The ISP is Coming...Are You Ready?
May 2001

Integrated Systems Project - Streamlining and Modernizing UVa's Information Systems

On July 2, 2001, the University of Virginia will be implementing the finance phase of the Integrated Systems Project, including the following Oracle applications: General Ledger, Funds Management, Purchasing and Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Order Entry/Inventory, and Cash Management. We will stop entering transactions into the current systems on July 2 and begin entering them into the new system on July 9. Labor Distribution goes live on May 29, 2001.

We are in the final testing and training stages for a new system that will better support the core missions of the University of Virginia - teaching, research, and public service - by

• increased efficiency and effectiveness of operations,
• improved customer service, and
• better ability to adapt to growth and change.

We will send you several "Are You Ready?" bulletins between now and go-live to give you the information you need to be fully prepared. Click the links below for detailed information or instructions.

Labor Distribution To Go Live May 29th
411 University employees will complete their LD training in time to go live on May 29th. At that time, they will begin scheduling labor for their departments so that the first payroll post go-live in July will be charged to the correct PTAEOs. These are our Oracle pioneers.

Confidentiality Agreements
The Human Resources Office has sent an email message to all who have been identified as an employee who requires access to the University's Integrated (Oracle) System in order to perform their assigned duties and responsibilities. To preserve confidentiality of sensitive financial, human resource and/or student information, all users of the Oracle system must sign the Confidentiality Agreement.

If you have not submitted a signed agreement, go to http://www.hrs.virginia.edu/emplmemos/oracle.html to see the memo and to print, sign and submit a copy of the agreement.

Questions concerning this Agreement may be addressed to the Human Resources Office at 924-4450.

Getting Your Desktop Ready
The links below provide updated detail on required software and step-by-step instructions for loading it, where appropriate. For your Desktop Checklist, click here. Please check this site regularly, as it will be updated on a frequent basis.

To load the Integrated System, you will need the following on your computer:

• Web browser
• Oracle Jinitiator
• Virtual Private Network (VPN) - This is the "firewall" which will provide another level of security for the system. Users will have to log on to the VPN prior to logging on to the Integrated System. Instructions for downloading the VPN may be viewed at http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/isp/vpn/
  You can download the VPN software now. The Desktop Checklist will list shortly where to go to authenticate and establish your VPN user logon. Only users who are linked to a resonsibility will be able to authenticate for the VPN, so initially, only LD users will be able to do so.

To view or run reports, you will need the following on your computer:

Discoverer 3.1

To print an Oracle standard report, your computer must be linked to a network printer defined in Oracle (check with your local computer support person to be certain you can print to a network printer). Discoverer reports from the Operational Data Store (ODS - the equivalent of the Information Warehouse) may be printed to any printer recognized by the user's computer - usually the one closest to you. For further information, click here.

Passwords: Receiving Them and Changing Them
For those trained in Wave 1, the ISP will do a mass email to users with their Oracle logon IDs and initial Oracle passwords. The mass email will go out just prior to go-live for May 29th for Labor Distribution users, and just prior to the July go-live for other financial applications users who are trained and ready. Estimated dates are May 22 for LD and June 29 for others. Users trained after deployment will probably be notified individually of their Oracle logon IDs and initial Oracle passwords.

You will also be notified of the url that you need to use to authenticate and establish your VPN (firewall) user logon. Once you have created your VPN account, you will be able to logon to the VPN, open the Integrated System website, and logon to Oracle, using the Oracle user ID and Oracle password you will receive through the email. You will be asked to change the Oracle password the first time you logon. You will do this from the Special menu of the Navigator window.

The Oracle passwords will have to be changed every 45 days. The VPN passwords will not be required to change. The Oracle password will have to be at least 5 characters long.

Sample Reports Available for Viewing
The ISP Reports team is developing a variety of custom predefined reports in the Operational Data Store (ODS) using Oracle's query tool, Discoverer. These reports will be available to all users in the ODS. A "Work-in-Progress" sample of some predefined reports available from the ODS can be viewed by going to http://www.virginia.EDU/isp/5archives/faq.htm#reports, going to the FAQ "Can I see some sample reports?" and clicking the link. This will allow you to access a Word document. Click "Open it," then Okay.

Creating and Using Your PTAO Card
You all have been promised a PTAO card so you won't have to memorize your PTAEO to provide it to internal service providers. You will be able to go to a url to create your PTAO (the E will be provided by the service provider) card by May 29. You will have to log on to the VPN (see Getting Your Desktop Ready, above) to access the url, but you do not have to log on to Oracle. The VPN client is already available on the ITC website and can be installed today (see above). You will not be able to set up a VPN user ID, however, until after user names are loaded into HR, by May 29. At that point, anyone with the VPN loaded should be able to access the url for the PTAO card.

Important Cutover Dates and Information
The Dim Week
The implementation date for all financial Oracle applications except Labor Distribution is July 2. This means that employees have stopped entering transactions into the legacy systems by that date (specific deadlines referenced below). Final data conversion and application set up activities take place between July 2 and July 8. Employees begin entering transactions into the new system on July 9.

Deadlines Set By Central Offices
Accounting Services, Revenue Collections, Procurement Services, and Human Resources have established firm deadlines for when processes are no longer entered in the current system, when they begin to be entered in the Integrated System, and what to do in the interim. The dates and information may be viewed at:

• General Accounting (now includes links to cutoff dates for credit card deposits, credit card transactions, and deposits)
• Procurement Services
• The Labor Distribution go-live date is May 29, 2001. Units will have to enter labor schedules in both OPAS and Oracle from May 29, 2001, until the date actions are due in HR for the following payrolls:

--Biweekly payroll: 6/13-6/26 actions due in HR by 6/26
--Semi-monthly payroll: 6/10-6/24 actions due in HR by 6/14
--Monthly payroll: 5/25-6/24 actions due in HR by 6/14
--Only schedules that change during this period of time or are for new/rehired employees will have to be entered into OPAS for those payrolls.
--All labor schedules must be completed in Oracle LD by 6/30.

• The last day to submit retroactive funding changes in the OPAS system is 5:00 p.m. on June 12, 2001. After this date, it will not be possible to adjust funding for salaries or wages (which accounts salary or wage are charged to) for any fiscal year 2000-'01 activity. Once we are live with Oracle, there will be no FAS accounts to go back to to restructure the funding of salaries and wages. Therefore, it is critical that any and all adjustments for salaries and wages be in the OPAS system by close of business June 12. This does not apply to corrections in total amounts paid for salaries and wages. There will be mechanisms for correcting dollar amounts, just not distribution among accounts.

Policies and Procedures
While the application training provides instruction on how to use the Oracle system, users have questions about how University policies and procedures fit into the Oracle procedures. Financial Administration is undertaking the task of writing and refining policies and procedures that will be incorporated into the Oracle Tutor on-line procedures. We will notify you as those procedures are completed. In the meanwhile, check the ISP FAQ list to see if your question has been posted. If not, write isp-mail@virginia.edu and we will try to get it answered for you and posted for others.

Sign Up for Training
Almost 2000 individuals require 6,500 people-days of training on the Oracle applications between now and the end of June. Clearly, it is essential to fill every seat to get this accomplished. Be sure to register for classes as soon as you receive the email notice notifying you of your user identification number and instructions for registering. And be sure to sign up for the courses in the order they are presented. The lower numbers are prerequisites for the higher numbers. Please contact ispregistrar@virginia.edu with questions.

Hot FAQs
Below are some "hot" FAQs. For answers to more questions, go to our Frequently Asked Questions.

Labor Distribution
During which hours will I be able to enter labor schedules?
From May 29 - June 30, LD will be available from 7am - 7pm Monday - Saturday and noon - 7pm on Sunday for the entry of labor schedules. For the period after June 30, a go-live schedule will be issued for all the applications.

When should all labor schedules for wage employees be completed?
The first timesheets with PTAEOs will be printed on June 19 for the pay period June 13 - 26. All labor schedules for wage employees should be completed on that day for the correct PTAEOs to print on the timesheets.

How will we ensure that a labor schedule is completed for all employees?
A report of all active employees will be created and sent to the ISP advisors by Friday, May 25. This will help ensure that a labor schedule is created for all employees.

Do I have to select the award from the list of values, or can I now enter it directly?
The problem has been fixed in Labor Scheduling where the award had to be selected from the list of values (LOV) when entering a labor schedule. You can now enter the award directly or a part of the award to begin your search. This functionality is now the same as the project, task, organization and expenditure type.

Purchasing and Accounts Payable
What expenditure type can I assign to my card?
There are three standard P-card expenditure types set up in Oracle, but you can assign any valid supply or service expenditure type. The standard Oracle P-card expenditure types are: Equip, P-Card < $2K Supplies & Materials, P-Card Svcs, P-Card, Contractual

Who should be responsible for overriding PTAEO information on P-card transactions in Oracle?
Most departments are assigning this responsibility to the person who currently has responsibility for IDT transactions for the cardholder in FAS. This responsibility could also be assigned to the cardholder or to a departmental fiscal officer. However, anyone who uses Oracle to change PTAEOs on UPC transactions must have the Oracle responsibility called "AP P-Card Holder" in order to access the appropriate Oracle screens, and they must attend training. Training for AP P-Card Holders will be offered starting in May.

How can people get an LPO/PR number if I'm out of the office on vacation, due to illness, at training, etc.?
There are a number of ways for your staff to have LPO numbers or the ability to order what they need:

1. You give them a number when they need one
2. When you are on vacation, you could establish someone to serve as your back up who gives them a number
3. Each person could go into the system and get their own number
4. People who regularly order things should have a procurement card or have standing orders to the vendors they use most often. For example if you have someone who often needs to purchase supplies from Lowes and Martin Hardware, they could have a standing LPO at each location and order items up to $4,999. Or that person should have a procurement card.

Funds Management
What is the difference between an expenditure function code and an expenditure type?
The expenditure function is the overall purpose for which a project exists. It is an attribute assigned to the project when it is created. In their financial statements, public institutions are required to classify expenditures by function. The following functional classifications are derived from the Financial Accounting and Reporting Manual for Higher Education. For a complete list of expenditure function codes, click here.

• Instruction
• Research
• Public Service
• Academic Support
• Student Services
• Institutional Support
• Operation and Maintenance of Plant
• Scholarships and Fellowships
• Auxiliary Enterprises
• Hospitals
• Independent Operations

Expenditure Type is the Oracle term for the FAS object code. It lives in the Funds Management application and is a text value, e.g. equipment, lab supplies, faculty salaries. It represents the "E" segment of the PTAEO and is a part of every PTAEO transaction. For a complete list of expenditure types, click here.

Accounts Receivable
Can I combine state and local funds on one invoice?
No. State funds and local funds cannot be billed for on the same invoice.

Can I bill for different projects, fund sources, or organizations on one invoice?
No. The accounting segment values for project, fund source, and organization must be the same for each accounting string or journal line generated by an invoice.

General Ledger
How will I deposit gift checks?

• Forward gift checks to University Development Gift Accounting office.
• Gift Accounting will deposit the funds and record the gift in the appropriate project in GL.
• If no project exists, Gift Accounting will notify the department to initiate procedures for establishing a new project.
• At month-end, the Investment and Tax Services department will update the corresponding award in FM for the amount of gift deposits during the month.

When is it not appropriate to transfer funds in GL?
In general, it is not appropriate to transfer funds in GL in cases where the funding of projects from awards can be performed, which is in almost all cases. Bottom line: most users should never have a reason to make GL transfers. Keeping GL transfers to a minimum makes institutional financial reporting easier and provides extra insurance that the reports are accurate.

What options do I have for correcting journal entries?
The table below summarizes the methods available for correcting journal entries.

Reminders from the Last "Are You Ready?"
Setting Expectations
Help/Support
Finding Your PTAEOs
Oracle Responsibilities for New Employees

Go to ARCHIVED ISP NEWS DIRECTORY

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