February 2024 Newsletter

Fiscal Updates:

• Summer 2024 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  
    • This process will begin in early March and continue through April 12^th, which is the B.O. Deadline for Summer Payroll with an effective date of 5/22/2024  
  • Departments will continue to be responsible for processing non-grant summer payrolls. 
    • 11-month Faculty 
      • The B.O will work with faculty to process the summer hire  
      • This will include the PageUp Request and the Smart-HR Transaction   
  • Important Reminder:  
    • The updated overload policy allows faculty to be eligible to earn up to an additional 25% over their summer salary (12/12ths) for non-research activity (May and winter intersession, summer teaching, CETL course development, etc.) 
    • The overload must be requested and approved prior to the start of the non-research activity 
    • If you are processing special payroll compensation for your research-active faculty, please contact the B.O. to start the overload request  

• Summer Pre-encumbrances:  
  • The B.O. will be pre-encumbering salary and fringe for FY24 and FY25 (starting 6/14/24 onwards) for the following payroll types:   
    • Summer Grads, Faculty Summer, and other Special Payroll appointments on grant accounts  
    • The Pre-encumbrance will be reflected in the May 1^st reports 

• Annual Cash Handling Training 
  • Anyone involved in handling cash and cash equivalents are required to complete the Annual Cash Handling Training for FY24 
  • Access to submit depositing eDocs in KFS may be removed if training is not completed
  • Training may be found in Learning@Work

 

Procurement Updates:

• Apple Computer Orders 
  • CT DAS contract used by the University expires 1/31/24. Until a new contract is finalized, the Apple contract and HuskyBuy punchout will be unavailable until further notice 
  • Apple product requests may be filled through other suppliers in the HuskyBuy catalog, including but not limited to CDW-G and GovConnection 

• The UConn Foundation is now accepting credit card payments 
  • If you are planning an event at The UConn Foundation that requires an agreement to be signed, you must submit the agreement request on the new Hotel & Events Service Request form in Huskybuy 
  • Once the agreement is executed, your Travel Card may be used for payment (requisitions are no longer processed for these transactions) 

• PCard Software Exception Process 
  • There is a form in Huskybuy to request exception for buying software on PCard 
  • The streamlined review of PCard requested software and cloud purchases helps ensure that the potential Supplier’s privacy and security policies and practices protect confidential University data 
  • University PCard holders should consider the data security and privacy implications and potential risks of purchasing software and c loud services 
  • This process may be used by PCard holders only and if the following conditions apply: 
    • Supplier will not/refuses to register in HuskyBuy and/or 
    • Supplier will not/refuses to accept UConn Purchase Order 
  • For more information, visit purchasing.ubs.uconn.edu/2023/07/11/huskybuy-pcard-software-exception-process/ 

• Procurement Support Reminder 
  • • See “Huskybuy Broadcast” email from 1/26/24 

 

HR (Human Resources) and Payroll Updates:

• Grad Summer 2024 
  • Important Dates 
    • Summer dates are 5/22/2024-8/22/2024  
    • Due to PageUp: 3/15/2024  
    • Approval in Page Up: 4/10/2024  
    • Smart-HR (Internal BO) Submit by 4/12/2024  
    • Smart-HR (University) Approved by 4/19/2024  
  • Reminders: 
    • Please include a print-out of the Grad calculator in your PageUp requests 
    • Submit a PageUp request for each unique funding period.  In the Smart-HR Special Payroll hire template, the appointment’s start and end dates are sourced directly from the PageUp record and are not editable. This could lead to inaccuracies in encumbrance if adjustments to funding are required 

• Smart-HR Reminder: 
  • • • When submitting Smart-HR, please include the following information in the comments: 
        • Employee name 
        • Employee number 
        • Dept. 
        • Effective dates 
        • Funding change: from accounts and to accounts and % distribution 
        • Example: 

          John Doe; Empl id #999999; CAHNR Dean’s Office, 1/1/24 – 12/31/24;  

          From 2XXXXXX – 50%, 4XXXXXX – 50% 

          To 2YYYYYY – 50%, 4YYYYYY – 50% 

• From the Graduate School:

• • Spring 2024 – Last day of work for GAs holding F-1 and J-1 visas 
    • Graduate students who complete their degree requirements during Spring ‘24 and have their degree conferred in May will no longer be pursuing their degree after May 5, 2024 
    • Time between May 4, 2024 through May 21, 2024 should be treated as time off for any GA who holds an F-1 or J-1 visa and whose degree is conferred on May 5,2024 
    • Refer to attached email for additional information 
• • Fall 2024 Grad 
    • Refer to attached email from the Grad School regarding April 15^th resolution 
• • New award letter template for departmental fellowships – see email from 1/14/24 
    • From the Grad School: template includes language for fellowship award letters where the dept. intends for the grad to receive same total stipend as if they were full GA 

• • Graduate School Timely Topics 
    • Thursday, February 1 at 1pm – Effective Teachers and Productive Professionals: Givings TAs and Future Faculty What They Need to Succeed 
    • Thursday, February 8 at 11am – Doctoral Degrees, Master’s Degrees, and Graduate Certificates: A Comprehensive Overview of Degree Audit Processes 
    • Thursday, February 22 at 11am – Graduate Student Trends and Patterns: Insight from the Ombuds Office 

• PageUp Trainings 
  • Regular Payroll   
    • February 26 from 9:00am to 12:00pm (Register) 
    • March 25 from 9:00am to 12:00pm (Register) 
  • Special Payroll   
    • February 27 from 9:00am to 11:00am (Register) 
    • March 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. 
  • • Monday, February 26^th (in-person or virtual)
    • Topics: Summer Grad Payroll Processing
    • If you would like to receive the calendar invitation, please contact CAHNRBO@uconn.edu
  • 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 Staff Advisory Council (SAC)
  • Visit the CAHNR Staff SharePoint Site for opportunities with professional development, networking, and even hobby and wellness events.

Shout Out:

• Well wishes
  • Melanie Desch, EXT Windham County

 

Fun “Dad” Jokes:

• As a farmer, I hear lots of jokes about sheep.  I’d tell them to my dog, but he’d herd them all
• Did you hear about the guy who was afraid of hurdles? He got over it
• What’s an astronaut’s favourite part of a computer? The space bar
• What did the mama cow say to the baby cow? It’s pasture bedtime

January 2024 Newsletter

Fiscal Updates:

• 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 1^st and Jan 1^st reports

• Department 4-L Revenue Accounts
  • To prepare for FY24 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

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

• 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 be systematically increased in CORE-CT.  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

• Graduate Assistant Payroll
  • Graduate School Timely Topics
    • Graduate School Timely Topics
      • Thursday, December 7 at 11am – Fellowships Process and Updates

• 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

Shout Out:

• Welcome
  • Yeny Abreu Jiminian, Business Operations Specialist 1, CAHNR Business Office
• Good Luck
  • Noah Godino, CAHNR Business Office

Fun facts about this month in history:

• January 7, 1714 – A patent was issued for the first typewriter designed by British inventor Henry Mill “for the impressing or transcribing of letters singly or progressively one after another, as in writing.”
• January 25, 1533 – King Henry VIII married his second wife, Anne Boleyn, in defiance of Pope Clement who had refused to annul his first marriage. The King later broke all ties with Rome and became Supreme Head of the Church of England.
• January 28, 1986 – The U.S. Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 74 seconds into its flight, killing seven persons, including Christa McAuliffe, a teacher who was to be the first ordinary citizen in space.

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 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)

• 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 1^st and Jan 1^st 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 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 – was Thursday, October 26^th, please submit asap
    • Smart-HR Deadline
      • Business Office Deadline: Friday, December 15^th
      • 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
  • Graduate School Timely Topics
    • Graduate School Timely Topics
      • Thursday, December 7 at 11am – Fellowships Process and Updates

• 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.

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 1^st 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 2^nd)

• 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 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)

• 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 1^st and Jan 1^st 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 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 – was Thursday, October 26^th, please submit asap
    • Smart-HR Deadline
      • Business Office Deadline: Friday, December 15^th
      • 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 9^th – from 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

• CAHNR Admin Meeting
  • Wednesday, November 15^th – from 2:00PM – 3:30PM, Young 209 with a virtual option
  • If you would like to send your question(s) anonymously, please use this form: https://businessoffice.cahnr.uconn.edu/admin-meeting-questions-2/

 

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

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.

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 1^st – will reflect FY23 ending balances; These will be the last report distribution for FY23
  • By July 13^th – 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 14^th

• 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)

• FY24 Fringe Rates
  • Fringe benefit rates for University Programs, Sponsored Programs, Federal Agriculture and Smith Lever have been finalized for FY24: https://bpir.uconn.edu/home/operating-budget/fringe-benefit-rates/

 

   Purchasing Update

• Link to the March 29^th training video on Purchasing and Huskybuy: https://kaltura.uconn.edu/media/Procurement+and+HuskyBuy+Training+Edit/1_n1jcs4ur

 

   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 30^th.  Please submit ASAP for any SmartHRs not yet processed.
    • University Deadline: Friday, July 14^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
    • University Deadline: was Friday, May 26^th
  • Smart-HR Deadline
    • Business Office Deadline: Wednesday, July 19^th
    • University Deadline: Friday, July 28^th

   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 2^nd – August 22^nd
• 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 17^th from 9:30am to 12:30pm (Register)
    • August 10^th from 9:30am to 12:30pm (Register)
  • Special Payroll
    • July 18^th from 9:30am to 11:30am (Register)
    • August 11^th 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 20^th – from 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 

Fiscal Updates: 

• FY23 Fiscal Year End 
• • FY23 University Year-End Deadlines 
    • https://accountingoffice.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/143/2023/03/Year-End-Deadlines-63023.pdf 
    • Internal BO Deadlines 
      • Financial Processing (DI, GLT, TF, ST, BA, SSBA) – Wed, June 14^th  
      • Foundation Reimbursement (RFD) – Wed, June 14^th 
  • 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 

 

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

 

• FY24 New Fiscal Year 
• • FY24 University Fringe Rates (email May 1^st) 
    • Fringe benefit rates for University Program accounts in FY24 will remain the same as FY23 – see attached email 
    • Fringe rates are found here: https://bpir.uconn.edu/home/operating-budget/fringe-benefit-rates/ 

 

• • Salary Savings Accounts 
    • Reminder – the BO will load any remaining prior year (FY23) salary saving account spendable balances for depts. and faculty on July 1^st. 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 14^th  

 

• 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 30^th 
    • Payroll Deadline – Friday, July 14^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 
      • University Deadline: was Friday, May 26^th  
    • Smart-HR Deadline  
      • Business Office Deadline: Wednesday, July 19^th 
      • University Deadline: Friday, July 28^th  

  

• Graduate Assistant Payroll 
  • Graduate School Timely Topics – see the attached email 
    • Thursday June 1^st 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 
    • New Online Supplemental Description of Duties Form  
      • Email from Megan Petsa on 5/10 
      • The new KualiBuild form is available for use by all departments – not required, paper forms or department-specific templates can still be used 
      • Link: Graduate School – GA Supplemental Description of Duties Form 

  

• 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 14^th – 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 18^th – from 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 

  

Fiscal Updates: 

 FY23 Fiscal Year End 

• FY23 University Year-End Deadlines 

• • https://accountingoffice.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/143/2023/03/Year-End-Deadlines-63023.pdf 
  • Internal BO 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 

• Graduate School Timely Topics – see the attached email 

• • 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 18th – from 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 

  

Fiscal Updates: 

• FY23 Fiscal Year End 
  • Starting the first Monday April 3^rd 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 
    • https://accountingoffice.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/143/2023/03/Year-End-Deadlines-63023.pdf 
    • Internal BO Deadlines 
      • Payroll Funding Changes – Wed, May 24^th 
      • Financial Processing (DI, GLT, TF, ST, BA, SSBA) – Wed, June 14^th  
      • Foundation Reimbursement (RFD) – Wed, June 14^th  

• 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 12^th, 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 18^th 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 12^th  
    • Processing deadlines for those with an effective date of 5/23/2023  
      • Smart-HR Transactions in CORE need to be submitted by Wednesday, April 12^th 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 

• PageUp Trainings 
  • Regular Payroll   
    • April 19^th from 9am to 12pm (Register)  
  • Special Payroll   
    • April 20^th from 9am to 11am (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 Open Hour  
  • Thursday, April 20^th – from 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 26^th 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 

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 12^th, 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 1^st (previous years were due by June 15^th) 
  • 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 3^rd for timely approval by the B.O.  
      • Smart-HR Transactions in CORE need to be completed by Wednesday, April 12^th for timely approval by the B.O.   
    • The B.O. cannot guarantee timely review and approval for May 23^rd hires that have not been submitted by April 12^th 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   
    • March 7th at 9am to 11am  (Register)  
    • April 20th at 9am to 11am  (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 Open Hour 
  • Due to feedback recently received at the last CAHNR Admin Meeting we will be moving this meeting from the 3^rd Wednesday of every month, to the 3^rd 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 16^th – from 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 29^th 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 26^th 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 7^th  

Shout Out: 

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