Be mindful of student/parent visitors: Dates to avoid the South Parking Lot

Students and their families will be wrapping up orientation activities during July, and will likely make Student Services in Carruthers Hall one of their stops before they head out of town. This means higher-than-usual visitor parking needs in the South Lot.  The peak dates in July are listed below. 

During this time especially, please be mindful not to use the South Parking lot if you are not a permit holder.

Guidelines for visitors during July’s peak visitor parking days:

•   Guests of Carruthers and Michie residents should be directed to park in the North Lot visitor’s spots.
•   If possible, choose to have large meetings with many visitors in another location.
•   Suggest that guests to Carruthers/Michie carpool.
•   Avoid using the South Lot if you are not a permit holder – even short-term parking during these peak times is highly discouraged.

Thank you for helping make our corner of UVA a welcoming place for our new Hoos!

Carruthers Hall Green Team Tip: Reducing Energy Consumption

Click on the graphic for a larger view.

On June 26, we participated in UVA Saves Hour, a one-hour reduction of electricity consumption that helps minimize stress on the electric grid during the summer. We hope you participated! You can see how others saved by checking out #UVASAVESHOUR on twitter.

We also wanted to remind you that there are small ways you can reduce energy consumption every day at work and at home, too! These small tweaks can have a big impact both on the resilience of the energy grid and on your power bill.


Have another suggestion for energy savings? 

Comment below!

UVAFinance Book Club News

Earlier this year, we read Wait, What?, by UVA’s own President-elect James Ryan and the business classic, Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D. For both books, we had two discussion sessions, and also a Finance Matters podcast.

 

While contemplating what books to read next, we had recommendations from several colleagues to read All the Light We Cannot See, a novel by Anthony Doerr, so we decided to change our format slightly. Each year, we will pick a “summer selection” to read and discuss fictional books of interest to the group. The rest of the year, we’ll stick to non-fiction books, like the two we have read this year, to support personal and professional development.

 

Whether you are in UVAFinance or in another department, you are welcome to join the discussion. 

Please let Patty know if you need to participate remotely, so we can set up the meeting to allow that.

 

Read more about these books and the dates for Book Club after the jump!

Printing in UBI

Have you seen the latest helpful info on printing in UBI?

Printing Solution for Monthly PI BBA and Expenditure Reporting: this new solution facilitates printing by unique PTA combination using an Excel template and the new "For Printing" tabs in four existing UBI modules. The formatting can be fine-tuned to your needs (you can even add a department logo). With a little Excel and UBI work, this solution can be modified to support other printing use cases as well. Read more in the UBI Community on this page: https://ubicommunity.virginia.edu/docs/DOC-1434-ubi-printing-solution-for-pi-monthly-reporting

Print Optimization for UBI Reports: how to set up a print format that includes running headers, page numbers, and other features necessary for those who review printed UBI reports. All it takes is a one-time setup and you’re ready to roll. Visit this post in the community to learn more! https://ubicommunity.virginia.edu/docs/DOC-1326-ubi-print-optimizationpdf

For more on the topic of printing, see also:
Printing Recommendations (structured around use cases)

The UBI Community is your source for helpful info, insider hacks, and answered questions – don’t forget to log in to see what’s new!

And don’t forget, the UBI Team offers Office Hours! Visit the Community and check the “Events” section for updated Office Hours.

Two Million POs (and counting)!

New Finance Matters Podcasts

Patty and Brandi have been busy in the recording studio (okay, so it's a conference room) producing new episodes of UVAFinance’s podcast, Finance Matters. You can catch up on the newest episodes on iTunes or via the PodBean page.  The newest pods are listed in this post for your convenience.

Upcoming episodes will feature guests from FEAP and the Center for Contemplative Sciences. 

If you have ideas for podcast topics or guests, please email Brandi or Patty!

Sharpen your UBI skills with a refresher training session

Now that's refreshing!

The UBI Team is providing additional UBI refresher training sessions for users looking to brush up on their UBI knowledge. Led by a UBI Training Developer, these sessions focus on reviewing the basics of UBI functionality. Topics include navigating UBI, working in reports, creating Bookmarks, when to use Bookmarks versus MySheet, as well as other tips and tricks.

The next UBI Refresher session will be August 20, from 2-4 pm in Gibson Hall, Room 041.

If you need a little refreshing, visit the UBI Community for the full schedule of training and links to enroll!  Remember that the UBI team also offers regular office hours (RSVP in the Community!)

FP&A Announces Electronic Budget Adjustment System, BudgetUVA

The Office of Financial Planning and Analysis has partnered with CACS and Enterprise Applications to develop BudgetUVA, a tool that allows users to more effectively and efficiently manage their operating budgets.

Beginning in FY2019, operating budgets will no longer be loaded into the Integrated System. All budget administration will be handled via the BudgetUVA tool and in conjunction with reports available in UBI. The tool will allow end users, with proper access, to view and make adjustments to operating budgets within their areas of responsibility to better manage revised projections.

This means FP&A will no longer be installing, budgeting and funding operating budgets in the Integrated System. If a unit wishes to adjust their operating budget for changes in assumptions/projections, they can simply use BudgetUVA to make the necessary adjustments. There will no longer be a need to submit an ICOM form.

The process for loading and maintaining budgets in the Integrated System was identified as a major pain point for both central units and the schools/units. Both the budget load and the processing of ICOMs are manual processes that take approximately 1,500 working hours across Grounds to complete. 

By moving to an electronic budget adjustment system, we eliminate the need for paper passing from unit to unit, and schools/units have more flexibility in the management of their budgets. The new process allows users to develop revised budgets while maintaining original budgets for comparison purposes.

Note:  This tool will NOT be used for any sponsored program-related budgets or capital projects. These project to date budgets will continue to be managed in the Integrated System.

Beginning on Monday, July 2nd, the tool will be accessible via  https://cacs-web-hsz.web.virginia.edu/budgetuva 

Users will be required to log in via Joint VPN/NetBadge and access will be limited to only their assigned Awards and Projects.

Job aids will be available soon, but in the meantime, if you have questions, please reach out to Nicole Ferretti or another member of the FP&A team. Your feedback is welcome, and could help as enhancements to the tool continue to be made.

Diverse and complex analytics needs? We're here for you!

The UBI team is partnering with schools and units to develop analytics that enable process improvement and clearer insight into operations.

Visit the UBI website and connect with others in the UBI Community to learn more about their experience.

Click the image for a larger view of just a few of the projects UBI has tackled.

Planning a workplace event involving food? Go ZERO WASTE!

The next time you’re having a catered meal for a meeting, take a look at the “Zero-waste” vendors in America-To-Go.  You can spot these vendors by looking for a green marking in their listing (see image).  This means they’ve earned a zero-waste designation and are committed to reducing the total tonnage of waste generated at UVA 50% below 2014 amounts by 2035.

Check out the Office of Sustainability’s Zero Waste Event Guide for more information on minimizing waste at your next event.

Questions or ideas about making the workplace green? Ask a member of the Carruthers Hall GreenTeam!

Questions about the Zero Waste Designation for caterers? Contact the UVA Office of Sustainability at sustainability@virginia.edu

Financial Reporting & Operations Welcomes Jacob Mair

Financial Reporting & Operations is pleased to welcome Jacob Mair in the role of Financial Reporting Analyst. Mair comes to UVA from the Auditor of Public Accounts in Richmond, where he worked for three years.

A 2010 graduate of Christopher Newport University, Mair said he came to UVA on an auditing project with the APA, and so enjoyed the environment and people on Grounds and in Charlottesville that he was inspired to look for opportunities at UVA.

In his new role, Mair will assist with the preparation of financial statements. “Making sure everything is recorded properly and accounted for is grounding for me,” said Mair.

“The problem solving is stimulating and challenging.”

As a new resident of Charlottesville, Mair looks forward to taking advantage of the wealth of outdoor activities available here and also making time for trips to the Outer Banks for surfing.

6 Ways to Build Your Confidence as a Leader

Patty Marbury

This article by Patty Marbury of Finance Outreach and Compliance originally appeared on the MSBCoach blog

Learn more about this topic during a Facebook Live session featuring Marbury on June 21. Click here to view more details about this session.

In their book, The Confidence Code, Kathy Kay and Claire Shipman say, “Confidence is hard to define but easy to recognize. With it, you can take on the world; without it, you live stuck at the starting block of potential.”

It’s true that it is easy to recognize confidence in others. Why does it seem that some leaders exude confidence? They seem to believe that they can indeed take on the world and you believe they can too. How can you boost those feelings of confidence in yourself so you don’t remain “stuck at the starting block of potential”?

Read on to discover six things you can do to start building your confidence as a leader:

New Help Desk System for UVAFinance

Have you made the switch to KACE?

UVAFinance has transitioned us over to a new Help Desk System, and the current CSS Help Desk has been disabled.

Don’t wait until something goes wrong and you need to submit a ticket: please take just a few moments to log in and look around! It only takes a few moments.  (LSPs have already closed over 100 tickets entered by UVAFinance using the new system last month!)

Our friendly LSPs request that you:

• Use the instructions below to log in to the Help Desk/User Console
• Review the two Knowledge Base tips for submitting & updating a ticket
• Use this console to submit all help desk tickets going forward.

Here are the steps to get you started:
1. Navigate to the KACE User Console Log In Page (Make sure to add the link to your Favorites)
2. Enter your Computing ID and Eservices Password
3. Choose "Finance" for Organization
4. Click "Login"
5. In the left menu select Knowledge Base to review instructions on:
     a. How Do I Submit A Ticket?
     b. How Do I Update a Ticket?

Questions?  Contact your LSP!

PSDS’ fresh approach to R&D procurement featured in national magazine

Kristin Floyd

A piece authored by Kristin Floyd of Procurement and Supplier Diversity Services was featured in the Summer 2018 issue of Educational Procurement Journal. 

Educational Procurement Journal
(We feel like Kristin would've
made a great cover)

 In her article, “Research and Development RFP: Procurement Assists with Innovation,” Floyd describes her role in improving UVA’s purchasing effectiveness for research and development goods and services. 

 By leveraging the request for proposal (RFP) process, PSDS was able to eliminate sole source justifications and make UVA researchers’ jobs a lot easier. This created cooperative contracts that will be accessed by other universities nationwide and is an ongoing program at UVa until 2025.


Read the article in the Educational Procurement Journal.

Visit PSDS’ Contract page to see their listing of suppliers (click on “Lab Equip/Supplies/Services” to see R&D categories)

HOOS SEEN THIS?

Cool stuff around the University that you might’ve missed

UVA Facilities Management is sharing news about Grounds in an interesting new way, with lots of great photography and videos too. Check their stories out here.

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Have you seen something cool at UVA that might be useful or interesting to your colleagues? Send it to bv8h@virginia.edu and maybe we can share it in the blog!

UVAForward 2018 Virtual Recap

If you went to UVAForward 2018, you know it was great, and if you didn't get to go, you've probably heard about the great sessions and speakers on the agenda.

Whether you were there in person or not, we thought you might enjoy a "virtual walkthrough" of some of the thoughts, tips, insights, resources, and reactions that made this year's conference awesome.

It's not all-inclusive (there were so many great sessions, presenters, and displays), but you'll hopefully get a taste of things you might've missed or maybe a revisit of something you really enjoyed.

Visit the UVAForward site for more info!

What was your favorite part of Forward? 

Share in the comments!
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Finance Strategic Transformation Phase 1: Assessment & Planning Milestones

What's the latest and greatest from Finance Strategic Transformation?  Check out the Phase 1 Assessment & Planning Milestones planned for the near future by clicking the graphic below.

Because when you click it, it's a lot easier to read. 

Meet the Green Team

The Carruthers Hall Green Team consists of employees like yourself who have an interest in making their workplace greener through incorporating more sustainable practices.

Sustainable practices include composting leftover food from meetings/ events, recycling, hosting zero waste events/ meetings, purchasing, and even acts as simple as turning off the lights in an empty room. There are many ways we can be more sustainable and your green team is here to help you do that!

You'll see more and more from the Green Team in the blog and around Carruthers Hall in the coming weeks. In the meantime, feel free to chat with a Green Team member with questions and ideas.


Green Team Members:

Mariah Kier – Green Team Lead
Anne Marie Cumiskey
Tanya Rahman
Mara Hilliar
Lori Ponton
Kristin Floyd
Isaiah Behnke
Christopher Doran
Brandi Van Ormer

Disha Venkatesan – Supporting Leadership
Dana Schroeder – Sustainability Specialist