UA Student Process Reminders for Supervisors

that UA students make up approximately 9.1% of our active user base? There are specific processes that need to be followed when hiring, onboarding AND offboarding UA student employees. Take note of reminders below!

REMINDER #1:

Follow the onboarding process documentation for student employees found on The Canopy under Offers and Onboarding of the UA Students Canopy Page.

• Why this matters: Students need access to systems (in addition to ADVANCE) that will be critical to their job role (e.g. access to drives, Canopy access, etc. – documentation breaks down procedures based on the student supporting central versus non-central units).

REMINDER #2:

Follow the offboarding process documentation for student employees when they are no longer employed for UA. This information is found on The Canopy under the Performance Management and Development section of the UA Students Canopy Page.

• Why this matters: The student’s access to our systems need to be removed to protect the information that they no longer should have access to (e.g. drives, Canopy, etc.)

REMINDER #3:

UA Students do not have permission to work remotely for University Advancement. All UA Student positions are to be considered in-person positions. They must be logged into an on-campus CSU computer to access ADVANCE and My Learning for ADVANCE training. Unless otherwise approved by the Leadership Council, UA units will not be granted access to hire remote student employees at this time.

• Why this matters: CSU is unable to supply and support CSU equipment for students to use at home. Students using personal technology without the proper safety tools to access CSU systems is a risk. In addition, we want to ensure that CSU information and projects are not being saved to external equipment. If there are times that it is easier for a student to complete a specific project remotely that does not utilize CSU systems, a student supervisor can make that determination/exception on a limited basis.

In summary, please review the processes for onboarding and offboarding UA student employees prior to submitting forms or contacting ADVRequest for access. These processes are vetted and reviewed annually and if used correctly can expedite access and training for your UA students.

Thank you!

Hey you – you “got PMATS”?  What is PMATS anyway? PMATS stands for Prospect Management and Tracking System. If you are someone who enters Proposals, takes assignment of Prospects, manages a Portfolio, etc. then you have Prospect Maintenance access rights because you went through PMATS training.

But when was the last time you went through a PMATS training? I know…I know…who has time for that? Well, a refresher course could be very beneficial, especially since PMATS has evolved and changed considerably since your initial training 5 or more years ago.

the PMATS I training is now online as a self-paced course with new content and “how to” videos? PMATS II courses are still set up as in-person training, but are now strictly virtual (you do not even need to leave your house or office or wherever your work sanctuary is). This course, however, will become available as an online course in 2022.

Our objectives of the PMATS I training is to cover:

• Contact Attempts
• Contact Reports
• Creating Prospect Assignments
• Understanding the difference between primary and secondary Prospect assignment as it relates to Advance
• Entering and maintaining a major gift proposal on a Prospect
• Notes and Strategies
• Entering Tasks
• Assigning proxy rights and how to proxy in as someone else if proxy rights were assigned to you

Our objectives of the PMATS II training is to cover:

• Reports that feed from data primarily learned in PMATS I
  • Contact Attempt Report
  • Portfolio Health Report
  • Prospect Portfolio Report
  • Prospect Portfolio Report Toolbar
  • Integrity Check Report
  • Development Pipeline Report
  • Development Forecast Report
  • Advancement Effort Report

Keep in mind that Prospect Maintenance rights (and PMATS I and II training) are only for University Advancement employees required to have these rights as part of their job responsibilities.

Non-UA Staff do have the capability to enter contact reports (an item of PMATS training) but there are special maintenance rights to accomplish this. If a Contact Report refresher is desired, please review the Contact Report videos within our video library under the PMATS section on The Canopy.

If you have any questions about signing up for a refresher training, please reach out to ADV_Request@colostate.edu.

Kate Coskrey

Data Due Diligence

Reminder during Cybersecurity Awareness Month

that we consider ADVANCE data as being highly confidential and that we, as users of the data, have an obligation to protect it against unintentional, unlawful, or unauthorized access, disclosure, or theft?

To access ADVANCE data, you are required to sign a CDIS Data Confidentiality Policy annually. When you sign this document, you are committing to:

• Policy compliance – you will abide by the policy
• Approved uses of ADVANCE data – in support of programs and priorities of the University and University Advancement
• Not violating the policy through the action of prohibited uses – using the data for personal, political, religious, or non-CSU commercial purposes
• If a vendor – agree to not sell or transfer information

Data Security is ongoing. Read on…

If using a laptop or handheld device:

• DO NOT download or keep sensitive information stored on it or any USB or portable device
• Access all information electronically on an “as needed” basis

Sensitive information includes:

• Obvious data such as credit card numbers and social security numbers
• This also can include personal contact reports/notes, giving history, and non-directory biographical information

Because some sharing of sensitive information is inevitable:

• Delete your emails as soon as possible if they contain proprietary information

REMEMBER: The less data stored the better. If a device is stolen and contains sensitive information, the situation can escalate to ACNS and there may be possible repercussions to the unit and/or the University. At the very least, loss of future access to Advance.

Be aware…be informed…and…be SECURE!

Janet Meine and the ITEA Team

WELCOME to the New Bright and Shiny!

Since ending our campaign in June, and with a little over 5 months left in this year – 2020 – Systems Education and Analysis thought a new blog ‘look and feel’ might help us feel refreshed and optimistic for what lies ahead for University Advancement. We asked those of you new to University Advancement to follow this blog as part of your initial ADVANCE training. We utilize the blog format as a micro-learning tool to “push” out system related information to you in “smaller bites” so as not to overwhelm you with a ton of information all in one sitting!

So, welcome to the new and improved ADVANCE Innovations blog!!

We look forward to sharing new and exciting system enhancements, system usage tips and tricks, program best practices, and other related ADVANCE information. You can expect up to 10 posts in a given year.

 

 

 

 

Systems Education and Analysis manages the blog; however, we encourage each one of you to become a ”guest author” of a future blog posting. For example, if you or your team is working on a project that involves the ADVANCE system and/or supporting programs and you wish to share the “who, what, when, where, and why” of your project and how it will affect other users, we encourage you to submit a post.

To request becoming a “guest author” for the ADVANCE Innovations blog, please send an email to ADVRequest@colostate.edu.

We look forward to the time when we can reconnect personally with all of you and hope you are getting your training and information needs met during this difficult time.

Take care…

Janet

“DO YOU WANT TO BE ADDED TO THE SEEDED LIST?”

If you’re utilizing ADVANCE for any communication purposes, you’ve likely heard some form of this question before. More times than not, responses to this question consist of looks of bewilderment – “The what list?”

What exactly is the “seeded” list and what does it do?

The seeded list is simply a list of internal users who have requested to be included on all communications of a certain format (email or mail), type (newsletters, solicitations, invitations) and/or group (college/unit or CSU). Those on the seeded list are seamlessly included on these communication pieces without any additional action taken on behalf of the creator of that message.

Why would anyone want to receive every email or mailing?

“Seed” lists are pretty common in the direct marketing world. One clear benefit is ensuring necessary parties are “in the loop” on all upcoming communications without having to constantly worry about including the right people on the right type of messages. By indicating what YOU would like to receive, this process guarantees you’re aware of activity relative to your role, such as upcoming events, college-specific initiatives, or general news-related updates.  It is also an indirect way of monitoring what your area (or an area that directly impacts your role) is sending throughout the year.  This can help minimize catching others up or having to send out additional copies of communications when referencing them down the line.

Do I need to be on the seeded list to receive my emails?

No. CDIStributor automatically sends a copy of every email to the owner of that email.

Are there any negatives to being on the seeded list?

While it may seem beneficial to see all the communications activity within ADVANCE, there are some potential reasons why this may not be a suitable option for you.

Some things to consider:

• Irrelevant or non-applicable content: Alumni and friends often receive communication pieces based on their affiliation or engagement with the University. We often include merge fields to tailor these messages to reference data specific to the recipient. Since seeded list recipients don’t always have the same affiliation or engagement, that data may not be available to feed the merge fields. This may cause your specific message to present blank or misleading fields where data is not applicable.
• Overrides special handling (mail only): If you are on the seeded list but also have personal special handling on record for that same type of communication, your special handling settings will be disregarded and you will receive this communication, however this pertains to mail only. If you have email suppression’s on record and are on a competing seeded list, you will be removed from the email list. For this reason, it’s always good to confirm your personal special handling rules to confirm there are no conflicts.
• Busy inbox:

…millions of emails were sent via CDIStributor each year? If you’re already having trouble keeping up with your inbox, please consider the impact of receiving additional emails as a seeded list participant.

• Qualification: When receiving additional communications, it’s not always evident what you actually qualify for versus what you receive through the seeded list and there have been many instances where seeded list participants have forgotten that they were on the seeded list. For example, are you actually being invited to a certain event, or is this because of the seeded list (i.e. “Why did I receive this invitation for former CSU athletes when I never participated in CSU sports? The system must be broken?” You may need to reference the mailing log (seeded individuals do not show in email metrics) or reach out to the communicator if there is any confusion.

If there are any concerns about the above considerations, it may be better to reach out to project coordinators or communicators to ask to be included on specific communication pieces.

What seeded lists options do we offer?

We have a variety of seeded list options spanning various colleges/units, as well as some overall options for CSU level communications. Please contact ADV Request if you have specific questions and we can help find the most appropriate list(s) for your needs.

Can I exclude the seeded list from my communication?

Yes!  You can control this setting on your Ad-Hoc report (for mail or email lists) or through CDIStributor. This allows either the person creating the Ad-Hoc to control this option, but may also be decided by the author/content creator at the time the email shell is being created.

• To exclude via your Ad-Hoc report, go to your report Settings → More Settings → Settings – General → Excluded ‘Seeded List’ (select Yes)
  • Note: If you exclude via Ad-Hoc, this setting will freeze in your CDIStributor email builder.
• To exclude via CDIStributor, uncheck the “Include Seeded List” checkbox and click ‘Save’.

How do I know when to exclude the seeded list?

You generally do not have to worry much about excluding the seeded list, as these individuals asked to be included on communications of this type. However, there may be some scenarios that warrant exclusion:

• Multiple Segments
  • Email: If you have multiple email segments with roughly the same message, you can consider excluding the seeded list on all but one of these. However, those on the seeded list may be interested in seeing all versions, so please use your discretion when making this decision.
  • Mail: If you have multiple mail segments being sent, this will generate an additional mail piece for each person on the seeded list. As you can imagine, a mailing with 6 segments would generate a considerable amount of excess mail for each seeded individual. Consider including the seeded list on your largest segment to avoid sending additional mail pieces.
• Reminders or action-oriented messages: If a mail or email initiative also has reminders built in (common with invitations or opt-in pages), you can consider suppressing the seeded list from your 2^nd or 3^rd reminders, or if no new information is being presented.

I want to see everything – how do I get added to the seeded list?

Just email ADV Request and we’ll be happy to discuss your options and add you!

Linda Paule

On the bounce…

we rely on CDIStributor to send millions of emails each year? Last fiscal year alone, over 63,000 emails bounced, meaning the email message could not be delivered. Sometimes it’s simple – the email address doesn’t exist, commonly due to a typo or closed account (as with our students once they graduate). Other times, it may be a temporary issue. So how do we, as an organization, determine the reason for the bounce, and thus decide when this email truly is no longer contactable?

We have determined a point system to help rate the severity of the bounce, thus informing us at what point the email address should be inactivated in our system.  The point allotment is as follows:

• Hard Bounce (3 points): A hard bounce occurs when the message has been rejected because the email address does not exist or is invalid.
• Medium Bounce (2 points): A medium bounce occurs when the mail server cannot be found. This can be a temporary issue with the recipient’s mail server, but sometimes may be the result of a domain that is no longer in existence.
• Soft Bounce (1 point): A soft bounce indicates the email address is valid and reached the mail server, but was unable to reach the email recipient. Common reasons for a soft email bounce include a full mailbox or an inactivated/disabled account.

To minimize the possibility of a temporary issue, only one bounce per week will be added to the point total. Once the email has 5 bounce points, the email is inactivated in Advance. Based on the point system and point threshold for inactivation, it’s helpful to understand that all emails will be attempted at least twice before being marked as inactive.

When an email is inactivated, the system will automatically “promote” the most recently added alternate email address (if available) to become the entity’s preferred email address.

We do not track our bounce points on the profile, but awareness of the underlying process is beneficial as you continue to communicate via CDIStributor.

For questions about email bounces, please contact ADV Request.

Linda Paule

The Domino Effect

 when a University Advancement employee leaves UA, transfers to another UA unit, is reorganized/merged into another UA organizational structure, or leaves the University entirely, that there are a number of processes that ITE and others need to complete in the system before we consider them gone or moved? In other words, it is more than just adding a stop date or move date on their record. Enter the Domino Effect!

The “situation” causing the “effect” is usually a staff member leaving, transferring, and/or merging. This then triggers a series of events that can require additional involvement and processes by Innovation Technology and Education (ITE), Systems Education and Analysis (SEA), Constituent & Gift Information (CGI), Pipeline and Prospect Development (P2D), and potentially others (i.e. HR, ABS, UAVP, etc.). In the examples below, I will only mention what occurs with ITE (SEA), P2D, and CGI. If you add in the processes from the other groups…Whoa!

Below are examples of the domino effect.

Employee leaves UA/University:
This is probably the easiest scenario for us to deal with. An employee leaves the division and/or University. Obviously, there needs to be an employment update made in Advance by CGI. If the person leaving is a front-line fundraiser managing a prospect portfolio, P2D needs to get involved to transfer that prospect portfolio to a “holding” account or another individual until a replacement is hired. In addition, ITE needs to remove the individual from the UA list-serves and collect any unused computer equipment. SEA needs to inactivate the employee as an ADVANCE user, which may entail adjustments to the ADVANCE configuration tool, staff table, and auxiliary program licenses held by that individual.

Employee transfers to another UA unit:
This scenario is slightly more complex and definitely takes on a surgical approach. Although the employee is staying within University Advancement, a number of processes still need to happen to complete the transfer. Again, CGI needs to update their employment record in ADVANCE and update their CGI liaison. ITE needs to move the user to the correct list-serve(s), and may be involved in physical moves and/or equipment transfers/documentation – which can also involve coordination with IT staff in other units when the employee is moving in or out of Central UA. SEA needs to move the employee to the correct user group in the ADVANCE configuration tool. In addition, and will possibly need to adjust their user rights based on the employee’s new job responsibilities, schedule more training, decide what, if any, reports need to follow them to their new position or should stay with their old group, and adjust the staff table and auxiliary program licenses as needed. Again, if this individual is a front-line fundraiser, P2D needs to be involved in the management of that person’s prospect portfolio, which includes the release, reassignment, or hold of their old assigned prospects and the prospects they are set to inherit in their new position. Identifying a specific day for tracking effort in their new position is crucial. Once completed, the employee will appear twice on the Effort Report (tracked effort with old and new groups).

Employee is reorganized or merged into another existing unit or new unit with new name:

WHEW! The “daddy” of them all! This is where it gets a little crazy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The graph above represents UA groups affected by recent movement/org changes for UA. Last February, Donor Relations, Presidential Leadership, and UA Communications merged with CSU Events to create UA Engagement. In April, Systems Education and Analysis (formerly Customer Support and Training) moved from TMTS to IT, thus creating ITE and renaming TMTS to TMHR. This past month, Annual Giving has merged with Alumni Relations to create Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, and Prospect Development has moved under new leadership and has been renamed Pipeline and Prospect Development.)

So…not only are there a lot of moving pieces here, there are many people involved in those moving pieces. Of course, the processes described above will need to take place in this scenario as well. However, the level of complexity can extend beyond what we know, leaving additional decisions to be made. Decisions such as renaming units, deciding what data sits where and who has access to that data, and how the new structure and its data will be represented in ADVANCE’s Management, Standard, and Ad-Hoc Reports as well as other programs. What metrics stay with the old unit or move to the new one? How is the Incentive Report affected? To finalize these merge processes is not “an overnight thing”. Much thought, planning, and discussions need to take place for successful individual/group related merges within the system.

As you can see, ‘The Domino Effect’ is alive and well when changes are made in the personnel or group structure of any unit or units. Sometimes it can get a little “whacky” but eventually the kinks are worked out and it is smooth sailing…well…until the next change occurs.

Enjoy! (Click on graphic below…)

Janet

What Happens in 90 Days?

 that Innovation Technology and Education rolled out a new CDIS (Constituent Data Information System) security policy in July that contained a wide-range of ADVANCE access adjustments to system users. One of the significant changes was the addition of a 90-day inactivity policy where access to ADVANCE is removed from a user after 90 days of inactivity.

Help us, help you!  If you are a casual user of the system, set a calendar reminder to log into ADVANCE every 30 days (or set a schedule that works best for you) if you know you may not be logging into ADVANCE on a more frequent basis.

Systems Education and Analysis receives notice of an expired confidentiality agreement, and notice of an account that has reached 90 days of inactivity. Both of these scenarios will result in the loss of ADVANCE access.

Please keep your account up-to-date and log in as frequent as you can to avoid inactivation.
Thank you!

If you have you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact ADV Request.

Kate Coskrey 

Online Registration Coming Soon!

  that Advance/CDIStiller courses are moving to online registration in MyLearning?  Well hang on… just not quite yet.

So – help us, help you!

To help the Innovative Technology and Education (ITE) team to keep the ball moving towards our launch date (which is soon), you can help us by continuing to submit your Advance access and training requests by the same process as you have used previously – through the Advance Access & Training Request form (located in My Reference of Advance).

Doing so will help our team to be prepared for any learner that registers for training so that they have all of the necessary rights in Advance on the day of their training as granting access takes time and should be done prior to the start of a training.  This will ensure that learners can follow along and have the best learning experience and use of their time as possible.

This is important to know! Once MyLearning registration rolls out for Advance training, we will still require an Advance Access and Training Request form as the first step to registration versus going straight to MyLearning so that we are notified of a registered learner. We want to be prepared and aware for any learner that comes through our door for training and avoid a surprise on the day of training.

As always – if there are any questions about this request, please don’t hesitate to contact ADV Request.

Kate Coskrey

Estate Gift Changes Impact Gift Club Qualification

Losing sleep over how estate gifts are handled by our lifetime giving societies? No?

I don’t blame you. But, I have taken some head scratching questions on this topic in the past; and today, we have some important changes to share regarding how realized estate gifts are summed as part of qualification into our lifetime giving societies.

Before we get this party started…

 the Morgan Society is for donors who give $100K-$999K cumulatively, and the Lory Society is for donors who give $1M+ cumulatively?

More invigorating facts on estate gifts and our lifetime giving societies:

• Qualification is based on realized gifts and irrevocable planned gifts
• Revocable planned gifts count cumulatively, once the donor has passed and the gift comes to fruition.
• The calculations for qualification into our societies are based on soft credit, not hard credit (For example, gifts made through a donor advised fund have hard credit going to the fund providers like Fidelity or Charles Schwab and soft credit to the donor(s) that the gift was made to CSU on behalf of).

But, there was a wrinkle.

(Here’s the fun part! Are you ready?)

Historically, when someone passed away, a new entity in Advance is created, usually titled “The Estate of XXX XXXXX”. This estate is where the realized planned gift would be recorded, and both hard credit AND soft credit would be given to the estate. If you are following me so far, this means that the donor’s lifetime giving and their estate giving were never totaled together to determine if they qualified for the Morgan or Lory Society. To qualify, the household would have had to done so on its own, during the deceased donor’s lifetime, or the estate would have to qualify when the estate gift was realized. But their giving was never summed together.

There was some manual auditing happening, but it wasn’t perfect. To solve this, I’ve been in a year-long research and recommendation process with CGI, kylan, and others to see if we could change this Advance behavior, and give soft credit from all estates back to the households of the decedents (both retroactively and for all future estate gifts). This finally came to fruition in April, which means that we can be very confident in our ability to celebrate all giving the way the societies intended.

Here is a before screenshot of the “Gift Club Calculation” field in the entity profile on the Estate of John Doe showing the estate getting all the credit for his giving.

Here is the after screenshot of the “Gift Club Calculation” field on John’s personal entity.

You can see that the estate now has $0 credit and John’s individual record received all the credit. John is now coded as a member of the Morgan Society, not his estate.

As you can imagine, we uncovered some donors who fell through the cracks of the manual estate review process of the past. Thankfully, very few were impacted, and we’ve already handled that unfortunate situation with the appropriate development officers.

Thanks for sticking with this entirely exciting blog post until the end. And a special thanks to my partners in crime on this effort – kylan Marsh, Donna Koopman, Linda Paule, Kelly Liggett, Tawny Chase, and Kirsten Easton. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at Katie.brayden@colostate.edu or at 970-491-0993.

Guest Author: Katie Brayden