Recent Blogs

Peopletools 8.62 upgrade - Learnings and takeaways

By Sagaya Alphonse posted yesterday
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At Boston University, we recently upgraded our PeopleTools version from 8.59 to 8.62 . I wanted to share some of our key learnings and takeaways for anyone planning a similar upgrade, and to exchange insights with others who have gone through this journey. Challenges · Major infrastructure upgrades o We upgraded to: Oracle Linux Server 8.9 Tuxedo 22.1 WebLogic 14.1.2 Visual COBOL 9.0 OpenSearch 2.11 o OpenSearch, in particular, brings enhanced search capabilities but also requires careful configuration. · Impact on customizations o Branding ...
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Reminder! Actively Looking for Four (4) Connected Campus Champions

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 5 days ago
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Hi fellow HEUG members, Not sure if you read my last blog , but we are looking for four (4) new champions to join us this year and elections open this Wednesday, March 25! So, I wanted to take a moment to walk you through what joining the Connected Campus community of volunteers actually looks like — the role, the time commitment, and [almost] everything in between! THE ROLE Becoming a Connected Campus volunteer means stepping into a more strategic role as an active participant and representative of HEUG. You'd be collaborating with key stakeholders to drive meaningful engagement across the community — not just within the Technical, Reporting, ...
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From Cloud-First to AI-First: The New Compelling Event for PeopleSoft

By Arvind Rajan posted 5 days ago
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Introduction: A few years ago, I wrote about why moving PeopleSoft to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) was a game-changer . At the time, the "compelling events" were all about technical agility: early access to PeopleTools Releases , automated lifecycle management with Cloud Manager , and leveraging the Oracle Autonomous Database and Autonomous Linux to slash DBA and SYSDADMIN effort. But today, the narrative has shifted. While the infrastructure benefits remain a powerful foundation, the true "compelling event" driving PeopleSoft modernization is Artificial Intelligence . AI is the solution Line of Business (LoB) has been looking ...
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Nominations Open on March 25: Join the Connected Campus Community of Practice

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 10 days ago
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If you're a technical professional in higher education who's passionate about PeopleSoft, data, security, or systems integration — the Connected Campus Community of Practice wants YOU! As part of the Higher Ed User Group (HEUG), the Connected Campus CoP is a vendor-inclusive community built by and for higher ed professionals who work on the technical side of campus systems. We're currently accepting nominations for 4 new members to join our advisory group, and we're specifically seeking expertise in: Technical development — PeopleSoft functionality, customization, and code Reporting & data — turning institutional data into actionable ...
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HEUG Alliance 2026 – Orlando Recap: Conversations, Community, and a Whole Lot of Walking

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 16 days ago
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If you've ever volunteered at HEUG Alliance, you already know the drill. As a Connected Campus (CC) Community of Practice Champion, "busy" doesn't quite cover it. Between moderating sessions, rushing to stop-and-share tables, going to Birds of a Feather sessions, and somehow still squeezing in hallway conversations — there's never a dull moment. Not that any HEUG volunteer would have it any other way. This year, I had the privilege of connecting with so many incredible people, and I just have to take a moment to highlight a few of them. (If I didn't mention you — please don't take it personally. My feet were moving faster than my notes.) People ...
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Your Dashboard Won't Build Itself : And in Higher Ed, That's Especially True

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 23 days ago
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Your Dashboard Won't Build Itself — And in Higher Ed, That's Especially True A practical guide for the HEUG Connected Campus and Project & Change Management communities Author: Anna Kourouniotis (2026) | Note: a more generic version of this blog was written by the author and is hosted on their Substack. Picture this. Someone at your institution needs a report on enrolment trends, financial aid disbursements, or student retention. You're the person who can build it. The deadline is two weeks out. You open your system — PeopleSoft, Oracle Analytics, whatever your stack looks like — and think: I've got time. I'll work it ...
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Supercharging your Day-to-Day with MyWork + WorkCenters in PeopleSoft

By Crystal Hotchkiss posted 01-30-2026
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Have you ever thought, “It would be so much easier if these queries would just tell me when something needs attention?” Welcome to the power of MyWork integrated with WorkCenters ! At Cornell University, the Office of the University Registrar has been steadily expanding the use of WorkCenters across more of our teams. Along the way, we've implemented three new WorkCenters—each enhanced with MyWork—designed to centralize daily tasks, streamline monitoring, and simplify how our teams manage information in one convenient place. What Are WorkCenters and MyWork? WorkCenters offer a centralized hub where staff can access the tools and activities they ...
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The Ultimate User Manual for Claude in Excel: because Copilot Broke Your Heart (Again) - Part 1

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 01-30-2026
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Introduction Important Note: The examples in this blog series were generated using my personal access to Claude and do not represent or utilize any resources from my employer. Please review and follow your institution’s IT and AI policies before installing or using any similar tools. Welcome, brave spreadsheet warrior. You've been working with Copilot in Excel and have felt emotionally drained at all the things it just can't get right? You might argue, isn't that the same for any AI tool or add-on? AI is not perfect and certainly not the magic wand we might think it is. Plus it all can get pretty complicated with all the options that we have ...
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Don’t overpay for a Fluid form/survey tool

By Ron Anderson posted 01-27-2026
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Attention PeopleSoft customers: Don’t overpay for a Fluid form/survey tool. Here are some facts about XTend from Lagniappe Software: Budget Friendly — 50-70% less expensive than the others Much faster deployment — Go live in under a week Familiar and easier UX for administrators — easier to build, easier to test. No need for AI help to build. Better UI for all end users — clean, modern, works on all devices. Zero weeks of training — your team is building forms Day 1 Stop settling for overpriced, overcomplicated solutions. Let’s schedule a short demo so I can show you how XTend checks every box — without ...
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Finding a Gentle On‑Ramp with Power Query in Excel

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 01-23-2026
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For a lot of higher ed analysts, the scariest part of the job isn’t writing a PeopleSoft query—it’s what happens after the extract lands in Excel. Long columns to clean, messy values to fix, files to stack, and logic to repeat every census term or disbursement cycle. Many colleagues have lived mostly in PeopleSoft Query Manager and basic Excel, with little exposure to R, Python, or SAS, and suddenly find themselves asked to “prep the data” too. This post is for them. Why Start with Power Query in Excel? Power Query in Excel is a friendly, visual way to step into real data preparation without learning a programming language or buying a new BI tool. Power ...
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Alliance 2026 - things to get excited about!

By Jamie Janazian posted 01-20-2026
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HEUG Alliance 2026 is going on March 8 - 11, 2026 in Orlando, Florida and is a great opportunity to learn, share, and network with your peers from all around the world! Orlando offers plenty of fun things to do for when you aren't attending sessions, Stop and Shares, or checking out the Exhibitor Hall. If you haven't registered yet, you can do so here . You'll have over 200 sessions to choose from, and the conference will offer Workshop sessions (require additional registration) starting 8 AM Sunday March 8th, and sessions will go through Wednesday at 2:45 PM. With tracks based on area of interest, various systems, and professional skills such as ...
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Managing the Implementation Dip in Technical Training

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 01-09-2026
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Overview Professional development for higher education technical staff—such as data or business analysts or information systems professionals—must address both unique challenges in skill transfer and the realities of team-based technology environments. High-quality training should anticipate and address the “implementation dip”: a temporary decline in productivity or confidence when new approaches or tools are first introduced, even among experienced technical teams. The Implementation Dip in Technical Training When rolling out new platforms, updating data governance standards, or introducing advanced modeling techniques, technical teams often ...
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Test Plans

By Sandra Asebedo posted 01-05-2026
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Test Plan January 5, 2026 Sandra Asebedo UT Arlington – Connected Campus Council Member What is a Test Plan: It is a document that describes how to test a change or new page, process, query, or interface. Elements of a good Test Plan: 1. Describe what the change or new page, process, query, or interface is and its purpose. 2. Describe any applicable business rules. 3. Describe steps in how to test the change or new page, process, query, or interface. 4. Describe expected outcomes. In other words: 1. Navigation to the page, process query. 2. Where ...
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Test Plans

By Sandra Asebedo posted 01-05-2026
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Test Plan January 5, 2026 Sandra Asebedo UT Arlington – Connected Campus Council Member What is a Test Plan: It is a document that describes how to test a change or new page, process, query, or interface. Elements of a good Test Plan: 1. Describe what the change or new page, process, query, or interface is and its purpose. 2. Describe any applicable business rules. 3. Describe steps in how to test the change or new page, process, query, or interface. 4. Describe expected outcomes. In other words: 1. Navigation to the page, process query. 2. Where ...
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A Year of Growth, Gratitude, and Community

By Renee Riley posted 12-31-2025
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At the December Community Council call we discussed taking a moment to reflect on the past year. It inspired me to decide to take a moment to reflect on my own past year professionally and within HEUG. As I reflect on the past year, I’m struck most by how deeply community has shaped my growth. This year has been one of learning, visibility, courage, and connection—and much of that has been amplified through my experiences with the HEUG. Professionally, this year challenged me to step into new spaces and stretch beyond what felt comfortable. Those moments of growth were often accompanied by the support, encouragement, and inspiration of people who genuinely ...
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2025 Impact Report: Connected Campus

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 12-15-2025
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As we wrap up the year, we're excited to share our 2025 End-of-Year Report for this Connected Campus Community of Practice— a look back at the milestones and achievements that shaped our Higher Ed community. With a little over 4,900 subscribers across our four areas of interest, your engagement has helped us reach new heights. This year’s report highlights some of our most impressive numbers and collective wins. Thank you for being part of our journey!
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Sorta One Step Wonder! Formula by Example using Power Query

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 12-09-2025
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Hey Technical and Reporting wizards! Have you ever wanted to create a formula in Microsoft Excel starting with the result you need, even if you’re not sure how to get there? If you know what you want but aren’t sure of the steps, Power Query offers a simple and powerful way to make it happen! You will need to already be in the Power Query-verse for this one-step wonder. To enter Power Query Editor, simply click inside your data range or table, go to Data > From Table/Range Now for the one step to rule them all! Simply go to Add Column > Column From Examples. Then, enter sample values in a new column. Start typing in what you ...
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Integrating Tech Through Peer Coaching

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 12-02-2025
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Peer coaching is gaining momentum as a powerful tool for professional development and technology integration, especially in environments where teams want learning to be relevant, practical, and immediately impactful (Knowles et al., 2014; Robbins, 2015). Rather than relying on external trainers, peer coaching leverages in-house expertise, empowering colleagues to guide and support each other in solving real challenges and adapting to technological change (Robbins, 2015; Mattox, 2017). This article explores a scaffolded peer coaching approach based on a real example. Over six weeks, the coaching process centered on improving file management using Microsoft ...
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From Queries to Conversations: Humanizing Data Analysis in Higher Ed

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 11-25-2025
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Inspired by Alex Green and the HEUG community Just yesterday, I found myself deep in conversation with my HEUG friend, @Alexandra Green , about the intersections of analytics, human relationships, and the daily grind inside PeopleSoft, Tableau, Power BI, BI Publisher, and Artificial Intelligence. Our takeaway? The best data work starts with people—not platforms. This post unpacks the five most common traps analysts fall into, and what to do about them, based on years of creating and reviewing reports across campuses and institutions. 1) Start with the Question, Not the Tool It’s easy to get excited by Tableau’s latest feature or a slick Power ...
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Learn more about Connected Query and BI Publisher at this year's Alliance!

By Anna Kourouniotis posted 11-21-2025
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When it comes to delivering dynamic reports in PeopleSoft, PS Connected Query and BI Publisher are the ultimate power couple. Connected Query ties multiple queries together, streamlining data extraction across related records. This means less manual setup, fewer data joins to manage, and a smoother path to rich, reliable reporting. Here is the main point: You can create a set of linked, simple queries to collect data from multiple tables instead of creating a complicated query with multiple equal, outer joins, and grouping conditions. A single row of data from a parent query results in a set of rows in a child query. This data is processed row by row and ...
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