• Processing Deadlines for SmartHR for Summer Session appointments are due in SmartHR by April 19^.
  • Please submit all transactions by April 12 so the Business Center and Grant Management has adequate time to review.
• Please view the Payroll website for more information on the upcoming deadlines.
  • Due to 2024 being a Leap Year, all Graduate Assistantships will end on May 21, 2024.
  • New Graduate Student Technicians may be hired from May 22 to August 22, 2024.

Please be sure to follow the listed deadlines for timecard submission and approval:

• Employees are required to submit a timesheet by the close of business on Friday of pay week.
• Supervisors must approve timesheets submitted by employees no later than close of business on Monday of a non-pay week.
• These deadlines are subject to change during holiday cycles, Core-CT maintenance, or other unforeseen circumstances.
• Reminders will be sent from Payroll regarding all of the above.

• Reminder to begin submitting all scholarships and fellowships for this upcoming Summer term and for AY24-25.
• Predoctoral Awards are due in the respective systems by June 1, 2024.

The associate Job Duty and Background Check Questions in the hire templates will now be required to facilitate the background check review process.

• Please be sure to include a non-grant KFS number to charge background check costs.
• Please reach out to hr-cbc@uconn.edu with any questions.

• Human Resources has begun a phased implementation of educational and degree verifications as part of the pre-employment background check process at the university.
• They will begin by assessing regular payroll appointments with the anticipation that other relevant payroll titles will also undergo this process later in the year.
• Degree verification will be administered as part of the existing background check and will not affect workflow for departments.

• In order to improve efficiency and effectiveness, the Human Resources Team is crosstraining and transitioning responsibilities within their team.
• Please send all inquiries to the emails below to ensure smoother workflow and proper delegation of tasks:
  • Advertising@uconn.edu: For final ad approvals, to close/extend a job posting, for suggestions where to post a job, etc.
  • Workforce@uconn.edu: For PageUp technical support, cancel requests, update search committee members or recruitment sources, etc.
  • HR-CBC@uconn.edu: For background check inquiries.
  • SPAR@uconn.edu: For questions related to special payroll policies, such as title/offer letter selection, compensation, dual employment, conflict of interest, etc.

• Kuali Financials will be unavailable beginning Thursday, March 14 at 3:00 PM until Sunday, March 17 as the system is moved to a cloud based environment.
  • A notification containing a new web link will be provided via email and on various websites once the system has been reopened.
• HuskyBuy will be unavailable beginning Friday, March 15 at 9:00 PM until Sunday, March 17 for maintenance.
  • All transactions that are not completed by March 14 at 3:00 PM will be held in queue until March 17 when they will be sent to KFS once the new environment has been validated and confirmed.
  • Please enter/approve any orders, invoices, or vendors prior to March 14^.

• Federal government regulations allow graduate students on F-1 or J-1 visas to hold on-campus employment while they are pursuing their degree.
• 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 Graduate Assistant who holds an F-1 or J-1 visa and whose degree is conferred on May 5, 2024.
• Please contact Arthur Galinat (arthur.galinat@uconn.edu) at ISSS with any questions.

• Monthly meetings between CLAS Shared Services management and the Office of the Vice President for Research for Financial Operations will begin starting on April 19.
• Please feel free to reach out to bsc@uconn.edu with any areas of concern to be discussed at these meetings.

• If faculty have served over 10 years at UConn and meet criteria for retirement, faculty member scan receive emeritus status after retirement. This only happens when they formally retire and therefore meet all the conditions specified in the Bylaws for emeritus status. This is an automatic process, no further action is required.
• If the faculty member leaves without formally retiring, they are resigning from the University and are therefore not eligible for emeritus status. Please reach out to bsc@uconn.edu for information on other courtesy appointments.

• Starting on March 11, HuskyBuy is ready for submission of new requisitions and blanket PO requests for FY25
• For Blanket Orders you can create a new requisition by navigating to the HuskyBuy shopping home page and select the Non-Catalog Blanket Order form.
  • Due to bid threshold updates, copying previous year’s Blanket Orders will not be accepted this year.
• 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.
• FY25 Blanket Orders (complete the form)
  • Items to remember when submitting your FY25 Blanket Orders:
    • Accounting Date, PO Valid To/From Dates, Reference to last year's PO in the new PO and 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 can assist in navigating this process.
• Complete Instructions for Preparing your FY25 Blanket Orders

• In the old system, classes automatically rolled over to the next term regardless of enrollment, leading to some courses being in the system for years without students.
• The new system continues this practice, prompting a discussion on whether it would be better to remove inactive courses until students need them.
• The following concerns were raised should departments remove inactive courses (i.e. independent study/research/field work):
  • Permission numbers are not created for classes that do not exist in the class schedule.
    • This could delay a student’s ability to register as faculty/students would have to rely on an online workflow.
  • Students would be responsible to start the workflow.
    • The current process prompts the student to self-report information, including the department, class number, credits (if variable).
    • This self-reported information is often incomplete or inaccurate.
  • The current workflow is clunky and requires multiple approvals. It is currently being reviewed by CLAS Advising and the Office of the Registrar in an effort to create a better more seamless environment.
  • Should a department remove inactive courses, once the workflow is complete, if a course does not exist, the Registrar’s Office will forward the workflow to the department to request the section be created before they can enroll the student.
  • The timing and challenges of this process could result in delays to student enrollment, loss of student financial aid packages etc.
• While the decision is left to the department, erring on the side of caution by being more inclusive of these rolled over classes is suggested until changes can be made to the workflow.

• Please see the updated CLAS Meal Pre-Approval Form for 2024.
• You can also view the CLAS Meal Guidance Updated 2024 which will provide more guidance on if a pre-approval is needed.

• The following policies were revised and approved by the Senior Policy Council and President in February 2024:
  • General Rules of Conduct. 
  • Military Leave Policy.
  • Pre-Employment Background Check Policy.
  • UConn Degrees Earned by Faculty Policy.
• More details on these revisions can be found on the Recent Updates webpage.
• Any new or proposed changes to a University Policy to be reviewed by the Senior Policy Council in April must be submitted to policy@uconn.edu by Monday, March 18.

• The CLAS Annual Award nominations are open through Tuesday, March 19.
  • Awards will be given in four categories: Academic Leadership; Faculty Mentoring; Strategic Goals; and Staff Excellence.
  • Full nomination requirements and award details can be found on the CLAS Awards web page.
  • Please send all nomination materials to clas@uconn.edu.

• Staff are encouraged to volunteer at CLAS Commencement on Sunday, May 5.
• Ceremonies will take place at 9:00 AM, 1:30 PM, and 5:30 PM at Gampel Pavilion.

• Starting on March 22, Day 1 of New Employee Orientation (NEO) for staff will be moving to in-person sessions.
  • These 3-hour sessions will feature a welcoming portal with sessions with benefits and retirement experts.
  • To better prepare incoming employees, access to several videos will be given before their first day of work to introduce them to employee benefits, retirement options, parking, OneCard, and ITS.
• Day 2 will still be completed online through Learning@Work.

Information Technology Services (ITS)’s annual Staff Technology Day will take place on Tuesday, June 4 in McHugh Hall.

• This year’s conference will feature workshops and demonstrations featuring for beginner and advanced users.
• Session information and registration will be available in April.

Please contact ITSevents@uconn.edu for more information.

Learn to take action through different perspectives rooted in non-violent communication and compassion by viewing the UConn Action and Communication in the Workplace presentation presented on March 4.

• 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. The Lexington Group is available seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day.
• Please see the schedule for the Graduate School’s Timely Topics Series.
  • Topics for live upcoming sessions include:
    • "How Are You Doing?"...and Other Scary Questions - Thursday, March 28 at 11:00 AM.
    • Best Practices in Onboarding and Graduating International Students -Thursday, April 11 at 11:00 AM.
    • Graduate Admissions 2023/2024 Cycle Debrief – Thursday, May 16 at 11:00 AM.
    • Preparing for Fall: Graduate Assistant Payroll Procedures – Thursday, May 23 at 1:00 PM.
  • Register for a session.
• CT In-Service Training
  • The State of CT In-Service training catalog is now available.
    • University employees wishing to enroll in a State In-Service course should carefully review the program. terms and conditions stated on the State In-Service Program website prior to submitting a request.
    • Please submit course registrations by Friday, March 22.
    • For more information, please contact Kristine Douglin at 860-486-0413 or Kristine.douglin@uconn.edu.

• UCPEA Evaluation Training for Supervisors.
  • Evaluation training for supervisors of employees covered by the UCPEA bargaining unit.
  • Please register using your NETID through Learning@Work.
    • March 21, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM.
• Annual Compliance and Ethics Training.
  • This is a requirement for all UConn employees.
  • Please complete this training through Learning@Work.
  • Live Compliance and Ethics Training sessions through WebEx are also available on Thursday, April 18 from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM or Wednesday, May 15 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM.
  • Training must be completed by May 31, 2024.
• Annual Cash Handling Training for FY24.
  • This training is required for anyone who submits depositing eDocs in KFS (CR, AD, CCR) or handles cash or cash equivalents for their department.
  • Please ensure that you have completed this training as soon as possible through Learning@Work.
• Navigating Crisis: Strategies for Handling Emergencies at Events.
  • This presentation will prepare event organizers to navigate crises with confidence and professionalism by using real life case studies and strategies to effectively respond to emergencies and mitigate risks.
  • Cookies and water will be provided.
  • Thursday, March 21, 2024 from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, UConn Storrs Wilbur Cross North Reading Room.
  • Register for the Navigating Crisis Presentation.
• PageUp Regular Payroll: Sign up for the session.
  • March 25, 2024, from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM.
• PageUp Special Payroll: Sign up for the session.
  • March 26, 2024, from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM.

• For the month of January, GMS assisted with 46 grant applications with a total requested amount of $27M.
• For the month of January, CLAS was awarded 12 new awards with a total funded amount of $3.7M.
• GMS will be pre-encumbering summer payrolls for CLAS GAs and faculty.

Sponsoring Student Employee (NetIDWork) Accounts:

• ITS requires departments to obtain NetIDWork accounts for student employees.
• The use of student work accounts provides for the proper separation between a student's work activities and their student identity. The separate work accounts allow for greater control over what information can be shared with students, and then ultimately removed through their eventual departure from the organization, either through graduation or moves to other departments and roles.
• Learn more about Sponsoring Student Employee Accounts.

• Ellen Devlin, Educational Program Coordinator, JOUR.
• Christine Ricci, Academic Assistant 2, MCB.

• Jonathan Galligan, Educational Program Assistant 2, PSYC.
• Lana Delasanta, Educational Program Assistant 1, PSYC.