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March 2001 Town
Meeting Minutes:
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options below. The minutes in their entirety exist on this page
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Welcome/Introduction:
The meeting was called order at 10 am by Dorothy Featherling, Center for
Non-Linear Dynamics, who briefly reviewed key points from the last meeting
notes, in particular the PJ3 command in the Purchasing module of *DEFINE.
Administrative
Updates
International Office
- Deane Willis, Assistant
Director, distributed an *IORECS bookmark, created by Kitty Villa, to let
us know that IORECS is a new mainframe file for information specific to
international students and does not cover international post docs or
faculty. Today, the menus
available are: SMM: S01
search for student by name, S02 general student information, S03 visa
information, S04 insurance exceptions, S05 dependents, S06 employment
history, S07 less then full course load, S09 emergency contact
information, and DMM: D03,
I-20 maintenance and D04 list I-20’s on file.
If you would like viewing access to *IORECS, please send a request,
with your UT log-on, to KittyVilla, KVILLA@MAIL.UTEXAS.EDU.
Tip of the Month
Did you know that you
could order furniture from UT Supply, even partitions? Sample furniture can be viewed in the basement of the West
Mall Office Building and can be purchased from Texas Correctional
Institute or other vendors. Purchase
can be billed directly to your account like other office supplies. Contact Arthur Dela Cruz at 471-7231, a.delacruz@mail.utexas.edu
if you need assistance.
Departmental
Updates
Compliance
Training
- Dyan Hudson, Internal
Audits, discussed the new compliance training required for all employees.
For many people participating in this Town Meeting, it was the first time
they had heard of compliance training. More widespread dissemination of
this new requirement will be forthcoming.
There will be two platforms for
training, electronic and classroom. There are 8 training modules in Phase
I, ranging from 3 to 18 minutes each. Most employees will be able to
complete the program in approximately 1 hour. Training is in English
today but will also be available in Spanish in a few more months. It
is anticipated that employees will be given 2-4 months to complete 8
modules in Phase I; the target is the end of this fiscal year.
Pilot testing begins the
week of April 2, full implementation
tentatively scheduled for April 16.
Employees included are faculty,
post docs, AIs, TAs, classified staff, and administrative staff.
Employees will need the following in order to begin training:
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High
Assurance EID.
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System
requirements:
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Internet
Explorer 4.5 or Netscape 4.x, or better
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Windows
95, 98, NT 4.x, 2000 -or- Macintosh OS 9 or better
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Microsoft
Media Player (for PC users) -or- RealPlayer (for Mac users)
Information concerning compliance training will be disseminated via
administrative and deans' offices to help facilitate awareness and
participation.
Following are the Q/A's
from Dyan's handout:
Why is this training
program required?
The training program is
part of the overall institutional compliance program required by the UT
System Board of Regents. If you would like more information about
the compliance program, contact the Office of Institutional Compliance at
(512) 232-7054.
Do I have to take all of
the modules?
Yes. All employees
are required to complete all of the general compliance training modules.
However, additional modules may exist for certain types of jobs.
Those that you are required to complete are listed in your Personal
Profile. If you have questions about the specific modules required,
speak with your supervisor or contact the Compliance Training Coordinator
at (512) 232-7842.
Do I have to take them
all at the same time, or in any particular order?
No. The program was
designed so that each module can be taken separately and in any order.
Most video presentations are about five to ten minutes long. You are
encouraged to take the modules as soon as possible, and you will receive
regular reminders until all required modules have bee completed.
Do I have to take the
modules online?
No. All modules will
be offered periodically in a classroom setting. Schedules and
registration options re available by visiting TXClass, or by contacting
the Compliance Training Coordinator at (512) 232-7842.
Do I have to complete
the review questions for each module?
Yes. The University
is required to provide evidence that you understood the compliance
information you were given. Reviewing what you have learned and
recording that you have successfully completed the review is the best way
to accomplish this. Each review is brief, and if you do not select
the appropriate response, you will be given additional information and an
opportunity to try again.
How will I know if a
module is added, or if the requirements change?
Email will be used to
notify you if you have not completed the required modules. In
addition, your supervisor may periodically receive a report of the
training status of all employees under his or her authority.
Do I need to print and
keep the certificates after each module to prove that I've taken the
module?
No. The training
system will keep track of those modules that you have completed.
Remember that you have not "completed" a module until you have
successfully responded to all review questions. Your Profile will list
those modules you have, and have not, received credit for. If you
believe your Profile is incorrect, contact the Compliance Training
Coordinator at (512) 232-7842.
The videos do not work
on my computer. Why?
The technology used for
this training system requires that you have the following on your
computer:
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Internet Explorer 4.5
or Netscape 4.x or better
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Windows 95, 98, NT 4.x,
2000 -or- Macintosh OS 9 or better
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Microsoft
Media Player (for PC users) -or- RealPlayer (for Macintosh users)
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If your equipment meets
these requirements but you cannot view the videos, contact the Help Desk
at 471-8800. If your equipment does not meet these requirements, all
modules are offered periodically in a classroom setting. Schedules
and registration options are available by visiting TXClass, or by
contacting the Compliance Training Coordinator at (512) 232-7842.
For more information about
the Compliance Training Program, contact the Compliance Training
Coordinator at (512) 232-7842. For general help using UT's secure
services, you may also call the help desk at 471-8800.
Meg
Beach,
Administrative Computing Services
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Meg discussed requirements
in conjunction with the UT EID and shared a handout, "Obtaining
a High Assurance UT EID".
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Access: Easy access to
online timesheets, class registration, the "What I Owe"
page, the events calendar, student grades, tax forms and many other
administrative and academic web services.
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Security
("Assurance") Levels: There are four different EID
assurance levels: low, medium, pending high, and high. When an
employee or student first receives an EID (i.e. the department 'vouches'
for their new employee by creating a new appointment; or the University
'vouches' for a new student by allowing admittance to the University), he
or she is given a medium assurance EID. The person needs to then
visit the UT Austin ID Center and bring a government-issued photo ID (ie.
a driver's license or passport) at which time he or she may upgrade his or
her EID to high assurance. If it is not possible to visit the ID
Center, he or she may visit the website https://utdirect.utexas.edu/nlogon/eid_suite/suite_entry.wb
to upgrade to high assurance. (Please note:
This site requires the user to download and print a legal document
which must be signed, notarized, and returned to the ID Center
within 30 days, or the EID will be locked.)
If
a new faculty member has not yet had an electronic appointment
created but wishes to upgrade to high assurance, please send him or her to
the ID Center with a government-issued photo ID
AND an official letter stating that the faculty member will be
appointed soon. For new staff
members, the department must have already created an electronic
appointment for them to obtain a UT ID Card and high assurance EID.
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Vendors will also need UT
EIDs in order to track where
their
payments are in our system.
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Purchasing
- Trina Bickford discussed
renewals for Procards and asked that holders remember that no sales tax is allowed; if applied, then it
must be credited back; look at prohibited charges (these are available on their
website); no splitting of purchases, e.g., $999.99 per charge - don't make
a large purchase on your card and then split the sales draft into
smaller
increments to try to meet the maximum allowable charge amount
per
transaction. If you need the UT tax ID number, call Purchasing.
Recycled products were discussed.
Waiver letters need to go through Purchasing. There
is a downloadable form on their website.
Recycled products are available through UT Supply but you must specify
that you want recycled products when you place your order, otherwise, the default is to non-recycled products. You
do not need a waiver letter to order non-recycled products from UT Supply as they have already
processed a blanket waiver letter which will cover those items that you
purchase
directly from them.
If you purchase items outside of UT Supply, then you need to be aware of the recycled products rule and submit a
waiver letter through Purchasing before
you buy those items. First
Choice Program - we strongly suggest that you use the same guidelines for local
funds. Paper, oil,
and lubricants, etc., see the Purchasing website for a link.
RFP's - Request For
Proposals or Consulting Agreements - there is no longer one template. Purchasing
has to send out the RFP's to the attorney to look over. The
attorney's approval is needed before you may start the process.
No consulting agreements should be entered into without first consulting with Mr. Franklin's office.
The
moratorium on vehicle purchases has been lifted.
However, before buying a
vehicle
you will still need a letter of approval from Danny Fletcher in
the
Office of the Controller. This
letter must first be routed through the appropriate Dean or Vice
Presidential office for approval. Items that you will need to address in
your letter requesting approval to purchase a vehicle:
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Is
this a new or replacement vehicle?
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If
new, justification of need for increasing the university's fleet size
(these
will be closely scrutinized).
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If
replacement, give year and mileage of vehicle being replaced.
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If
you are not planning to use an alternative fuel source please state
justification.
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If
vehicles are purchased from state accounts (14 & 20) the vehicles must
be driven a minimum of 7,000 miles for the current fiscal year, 9,000
miles for FY 2001-02 and 11,000 miles for FY 2002-03.
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It
is highly recommended that vehicles be purchased from institutional funds
(non-state accounts) -- i.e. 18,19,26,29,30,36.
There are no minimum mileage requires on vehicles purchased from
the preceding fund groups.
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Later
this fiscal year, a Vehicle Fleet Management Plan will be released to the
campus which may or may not affect the approval process.
If
you have any questions, please contact the Office of the Controller at
471-4503.
Thanks to Kathy Slade,
Department of Economics, for the March minutes:
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