ctcLink Learning Opportunities & Support Roundup: April 3, 2024

To plan further ahead or find the latest learning opportunities, as well as notices of cancellation or schedule changes, see the complete calendar at the ctcLink Training page or on the SBCTC meetings and events calendar (apply filters).

 

Let’s Talk ctcLink Tickets

While written for the latest edition of the “Weeklyish CS COREspondence," ticket submitters in any ctcLink pillar will find the article useful. Thank you to Michelle Kuwasaki, Campus Solutions Functional Analyst, for her work.

• Your college’s ctcLink College Leader determines which college staff are designated as ticket submitters and provides this information to Dani Bundy and Roger Curry at SBCTC.
• Not sure who to work with? Please follow your college’s communication best practices and reach out to your manager and/or ctcLink College Leader to determine if you have or should have access to submit tickets, or if there is a designated ticket submitter for your college that you should coordinate with.
• How to Submit a ctcLink Support Ticket Quick Reference Guide

It’s All in the (Ticket) Details

Our ticket response and your ticket resolution are delayed when we need to request details or ask clarifying questions. Help us by providing as much information with your initial request as possible. In future issues, we’ll highlight a few examples of helpful ticket submissions.

WHO is experiencing the issue you are reporting? 

Just you? Everyone on campus? A specific student (if so, what is their EMPLID)? This helps us determine if it might be security and, if so, if we should look at a specific user’s security or an entire security role.

WHAT settings were involved? 

If there is a query involved, what prompts were you using? If it’s a process, we need screenshots of your run control. Save your time and ours by providing example EMPLIDs of students and/or staff experiencing the issue.

WHEN did this happen? 

When did you start noticing this?

WHERE are you experiencing this?

Telling us the exact ctcLink page or location helps us in our attempts to recreate the issue and makes sure we are focusing on the right pages and processes. What environment were you in? What browser are you using?

WHY would you not include screenshots?

Screenshots are amazing. Screenshots that show the browser window (not just a cropped screenshot of an error message or a value entered on a single field) are even better! Screenshots help us match the text in the ticket to what you/the user is seeing on the screen. You don’t have to insert your screenshot into a Word document if you don’t want to. You can save it as a .jpeg or .png image and upload it to the ticket

HOW did you already attempt to resolve this problem?

Did you look at QRGs (which QRGs)? Canvas courses (which Canvas courses)? This helps us refine our training materials. It also prompts us to start with new rabbit holes (as opposed to following you down the ones you have already been explored). More importantly, problems that you’re able to solve yourself using available resources save your time and our time!

And…WHICH ticket?

This may sound silly, but it’s true. It is NOT uncommon to hear a college has submitted a ticket or is waiting on a ticket response … only to find that no one has submitted a ticket.

Make sure you (or your colleague) have actually submitted that ticket you are waiting on and record the ticket number!

An email to someone at SBCTC is not a ticket. An email to a listserv is not a ticket. A discussion in a Webex or Zoom meeting is not a ticket. Only a ticket is a ticket.

Not All Details Should be Shared

• Always ask yourself: If it were MY data how would you expect it to be treated? Give student data the same respect you would want for your own. Don’t provide biodemo information unless it’s specifically relevant to the issue you’re reporting; we can see all of the biodemo information we need in ctcLink! Just provide us with example EMPLIDs.

• Do not include SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS in tickets. We do not need or want to see student/employee SSNs in the original request detail of the tickets. When an SSN is included in a ticket, we must take additional time to work with our administrators to remove it. If you need to provide more information about an SSN, use more discreet strategies such as referring to “the SSN on X EMPLID" instead of providing full or partial SSNs in tickets.

• Remember to adhere to FERPA regulations. Consult with your Registrar for guidance if needed.

All-Pillar Learning Opportunity: End of Fiscal Year Prep

Monday, April 15, 2024, 9 to 11 a.m.

Join Webex | Meeting number (access code): 2663 141 6695 | Password: tuN3bsnpp22

Save the date for an All-Pillar Learning Opportunity: End of Fiscal Year Prep!

In this session, SBCTC will present a high-level view of how all ctcLink pillars interconnect, with an emphasis on Fiscal Year End (FYE) preparation.

FYE prep includes

• Human Capital Management Transactions
• Campus Solutions Core Student Services
• Financial Aid Review
• Student Financials Reconciliation and Spring Cleaning
• Finance Tasks/Checklists and General Ledger

Learning objectives

• A high-level overview of how information flows within ctcLink pillars
• A high-level overview of each pillar and the resources and tools available for end of year cleanup, including queries, documents, reference guides, and process guides
• Where to access links to previous/upcoming trainings regarding reconciliation/end of fiscal year prep

Primary Audience: ctcLink system processing staff

Related QRGs: Intro to ctcLink and FIN - Closing Periods and Years Procedures

Prerequisite Course(s): ctcLink Training Registration. It is recommended you review and complete your pillar-related courses.

Questions? Contact the ctcLink training team.

Enhancement Requests (ER) Deployed

• ER 238 – Campus Solutions OAAP Search/Match Enhancements for the Online Admissions Application Portal (OAAP) deployed Tuesday, March 26, 2024.
  • See the OAAP Search/Match Rules UAT presentation to review how these configuration changes will benefit OAAP administrative users at the colleges.
• ER 267 - (FYI) New Security Role for Okta MFA deployed Tuesday April 2, 2024.
  • A new Okta MFA PeopleSoft security role that will remove both Security questions and E-mail as an MFA factor. This is a continuation of the other two we already have in the system for Okta MFA.
• ER 230 - Student Self-Service Links for Bank Mobile and Direct Deposit deployed March 11, 2024.
  • Rename the Higher One Link to “Bank Mobile” which is the current name of the service we are using and removing the link to Direct Deposit.

ER Work Underway

• ER 41 - TouchNet Vendor Discussions
  • The Test Environment has been built, waiting on TouchNet configuration build.
  • TouchNet created a Project Plan which PMO asked them to edit to align with our vision.
  • Email was sent out to the BAC/BAR listserv. We are collecting information on Credit Card Contracts and Card readers, to help with defining the Pilot release schedule planning.
  • Next Up: Schedule finalization for POC Testing
• Campus Solutions OAAP ERs 178, 184,169, 183, 212, and 237 - approved by ctcLink Working Group. Work is underway for Priority 1 (Residency & Citizenship) which includes some crossover between ERs 169, 184, and 237.
• Finance ER 204 - Modifications to WAPAY – Reviewing test files and working with US Bank
• Finance ER 189 - Stale Dating Checks - In progress – Working with Accounting and Business Services

ERs Currently in Testing

• ER 244 – LegacyLink Access Query
• ER 166 - CampusCE Search/Match Parameter
• ER 204 – Modifications to WAPAY

OAAP Search/Match Enhancement QRG is Ready

The new Search/Match rules for the Online Admissions Application Portal (OAAP) are live in Production as of March 26, 2024.

• The new Understanding OAAP Search/Match Quick Reference Guide (QRG) is now available in the ctcLink Reference Center.
• Colleges may also refer to the OAAP Search/Match Rules UAT presentation to review configuration changes.

Reach out to Karen Erickson, Senior Functional Analyst – Campus Solutions, if you have questions.

CS Core Learning Opportunities

End of Fiscal Year Prep

Monday, April 15, 2024, 9 to 11 a.m.

Join Webex | Meeting number (access code): 2663 141 6695 | Password: tuN3bsnpp22

Save the date for an All-Pillar Learning Opportunity: End of Fiscal Year Prep!

In this session, SBCTC will present a high-level view of how all ctcLink pillars interconnect, with an emphasis on Fiscal Year End (FYE) preparation.

FYE prep includes

• Human Capital Management Transactions
• Campus Solutions Core Student Services
• Financial Aid Review
• Student Financials Reconciliation and Spring Cleaning
• Finance Tasks/Checklists and General Ledger

Learning objectives

• A high-level overview of how information flows within ctcLink pillars
• A high-level overview of each pillar and the resources and tools available for end of year cleanup, including queries, documents, reference guides, and process guides
• Where to access links to previous/upcoming trainings regarding reconciliation/end of fiscal year prep

Primary Audience: ctcLink system processing staff

Related QRGs: Intro to ctcLink and FIN - Closing Periods and Years Procedures

Prerequisite Course(s): ctcLink Training Registration. It is recommended you review and complete your pillar-related courses.

Questions? Contact the ctcLink training team.

CS Core Training

CS Core Trainings, a valuable learning opportunity, are held on the third Wednesday of every month from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. The dates may change, and notifications will be sent in advance. The CS Core training alternates between refreshers and different process approaches. We highly value your participation and welcome all end-users to attend these trainings. You can find details about upcoming meetings on the SBCTC Calendar, CS Core Weeklyish CORErespondence, and CS Core listserv. Please visit the QRG Campus Solutions Learning Opportunities Recordings for a list of previous recordings.

CS Core Training: Graduation Tracking

Wednesday, June 5, 2024, 8:30 – 10 AM Read more and join the session

We invite you to join us in reviewing the Graduation Processing process, with a focus on Graduation Tracking and Search functionality. Suppose your college allows students to apply for graduation online through ctcLink. In that case, the Graduation Tracking Search page will be the first resource credential evaluators access when looking for new graduation applications to review. Once accessed, evaluators can use the Graduation Tracking page to update statuses and add Graduation Notes.

Contact Tanjagay Martin, SBCTC Functional CS Core Trainer, with questions.

CS Core Work Sessions

Campus Solutions (CS) Core Work Sessions, open to ALL end users, are held the first Thursday of each month, from 1 to 3 p.m. The CS Functional Support team facilitates, alternating between functional team delivered content and college user delivered content with functional team support. Each meeting includes time for colleges to ask questions about other topics or service tickets.

Find details on the SBCTC Calendar and in the CS Core Weeklyish COREspondence (sent on Fridays to the CSSupport listserv).

Core Sessions: College System & SBCTC Calendar

The Lifecycle of a Transcript

Thursday, April 4, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Module/s: Records & Enrollment, Student Admissions

Primary Audience: Credential Evaluators

Related QRGs: Transfer Credit Chapter

From send to post, Joe Carl and Ryan Jackson will overview the electronic journey a transcript takes from both the Legacy Transcript Tool and ctcLink. Some will have a final destination of UW, WSU, CWU, EWU or WWU and we’ll talk about how they get there. For the rest, those whose destination IS ctcLink, we’ll cover that as well as what credential evaluators need to know and some of the more common gotchas, tips and tricks.

Game, Set, MATCH! Understanding Search/Match

Thursday, May 2, 2024, 1-3 pm., Learn more and join the session

Module/s: Student Admissions, PeopleTools

Primary Audience: Admissions

References: Searching for Records (Using Search/Match)

One of the biggest differences between ctcLink and Legacy is that there is only ONE Person Record, and that one record is shared between pillars and between institutions. Colleges rely on each other to protect, and respect, data integrity. You know that running Search/Match will help prevent duplicates. Want to know more about why and how? This session will explore how Search/Match Rules work, give you insights into our current configuration, and share strategies for avoiding duplicates.

CS COREterly Open Q&A Sessions

CS Core invites you to attend its quarterly Open Q&A sessions! While these sessions are for learning and problem-solving, we want to emphasize that these are also part of our efforts to support community building. 

• Thursday, May 16, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session
• Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session
• Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

We want these sessions to provide an opportunity for college users to:

• Get assistance with any functionality they want to better understand or situation they are struggling to make work.
• Seek advice on anything they are trying to solve.
• Share best practices and lessons learned.
• Develop networks and build community.

To support the varied work areas of our users, each session will have a breakout room for each of the following modules:

• Records & Enrollment, which includes Student Program/Plan, Term Activation, Enrollment Appointments, Enrollment, Transfer-In Credit, Transcripts, Graduation and so on.
• Campus Community, which includes 3Cs, BioDemo, Service Indicators and so on.
• Curriculum Management, which includes class building, course catalog management, enrollment requirements and so on

Along with your colleagues who can share their real-life experiences and the solutions they have employed; CS Core team experts will be present in each room. We encourage you to submit your questions before the session (but doing so isn’t required). Enter your questions on the CS COREterly Question Submissions tab. Knowing your questions ahead of time just helps us to be prepared and allows us to help as many people as possible.

We hope you’ll join us even if you don’t have specific questions! We look forward to connecting with you and for you to connect with each other.

Stacking the Deck: Student Program/Plans

Thursday, June 6, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Based on college feedback, this year we are creating more spaces for sharing lived experience.  I’m looking for a couple of colleges to join the party. Before you tell me you can’t because you’re still working things out, that’s fine! We just need folks willing to share what they are doing and how it’s going. If you’re up for it, please contact Michelle Kuwasaki.

Module/s: Records and Enrollment

Primary Audience: Admissions, Student Records

Related QRGs: Student Program and Information Chapter

Because the impact of the Student Program/Plan is wide, it is important to get them right! We’ll warm up with a quick review of the building blocks involved: effective-dating, adding rows, action reasons, and attributes. Then, make connections with term activation, tuition calculation, FA, the AAR and the transcript. Of course, we need to save time for common conundrums like when to start a NEW stack vs adding a change row not to mention everyone’s favorite, those certificates earned “along the way.”

Student Program/Plans also matter to QARS and NSC Reporting. We will cover general best practices for ensuring data accuracy which also conveniently reduces NSC and QARS errors. And we’ll close by strongly advocating for various maintenance activities such as keeping term activation tidy and minimizing the number of open Student Program/Plans.

FIN Learning Opportunities

End of Fiscal Year Prep

Monday, April 15, 2024, 9 to 11 a.m.

Join Webex | Meeting number (access code): 2663 141 6695 | Password: tuN3bsnpp22

Save the date for an All-Pillar Learning Opportunity: End of Fiscal Year Prep!

In this session, SBCTC will present a high-level view of how all ctcLink pillars interconnect, with an emphasis on Fiscal Year End (FYE) preparation.

FYE prep includes

• Human Capital Management Transactions
• Campus Solutions Core Student Services
• Financial Aid Review
• Student Financials Reconciliation and Spring Cleaning
• Finance Tasks/Checklists and General Ledger

Learning objectives

• A high-level overview of how information flows within ctcLink pillars
• A high-level overview of each pillar and the resources and tools available for end of year cleanup, including queries, documents, reference guides, and process guides
• Where to access links to previous/upcoming trainings regarding reconciliation/end of fiscal year prep

Primary Audience: ctcLink system processing staff

Related QRGs: Intro to ctcLink and FIN - Closing Periods and Years Procedures

Prerequisite Course(s): ctcLink Training Registration. It is recommended you review and complete your pillar-related courses.

Questions? Contact the ctcLink training team.

FIN Work Sessions

FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Q&A Drop-In

April 8, 12 p.m., Read more and join session

• 12 – 12:30 p.m. – The first half of the meeting is Training. Come learn or share something new.
• 12:30 - 1 p.m. – The second half of the meeting is Q&A. Please come with your questions or issues and be ready to share your screen. Some examples of topics:
• Grant Billing
• Modify Grant Award or Capital Project Budgets
• Amending Awards
• Project-related Budget/Commitment Control Errors
• Grant-related Combo Codes
• Grant-related Item Types

Monthly Student Finance/General Ledger Open Forum

Every second Wednesday, 2 to 3 p.m. The next ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting is April 11.

The ctcLink accounting team invites you to bring your questions (and solutions) to share during this open forum meeting space for all things Student Finance/General Ledger (SF/GL) related. There is no formal agenda as we welcome all questions about everything from item types and second journal sets to waivers, queries, or internal cash reconciliation.

See the SBCTC meetings and events calendar and look for ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting.

Finance (FSCM) College Users Production Support Meetings

Meetings are held every Tuesday, from 2 to 3 p.m. These sessions are open to ALL Finance (FSCM) end users. The Finance Functional team provides updates on Service Tickets, PeopleSoft enhancements, and open forum time to ask questions or request future topics.

Next meetings: April 9, April 16, April 23, April 30, FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting

ctcLink Accounting Team presents: Chartstring Clean-Up & Special Topics

Join the ctcLink accounting team every Thursday from 10 to 11 a.m. for special topics and ChartString clean-up working sessions.

• April 4, 10 a.m., SMARTer Reviews: Reports 210 - 303
• April 11, 10 a.m., SMARTer Reviews: Reports 305 - Missing Subsids
• April 18, 10 a.m., ctcLink Accounting Team: WorkCenter Review
• April 25, 10 a.m., ctcLink Accounting Team: WorkCenter Review
• May 2, 10 a.m., ctcLink Accounting Team: G6 Draws and FA Reconciliation

Summer 1 (Header) Awarding for 2024-25 Academic Year

The Washington Student Achievement Council sent a memo to Washington state higher education financial aid administrators regarding awarding options for colleges that operate Summer 2024 as the first term (Summer 1) of their 2024-25 academic year (referred to as header colleges). This welcome news provides additional flexibility on awarding options for colleges for header colleges and was shared with financial aid offices late yesterday.

You can find the memo at the 2024-25 FAFSA rollout resources page under Policy Guidance: Summer 1 (Header Colleges) Awarding for 2024-25 Academic Year, April 2, 2024.

The 2024-25 WCG/CBS award charts and Median Family Income charts are currently available under the FAA resources tab on our website at: wsac.wa.gov/faa-resources. Colleges may make summer header awards using these charts.

Due to the ongoing delays with software systems, and data integrity with FAFSA data being sent to colleges, there are a few options for you to consider for purposes of awarding state aid for Summer 2024 (aka summer header) aid:

• Award WASFA students – the ISIR and income information is available in the WSAC portal.
• Use your raw 2024-25 Federal ISIR data provided via your SAIG mailbox to determine MFI.
• Use 2023-24 FAFSA data to do initial awards; review once 24-25 is functional.
• Collect 2022 income information for student/parents (if applicable) to calculate MFI.

Utilize WCGC eligibility checker for the following eligible programs:

• Aged, Blind, or Disabled assistance benefits (ABD)
• Essential Needs and Housing support program (HEN)
• Pregnant Women Assistance program (PWA)
• Economic Security For All (EcSA)

If you elect to use any of the options above to award for Summer with estimates for the remainder of their academic year, once your systems are functional, you will want to review awards. When ISIRs are reprocessed by the US Department of Education and the IT solutions are in place, colleges will need to review their awards and make adjustments to subsequent terms to prevent over awards if necessary.

ED Delays Reporting Deadline for Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency Regulations

The Department of Education (ED) announced on Friday it would delay the institutional reporting deadline for gainful employment (GE) and financial value transparency (FVT) from July 31 until October 1, 2024.

ED Delays Reporting Deadline for Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency Regulations, NASFAA, April 1, 2024

NASFAA had submitted several letters to ED requesting this delay amid challenges with the 2024-25 FAFSA rollout and processing of Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs). Additionally, a bipartisan group of senators also wrote a letter to ED in March calling for a delay in GE and FVT reporting deadlines. And as recently as Thursday, higher education groups were urging Congress to pass legislation that would delay the July 1, 2024, implementation date for the GE and FVT regulations by one year, arguing that ED is not ready to implement these new regulations and citing a lack of guidance and reporting requirements.

In an electronic announcement published Friday, ED specified that the reporting period will be available for institutions to begin submitting their data through the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) on July 1, 2024 and that schools will have until October 1, 2024 to provide all their required data.

“This adjusted timeline allows institutions to focus their efforts on getting aid to students this spring and to have more time to compile data that would otherwise have been required by the end of July,” the notice reads. “At the same time, the Department still intends to produce the first official round of FVT/GE metrics in early 2025.”

In a follow-up Dear Colleague Letter, ED provided details on the GE and the FVT reporting requirements. The letter lists the major provisions of the regulations and provides an overview of the detailed summaries that are available in the final regulations.

Next week the department plans to publish an FAQ to provide stakeholders with more information on the reporting and operational guidance.

The department said it plans to provide a number of updates throughout the month of April, including a series of new NSLDS reports to help schools identify “completer cohorts.” By mid-April, Federal Student Aid (FSA) will develop a live webinar that will dive into the new NSLDS reports, and premier in early May. By late April the GE and the FVT reports through NSLDS will become available for institutions to use.

In April, ED will also provide a reporting guide that institutions can use to begin the reporting process in NSLDS.

ED also noted that another live webinar will be slated for July, and will dive further into the reporting guide.

In terms of the publication of metrics, ED will begin to notify institutions of failing metrics and publish the first slate of data in “early 2025.” ED will notify schools that voluntarily discontinue eligible programs that fail the new metrics that they cannot launch a similar program until three years following the discontinuation of their initial program. ED will also provide additional information on the impact of failing metrics on program eligibility.

ED’s program information system will be available in July of 2026, more information on that process will be provided later.

League of Education Voters FAFSA Webinar Recording Available

How Our Institutions are Accommodating and Navigating the Delay in Higher Education Financial Aid for 2024, presented by the League of Education Voters (LEV), was held Thursday, March 28, 2024.

The webinar gave a high-level view of steps Washington state higher education institutions – two-year and four-year, public and private – are taking to help students cope with the financial aid delays and how students and families can navigate the current situation.

Closed captions available in English, Spanish, and Somali.

If you have questions or comments, contact Arik Korman, LEV Interim Co-CEO / Communications Director

Resources shared during webinar

• Washington community and technical colleges contact list, including financial aid
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) link
• Washington state FAFSA resources in English
• Washington state FAFSA resources in Spanish
• 2024-25 FAFSA updates from the Washington Student Achievement Council
• WASFA
• WSAC Financial Aid Toolkit
• Washington College Grant – Español
• Financial Aid Information & Filing Events
• Aim Higher including digital resources, outreach and events
• OtterBot for students and Parents/ guardians: A free texting service to support all Washington high school students and their parents/guardians. It is designed for seniors and juniors who are enrolled with College Bound.

Of interest to transfer students

• Washington’s public four-year college and universities extend college decision day
• Independent Colleges of Washington (ICW) acceptance deadlines and how ICW colleges are working to support prospective and returning students
  • Contact information for financial aid offices at Gonzaga, Heritage, Pacific Lutheran University, Saint Martin's, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, University of Puget Sound, Whitman College, and Whitworth
  • Extending to June 1 the deadline for admitted students to make a commitment to enroll: Gonzaga University, Pacific Lutheran University, Saint Martin’s University, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, University of Puget Sound, Whitworth University
  • Whitman College is awarding financial aid packages to admitted students based on information other than the FAFSA
  • Heritage University is accepting enrollment decisions on a rolling basis until in the later summer

FAFSA Updates

New SBCTC FAFSA Resources Webpage

SBCTC has launched 2024-25 FAFSA Resources web page geared toward our college system. The page includes regularly updated information for college employees and includes updated FAQ templates. The content will evolve and grow as we learn more.

FAFSA Simplification in the News

• Keep up with the latest from the NASFAA FAFSA Simplification Web Center

FA Learning Opportunities

End of Fiscal Year Prep

Monday, April 15, 2024, 9 to 11 a.m.

Join Webex | Meeting number (access code): 2663 141 6695 | Password: tuN3bsnpp22

Save the date for an All-Pillar Learning Opportunity: End of Fiscal Year Prep!

In this session, SBCTC will present a high-level view of how all ctcLink pillars interconnect, with an emphasis on Fiscal Year End (FYE) preparation.

FYE prep includes

• Human Capital Management Transactions
• Campus Solutions Core Student Services
• Financial Aid Review
• Student Financials Reconciliation and Spring Cleaning
• Finance Tasks/Checklists and General Ledger

Learning objectives

• A high-level overview of how information flows within ctcLink pillars
• A high-level overview of each pillar and the resources and tools available for end of year cleanup, including queries, documents, reference guides, and process guides
• Where to access links to previous/upcoming trainings regarding reconciliation/end of fiscal year prep

Primary Audience: ctcLink system processing staff

Related QRGs: Intro to ctcLink and FIN - Closing Periods and Years Procedures

Prerequisite Course(s): ctcLink Training Registration. It is recommended you review and complete your pillar-related courses.

Questions? Contact the ctcLink training team.

Financial Aid Training

New Process Financial Aid Training: Updating Canceled Pell Records in Batch

Tuesday, April 23, 2024, 9 – 10:30 a.m., Learn more and attend the session

Join us to review this new process created to do batch updating to report canceled Pell records from ctcLink to Common Origination and Disbursement (COD).

Objectives

Understand the steps in Updating Canceled Pell Records in Batch Process:

• Update Pell Origination Status to Canceled
• Update Pell Origination Flag to Pending
• Run PELLOUT
• Understand which fields are being updated in this batch processing

Audience: Staff responsible for cleaning up Pell records in ctcLink 

Background

When canceling a Pell award that has already been originated and reported out to COD, users are having to go the Manage Pell Payment page on each individual student and manually select the Update Pell Origination checkbox, change the Pell Origination Status and the Pell Transac Status fields so that the record would pick up as canceled and be picked up in PELLOUT to report out to COD. This work is typically done on hundreds of Pell records throughout and is very time-consuming.

Solution

Now, using the Population Update Process, the Pell Records can be processed in batch in a simple 3-step process to pick up those hundreds of records to update COD that the Pell has been canceled. The benefit to this batch-processing is keeping COD up to date in a timely manner, which also lessens the burden on staff processing time to keep these canceled Pell records in sync with COD.

The newly updated Pell Processing Business Processing Guide with the pop update processes, begins on or around pg. 21-27 of the guide.

Contact Kelly Forsberg, ctcLink Financial Aid Functional Trainer, with questions.

Financial Aid Intermediate Training: FA Term & Student Budget Tips & Tricks

Tuesday, April 9, 9 a.m., Read more and join the session

Staff responsible for FA File Review and Awarding are invited to join for tips and tricks on the FA Term and Maintain Student Budget pages:

• Override expiration date feature on FA Term
• Adding a PJ item on Maintain Student Budget
• Pell COA field on Maintain Student Budget
• And more

Financial Aid (FA) Work Sessions

Financial Aid (FA) Work Session meetings are on the fourth Thursdays, from 1 to 3 p.m. The FA Functional Support team facilitates alternating between functional team delivered content and college user delivered content with the support of the FA functional team. The end of each meeting is open for colleges to ask questions about the topic presented. These sessions are open to ALL end users.

HCM Learning Opportunities

End of Fiscal Year Prep

Monday, April 15, 2024, 9 to 11 a.m.

Join Webex | Meeting number (access code): 2663 141 6695 | Password: tuN3bsnpp22

Save the date for an All-Pillar Learning Opportunity: End of Fiscal Year Prep!

In this session, SBCTC will present a high-level view of how all ctcLink pillars interconnect, with an emphasis on Fiscal Year End (FYE) preparation.

FYE prep includes

• Human Capital Management Transactions
• Campus Solutions Core Student Services
• Financial Aid Review
• Student Financials Reconciliation and Spring Cleaning
• Finance Tasks/Checklists and General Ledger

Learning objectives

• A high-level overview of how information flows within ctcLink pillars
• A high-level overview of each pillar and the resources and tools available for end of year cleanup, including queries, documents, reference guides, and process guides
• Where to access links to previous/upcoming trainings regarding reconciliation/end of fiscal year prep

Primary Audience: ctcLink system processing staff

Related QRGs: Intro to ctcLink and FIN - Closing Periods and Years Procedures

Prerequisite Course(s): ctcLink Training Registration. It is recommended you review and complete your pillar-related courses.

Questions? Contact the ctcLink training team.

HCM Work Session Meetings

Human Capital Management (HCM) meetings are held every other Wednesday, from 1 to 3 p.m. The HCM Functional team along with the training team offers Work Sessions and Training Sessions around the different functionality in HCM.

SF Learning Opportunities

End of Fiscal Year Prep

Monday, April 15, 2024, 9 to 11 a.m.

Join Webex | Meeting number (access code): 2663 141 6695 | Password: tuN3bsnpp22

Save the date for an All-Pillar Learning Opportunity: End of Fiscal Year Prep!

In this session, SBCTC will present a high-level view of how all ctcLink pillars interconnect, with an emphasis on Fiscal Year End (FYE) preparation.

FYE prep includes

• Human Capital Management Transactions
• Campus Solutions Core Student Services
• Financial Aid Review
• Student Financials Reconciliation and Spring Cleaning
• Finance Tasks/Checklists and General Ledger

Learning objectives

• A high-level overview of how information flows within ctcLink pillars
• A high-level overview of each pillar and the resources and tools available for end of year cleanup, including queries, documents, reference guides, and process guides
• Where to access links to previous/upcoming trainings regarding reconciliation/end of fiscal year prep

Primary Audience: ctcLink system processing staff

Related QRGs: Intro to ctcLink and FIN - Closing Periods and Years Procedures

Prerequisite Course(s): ctcLink Training Registration. It is recommended you review and complete your pillar-related courses.

Questions? Contact the ctcLink training team.

SF Training Sessions

Charge Priority List (CPLs) Part III

Thursday, April 18, 2024, 1- 3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

This charge priority list (CPL) training session will cover setting up and managing item type CPLs. We'll go over functionality and queries to identify and address many issues. By the end of the training, attendees will have the knowledge and skills to maintain CPLs effectively.

SF Training: SF Reconciliation

Monday, May 20, 2024, 9-11 a.m., Learn more and join the session

In this session, we will cover Student Financials reconciliation tips which may include:

• Third-Party
• Outstanding Credits
• Second Journal Set
• Item Types
• Over/Shorts

Query Code Freeze Begins Tuesday, April 9

The ctcLink Production Support team is in the process of testing the next upgrade to PeopleSoft PeopleTools 8.59.21 which will migrate to production on Saturday, April 27, 2024.

As of Tuesday, April 9, 2024, the code freeze impacts query migrations and there will be no query migrations until after Saturday, April 27.

• Please see the outline below.
• Wednesday, April 3 – Last day to submit query migration request before query freeze
• Tuesday, April 9 – Query code freeze begins
• Saturday, April 27 – PeopleTools migration to production
• Monday, April 29 – Query code freeze ends
• Monday, April 29 – Back to normal query migration request schedule.

In the case of an emergency, we will evaluate the issue and determine if a migration or emergency fix to a production query needs to occur.

Contact Ivy Brent, Associate Director of ctcLink Business Intelligence, if you have any questions

Query Developer Learning Opportunities

Step Up your Query Game

Learn more about the Designated Query Developer Training series and start your journey to becoming your college’s query guru.

Upcoming courses

• Tuesday, April 9, 9 a.m., PS Query Training 101 Basics - Part 1
• Wednesday, April 10, 9 a.m., PS Query Training 101 Basics - Part 2
• Tuesday, April 23, 8:45 a.m., PS Query Training 102 - Query Security

Plan ahead for 2024

The ctcLink Training Calendar has been updated with 2024 instructor-led query-related training. To clear filter settings, select None. Then select ctcLink Learning Opportunities > Reporting Training.

How to Sign Up for Query Developer Courses

The process to enroll in Query Developer Canvas courses has been streamlined. Now, instead of emailing Data Services, simply:

• Visit the ctcLink Training Registration page,
• Select the class(es) from the Designated Query Developer Training section,
• Follow the sign-up process.

More for PeopleSoft Query Developers

Find more ctcLink PeopleSoft Query Development resources including forms, documentation, and tools at the ctcLink PeopleSoft Reporting web page.

ctcLink Accessibility Monthly Open Forum

Join us!  The ctcLink Accessibility monthly forums engage Washington's community and technical college system in discussions around ctcLink accessibility and technology. We aim to improve communication and transparency while providing space for productive and solution-focused dialog. Our main objective is to deliver accessible technology for all our students, staff, and the larger community.

Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month, 11 a.m. to noon.

The next ctcLink Accessibility Open Forum will be Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at 11 a.m. All are welcome to attend via Zoom.

In case you missed a meeting, please see materials from past Open Forums.