Author: Lunt, Winnie

November 2023 Newsletter

November 2023 Newsletter

Fiscal Updates:

  • Q-drive Migration to Sharepoint
    • The Business Office will be migrating the dept. shared Q-drive ‘payroll’ folders to Sharepoint as required by ITS
    • Migration will start November 1st at 2:00PM.  This means that the Q-drive payroll folders will no longer be accessible
    • We will share the new Sharepoint with each dept when ready (November 2nd)
  • Federal Accounts (Smith Lever, SAES Capacity)
    • FY23 Accounts
      • will remain open through 11/30/23 for expenses incurred by 9/30/23
        • Please avoid last minute spending
        • After November 30th, 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 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
  • 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

 

Concur Updates:

  • Concur Single Sign-On – email notification
    • ITS will be updating the service that Concur uses for Single Sign-on.  This change will take place on Friday, October 27th, 2023 and will result in a new URL for login.  As a result, saved links directing to Concur will no longer function and need to be updated. Common places where a link may exist include:
      • Bookmarks (Browser & Desktop)
      • Websites
      • Help Guides
      • Other Travel Related Forms
      • In addition, links within existing emails directing to Concur will be permanently broken and cannot be fixed. This includes notification emails for outstanding expenses, reports, and approvals. Users will need to log into the Concur application via the new link to access existing reports and expenses. Emails created on or after 10/28/23 will have working links.  The new URL will be provided shortly after the change has been made via email and on the https://travel.uconn.edu

     

    • Concur Transactions Over 90 Days Old:
      • The Business Office has recently sent out a list of transactions over 90 days old to each dept.  Please review the report for the following:
        • Old transactions should be cleaned up – submit expense report or delete the transaction if not an expense
        • Let us know any transactions belonging to inactive employees.  We will reach out to ITS so they can give access to resolve the transactions

     

      HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates:

      • 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
      • Changes to the Pay Confirm Schedule in November:
        • Pay Confirm will be Wednesday November 8th (instead of Thursday November 9th)
        • There will be no access to CORE from Wednesday, November 8th through Sunday, November 12th
        • Pay confirm will be Wednesday November 22nd (instead of Thursday November 23rd)
      • 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.
      • 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
        • Graduate Assistant Payroll
          • Graduate School Timely Topics
            • Thursday, November 2 at 2pm – Graduate Admissions: Reading and Reviewing Applications in the Slate Reader
            • Thursday, November 9 at 11am – Information for New Graduate Faculty Advisors
            • Thursday, November 16 at 11am – SCOTUS Decision on Race in Admissions and Impacts on Graduate Admissions

           

          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, November 9thfrom 11:30AM – 12:30PM virtual only
              • Topics: Post-Award Overview
              • Please email CAHNRBO@uconn.edu to receive the invite with Teams link
            • If you have any questions about the upcoming session, or if you have anything you would like to know more about

           

          Shout Out:

          • Welcome
            • Tara Craig, Administrative Program Support 1, PVS
            • Nicole Rambone, Administrative Program Support 1, KINS
          • Good Luck
            • Jamie Williams, CAHNR Business Office
            • Matilda Murray, Plant Science and Landscape Architecture

           

          Fun facts about this month in history:

          • November 3, 1956 – The Wizard of Oz is televised for the first time
          • November 5, 1935 – Parker Brothers markets the board game Monopoly
          • November 25, 1920 – The first Thanksgiving Day parade is held in Philadelphia, PA.

          October 2023 Newsletter

          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 30th, 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 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)
          • 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

           

          HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates:

          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 – Thursday, October 26th
            • Smart-HR Deadline
              • Business Office Deadline: Friday, December 15th
              • 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 19thfrom 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 9th @ 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.

          September 2023 Newsletter

          September 2023 Newsletter 

          Happy Fall 2023 Semester!  It’s great to see a bustling campus again.  We wish everyone a successful academic year.

          Effective immediately, the Business Office’s hours of operation are 8:00AM – 4:30PM, Monday to Friday.

           

          Fiscal Updates:

          • FY23 Hard Close
            • Occurred: Thursday, August 24th
            • As of Friday, August 25th, final balances from FY23 were carried over as beginning balances into FY24
              • These amounts were previously seen as pending entries
              • For contract and grant accounts, ending balances for FY23 will be seen in the “Contracts Grants Beginning Balance Amount” field on the General Ledger Balance Lookup for FY24.
              • For all other account types, ending balances for FY23 will be seen in the “Beginning Balance Line Amount” field on the General Ledger Balance Lookup for FY23
              • Kuali Financial Data Mart (KFDM) has also been updated to include the beginning balances for FY24
          • FY23 Carry Forward
            • If your department is scheduled to receive any carry forward funding, the transfer of funds will be processed by Friday, September 15th
          • FY24 Monthly Department and Faculty Reports
            • Payroll encumbrances for GA and Adjunct were loaded on August 30th and are reflected in the Sept 1st reports (pre-encumbrances have been released)
            • Faculty hired with an effective date of 8/23/2023 and had start-up commitments identified in their offer letter have been added to our CAHNR Report Distribution.
          • Federal Accounts (Smith Lever, SAES Capacity)
            • FY23 Accounts
              • will remain open through 11/30/23 for expenses incurred by 9/30/23
              • Please avoid last minute spending
              • After November 30th, 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 1st the BO will begin the FY23 close out process
            • FY24 Accounts
              • New Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) opens on 10/1/2023 (FFY24)
              • The BO has begun its annual review and establishment of the FY24 Federal Accounts
              • In September, you may see new account requests in your KFS Action List.  Please review and approve the edocs as timely as possible so the accounts are active and appear in the monthly report distribution as of Oct 1st
              • 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)

           

          HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates:

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

          Graduate Assistant Payroll

          • Reminder from Grad School – GA appointments with either a retroactive date of hire or a retroactive increase in percentage of appointment are prohibited – see attached email for more details
          • Graduate School Timely Topics – see the attached email
              • Thursday, September 14 at 11am – Racial Microaggressions and the Cumulative and Deleterious Effects on Historically Excluded and Racially Oppressed Faculty, Staff, and Students
              • Thursday, September 21 at 11am – Graduate Admissions: Program Application Processing in Slate and Admissions Cycle Kick Off!

          PageUp

          • Trainings
            • Regular Payroll
              • September 20 from 9:00am to 12:00pm (Register)
              • October 24 from 9:00am to 12:00pm (Register)
            • Special Payroll
              • September 21 from 9:00am to 11:00am (Register)
              • 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.

           

          • CAHNR Admin Meeting 

           

          • Business Office Open Hour – Save the date
            • Thursday, October 19thfrom 12:00PM – 1:00PM, Young 209 with a virtual option
            • 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

           

          Shout Out:

          • Welcome
            • Kyle Garneau, Educational Program Assistant 1, Academic Programs
            • Andrea Li, Administrative Program Support 1, KINS
            • Zachary Amarante, Administrative Program Support 1, CAHNR Dean’s Office

           

          Fun facts about this month in history:

          • September 8, 1504 – Michelangelo’s Statue of David is unveiled.
          • September 15, 1997 – The domain name “google.com” is registered.
          • September 25, 1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female Supreme Court Justice.

          Aug 2023 Newsletter 

          Aug 2023 Newsletter 

           Thank you to those that worked diligently to make the AY23-24 Grad payroll submission a success this year!  Departments and Dean’s Office collectively processed, reviewed and approved 279 payrolls by the University’s deadline on July 14th. 

           

          Fiscal Updates: 

           Fiscal Year Transition/Updates 

          • FY23 Hard Close
            • At this time, the FY23 hard close has not been confirmed.  We will provide more information when it is available
          • FY24 – active fiscal year
            • When viewing account balances in FY24, it is important to include ‘Pending Ledger Entry’ as the FY23 hard close has not occurred and balances have not yet been carried forward
            • When viewing Sponsored Project Account balances (5L and some 6L accounts) in FY24, please note indirect costs (NOPX) will need to be manually deducted from the Budget Balance Available
          • FY23 Carry Forward
            • If your department is scheduled to receive any carry forward funding, the transfer of funds will not occur until after the FY23 hard close, which will likely be at the end of August
          • AY23-24 Grad Pre-Encumbrance
            • Pre-encumbrance has been loaded for Grad Payroll
              • The BO will once again be loading pre-encumbrance for Grad payroll.  Last year, only GAs coded to sponsored program accounts were pre-encumbered.  Due to the positive feedback we received regarding this project, this year the BO have  pre-encumbered for GAs coded to university accounts in addition to sponsored program accounts.
              • Reminder: Monthly Report in August and September will continue to capture the pre-encumbrance
              • 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
          • Salary Savings Accounts
            • Sub-accounts have been untilized to identify what funds will expire in a given year
            • A new report has been developed to capture Salary Savings information
            • Carryover from prior year will have expiration date of 6/30/24
            • New distribution (savings earned in FY23) will have expiration of 6/30/25
          • Start-Up Accounts
            • The BO will be working to establish all new 8/23/23 faculty Start-Up accounts (if not completed already)
            • Reminder – Faculty (in most cases) will have three (3) 2-Ledger Start-Up Accounts:
              • Faculty Summer salary
                • No budget will be loaded.  The BO will fund this account after processing summer salary
              • GA Support 
                • Both salary and fringe benefits will be loaded to identify available funding
              • Equipment/Discretionary
            • All accounts are budgeted by the BO and all accounts are Fiscal Based Accounts and run from July 1st – June 30th
            • Funding will continue to carry forward until the timeframe in which these funds are to be used (noted in faculty Offer Letter)
            • The BO will serve as FO on both the Faculty Summer Salary and GA support accounts
          • Federal Accounts (Smith Lever, SAES Capacity)
            • FY23 Accounts 
              • will remain open through 11/30/23 for expenses incurred by 9/30/23
              • Please avoid last minute spending
              • After November 30th, no additional transactions will be allowed on these accounts – transactions may need to be moved to an unrestricted account
              • On December 1st the BO will begin the FY23 close out process
              • Please monitor your continuation accounts for timely cost transfer submission
              • Please contact the BO if you need any assistance
            • FY24 Accounts 
              • The BO has begun its annual review and establishment of the FY24 Federal Accounts 
                • In August and September, you may see new account requests in your KFS Action List.  Please review and approve the edocs timely
              • New Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) opens on 10/1/2023 (FFY24)
              • 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)

          Travel Update 

          • Informational sessions of Concur Travel and booking process:
          • The following topics will be covered in this session:
            • Concur Travel 
            • Updating Traveler Profile 
            • Traveler Preferences 
            • Cell Phone Number
            • Traveler Arranger
            • Credit Card         
            • Booking Groups/Conference Rates
            • Booking Guests
            • Important Contact Information
            • Unused Ticket
            • Benefits of Booking within Program
            • Travel Industry Updates 
            • Local Direct Bill Hotel

            

          HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates: 

          AAUP Faculty Smart-HR Blackout period 

          • Due to the merit process, there will be a blackout period for all AAUP bargaining unit members on: August 2nd – August 22nd
            • Please do not submit any faculty continuations/renewals or other faculty changes during this blackout period – this applies to any transactions effective 8/23/23 and beyond

           PageUp 

          • Trainings
            • Regular Payroll  
              • August 10th from 9:30am to 12:30pm (Register)
            • Special Payroll  
              • August 11th from 9:30am to 11:30am (Register)

           

          New Requirement for Rehired Retiree Appointments 

          • Effective immediately, all rehired retiree appointments will require the completion of the State of Connecticut Temporary Post Retirement Reemployment (CO-1208) form
            • The Temporary Post Retirement Reemployment Form may be found on the HR & Employee Relations Forms webpage
            • For current hire requests, the Special Payroll team will contact hiring departments to request the completion of this form as they receive requests for rehired retirees
            • For future requests, we encourage departments to submit the CO-1208 form as an attachment to the hire request for efficient processing
                

           

          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 Admin Meeting 
            • Wednesday, September 20th – from 2:00PM – 3:30PM, Young 209 with virtual option
            • 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

           

          Shout Out: 

          • Welcome 
            • Chloe Bilodeau, Educational Program Assistant 2, PSLA
            • Eva Wiggins, Business Operations Specialist 1, CAHNR Office of Research/Graduate Education
            • Omar Simpson, Financial Assistant 1, CAHNR Business Office 

           

          Fun facts about this month in history: 

          • August 1, 1790 – The first U.S. Census is completed. There are four million people in the U.S.
          • August 12, 1955 – Minimum wage is raised to $1.00 per hour
          • August 26, 1871 – Toilet paper is first sold in the U.S.

          July 2023 Newsletter

          July 2023 Newsletter

           

          Happy New (Fiscal) Year!

          We hope you are enjoying the summer season so far.  Though we miss the student population on campus during this time of the year, the plentiful parking spaces cannot be complained about.  For the preparation of summer research, the Dean’s Office and the Departments collectively processed 238 payroll authorizations for summer 2023 payroll.  Way to go, everyone!  Great teamwork!

           

          Fiscal Updates:

              FY23 Fiscal Year End and FY24 New Fiscal Year

          • FY23 and FY24 are both open in KFS as of 7/1/23
          • Default will be FY24
            • As you begin to look at balances on your accounts in KFS, please note the following:
            • Though FY24 is default on balance inquiries, you have the option to change to FY 2023 by typing over 2024
            • When looking at FY23 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, 2023 that relates to Fiscal Year 2023. On the General Ledger Entry inquiry, you will see these transactions in Fiscal Period “13”
            • KFS has the ability to show the prior year balances carried over into the new fiscal year. Ending balances from FY23, which are scheduled to be loaded overnight on July 1st as pending entries, will be regularly updated into FY24 until the final close in August
          • Encumbrances:
            • New FY24 external encumbrances (Purchase Orders) are in KFS.
            • Prior Year external encumbrances that are carried forward into FY24 are also in KFS
            • FY24 payroll encumbrances will be posted the week of July 3, 2023
          • 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
          • FY23 Carry Forward
            • If your department is scheduled to receive any carry forward funding, the transfer of funds will not occur until after the FY23 hard close, which will likely be at the end of August
          • 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 FY24 balances
            • July 1st – will reflect FY23 ending balances; These will be the last report distribution for FY23
            • By July 13th – FY24 will be generated and distributed reflecting FY24 beginning balances
          • Salary Savings Accounts
            • Reminder – the BO will load any remaining prior year (FY23) salary saving account spendable balances for depts. and faculty on July 1st. These funds expire 6/30/2024
            • Salary Savings earned in FY23 will be distributed on 7/1/2024 (FY24).  These funds expire 6/30/2025
            • The same account will be utilzed and sub-accounts will identify what funds will expire in a given year.
            • The Business Office is in the process of developing a new report to capture this information
          • CAHNR Awards
            • For those who received CAHNR Awards, the BO will establish new 6L RFNDO accounts and will manage any Foundation Disbursements by the end of FY24
            • These accounts will have the award recipient listed as the ‘Account supervisor’, and will be included in their monthly account statements starting July 14th
          • AY23-24 Grad Pre-Encumbrance
            • The BO will once again be loading pre-encumbrance for Grad payroll.  Last year, only GAs coded to sponsored program accounts were pre-encumbered.  Due to the positive feedback we received regarding this project, this year the BO will also be pre-encumbering for GAs coded to university accounts in addition to sponsored program accounts.
            • The pre-encumbrance will be reflected in the FY24 monthly reports
          • Start-Up Accounts
            • The BO will be working to establish all new 8/23/23 faculty Start-Up accounts (if not completed already)
            • Reminder – Faculty (in most cases) will have three (3) 2-Ledger Start-Up Accounts:
              • Faculty Summer salary
              • GA’ Support
              • Equipment/Discretionary
            • The BO will serve as FO on both the Faculty Summer Salary and GA support accounts
          • Federal Accounts (Smith Lever, SAES Capacity)
            • Beginning this month (July), the BO will begin its annual review and establishment of the FY24 Federal Accounts
            • This will be an ongoing process until the new Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) opens on 10/1/2023 (FFY24)

           

             Purchasing Update

           

             Travel Update

          • For trips longer than 30 days, requests for long-term per diem support will only be approved with justification for why extended per diem support is required.
          • This may include specific requirements of research, limitations on accommodation related to the area of travel, non-food expenses that are being supported through per diems, or issues related to the individual context of travel
          • For more information, click here

           

              Business Office email update (CAHNRBO@uconn.edu)

            • To provide better accountability and timely responses to inquiries sent to the CAHNRBO mailbox, we will be utilizing an internal ticketing system.  There will be minimal changes as communication will still be done via email.  Our responses may include a ticket number in the subject line for reference

           

          HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates:

          Fall 2023 Payroll Deadlines

          • Fall Graduate Students
            • Smart-HR Deadlines
              • Internal BO deadline was Friday, June 30th.  Please submit ASAP for any SmartHRs not yet processed.
              • University Deadline: Friday, July 14th
            • 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
              • University Deadline: was Friday, May 26th
            • Smart-HR Deadline
              • Business Office Deadline: Wednesday, July 19th
              • University Deadline: Friday, July 28th

             AAUP Faculty Smart-HR Blackout period

          • Due to the merit process, there will be a blackout period for all AAUP bargaining unit members on: August 2nd – August 22nd
          • Please do not submit any faculty continuations/renewals or other faculty changes during this blackout period – this applies to any transactions effective 8/23/23 and beyond

           

          PageUp

          • Trainings
            • Regular Payroll
              • July 17th from 9:30am to 12:30pm (Register)
              • August 10th from 9:30am to 12:30pm (Register)
            • Special Payroll
              • July 18th from 9:30am to 11:30am (Register)
              • August 11th from 9:30am to 11:30am (Register)
          • Search Audits
            • Reminder for search audits submitted via PageUp, should route to Business Office for review for both initial search and hire request
            • Search: Add Amanda Masztal as the Org Head in the approval process for these search audit hires.
              • Hire request: select “CAHNR Department: Audit”
              • Amanda should be listed as the Dean’s Office approver

           

          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 Open Hour
          • Thursday, July 20thfrom 12:00PM – 1:00PM, Young 209 with a virtual option
            • In July the Business Office will host “Office Hours”
            • This hour will be left open and available for any topic and/or questions.
            • 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
          • CAHNR Admin Meeting TBD (Sept 2023)

           

          Shout Out:

          • Welcome:
            • Jessica Staack, Financial Assistant 1, CAHNR Business Office
          • Farewells:
            • Well wishes to:
              • Sabrina Jahnke, Administrative Program Support 1, PVS
              • Mnal Sahoobah, Administrative Program Support 1, KINS/KSI

           

          Fun facts about this month in history:

          • July 3, 1806 – The first cultivated strawberry is displayed by Michael Kent
          • July 18, 1920 – Hammonasset Beach State Park (Connecticut’s largest public beach) first opened to the public
          • July 20, 1969 – In “one small step for Man, one giant step for Mankind”, Astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon.

          June 2023 Newsletter 

          June 2023 Newsletter 

          Fiscal Updates: 

           

            • 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 

           

            • 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 FY24 balances 
              • July 1st – will reflect FY23 ending balances; These will be the last report distribution for FY23 
              • By July 14th – will reflect FY24 beginning balances 

           

           

            • Salary Savings Accounts 
              • Reminder – the BO will load any remaining prior year (FY23) salary saving account spendable balances for depts. and faculty on July 1st. These funds expire 6/30/2024 
              • Salary Savings earned in FY23 will be distributed on 7/1/2024 (FY24).  These funds expire 6/30/2025 

           

            • CAHNR Awards 
              • For those who received CAHNR Awards, the BO will establish new 6L RFNDO accounts and will manage any Foundation Disbursements by the end of FY24 
              • These accounts will have the award recipient listed as the ‘Account supervisor’, and will be included in their monthly account statements starting July 14th  

           

          • Faculty Overload: 
            • Effective immediately, special payroll appointments that are approved to be categorized as faculty overload will be charged to object codes 5234 (Payroll – Faculty Overload) and 5634 (Fringe Benefits – Faculty Overload).  All requests for overload pay must be approved by the department head, dean, provost, and Human Resources as needed via the University’s formal approval process in advance of the start of the activity. 
            • Procedural Steps: 
              • For overload appointments processed through PageUp, these object codes will be triggered by selecting the option “Special Payroll – Approved Faculty Overload” on the PageUp Special Payroll Offer Card.  
              • For overload appointments processed directly in Core-CT via entering the Smart HR “UConn Hire Template – Special Payroll Teaching” (UC_TBH_SPT) template into Core-CT, these object codes will be triggered by changing the “EMPL Class” field in “Job Info” tab to “CC”. 
              • More information on the appropriate use of overload and the approval process can be found in the Faculty Compensation Policy and Faculty Compensation Procedures.  

           

          HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates: 

          • Fall 2023 Payroll Deadlines 
            • Fall Graduate Students 
              • Smart-HR Deadlines – SmartHR submitted to B.O. by Friday, June 30th 
              • Payroll Deadline – Friday, July 14th
              • 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 
                • University Deadline: was Friday, May 26th  
              • Smart-HR Deadline  
                • Business Office Deadline: Wednesday, July 19th 
                • University Deadline: Friday, July 28th  

            

          • Graduate Assistant Payroll 
            • Graduate School Timely Topics – see the attached email 
              • Thursday June 1st at 1pm – Preparing for Fall: Graduate Assistant Payroll Procedures 
            • NEW Graduate Employee Union (GEU) contract – IMPORTANT UPDATE: 
              • Continuing Fall Graduate Assistant Offer Letters need to be sent to students by June 1st   
              • Supplemental Description of Duties – Due at time of Entry into Smart-HR 
            • Grad Payroll 

            

          • Wage Increases   – effective June 1, 2023 
            • Adjunct Faculty (see attached email) 
              • Effective August 23, 2023, per AAUP Contract Article 19.7, the following updates will be in effect: 
                • Adjunct faculty per credit minimum rate is $1,973.  
                • Adjuncts who have worked more than four semesters of continuous employment must minimally earn the 2% increased per credit rate of $2,012.46. 
                • Adjuncts who have worked more than twelve semesters of continuous employment must minimally earn the 3% increased per credit rate of $2,032.19. 
              • The updated rates for adjunct faculty can be found on the Special Payroll Information webpage, in the Compensation section. Any adjunct faculty hire requests for the Fall 2023 semester that are submitted with the old rates will be updated by the Special Payroll team prior to approval of the hire request. 
            • Special Payroll and Student Employees 
              • Connecticut State Minimum Wage increases to $15 per hour 

           

          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 Connection
            • Wednesday, June 14th – from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM, Ratcliffe Hicks Arena 
              • Staff are invited for the inaugural CAHNR Connection event for fun-filled afternoon of professional development, networking, and food. 

           

          • Business Office Open Hour  
            • Thursday, June 18thfrom 12:00PM – 1:00PM, Young 209 with a virtual option   
              • In June the Business Office will host “Office Hours” 
              • This hour will be left open and available for any topic and/or questions. 
              • 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 

           

          Shout Out: 

          • Good Luck:  
            • Victoria Lowther (KINS) 
            • Erica Maclean (Dean’s Office) 

          May 2023 Newsletter

          May 2023 Newsletter 

            

          Fiscal Updates: 

           FY23 Fiscal Year End 

          • FY23 University Year-End Deadlines 
              • Payroll Funding Changes – Wed, May 24th 
              • Financial Processing (DI, GLT, TF, ST, BA, SSBA) – Wed, June 14th 
              • Foundation Reimbursement (RFD) – Wed, June 14th 
            • Foundation Reimbursement
              • Reconciliation process – the BO will be directly processing RFDs for the departments that have an arrangement with us 
              • For the departments that would like to utilize the BO for this process, please reach out to cahnrbo@uconn.edu  

              Payroll Pre-encumbrances 

              • Summer 2023: May 1st Faculty report will reflect encumbrances for all summer payroll (faculty and graduate students) against Grant/Contract accounts.  This is applicable to any Payroll between 5/23/2023 – 8/22/2023  
              • FY24: for non-summer payroll’s with an end date in FY24, the Business Office will continue to pre-encumbering on Grant/Contract accounts 
              • For the following payroll types: Regular and Special Payroll appointments  

              Procurement Updates 

              • Reminder – after a PO has been established, the invoice referencing the PO # will need to be sent to apinvoices@uconn.edu for the payment request to be initiated 
              • FY24 Blanket Order (see attached email) 
              • Two items to remember when submitting you FY24 Blanket Orders: 
              • Accounting Date 
              • Reference to last year PO in the cart name 
              • For any Software renewals, please contact Elaine Dumas– even if you are not ready to submit the requisition into HuskyBuy  – her team assist in navigating with this process 

                 

              HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates: 

              Fall 2023 Payroll Deadlines 

              • Fall Graduate Students 
                • Smart-HR Deadlines – SmartHR submitted to B.O. by Friday, June 30th  
                • Payroll Deadline – Friday, July 14th  
              • Adjunct Faculty 
                • PageUp Deadline 
                  • Business Office Deadline: Wednesday, May 17th  
                  • University Deadline: Friday, May 26th  
              • Smart-HR Deadline  
                • Business Office Deadline: Wednesday, July 19th 
                • University Deadline: Friday, July 28th  =

              Graduate Assistant Payroll 

                • Thursday, May 18th at 11am – Graduate Admissions Cycle 2022 – 2023 Debrief   
                • Thursday June 1st at 1pm – Preparing for Fall: Graduate Assistant Payroll Procedures 
              • NEW Graduate Employee Union (GEU) contract – IMPORTANT UPDATE: 
                • Continuing Fall Graduate Assistant Offer Letters need to be sent to students by June 1st   
                • Supplemental Description of Duties – Due at time of Entry into Smart-HR 

               

              Wage Increases   – effective June 1, 2023 

              • Adjunct Faculty (see attached email) 
                • Effective August 23, 2023, per AAUP Contract Article 19.7, the following updates will be in effect: 
                  • Adjunct faculty per credit minimum rate is $1,973.  
                  • Adjuncts who have worked more than four semesters of continuous employment must minimally earn the 2% increased per credit rate of $2,012.46. 
                  • Adjuncts who have worked more than twelve semesters of continuous employment must minimally earn the 3% increased per credit rate of $2,032.19. 
                • The updated rates for adjunct faculty can be found on the Special Payroll Information webpage, in the Compensation section. Any adjunct faculty hire requests for the Fall 2023 semester that are submitted with the old rates will be updated by the Special Payroll team prior to approval of the hire request. 
              • Special Payroll and Student Employees 
                • Connecticut State Minimum Wage increases to $15 per hour  

               

              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 Open Hour  
                • Thursday, May 18thfrom 12:00PM – 1:00PM, Young 209 with a virtual option   
                • In May the Business Office will host “Office Hours” 
                • This hour will be left open and available for any topic and/or questions. 
                • 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  

               

              Shout Out: 

              •  Welcome 
                • Matilda “Tilly” Murray, Administrative Program Support 3, PSLA 

              April 2023 Newsletter

              April 2023 Newsletter 

                

              Fiscal Updates: 

              • FY23 Fiscal Year End 
                • Starting the first Monday April 3rd through the end of fiscal year 2023, the Business Office will be distributing weekly financial reports related to year end close. The report will include the following: 
                  • 2.5% Carry Forward – Academic Units and Extension Storrs 
                  • 2L Balances “Use it or Lose it” – all units 
                  • Org fund balance Report – all units 
                  • TA/Adjunct Compensation Report – Academic Units only 
                  • GA Hold Account Report – Academic Units only 
                  • Continuation Account Report – all units 
                  • Open Encumbrance Report – all units 
                  • Pending E-doc Report – all units 
                • FY23 University Year-End Deadlines 
              • 2023 Faculty Summer   
                • The Business Office will be processing summer faculty salary against any grant/contract, start-up, and/or any other salary commitments from the Dean’s Office  
                  • Departments will continue to be responsible for processing non-grant summer payrolls  
                  • This process will begin in early March and continue through April 12th, which is the B.O. Deadline for Summer Payroll with an effective date of 5/23/2023  
                • 9- & 10-month appointments  
                  • It is our understanding at this point that OVPR will continue to fund one week of summer for 9- and 10-month faculty who are supported 100% by Sponsored Projects  
                • 11-month appointments  
                  • The B.O will work with faculty to process the summer hire  
                  • This will include the PageUp Request, Dual Employment form, and the Smart-HR Transaction   
              • Summer Payroll Pre-encumbrances
                • Similar to Fall and Spring GA pre-encumbrance, the B.O. will be pre-encumbering salary and fringe for FY24 (starting 6/16/23 onwards) for the following payroll types:   
                  • Summer Grads, Faculty Summer, and other Special Payroll appointments on grant accounts 
              • Procurement Updates 
                • FY24 Blanket Order (see attached email) 
                  • Two items to remember when submitting you FY24 Blanket Orders: 
                    • Accounting Date 
                    • Reference to last year PO in the cart name 
                • For any Software renewals, please contact Elaine Dumas– even if you are not ready to submit the requisition into HuskyBuy  – her team assist in navigating with this process 
              • Concur Updates 
                • Q&A with Crystal from Anthony Travel – April 18th 10: 
                  • CAHNR and CLAS are collaborating and have organized time to discuss any travel booking questions 
                  • If you would like to attend this Q&A, please email the Business Office (CAHNRBO@uconn.edu) 
                  • Questions may also be sent in advance to the CAHNR Business Office  
              • Post Award Updates 
                • Notes form March 2023 SPA meeting: 
                  • Foreign Travel on Grants – Best Practices 
                    • Review terms and conditions of sponsored award to check if pre-approval is required for international travel – regardless of if it is included in the proposed budget 
                    • Utilize Anthony Travel when booking flights using Federal Funding 
                    • This helps to ensure compliance with the ‘Fly America Act’  
                    • If traveler books travel on their own, they are still responsible for ensuring ‘Fly America Act’ compliance 

                 

              HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates: 

              • Graduate Assistant Payroll 
                • Graduate School Timely Topics – see the attached email 
                  • Thursday, April 13 at 1pm – Workflow and Tools When Recruiting & Hiring GAs for Non-Academic units  
                • NEW Graduate Employee Union (GEU) contract  – IMPORTANT UPDATE: 
                  • New Graduate Assistant Offer Letters needed to be sent to students by April 1st 
                  • Continuing Fall Graduate Assistant Offer Letters need to be sent to students by June 1st   
                • Summer Graduate Smart-HR Deadlines – SmartHR submitted to B.O. by April 12th  
                  • Processing deadlines for those with an effective date of 5/23/2023  
                    • Smart-HR Transactions in CORE need to be submitted by Wednesday, April 12th for timely approval by the B.O. to ensure student receive their first paycheck in a timely manner 
                    • Any transactions submitted late will result in a delayed payment to the student 
              • Wage Increases   – effective June 1, 2023 
                • Adjunct Faculty (see attached email) 
                  • Effective August 23, 2023, per AAUP Contract Article 19.7, the following updates will be in effect: 
                    • Adjunct faculty per credit minimum rate is $1,973.  
                    • Adjuncts who have worked more than four semesters of continuous employment must minimally earn the 2% increased per credit rate of $2,012.46. 
                    • Adjuncts who have worked more than twelve semesters of continuous employment must minimally earn the 3% increased per credit rate of $2,032.19. 
                  • The updated rates for adjunct faculty can be found on the Special Payroll Information webpage, in the Compensation section. Any adjunct faculty hire requests for the Fall 2023 semester that are submitted with the old rates will be updated by the Special Payroll team prior to approval of the hire request. 
                • Special Payroll and Student Employees 
                  • Connecticut State Minimum Wage increases to $15 per hour 

               

              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 Open Hour  
                • Thursday, April 20thfrom 12:00PM – 1:00PM, Young 209 with a virtual option  
                • In April we will review Graduate Payroll for the Fall 2023 semester 
                • 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  
              • Staff Advisory Council Presents: Professional Development Session on Ignite Your Creativity  
                • Wednesday, April 26th from 2:30PM to 1:00 PM, Location TBD 
                • Dr. Nora Madjar from the School of Business will be a guest speaker   
                • Please see the attached email for more information.  
                • Be sure to RSVP by April 7th    

               

              Shout Out: 

              • Welcome 
                • Ann-Marie Grimason, Administrative Program Support 3, AHS 
                • Chante King, Administrative Program Support 3, NRE 
                • Gina Abarno, Administrative Program Support 2, PVS CVMDL 
              • Farewells 
                • Good Luck: Edward Harris, Financial Analyst 1, CAHNR BO 

              March 2023 Newsletter

              March 2023 Newsletter 

              Fiscal Updates: 

              • 2023 Faculty Summer  
                • The Business Office will be processing summer faculty salary against any grant/contract, start-up, and/or any other salary commitments from the Dean’s Office 
                  • Departments will continue to be responsible for processing non-grant summer payrolls 
                  • This process will begin in early March and continue through April 12th, which is the B.O. Deadline for Summer Payroll with an effective date of 5/23/2023 
                • 9- & 10-month appointments 
                  • It is our understanding at this point that OVPR will continue to fund one week of summer for 9- and 10-month faculty who are supported 100% by Sponsored Projects 
                • 11-month appointments 
                  • The B.O will work with faculty to process the summer hire 
                  • This will include the PageUp Request, Dual Employment form, and the Smart-HR Transaction  
                • Summer Pre-encumbrances: Similar to Fall and Spring GA pre-encumbrance, the B.O. will be pre-encumbering salary and fringe for FY24 (starting 6/16/23 onwards) for the following payroll types:  
                  • Summer Grads, Faculty Summer, and other Special Payroll appointments on grant accounts 

                 

              HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates: 

              • Graduate Assistant Payroll  
                • Graduate School Timely Topics – See the attachment for the Spring 2023 Topics  
                  • Thursday, March 2 at 1pm – Neurodiversity and the Advisor/Advisee Relationship 
                  • Thursday, March 9 at 11am – Supervising Graduate Assistants 
                  • Thursday, April 13 at 1pm – Workflow and Tools When Recruiting & Hiring GAs for Non-Academic units 
                • NEW Graduate Employee Union (GEU) contract  
                  • Changes/updates to the GEU contract took effect: July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2026 
                  • IMPORTANT UPDATE: Grads continuing into next AY – need to be notified by June 1st (previous years were due by June 15th) 
                • Summer Graduate Page Up and CORE Smart-HR Payroll Deadlines  
                  • For those looking to compensate or hire any graduate student over the summer (5/23-8/22) please make note of the following processing deadlines  
                    • Offers submitted in Page Up, need to be completed by Friday, March 3rd for timely approval by the B.O.  
                    • Smart-HR Transactions in CORE need to be completed by Wednesday, April 12th for timely approval by the B.O.   
                  • The B.O. cannot guarantee timely review and approval for May 23rd hires that have not been submitted by April 12th in CORE. Submission of transactions after this deadline may result in a delayed first payment 
              • Wage Increases  
                • Connecticut State Minimum Wage increases to $15 per hour – Effective June 1, 2023
                  • This impacts all employees including Special Payroll and Student Workers
                • Post-Doctoral Fellow Stipends – NIH Increased minimums (see attached email) 
                  • New minimums effective for new or continuing – Effective February 3, 2023 
              • PageUp Trainings   
                • Regular Payroll   
                  • March 6th at 9am to 12 noon (Register)   
                  • April 19th at 9am to 12 noon (Register 
                • Special Payroll   

               

              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 Open Hour 
                • Due to feedback recently received at the last CAHNR Admin Meeting we will be moving this meeting from the 3rd Wednesday of every month, to the 3rd Thursday of every month from 12:00PM – 1:00PM.  The goal will remain where these sessions are offered in person with a virtual option.   
                • Thursday, March 16thfrom 12:00PM – 1:00PM, Young 209 with a virtual option  
                  • Please note the day has changed from Wednesday to Thursday due to the CAHNR Department Budget Hearing Schedule 
                  • In March, we will discuss:   
                    • Fiscal Year End Prep 
                    • Weekly reports and how to read them 
                    • What we expect 
                    • What to expect from us 
                  • 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 
              • Purchasing Training 
                • Wednesday, March 29th from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM.  
                • CLAS, CAHNR, and Neag are joining forces to offer a combined Purchasing and Husky Buy Overview Training Opportunity 
                  • If you would like to attend this training session, please email the CAHNR Business Office: cahnrbo@uconn.edu  
              • Staff Advisory Council Presents: Professional Development Session on Ignite Your Creativity 
                • Wednesday, April 26th from 2:30PM to 1:00 PM, IPB 317 
                • Dr. Nora Madjar from the School of Business will be a guest speaker  
                • Please see the attached email for more information. 
                • Be sure to RSVP by April 7th  

              Shout Out: 

              • Welcome 
                • Alison St. Pierre, Administrative Program Support 1, ARE 

              February 2023 Newsletter

              February 2023 Newsletter 

                

              Fiscal Updates: 

              • Department 4-L Revenue Accounts 
                • To prepare for FY23 year end, the Business Office will be adjusting the balances on all department 4-L revenue-based accounts to reflect actual revenue received to date vs. projected annual revenue  
                • Budgets will be adjusted on a weekly basis to reflect any additional revenue received 
                • This process will occur in January.  Therefore, when you view available balances in KFS (Kuali Financial System) they will be reflective of actual available funding 
                • This will also reflect in the monthly reports that will batch on February 1st  
              • Summer 2023 Faculty Payrolls 
                • The Business Office will be processing summer faculty salary against any grant/contract, start-up, and/or any other salary commitments from the Dean’s Office 
                  • Departments will continue to be responsible for processing non-grant summer payrolls 
                  • This process will begin in early March and continue through April 12th, which is the B.O. Deadline for Summer Payroll with an effective date of 5/23/2023 
                • 9- & 10-month appointments 
                  • It is our understanding at this point that OVPR will continue to fund one week of summer for 9- and 10-month faculty who are supported 100% by Sponsored Projects 
                • 11-month appointments 
                  • The B.O will work with faculty to process the summer hire 
                  • This will include the PageUp Request, Dual Employment form, and the Smart-HR Transaction  
                • Summer Pre-encumbrances: Similar to Fall and Spring GA pre-encumbrance, the B.O. will be pre-encumbering salary and fringe for FY24 (starting 6/16/23 onwards) for the following payroll types:  
                  • Summer Grads, Faculty Summer, and other Special Payroll appointments on grant accounts 

                

              HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates: 

              Graduate Assistant Payroll 

              • Graduate School Timely Topics – See the attachment for the Spring 2023 Topics 
                • Thursday, February 2 at 1pm – Advising and Mentoring Historically Excluded or Racially Oppressed Graduate Students 
                • Thursday, February 16 at 11am – Community Engaged Scholarship 
                • Thursday, February 23 at 11am – Graduate Students and Special Payroll 
              • Updated Graduate Assistant Offer Letter Templates – See the attachment for the announcement of the new templates 
                • Located on HR’s website under offer letters, Graduate Assistants, the new slimmed down templates have been created: 
                  • Graduate Assistant Offer Letter Template (new or reappointments regardless of semester start) 
                  • Graduate Assistant Mid-Appointment FTE or Stipend Level Change Template 
                  • Remember to complete and attach the appropriate Supplemental Description of Duties for all GA letters 
              • Summer Graduate Page Up and CORE Smart-HR Payroll Deadlines 
                • For those looking to compensate or hire any graduate student over the summer (5/23-8/22) please make note of the following processing deadlines 
                  • Offers submitted in Page Up, need to be completed by Friday, March 3rd for timely approval by the B.O. 
                  • Smart-HR Transactions in CORE need to be completed by Wednesday, April 12th for timely approval by the B.O.  
                  • The B.O. cannot guarantee timely review and approval for May 23rd hires that have not been submitted by April 12th in CORE. Submission of transactions after this deadline may result in a delayed first payment 

                

              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 Open Hour  
                • Thursday, February 16thfrom 12:00PM – 1:00PM, Young 209 with a virtual option  
                  • Please note the day has changed from Wednesday to Thursday due to the CAHNR Department Budget Hearing Schedule 
                • In February’s Business Office Open Hour, we will be chatting about:   
                  • Fiscal Officer Role 
                  • KFS and WebFocus Tips and Tricks 
                  • Grant Management 
                • 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 
              • Purchasing Training 
                • CLAS and CAHNR are joining forces to offer a combined Purchasing and Husky Buy Overview Training Opportunity 
                • The tentative date for this training is: 
                • Tuesday, March 28th OR Wednesday, March 29th, whichever day is chosen it will be offered from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM. 
                • Once a date has been confirmed, another communication will be distributed, and the location of the training will be provided 
              • Staff Advisory Council Presents: Professional Development Session on Work-Life Balance 
                • Thursday, February 23rd from 12:00PM to 1:00 PM 
                • Dr. Singe from the Department of Kinesiology will be a guest speaker  
                • Please see the attached email for more information. 
                • Be sure to RSVP by Feb 6th