Month: November 2023

December 2023 Newsletter

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December 2023 Newsletter

Fiscal Updates:

  • Federal Accounts (Smith Lever, SAES Capacity)
    • FY23 Accounts
      • will remain open through 11/30/23 for expenses incurred by 9/30/23
      • Please monitor your continuation accounts for timely cost transfer submission
        • Please contact the BO if you need any assistance
      • On December 1st 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)
  • Spring ‘24 Payroll Pre-Encumbrance
    • Similar to the Fall Grad pre-encumbrance load, the B.O. will be pre-encumbering PA that cross into the 2024 calendar year for the following payroll types:
        • Adjunct on 2Ls
        • Grads – all accounts
    • PE will be reflected on Dec 1st and Jan 1st reports

     

    Procurement Update:

    • New Hotel & Events Services Form Request (email from 11/30/23)
      • Travel Card for purchases such as hotel room blocks and catering for events
      • New form can be found in HuskyBuy on the Home Shopping Page under Internal Request Forms
      • Provide Procumrement and Contracting to execute the agreement/document that is required by the venue/supplier
      • Job Aid may be found here: Hotel & Events Services Form

     

      HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates:

      • Regular Payroll Search Requests
        • HR has made modifications to fields in PageUp related to reuglar payroll search requests
        • To help facilitate requested information for the centralized review of new and refill positions, three fields were added to PageUp:
          • Previous incumbent’s name, salary, and date of separation (as applicable)
          • Funding justification; and
          • Position justification
      • Spring 2024 Payroll Deadlines
          • Graduate Students
            • Offer letter sent to the student by Nov 1st
            • Smart-HR Deadlines
              • Business Office Deadline: Friday, December 1st
              • University Deadline: Friday, December 15th
            • 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 – was Thursday, October 26th, please submit asap
          • Smart-HR Deadline
            • Business Office Deadline: Friday, December 15th
            • University Deadline: Friday, December 26th
      • Minimum Wage Increase – effective January 1, 2024 (email from 10/19/2023)
        • Connecticut’s minimum wage will increase from $5.00 per hour to $15.69 per hour beginning January 1, 2024
        • The university encourages employers to review the hourly rates of student employees as the rates will not be automatically increased.  Manual increases may be processed in CORE-CT using the Student Payroll Data/Pay Change template (UC_TBH_DC_STUD_DAT)
      • Current Pay Scale (June 1,2023-December 31,2023)
      • Effective January 1, 2024
      • Class I – $15.00
      • Class I – $15.69
      • Class II – $15.15-$16.35
      • Class II – $15.84 – $17.04
      • Class III – $16.40 – $18.35
      • Class III – $17.09 – $19.04
      • Class IV -$18.40 – $33.70
      • Class IV – $19.09 – $34.39
        • Faculty Overload Workflow
          • Faculty Overload Forms should be sent to cahnrbo@uconn.edu for the Dean’s signature and should be sent from the Business Office to the Provost for approval. If initiated in the department, the approved form should be sent back to the admin.
        • I-9 Update
          • As a reminder, the USCIS released a new version of the Form I-9 on 8/1/2023.  The previous grace period of using the old I-9 form ended on 10/31/23.
          • As of 11/1/23, all Form I-9s must be completed on the current version of the form.  Form I-9s signed on/after 11/1/23 will only be accepted on the current version of the Form I-9.  You can ensure you are using the current Form I-9 version by visiting our website (Form I-9 | Payroll Department (uconn.edu)) and clicking on the “Download Form I-9” button in the “Forms & Instructions” box.
        • Graduate Assistant Payroll
        • PageUp Training
            • Regular Payroll
              • January 9 from 9:00am to 12:00pm (Register)
            • Special Payroll
              • January 10 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.
          • TBD – 2024
            • Topics: CORE-CT/SmartHR Templates
            • 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

             

            Fun facts about this month in history:

            • December 1, 1891 – High School teacher James Naismith nails up peach baskets at opposite ends of the school gym and gives students soccer balls to toss into the baskets, creating basketball.
            • December 21, 1620 – The Mayflower pilgrims land at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
            • December 23, 1954 – The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray in Boston, MA.