Oracle HR/Payroll is Coming…Are You Ready?
August 15 , 2002

Integrated Systems Project

Streamlining and Modernizing U.Va.’s Information Systems
On September 26, 2002, the University of Virginia will begin the conversion of data from the Human Resources legacy systems to the Oracle Integrated System, for a final deployment on October 3. We will send you several “Are You Ready?” bulletins between now and then to give you the information you need to be fully prepared. Click the links below for detailed information and instructions.

The complete Phase 2 Transition Calendar can be viewed at http://www.virginia.edu/isp/P2DeptTransCalendar.doc

Cutover Dates and Information

Last Pay Periods in OPAS/HRS
The last pay periods that will be processed in OPAS and HRS are:

• Monthly: 8/25-9/24
• Semi-Monthly 9/10-9/24
• Biweekly: 9/4-9/17

• Subsequent pay periods will be entered in Oracle.

Deadline for Keying New Hires into OPAS
All hire information must be keyed and approved in OPAS by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 11, for conversion into Oracle. OPAS will be changed on Thursday, September 12, to allow “view only” capability of previous transactions.  Any hires not keyed and approved by that time will be entered by departments into Oracle after October 3.

You may not future date biweekly hires in OPAS. Any biweekly hires dated September 18 and forward will be returned to the department to enter into Oracle on October 3. 

You may back-date an hourly employee, NOT an auto-paid employee, if you wish to process their hire in OPAS. For example, if the first work day for a new student hire begins on September 18, and you want to process it in OPAS, back-date the hire to September 17 in OPAS.

Salaried hire start dates can be future-dated to include September 24, though they must be keyed and approved in OPAS by September 11. Any salaried hire start dates dated September 25 and forward must be keyed by schools and departments into Oracle.

Last Two Leave Sheets to be Submitted Back to Back
Departmental Leave Contacts will submit leave (bubble) sheets for 8/10-9/9, as usual, by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 12. What is not usual is that they will submit the next leave sheet, for 9/10-9/24 (the last leave sheet before Oracle), one day later, by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 13. This means:

• Salaried employees will be completing two leave sheets at the same time.
• They will have to anticipate leave to be taken between 9/14 and 9/24.

• Departments will not be able to enter adjustments for the period before go live in Oracle.  Any adjustments for the period before go live will need to be manually entered by the Human Resources Leave Center.

To meet these deadlines, UHR suggests that, since you already have the leave sheets for the 8/10-9/9 pay period, you distribute and complete those forms as soon as possible. UHR will mail out leave sheets for the 9/10-9/24 pay period on August 29 for completion on September 13. Those should be distributed and completed as soon as possible as well.

Prepare Early for First Oracle Timesheet
Timekeepers will have three days to key biweekly pay for the period 9/18-10/1 into Oracle when we begin working in Oracle on the morning of October 3. Keying must be completed by Saturday, October 5, at 5:00 p.m. To help expedite the process, the ISP is creating a generic, web-accessible timesheet that can be printed out for biweekly employees. This timesheet will be available on September 11. Timekeepers will print the timesheets and fill out the employee name and time period and then distribute the timesheets to the employees. They should all be completed, approved, and returned to Timekeepers by the end of the day on 10/2. This will allow Timekeepers to have a full three days to key the data into Oracle. Departments that have their own methods for collecting time can use those as long as they include the employee’s and the employee’s supervisor’s signature.

Three Quick Payrolls Follow Go-Live
October 3 will be a busy day for the new Oracle Timekeepers. As noted above, they will start keying biweekly time for 9/18-10/1 on that day. But there are three other pay periods following close behind, so Timekeepers should also print out and begin distributing the pre-filled Oracle timesheets for the following pay periods:

• Semi-monthly and semi-monthly salaried paid monthly timesheets for the period 9/25-10/9. All entries made into Oracle by 10/10 at 5:00 p.m.
• Biweekly timesheets for period 10/2-10/15. All entries made into Oracle by 10/18 at 5:00 p.m.

Departments that have their own methods for collecting time can use those as long as they include the employee’s and the employee’s supervisor’s signature.

Oracle Holiday Scheduled for Current Users
All current (non-HR) Oracle users will have their current application responsibilities deactivated from 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25, until 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 1. During this period of time, the ISP team will convert data from the legacy Human Resource systems into Oracle and Financial Administration will complete the September month-end close. While all current Oracle responsibilities will be reactivated on October 1, new HR/Payroll responsibilities will not be activated until 7:00 a.m. on October 3. ODS and Discoverer will be available throughout this time.

Make Sure Your Desktop is Ready
The single biggest issue for the Oracle finance go-live date was people not having their desktops ready for go-live. If you are already an Oracle user, this will not be an issue for you in phase 2. If you are NOT already an Oracle user, there are several steps you will have to take to be sure your desktop is ready on October 3. You can do these steps now. If you wait, wait no longer than the week before go-live so you are sure you can access Oracle when you need it.

The three pieces of software you need on your computer and instructions for installing them are:

• J-initiator
• VPN (VPN requires software and a user account and password)
• Discoverer

All of you were notified that you were assigned the Oracle Self Service responsibility. If you registered for Oracle classes using Self Service, you already have the j-initiator and VPN loaded on your desktop. The only thing you need to add is Discoverer.

If you have not accessed Oracle Self Service or an Oracle application (current users), you will require all three to be installed. Click here for complete instructions on how to get your desktop ready.

You also need two passwords:

• Oracle password
• VPN password (Instructions for receiving a VPN password are included in the VPN instructions.)

If you do not remember your Oracle password, contact the ITC Help Desk at 4-3731 to request a new one.

Don’t Forget Your Confidentiality Agreement
Completing training is required, but not sufficient, to be given access to Oracle. If you are not a current finance user, you also must submit a signed Confidentiality Agreement to University Human Resources. Don’t delay. Click here to print out and submit the form before go-live.

HR Frequently Asked Questions Posted
Frequently asked questions, with answers, from the Oracle Human Resources training classes have been posted to the Integrated System FAQ site. Click here for Humans Resources FAQs. Questions and answers from the Oracle Time Management class will be added soon. These will pertain specifically to how the application works, not to policy questions, which should be directed to University Human Resources.

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