Month: June 2025

July 2025 Newsletter

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July 2025 Newsletter

Happy New (Fiscal) Year!

Fiscal Updates:

  • FY25 and FY26 are both open in KFS as of 7/1/25
    • Default will be FY26
    • As you begin to look at balances on your accounts in KFS, please note the following:
      • Though FY26 is default on balance inquiries, you have the option to change to FY 2025 by typing over 2025
    • When looking at FY25 balances on the “General Ledger Balance” inquiry, there is an additional period called “Year End.” This is where you will see any activity posted after June 30, 2025 that relates to Fiscal Year 2025. On the General Ledger Entry inquiry, you will see these transactions in Fiscal Period “13”
    • Encumbrances:
      • New FY26 external encumbrances (Purchase Orders) are in KFS.
      • Prior Year external encumbrances that are carried forward into FY26 are also in KFS
      • FY26 payroll encumbrances will be posted the week of July 1, 2025
    • CCR – this will be processed by the Business Office in period 13  
      • For programs that have been identified as entrepreneurial for revenue sharing, we will be processing the transfers to recoup a portion of the revenue generated for Provost’s Office and CAHNR Dean’s Office per policy – for more information, please refer to the Entrepreneurial Revenue Distribution Policy found on the College Intranet 
  • FY26 Fringe Rates
    • See attached announcement
    • Note: Federal Agriculture (SAES) will be the same as sponsored programs

 

  • Business Office Reports 
    • In July, there will be two report distributions for department and faculty reports.  As we move through the first couple of weeks of July, the Business Office will be preparing account budgets and update all accounts to reflect the starting FY26 balances 
      • July 1st – will reflect FY25 ending balances; These will be the last report distribution for FY25 

 

  • AY24-25 Grad 
    • Pre-encumbrance will be loaded for Grad Payroll on most fund sources (2L, 4L, 5L & 6L grants) 
    • GA payrolls are usually encumbered during the first week of September.  Once this occurs, the BO will release the manual encumbrance previously entered to avoid overstatement on accounts 

 

  • FY26 New Fiscal Year Commitments
    • The Business Office will create an Excel tracking sheet to record Dean-to-Department and Department-to-Dean commitments
    • Tracking will include budget letter items and any other one-time commitments outside of the letter
    • The Excel file will be saved on the CAHNR Admin Teams site within individual channels for each department

 

  • Update from Accounting Office:
        • KFS object code 6935 (miscellaneous expense) will be deactivated starting in Fiscal Year 2026. This change is part of ongoing efforts to enhance accuracy and efficiency in financial and tax reporting processes.
        • Alternative Object Codes: Departments that have been utilizing object code 6935 on eDocs are encouraged to review expense descriptions available in the knowledgebase to identify more appropriate object codes.  Please refer to the following link:  KFS Expense Object Code Descriptions – Finance, Payroll, and Budget – UConn Knowledge Base.

 

      • Update for HuskyBuy: General Letter 71 Exemptions ending July 1
        • As of July 1, 2025, the State of Connecticut is revising General Letter 71, and its sourcing exemptions will no longer apply. This means:
          • It will be removed from all HuskyBuy forms
          • Competitive bidding will be required for all purchases, including software renewals and event venues
          • Please review the updated bid thresholds (effective 10/1/23) and refer to our Introduction to Purchasing guide for sourcing guidance.
          • Procurement is developing new policies to streamline purchases. In the meantime, contact your Category Manager with questions or for support.

 

SPS Update:

  • New Huskybuy Routing Procedure
    • Effective July 1st – SPS will no longer be in the approval process for lab supply purchases under 5k
    • Post-review will be conducted by PPASA
      • Any items deemed to be not allowable, allocable, or incorrectly coded as lab and classroom supplies will require corrections and may need to be removed from the sponsored award
  • NIH NCE Request Update
    • All requests must be submitted to SPS for approval and processing including 1st request
    • Grantor-Approved extension requests must include the following documentation:
      • Explanation of why the project could not be completed by end date
      • Scientific rationale to continue
      • Brief Progress Report
      • Amount of Direct Costs and Indirect Costs remaining
      • Detailed budget
      • Level of effort of key personnel named in NOA
      • Updated certifications including IACUC and IRB approvals

 

 

HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates:

 

Continuation Letters & Dean Signature Process

To ensure smooth and timely processing of continuation letters, please follow the updated guidelines below:

  • Submission Instructions:
    • Send individually to Amanda in the Business Office (BO)

❗ Do not include the CAHNRBO email address

    • Email Subject: “Continuation Letter First Name Last Name Effective Date Department”
    • To Include in the Email:
  • Expected funding plan for the duration of the letter
  • Any special considerations (e.g., visa requirements, tuition waiver needs)
  • What to Expect After Submission:
    • All correspondence will occur within the original email thread:
    • ✅ Acknowledgement of receipt
    • Returned letter for updates (if needed)
    • ✍️ Returned letter with Dean’s signature
    • ️ Returned letter with employee’s signature

 

For Other Documents

  • Submission Instructions:
    • Send individually to Amanda in the Business Office (BO)
    • ❗ Do not include the CAHNRBO email address
    • Email Subject: “Document Name First Name Last Name Effective Date Department”
    • What to Expect After Submission:
    • ✅ Acknowledgement of receipt
    • Returned document for updates (if needed)
    • ✍️ Returned document with Dean’s signature

    As we navigate the current transition in Dean leadership, the exact timeline for returning signed items is still being finalized. At this time, we anticipate a turnaround of approximately one week.

    We recommend planning accordingly and allowing for potential delays. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this period of change.

          • Fall 2025 Adjunct Dates: https://hr.uconn.edu/special-payroll-info/
            • Term: 8/25/2025-12/17/2025
            • PageUp by 6/6/25
            • Approval PU by 7/15/25
            • Smart-HR Deadline (internal B.O.) – Friday, July 18th
            • Payroll Deadline – Friday, July 25th
          • HireRight Training:
            • There will be HireRight Training available from Payroll on the dates below. If interested in this training, please register
              • Thursday 7/17/25, 2:00-3:30
              • Tuesday 7/29/25, 9:00-10:30
              • Tuesday 8/12/25, 2:00-3:30
          • PageUp Special Payroll Processing Reminders:
            • To aid in the review process, be sure to remove any outdated comments from your special payroll PageUp requests.
          • Postdoc Research Associate Reminders:
            • New NIH rate minimums went into effect on 5/16/2025. Those rates can be found on OVPR’s website here.
            • For continuations, the rule of thumb is that postdocs are eligible for a 3% increase from last year’s rate OR the minimum rate per year of service, whichever is greater.
            • All FTE changes and less-than-1-year appointments need to be approved by Labor Relations. A justification for the FTE/shortened appointment needs to be provided to the BO with the continuation letter when requesting the Dean signature if you’d like Amanda to reach out to Labor Relations.
            • Wen submitting the continuation letter for postdocs, please include the funding plan.

           

          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.

           

          • CAHNR Staff Advisory Council (SAC)
            • Visit the CAHNR Staff SharePoint Site for opportunities with professional development, networking, and even hobby and wellness events.

           

          Fun “Dad” Jokes:

          • What do the mermaids use to call their friends?
            • Shell phones
          • How can you differentiate between a piano and a fish?
            • You can tune a piano, but you cannot TUNA fish!
          •  Why doesn’t the sun go to university?
            • It already has millions of degrees.