Why are we doing this? Jenzabar EX is our Student Information system which is our central repository for all our data. The present system is hosted on our servers and managed by IT. When we move the system, application and databases to the Jenzabar Hosted environment, Jenzabar will manage the servers and also perform all application upgrades including the year-end update. After we are fully in a hosted environment, jenzabar will then assist us to move to the next version of EX which is J1. Moving our EX server into a cloud-hosted environment has several strategic benefits: 1. Security:  the hosted environment is physically located within a secure datacenter.  Typically datacenters are buildings with very limited physical access (few doors, no windows, and a 24-hour security presence).  As good as Manny, Brian and John McAloon are, they cannot be expected to provide physical security to the server room in the same manner as at a datacenter. 2. Disaster Recovery:  Datacenters typically have redundant power systems and redundant internet connections in order to minimize downtime.  Additionally they have  3. Maintenance:  Suzanne has been responsible for monitoring the performance, and performing upgrades for many years.  But as good as she is, there are advantages to having the maker of the product itself be responsible for maintenance.   When is this happening? At the close of business on Friday, December 9 2022, we will disable the EX database and our various applications which connect to EX (inside.ptsem.edu, online payments & giving, JICS (drop-add, faculty grading). This will ensure that no transactions will occur in the database during the migration period. A certain period of preparation and preliminary testing will follow on the night of Friday December 9, culminating in the migration of the production database early on Saturday December 10. When the Jenzabar team informs us that their migration work is complete we will undergo a period of testing and validation. The IT team will begin this testing/validation process and will enlist the support of a handful of key EX users from various departments in the process to ensure that the migrated system works as expected. On Monday Dec. 12, the EX application will be fully hosted on Jenzabar Cloud.   Will any updates I make in EX transfer over when we migrate? Yes, all data and updates made from within the EX applications will transfer over to the Cloud hosted application.    How can I prepare for this migration? Please take some screen-shots of any custom reports you run from within the EX application. These are reports which appear in drop-downs within the EX application. For assistance, please reach out to the Enterprise Team or the PTS Helpdesk and we will assist you in identifying the custom reports you run.    When will testing commence and for how long? IT has been testing the cloud version of EX since September and our users started testing key modules around mid-October this year.    Whom should we call if we have issues during testing or after the cut-over? Continue to contact the help desk as you normally would. Directly using the ticket system (which you can trigger by sending an email to help@ptsem.edu) is the best way to get the proper audience for your question. Please include screenshots that depict the specific area of EX you are using is greatly appreciated (and can cut down greatly on your need to explain your situation as well).   What has changed in the new system? The version of EX is exactly the same, however you will notice some subtle differences. 1. The EX icon on the windows task-bar has a tiny circle (while the Live EX application doesn't). 2. When "saving" reports, pdf's or when saving to Excel or Word, you would notice that the Share/Drive names are different. 3. When printing, please ensure that you can print from the remote EX application. 4. Please refer to this document for further details PDf Handout: How to setup a new connection to EX Hosted.   How do I access the new (hosted) system? After we complete the migration and reopen EX for use once again, please locate the EX application from the Start menu (as seen below). This will be the method you use to start the EX application. Feel free to save the icon to your start menu, taskbar, or desktop for even easier access! 

With the migration to the J1-Hosted environment, the usage of the J1 application can be expanded to other operating systems that have historically not supported the application.  Since access to J1 is now connected through a remote application, macOS users who need J1 access are now able to do so through Microsoft Workspace. Please keep in mind that you need to be on a PTS network in order to connect to these resources.  The PTS networks with access are the campus wired ethernet connections in all major campus buildings, PTS-Secure-Wireless or the PTS Virtual Private Network (VPN) for remote work. In order to access J1 on macOS, you will need to access it through an application on your computer called Microsoft Remote Desktop.  This application should be installed in your Applications folder on your Mac.   Saving your PTS user account: When working with Microsoft Remote Desktop, it is best to store your username and password to make accessing the applications easier.  Please keep in mind that you will need to update this password as you update your Seminary account password every 180 days. Locate and open Microsoft Remote Desktop in your Applications folder Select the Microsoft Remote Desktop menu on the top toolbar, select Preferences Select the User Accounts tab Click the small Plus button In the new box enter your username in the following format,  pts-eden\firstname.lastname In the Password box, enter your seminary account password Enter the name of PTS J1 and click Add Close the preferences window To edit or change the password stored here follow the above Steps 1-3, Select PTS J1 from the provided list.  Simply enter the new password and save if prompted. Setting up your connection to J1 To establish the connection to J1 on your Mac: Locate and Open Microsoft Remote Desktop in your Applications folder. Locate and Select the Workspaces tab in the Remote desktop Application Click Add a Workspace In the Email or Workspace url field, enter https://remoteapps.ptsem.edu/rdweb/feed/webfeed.aspx The application should look for and find the resource For the User account option, use the drop-down menu to change it to the PTS J1 Click Add Once complete, any J1-related applications you have access to will display. Opening any J1 application on your Mac Now that you have established your connection to J1's RemoteApps, you can use J1 as if it were installed on your computer.  Reminder, you need to be on a PTS network (ethernet, PTS-Secure-Wireless, or VPN) in order for the apps to connect.   To open and use the applications: Locate and Open Microsoft Remote Desktop in your Applications folder Select the Workspaces tab Double-click on the application you are looking to open If presented with a notification about connecting to an RDP host, this is normal and expected.  Click Allow. A few screens with show and bring you to the J1 sign-in window.   Enter your J1 username and password. The application should open and show you all the tools available to you.

Jenzabar EX – the road ahead: What we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and the associated timeline.  2 major projects between now and the end of 2023 Best viewed in attached document to retain formatting

What we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and the associated timeline.  2 major projects between now and the end of 2023: 1. The move to a Jenzabar-hosted environment in the cloud 2. The transition from EX to J1 Click to download recorded presentation

Note the prerequisite:  The user must be added to ACL-EXUsers first.  That action will trigger the group policy that pushes the connection elements to the user's machine.   With that in place, proceed to the instructions in the PDF attachment.  

Periodically your connection to the Host EX RemoteApp may need to be refreshed.  This should also be done if you are missing any of the core applications in the RemoteApp Folder.  Refreshing your EX Connection to the RemoteApp on Windows: Using the Windows menu on the lower left-hand corner, begin typing in Control Panel Select Control Panel from the listed options  With the Control Panel open, use the search bar in the upper right hand corner and enter RemoteApp The list of options should filter down, Click on "RemoteApp and Desktop Connections" to bring up your active remote connection. Click on the Properties next to the PTSEM RemoteApps title. Click Update Now. You connect to the remote application should update and provide you with the date and time of the last refresh.  Any missing applications or connections should now be available. Refreshing the RemoteApp Connection on macOS: Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application located in your Applications Folder Select the Workspaces tab Move your cursor on top of the PTSEM Remote Apps title Locate and select the update arrow (circular arrow) The connection should refresh and provide you with the most up-to-date connections and setting to the EX-hosted environment.

All Infomaker reports can be accessed from within the Infomaker application interface by clicking on the Library toolbar button and navigating to the below folders. D:\PTS\Jenzabar\Additional Reports and D:\PTS\Jenzabar\Custom To open Library view – click on Library toolbar button Infomaker reports are now located under D:\Jenzabar folder.

If a user receives the error below, you can use the following steps to correct it without needing to Refresh Jenzebar. Connect with the affected user and open RDP - if the Jenzebar remote apps have been set up, there will be a connection that populates automatically, see below. Once Selected, it will also populate the username, then hit connect Once connected to JZPTS-RDS1.PTS-EDEN.ORG, navigate to File Explorer and through the following file path: Launch File Explorer>Select Applications(D:)(expand "This PC" if needed to see the drives)>PTS>Jenzebar>Word_Mail_Merge_Key Launch "dwordfix", this should be followed up by a confirmation message to make the changes, select yes. The final part is seeing the next confirmation that it was successful. Press OK, then you can test with the user that the issue is resolved.

Here’s a link to Jenzabar's release notes which are included in this update.  These annual year-end updates are typically very limited and focus on 1098T and 1099 reporting.  I also see an IPEDS related change listed which we will need to address in the upcoming year.