The University Record, November 26, 1996
M-Pathways: Answers to frequently-asked questions
By Gretchen Weir
M-Pathways Project
Students used to grumble but accept the irritation of having to visit several offices every time they needed to change their personal data. Researchers used to dread but accept the burden of making their way through the maze of grant applications and post-award reporting requirements. Unit administrators used to protest but accept not having current budget information. University procedures that used to be considered merely inconvenient are fast becoming unacceptable.
So the University may retain its place among the premier universities of the world, its data management processes must support rather than hinder the work of students, faculty and staff.
It is the task of the M-Pathways project to improve the University’s data management processes. Over the next three years, M-Pathways project teams, made up of hundreds of representatives from schools, colleges and central offices, will document how work is done, suggest improvements, and apply what they have learned to a set of business applications provided by PeopleSoft, Inc. The resulting new data management systems will be phased in slowly and enhanced over time. By participating, University employees can influence the way they will do their jobs in the future.
In an effort to supply detailed information and answers to questions about the project, M-Pathways Communications Coordinator Gretchen Weir offers the following suggestions:
Submit your questions to the University Record. Answers will be published in an upcoming edition of the Record.
Visit the new M-Pathways web site: http://www.umich.edu/~mpathway.
Request the booklet, “M-Pathways Project Description and Request for Comments.”
Contact Weir at 647-6219 or send e-mail to [email protected].
Attend M-Pathway Interchanges, informal question-and-answer sessions held monthly for the public. The next session will be held 1-2:30 p.m. Dec. 16 in the Kipke Conference Room, Campus Safety Services Bldg. The topic will be “What will the M-Pathways system look like? See the PeopleSoft Human Resources Management System Demonstrated.”
