Location: Toy Lounge

Start Time: 3:00 pm

Attendance: About 70 users in total, 54 on the sign up sheet (excluding ITS)

Presentation: Users Fourm Feb 9 Meeting Presentation (PDF)

Reference URLs

• Users Forum website: http://connectcarolina.unc.edu/users-forum/users-forum-home/users- forum.html
• Users Forum online forum: TBD

Materials posted on the Users Forum website

• Proposed leadership responsibilities (distributed at the meeting)
• Ms. Holliday’s presentation (slides)
• Users Forum Charter
• Enterprise Applications Coordinating Committee (EACC) Charter
• Ms. Holliday’s bio

Purpose of this meeting

• To transition ConnectCarolina users to an ongoing mechanism influencing ConnectCarolina
• To establish the organization of the Users Forum

Background (copied from the website)

As the Campus Solutions (student services) phase of the ConnectCarolina project completes its initial development mode and moves into full operational status, governance is also evolving. Information Technology Services (ITS) will need ongoing guidance and feedback regarding concerns, issues and enhancement requests related to ConnectCarolina.

Key to providing this feedback is a new group, the ConnectCarolina Users Forum, representing faculty, staff and students who use ConnectCarolina. The ConnectCarolina Campus Solutions project has been advised throughout by various advisory groups. Members of these groups are now users of Campus Solutions and are encouraged to participate in the Users Forum.

Introduction

Jerri Bland, the Executive Director of ConnectCarolina welcomed everyone to the meeting and provided a very brief update of the system’s development. About 90% of the initial requirements for the system are in place. And, while the focus of this meeting is on governance going forward, she offered to talk with folks after the meeting if they have questions or concerns about current operations. She reminded the group that any bugs or errors in the current system should be reported via the ITS remedy ticket system.

Ms. Bland also provided a brief explanation of the purpose of The Forum. She emphasized the need for users to have a way that they can directly communicate with ITS and the Enterprise Applications Coordinating Committee on users challenges and needs. She and the Campus Solutions Stakeholder Committee (the predecessor to the EACC) agreed that the Users Forum would be a critical feature of ConnectCarolina’s governance structure.

Ms. Bland introduced Ms. Amanda Holliday as the first chair of The Forum, to serve an initial term of one year. Ms. Holliday was recommended for this role because of her commitment to students and her reliance on the system in her roles as a professor, faculty advisor and leader of the Nutrition department’s Master’s of Public Health program. She actively engaged in several aspects of the system and works closely with the student services staff in her department and for the Gillings School of Global Public Health. Ms. Holliday also graciously agreed to volunteer for this role. Please see a brief bio for Ms. Holliday posted on The Forum’s website.

The Proposed Users Forum

Ms. Holliday’s used a handout of proposed Forum leadership roles and presentation slides to launch future directions for The Forum. Presentation highlights:

• Forum goals (including sharing best practices)
• Proposed organization (see handout), including committees to form as needed
• Next steps
  • Leadership volunteers – NEEDED
  • Leadership team responsibilities (including set up of feedback mechanism)
• Proposed (somewhat aggressive) timeline
  • Set around EACC meetings
  • Next Forum meeting – Early April
• Ms. Holliday’s contact info – Amanda_holliday@unc.edu

Discussion/additional

• Ms. Bland was asked to describe the EACC and its new roles. A charter is posted on The Forums’s website.
• Ms. Holliday asked the group for suggestions on how to best collect information, including enhancement requests.
  • She demonstrated the mechanism set up by the student representatives (hosted by Users Voice).
  • There was some discussion about features, including:
    • the ability for ITS to post updates connected to specific items
    • a way for users to post comments and vote, which will help set priorities
    • a possible need to organize sections by functions, e.g. records and admission
    • accessibility for staff, students and faculty
    • once addressed, items could be “retired” or closed
  • There was some concern about whether faculty would use this type of mechanism directly. It was noted that staff could add comments reflecting their faculty’s positions, as well as encourage faculty to input their ideas or concerns directly. One possibility is to have a committee that focuses on soliciting faculty feedback.
  • A couple of users expressed support for this type of mechanism and its use.
• Forum meetings could focus on sharing best practices, reviewing requests and establishing priorities.
• The goal is for the users to have an open forum in which they can express ideas (and concerns).
• As The Forum’s chair, Ms. Holliday meeting discussions, feedback and priorities would inform her representation of the group as a full-fledged member of the EACC. She would also report back to THE Forum on EACC business.
• The Forum replaces prior ConnectCarolina advisory groups, including Campus Contacts, Records Advisory and the Admissions Advisory groups, though some groups may have a few more minutes before they close formally. Again, The Forum’s committees will help gather stakeholders around specific issues or functions.
• No one expressed disagreement with the proposed organization or approach.

[Meeting notes were taken by Felicia Mebane, PhD, MSPH, Assistant Dean for Students at the Gillings School of Global Health. Dr. Mebane has been actively involved in the development and implementation of the new system, including her roles as a co-chair of the Campus Contacts Group and a member of the Campus Solutions Stakeholder Committee (soon to be the EACC).]