PSDS was the winner of the Organizational Excellence Project Alliance’s “Jargon Buster” contest. This contest tested each participant’s knowledge of its own use of jargon -- terms or acronyms that are specific to one’s own group or industry. Jargon can be helpful to use when communicating with group members but can be very confusing for external audiences, so the Organizational Excellence group sought to increase each project’s awareness of its existing use of jargon in order to reduce usage in external communication. Congratulations, PSDS!
Thursday, October 13, 2016
TravelUVA Presents at National Travel Conference
Raegan Harouff from TravelUVA
recently presented UVA’s travel innovation at the Society for Collegiate Travel
and Expense Management’s National Conference in San Diego, California. Her
presentation was about TravelUVA finding a “Duty of Care” solution for
UVA. “Duty of care” refers to how the
University keeps track of its students, faculty and staff travelers in case
trouble arises, and how both the University and travelers are notified during emergencies.
To provide a solution, TravelUVA contracted with a Travel Management Company
who offers a Duty of Care program; additionally, they noticed that the
University had an under-utilized employee benefit - United
Healthcare Global Travel Assistance Program (UHCG) - and a need for care
for our travelers while they were traveling.
As a result of the
TravelUVA team’s work, all travelers who use the TravelUVA Booking Tool are
auto-enrolled in the UHCG Program, ensuring that our travelers are covered and
are utilizing an employee benefit of which many were unaware!
FOC: What can the training team do for you?
The training
team in Finance Outreach and Compliance is responsible for developing,
delivering, and continuously improving a comprehensive training program for all
finance and business professionals at UVA. We want to help these professionals
develop the skills they need to do their jobs accurately and efficiently, as
well as to help them grow in their careers.
What do we do in our day-to-day work to meet
these responsibilities?
·
We develop and provide training in foundational business and finance skills
through courses like “Finance Fundamentals” and various Brown Bag sessions
·
For all University-wide finance and research administration systems and
processes, we:
o design training plans
o document technical processes
o provide instructional design
services for online and instructor-led training
o develop online learning
o coordinate and help
facilitate instructor-led sessions, including classroom training, computer
labs, workshops, and webinars.
Our
training projects include the finance modules of the Integrated System and the
Student Information System, TravelUVA, Expense, ResearchUVA, Effort Reporting,
Account Reconciliation, and many more.
·
We support all training initiatives needs for UVAFinance employees
including Respect@Uva, Multicultural Fluency, Lunch and Learn sessions, and the
new Manager Development Program.
·
We provide guidance for individual professional development needs for
finance and business professionals across UVA and for colleagues within
UVAFinance.
MRP: More UBI Training Sessions Scheduled
Intuitive. Easy to
use. Faster. More detailed. Users all around
Grounds have high praise for the functionality provided by University Business
Intelligence (UBI). If you haven’t already taken the UBI plunge,
or if you’re ready to take a deeper dive, MRP is ready to help!
Additional training
opportunities are now available for UBI users:
UBI Workshops -
focus on using UBI standard reports in day-to-day work.
Advanced UBI –
creating customized reports using MySheet and UBI tips and tricks.
Available sessions are listed on
the UBI website Training page.
1st Annual UVAFinance Employee Appreciation Breakfast is Coming Up!
Make sure you have Thursday, October 20th marked
on your calendar: it’s the 1st Annual UVAFinance Employee
Appreciation Breakfast!
You’re invited to join your colleagues in a special
celebration of all UVAFinance employees.
We’ll recognize employees for their years of service and accomplishments
and give special recognition to those who are service award recipients this
year, as well as employees who have received any other University-wide awards
or recognition, and/or educational achievements such as degrees or
certifications. The event will be held in our new Carruthers Hall conference
room space, Carr-1 and Carr-2!
Hope to see you all next Thursday, October 20! Drop by
anytime between 8:30-10:00.
Procurement R&D Program: Reducing the need for sole sourcing
As a part of
the Strategic Sourcing initiative, Procurement & Supplier Diversity
Services (PSDS) is making it easier for researchers to get the goods, equipment
and services they need and reducing the need for sole source
justification.
PSDS has
greatly increased the number of research supply vendors under contract (over 70
so far). Orders with contract vendors satisfy competitive requirements
and automatically create purchase orders without PSDS intervention. Researchers can take advantage of initial
discounts negotiated with contract vendors, based on spend totals from the
Virginia Association of State College and University Purchasing Professionals.
New vendors
may submit proposals during the open enrollment period of January through
March.
Researchers
can check on the contract status of vendors they use by visiting the PSDS Contracts
page (contract vendors are designated by the “Contract C” in the
Marketplace). If they work with a preferred vendor who is not already a
contract vendor, they may submit a
request or email Kristin
Floyd in Procurement; she will contact the vendor to solicit a
request for proposal during the open enrollment period.
All current
requests for proposal are available on the public postings page.
New Rules for Student Financial Aid
The availability of the 2017-2018 financial aid applications
marked a shift in the methodology for evaluating student aid. The changes are
generally positively regarded, but have many implications for Student Financial
Services’ awarding policies and processes, particularly in the first year of
implementation.
SFS uses two applications to evaluate undergraduates’
eligibility for aid: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for
federal aid, and the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE (Profile) for institutional aid.
Until now, both forms required parent and student income and asset information
from the prior tax year. Beginning with the 2017-2018 aid year, both forms
require information from the “prior-prior” tax year. The forms are also now be
available from October 1 of the previous year, rather than from January 1 of
the current year.
For many of our returning students, the change to
prior-prior year means that information from a single tax year (2015) will be
used to evaluate aid eligibility for two aid years (2016-2017 and 2017-2018).
For families whose financial circumstances remain basically steady from year to
year, the change simply allows more time to complete their with actual tax
data. For families whose financial circumstances were substantially different
in 2015, SFS administrators are working to create rules so they are not doubly
penalized.
SFS will also be able to reuse thousands of 2015 tax
documents already collected during the 2016-2017 application cycle. SFS-ITS is
working to make this happen within the ImageNow system, which will save many
hours of effort for both students and the staff who process incoming documents.
SFS is actively working on these and many other changes
behind the scenes, hoping for the smoothest possible transition for both
students and staff.
ResearchUVA: New Features on the Horizon
When the
Board of Visitors convened this September to choose the initial group of
projects for funding by the Strategic Investment Fund, they selected
initiatives that had the most potential to significantly transform a critical
area or knowledge or function and to enhance the academic, research or clinical
standing of UVA. Among the 13 chosen
projects is ResearchUVA, a software platform currently being developed by the
Office of Sponsored Programs to manage the research administration process.
Since its
launch in May of 2015, ResearchUVA has been in continuous development as an
institutional resource for reducing administrative burden associated with
pursuing and conducting research. The overarching goal over the last year has
been to replace manual, siloed and paper-intensive processes with a one-stop electronic
portal providing investigators and administrators around-the-clock access to
the range of information they need to manage sponsored programs, from any
device —from account balance information to award documentation to agreement
status information.
Already,
researchers have benefitted from ResearchUVA’s functionality. All research documents are housed
electronically within the system, and faculty can easily track the progress of
their documents within the process queue, as well as search the system for
opportunities to collaborate.
Additionally, proposals can be submitted electronically.
SIF
Funding will enable ResearchUVA to make major advances in supporting the
research mission at UVA.
Coming
in FY 2017:
·
Availability
of reporting on the number and dollar value of proposals submitted per month
and per year at UVA
·
Enhanced
reporting on proposals representing collaborative and interdisciplinary research
·
Capability
to track non-funded or zero-dollar value agreements critical to research
programs such as: materials transfer agreements (MTAs), non-disclosure
agreements (NDAs), data use agreements (DUAs), and memoranda of understanding
(MOUs)
·
Enhanced
keyword search capability across documents within the system
·
Rollout
of data visualization and user/community engagement platforms
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Day of Caring 2016
Over half of the Day of Caring volunteer workforce was made up of UVA employees; UVAFinance was represented by a group of nearly 60 people. Together, all of UVA’s volunteers donated nearly 12,000 hours of service valued at $300,000. For all the weeds you pulled, the prizes you gave, and the numbers you painted: we salute you, volunteers!
Click here to see UVAFinance in action at the WorkSource Carnival.
More great Day of Caring coverage here and here (great quotes from Linda Estepp and Nicole Ferretti!)
If you have pictures from your Day of Caring activity that you’d like to share on UVAFinance’s Flickr page, please send them to bv8h@virginia.edu
MRP: Engaging the University Community
Community engagement is a core competency for the Managerial Reporting Project. In September, MRP participated in a dialogue about complex hiring challenges with other highly technical/IT areas across the institution. The team also met with stakeholders from around Grounds during the team’s annual MRP development day.
FOC: Priddy and UVAForward Committee Honored
The
UVAForward team is recognized for demonstrating excellence in customer service
and building productive partnerships in its design and delivery of a powerful
internal professional development conference. Nominators noted that the
team’s collaboration was exemplary and the long-standing impact through the
development of others was evident.
Priddy and
the UVA Forward Team, which includes Tom Kim, Kirby Armentrout, Keith Donnelly,
and Elizabeth Allan, were recognized at the Quality CORE Network event on
September 28.
OSP: Welcome, John Rodgers!
Update on Parking at Carruthers
Parking changes are coming to Carruthers Hall this autumn,
with the aim of improving pedestrian safety and better using parking spaces
currently available. Here’s what’s in store for the North Upper
Lot, the North Lower Lot, and the South Lower Lot.
Changes in Visitor Parking
Results of a survey given to all managers in Carruthers and
Michie showed a need to create half or full day spots in addition to the spots
with a 2-hour parking limit in the South Lower Lot. To address this, 15
spots will be created in the North Lower Lot that will be designated as Visitor
Parking. Signage will ask visitors to obtain parking tags from receptionists in
Carruthers/Michie.
Improving Usage of the North Lower Lot
A review conducted with Parking and Transportation revealed
that the North Lower Lot is under-utilized, while the North Upper Lot is over-utilized. To address this, a Y3 lot
with 15 spaces will be created in the South Lower Lot; this lot will have a premium
parking rate of $59 per month. In turn, parking rates for the North Lower
Lot will be reduced to $47 per month. There will be no change in fees to
park in the North Upper Lot.
Changes for Pedestrian Safety
Parking
and Transportation used a consulting firm to do a safety survey of all the lots
at Carruthers. In the North Upper Lot, recommendations included clearer
path marking, additional stop signs to reduce speeding, additional crosswalks,
and new sidewalks/pathways for those who do not use the stairs. For the
South Lower Lot, the firm recommended new markings to clarify in/out, and more
accessible parking spaces. Updates will be shared as this project develops!
Thursday, September 15, 2016
MRP: UBI Phased Release Plan
The Managerial Reporting Project updated the UBI Phased Release plan. This
timeline highlights the timing for development of various subject areas.
PSDS: GovSmart and Travel Updates
GovSmart
PSDS is pleased to announce that GovSmart, a SWaM certified minority local business, has been awarded a contract for Microsoft Surface Pro devices. VHEPC estimates an average savings of 9% by purchasing Surface Pro devices via GovSmart compared to other contract vendors. Please note that GovSmart can be used to procure other information technology (IT) hardware, software, and services as well. Visit PSDS' website for contract information on GovSmart's entire line of IT products and services. For additional questions, please contact Michael Warlick at mw9u@virginia.edu or 924-8918.
New and Improved Travel Reimbursement Workbook
Changes include:
When reimbursing guests, the meals per diem sheet will no longer be available. Per IRS rules, guests can only be reimbursed for actual meals with itemized receipts.
PSDS is pleased to announce that GovSmart, a SWaM certified minority local business, has been awarded a contract for Microsoft Surface Pro devices. VHEPC estimates an average savings of 9% by purchasing Surface Pro devices via GovSmart compared to other contract vendors. Please note that GovSmart can be used to procure other information technology (IT) hardware, software, and services as well. Visit PSDS' website for contract information on GovSmart's entire line of IT products and services. For additional questions, please contact Michael Warlick at mw9u@virginia.edu or 924-8918.
New and Improved Travel Reimbursement Workbook
Changes include:
- Requirement added to enter number of travel days to calculate reduction in daily meal per diem on travel days.
- Fund type/source must be selected. This helps streamline the review process which speeds up reimbursements.
- Reminder added to obtain supervisor's manager/designee's approval if employee's signature date is greater than 30 days after the travel return date.
- When the workbook is downloaded, there will be an expiration date of January 1, 2017, on the workbook. This expiration date has been included to ensure that departments are using the most current workbook.
When reimbursing guests, the meals per diem sheet will no longer be available. Per IRS rules, guests can only be reimbursed for actual meals with itemized receipts.
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