• Graduate Students
  • • Offer letter sent to the student by Nov 1.
  • Smart-HR Deadlines
    • Business Center/Grant Management Deadline: Friday, December 8.
    • University Deadline: Friday, December 15.
  • 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
  • Business Center Deadline: Friday, October 20.
  • CORE Deadline - Friday, October 27.

University Business Services released this announcement regarding increased bid thresholds for unrestricted (State of Connecticut Bid Thresholds) and grants and contracts accounts (Uniform Guidance Bid Thresholds). The bid threshold requiring a public bid has risen from $50,000+ to $100,000+. All amounts from $25,000 to $99,999 will require an informal bid. These changes took effect October 1, 2023.

• All UCPEA evaluations will now be submitted through KualiBuild. Read more about the updated UCPEA evaluation process.
• Access the updated form in Kuali Build.
• All evaluations can be routed to either Deborah Shelby or Michelle Cahill as the First Supervisor Outside of UCPEA.
• Please route your completed PDF version of the evaluation to the CLAS Dean’s office at clas@uconn.edu.

• Effective October 5^th, 2023, all requests for faculty and staff must be submitted through the new request form in Kuali Build. Human Resources will be responsible for the review and approval of requests and will use the attached guidelines and criteria which were developed in collaboration with university leadership. Requests for employees to be approved to work 100% of the time from a location outside the State of Connecticut will continue to require approval from the dean, director, or other appropriate management exempt designee of the requesting unit.
  • Requests for 100% Out of State Remote Work will be approved only in exceptional and limited circumstances and following a careful review of the criteria.

• Supplier Onboarding
  • Conducted supplier record cleanup – In order to improve reposting, reduce compliance risks, etc. over 20,000 unused profiles have been archived.
  • Simplified individual registration – Duplicative and Extraneous sections have been removed to reduce confusion for registrants.
  • Introduced payment choice when registering in ACH, Wire, etc. – Allows for more payment options to supplies and faster payment.

• UConn has partnered with Academic Impressions to offer professional development resources for higher education professionals. Resources include hundreds of hours of trainings in topics such as Academic Leadership, Advancement, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Faculty Success, Leadership Development, Compliance, and more.
• The Office of Human Resources has partnered with The Lexington Group, Inc as the new Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The Lexington Group will provide confidential face-to-face counseling, or in certain circumstances video counseling, to assist employees in identifying and resolving personal problems no matter how unique and diverse they appear. Examples include family and marital conflicts, stress, substance abuse, depression, and other emotional issues. The Lexington Group also assists with referrals for eldercare support, child care, as well as legal and financial guidance through our Life Care program.
  • Employees may call The Lexington Group for immediate and confidential assistance at 1-800-676-HELP (4357) or access their website at www.the-lexington-group.com. The Lexington Group is available seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day.
• Please see the attached Fall 2023 schedule for the Graduate School’s Timely Topics Series.
  • Thursday, October 12 at 11 a.m. - Neurodiversity and the Advisor/Advisee Relationship: Fostering Open Communication with Neurodiverse Grad Students
  • Thursday, October 19 at 11 a.m. - Graduate Student Data Resources

• UConn is holding its 16th annual Work/Life Expo in celebration of National Work and Family Month.
  • Explore the calendar of events offered throughout the month of October, including activities such as yoga and pet therapy, and seminars such as Healthy Boundaries & Work/Life Balance.

• Pumpkin Palooza will take place on Tuesday, October 24 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Student Union Terrace and online.
  • You can enter in your best decorated pumpkin at the Student Union Terrace between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. You can also enter a pumpkin digitally from now until 10:30 a.m. on October 24.
  • Find more information on the human resources website.

Search committee members are required to complete search committee training before serving on a search committee. The training currently only needs to be completed one time, so we would like to encourage all staff members to complete the 45-minute training through Learning@Work even if you are not currently on a search committee at this time.

• Beyond Bias in Workplace Training will be available until December 31st, 2023 on WebEx. This prerecorded training session aims to raise awareness about biases and equip participants with strategies to go beyond biases in the workplace. Through interactive discussions, real-life examples, and self-reflection exercises, participants will gain insights and tools to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment.
  • Access the training.
  • Password: 706514Rec082342
    
• The Fiscal Institute for Training (FIT) is offering a series of comprehensive trainings throughout October and November featuring topics such as Accounting, Budget, UConn Foundation, Accounts Payable, University Business Services, Payroll, and Human Resources. Please contact jennifer.person@uconn.edu or visit https://fiscalinstitute.uconn.edu/ for more information.
• PageUp Regular Payroll: Sign up for the training.
  • October 24, 2023 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
• PageUp Special Payroll: Sign up for the training.
  • October 25, 2023 from 9-11 a.m.

• New Hire: We are excited to announce that Margaret Vassilopoulos has joined GMS team as Grants and Contracts Assistant. Margaret comes to us with valuable professional skills such as customer communications, purchasing, estimating, proposal writing, invoicing, and data entry. Margaret is a great addition to the team.
• Reminders:
  • Bid Threshold has increased. Review the policy.
  • Adding a business purpose to a requisition will help with faster processing time.
  • GMS will be processing spring pre-encumbrances for graduate students paid on grant accounts. This will help to provide faculty with a better projection on their grant accounts.

It is with great pleasure to welcome Pablo Hernando and Michael Soucy to the Facilities Team. Pablo and Michael have joined us as facilities professionals and will play a vital role in maintaining our facilities with their expertise and commitment.