Month: April 2020

SPAR Updates and Adjunct Rates (From HR)

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Dear Colleagues,

We write to share several Special Payroll updates.

Cancelling and Updating Special Payroll Hire Requests

Human Resources has developed workflows to help departments navigate updating or cancelling Special Payroll hire requests.  For example, departments may need to update a hire request when the submitted request has an incorrect end date or compensation amount. Workflows to update or cancel hire requests are available on the PageUp Help Documents website.

Duplicative Hires from the Same Search
It is important to remember that only a single hire request can be submitted for a candidate within the same search at once.  Departments should move a candidate’s status from “Hired” to “New Request” once the first hire is complete to start the next hire request. Here is an illustrative example: A department wants to hire John Smith as an Instructional Specialist and an Academic Technician. First, submit the request to hire John as the Instructional Specialist. Then, when John’s status has returned to “Hired,” update John’s status to “New Request,” and then create a new request to hire John as the Academic Technician.

Fall 2020 Adjunct Rates
Fall 2020 adjunct rates are now available on the HR website and below. Hire requests for Fall 2020 adjuncts should be submitted in PageUp by May 29th.

Effective August 23, 2020, per AAUP Contract article 19.7, there is a new Adjunct Faculty per credit minimum rate, $1,732 per credit. For adjuncts with more than two academic years of continuous employment, the minimum remuneration shall be a 2% increase.

Credits Stipend (Minimum) 2% Increase (Minimum)
1 $1,732.00 $1,766.64
2 $3,464.00 $3,533.28
3 $5,196.00 $5,299.92
4 $6,928.00 $7,066.56

Help Desk Support

Questions regarding Special Payroll should be directed to SPAR@uconn.edu. Questions regarding PageUp processing should be directed to workforce@uconn.edu.

 

From: Special Payroll Information <SPECIAL_PAYROLL-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU> On Behalf Of HR – Communications
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 8:18 AM
To: SPECIAL_PAYROLL-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU
Subject: SPAR Updates and Adjunct Rates

Concur Go-Live

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Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to announce the official University go-live of the Concur Travel and Expense system.

As of April 22, 2020, all employees (including graduate assistants, graduate interns, and post-docs) should utilize Concur and Key Travel to book, request, and expense travel.  There is a detailed overview of this transition (cutover plan) on the Travel Website, including how you should handle travel that began before 4/22, the requirements for pre-approval for travel booked prior to 4/22, and how to utilize your Unused Ticket Credits with Sanditz.

If you have not yet applied for a University Travel Card, it is recommended that you do so as it will contribute to a more seamless travel experience.  To obtain a Travel Card you must complete the required training and then submit an application for approval.  Once the application is approved, it will take 7 – 10 business days for you to receive the card.  Because faculty and staff are working remotely due to COVID-19, travel Cards will be mailed to the home address you provide on your application.

We understand that employees are not currently travelling, but we are continuing to offer on-going support through training opportunities, the University Business Solutions Help Desk, and travel@uconn.edu.  For more information, please visit https://travel.uconn.edu/.

As this portion of the Travel and Expense project completes, we still have additional work to do.  In the coming months, you will see more communication regarding student and guest travel, duty of care for our University travelers, and using the Concur platform for your Pro-Card reconciliations.  Until such time, those activities will continue through Sanditz and/or KFS.

We would like to thank the project team, pilot participants, early adopters, and many other University constituents who provided valuable insight, feedback, ideas, and effort over the course of this project.  As always, please reach out with any comments, questions, or concerns.

Regards,

Trish Casey, CPA                                                                                                       
Associate Vice President, Financial Operations and Controller

John Clifford, Ph. D
University Director of Procurement Services

Gregory Daniels, J.D.
Interim Associate Vice President of UBS and Chief Procurement Officer

Michael Mundrane, Ph. D
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer

 

From: All UConn Employees and Graduate Students <UCONN_EMPLOYEES-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU> On Behalf Of Mundrane, Michael
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2020 7:52 PM
To: UCONN_EMPLOYEES-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU
Subject: [UCONN_EMPLOYEES-L] Concur Go-Live

Annual Year-End Deadlines (From KFS Listserv)

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Annual Year-End Deadlines

The annual notice of financial year-end deadlines for contracts, commitments, expenditures and other transactions is located at the following link: Fiscal Year End Deadlines 6/30/2020. Your attention to and assistance in meeting these deadlines are necessary to ensure an orderly closing of University financial records and the audit of the financial statements that ensues following the close.  As with any close of a fiscal year, the Finance team members are committed to assisting you with your procurement and reimbursement needs.  We will continue to process all documents in accordance with Federal, State and University requirements, in support of operational, educational and research activities during this period.

For more information, contact: Trish Casey, AVP of Financial Operations and Controller, University of Connecticut, 343 Mansfield Road, Unit 1074, Storrs at patricia.casey@uconn.edu. Please see link above for additional contacts.

 

Annette Pavone, CPA
Accounting Manager, Inventory Control & Capitalization
Accounting Office
University of Connecticut
343 Mansfield Road
Storrs, CT 06269-1074
Phone (860) 486-2934

Adjunct Processing in PageUp (From HR)

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Dear Colleagues,

In December, the University transitioned to a new recruitment and onboarding system, PageUp. PageUp is the University’s system of record for recruitment, and it’s cloud-based functionality allows the University to generate digital offer letters.

As part of this transition, all new and recurring hires, including those on special payroll, require processing through PageUp. As such, all adjunct faculty must submit an up-to-date resume through PageUp to ensure appropriate integration into the new system and no break in service (adjunct faculty who teach for more than one department will need to submit a resume for each department). After successfully submitting a resume in PageUp, Human Resources will have the appropriate records to issue future offer letters without additional action from adjunct faculty. Periodically, Human Resources may require adjuncts to submit up-to-date resumes.
Human Resources will rely on academic departments to contact adjuncts directly with instructions on submitting resumes in PageUp.
Please contact workforce@uconn.edu with questions.

Thank you,
Human Resources

NOTIFICATION: SMART HR APPROVER EMAIL ISSUE (From Payroll)

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Good afternoon,

The link in the Core-CT auto generated email sent to Smart HR Approvers is currently not working. While this technical issue is being resolved, please approve Smart HR transactions by signing directly into Core-CT at https://ess.uconn.edu/. Smart HR transactions pending approval can be located by navigating to your worklist, or to the Manage Transactions page. Instructions for using these alternative methods of approval can be found in the Approving Smart HR Transactions job aid.

Additionally, there is a secondary issue that is under review. Smart HR approval emails are being routed to email spam folders. Please be sure to review this folder regularly.

Questions regarding the alternative approval process can be emailed to jessica.dempsey@uconn.edu.

Sent: Thursday, April 9, 2020 1:54 PM
Subject: NOTIFICATION: SMART HR APPROVER EMAIL ISSUE

RFD processing (From UConn Foundation)

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Attachment: KFS requirements

Good morning!

I hope this e-mail finds you and your families well.

I’m writing to provide some information from the Foundation disbursements team as we continue working from home.

We are still processing RFDs.  With our move to the PaperSave system earlier in this fiscal year we were prepared for this turn of events that has upended our world.  Please continue to reach out to us if you have any questions.  We do have access to our voice-mails but e-mail is probably a better solution at this time.  We can set up on-line meetings and/or phone calls if there is a need.

As I had communicated in an earlier e-mail, we do not have the ability to cut checks.  We can send via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for those we have information for.  If you are submitting an RFD and are unsure if we have EFT information, please reach out so we can take a look at them for you.

As year-end is approaching I would encourage you to look at KFS and Banner reimbursements to see if there are some you can do now rather than waiting till the end of the year.  I have attached a document that the team has put together to help identify define and clarify what is needed for KFS reimbursements.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions, concerns or challenges you would like to talk through.

Be well and be safe!

 

Edward Liedke
Director of Fund Administration
And Disbursements
Phone:  860-486-2006
2390 Alumni Dr. U-3206
Storrs, CT 06269

Temporary Controllable Property Guidelines – COVID-19

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Due to COVID-19 and to ensure business continuity, the Controller’s Division is making the following temporary policy/procedures changes with regards to Controllable Property:

 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has caused most employees to telecommute from home, UConn has been allowing the purchase of small dollar items to be shipped to home locations.   Consistent with the University’s Policy on Controllable Property and the University’s Guide to the State Code of Ethics, All items purchased or reimbursed by UConn for use by employees are owned by UConn, and are to be used for UConn-related business.

 

In order to maintain control over purchases of items that are shipped to or used at employees’ homes, certain additional items that have an expected useful life of more than 1 year should be classified as controllable property. These items may include:

Computer monitors, printers, scanners

Headphones / headsets

Webcams

Other electronic devices or peripherals with an expected useful life of more than 1 year

 Controllable property that meet these guidelines must be coded to Object Code 8306 Controllable Property, and Project Code COVID19. Inventory Control will create an asset record identified as a COVID-19 item. When available, Inventory Control will reach out to the employee to obtain a serial number for the item.

Once employees are able to return to their work location, Inventory Control will work with departments to tag the controllable property and update the inventory location.

Employees, Supervisors and Fiscal Officers are expected to use best-judgment and reason and continue to be good stewards of University resources during this unusual time.

UConn’s policy on Controllable Property policy states that:

It is the responsibility of the individual departments to identify and inventory Controllable Property assets on a regular basis.

Per the policy, Controllable Property is defined as:

Items with a cost under $5,000 that have a life of one or more years, and are sensitive, portable, and theft-prone in nature. These items are prone to theft because they are either not secured, are easily portable, contain new technology, contain sensitive data, and/or they are adaptable for personal use.  Examples of Controllable Property assets include: audiovisual equipment, televisions, projectors, communication equipment, cellular phones, data processing equipment, computers (laptops, iPads, Netbooks), computer peripherals, scanners, and cameras.

 

Annette Pavone, CPA
Accounting Manager, Inventory Control & Capitalization
Accounting Office
University of Connecticut
343 Mansfield Road
Storrs, CT 06269-1074
Phone (860) 486-2934

 

From: Kuali Financial System <KFS-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU> On Behalf Of Pavone, Annette
Sent: Monday, April 6, 2020 9:11 AM
To: KFS-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU
Subject: Temporary Controllable Property Guidelines – COVID-19

Reminder: Coding of COVID-19 Expenses

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The message below was sent out on March 14th as part of the UConn Coronavirus Daily Update. This is a reminder of how to code expenses related to COVID-19:

Over the next several weeks UConn will be incurring unusual expenses attributable to Coronavirus. It is important that departments add additional identifiers to Travel, e-docs, Requisitions, and Purchase Orders for these expenses directly associated with the prevention of COVID-19. Some of the types of expenses that we would consider to be unusual:

  1. Non-refundable Travel Costs because of Coronavirus
  2. Purchasing of equipment to work remotely (Computers, cables, iPads, etc.)
  3. Purchase of office and research supplies as a result of Coronavirus
  4. Purchase of additional cleaning materials to clean offices, bathrooms, doors, etc.
  5. Additional services needed from UConn vendors for facility services and housekeeping

This list is not all inclusive and ask yourself if the expense you are incurring is a normal expense or because of the current situation with Coronavirus.

Please follow these instructions when coding your expenses:

CONCUR:

In Concur, add the following identifier COVID19 to this field:

Husky Buy:

In Husky Buy, add the following identifier COVID19 to this field:

Kuali Financial Systems:

In KFS, add the following identifier COVID19 to this field:

For items purchased and already posted to KFS:

If you have already purchased an item or service related to COVID-19 and it has posted to KFS, please complete an IAA (Intra-Account Adjustment) edoc to update the Project field.

Need additional help? We are here to help you:

Kuali Financial Systems – KFS
Lori-Anne Hansen – Associate Controller
Lori-anne.hansen@uconn.edu

Husky Buy
Nancy Patrylak – Procurement Manager
Nancy.patrylak@uconn.edu

Concur – Travel
Dan Warren – Director
Daniel.warren@uconn.edu

 

From: Kuali Financial System <KFS-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU> On Behalf Of Pavone, Annette
Sent: Friday, April 3, 2020 12:53 PM
To: KFS-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU
Subject: Reminder: Coding of COVID-19 Expenses

FW: COVID-related expenses and requests for supplies, personnel

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Hello everyone,

Just sharing an important reminder to follow the attached guidance regarding the coding of expenses associated with COVID-19.

Thank you,
Alicia

PDF: Coding Expenses Associated with Coronavirus_3.17.2020[1]

Dear Colleagues,

As part of our efforts to coordinate operational and financial aspects of the University’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, I am writing to ask that you share guidance with managers and supervisors in your units with respect to the following ongoing matters:

  1. Now that Federal and State emergency measures have been invoked through several executive orders, it may be possible for UConn to receive financial relief for some of the expenses it has incurred in response to the virus and its effects. We do not yet know with any precision what sorts of reimbursements we may be eligible for, but we do know that the only way we can make a case for them is if we are fastidious in our tracking and documentation of these expenses. It is very important that departments keep careful records of all unanticipated expenses. These may include additional equipment and supply purchases, additional staffing needs, and any other spending that has arisen in response to the pandemic. Please see the attached guidelines for coding expenses related to COVID-19.
  2. If any unit receives requests for supplies, equipment, or staffing to fill needs associated with the pandemic, either from another UConn unit or from any external body (including the State of Connecticut), these requests should be communicated directly to the Office of Emergency Management, oem@uconn.edu, with a copy to our office, provost@uconn.edu.  All institutional responses to such requests are being managed and tracked centrally.

Thank you for your assistance in these matters. Wishing you continued health in these challenging times.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey

________________________________________

Jeffrey S. Shoulson

Vice Provost for Academic Operations

Professor of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages and Professor of English

University of Connecticut

352 Mansfield Road, Unit 1086

Storrs, CT 06268-1086