New eServices: Granting Third Party Access

Amongst the many changes happening at RIT, another change has been implemented just this week.  Old eServices has been done away with and the new student financial portal has been launched (http://www.rit.edu/eservices/).

If you are a returning student reading this you will remember granting your parents access to your student financial account when you were a freshman, probably before you even stepped foot on campus for orientation.  If you are a freshman, you have never gone through the process, so you will be signing your parents up for the first time.  Either way it is crucial that you follow the next few steps:

1. Students will need to send a request to their parents or 3rd party members or sponsors to grant them 3rd party access.  Student can do this by logging into eServices with their student account.

2. Next click on the add/delete access tab under the Navigation header (see image below).

3. Click "Add an account" and follow the directions.  Once students see the confirmation page, students will know a confirmation email has been sent to the 3rd party.

4. From the confirmation email, parents will be taken to a secure information page which they will be asked to fill out.

Note: Unlike the old eservices where parents needed to remember their email and password, parents will now have an RIT account and password.  It will not necessarily function as a typical RIT student account but parents will log into the account using this user name, not their email.

5.  When the form is complete and the 3rd party has agreed to the "Terms and Conditions", they will set up their computer account.  This account will be used to log into eServices in the future.

6. There is a Part 2 to the process which includes verifying that the 3rd party member knows the student.  This must be done through the 2nd link in the original email.  If the email has been lost or deleted, students can resend the email through the "Add/Delete Access" page and select edit and then hit the envelope.

7. After 3rd Parties have clicked on the second link, they will be asked to confirm the students date of birth and University ID number. 

8.  After this has been completed, 3rd Party members will have access to the new eServices and their student's financial information.  It is important to note 3rd party members can change their password the same way students can, by going to start.rit.edu.  From here they can change both their alternative email and password.  

How do I find my schedule?

Students who need to find their schedule for the first time, may be confused when logging in.  There are two easy ways you can access your schedule.

The first way is through the student center main page.  From there you will click on Weekly Schedule, you will need to hit next week to get to your desired week: 

The system defaults show students the class number but not the class name.  To view the class name scroll down and check the box and refresh the calendar (as shown below).  You should then be able to see the class names.  These settings will return to the defaults each time you exit the page: 

The second way you can see your schedule (in non-picture form) is by clicking on the Enroll button under Academics:

From here you can click on my class schedule, this will show you a list of the classes you are enrolled in or waiting to be placed into:

Hope that was helpful!

Changing the Course Search Term

We have received a lot of questions regarding how to search for Winter Classes in the new system.  They have been available for students to view for about 2 months now.  To change the Search Term click on the search page under the academics tab.  From the search page select the Term drop down menu and select the term you wish to search:

Available to students now are the Fall and Winter schedules. 

A few things to remember:

• When schedules are made available months in advance not all classes that will be offered for that term will be in the system because each college is responsible for creating their own schedules.
• Not all classes will have rooms assigned or professors either.
• This will be on a department by department basis.
• Contact your department if you think a class should be offered and you do not see it or have questions regarding classes.  
• In the future there will be a feature that is similar to the old tiger tracks, except it works for all majors and is fully integrated into the system.  This will allow students to plan out their time at RIT.  This will be fully implemented during the 2012-13 academic year.

Time to Buy Textbooks

Now that enrollment is over and it is getting close to the start of the new term it is time to begin buying textbooks.  The new system has a link just as the old system did to Barnes and Noble (our campus book store).  Here you can buy your textbooks or just find the ISBN number to compare prices from other sites.

Here is a step by step guide to finding your textbooks from Student Center:

Step 1: Log into Student Center.  You will access your main student center page.


Step 2: From Student Center, click the Enroll tab under Academics. 

Step 3: Under the Enroll tab, click the my class schedule tab.

Step 4: Click the Buy My Books from Barnes and Noble button.

Step 5: You will be redirected from Student Center to the Barnes and Noble page and may see this security warning message:

Click Continue

 Step 6: You are now on the R.I.T. Barnes and Noble campus store page with your personalized book list.  From here you can order your textbooks, see what classes require textbooks, or pull the ISBN number and take it to another store or website to compare prices.  Most books that are R.I.T. specific additions can only be purchased at the RIT bookstore.  However, if you ask or email your professor the difference between the non-RIT edition and the RIT edition they may tell you that you can purchase either one (RIT editions run more expensive). 

If you receive the following message:

This is not a system error.  It just means that the professor for the given class has not submitted the required textbook for that particular term yet or there may not be a required textbook and the professor has not stated that to Barnes and Noble.  You can contact your professor and ask about the textbook if you choose or you can wait to find out when it is submitted.  You will not receive a notification telling you that all your textbooks are up on the server.  If you wish to order used textbooks from Barnes and Noble it is a good idea to order them as early as possible.

Direct Deposit: HSBC

Do you have a bank account from HSBC? Have you set up direct deposit with your job, especially at RIT?

HSBC banks in New York and Connecticut are moving various major accounts to First Niagara Bank in the month of May.  For anyone who has set up a direct deposit from RIT (or any other job) to an HSBC account, your routing number is changing and you need to take a few extra steps to ensure there is no interruption in your automatic access to your paycheck.  It is important to note that your bank account number is not changing, just your routing number. 

Taken directly from RIT Message Center:

The RIT payroll department needs your help to insure there is no interruption to your direct deposit.

If you have received specific information from HSBC that your account is changing to First Niagara Bank, please take the following steps:

Submit the RIT Payroll Direct Deposit Form: http://finweb.rit.edu/controller/forms/directdeposit.pdf
to the Payroll office with the following information filled in:
 
Name; employee ID OR UID #; phone OR email contact; indicate how paid (BW or SM); place check mark in ‘Change Account’; in ‘Bank Name’ field write HSBC to First Niagara; in ‘Transit Number’ indicate the number on the form received by the bank; indicate ‘Account Type’.

Be Sure to SIGN and Date the form at the bottom.
Submit by:       ASAP because it takes time to process in the system
Submit To:      Payroll Department; EAS-1160

Behind the Scenes: The Making of the RIT Enrollment Video

There is so much that goes into making a short clip that most people don't think about.

• Who do you want to be in the film?
• Where are you going to shoot it?
• What are you going to say?
• What props do you need? 

Just to name a few.

Laura and I worked with a group of students to develop a concept that was both funny and had the ability to get the message across.  For us, we wanted the video to be less of a training video and more of a way to remind people of the old system while create awareness about the new system.  


We also wanted to make people laugh, bringing out highlights of RIT that in some cases only someone who was attending RIT would understand.  We brought one of the guys in the film wearing a hockey helmet and carrying an umbrella, meant to represent the battle of the old SIS.


The project team was able to develop a concept that did everything we wanted to, then it was off to find our actors.


The two guys in the film are Saunders College of Business major Geoffrey Blosat and College of Health and Science Biomedical Science major Jeffrey Henstenburg. Both of these guys were great sports and really ran with our ideas and added their own personal touches.  I have known both of these guys since week one of my RIT experience through the Honors Orientation and the entire project team can't thank them enough for jumping on board and being so flexible with their time.   


We started off filming Geoffrey Blosat who plays the new enrollment student.  We headed off to Saunders college of business and filmed him enrolling in classes.  Then it was off to Barnes and Noble.  We filmed a couple of scenes that didn't make the final cut that included Geoff "shopping" for classes in the book store.  He picked up a lot of interesting books including: Social Media for Dummies, Organic Chemistry, and Statistics.

The next day we filmed Jeff Henstenburg at a Park Point Apartment.  He played the role of the old registration student.  We had him waking up at at 5:55 to go into "battle" with the system and try and beat out the old refreshing page.  The scene showing him preparing to go into battle features a hockey helmet (because we all know hockey is a big deal on campus) and an umbrella (a small play on the RIT Umbrella incident).  We filmed a couple of scenes of his angry fit when he couldn't get into the SIS system since he had woken up so early where he threw a chair, threw things around the apartment, and stomped around the apartment.

We hoped you enjoyed watching the video as much as we enjoyed making it and if you haven't had a chance to watch the video see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB_akmLkBe8&feature=youtu.be

Enjoy!

Everything in ONE Place

Unlike the old SIS, the new system has everything you may need to see (with the exception of Access Services and MyCourses), in one consolidated system.  The system allows you to enroll in your classes, plan out your time at RIT, request documents, apply for graduation, check your GPA, see your class schedule, and coming during the 2012-13 academic year, a degree audit system that will work for all majors throughout RIT will be integrated.

Where do I find my academic information?

When students enter Student Center, they simply need to click on My Academics, which is located under Academics below Search, Plan, Enroll.  If you are already in either Search, Plan, or Enroll you can click on the My Academics tab from that screen.

Unofficial Transcript

 

Students now have access to a formal unofficial transcript within minutes (depending on the download speed of your computer).

From the My Academics page, students can select View my unofficial transcript.  From here, students can also request an official transcript from their academic department or advisor.  The unofficial transcript will be a downloadable document that students can use for their own personal purposes but it is important to remember this is an UNofficial transcript.

Past Course Information

Under the My Academics tab students can also view all the courses they have taken and view transfer credits.

Apply for Graduation

Students also have the ability to apply for graduation with in this system.  This can be done when a student is within four quarters of graduation.  Students can also check the status of their graduation application.

Enrollment Verification

For the purposes of taxes and financial aid requests outside of RIT, you can request your enrollment verification within this system.  This link is located under the Transcript heading in My Academics.

My Program

In this system students have what is known as a career (undergraduate or graduate), a program (your college), and your declared major and minor (if you have declared one).  Students can have multiple program plans if they are a part of multiple colleges and/or majors. You can see this on the side of the My Academics page.

Advisors

Within the My Academics tab there is a link to your advisors.  You can send a direct message to him or her by clicking on the View my advisors link.  This will take you to a page that allows you to select one or multiple advisors to notify and directly message within the system.  If they respond, the email will go to the student's RIT email address listed in the system.  The message center will also copy your RIT email address into the conversation, if you choose.