Category: Email Update

What Staff are Saying About Patriot Connect    

Last month’s update highlighted what students were saying about Patriot Connect. This month, we’re sharing feedback from the staff perspective. Riley Redd, senior success coach in Student Success Coaching, shared her experience with Patriot Connect:

“I love how Patriot Connect allows us to assist students in connecting with the resources they need. The referral system in Patriot Connect makes connection with other resources streamlined and easy on both the coach and student. I also love how all resources are now integrated into one platform to create a spiderweb of support for our students.” 

Stephanie Bluth, director of graduate student success and professional development, said the following when describing her experience with Patriot Connect: 

“Patriot Connect has streamlined my day-to-day work. Access to everything in one place is a game-changer that lets me focus more on supporting students.” 

From simplifying workflows to fostering stronger cross-campus collaboration with referrals, Patriot Connect is making it easier for staff and faculty to connect and provide students with the right support at the right time. 

Building Patriot Connect Release 2: Recruitment and Admissions 

During the build phase for Patriot Connect Release 2: Recruitment and Admissions, the team is working in focused, two-week periods called “sprints” to develop and refine system features. Each sprint outlines specific functionality to be built, and regular sessions are held with product owners and both functional and technical representatives from across George Mason to review and approve demos. This collaborative approach ensures the platform aligns with the needs of the units, colleges, and schools they represent while delivering a seamless user experience. With Sprint 4 now complete, recent development has centered on enhancing the application experience—introducing features like “Save for Later,” refining application stages and filters, and building reusable application cards for areas such as Honors College, academic plans, military affiliation, and in-state tuition. As the build phase progresses, we look forward to sharing more updates on the evolving features to expect from Patriot Connect: Recruitment and Admissions.

Building the Organizational Change Management Plan for Release 2  

Change management is more than a process—it’s a purposeful approach to helping stakeholders adjust to new processes, systems, and roles. As the Patriot Connect program is currently in the early stages of the build phase for Release 2: Recruitment and Admissions, the organizational change management (OCM) team is also building the change management plan for Release 2. During this time, the focus for the OCM team is to attend the build meeting sessions and to identify and analyze areas of change that will impact faculty and staff in Release 2. Gathering these inputs, combined with lessons learned from Release 1: Student Success will enable the OCM team to develop a comprehensive change management plan that will include stakeholder engagement activities, a strategic communications plan, and a training plan designed to prepare, engage, and support stakeholders through upcoming changes. Once finalized, the change management, communications, and training plans will be reviewed by the program management team and informed by feedback from Patriot Connect product owners—ensuring the approach is both collaborative and aligned with the needs of the impacted user community.

Patriot Connect Featured Training Materials

Have you joined the Microsoft Teams Patriot Connect Training Community? It is a channel dedicated to supporting your transition to Patriot Connect and keeping you up to date with the latest information about new and updated trainings. Watch the community for announcements of upcoming micro–trainings. Additionally, you can:

• Find links to the videos, eLearnings, guides, and FAQs housed in MasonLEAPS (Log into MasonLEAPS first)
• Be informed when new resources are added or updated
• Access a clear onboarding path for new advisors, student success coaches, and other Patriot Connect users
• Suggest additional materials you would find helpful or request updates that are needed in existing resources using this survey

On the Horizon: Release 1 Change Champions Transitioning to Release 1 Change Liaisons

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all Release 1 Patriot Connect change champions for your dedication, energy, and support in helping your colleagues transition to Patriot Connect: Student Success. Your contributions have made a meaningful impact across the university. As we move into the stabilization phase of Release 1, many change champions are stepping into a new role as change liaisons within their respective units, schools, or colleges. Change liaisons will continue to serve as a key point of contact, helping to surface local feedback, identify common themes, and share enhancement ideas with the Patriot Connect product team as it relates to Student Success functionality. While not expected to provide technical support or training, change liaisons will play a vital role in keeping their communities informed and connected as the system evolves. Once all Release 1 change liaisons are confirmed, a full roster will be posted on the Patriot Connect program website. Looking ahead to the new user groups who will be impacted by Release 2: Recruitment and Admissions, the organizational change management team will soon begin recruiting a new network of Patriot Connect change champions to help support along the journey, ensuring that each phase of the program is guided by informed, engaged voices from across the George Mason community.

Patriot Connect Team Spotlight Series

Meet the Patriot Connect Team members supporting you and the George Mason community as we adapt to Patriot Connect Release 1: Student Success and continue into Release 2: Recruitment and Admissions. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Get to know our July spotlight, Kate Imholt!

In Case You Missed It

• Patriot Connect Micro-Training Calendar 
• Check out how students interact with Patriot Connect: Patriot Connect Overview – Video Resources for Students
• June PCCC Spotlights: Chanel Figueroa and Krystal Dains
• Did you know you can find last month’s update on the Patriot Connect program website?  

What Students are Saying about Patriot Connect  

Patriot Connect was designed with one primary goal in mind: to make the student journey at George Mason easier, more connected, and more intuitive. Based on early feedback, it’s doing just that. Marisa Jay Parikh, an undergraduate student majoring in Business Management, shared her experience:

“I enjoyed how well laid out the student portal landing page was. Specifically, it was very convenient as a user to see who my major advisors were and what they were there for.”

When Sarem Agha, an undergraduate student majoring in Computational and Data Sciences, was asked to describe her experience in one word, she said, “Simple.” Sarem added:

“When I went into the platform it had everything laid out for me, so I didn’t have to do extra navigation or any other work. When I wanted to see my academic advisor, it was right there as soon as I logged in… I like [how] it reminds me if I have upcoming appointments [and I can see] my past appointments.”

From streamlined access to their support networks, to a clearer view of available campus resources, Patriot Connect is helping students feel more confident and in control of their student journey.

Patriot Connect Featured Training Materials

We’re pleased to introduce the Patriot Connect Training Community—a new Microsoft Teams community that anyone at George Mason can join. It is designed to continually support your transition to Patriot Connect and keep you up to date with the latest information about new and updated trainings. Once you join, you can:

• Find links to the videos, eLearnings, guides, and FAQs housed in MasonLEAPS (Log into MasonLEAPS first)
• Be informed when new resources are added or updated
• Access a clear onboarding path for new advisors, student success coaches, and other Patriot Connect users
• Suggest additional materials you would find helpful or request updates that are needed in existing resources using this survey

Once you join the Teams community, we recommend you check out the materials in the folder: Introduction to Patriot Connect.

On the Horizon: Micro-Trainings Coming this Summer

Looking to sharpen your Patriot Connect skills in just 30 minutes? This summer, we’re launching a series of virtual, instructor-led micro-trainings focused on specific topics like shift setup, Outlook sync, and managing appointments. Each session is designed for small groups, giving you the chance to ask questions, get hands-on support, and build confidence using Patriot Connect. Join the Patriot Connect Training Community and navigate to the Instructor-Led Training Channel to see a calendar of upcoming sessions. Have a topic in mind? Let us know what you’d like to learn next by completing this survey. 

Patriot Connect Change Champion (PCCC) Spotlight Series

Meet the PCCCs supporting you and the George Mason community as we adapt to Patriot Connect Release 1: Student Success and continue into Release 2: Recruitment and Admissions. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Get to know our June spotlights. Get to know our June spotlights, Chanel Figueroa and Krystal Dains!

In Case You Missed It

• FAQs
  • Where should staff, faculty, and student employees go for technical support?
  • How can I support students who use assistive technology (such as screen readers or keyboard-only access) to schedule appointments through Patriot Connect?
• Check out how students interact with Patriot Connect: Patriot Connect Overview – Video Resources for Students
• May PCCC Spotlights: Amber Shackleford and Jason King
• Did you know you can find last month’s update on the Patriot Connect program website?  

Patriot Connect in Action!  

Patriot Connect: Student Success officially launched for staff and faculty on April 30, and for students on May 1. We are pleased to share impressive adoption numbers, and below are some key metrics as of May 19:

• 2,746 students have logged into Patriot Connect 
• 404 staff and faculty have logged into Patriot Connect 
• 1,050 total appointments have been created 

If you haven’t logged into Patriot Connect yet, go to masonconnect.my.salesforce.com to get started! For additional support, contact our help hotline via phone or Teams link. The hotline—dedicated to providing technical and functional support for staff, faculty, and student employees—is available from 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT through Wednesday, May 28 (closed May 26 for public holiday). 

• Microsoft Teams link: Patriot Connect Hypercare Support Bridge 
  • Meeting ID: 282 373 035 216 3 
  • Passcode: KB2NY98N 
• Microsoft Teams Dial in by Phone: +1 571-397-2084,,423312748# United States, Washington  
  • Phone Conference ID: 423 312 748# 

Patriot Connect Featured Training Materials

If you are a staff or faculty member who meets with students and is responsible for providing academic advising and/or student support services, there are two key set-up features in Patriot Connect that must be completed before students can schedule appointments with you: 1) adding your “Shifts” (appointment availability) and 2) syncing your Patriot Connect and Outlook calendars. The following training materials will help you get started with shift creation and calendar syncing: 

• Log into MasonLEAPS. 
• Access and then join the Patriot Connect Community.  
• The training materials listed below will be highlighted on the Patriot Connect Community Main tab and are also available under the Topics tab in the Job Aids and Resource Guides folder. 
  • Create and Update Shift Work Topics and Engagement Channels Job Aid 
  • How to Set Availability and Sync Your Calendar in Patriot Connect Resource Guide 

Video resources and user guides are also available for students. To check out how students interact with Patriot Connect and schedule appointments, reference the Patriot Connect Overview – Video Resources for Students. 

On the Horizon: Building Release 2: Recruitment and Admissions

This summer, the Patriot Connect team will transition from the discovery phase to the build phase for Release 2: Recruitment and Admissions. Some of the initial features to be built for Release 2 include foundational setup, profiles and permissions, and lead/opportunity setup. To facilitate iterative build during this phase, the team will adopt agile sprint methodology, which allows for rapid build, quality assurance testing (QA), and deployment within two-week segments called “sprints.” Each sprint will define the specific features to be developed for Patriot Connect: Recruitment and Admissions. The Patriot Connect team will hold regular sessions with product owners and functional and technical representatives from across George Mason to review and approve system demos of the features being built in each sprint. This ensures the platform meets the requirements of the units, colleges, and schools they represent, while also delivering an exceptional user experience. We will continue to share more about the features being incorporated as the build phase continues. 

Patriot Connect Change Champion (PCCC) Spotlight Series

Meet the PCCCs supporting you and the George Mason community as we transition to Patriot Connect. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Get to know our May spotlights, Amber Shackleford and Jason King!

In Case You Missed It

• Patriot Connect is Live for Staff and Faculty 
• Patriot Connect: Student Success Participating Units 
• April PCCC Spotlights: Vicki Dominick and Daniel Minot 
• Did you know you can find last month’s update on the Patriot Connect program website?  

The Countdown Continues: 13 Days to Patriot Connect: Student Success Go-Live 

Patriot Connect: Student Success will be available in just 13 days! Starting April 30, 2025, all undergraduate and graduate staff and faculty academic advisors, as well as select units in University Life, will be required to use Patriot Connect for appointments and support services. Live, instructor-led training begins today, April 17! Are you registered? If you are assigned to live training, it is important to attend because staff and faculty who meet with students will set up their real appointment availability in the Patriot Connect platform during their session. This will allow students to begin scheduling appointments May 1. If your appointment availability is not published, students will not be able to book time with you through Patriot Connect, resulting in a gap in their student support. In addition to attending training, here are some things you can do to get ready for Patriot Connect:

• Update your email signature—include a link to Patriot Connect using our templates. 
• Update departmental websites and materials—Patriot Connect Change Champions are coordinating with website and marketing contacts to encourage updates to materials (print, social, web, etc.) for academic advising and student support services.
• For Navigate users—look out for messages with specific guidance on how to close out your activities in the system.  

Summit Events Selected for Patriot Connect Release 2 

We are thrilled to announce Summit Events as the new third-party event management tool that will replace TargetX for Patriot Connect Release 2: Recruitment and Admissions. After thorough evaluation by our team of product owners, product advisors, and subject-matter experts, Summit Events was chosen for its seamless integration with Patriot Connect and its ability to efficiently manage recruitment and admissions events specifically for prospective and new students, including college fairs, tours, and orientation.

On the Horizon: What Happens After Go-Live?

When Patriot Connect launches, there will be a four-week period called “hypercare.” This is a critical phase in the implementation process where dedicated support is provided to ensure a smooth transition and to address functional and technical questions. During hypercare, students, staff, and faculty will have access to specialized assistance to help them adjust to using Patriot Connect and promptly resolve any challenges. For support, students will be directed to contact MSSC, while staff and faculty will use a help hotline (phone number and Teams link) dedicated to providing Patriot Connect support. Detailed information on how to contact support will be provided in go-live communications.

Patriot Connect Change Champion (PCCC) Spotlight Series

Meet the PCCCs supporting you and the George Mason community as we transition to Patriot Connect. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Get to know our April spotlights, Vicki Dominick and Daniel Minot!

In Case You Missed It

• March PCCC Spotlights: Austin A. Deray and Matt Green! 
• Patriot Connect: Student Success Participating Units 
• Did you know you can find last month’s update on the Patriot Connect program website? 

The Countdown Continues: 30 Days to Patriot Connect Student Success Go-Live 

Patriot Connect: Student Success is now just 30 days away from launching! Starting April 30, 2025, all undergraduate and graduate staff and faculty academic advisors, as well as select units in University Life, will be required to use Patriot Connect for appointments and support services. It is important that staff and faculty attend training for Patriot Connect because students will be able to use Patriot Connect to schedule appointments starting May 1. Live, instructor-led training (ILT) courses begin April 17. Don’t forget to register for Patriot Connect training in MasonLEAPS.

Patriot Connect Training Begins April 17 

We are thrilled to provide live instructor-led training (ILT) for staff and faculty who will be using Patriot Connect regularly to fulfill their primary job functions. To view your ILT assignment(s):

1. Go to MasonLEAPS.
2. On the Home tab, scroll to Your Action Items.
   • Click on the Your Action Items heading.
   • If there are no items here, no action is needed.
3. If you see action items related to Patriot Connect, select each link to see a list of available session options and register for your preferred date and time.
   • You will need to do this for each of the Patriot Connect ILT courses assigned to you.

In addition to ILTs, job aids, resource guides, videos, and eLearnings will be available in MasonLEAPS at go-live for self-paced learning. If you were not assigned an ILT, this means your unit, school, or college has deemed these resources sufficient based on how you individually will use Patriot Connect. ILT sessions are not open to individuals who were not assigned to attend live training. If you believe you should be assigned live training, please contact your Patriot Connect Change Champion for assistance.

Below are the five live Patriot Connect ILT courses being offered starting April 17:

• Introduction to Patriot Connect for New Student Success Technology Users and Introduction to Patriot Connect for Current Student Success Technology Users
• Advanced Reporting (Patriot Connect)
• Costello College of Business Only: Creating and Managing Cases
• Marketing Cloud for Administrators, Content Creators, and Data Managers  

Students (unless they are student staff) will not take part in live training. Basic training materials will be sufficient for students’ needs in the system and will be available at go-live. We will provide further details on this topic in our next monthly update.

On the Horizon: What Will Event Management Look Like for Patriot Connect Release 2?

As part of Patriot Connect Release 2: Recruitment and Admissions, George Mason will introduce a new third-party event management tool to replace Salesforce TargetX. The program team is currently evaluating the best tool to integrate with Patriot Connect. The new tool will be used specifically to manage recruitment and admissions events for prospective and new students such as college fairs, tours, and orientation. Other event scheduling and engagement tools at George Mason will not be impacted. Staff and faculty will continue to use 25Live for room reservations and as the university’s public-facing events calendar, and students will still use Mason360 to join student organizations and view a calendar of student involvement events on campus.

Patriot Connect Change Champion (PCCC) Spotlight Series

This series introduces the PCCCs who are dedicated to supporting you and the George Mason community as we transition to Patriot Connect. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Get to know our March spotlights, Austin A. Deray and Matt Green!

In Case You Missed It

Last month’s Provost’s Message announced that all undergraduate and graduate staff and faculty academic advisors will be required to use Patriot Connect for appointments and advising interactions. Select units in University Life will also be required to use Patriot Connect for student support services. Visit the Patriot Connect program website for a comprehensive list of Patriot Connect: Student Success participating units.

February Student Focus Groups 

This month, the Patriot Connect organizational change management team held virtual focus groups with undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students to gather insights for driving adoption of Patriot Connect. The sessions included a virtual tour of the student view and a demonstration of how to schedule an appointment. The participants then shared their thoughts on the most effective ways to inform students Patriot Connect is coming, their preferred methods for learning to use it, and how to encourage continued use of Patriot Connect throughout the entire student journey. The feedback collected will be instrumental in the successful student adoption of the platform at George Mason.

Key takeaways from the student focus groups include:

• Communication preferences: Students ultimately prefer direct communication from the advisors, staff, or faculty members they frequently interact with over department/program emails. Participants also shared that they often rely on George Mason’s popular social media accounts on Instagram for updates and expressed that repeated exposure to information about Patriot Connect will help grab students’ attention.
• Promoting use: Students confirmed that the benefit of Patriot Connect is that it centralizes appointment scheduling, maintains a running record of previous meeting notes and referrals, simplifies finding contact information for more direct access to different offices and resources, and integrates with Patriot Web for a more comprehensive view of their student contact record.
• Learning to use Patriot Connect: Students prefer short “how to” videos. The group also expressed interest in watching a video of what their advisors and other staff can see about them in Patriot Connect so that students can understand what information is being shared and with whom.
• Long-term use: Just as students look to their advisors for guidance on their academic journey, they will look to their advisors as examples for using Patriot Connect. If their advisors and student support services communities are using Patriot Connect, they will too!

The Countdown Continues: 60 days to Patriot Connect Student Success Go-Live 

Patriot Connect: Student Success is now just 60 days away from launching! Starting April 30, 2025, colleges and schools will use Patriot Connect for both undergraduate and graduate academic advising, while units within University Life will leverage Patriot Connect for various student support services, including student success coaching, learning services, Housing and Residence Life, and more. Starting May 1, students will begin using Patriot Connect to schedule new appointments with participating student support services communities. In the two months remaining before go-live, staff and faculty are encouraged to prepare for Patriot Connect by attending training. Live, instructor-led training (ILT) courses will be available in-person and virtually starting April 17 and will continue through mid-May. Registration for ILT courses will open in MasonLEAPS on March 3.

On the Horizon: Peer Trainer Preparation Begins

Thank you to the individuals who have officially committed to being a peer trainer for Patriot Connect: Student Success. These peer trainers will each lead or support 1-2 live instructor-led training (ILT) courses that most closely align with their area of expertise or unit. Peer trainers will get hands-on experience with the course content and learn how to deliver the ILTs to end-users by attending peer trainer preparation sessions in late March and early April. During this period, peer trainers will also participate in user acceptance testing to support their preparation. Patriot Connect: Student Success training will begin on April 17, focusing on preparing staff and faculty to use the system when it goes live on April 30. Registration for ILT courses will open in MasonLEAPS on March 3.

Patriot Connect Change Champion (PCCC) Spotlight Series

This series introduces the PCCCs who are dedicated to supporting you and the George Mason community as we transition to Patriot Connect. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Get to know the February spotlight, Lauren Wagner!

In Case You Missed It

• Recently updated Patriot Connect FAQs
• January PCCC Spotlights: Joshua Fletcher and Seunga Seo!
• Did you know you can find last month’s update on the Patriot Connect program website?

The Countdown Begins: 90 days to Patriot Connect Student Success Go-Live 

The Patriot Connect team is excited to announce we are just 90 days away from launching Release 1: Student Success on April 30, 2025! This milestone marks a significant step forward in enhancing George Mason’s digital capabilities and improving the overall experience for students, staff, and faculty. The upcoming release will introduce the university’s new system of engagement for the student journey, enabling students to receive personalized communications, schedule appointments, and engage with select student support services including academic advising, student success coaching, and learning services. Stay tuned for more updates as we approach the launch of Patriot Connect.

Student Success Training Dates and Modalities 

The Patriot Connect team is committed to providing ample training opportunities to help end-users prepare for the upcoming transition to Patriot Connect Student Success. The curriculum consists of live (in-person and virtual) instructor-led training (ILT) and on-demand learning materials including job-aids, resource guides, system videos, and eLearnings. Staff and faculty end-users are encouraged to attend ILTs, which are centrally managed and scheduled by the Patriot Connect team and led by designated peer trainers. Live ILT courses will begin in late April and continue through May, allowing end-users to learn the system in a training environment before they begin using it. The timing of when you receive live training will depend on your role. There will be multiple date and time options available for each ILT course offered to accommodate for busy schedules across the university community during this period. Once dates and times are finalized, in-person and virtual ILTs will be available in MasonLEAPS for you to register for and attend the training that works best with your schedule. On-demand training materials, including recorded ILTs, will be available centrally on MasonLEAPS for continued long-term use as well.

On the Horizon: Discovery for Patriot Connect Recruitment and Admissions

To start off the new year, the Patriot Connect team will begin the discovery phase for Release 2: Recruitment and Admissions. Seamlessly integrated within Patriot Connect under a single login, Recruitment and Admissions will enhance engagement between the university and applicants through streamlined application management, a dynamic applicant portal, efficient document management, and improved reporting capabilities. The discovery phase will concentrate on understanding George Mason’s current workflows and technologies—such as TargetX—used for recruitment and admissions, gathering business requirements from staff, addressing operational challenges, and identifying opportunities for improvements. During this period, the Patriot Connect team will hold regular discovery sessions with product owners and various functional and technical representatives from across George Mason. These stakeholders will guide the discovery and design of Patriot Connect Recruitment and Admissions to ensure a distinctive and inclusive student experience from the time they initially express interest in George Mason all the way to graduation.

Patriot Connect Change Champion (PCCC) Spotlight Series

This series introduces the PCCCs who are dedicated to supporting you and the George Mason community as we transition to Patriot Connect. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Get to know the January spotlights, Joshua Fletcher and Seunga Seo!

In Case You Missed It

• December PCCC Spotlights: Sadie Mele and Sara Simanski
• Did you know you can find last month’s update on the Patriot Connect program website?

Building the Student Contact Record in Patriot Connect 

The product build team, which is responsible for determining the functionality and design of Patriot Connect, has been focused on configuring the student contact record. The student contact record serves as a centralized place where staff, faculty, and students can view academic, student support services, and relevant personal information depending on their role-based permissions. It helps those who meet with students to gather context and come to appointments fully equipped to provide support tailored to students’ specific needs. The product build team is carefully considering all aspects of the student contact record—a core feature of Patriot Connect—to ensure it contains the most relevant and timely information, displayed in a user-friendly and efficient manner. Key information that can be found on the student contact record includes undergraduate and graduate academic details, cohorts and attributes, academic term enrollment, learning program(s), course offerings, assigned tasks, past and upcoming appointments, referrals, interaction summaries, and holds. By centralizing this data, the student contact record offers a comprehensive view of each student, eliminating the need to search across multiple systems. Quick access to this information enhances the effectiveness of appointments and student support services, fostering stronger relationships between students and their success team.

Patriot Connect Peer Trainers Needed 

This month, the Patriot Connect training and organizational change management (OCM) team is finalizing the training curriculum, which includes on-demand learning materials and live instructor-led training (ILT) for Patriot Connect users. The ILT courses will be peer-to-peer, meaning the training you receive on how to use Patriot Connect will come from your George Mason University colleagues. As such, the training and OCM team is seeking volunteers to become Patriot Connect peer trainers. End-user training for Student Success is scheduled for late March and early April, with peer trainers expected to deliver about two live training sessions each. Before conducting live sessions, peer trainers will participate in preparation activities starting in January. They will receive all necessary materials (e.g., slide decks, demo guides, etc.), get early access to Patriot Connect, attend preparation sessions to learn how to deliver the training content, complete self-learning exercises, and participate in at least one practice session with the training and OCM team. If you are interested in becoming a peer trainer, fill out the Let’s Connect feedback form before you leave for winter break. Please include your George Mason email address and indicate your interest in being a peer trainer on question seven. The Patriot Connect training and OCM team will follow up with additional details and next steps.

Collecting Faculty and Staff Input  

Over the summer, the Patriot Connect OCM team organized a student focus group to collect feedback on an initial mockup of Patriot Connect. With significant progress made on the platform, the OCM team recently conducted focus groups with faculty and staff to gather essential insights for driving training and adoption ahead of the official launch in April 2025. These focus groups, which included a total of 16 faculty and 15 staff, started with a brief overview of the Patriot Connect platform and a demonstration of how to use it to prepare for and conduct an appointment with a student (including a post-appointment referral), followed by active dialogue about confirming training needs, encouraging end-user adoption, and identifying feedback loops for the future. The participants emphasized the importance of hands-on training (particularly for those less familiar with current platforms like Navigate) and suggested automating set-up processes where possible. They also stressed the need for accurate data for training and at go-live. Ultimately, the feedback collected will be instrumental in the successful adoption of the platform at George Mason.

On the Horizon: Putting Patriot Connect Student Success to the Test

The product build team has been working hard to design and build Patriot Connect and soon it will be time to put the new platform to the test. To ensure the system functions properly and is ready for go-live on April 30, 2025, Patriot Connect will undergo two types of testing: end-to-end system testing and user acceptance testing (UAT). Both are crucial but serve different purposes and involve different team members. End-to-end system testing is technical in nature and focuses on verifying that the entire system, including all its components, integrations, data, and security, works as expected from start to finish. This type of testing is typically conducted by quality assurance engineers and testers who simulate scenarios to ensure the system’s overall performance. UAT is more functional in nature and is performed to verify that the platform meets the university’s business requirements, accurately reflects the correct processes and user experience, and is ready for deployment. UAT is usually carried out by end-users such as George Mason staff and faculty who test the system based on real-world scenarios provided by the UAT facilitators. End-to-end system testing and UAT will begin in the new year and will be one of the final phases of Release 1: Student Success before end-user training and go-live.

Patriot Connect Change Champion (PCCC) Spotlight Series

This series introduces the PCCCs who are dedicated to supporting you and the George Mason community as we transition to Patriot Connect. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Get to know the December spotlights, Sadie Mele and Sara Simanski!

In Case You Missed It

• November PCCC Spotlights: Jessie Lee and Michael Ouellette
• Did you know you can find last month’s update on the program website?

Building Appointment Scheduling for Patriot Connect

The product build team, which is responsible for decisions on the functionality and design of Patriot Connect, is currently focused on configuring appointment scheduling. The team is carefully considering all aspects of the process from staff, faculty, and student perspectives to ensure a seamless experience for all users. This may include scheduling in-person, virtual, and phone appointments with both assigned and unassigned support services, group appointments, drop-in availability, check-ins for appointments and spaces (e.g., LGBTQ+ Resources Center or athletics study hall), Outlook calendar syncing to set staff and faculty availability, and automated reminder notifications to reduce last-minute cancellations and no-shows. Additionally, the product build team is creating intuitive workflows for post appointment tasks, such as documenting notes in interaction summaries, making referrals, and sending post-appointment surveys. Supporting these features in a single, centralized tool like Patriot Connect will enable improved efficiency, consistency, and the overall appointment scheduling experience for students, faculty, and staff.

Salesforce Knowledge Share with Macquarie University

Last month, George Mason welcomed representatives from Macquarie University, who traveled all the way from Sydney, Australia, to participate in a Salesforce Knowledge Share with members of the Patriot Connect team. Macquarie is also in the process of implementing Salesforce Education Cloud, which made this a valuable opportunity to exchange success stories, learn from each other’s challenges, and think critically about how to move forward with Salesforce. Macquarie representatives emphasized their own investments in change and project management to support their implementation and provided useful advice for our Patriot Connect team. In return, George Mason showcased current operations within the outgoing TargetX tool, the incredible forward-thinking work we are doing with the transition to Patriot Connect, and how we are using technology to have a positive impact on the student experience. These meaningful discussions with peers from near and far illustrate George Mason’s commitment to innovation, strengthen our own technology transformation efforts, and underscore the impact and recognition of our work with Salesforce across higher education.

On the Horizon: Training Curriculum and Content Development for Release 1

The Patriot Connect training team has been focused on conducting a detailed training needs assessment to define the necessary topics, right audiences, and best delivery methods to help prepare impacted users for Patriot Connect. This month, the training needs assessment will be used to generate the next step in the process, creating the training curriculum. The training curriculum outlines the templates and tools that will be used for training delivery and serves as the official list of live courses and on-demand learning materials that will be provided for Patriot Connect users. Once the curriculum is complete, the team will begin designing and building the training content this winter. Throughout this process, the training team seeks feedback from the project management team, unit liaisons, and members of the product build team. This helps facilitate a vetted, thoughtfully considered set of training materials so that when end-users receive training in March 2025, the content is best positioned to meet the needs of the George Mason community. For more information, check out these training FAQs.

Patriot Connect Change Champion (PCCC) Spotlight Series

This series introduces the PCCCs who are dedicated to supporting you and the George Mason community as we transition to Patriot Connect. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Get to know the November spotlights, Jessie Lee and Michael Ouellette!

In Case You Missed It

• Meet your Patriot Connect Change Champions
• October PCCC Spotlight: TJ Pegg
• Did you know you can find last month’s update on the program website?

Who is Your “Patriot Connect Change Champion”?

Last month, the Organizational Change Management (OCM) team activated a network of 79 Patriot Connect change champions (PCCCs) to support the adoption of Patriot Connect at George Mason. Their primary role is to help those in their units, colleges, and schools understand the university’s new system of engagement for the student journey. If you have questions related to Patriot Connect, your PCCC should be your first point of contact. Find your designated Patriot Connect Change Champion.

Introducing the Patriot Connect Change Champion Spotlight Series

Starting this month, we are launching a spotlight series to introduce our PCCCs—individuals dedicated to supporting you and the George Mason community as we transition to Patriot Connect. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Kicking off the series is TJ Pegg in our October 17 Patriot Connect Change Champion Spotlight!

Understanding the Role of the Product Build Team

While your PCCCs focus on supporting change activities, the product build team works behind the scenes to ensure the Patriot Connect platform is being designed and built to meet the diverse needs of George Mason students, faculty, and staff. Made up of strategic and functional decision-makers, along with subject matter experts from across the university, the product build team is responsible for making decisions on overall functionality and the final design of Patriot Connect. They review system demos to ensure the platform aligns with the requirements of the units, colleges, and schools they represent, while also delivering an exceptional user experience. Their insights and expertise directly shape the platform to serve both you and the broader George Mason community.

On the Horizon: Focus Group Planning

In June of this year, we conducted a student focus group to understand their user experience, and the feedback we received has been instrumental in shaping the development of Patriot Connect. Now that we have made significant progress building out the platform, we are eager to hear from our faculty and staff to further refine the system. Therefore, we will be hosting additional focus groups for Patriot Connect in the coming months and into 2025. These sessions are designed to gather valuable insights from both faculty and staff to ensure that the new system meets everyone’s needs. We will also follow up with students to get their reactions to the new system’s look and feel. Inputs gathered from these focus groups will be crucial in driving the training and adoption of Patriot Connect before its official launch in April 2025. Stay tuned for more details on how you can participate. We look forward to your valuable contributions to make Patriot Connect a success!

In Case You Missed It

The Patriot Connect program website is here! Visit the site dedicated to helping the George Mason community plan and prepare for the transition to Patriot Connect.