Monday, August 11, 2003

Issues

• Peer to Peer
• Student - Announcement
• HR
• Approvers/Super-approvers
• Checking accuracy before approving
• Leave issues
• Comp Time
• Finance
• Training plans
• Other

• The past practice of managing registration after the term begins of changing classes to require instructor/department consent does not work in Banner.  When departments place a requirement on the class after there are active registrations, students who do not meet the requirement are dropped from the class when they make schedule changes.  A small task group from the Student Core Team and Peer-to-Peer was identified to address waitlist and enrollment management processes.  Members from the SCT are Helen Garrett, Pam McClelland, Margaret Kimble and Sylvia Sandoz.  Representing Peer to Peer are Kirsa Whedon, Helen Mikkelsen, Lynn Phillips, Donna Zmolek and Terria Burch.  The charge to the task team is to identify solution(s) that meet the needs of the departments and can be supported in Banner.
• HR staff spend ½ to one full day each payroll contacting approvers and super-approvers reminding them to complete these processes.  Peer-to-Peer members noted that the timelines to complete this work are very short, and that separating the approver/super-approver work results in inefficiency and redundancy of work.  HR will review the process to determine whether the approver/super-approver windows could be open simultaneously and for a longer period of time.
• Hour and leave data must be checked at the department level and must be accurate before it’s approved.  There is a major negative impact on Finance if incorrect payroll information moves through the complete process.  There has been a higher incidence of overpayments in Banner, some resulting from conversion issues, but some because salaried positions haven’t been properly end-dated.  Peer-to-Peer members identified the end of term as a particularly difficult time, and commented that sometimes a staff member other than the approver knows whether or not an employee worked.  Consequently, there needs to be sufficient time in the approval/super-approval window to make these contacts. Jana commented that academic departments might benefit from having a spreadsheet each term that identifies employees who are working that term. 
• HR shared new agreements between the college and LCCEF for leave calculations.  The change eliminates Appendix E and moves to a calculation that is an actual pro-ration based on work assignment FTE.
• The college will require that comp time be tracked in Banner effective August 31.  All departments must notify HR of existing balances for all department employees by that date.  From September 1 forward, employees will enter the time as part of the ExpressLane hours and leave reporting process.  Effective September 30, the college will begin enforcing the 24-hour limitation on comp time.
• Peer-to-Peer requested a shorter reference for faculty on grade entry (the complete training packet is 38 pages long). Jana has created one and will forward it to the Peer-to-Peer list.
• Finance is working on additional training for fall (probably October) that will include purchase orders, budget functions and hierarchical accounting concepts.  Peer-to-Peer requested that no trainings be scheduled in the first week of fall term.
• Finance reported that there were errors in the OPE calculations in Payroll 15.  These will be fixed by August 13.
• Administrative assistants need a “200 report” (Actual and Committed Payroll).  Paula Gardner needs a similar report that lists all position budgets for the college.  DeWitt’s note:  This report is on Thwing Havens’s list of projects.
• There will be additional training for schedule builders next week.  The most likely schedule is August 20 for credit sections and August 22 for non-credit.  Peer to Peer needs to know the deadlines related to the winter schedule build as soon as possible. Craig will provide this soon, possibly today.