served, and no RSVP is required. Employees also can attend virtually on Teams.  

I invite you all to review the internal Workday AAR report prior to the town hall. The report, produced by Continuum Consulting, is a reflection on the implementation process and reveals pain points that we need to address, lessons we can apply and successes we should replicate on future large-scale projects. 

I look forward to discussing the report’s findings in more detail. I hope you all have a moment to review this important document prior to the town hall, as this report will also inform our process to identify and onboard a new Student Information System. The SIS underpins many of the University’s most critical processes, including admissions, registration, financial aid and grading. MSU Denver’s existing SIS, Ellucian Banner, has been in use since 1998 and, based on the results of an independent third-party review, is no longer meeting the University’s needs. 

With the benefit of what we learned from the Workday deployment, the University has begun evaluating potential modern, cloud-based student-information solutions that can support students, faculty and staff for the next decade and beyond. Look out for more details on this process in the Early Bird in the coming weeks. 

AHEC work requests must include work tags

As a reminder, supplier invoices that will be processed by the Accounts Payable team must include all work-tag information. The AP Office is often unable to process payments to the Auraria Higher Education Center in particular because of missing work-tag info.  

The following work-tag fields must be completed on your work request to AHEC:  

  • Fund 
  • Cost Center 
  • Spend Category 
  • Function 

Additionally, the Auxiliary, Grant, Program and/or Project fields may be required depending on the request. 

I ask all submitters to be good partners for the hardworking folks in the AP Office and ensure that work-tag information is completed so the University can make payments on time.  

If there is not room in the work-tag field, you may use the memo field to add additional work tags. If you do not know how to complete this information, speak with your department’s or office’s fiscal manager to ensure that the request is completed fully and accurately before submission. Please note that this also applies to purchases made by student clubs. 

Don’t forget about Lunch With Larry on May 3 

On the first Friday of every month, employees are welcome to join me for Lunch With Larry via Teams to discuss whatever is on your mind. Potential topics include the Workday After Action Retrospective, the ongoing Student Information System analyses, the Compensation Equity Study, budget priorities and processes or anything else you want to chat about. 

 

Introducing Alex Rivera 

Additionally, I’d like to virtually introduce one of the newest employees in the Department of Facilities, Alex Rivera, facilities manager. The 2016 graduate returns to MSU Denver after a lengthy career, including seven years of managing commercial real-estate facilities, a decade in security and a 13-year career in the U.S. Army. His role at MSU Denver will be supporting employees in operations and safety, and we’re happy to have him on the team. 

Upcoming changes to booking rooms in JSSB Suite 310

Beginning May 6, Administration Branch employees working within JSSB 310 will be able to reserve workspaces through Skedda space-booking software. The process will be similar to space-booking procedures that have already been adopted in the Administration Building and shared workspace in the Tivoli Student Union to support Project B-related office moves. Flexible scheduling has positively impacted the working environment for hybrid employees who otherwise might not be guaranteed a workspace, and the Administration Branch is excited to continue piloting the software so it can be successfully implemented in other locations around campus. 

For more information, contact Alex Staneski, campus planner. 

Additional reminders