October 2023 Newsletter

Fiscal Updates:

• Federal Accounts (Smith Lever, SAES Capacity)
  • SPS is working on closing old SAES and Smith-Lever accounts that have expired. The edoc requires FO approval and the system will ask the following question after clicking the ‘Approve’ button.  Please select No
    • The account number 5XXXXXX for Contract Control Account has expired. Would you rather use its continuation account (4XXXXXX)?”

• • FY23 Accounts
    • will remain open through 11/30/23 for expenses incurred by 9/30/23
      • Please avoid last minute spending
      • After November 30^th, no additional transactions will be allowed on these accounts – transactions may need to be moved to an unrestricted account
    • Please monitor your continuation accounts for timely cost transfer submission
      • Please contact the BO if you need any assistance
    • On December 1^st the BO will begin the FY23 close out process

• • FY24 Accounts
    • New Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) opens on 10/1/2023 (FFY24)
      • The B.O. has started communicating to PIs regarding their account number for activity related to 10/1/23 to 9/30/24. Budgets have also started to be loaded into the accounts
    • Your department Smith-Lever budget was identified in your FY24 Dept. Budget Hearing Letter from the Dean
      • *Reminder: Every expense must be categorized in 1 or more of the 5 areas strategic areas by the utilization of sub-accounts (only exception is Regular Payroll)
        • Sub-Accounts
          • Climate (CLIM)
          • Food (FOOD)
          • Health (HLTH)
          • Landscapes (LAND)
          • (MISC)
• Search Expense Account
  • The Dean has recently reached out to Dept. Head regarding approved searches for FY25 Faculty Hiring Plan. In a follow up email, Alicia had provided an updated search cost allocation information:
    • Dean will provide an allocation of $10k per search for approved searches. Any expenses over this amount will be funded by the department
    • Funds cannot be combined with other searches
    • While relocation is included as a part of the search costs, if the relocation exceeds the standard relocation rate, the difference above will be split 50/50 by the Dept. and the Dean, regardless of available funds in the search budget
    • When coding search costs to the department account, please use the designated sub-account number which is the last four digits of the search number

• Fiscal Institute for Training (FIT) Update
  • The B.O. has recently shared information with department admins regarding the return of FIT this Fall. The Fall 2023 sessions will take place in October and November. If anyone was unable to commit to these sessions but is interested in attending future FIT sessions, please let us know. We will be able to pass this information to the FIT coordinator to request for pre-registration as spaces are limited
  • More information about FIT: https://fiscalinstitute.uconn.edu/

Purchasing Update

• University Business Services (UBS) has recently made an announcement regarding bid threshold increases and prequalification process changes. The full announcement may be found here: https://media.procurement.uconn.edu/purchasing/images_resources/Legislative%20Change%20Bid%20Thresholds.pdf

 

HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates:

Spring 2024 Payroll Deadlines

• Graduate Students
  • Offer letter sent to the student by Nov 1^st
  • Smart-HR Deadlines
    • Business Office Deadline: Friday, December 1st
    • University Deadline: Friday, December 15^th
  • Please note: since 2024 is a leap year, the end date for an academic year appointment will be 5/21/24 (instead of the usual 5/22)

• Adjunct Faculty
  • PageUp Deadline – Thursday, October 26^th
  • Smart-HR Deadline
    • Business Office Deadline: Friday, December 15^th
    • University Deadline: Friday, December 26th

Graduate Assistant Payroll

• Graduate School Timely Topics – see the attached email
  • Thursday, October 12 at 11am – Neurodiversity and the Advisor/Advisee Relationship: Fostering Open Communication with Neurodiverse Grad Students
  • Thursday, October 19 at 11am – Graduate Student Data Resources

PageUp

• Trainings
  • Regular Payroll
    • October 24 from 9:00am to 12:00pm (Register)
  • Special Payroll
    • October 25 from 9:00am to 11:00am (Register)

CAHNR Internal Professional Development Opportunities:

The CAHNR’s Dean’s Office is committed to providing opportunities for faculty, staff, and graduate students to expand their professional knowledge and skills. Throughout the year, the Dean’s Office will organize workshops and offer training, that will help the CAHNR community grow. Workshops and training will focus on fostering employee understanding and abilities in both hard and soft skills, such as in communication, HR/Payroll competency, and creativity.

As Professional Development Opportunities are finalized, they will be listed on our website here. Please be sure to check regularly for new learning opportunities and other about upcoming events.

• Business Office Workshop – We have renamed the B.O. Open Hour to B.O. Workshop.
  • Thursday, October 19^th – from 12:00PM – 1:00PM, Young 209 with a virtual option
    • Topics: Pivot Tables, V-Lookup, Mail Merge
    • Please feel free to email us at CAHNRBO@uconn.edu if you have any questions about the upcoming session, or if you have anything you would like to know more about
  • Thank you for providing feedback regarding the scheduling of B.O. workshop on a Thursday when CORE is not available. This is a great suggestion! The November B.O. workshop will be held on November 9^th @ 11:30 –12:30 – Save the date!

 

Fun facts about this month in history:

• October 1, 1908 – Henry Ford’s Model T, a “universal car” designed for the masses, went on sale for the first time.
• October 13, 1884 – Greenwich was established as the universal time from which standard times throughout the world are calculated.
• October 21, 1915 – The first transatlantic radio voice message was made by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company from Virginia to Paris.