• The annual, administrative reporting requirements and why they are necessary.
• Information and discussion about the certifying signature’s role in the transaction approval process.


• Complete team-building exercises on ethical conduct and fraud in the university environment.

What is the Understanding UH Business seminar and why is it important?
Understanding UH Business is a six-week seminar, which provides explanations to the key business transactions and processes at the university. Have you ever wondered the following when processing a transaction?

• Why can’t I just use any account as long as the voucher gets processed?


• What is budget checking and why do we require it?


• What is a liability? What’s an asset?
• Why is it important to read a balance sheet?
  
• What is the importance of fund codes?
• Who is Accounts Payable and why do they tell me what to do?


• What is Finance’s role and what is my role and how do we work together?


• How do I maximize the use of the university’s financial system?


• Why do we have so many mandatory training classes?


• Why are there so many administrative rules and processes and who makes all of these rules any way?

• Allowance based on the actual cost of the equipment up to $200 maximum, including accessories for cellular devices, such as head sets, belt clips, device cases, chargers, etc. that may be necessary for use in the work environment that are purchased at the same time as the cellular device



• If the equipment purchase includes a mail-in rebate, the rebate amount must be subtracted from the purchase price to determine the actual cost of the equipment
   


• Employees must provide the department with a copy of the purchase receipt within 60 days of purchase



• Employees are eligible to receive an equipment allowance once each three years, assuming they purchase a new device at least three years after receiving their previous equipment allowance

• Maximum monthly allowance for cell phone or cell phone/pager service combination is $50
  


• Maximum monthly allowance for a PDA, PDA/cell phone, PDA/pager, or PDA/pager/cell phone service combination is $75 beginning December 1, 2007



• Employees can only receive one monthly allowance for a wireless communication device (e.g., an employee who has two cell phones can only receive one $50 allowance; an employee who has a cell phone and a separate PDA device can either receive a $50 allowance for the cell phone or a $75 allowance for the PDA, not both)

• Maximum monthly allowance for home internet service or air card is $50

• It is not necessary for an employee to use the same provider used for their UH device (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) to keep the same phone number.


• Employees who want to keep the same phone number and/or connect to the UH network with their PDA should ask their department to submit an IT Work Request. IT will notify the employee whether they can use the same phone number and, if requested, configure the PDA to the UH network at no charge to the employee or department. Employees should turn in their UH device after their personal device is operational but no later than March 31.


• Some vendors/providers offer discounts to UH employees for equipment and/or services, though employees are not required to use them (click here to view).


• Visit IT’s Cellular Device Website above for helpful information you need to know prior to making a purchase. Employees may also call IT Customer Service at 3-1111 with any questions about returning a device or selecting a new one.

Training Update

We’d like to congratulate the following departments:

Budget Office
Cougar One Card Office
Communication Disorders Department

They were the first three departments to notify the Customer Service Center that they had completed all their required trainings. They will be rewarded with an ice cream sundae party for their hard work and commitment to the program.

Would you like to know how your College or Department is doing?

Click here to view College/Department statistics. The information reflects courses that were completed as of January 13, 2008.
 

Who’s Who in Administration & Finance

Who: Sandra Silva Accounts Payable Manager, Travel Years of UH Service: 31 years Department: Accounts Payable How to Contact Me: Phone: 35883 Email: ssilva@central.uh.edu Where to Find Me: University Business Park Building 2, Room 207

When to Call Me:
You may contact me when you have questions and/or problems relating to travel cards, travel reimbursements, travel training, travel policies/procedures and travel vendors.

What I Like Best About My Job:
I enjoy helping everyone from the employees who are involved in the preparation of travel to the travelers themselves in resolving their travel problems/questions. I find the travel field challenging and rewarding since it is constantly changing. I am pleased to assist those who contact me.

Mandatory Training

Please encourage all employees to complete their mandatory training. All training discussed below is available on the UHS Online Professional Development and Training Website which can be accessed by clicking “Log In” here.

The following training must be completed by all university employees (this includes faculty, staff, student workers, and temporary employees paid through the payroll system):

E08001 - Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
H08001 - Secure Our Systems
F08037 - Code of Ethics
F08024 - Fraud Awareness

All full-time faculty, all exempt staff, and non-exempt staff with purchasing responsibilities are required to complete the F07028 – External Consulting & Related Party Disclosure form as well.

Employees may also be enrolled in one or more of the following finance role-based courses depending on their access and/or job duties:

F08015 – Petty Cash & Change Fund Custodians
F08016 – Procurement Card Cardholder
F08017 – Procurement Card Business Office
F08018 – Travel Card Holder
F08019 – Travel Card Business Office
F08033 – Credit Card Processing
F08034 – Credit Card Accounting
F08035 – Credit Card Data Security
F08038 – Cash Security Procedures
F08039 – Cash Deposit & Security Procedures

Refer to the “Required Online Finance Training” link available on the Finance Training website, to determine the appropriate role-based courses for employee enrollment. If it is determined that an employee should be enrolled in one or more of the above classes but is not, they may enroll on the Training webpage here. If a finance role-based course is not completed, the employee may lose privileges or access associated with the associated activities.

Weekly course status reports have been distributed to College/Division Administrators, and a final report will be provided to Division Vice Presidents as well as the Board of Regents. To view the status of your department training, run the following query in PeopleSoft HRMS:

HR_TRN_FY08_STATUS_BYDEPT

Should you have any questions, please contact the Administration and Finance Customer Service Center at 713-743-3988.
 

FY08 Physical E-Inventory

The FY08 Inventory Workshop for Property Custodians is scheduled for February 4th and 5th. Participants only need to attend one session. The February 4th workshop begins at 1 p.m. in the Kiva Room of Farish Hall. The workshop scheduled for February 5th begins at 2:30 p.m. and is also in the Kiva Room of Farish Hall. Participants will receive instructions for completing the FY08 annual inventory.

Please register in advance at http://www.uh.edu/hrms/training/finance.htm.

The above percentages include HUB-eligible voucher and P-Card payments for December 2007. However, HUB subcontractor payments are not included in the monthly HUB statistics but are included in the semi-annual and annual HUB reports. For departments with more than one DeptID, all DeptID’s were combined to determine the above ranking.

HUB reports by college/division and department are posted here.

See the HUB Vendor Directory for a list of frequently-used HUB vendors.

You can also call Sandra Webb at x35662 or Alan Philips at x35671 if you need help finding a HUB vendor.

GL JOURNAL WORKLIST UPDATE

On January 16, the GL Journal Worklist will have a new look. Additional columns will be added for Adjustment Type, Long Description, and Print Detail.

Adjustment Type indicates the ledger to which the journal will be posted.

Long Description shows the first three letters of the long description on the journal.

Print Details allows the user to print the journal cover sheet directly from the worklist.

Each user can customize their worklist to show their preferred view. To customize your worklist:

1. Select the Customize link located at the top of the worklist.




2. This link will take you to the Personalize Column and Sort Order Screen.

This screen will allow the user to change the worklist column order, hide columns, and change the sort order of each column.

Column Order
Column order can be changed by highlighting the column title and selecting the up and down arrows located to the right of the column order box. Highlight the column you would like to change and move the arrows either up or down until you have your preferred order.

Hide Column
Columns can be hidden from the worklist by highlighting the column titles from the Column Order box and selecting the Hidden box on the screen.

Sort Order
The order the column is sorted can be changed by highlighting the column title and using the right arrow located to the right of the column order box to move the title to the Sort Order box. The sort order automatically defaults to ascending order but if you check the descending box the order will change to descending. To clear items from the Sort Order box select the yellow button with the “X”.

3. After selecting your preferred worklist options select the OK button to save preferences and return to the GL Journal Worklist.

You can preview your changes before selecting the OK button your screen will appear as follows:


If you have questions, please contact Gretta McClain in General Accounting at x3-8729 or email grmcclai@central.uh.edu or the Customer Service Center at x3-3988.

P-Card and Travel Card Cardholder Reminder

P-Card and T-Card cardholders will be given a final deadline of January 31st to complete the related cardholder training. Employees must attain a 100% quiz grade to receive credit for the courses. Finance will begin suspending cardholder privileges February 4th, if the training is not completed.

P-Card Cardholders must complete F08016 – P-Card Cardholder Training.
Travel Cardholders must complete F08018 – Travel Card Cardholder Training.

To learn how to monitor your own course status through PASS where the information is updated nightly click here.

For assistance, please call the Customer Service Center at 713.743.3988.





News from HRIM

As we embark on the New Year we welcome a new employee to our staff. Alejandra Rodriguez is our new Data Control Clerk. She comes to us from the Law Library with experience in PeopleSoft Finance, and we are thrilled to include her on our team.

Spring Semester PARs
Preparations for the spring semester are in full swing and we ask for your continued support in processing PARs in a timely manner. Biweekly PARs for B010808 should be submitted to HR by Tuesday, January 8. PARs for monthly staff and students should be submitted to HR by Friday, January 18. PARs should be in HR at least five working days prior to the employee’s start date. Click here to view the PAR training schedule.

Reminder: Newly hired graduate students must be employed for at least four and one half months to receive the insurance stipend or Short Work Break (SWB). The payroll dates for the spring semester are 1/16/08 through 6/1/08. Teaching Assistants, Instructional Assistants, and Teaching Fellows will automatically be placed on SWB for 6/1 through 9/1 if eligible for insurance.

New Employees
Please remember to always search PeopleSoft HR when hiring a new employee to determine whether or not the person already exists in the database. Because PeopleSoft HR now contains employee as well as student records, the majority of employees being hired will already have a PeopleSoft ID. We need to avoid creating duplicate IDs, as this creates problems for the student’s records. The navigation in PeopleSoft is:

Home> Workforce Administration> Personal Information> Search for People.

First, conduct the search with as much information as possible. The minimum information to enter is First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, and National ID (SSN) (if available). Enter Gender if no SSN is available (M = Male; F = Female). If you do not find a match, then conduct a second search using only the first and last name. Students can be in the system without an SSN.

To determine the person’s affiliation with the university (student or employee), click the Additional Information tab and then click the Relations link at the far right. The person is an employee only if the Employee Box is checked. If the person is an employee, go to Job Data to view their current information and then plan your next step. If the person is not an employee (i.e. student), the PAR form will not allow you to enter the ID. Leave the defaulted “New” entry in the Emplid field and enter the ID in the Remarks section. Also, write the person’s ID near the top of PAR after you print it out.

Thank You
On a lighter note, we would like to thank all of you that put in the extra time to bring our records up to date with Social Security Numbers (SSNs). We had approximately 75 employees that had outstanding temporary SSNs. With your help, we have replaced over 90% of those temporary numbers with the correct SSNs. All of your efforts are appreciated.

• When a manager requests a reclassification to a job title that currently exists but is not within the career path of the current title.


• When a manager requests a new job title that does not exist.


• When a manager requests modification of an existing job description.

New I-9 Form

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office (USCIS) has issued an updated Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9, I-9 for short, which takes the place of all previous versions.

Minor revisions have been made to the form and instructions. The biggest change is the list of acceptable documents on the back of the I-9. The following documents are no longer acceptable documents on List A:
• Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
• Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
• Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151)
• Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327)
• Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)

To comply with these changes, we must stop using the old version of the I-9 (“Expires 03/31/07” on top right hand corner of page) and begin using the new form (Expires 06/30/08) for all employees hired effective immediately.

Click here for the updated version of the I-9. Throw away all unused copies of the old I-9 to prevent potential confusion. All other rules and regulations (both university and federal) remain unchanged.

Reminder:
• An I-9 must be completed for each new hire, or rehire after one-year break, no later than his or her third (3rd) day of employment.
• You can only accept original versions of any documentation presented by the employee.
• No copies of the I-9 or documentation presented are to be made or kept. (Foreign National Tax Form documentation copies are not part of the I-9.)
• Upon completion, submit original I-9 to HR (mail code 5009) for auditing and retention.

More information related to the I-9 changes is available on a Fact Sheet published by the USCIS.

If you have any questions, please contact your Human Resources Generalist. I-9 training classes are available. You may register online here.