Business Matters August 2015
Upcoming Business Forum
Thank you for attending the Business Forum on Tuesday, August 4. The August 2015 Business Forum Presentation Slides are available on the Business Forum web page.
The next Business Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm in HRTC 141/145. The meeting will be broadcast via Adobe Connect and can be accessed here: November Business Forum Broadcast. Please mark your calendars.
Questions? Contact finhr@ohio.edu or 740.593.1893).
Student Hiring for Fall Semester
Reminders for Student Hiring Managers:
- The updated Student Hire Paperwork web page is available to assist departments in the process of hiring new student employees.
- Form I-9 Training is available and the Employee Service Center is available to answer any questions you may have regarding Form I-9. Incomplete forms or forms with errors cannot be accepted and will be returned for corrections.
- All returning students must complete a new OPERS exemption form if they want to be exempt from contributing to OPERS. Any errors on the form must be corrected before OPERS will accept it for processing.
- Active student employees are not required to complete new paperwork if hired at a new location. An active student report will be available in August in WorkForce in the Reports section. You can also use the Employee Lookup Tool to see if a student is active.
- New student hires should participate in the direct deposit program.
- Students can setup direct deposit through My Personal Information. Instructions are available for student use: How to use My Personal Information to set up Direct Deposit.
- If a student does not have access to My Personal Information, the individual must complete the Direct Deposit Form. If direct deposit is not established, pay checks will be mailed to the student’s address of record (typically the student’s permanent home address).
| Students’ Start Date Range | Paperwork Deadline |
|---|---|
| 7/26/15 – 8/8/15 | Friday, 8/7/2015 |
| 8/9/15 – 8/22/15 | Friday, 8/21/2015 |
| 8/23/15 – 9/5/15 | Friday, 9/4/2015 |
| 9/6/15 – 9/19/15 | Friday, 9/18/2015 |
| 9/20/15 – 10/3/15 | Friday, 10/2/2015 |
Deadlines of Note
- Forms should be submitted to the Employee Service Center after August 1. The OPERS Exemption Form is time sensitive and it must be signed at the time of hire, so please do not complete this form in advance.
- To ensure timely pay, paperwork must be received no later than the 2nd Friday that falls within the student’s first pay period. If hiring a large volume of students, please do not hold paperwork; instead, send daily if possible.
Questions? Contact Employee Service Center at uhr@ohio.edu or 740.593.1636.
New Minimum Salary to be Exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
As communicated earlier this month to Planning Unit Heads, the new salary threshold for employees to be considered exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has been announced. The Department of Labor (DOL) anticipates the minimum salary requirement that is expected to become effective in 2016 will be $970 a week ($50,440 a year), a significant increase from $455 a week ($23,660 a year). The DOL is accepting comments on the proposed regulations until September 4, 2015. We are uncertain when final regulations will be issued following the public comment period or what the final threshold salaries will be, but we are working from the proposed guidelines.
Planning Unit Heads have been asked to assist in the impact analysis of this change by estimating the average weekly number of hours worked by administrative exempt employees earning between $23,660 and $50,400. We ask that each department use the tool sent to them previously and submit the required information on or before September 30, 2015. Once unit responses are received, analysis of the data can begin. A recommended strategy to begin the analysis would be to review the average annual hours worked by employees close to the new minimum to determine if a small increase in their base pay would be more financially prudent than paying overtime at the premium rate for hours worked over 40 in a work week.
Questions? Contact Employee Service Center at uhr@ohio.edu or 740.593.1636.
FY 2016 Raise Pool Guidelines
- The salary raise pool for Ohio University is 2% for benefits eligible positions
- Basis for the raise pool distribution:
- Classified Non-Bargaining Unit – Entire pool across the board (ATB) increases
- AFSCME – Following the collective bargaining agreement with the “me too” clause to match the Classified Non-Bargaining Unit percent increase
- Administrators and Faculty (Hired prior to April 1, 2015) - Merit increases
- Merit increases are to be based on the quality of an individual's performance as evidenced by her/his performance evaluation. The Provost (or Planning Unit Head for non-academic units) must approve merit increases outside the approved minimum of 0.5% and a maximum of 5%. Those requests must be submitted to the Provost (or Planning Unit Head) before the submission deadline. Employees who receive an increase outside the approved range are to be provided a written explanation of the reasons.
- Colleges may set aside up to 0.5% for a Dean's discretionary pool to address exceptional merit and equity issues. Specific unit guidelines for distribution of merit increases should be communicated within each planning unit
- There will be additional salary investment pools for Faculty as follows:
- $848,164 for Athens tenure-track faculty with each college assigned a proportion of the following pools
- Professors - $238,564
- Associate Professors - $407,388
- Assistant Professors - $202,212
- 1.36% for Regional Campus tenure-track faculty
- 1.36% for Athens and Regional non-tenure-track faculty
- $848,164 for Athens tenure-track faculty with each college assigned a proportion of the following pools
- The basis for the distribution of this additional faculty compensation will be as follows:
- Funds will be assigned at the college (as opposed to department) level
- Funds must allocated within each pool separately and cannot be moved across faculty ranks or categories
- In making distribution decisions colleges should consider factors such as
- Disparity between salaries and discipline benchmarks
- Compression
- Merit
- Equity
- Salary increases for promotions will continue to be as follows:
- Promotion to Associate Professor –$6000
- Promotion to Professor –$9000
- Promotion to Associate Lecturer –$4000
- Promotion to Senior Lecturer –$6000
- For faculty members receiving allocation from both the raise pool and additional compensation pool in item 4 above, the minimum and maximum listed under paragraph 2 (c) above are doubled. Salary increases for faculty members that are outside this approved range must be submitted for approval by Provost and the faculty member should be provided a written explanation of the reasons.
- The entire raise pool allocation is to be used for salary increases. Total increases for each planning unit cannot exceed the aggregate total of items 1, 3 and 5.
- As communicated as part of the COMP2014 project, employees whose salaries are currently at or exceed the maximum of the pay grade are not eligible for a base wage adjustment. Employees whose merit increase would result in them exceeding the maximum of the pay grade can only receive a base wage adjustment up to the maximum of the pay grades. The balance of the adjustment will be paid as a one-time lump sum amount.
- As announced, many components of the university's health, dental, and vision plans (deductibles, co-pays, benefit levels, etc.) for faculty, administrators and classified staff have been changed for fiscal/plan year 2015-2016.
Health plan premiums will continue to be based on salary. The salary brackets used to set premiums have been adjusted. Health plan premiums for single plans decreased by 1%, increased 5.6% for employee plus 1 coverage and increased by 12.2% for family plans. Dental insurance premiums will increase slightly for the upcoming year. - Salary increases related to job reclassifications require prior approval from University Human Resources and occur throughout the year, outside the Reappointment system. Units are expected to absorb reclassification increases within their existing budgets.
- Post-doc and grant funded position increases must follow the above raise pool guidelines.
Important Reappointment Dates
- Classified Non Bargaining, FOP, and AFSCME across the board raises were processed effective for the pay period beginning June 28.
- One time amounts for classified employees above the pay grade maximum will be included with the August 7 pay.
- The reappointment tool for administrative and faculty raises were sent to Planning Unit heads on July 31. Instructions for using the tool were also provided.
- Planning Units need to complete the reappointment tool and return it to Compensation by noon on August 12.
- Administrative and faculty raises including the faculty comp plan with be included with the September 15 pay. Raises will be retroactive to July 1.
- One time amounts for administrator above the pay grade max will be included with the September 15 pay.
Questions? Contact Employee Service Center at uhr@ohio.edu or 740.593.1636.
Arrears Process for Unpaid Benefits Premiums
The implementation of the Oracle Advanced Benefits Module provided the benefits team with a more streamlined processes to collect benefit deductions that were not able to be withheld from an employee’s pay in instances where an employee does not receive a paycheck. When employees are not paid and benefit deductions cannot be withheld, the deductions will now go into arrears and be withheld when an employee starts receiving paychecks again. Arrears will automatically be created for any individual on active pay status who does not pay benefits premiums in a given pay period. Arrears are created separately for each benefit, meaning there could be arrears for medical premiums, dental premiums, life premiums, etc. Arrears will be collected from pays at an amount of 20% per pay until the arrears due have been fully paid. The arrears will be withheld in addition to the regularly scheduled benefit deductions. Any arrears equal to $5 or below will be deducted from the following pay in full and will not follow the 20% per pay rule.
In instances such as Medical Leave of Absence, Unpaid FMLA, and Workers Comp for Biweekly Paid employees (green areas in spreadsheet) the process will be as follows:
- Allow arrears
- If/when Employee Service Center (ESC) changes the individuals status to Medical Leave of Absence, ESC will alert Benefits
- Benefits will purge arrears in OAB
- Benefits will submit bill to Bursar for collection of arrears
The charts below provides additional detail on specific leave types:
| Type of Leave | Pay Status | Notes Regarding Arrears |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency Service Leave | Active Pay Status | Paid time – will not go into arrears |
| Jury Duty and Court Leave | Active Pay Status | Paid time – will not go into arrears |
| Sick and Bereavement Leave – Admin | Active Pay Status | Paid time – will not go into arrears |
| Sick and Bereavement Leave – Classified | Active Pay Status | Paid time – will not go into arrears |
| Type of Leave | Pay Status | Notes Regarding Arrears |
|---|---|---|
| Medical leave (unpaid leave – Biweekly (including Admin Hourly) | Currently are on Active pay status | allow arrears; when Service Center alerts benefits of someone moving to Medical Leave, benefits will purge arrears and move billing to Bursar |
| Personal (unpaid status) | Change to Inactive Pay Status | Inactive Pay Status – Will not create arrears. Individuals can pursue COBRA |
| Education | Change to Inactive Pay Status | Inactive Pay Status – Will not create arrears. Individuals can pursue COBRA |
| Family and Medical Leave – unpaid | Currently are on Active pay status | Same as Medical Leave: allow arrears; when Service Center alerts benefits of someone moving to Medical Leave, benefits will purge arrears and move billing to Bursar |
| Family and Medical Leave – paid | Active Pay Status | Paid Time – will not go into arrears |
| Reduction in Force – Admin | Active Pay Status until end of severance if applicable | Severance pay is paid time and will not go into arrears. After severance pay Benefits will move billing to Bursar. |
| Reduction in Force – Admin & Classified | Active Pay Status until end of severance if applicable | Severance pay is paid time and will not go into arrears. After severance pay Benefits will move billing to Bursar. |
| Furloughs | Revisit if Furlough Policy even enacted. Need for arrears depends on length of furlough |
|
| Military Leave – Classified | Active Pay Status for the 22 Paid Days. | Arrears will not come in to play for the 22 days. If they are called for longer, they normally take PTO. After that HR will need case by case decision (very rare). |
| Type of Leave | Pay Status | Notes Regarding Arrears |
|---|---|---|
| Medical leave | Admin and Faculty change to Inactive Pay Status | Inactive Pay Status – will not collect arrears - Benefits will move billing to Bursar |
| Disability | Admin and Faculty change to Inactive Pay Status | Inactive Pay Status – will not collect arrears - Benefits will move billing to Bursar |
| Educational | Admin and Faculty change to Inactive Pay Status | Inactive Pay Status – Will not create arrears. Individuals can pursue COBRA |
| Sabbatical | sabbatical leave | Paid time – will not go into arrears. |
| Personal | Admin and Faculty change to Inactive Pay Status | Inactive Pay Status – Will not create arrears. Individuals can pursue COBRA |
| Military | Active Pay Status for the 22 Paid Days. | Arrears will not come in to play for the 22 days. If they are called for longer, they normally take PTO. After that HR will need case by case decision (very rare). |
| Worker’s Comp Biweekly | Currently are on Active pay status | Allow arrears; when Service Center alerts benefits of someone moving to FMLA due to WC, benefits will purge arrears and move billing to Bursar |
| Workers Comp – Semi-Monthly | Admin and Faculty change to Inactive Pay Status | Inactive Pay Status – will not collect arrears Benefits will move billing to Bursar |
| Workers Comp – Semi-Monthly – Salary Continuation | Admin and Faculty change to Inactive Pay Status | Paid time – will not go into arrears |
| Layoff w/o benefits | Changed to Inactive Pay Status | Inactive Pay Status – Will not create arrears. Individuals can pursue COBRA |
| Seasonal layoff | Current Remain on Active Pay Status | Allow Arrears |
| Unreported absence – hourly (not reported to HR/payroll) | Current Remain on Active Pay Status | Allow Arrears |
Questions? Contact Employee Service Center at uhr@ohio.edu or 740.593.1636.
New Method to Identify Expense (AP) Reimbursement Accounts for Direct Deposit
Coming this fall, a change will be made in My Personal Information that makes it easier for employees to identify the direct deposit account to be used when receiving Accounts Payable (AP) reimbursements for expenses. The Manage Payments option in My Personal Information is where employees establish the direct deposit information for their paychecks; a checkbox has been added to the screen that allows you to identify the account that should be used for deposit of your AP reimbursements. Previously, the system utilized the priority of the account to identify the account to be used.
The AP Reimbursement column (see above) will be available on the screen for selecting your Expense (AP) account. Employees should log into My Personal Information to verify that the appropriate account is identified for their reimbursements.
To review your information:
- Login to My Personal Information and navigate to Manage Payments.
- Review the Direct Deposit account(s) listed to see if the selected AP Reimbursement check box corresponds with the proper account for your reimbursements.
- If the incorrect account is identified, please select the proper account by selecting the appropriate check box and unchecking the box for the incorrect account.
- Click Continue to review your changes.
- Click Submit to complete.
As a reminder, you can also use Manage Payments to make changes to your payroll direct deposit accounts. Employees can add or delete accounts or change how amounts (flat amounts or percentage of pay) are deposited to the listed accounts. This is also where employees can change the account for AP Reimbursement (by selecting the corresponding check box). Note that each account entered must have at least $1 paid into that account each pay.
For more detailed instructions see How to use My Personal Information to set up Direct Deposit.
Questions? Contact Employee Service Center at uhr@ohio.edu or 740.593.1636.
Budget Transfers Guidance
Below is a helpful chart that outlines the types of transfers that can be made; Budget Transfers, Journal Entries, and Original Budget Corrections.
| Budget Transfers | Journal Entries | Original Budget Corrections | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Impacts | Year-to-Date Budget | Actuals | Original Budget |
| Use When | Making mid-year adjustments to budget | Making a funding allocation/transfer to another planning unit | Infrequently used; Budget Planning & Analysis must review and submit. |
| Guidelines |
|
Use a non-mandatory transfer natural account:
|
The transaction must not change the Income Statement view approved by the Board of Trustees.
The transaction must follow General Accounting rules around natural account and cost center usage. |
| Submission Process |
|
Email completed journal entries directly to finance@ohio.edu. | Contact your Budget Office Contact. |
| Example(s) |
|
|
Correcting major budget errors |
Questions? Contact Budget Planning & Analysis at budgetplanning@ohio.edu.
Fund Balance Allocation Process
Budget Planning & Analysis has been working with members of the Budget Partner Group to design a process by which planning units have greater autonomy in determining how to allocate yearend fund balances. A draft of the process and template was provided to the Planning Unit Heads on July 22, with the final process and templates distributed on August 6. A training session is scheduled for August 11.
Questions? Contact Budget Planning & Analysis at budgetplanning@ohio.edu
Enhancements Made to Ohio’s promotional items purchasing landscape
Ohio University is partnering with a new promotional items vendor that will boost merchandise selection and further improve the online ordering process. The new service, available now within BobcatBUY, provides secure online access and ordering options to nearly 500 Ohio University and/or departmental logo items, including: Awards (Plates, Trophies), Bags and Totes, Drinkware, Electronics, and Office Supplies.
With the new promo items site, you will be able to view a customized catalog that includes OHIO’s most popular and frequently-ordered promotional items. Other enhanced features include:
- No more contacting Printing Services for items with custom text: Enjoy your choice of promotional items that display the standard Ohio University logo or add text, like departmental names, to a list of pre-approved OHIO logos directly from the punch-out catalog within BobcatBUY.
- View previous/saved orders: Departmental orders completed under individual BobcatBUY logins can also be logged for future reference, saving valuable time when recurring orders are needed.
- Work directly with a customer service representative: Customers requesting special orders or custom artwork will be able to talk directly with a representative from the new promotional items vendor.
Need last-minute promo items? They’re still available on campus!
Printing Services will no longer stock or sell promotional items within its Ridges location as a result of this vendor change. However, Bobcat Depot will stock small quantities of OHIO’s most popular promotional items for added convenience.
Questions? Contact Procure to Pay at financecustomercare@ohio.edu or 740.597.6446
BobcatBUY Requestors and Approvers on Pre-Award Projects
A reminder that as of September 2014, new accounts that are requested of GAFR, Foundation, and Grants will be established with BobcatBUY requestors and approvers at the time of the account setup as specified on the new account setup forms. If requestors or approvers are not indicated at the time of new account setup, a “BobcatBUY Default Approver,” as established by the college or planning unit’s financial leadership, will be automatically assigned to the new account.
For new Grant account setup, BobcatBUY requestors and approvers will be solicited on the “Transmittal Form” in LEO at the time of the submission of the proposal. Modifications to requestors and/or approvers for all accounts (Operating, Foundation, Grants) that are already established can be made using the BobcatBUY Access Request Form. These modifications should be emailed to Finance Customer Care at financecustomercare@ohio.edu. Please visit the Finance Forms page to access to the following Finance forms:
- For new Operating Accounts/General Accounting: New Account/Account Maintenance Form
- To modify existing account approvers: BobcatBUY Access Request Form
New Foundation Accounts are established based on a gift agreement.
Questions? Contact Procure to Pay at financecustomercare@ohio.edu or 740.597.6446.
Supplier Insurance Status
Do you need to know if the supplier you want to use for services has insurance on file? Check out the Supplier Insurance Status published by Contract Services weekly.
Questions? Contact Procure to Pay at financecustomercare@ohio.edu or 740.597.6446.
RFP Customer Guide
This RFP Customer Guide is designed to assist our OHIO customers with the Request for Proposal (RFP) process from start to finish. This process includes development, release, proposal review and award of the final contract. Click on the link above for more information.
Questions? Contact Procure to Pay at financecustomercare@ohio.edu or 740.597.6446.
Blanket POs for FY 2016
Blanket and Service POs for FY 2015 were closed on Thursday, 7/16/15, for yearend close. Be sure to submit your requisitions for FY 2016 blanket POs if you have not done so already. If you have invoices for FY 2015 blanket POs that come in moving forward, include the amount needed to cover these in your new request. Keep an eye on your PO balances and submit a change order if they need additional monies to avoid delays in payment.
Questions? Contact Procure to Pay at financecustomercare@ohio.edu or 740.597.6446.
New Year - New Focus… NA Codes, Cateogry Codes, and Units of Measure
Selecting the correct NA Code is essential to RCM and proper accounting in the general ledger. Selecting the correct category code in BobcatBUY ensures that your request is routed correctly and addressed in an expedient fashion. Paying careful attention to the “Unit of Measure” (UOM) to make sure that the UOM you select in BobcatBUY reflects that which your supplier has noted on the quote or invoice avoids delays in payment as well. If you have a multi-line quote, rather than selecting 1 EACH for the total quoted price on your requisition, select 1 LOT. This will allow for multiple invoices to be paid and also avoid unnecessary delays.
Use the Natural Account Code Lookup Tool to find the correct Natural Account Code(s).
Questions? Contact Procure to Pay at financecustomercare@ohio.edu or 740.597.6446.
Honorarium Agreement Versus IC EZ Agreement
Honorariums are a one-time ex gratia payment made to a person for their services in a volunteer capacity or for services for which fees are not traditionally required. Honorariums are one time only agreements and cannot be used for recurring payments. As such, the payee will be flagged as a “One Time Payee” and will deactivate once the payment is made. Honorariums not following these guidelines will be returned to the requestor so that the IC EZ Agreement can be completed.
Please visit Contracting Guidelines for additional information. Questions? Contact Procure to Pay at financecustomercare@ohio.edu or 740.597.6446.
Employee Reimbursement Guidelines
All Employee Reimbursement reports and PCard Reconciliation reports are to be submitted through Concur. Below are a few reminders of the guidelines and processes for submitting these reports.
Employee Non Travel Reimbursements (RE Report)
The report name in Concur should be entered as RE (Reimbursement), followed by first four letters of the employee’s last name and the date of the expense. Example: RESMIT080114.
If combining multiple non travel receipts on one report (recommended), please use the date of the oldest expense.
Employee Travel Related Expenses and Reimbursements (TR Report)
The report name in Concur should be entered as TR (Travel), followed by first four letters of the employee’s last name and the date of the expense. Example: TRSMIT080114.
If additional expenses are incurred for the same travel event that necessitate additional reports at a later date, the naming convention will continue to include the addition of the letter “A”, “B”, “C”, etc. to the original report name. Example TRSMIT080114A, TRSMIT080114B
Employee PCard Expenses for Non Travel Expenses (PC Report)
The report name in Concur should be entered as PC (PCard), followed by first four letters of the employee’s last name and the date of the expense. Example: PCSMIT080114
If combining multiple PCard receipts on one report (recommended), please use the date of the oldest expense.
Additional Guidelines
- For all requests for payment or reimbursement, it is important to note the “who, what, when, where, and why” on the request in addition to uploading copies of itemized and detailed receipts. Please include thorough details regarding the business purpose of purchases.
- PCard transactions should not be combined with RE Reports (Use PC Report process defined above).
- Payments for Professional Services cannot be submitted in Concur.
- The process for this is via a W9 and Contract processes found on the Contract Services web page.
- Gift Certificate purchases can be submitted in Concur via RE Reports. Employee recognition must be reported to Payroll. For all gift car purchases, always include the name of the gift certificate recipient(s).
- Payments to individuals cannot be submitted in Concur.
- Follow for Research Advance Process for research participants.
- Shipment of purchases must be to a university address, not an individual’s home address.
- All purchasing policies still apply: Purchasing Policies.
Questions? Contact Finance Customer Care at financecustomercare@ohio.edu or 740.597.6446.
Chart of Accounts Redesign Project
With the implementation of Responsibility Centered Management (RCM), the way the University budgets and reports results against the budget plan have significantly changed. As a result, it became apparent that we needed to consider a redesign effort of the current Chart of Accounts (COA) to better align revenue and expenditure detail with the RCM budget model and framework. As a result, the University has engaged Navigator Management Partners to assist in this effort.
The project consists of two major phases. The first phase, Planning and Assessment, is underway and is expected to be completed by the end of this calendar year. The Implementation Phase for the new COA structure will begin early next year with an expected completion date of late summer/fall 2016.
During the Planning and Assessment phase the project team will work with the university to review, analyze and understand the current use of the COA in their daily work activity. In addition, the project team will work with subject matter experts from each department, division, and unit to review current state reporting methods and requirements. During this process the team will identify areas for improvement with the goal to drive out current inefficiencies, and potential opportunities.
The COA redesign will impact the entire University and many of its systems. Your contribution in helping to shape the new COA is invaluable. Several approaches are being used to assess the current state and gather input from the campus community. Interviews and workshops began in June and will continue through August with academic and academic support units. A User Survey will be distributed in early August to system users to assess the usage of the current COA by various stakeholders. The survey results will be included in the current state assessment and used to make future recommendations for the new COA that will be created during the Implementation Phase of the project. Together, we can create a COA that will encapsulate more of your reporting needs as well as streamline how financial information is maintained, thus eliminating shadow systems where possible.
Below is the planned schedule for user survey. Please make every effort to complete the survey and give us your thoughts and feedback on the current COA.
| Survey Step | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Send survey to participants | Early August |
| Receive survey feedback | Mid-August |
| Analyze/summarize feedback and update current state document | Mid-September |
Questions? Contact coa@ohio.edu