GENERAL
AST's Priorities
As we move into week three of Workday Finance, many of us are getting anxious to know when requests will be completed and what average turn-around times can be expected going forward. As Linda mentioned in last week’s update (7/20/2023), however, we are still very much in the discovery phase of the Finance Transformation project. As AST works through tickets, we are prioritizing quality over quantity. This means that we are taking the time needed to submit transactions properly the first time and to document and escalate issues as we find them so that problems get properly addressed without short-term workarounds (which usually fail). Please know we hear you and understand your frustrations. We appreciate your continued patience and collaboration.
Helpful hint: AST's General Inquiry form vs. Central Offices' form
If you have a question regarding Workday Finance, please use AST’s General Inquiry intake form rather than the similar form available through the central offices’ UW Connect Finance Portal. Why? Submissions using the central form route to AST through the Finance instance of UW Connect, while AST’s form pushes inquiries right to our CAS instance. In plain English, that means we receive your questions more directly and hence can act on them more quickly. Better for everyone!
HELP TEAM
FDM Worktag naming conventions
Our team has been routing your FDM worktag requests to the UW Finance Reporting team, and we have noticed a trend in send-backs due to requested worktags not following the required naming conventions. They are in the process of adding clarification to the FDM Data Management Request form with clearer instructions on naming worktags, which should follow these guidelines:
- No legacy IDs (no budget number reference allowed)
- No abbreviations
- Worktag name must be title case (i.e. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
- Ensure Worktag prefix and hierarchy assignment conforms to College/School standards
- No special characters beyond what is observed in #4 above
As a reminder, new FDM worktags that are not deemed critical will be processed between 9/1/2023 and 10/1/2023. Until your new worktags are created, we recommend that you use the cost center and resource tags that work for the transaction, then note the name of the not-yet-available worktag in the memo field. This will make it easier to find the operational journal line to initiate a reclass when your worktag becomes available.
Please reach out to Linda Nelson or Robert Young via Microsoft Teams if you have any questions.
Workday inbox filters fun!
People who hold the “Procurement Data Entry Specialist” security role are still reporting issues with Workday filters. The UWFT Support Team continues to refine the filter functionality and configuration, and have updated the Workday Inbox filter combinations job aid as of July 21, 2023. Many Workday security roles will now be able to filter their Workday Finance Inbox by their cost center hierarchy, as well filter for the ProCard transactions you complete based on worker procurement credit card. Please continue to ignore any transactions that are not from your unit(s).
Still need help with inbox filtering? Here's how to filter out all ProCard transactions from your Workday inbox:
- Create Inbox Filter
- Description: [name for your filter]
- Select "Business Process Type(s)"
- Click on "All Business Process Types" and select all (click on first one, drag scrollbar all the way to the bottom, then hold shift and click on last item);
- THEN search for "Procurement Card Transaction Verification" and unselect it
- Click OK
Now you have a filter for everything but ProCard transactions!
Another tip: You can apply this "everything but ProCard" filter to your email inbox! Here's how:
- Log into Workday, click on the "Profile" icon on the top right of your screen and click on "My Account." Select "Change Preferences"
- Scroll all the way down to "Workflow Preferences." For "Default Inbox Filter," select the Workday inbox filter that you'd like to apply to your email inbox as well.
- You can select the "everything but ProCard" inbox filter you've created, or a different filter if you'd like
- Click OK
Now you will only receive email notifications for the items in your default Workday inbox view. We are aware that this is an imperfect solution, and we encourage you to check Workday often for any of your unit’s transactions that are awaiting action or approval.
Do you or your team know of any additional filtering tricks? Send them our way so that we can share them with this community!
HR/PAYROLL
Autumn 2023 AST Roster Report
The Autumn 2023 AST Roster Report was emailed to department administrators on July 19. Make sure to carefully read the instructions on the report before filling it out as some items have changed from previous reports. Completed roster reports are due to AST on August 15.
Additionally, Jim Ballew and Ivy Mason-Sharrah will be hosting online drop-in sessions to answer questions about the roster report on the following dates and times:
| DATE | TIME |
|---|---|
|
Wednesday, August 2 |
1:30 pm - 2 pm |
|
Thursday, August 10 |
10:30 am - 11 am |
|
Monday, August 14 |
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm |
Please reach out to Jim Ballew (jballew@uw.edu) with any questions.
FOREIGN NATIONAL SERVICES
New ISO fees effective July 14
New ISO fees effective July 14Effective July 14, 2023, ISO instituted the following visa-related fee changes:
- Visa request fees for J-1s, H-1Bs, TNs, and E-3s will increase to $562 (from $550)
- Amendment feeds for J-1 documents (DS-2019s) will decrease to $105 (from $113)
- O-1 and EB-1B hourly visa case management fees will increase to $140 (from $124)
Please note that all fees associated with H-1B, E-3, TN and O-1/EB-1B petitions, including the $562 visa request fee, are paid by the host department and cannot be passed on to the international scholar.
For J-1 scholars who are not members of the UAW 4121 Postdocs, as well as all J-2 dependents, reimbursement may be requested by the department from scholars for the $562 visa request fee and $105 J-1 amendment fee. The new UAW 4121 2023-25 contract prevents units from requesting reimbursement for J-1 visa fees from postdoctoral scholars.
For more information on OAP and U.S. government visa fees, see ISO’s Visa Fees page.
Pilot program for staff visa sponsorship is now live
On July 1, the UW launched a pilot program extending TN, H-1B, and E-3 visa sponsorship support to eligible staff positions. The pilot program is a collaboration between OAP’s International Scholars Operations team and UWHR. Questions regarding prospective staff visa eligibility and other requirements should be directed to employeerelations@uw.edu.
ISO and UWHR will be holding a training for units considering staff visa sponsorship on August 17 from 10 am – 12 pm over Zoom (https://washington.zoom.us/j/96475316600). ISO will cover the basics of the available visa types and UWHR will explain their role in the pre-approval process.
PAYMENTS AND PROCUREMENT
Travel reimbursements for non-UW employees
Question: Why is AST now reaching out to all non-UW employees who are seeking a travel reimbursement?
Answer: Because Travel Services needed to create a new process to review every single one of these transactions (that is a lot of transactions!). We are then converting this information into the required Travel Services form (a challenging form) which is adding additional steps on processing these types of transactions. We will continue to tweak as needed to make it easier for everyone involved.
What action you can take: Please let your traveler know to expect a DocuSign from AST where we can ask a series of questions regarding their citizen status and payment directions. If you’d like, you can check out our DocuSign!
Do you have a traveler who is tech-challenged or needs assistance completing an electronic document? If you know your guest will need assistance, please plan accordingly with the guest to get the required information for the DocuSign. Then, you can submit the DocuSign with their information and make a reimbursement request noting the circumstance/submitter of the DocuSign. This will ensure AST can process the request more efficiently.
Please keep an eye out on Linda’s Updates which are sent via Microsoft Teams in the CAS Finance & Administration ‘General’ channel. AST’s website will also house an archive of Linda’s updates.
As always, please contact any of us or email teamcas@uw.edu if you have any questions or concerns.
Administrative Support Team
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 20, 2023