Graduate Assistant Informational Session
Presented by:
Graduate School
Payroll Department
Department of Human Resources
Office of Faculty and Staff Labor Relations
Office of the Provost
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Agenda
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Introduction
Analysis of Late Payments
Requirements of GEU-UAW Contract
Process Improvements
Payroll Department Updates
Department of Human Resources Updates
Questions and Answers
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Analysis of Late Payments
113 Graduate Assistants paid at least 1 cycle late in Fall 2016
• 39 departments
Categories for late payments
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Paperwork – 41 students
Funding – 21 students
Visa status – 3 students
Other– 48
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Analysis of Late Payments
Late appointments are sometimes unavoidable . . .
• Graduate Research Assistants
– Funding for sponsored project not confirmed until mid-August
• Graduate Teaching Assistants
– Sections added to large introductory course one week before
the start of fall semester
– English proficiency of incoming international graduate student
must be verified by “speak” test
Analysis of Late Payments
Some late appointments are avoidable . . .
• Fall 2016
– 3 signed offer letters in March 2016
– 14 signed offer letters before July 2016
– 21 signed offer letters before July 13th 2016
• Delays in entering into Genesys
• Delays in getting data to Payroll
7/14 Deadline for departments to submit and approve Smart
HR transactions
Requirements of GEU-UAW Contract
Contractual Requirements
• “The University will make reasonable efforts to notify incoming
students of their appointments by April 1.”
• “ The University will make reasonable efforts to notify continuing
students of Fall Semester appointments by June 15.”
• “For students whose appointments begin in any other semester, the
University will make reasonable efforts to notify students of their
appointments at least 60 days prior to the beginning of the work
assignment.”
Process Improvements
Improvements already in place
 SSN is no longer required to create a hire transaction
 Elimination of the requirement for a “wet” signature
 Paperless process with electronic workflow
 Ability to track transaction status
 Ability to attach offer letters
Proposed improvements
• Communication
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Process for secondary candidates
Reminders to faculty and PIs
Updated job aids and training
Increased outreach to departments
• Offer letter updates
• “Mass” separations managed by Payroll
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Payroll Department Updates
Date
5/12/17
Task
6/5/17
Core-CT execution of Mass Unpaid Leave process for proration of final spring semester
check: effective dates are 5/23/17 – 8/22/17 COMPLETE
Core-CT “Pay Confirm” for final Spring semester payment ; check dated 5/26/17 (7 days)
COMPLETE
Entry by departments for Fall semester hires and continuations can begin in Smart HR
6/23/17
Core-CT to execute Mass Return from Leave process (effective 8/23/17)
7/14/17
Deadline for departments to submit and approve Smart HR transactions for the Fall
semester
Core-CT to execute Mass Termination of Graduate Assistants that have not been continued;
effective 8/23/17
Pay Confirm for first Fall semester payment; check dated 9/1/17 (7 days)*
5/18/17
8/18/17
8/24/17
9/7/17
9/21/17
Pay Confirm for second payment; will provide list to Provost/LR/HR/Controller of Grad
Assistants (and their departments) who were not paid on time
Pay Confirm for third payment; will provide list to Provost/ LR/HR/Controller of Grad
Assistants (and their departments) who were not paid on time
*Payroll to provide status updates throughout the summer on processing to GEU-UAW
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Payroll Department Updates
UC_TBH_GA UConn Hire Template - Graduate Assistant
• When to use this template
– For newly employed GAs, or rehires with at least a one semester break
• What you need to know
– NetID, not Social Security Number, is the key field for this template
– Verify that the correct salary is populating the Compensation Rate field (this data
is integrated from the Student Administration System)
– International addresses must be replaced with US addresses
– The Status Date field on the Citizenship Info tab should be populated with the
date that the I-9 was signed. If the I-9 has not been completed, the hire date can
be entered in this field
– Please include comments for Payroll; we do read them!
– Be sure that a signed offer letter is attached to the template
– Department funding should be used if grant accounts are pending
– Do not delay submitting the template transaction while you are waiting for an
I-9, W-4, CT W-4 or SSD to be completed
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Payroll Department Updates
UC_TBH_DC_GRAD_DAT - Graduate Payroll Data Changes
• When to use this template
– Returning GAs from the previous spring semester
• What you need to know
– Employee ID is the key field for this template
– Verify that the correct salary is populating the Compensation Rate field (this data
is integrated from the Student Administration System)
– Department processors must update the Appointment Dates to reflect the
current academic year dates. The Appointment Start Date is 8/23/17 and the
Appointment End Date is 1/5/18 or 5/22/18
– Be sure to update data elements that may have changed from the Spring
semester (FTE for example)
– Please include comments for Payroll; we do read them!
– Be sure that a signed offer letter is attached to the template
– Department funding should be used if grant accounts are pending
– Returning GA’s do not need a new or reverified I-9 unless there have been
changes to their visa status; tax withholding forms are not required
– Do not delay submitting the template transaction while you are waiting for an
SSD to be completed
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Payroll Department Updates
Common Errors
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Job Effective Date
Employment Record number
Employee classification (don’t use grad asst from Genesys days)
Appt end date = funding end date
Grad processing is separate from special payroll processing
Rates in contract are not correct, but we will accept those rates
No digitial signatures (we can accept a scan of the wet signature, but it can’t be digital
I-9 date fields
Not holding up first check with I-9 pending
Ask Ellen about I-9s for NRAs (do they have to be on campus, or can a notary in CA do it?)
Action required (where to look)
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Department of Human Resources Updates
Offer letters?
Benefits?
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Question and Answers
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