On this page:

• About SPIRE training for employees
• Academic records & class rosters (SPIRE A)
• Advising foundations: utilizing student success technologies to support advising best practices
• Enrollment requests & overrides (SPIRE B)
• Academic Dean Functions/Credit Limit Overrides
• Class management using CAPS (Class Automated Proposal System)
• Graduation tracking & clearance

About SPIRE training for employees

• You need to apply online to get access to SPIRE. Apply for SPIRE access.
• Your department head and the Registrar's Office must approve your application.
• If in-person training is required, we will invite you to the next available session as soon as approval is granted. Some training is available online - we will send you the details. Prior registration is required. We are not able to accommodate walk-ins at this time.
• Please contact us at spire-training@it.umass.edu if you have questions.

Academic records & class rosters (SPIRE A)

Completion of SPIRE A Online: Academic Records and Class Rosters affords you access to a large number of new menus and links in SPIRE. This training focuses on teaching employees to navigate and search effectively in SPIRE. Upon completing this training, you will have the access and skills needed to locate and access student records, including grades, transcripts, service indicators, class schedules, class rosters, and more.

Once you have been approved for SPIRE A training, you will receive an email inviting you to complete the SPIRE A training course in OWL. In-person SPIRE A training sessions are available upon request.

You may begin the OWL course immediately by clicking the link below. However, completion of the SPIRE A Online OWL course alone does not guarantee the SPIRE A security role. Your SPIRE A security role is also dependent upon the approval of your department head and the Registrar’s Office.

The videos, as well as the text from the videos, are available for those who are simply curious or looking for a refresher.

Advising foundations: utilizing student success technologies to support advising best practices

Training for advisor level access SPIRE and/or access to Navigate for faculty/staff is facilitated by Student Success Programs & Services. (Navigate is UMass Amherst’s student success management system utilized by undergraduate faculty and staff advisors.)

Advising Foundations: Utilizing Student Success Technologies to Support Advising Best Practices is held various Wednesday’s from 10am – 12pm in Goodell. After approval via the Spire Access Request page, eligible faculty and staff will receive an email regarding training dates and signup information from the Student Success Programs & Services Navigate team.

For questions or user support, please submit a ticket to navigate@umass.edu. More information, including directions for the access request process, are available online in the Advising & Staff Resources Toolbox.

Enrollment requests & overrides (SPIRE B)

Prerequisite: Academic Records (SPIRE A)

Enrollment Requests & Overrides (SPIRE B) will enable you to submit many types of class enrollment actions for students in the classes in your subject areas.  You will be able to enroll students in classes, drop classes from a student’s schedule, swap classes, put a student on the waiting list for a class, change a student’s waiting list position, specify the instructor for a class enrollment, change the instructor for certain types of classes, modify the grading basis, and more.  You will be able to override class requisites for an enrollment, and enroll students in classes requiring instructor consent.  Other topics include class rosters, data entry defaults, and instructor lookup.

Academic Dean Functions/Credit Limit Overrides

Prerequisite: Academic Records (SPIRE A)

These workshops train academic deans and their staff to update students' enrollment limits, audit grade changes, and view students’ incompletes.

Once you have been approved for Academic Dean Functions/Credit Limit Overrides training, you will receive an email inviting you to complete the training course in OWL.

You may begin the OWL course immediately by clicking the link below. However, completion of the SPIRE A Online OWL course and/or Academic Dean Functions / Credit Limit Overrides online course alone do not guarantee the security role in SPIRE. Your security role is also dependent upon the approval of your department head and the Registrar’s Office.

The videos, as well as the text from the videos, are available for those who are simply curious or looking for a refresher.

Class management using CAPS (Class Automated Proposal System)

CAPS classes cover scheduling and updating classes for your department. Learn how to view class information, request changes, add new courses and sections, and communicate with Course & Classroom Management.

Graduation tracking & clearance

This class trains academic department staff to use SPIRE to evaluate students' records to determine whether or not to clear them for graduation, and to record clearance status.