Student Center is Coming!
The Campus Solutions team continues work on several fronts as we move toward the initial go-live of Student Center slated for next week. On Monday Kris Bartanen, academic vice president and dean of the university, and Mike Segawa, vice president of student affairs and dean of students, sent a message to students about what to expect in Student Center. Initially, Student Center will only provide a “to-do list” and the Fall 2013 course schedule, but eventually tools will be added for such tasks as registration and billing.
The message to students also introduced myPugetSound, the name of the new portal scheduled to replace Cascade in August. Moving forward, students will receive email updates and announcements from the myPugetSound Transition Team, composed of Martin Jackson, associate academic dean, Donn Marshall, associate dean of students, Maggie Mittuch, associate vice president for student financial services, Sarah Moore, associate academic dean, Brad Tomhave, university registrar, and Landon Wade, director of academic advising.
Also this week, Optimize managers visited with administrators at Clover Park Technical College to compare notes on preparing for an ERP implementation. Clover Park will be moving to PeopleSoft as part of an implementation planned by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC).
We continue to welcome questions, suggestions, or any other feedback you may have. Please contact us at optimize@pugetsound.edu.
Rolling, Rolling, (Pay)Rolling
Work rolls along for the Campus Solutions team as they move toward go-live March 25. A new feature called Student Center will roll out even sooner, so configuration, testing, and communication plans are in full swing for that.
Not resting on their laurels, members of the Human Resources team have embarked on the process of implementing Recruiting and Benefits Administration, both of which are scheduled to go live in April. The third payroll period is being processed in the new system, and this is the first for many student staff on campus. A message sent Monday to student staff and supervisors provided helpful information on pay periods and time entry, including a link to the 2013 Payroll Calendar.
Lots to Celebrate!
The HR module team: (l-r) Cindy Matern, Katie Holmes, Shannon Briggs, Andrea Shea, Jeff Strong, Mona Lawrence, Ana Burns-Johnson, Scott Dunham, Jessie Carter, and Nancy Nieraeth.
In case you missed it, there was a rockin’ party in the lower level of Howarth Hall this past Monday afternoon to celebrate the accomplishments of the HR module team! Colleagues, dignitaries, and just general fans came by to congratulate team members on going live and making payroll in the new system (twice now!).
There was greeting, eating, and, of course, music to enjoy. All team members autographed the individual HR logo sign, and team leads Jessie Carter (general HR), Katie Holmes (payroll), Mona Lawrence (Career and Employment Services), and Shannon Briggs and Ana Burns-Johnson (benefits) added their signatures to the Optimize wall in the project lab.
Kudos, too, to the Financials team, which went live this week with the Wells Fargo Payment Manager! The team is now focused on refining various aspects of this most helpful tool which provides one source for the processing of internal and external payments of all forms.
The Campus Solutions team is making significant progress as they prepare to roll out components of their module over the next few weeks. The Office of the Registrar is verifying enrollment data, building reports, and tracking graduation, among other things. Student Financial Services has been working on such items as the student checklist for financial aid, federal application processing, financial aid packaging terms, and the interface with the general ledger and third-party payment system, Nelnet.
Academic Vice President and Dean of the University Kris Bartanen sent a message to faculty this week detailing expected changes with the go-live of Campus Solutions on March 25. Training is planned for faculty and administrative staff during the weeks of March 4 and March 11 in various academic buildings on campus. Topics will include tasks related to course schedule, class lists and management of courses, and advising. More information will be sent to faculty as it becomes available.
Payroll Prep and Training
The first week after go-live was extremely busy for the Human Resources module team as they geared up for the first payroll in PeopleSoft. If you haven’t already, see the message Katie Holmes sent to faculty and staff with important payroll tax information.
A special thanks to everyone who submitted and approved timesheets as requested! Training on payroll and timekeeping is still available, including special sessions offered as part of next week’s annual Professional Development and Enrichment Conference for Faculty and Staff.
If you can’t attend a training session, see the instructional videos and printable job aids in PeopleSoft Help (just click the + signs next to Human Resources and then Timekeeping). Helpful handouts are also posted on the Payroll and Timekeeping training page (requires Puget Sound login).
PeopleSoft HR Module Goes Live!
Team members met January 2 to mark go-live of the human resources module. Back row, l-r: Travis Nation, Nancy Nieraeth, Shannon Briggs, Cindy Matern, Garrett Dieckmann, Joel Arakaki, Jeff Strong, Jan Miller. Seated, l-r: Katie Holmes, Jessie Carter, William Morse, Sherry Mondou, Kim McDowell, Jessica Snyder, Janet Hallman, Scott Dunham, Mona Lawrence.
The new Human Resources module in PeopleSoft went live this week! Special thanks to those involved in this major accomplishment, including colleagues in Accounting and Budget Services, Business Services, Career and Employment Services, Human Resources, and Technology Services. A number of these folks worked during the winter break closure to make this happen, and their dedication is appreciated greatly!
Sherry Mondou, vice president for finance and administration, has sent faculty and staff an email message detailing what they need to know and do as part of this transition. Key points include:
- PeopleSoft Human Resources has replaced the Kronos timekeeping system for staff and the Student Employment Time Entry (SETE) system for student staff. Reporting and approving staff and student staff time will now be done in PeopleSoft Human Resources, which can be accessed through the Cascade menu. Also, student staff are now on the same semi-monthly payroll as faculty and staff.
- It is important to get trained on how to enter time and, if a supervisor, how to approve time in the new system. Register for a training session and see the training handouts on the Optimize Training site (requires Puget Sound login).
- It is critical to meet timesheet deadlines. For the current pay period, these are January 7 for submission by staff and student staff and January 8 for approval by supervisors.
- Expect to see changes under Your Employment Information in Cascade. Most of the items there will be removed soon (eventually such information will be accessible through PeopleSoft). Note that Form W-2 wage and tax statements will remain available there for some time.
- Please contact the Technology Service Desk at 253.879.8585 or servicedesk@pugetsound.edu if you have any questions or issues. Since the implementation team is still very busy with configuration and other issues, please do not contact Career and Employment Services, Human Resources, or Payroll directly with PeopleSoft questions. The Service Desk will be very glad to assist or get the answer you need.
The patience and support of the campus community is very much appreciated at this time!
Here Come the Holidays and HR Go-Live
The university will observe winter break beginning December 21 at 5:00 p.m. Offices will open again January 2 at 8:00 a.m. However, some members of the Optimize team will continue to work over the break as we prepare for the January 1 go-live of the Human Resources module. To those folks, we extend a big “THANK YOU” for your dedication and service!
In other news, the Campus Solutions team spent a busy week refining the early decision process that went live last Friday. We greatly appreciate the hard work of those involved from Student Financial Services, Admissions, and Technology Services.
Veterans of our first go-live back on July 2, the Financials team attended an excellent training session this week on the extensive functionality available in their module. They are excited about implementing many of these capabilities as we move forward.
With that, we here at Optimize say on to 2013! Happy Holidays, everyone!
Kudos to Ed Barber!
Procurement Director Ed Barber has been appointed to the Procure-to-Pay (PTP) Product Advisory Group of the Higher Education User Group (HEUG) representing institutions that use application software from Oracle. The HEUG website describes the Procure-to-Pay group as “collaborating with Oracle representatives on many levels to evolve the PTP products to continue to improve functionality, flow, and user experience.” We have no doubt Ed will be a great advocate for Puget Sound and all others using Oracle’s PTP products!
Campus Solutions had a great week, going live in PeopleSoft with the early decision process, which includes financial aid awarding and notification, for next fall’s incoming class.
In preparation for the January 1 go-live of the Human Resources module, Jessie Carter from HR and Katie Holmes from ABS spent the week at MIS headquarters to work on configuration and testing. See the new fall issue of the Technology Services newsletter, TechNews, for more information on the HR go-live and other Optimize developments.
Prospects, Students, and PeopleSoft
Did you miss last week’s Optimize blog post? So did we! Let’s catch up…
The Campus Solutions team is preparing for an important milestone on Monday, when the early decision process for next fall’s incoming class will go live in PeopleSoft. Student Financial Services, Admission, and others involved in the project have built a pathway for prospects to see financial aid award information as well as admission status utilizing the new system. This is a major accomplishment!
We are gearing up for changes in payroll and timekeeping as we near the January 1 implementation of the Human Resources module. Payroll sent a message Monday to student staff and their supervisors with details, dates, and other information they need to know. A highlight is the fact that students will transition to the same semi-monthly payroll as faculty and staff.
If you’ve missed any of the campus messages and publications related to the project, see our new communications archive in the Optimize Training site on SoundNet (requires Puget Sound login). A new issue of TechNews is on its way to faculty and staff mailboxes next week, so keep your eyes open for that!
Optimize Giving Thanks
We are most grateful to everyone involved in Optimize Puget Sound for their hard work, patience, and good humor.
Safe travels to those of you on the move this week, and to all a very happy and restful Thanksgiving holiday!
Super Focused, Moving Forward
Everyone associated with Optimize Puget Sound is super busy and super focused as we move through an intense phase of the project these days. HR and Financials participated in parallel payroll testing this week and also engaged in PeopleSoft Time and Labor meetings. The Campus Solutions team completed and signed off on the validation of external organizations, meaning the possible high schools and colleges students transfer to and from.
It’s still being developed, but we’ve opened a new SoundNet site to house Optimize training information and resources. See https://soundnet.pugetsound.edu/optimizetraining. Registration is available for training sessions on budget administration, purchasing, and payroll and timekeeping. Please send any questions related to training to optimizetraining@pugetsound.edu.