June 2016

Human Resources Employs uConfirm for Employment Verification

Employees in the process of buying a home, applying for a loan, renting an apartment or purchasing a car will soon have access to uConfirm, which provides essential, cost-effective employment and income data in a timely manner.

Kent State University has contracted with uConfirm, a leading national provider of employment verification solutions for employers, to make the employment verification process more secure and improve workflow. The company can also help speed up the verification process for employees and verifiers.

Car dealers, landlords, lenders and others who need proof of your employment and income, use uConfirm's online service to complete the verification process.

In July, employees who need their employment or income verified should refer the verifier to uConfirm's website at www.uconfirm.com, where they will complete the verification process. Email questions to uConfirm's customer support center, support@uconfirm.com or call 404-382-5400 and select option 2.

No special codes are required by verifiers. If needed, verifiers will provide uConfirm with a copy of the authorization you previously signed. Further, this is a free service for employees. If you are charged by a verifier for uConfirm's service or if a verifier refuses to use uConfirm's service, please contact uConfirm for assistance.

Kent State University's account manager at uConfirm is Doris Dzirson. She may be contacted for special assistance toll free at 866-312-8266, ext. 108, or email doris.dzirson@uconfirm.com.

Federal Government Issues New Rules for Overtime Regulations 

Last month, the Department of Labor (DOL) released new regulations regarding overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  The new rules will increase the salary threshold for which employees must be paid overtime from $23,660 to $47,476 annually, and will raise the threshold every three years. The regulations are effective Dec. 1, 2016, and include some exemptions for higher education. 

While there may be efforts at the national level to stop or delay the implementation, Kent State University is moving forward with plans to determine the best way to address the new rules to be in compliance at all campuses. A cross-divisional team of representatives from Business and Finance, Human Resources, Academic Affairs, Government Relations and General Counsel have partnered to review the federal regulations and its potential impact.

Please share this information with your employees and let them know more information on the regulations will be communicated in the coming months. You can read more about the new federal rules at the DOL website.  

Don't Forget the Fiscal Year-End Deadlines

Managers and supervisors should have received information from the Controller's Office regarding the cut-off dates for financial transactions for the current fiscal year, which ends on June 30. The deadlines for receipt of information and other year-end announcements can be found online. The Controller's Office appreciates timely submissions of documents to ensure that a timely year-end cut-off has occurred.

The Fiscal Year 2016 is scheduled to close the evening of July 14, 2016, and the final June FlashLine reports should be available to departments the morning of July 15, 2016.

Expense Reimbursements

Travel or miscellaneous expenses incurred on or before June 30 are considered fiscal year 2016 activity. To ensure these expenses are recorded in the appropriate fiscal year, expense reimbursements must be approved by the final approver on or before June 29, 2016. Any expense reimbursements in draft status or submitted but not approved by this date will not be processed as fiscal year 2016 activity.

Travel and/or miscellaneous expenses that span both fiscal years and/or incurred after June 30 should be considered new fiscal year activity. Therefore, these expense reimbursements should be processed and approved after June 29, 2016.

Purchasing Cards

All P-Card reconciliations for the June cycle must be completed by July 7, 2016. All transactions that are not fully reconciled (allocated, reviewed and approved) by 5 p.m. on this date will be charged to your departmental index under office supplies (72017). In addition, the P-Card will be suspended for noncompliance, and the holder or approver will be required to repeat purchasing card cardholder or approver training before the card can be reinstated.  

Leave Approval Reminder

The Division of Human Resources is working closely with the Controller's Office to confirm that all compensated leave balances are up-to-date for fiscal year 2016. 

As the fiscal year comes to a close on June 30, 2016, Human Resources Records and Operations would like to remind all FlashLine leave approvers to ensure all personal, sick and vacation leaves used by faculty and staff have been properly recorded, submitted and approved.

Please be sure that outstanding leaves have been approved by July 1, 2016, as Human Resources Records and Operations will be moving all pending reports to an approved status on July 2, 2016. 

We thank you in advance for your assistance with our year-end processing. Should you have any questions or need further information, please contact Human Resources Records and Operations at 330-672-8316.

Compensated Absences

All compensated absences should be reported and approved no later than July 1, 2016, for any remaining FY2016 activity.

Kent State University Foundation

The Kent State University Foundation reminds department heads that June 24 is the deadline to submit any funding requests for the current fiscal year. This will ensure that the transfer of Foundation funds to a university index will be recorded in fiscal year 2016. All requests must be submitted using the Foundation Funding Request form and must have the appropriate signatures and documentation. For more information, contact Yvonne Lee at 330-672-1077 or Mary Kay Hluch at 330-672-0420.

Please continue to review and reconcile your monthly FlashLine reports to ensure all transactions are complete and proper.  If there are any issues or discrepancies, please contact the appropriate finance department below to resolve them. This includes any issues involving your budget, your actual YTD transactions and your encumbrances.

Administrative Systems Training Offers Valuable Summer Learning

The Division of Information Services' Administrative Systems Training team provides instruction to faculty and staff on many of Kent State University's enterprise systems. This summer, Information Services is offering a number of learning opportunities, which will begin in June and continue throughout the summer.

While faculty and staff are making plans for the fall semester, Information Services encourages them to make time to learn how to use these systems more effectively by participating in the training sessions available. These sessions are designed for those who are newly hired, want to familiarize themselves more with administrative programs or simply want a refresher. However, they are accessible to all.

Some training opportunities are broad, such as Unified Communications and Banner Navigation to enhance the skills of staff in all roles, while others are more specialized, like Empower Timekeeping and Data Security Administrator training.

All of the instructional sessions are held in-person by Johnny Rocco, a training coordinator with more than 20 years of education and training experience in the fields of consulting, project management and corporate training.

The summer sessions began June 1 and will continue throughout the summer. The workshops available this month include: Cognos Consumer, Course Schedule, Banner Navigation, Data Security Administrator (facilitated online via WebEx), Empower Timekeeping, Expense Reimbursement Workflow, Unified Communications and Cognos Report Writer.

Find course descriptions and registration information at www.kent.edu/is/training/administrative-systems-course-catalog.

Dates to Remember

National Caribbean American Heritage Month
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month

June 6
D-Day 

June 10
Summer intersession classes end

June 11-13
Shavuot

June 13
Summer I and Summer II classes begin

June 14
Flag Day

June 19
Father's Day

June 21
First day of summer (summer solstice)

Tell Us What You Think

This e-newsletter is designed to keep you, the managers and supervisors, informed. Please take a few minutes to let us know what you think of it, along with any comments or suggestions. You may contact us at managersfeedback@kent.edu. We look forward to hearing from you.