Meet: Norma Mocabee
Graduate Registrar
She keeps the record straight at APU as the graduate registrar. Formerly a high school choral music teacher, she’s hitting all the right notes with this project. Meet Norma.
What do you do at APU?
I lead a staff of nine in the graduate registrar’s office. We manage all registration and records for the graduate division of the university, including publishing class schedules, helping students register for classes, graduating students, and providing official transcripts.
What is your role in the project and how have you been involved?
I’m the module lead for student records and enrollment, which includes records, academic structure, academic advisement, and curriculum management.
We’re still building the foundation of this software in many ways because it’s so complex. We’ll then incorporate all of the things that students now have in Degree Works into PeopleSoft.
What are you hoping will result from this project?
I hope that any user—be it a student, faculty member, or staff member—will be able to navigate through this system in a simple way, and find clear steps, accurate information, and fast results.
What kind of challenges does Eiro bring?
PeopleSoft can do far more than IFAS, but that also means it takes a lot of work to configure it properly. We have to decide how to roll out new functionality in this system that we as a university haven’t had before.
For example, through the new system, students will not only be able to see which courses are missing from their degree requirements, but will also be able to click on one of those courses and immediately move into the registration system to sign up for it.
We also face the challenge of serving our students well while this project moves ahead. Many of the registrar staff are stretched thin, dividing their time between the project trailer and other duties. Keeping all the plates spinning proves difficult.
What’s the coolest part of this project for you?
By far, the coolest part is building new relationships with team members around the table in the project trailer. The student records team is phenomenal. We laugh together and struggle to make things work together. It’s been great getting to know people who work across campus with similar responsibilities as me, but with whom I didn’t have much contact before. These connections will enhance our work at APU long after Eiro is over.
What does this new system mean for APU?
The university has chosen a top-of-the-line, high-quality software. This system brings us up to speed with what our incoming students are now expecting of their service environment. PeopleSoft takes us to the next level of student service. It feels so good to be able to say, “We did it right; we didn’t cut corners.”
How do you maintain a healthy work balance?
I try to prioritize what is important for me to do today, tomorrow, this week, and next week. In taking care of my staff, I have to show them by example that they also need to take care of themselves.
If I don’t, then I’m projecting an attitude that they are also expected to sacrifice personal health, relationships, and recreational activities for the sake of the job. I’m not afraid to work hard and invest longer hours because there is an end to this project. But, I have to be sure my priorities are straight. This isn’t an all-out sprint; it’s more of a long-distance run.
Funniest moment related to Eiro so far?
About two or three weeks into the project, we were trying to make the project trailer space more workable. With so many people around the table and cords everywhere, it looked like a spider web. We decided to make some drastic changes in setup, so we unplugged everything and moved tables, people, computers, and cables all over the place. At one point, a table collapsed, sending people running to grab what was on it.
We stopped, looked at each other, and burst out laughing, thinking it was a good thing that the project manager, Jim Fischella, was not in the room to see the chaos. When he came back and saw the changes, I think he was glad he wasn’t there too.
What have been the unexpected learnings?
It seems we’re all learning a new language. Each day, our knowledge of the system grows and we’re starting to use the language of PeopleSoft more easily and frequently.
I’ve also learned to be intentional about building relationships with others. Seeing the collaboration in this project has really driven that home for me.
How has this enabled you to partner differently with the team of people you work with?
I’m connecting more frequently with team members from the Graduate Center and with my fellow registrar, Jennifer Moore, as we support each other. I’m also learning to be more focused in the time that I have with people because I am so busy. I find myself dropping in briefly to touch base with my staff in the office. While I’m not there for long, I try to make that time valuable.
It’s 10 a.m. on Saturday morning; what have you done so far?
I’m either gardening or going to a late breakfast with my husband, George. Some Saturdays, I’m getting ready for the kids to come over and use our pool.
How has this project challenged you to think outside the box?
That’s the nature of an implementation project like this. Each day is spent thinking outside of our old box of IFAS. We have to either translate what we’ve been doing into a brand new system, or figure out how to use PeopleSoft to improve our processes.
What are some common misconceptions about the project?
I think many people are expecting this new system to do everything it’s capable of and solve everyone’s technical problems instantly when we launch it in the spring. Because PeopleSoft is so sophisticated, it’s going to take continued programming to set up all of its unique functionality.
What has been accomplished so far in the student records submodule?
We’re right on schedule. We set up the basic structure of the software, which includes majors, degrees, schools, and departments. We also converted course catalogs and produced a sample student transcript into PeopleSoft—a huge milestone. The team has entered more than 40,000 transfer course mappings, so all Citrus College, Mt. SAC, and many other college courses have been mapped to show their APU equivalent. We also built degree requirements and course requisites into the new system for more than 50 undergraduate majors. We’re in the process now of testing those requirements to ensure accuracy.
What lies ahead?
The student records team has accomplished so much already, but we have many items to finish before we can launch this coming spring, including converting all past student records into the new software. From there, we’ll need to build all registrar processes into PeopleSoft so students will have everything they need to easily register for classes and accurately track their programs. We’ll also equip faculty with the tools they need to pull rosters and enter grades into the system.
How will the new system make your job easier?
PeopleSoft’s automation makes what I do easier. It requires less manual processing, freeing up time to serve students as individuals.
