No more bubble sheets

By Carole Horwitz

A paycheck (or pay statement, in these days of direct deposit) ranks at or near the top of what employees care about: that it be on time and written for the right amount.

With the Human Resources/Payroll phase of the Integrated Systems Project nearing startup, ensuring correct and timely pay is the team’s top priority.

“Beginning this month and until we ‘go live’ at the end of June, we will parallel-test the Oracle payroll system with our current system to make sure all the numbers add up,” said Barbara Henry, the ISP functional lead for this phase of the project. “University Human Resources and ISP are coordinating efforts to identify and correct any potential glitches before the first Oracle payroll.”

While little will change for teaching and general faculty salaries with the switch to Oracle, the process by which classified and wage employees report their time and leave will change significantly, Henry said.

“Today, everyone fills out multiple forms for time and for leave (the infamous bubble sheets and ‘automated’ time sheets), and they do it on varying time cycles,” she explained. “Beginning in July, all classified salaried employees will report their time and leave semi-monthly, on one form. All wage employees will use the same form, and the reporting will be on a biweekly basis. This new system will allow leave balances to be more current than in today’s system, and premium payments [such as overtime pay] will be reflected as worked in a person’s pay.”

Departments will print and distribute time/leave sheets for their employees. For classified salaried employees, the hours per day will be pre-filled, reflecting each person’s normal workweek. The employees will mark deviations, such as days that were taken as leave or comp time. They will also add in any premium pay, such as overtime or shift differential. They will sign the time sheet, have their supervisor sign it and return it to the departmental timekeeper to record in Oracle.

Wage employees’ timesheets will be pre-filled with zeros, Henry said. The employee will mark hours worked on specific days, sign the time sheet, have his/her supervisor sign and return it to the departmental timekeeper.

The new system also will introduce U.Va. employees to some self-service functions, Henry said. “Right now, Oracle users register for training using Oracle Self-Service. When we go live at the end of June, all employees will register for Oracle and other types of University training through the self-serve application. In addition, they will be able to view their pay information and employment history, as well as change their own addresses and phone numbers online, using Oracle Self-Service.

“In 2003, when we upgrade to the next version of the Oracle software, employees will also have the option of entering their time and leave online through Oracle Self-Service.

“We will have to get used to the new system just as we continue to adapt to the financial applications,” Henry said. “But our pay will be unaffected, and time and leave will no longer be disconnected.”

Employees with questions can e-mail isp-mail@virginia.edu or call 924-1627.