As I write this, it is five months since the university I work at told us to start working at home for at least the next two weeks, and we began this long journey with its unknown end. Covid-19 has caused a lot of uncertainty and a lot of loss. We have collectively worked more hours to deliver on everything required by policy changes, both external and internal to the university, changes to decisions made; just yesterday, and we still deliver on our other projects. We do this while all alone in our homes; isolated, or, with everyone at home, and nowhere to get away. We teach, we cook, we work, and it all blends together, but we also have community. We have the HEUG community.
The Technical and Reporting Advisory Group (TRAG) has been sharing information relevant to Covid-19 through a webinar (May 1, 2020) and at Virtual Alliance 2020. As the TRAG Chair I have had the privilege of talking to so many people this year, and this year has proven over and over again how important the HEUG community is to all of us. Through the HEUG Forums, Blogs and Webinars, we are sharing our solutions, our decisions, and we are all supporting each other as we go through this.
This year the TRAG will focus on providing the information needed to deliver a secure platform that is updated so that we can take advantage of all the tools have to offer and so that we can provide the best service to our communities who now depend on online services more than ever. We are also working with members of our community to present some of the innovative work that is taking place at so many institutions this year.We also work with Oracle to inform our community of new features in the PeopleTools platform as well as on Cloud Infrastructure.
Oracle Covid-19 Resource
Oracle provides us with updates through their Covid-19 Updates for PeopleSoft page at https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E52319_01/infoportal/update.html. You can also go to peoplesoftinfo.com to find this link on the top of the page, in addition to a host of other resources. We encourage you to visit this page and also read the blogs written by the members of the PeopleTools team. https://blogs.oracle.com/peopletools/.
Technical and Reporting Advisory Group - ways to connect, volunteer and learn during Covid-19
We invite you to share your stories, either in the forums or by volunteering to write a blog or share your knowledge through a Webinar hosted by the TRAG or another Advisory Group.
We hope you will consider submitting a presentation for next year’s Virtual Alliance (https://www.alliance-conference.com/). Submissions open on September 30, 2020. We won’t have in-person meetings this year, but we will meet, we will collaborate, and we will continue to support each other.
Lastly, the advisory groups are made up of people like you and me, who are passionate about working across our institutions and across the world to promote solutions and now you can nominate yourself or a colleague to an advisory group. Look for an email sent on August 18 with the subject line "Nominate today for the 2021 elections" and submit your nomination today at: https://www.heug.org/p/su/rd/survey=cb55474e-d733-11ea-baf1-bc764e101892?_zs=eV55b&_zl=eR8D2.
I am leaving Northwestern University at the end of August and I will step down from the TRAG. I have so many good memories and I am so very thankful for every person I have met and learned from over the last 16 years of working on the Campus Solutions application, the last seven as a TRAG member. It is not a goodbye to the HEUG community as I hope to stay in the PeopleSoft world in the future, but my time as a TRAG member has come to an end. I want to encourage anyone who thinks they have nothing to offer to try anyway. There is no other community that I know of that offers the same opportunities for involvement and learning. If you are not feeling quite ready to apply for an advisory group, try volunteering, or take a step to share your questions and answers in the forums.Until we meet again in person...