M-Pathways Update
November 2017

Information and Technology Services (ITS) is upgrading the PeopleTools technology behind the M-Pathways Financials & Physical Resources System (FIN) to version 8.55 on February 12, 2018.

Much like the upgrades for Student Administration (SA) and Human Resource Management System (HRMS) earlier this year, this upgrade will bring a new look and feel to how you navigate to pages within M-Pathways FIN. You will have the option to navigate to pages using tiles, which provide quick access to targeted transactions.

Navigation to pages will still be available without using tiles. Options include:

• A menu-style navigation similar to the current system
• Favorites - transfered from the current system

For more information, visit the PeopleTools 8.55 Upgrade website. Check this site regularly for additional information, important dates, communications, and learning opportunities.

Beginning November 29, you will be able to process Temporary Appointments using Personnel Action Request (PAR) in M-Pathways Human Resource Management System (HRMS). In collaboration with University Human Resources, the Temporary Appointment Change form will be replaced by enhancements to PAR.

The changes that are currently processed on the Temporary Appointment Change form will be processed with the PAR transactions listed below.

The Shared Services Center will continue to accept the Temporary Appointment Change form until December 18, 2017.

Users who process Temporary appointment changes and currently do not have the HR PAR UPDATER role will need to request the role using the Online Access Request System (OARS). Approvers who approve Temporary appointment changes and currently do not have the HR PAR APPROVER role will also need to request the role using the same process. Training will be required to achieve this role in M-Pathways. See Requesting and Removing OARS Access for more information.

Updates have been made to the training materials in My LINC to reflect the addition of Temporary appointments, and a document was added to support adding Workstudy. Please see Personnel Action Request User Resources for more information.

The M-Pathways Student Administration upgrade officially kicked off earlier this summer and has an expected go-live date of May 21, 2018. This upgrade brings a review of processes, an opportunity for future advancements to meet the needs of our students and faculty, and updated training and support. Additionally, it positions U-M to better leverage future enhancements from the vendor and continue timely implementations of bug fixes and regulatory releases.

This upgrade will require an extended outage of the M-Pathways Student Administration system beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 17, 2018 and ending at 6 a.m. Monday, May 21, 2018. The outage will impact all users of the M-Pathways Student Administration application, including those who connect through RDAs, Integrations and APIs.

As the date gets closer, further information will be available regarding the changes and outages to the system. Currently, few changes are expected with enhancements to help process transactions. To keep informed, visit the Student Administration Upgrade website.

Back in May, we communicated the removal of the Reporting Tools tile from the Student Administration Homepage. This removal was due to the tile not functioning properly after an important security patch that was applied to M-Pathways Student Administration.

We are happy to report, after a recent update to the system, the Reporting Tools tile is now available again and working as designed. No action is required on your part to use the tile - it was automatically added back to the Student Administration Homepage.

As always, you can also use the NavBar button in the upper right-hand corner of the page to get to the Reporting Tools page. Click NavBar > Navigator > Reporting Tools, and continue to your desired reporting destination.

We all should be in the habit of keeping our software up to date. This is particularly important as  vendors and others identify security vulnerabilities in software and apps, and release updates and patches to address them. Staying up-to-date also enables you to take advantage of other improvements, such as better performance or new functionality.

Personal computers (Windows, Mac, or Linux/Unix)

• Keep your operating system and applications updated. When available, turn on automatic updating.
• Only apply updates over a secure connection. Turn on the U-M VPN if using untrusted wireless networks (such as guest wireless in a hotel or coffee shop).

Mobile devices (iPhone, Android, Windows, Chromebook)

• Keep your operating system updated.
• Do not make unauthorized modifications to your operating system.
• Only install trusted market apps—and keep them updated.

Keep your applications updated to ensure you get the benefit of security updates as soon as they are available. For more tips and details on appropriately securing and managing your personal devices, refer to Secure Your Devices.

Have you heard of "vishing"? It's short for voice phishing, and it's a newer term for an old problem — phone scams. These phone calls are meant to trick you into giving money or personal information to a criminal. Follow these tips to avoid getting caught:

• Don't give money or information to any person or company you haven't heard of or haven’t verified.

• Never give in to pressure tactics such as offers of immediate rewards or threats of consequences.

• If an offer sounds too good to be true, don't trust it.

• Be aware that the IRS does not call to demand payment by specific means (credit cards, gift cards, etc.), and will usually contact you by U.S. mail first if you owe money. Calls from people claiming to be with the IRS and demanding immediate payment are usually scams.

• If someone uses unprofessional, hostile, or obscene language, end the call.

See Phone Scams and Voice Phishing (Vishing) for more information and tips on spotting and avoiding phone scams.