On May 27, the CUNYfirst leadership will ask our campus teams if they are ready to Go Live with new applications for HR and Recruiting, for Line Item Budgeting and for creating new Course Catalogs. Prior to that, Dr. Linda Shatzer, the CUNYfirst Organizational Readiness Manager, will be contacting Campus Executives to assess readiness in the following categories: Data Preparation/Validation, Help Desk support, Communication, Security, Systems status after go live (which systems will no longer be needed), Reports Identified, Technical Readiness and Training. The answers given will assist the CUNYfirst Core Team in reaching out to teams that have concerns or issues and help to resolve them. While there are many tasks assigned to our Core Team that are necessary for launch, we want to make sure that our campus teams and their staff is ready to begin the transformation to the new system.
This past Monday, CUNYfirst Training Manager Adante Harvey sent out an invitation to Training Orientation to more than 500 CUNY professionals who have been identified at their campuses as the first users of the new CUNYfirst Human Resources applications. These people work in our HR and Budget offices and the Affirmative Action and Compliance officers. Two orientation sessions will be held at BMCC Little Theater (Theater 2) from 10am to Noon and 1 – 3pm on Wednesday, May 20. At these sessions new users will be introduced to the concept of training for CUNYfirst and how to find and enroll in the classes they’ll need to work in the new system. No training, no access. Those attending will also receive material that will help them understand the role they have been assigned for security and the classes needed for those roles.
The final round of employee data validation is underway. Files containing the most recent information about staff is being verified by HR professionals to make sure the data is correct and that all employees are entered, errors are corrected and roles assigned. The data is due back to the university Office of Human Resource Management next Friday, May 22. After the data is received, it will be shared with our training team to include new employees or those who have been added to the first round of training. The final data files will be given to Oracle and uploaded into the CUNYfirst system which will become the system of record at launch.
Users Acceptance Testing is nearing completion. Testers this week spent time closing out issues of processes that weren’t working and getting scripts. All the scripts planned for testing were executed. All that remains is fixing the known defects, 41 in all, that need to be resolved before go-live. Next week, the plan is to begin regression testing – that means testers will re-test scripts that have been fixed and also test processes that are dependent on the processes that have been fixed.
Users Acceptance Testing begins next week for the Line Item Budgeting application which is the first launch for the Planning and Budgeting module. The test precedes training for Budget staff which is scheduled to begin the first week of June.
| Financial Aid - Vanguard and Wave Two - NY State Aid 230 W 41st - 10th Floor Conference Room | Mon, May 18 | 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM |
| |
||
HR - Regression Testing (UAT) TBD |
Tue, May 19 to Thu, May 21 | |
| Financial Aid CRP - Vanguard and Wave Two Colleges Only OSFA - 15th Floor Large Conference Room | Tue, May 19 | 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM |
| |
||
Planning/Budgeting - UAT TBA |
Wed, May 20 to Fri, May 22 | |
| Procurement - Reports Committee 230 West 42st Street, #535 | Wed, May 20 | 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM |
| HCM - Training Orientation BMCC - Theater Two (Little Theater) - 199 Chambers Street Campus | |
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM |
| Financial Aid CRP - Vanguard and Wave Two Colleges Only OSFA - 15th Floor Large Conference Room | |
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM |
| CUNYfirst Steering Committee BMCC - Richard Harris Terrace | |
12:30 PM – 2:30 PM |
| HCM - Training Orientation BMCC - Theater Two (Little Theater) - 199 Chambers Street Campus | |
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM |
| Finance Liaisons 230 W 41st Street - 10th Floor Conference Room | |
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM |
| |
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Train the Trainer Review Brooklyn College |
Thu, May 21 | |
| Query Workshop Brooklyn College | |
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM |
| Communication Liaisons Via WebEx | |
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM |
| CS Super User Monthly Meeting Phone/WebEx | |
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM |
| Procurement - Vendor Management Committee 230 W 41 St - Rm 525 | |
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM |
| Query Workshop Brooklyn College | |
1:30 PM – 3:30 PM |
| |
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| Query Workshop City Tech | Fri, May 22 | 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM |
| Query Workshop City Tech | |
12:30 PM – 2:30 PM |
Further explanation of these dates and activities follow. It’s an exciting time to see the light at the end of this tunnel.
We’re getting close! Thanks to the hard work of our HR professionals from around the university, all personnel data corrections have been incorporated and what we’re calling the “dress rehearsal” (nearly cleansed and validated data) was delivered yesterday to our Oracle partners. The final step, once that data is loaded, is an evaluation and validation to the campuses (May 13) and back to the Core Team (May 20). That will lead to the final load for production and the cutoff of using CUPS (City University Personnel System) for personnel data prior to Go-Live, scheduled for June. CUPS will remain active for the Chancellor’s Report until its migration to CUNYfirst.
Users Acceptance Testing is now in its final phase. This Thursday, our testers completed the scheduled script execution. We are close to finishing testing. What comes next is testing the fixes that were identified in testing, testing additional reports created by CUNY, and then re-testing processes that were connected to those fixes. The goal is to finish testing by May 15 so we can finalize applications and processes and procedures prior to training.
In appreciation of the time and effort given by the many testers, Vice Chancellor Gloriana Waters passes on this message:
“Thank you to everyone who participated in testing. Thank you to the campuses who provided testers for the many days needed for this. It was only through a huge effort that we were able to get it done.”
HR Train the trainer sessions continue as our trainers participate in sessions that focus on end-to-end processes. This will allow trainers to be able to understand applications including the ones they aren’t assigned to teach. Training for them will end in two weeks. After that they will have access to a CUNYfirst training environment that will let them refresh their learning and practice up to the beginning of user training on May 26.
Training for Budgeting and the Registrars who will learn Course Catalog will not follow the Train the Trainer model because the size of population is smaller. It will be taught by members of the CUNYfirst Training Team.
From Matt Sapienza – University Budget Director:
The upcoming June rollout for CUNYfirst will include the launch of the new Planning and Budgeting module. This will be the beginning of an integrated process that will result in a more simplified and accelerated process of allocating resources to the colleges, as well as provide the campuses with comprehensive financial planning and expenditure projection tools.
Under the leadership of Associate Budget Director Josephine Vidal, the launch has been aided by a core team of college budget professionals for whose counsel we are very grateful.
Our June launch, called the Line Item Budgeting, will replicate CUNY’s Adopted Budget for the Fiscal Year 2010 (beginning July 1). Line Item Budgeting will enable users to schedule their budgets for the upcoming year by individual accounts in the CUNYfirst system. Before we go live in June, approximately 100 budget and business professionals university-wide will receive training on utilizing this new module.
There will be four types of users of Line Item Budgeting: Preparers, Reviewers, Analysts and Coordinators. Preparers will be trained to do the inputting of budget data under the leadership of the Analyst. Reviewers will have access to make sure the data is correct and meets department, college and university goals. Coordinators are University Budget Office personnel who will be responsible for managing the overall budgeting process, including the determination of parameters and guidelines and the building of planning models.
This fall, we will implement the other modules that will complete the Planning and Budgeting suite, including position budgeting, which will allow us to develop fiscal plans based on our staff, their pay and their benefits. Because this module integrates with the upcoming Human Resources module – Human Capital Management – we still need to finalize how personnel data in HCM will be made available in order to create detailed budgets.
We believe the new Planning and Budgeting module will allow us to craft sound fiscal plans on a university-wide level, while providing the colleges with the flexibility to tailor the budgeting process to meet its local needs.
Our next set of communication will more fully describe the planned testing and training activities. We will continue to keep you posted on our progress.
As a reminder CUNYfirst General Ledger is not available to users to allow the loading of historical data (i.e. 2007 & 2008). Additionally, 2009 data is being re-run to more accurately reflect the changes in the mapping between FAS and CUNYfirst. It should be available next week.
After this effort, CUNYfirst will contain two years of historical data and will contain beginning balances for FY 2009.
And we close out this edition with congratulations to our Financial Aid lead Ali Morgan and his wife Kanika who celebrated the birth of their new daughter Ava Patricia Wednesday night. It’s the first birth for the CUNYfirst family. We send our best wishes to Ava, her big sister Kibriyaa, Kanika and Ali and wish that someday soon they may get a night’s sleep.
]]>Members of the CUNYfirst Core Team presented an update to the Campus Executives about the Project with a focus on upcoming launches and the effort needed to get to Go-Live.
CUNYfirst is scheduled to bring up the following processes, with go-live currently scheduled for mid/late June:
The next rollout this fall will include:
A decision to go live will come upon completion of Users Acceptance Testing, Training, Data Validation, Conversion and Uploading, Assigning Security Profiles for all users, Post-Deployment Resources and Campus Readiness. These key tasks are the steps campuses need to complete for being ready to launch.
Data validation continued this week as our teams worked to fill the gaps in key information that was missing or unavailable in CUPS (City University Personnel System), including email addresses, employees with multiple Social Security Numbers and budget information. A conference call will be conducted on Monday will assess if the data has been “cleansed” enough to provide it to Oracle to begin the conversion of employee records into CUNYfirst. At the end of May, the final updating of data will include who an employee reports to, their new functional titles and security profiles based on their roles in the HCM system. Tasks to cutover to the new system and replace CUPS as the HR system of record will follow.
The success of getting our data cleaned and ready is an example of the leadership and commitment of our HR professionals to the success of CUNYfirst. We have asked a lot from them and they’ve come through at they do with their commitment to excellent customer service to their college and university offices colleagues.
Users Acceptance Testing went well this week as we move toward wrapping up this key part of our preparation. The target date to end testing is May 8. We are currently in the final cycle that will conclude with what is called Regression Testing. At the end, we will retest the key critical business functions of the modules to make sure that any updates or fixes conform to CUNY requirements and work with other elements it might affect in the HCM and TAM modules. And because CUNYfirst is an integrated system, we will also regression test to see that it works in an environment that is already running the General Ledger, the Customer Relations Management (CRM) and Enterprise Learning Management (ELM) systems.
Earlier this week, our Financial Aid Subject Matter Experts carried out their “homework” for configuring the new CUNYfirst FA system, scheduled to go live during Wave Two (2010). Working with the Project Team, the SME’s worked to complete needed information, including scholarship awarding and checklists students need to work through to get financial aid. There will be more information gathered and added as the work sessions continue May 5th and 6th.
As a reminder CUNYfirst General Ledger is not available to users to allow the loading of historical data (i.e. 2007 & 2008). Additionally, 2009 data is being re-run to more accurately reflect the changes in the mapping between FAS and CUNYfirst. We anticipate that CUNYfirst will be available to the user population on Wednesday, April 29, 2009.
After this effort, CUNYfirst will contain two years of historical data and will contain beginning balances for FY 2009.
Questions can be directed to: david.hill@mail.cuny.edu, thomas.zhou@mail.cuny.edu or
ray.tam@mail.cuny.edu
And we close out this edition to send out special thanks and our appreciation to the team at LaGuardia Community College which hosted us at their Town Hall meeting April 17. It was very well attended and their project leads for Finance, HR, Student Services and Communication explained what CUNYfirst is and what it will mean to their colleagues. Thanks again for a very informative time.
]]>CUNY’s Human Resources staff, all over the university, has been engaged for a long time in making sure all personnel data is up to date and accurate. When CUPS (City University Personnel System) data is transferred and becomes CUNYfirst data, our professionals will have completed many tasks to ensure accuracy and completeness. Currently, staff is reviewing and validating that our current CUPS departments are correctly mapped to those found in the CUNYfirst Chart of Accounts in order to integrate properly with our Finance and Business needs. That work is due April 17 – next Friday. Meetings to validate that work and correct any remaining data errors will take place the following week. Ensuring correct names, addresses, positions, email addresses and other data has been part of the ongoing data validation effort. We are extremely grateful for HR professionals all over CUNY who have taken great care in this endeavor, and also the support of our HR community in supporting our work prior to launch. One of the remaining steps in data validation is finalizing the security roles created for our employees so they can perform CUNYfirst tasks once the new system goes live.
Users Acceptance Testing (UAT) continued this week, mostly on Workforce Administration and Labor Administration, which testers were able to get through nearly 50% of the Cycle 4 scripts. Testers also retested processes that failed earlier tests and were re-engineered to meet CUNY requirements.
Testing continues from Tuesday through Friday next week with Wednesday’s session focusing on the retesting process.
Train the Trainer sessions resume April 20. An updated scheduled was distributed today by Training Manager Adante Harvey.
As the project moves closer to implementing the HR functionality and the first phase of Campus Solutions, an effort is underway to build a community of super users who will play a key role in helping the university learn and use the new systems.
For the Human Capital Management (HCM) module, there are now a group of 58 super users from all 23 campuses who have been formally designated as super users. These are individuals who are already known as “go to” staff on their campuses, who know the legacy processes well and are on the forefront of learning CUNYfirst. Many are either train the trainer candidates or testers in User Acceptance Testing.
The HCM Super Users group has had a couple of orientation sessions, launched a discussion listserv, and in the past week, held their first meeting via conference call and webex. Some of the topics covered included a project update, status of the group, special access and training, as well as some of the resources available on the CUNYfirst (first.cuny.edu) web site. The group will continue to meet on a regular basis.
For CS, super users from the two vanguard colleges held a first orientation session this past Wednesday to go over why they were chosen for the group, how they will benefit from being tied together in a network and future steps.
Members of the CUNYfirst Core Team attended a Town Hall meeting hosted by the team at CUNY School of Law. Attendees were given an update on the Project and information of the effect on them in the new Human Resources Module. They also were shown part of the CUNYfirst Tour that can be found on the Project website – http://first.cuny.edu. The team at LaGuardia Community College will host a Town Hall meeting this coming Friday.
]]>Users Acceptance Testing for the Human Resources Pillar continued this week with testers performing the following processes: Job Opening Approvals, Prepare for Hire, Transfer Roster, Quick Hire and Reinstatement. By the end of next week we should finish testing all applications that apply to job and position management, recruiting, hiring, re-hiring and re-instatement. Items that did not pass testing are immediately analyzed and submitted to Oracle technical staff. In a conference call Friday, some testers gave their impression of the new CUNYfirst processes. They said the system appears to be user friendly, that there is more useful data and is more powerful than what is currently available in CUPS (City University Personnel System).
Another round of data validation is currently underway with campuses looking over converted employee data.
A question came up during a campus visit about non-CUNY employees in the new CUNYfirst data base and will they have access to the new processes. The answer is: For Phase One in HCM, individuals such as Research Foundation employees who are not CUNY tax-levy payroll staff will be known as “persons of interest” in CUNYfirst. These are folks who are not in CUNY’s HR data bases and get paid with other resources. If an RF employee supervises a CUNY staffer, they will be in the new system. If a tax-levy employee needs access to do their job they'll get it. For example: If they do General Ledger work then they will be in the system as a person of interest and be given access to only those processes they need to do their job. In Phase 3, non-tax levy employees will be in CUNYfirst.
A demonstration of the proposed processes for managing Faculty Workload functions, including populating class schedules, maintaining instructor details and reporting was given to the CUNYfirst Steering Committee Thursday by members of the Oracle team. In addition to an explanation of the current work on Faculty Workload and how it will be processed in a PeopleSoft environment versus how we currently calculate and consider Faculty Work Load, the committee was given the next steps in the process. Those include making business decisions on identified process gaps and building an optimal system to meet CUNY requirements, testing it and then training those professionals who will use the new Faculty Workload applications.
Following a round of nVision training, those trained wanted and needed access to their new tool which allows them to create financial reports. In CUNYfirst, once a person receives training they get access – the rule is you have to be trained on your new tools for security and accuracy issues. In this case, learning nVision required a change in their user profile. The next step would be to fill in the form under the CUNYfirst Application security tab at http://security.cuny.edu. Download the GL access form and fill in the data and get the change approved. Then the user must file a ticket with their local help desk, and the help desk would inform the Application Security Liaison to administer the new rights, in this case access to nVision. Security is very important in CUNYfirst and we believe this procedure will ensure proper access through our many modules and applications.
The CUNYfirst system will be unavailable Saturday March 28 from 6am to 1pm due to scheduled maintenance.
Here is a listing of meetings and sessions involving the Core Team and our campus professionals.
Users Acceptance Testing
TBA
Tue, Mar 31 to Thu, Apr 02
Student Records - Wave Two Colleges CRP
Joseph Murphy Institute - 25 W 43rd - 18th Floor Conference Room
Tue, Mar 31 9:15 AM – 4:00 PM
Student Financials - Wave Two Colleges CRP 2
555 W 57 - John Jay College Offices - Room 616
9:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Financial Aid CRP - Vanguards and Wave Two Colleges Only
230 W. 41st - 10th Floor Conference Room
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Wave Two Colleges Admissions CRP2
York College - 94 - 20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd - Jamaica, Queens
Wed, Apr 01 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Transcript Configuration CRP - All Colleges
Joseph Murphy Institute - 25 W 43rd - 18th Floor Conference Room
9:15 AM – 4:00 PM
Financial Aid CRP - Vanguards and Wave Two Colleges Only
OSFA - 15th Floor Large Conference Room
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Communication Liaison Web/Teleconference
Thu, Apr 02 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Training Liaisons Conference Call
Fri, Apr 03 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
HCM Weekly UAT Update
Web/Teleconference
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM
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Users Acceptance Testing for the Human Resources Pillar resumed with a new effort aimed at speeding up the testing process. Instead of bringing in new testers every other day or week, we are asking professionals to be more of a core group that adds continuity to testing. While this worked well this week, efforts to spread out the work among more people is constantly under evaluation. Our target now is to complete testing near the end of April. The positives of testing is that we’ve been able to confirm functions in TAM (Talent Acquisition Management – Recruiting) that allow us to interview, recommend and, next week, hire job candidates. Testing continues next Tuesday as we aim to wrap up our first two and begin our third of five testing cycles.
Train the trainer sessions continue. At this point we are focused on working with our trainers as they present actual course material. As we train our trainers, the material they use is based on the system that was configured prior to testing. When testing is completed and the final configurations done, users will be shown how to do their work with the most recent processes, which may or may not change following testing. The key is they’ll learn the system that goes into production for all CUNY.
At the beginning of the week, the office of Vice Chancellor Waters sent a memo to campus Human Resources Directors detailing functional job title changes for employees in the HEO (Higher Education Officer) and Full-Time Employees in the College Laboratory Technician Titles. This was undertaken to reduce the number of functional titles and to match an employee’s title to better reflect their assignment and skills. There will be no other change in respect to pay, salary step, status, day-to-day responsibilities or other conditions of employment.
A letter to employees with these contract titles was sent this week. This is the result of a process to standardize job titles, with the assistance of the Office of Labor Relations and the CUNYfirst Core Team. A conference call was held Monday to further explain the letter to our HR Directors and staff and answer questions. A spreadsheet with the full listing of the new job titles was sent after that call.
A full review of this migration will take place from now until September to ensure that all new title assignments are correct.
Help Desk managers and professionals from around the university met this week. The agenda was focused on their common day to day issues. They were also given an update on CUNYfirst, including the current target dates for the HR and other implementations, an explanation about Super Users and the Peer Network which will assist them when users need assistance, and the Identity Management System (IMS). IMS is the entryway to CUNYfirst. It creates a secure connection for the user to the system. Final decisions on configuration are being made now and the Project will explain how it applies to all users during the HR launch during training and via the Project website (http://first/cuny.edu).
Sessions were held this week for the following Campus Solutions (Student Administration) teams: Student Records, Financial Aid and Student Financials. All meetings were demonstrations of the processes available when Wave Two colleges go live.
In a meeting held Monday March 16, Procurement Liaisons learned that the go-live target date is pushed out one year to July 2010, due to many factors. Various technical and fiscal reasons make it advantageous to launch in sync with the beginning of CUNY’s fiscal year activity. This meeting communicated the vision of providing a high quality solution to everyone who is part of the Procurement process. The immediate challenge for this team includes how a new Procurement system will work with the new State and City of New York systems also being implemented, how these transactions will integrate with other areas of CUNYfirst, how to provide a system to include Non-Tax Entities, how to work with vendor catalogues and give potential vendors access to the system, and standardizing processes across the university.
Concerns have been raised about access to information and data once CUNYfirst is fully implemented. Currently, campus and university professionals are supporting services or systems that extract data from numerous sources for the many reports needed at colleges and for the university. When CUNYfirst is our system of record, whatever data or information is needed for reports will be available. As part of the evolution that is taking place now, we are learning that there are campus-specific reports along with common reports needed for the future – some will be available in CUNYfirst and some will require extracts. What we are learning from our campus teams will lead to the creation of common reports, a reporting infrastructure and a listing of how we can assure our campuses they can get the data they need in the future.
The Steering Committee convened Wednesday to receive a Project update from the Oracle Project Manager, an explanation of the fits and the gaps in computing Faculty Work Load under CUNYfirst, and to see a demonstration of the new Identity Management System (IMS). The Committee will meet again next week to review and make comments about the results of the Faculty Work Load fit/gap sessions.
Here is a listing of meetings and sessions involving the Core Team and our campus professionals.
Train the Trainer - Introduction to HCM - Mon, Mar 23
Brooklyn College
_____________________________________________________________
HR Users Acceptance Testing - Tue, Mar 24 to Thu, Mar 26
Location TBA
Train the Trainer - Position Management - Tue, Mar 24
Brooklyn College
Planning and Budget Core Team
230 W. 41 - 5th Floor
Planning and Budgeting - Hands on Configuration Sessions
230 W 41st - 10th Floor Conference Room
_____________________________________________________________
Train the Trainer - TAM - Wed, Mar 25
Brooklyn College
Planning and Budgeting - Hands on Configuration Sessions
230 W 41st - 10th Floor Conference Room
_____________________________________________________________
CUNYfirst Steering - Faculty Workload Fit/Gap Session - Thu, Mar 26
School of Journalism - 230 W 41st - Room 308
Project/Change Liaison Meeting
Web/Teleconference
_____________________________________________________________
Train the Trainer - Workforce Admin - Fri, Mar 27
Brooklyn College
HCM Weekly UAT Update
Web/Teleconference
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|
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Users Acceptance Testing resumed Wednesday at Hostos Community College for two days, testing scripts for workflow and modifications of positions. We made it through more than half of the scripts in this cycle and are finding out that the meticulous effort to test processes is progressing slower than expected.
On Monday, Ron Knight will have a conference call with the colleges and University Office HR leaders to discuss the latest effort at data validation. Data and instructions were distributed today for making sure the most important data from CUPS (City University Personnel System) was correctly converted to CUNYfirst. The results of this validation is due March 17.
CUNY Vice Chancellor Gloriana Waters and Assistant Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer Brian Cohen sent this memo to the Project and Human Resources leadership this week, explaining the current plan for implementing the new HR systems.
An excerpt:
“…we are currently targeting May 2009 (for launch). Our decision to delay the dates is based on our continued commitment to the university community that we will rigorously test and address issues during User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and training development and continuing our efforts to resolve outstanding issues that remain in the completion of the Faculty Workload fit/gap analysis.
“The CUNYfirst and campus teams continue to work towards building a system that is designed to meet CUNY requirements for functionality and will effectively serve our broad HR community, budget offices, and the many managers and supervisors involved in the recruitment, hiring and appointment processes. Ultimately, the CUNYfirst system will serve the greater university community and must therefore meet a very high level of satisfaction before we go into production.
“Accordingly, this date change will also move planned Training activities scheduled to begin with Orientation sessions on March 12 forward. We will announce a new date shortly.”
Testing the TAM/Recruiting functionality continues next week from Tuesday through Thursday at LaGuardia Community College. Testers have already been identified for these sessions
Train the Trainer sessions continue. Next week the training team will spend the entire week focused on learning and then presenting to their training peers the courses they will teach to the eventual users of the new CUNYfirst HR applications.
The Financial Aid community has been advancing along through its Conference Room Pilot sessions with a good understanding of what's being taught and good insight for the features needed for CUNY FA requirements. They’ll meet again Tuesday of next week; however Wednesday's session has been cancelled due to the workload of dealing with wave 1 and wave 2 concurrently. In lieu of Wednesday's meeting a select group of users have been invited to participate in the FACTS (Financial Aid Eligibility & Certification Tracking System) demonstration. Again, the CUNYfirst Financial Aid solution is scheduled to launch with the Wave Two college implementation.
In addition to UAT and Train the Trainer sessions for our HR pillar, the follow meetings are scheduled:
Train the Trainer Workshops
Mon, Mar 09 to Fri, Mar 13
Planning and Budget Workshop
230 W 41st - 10th Floor Conference Room
Mon, Mar 09 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
HCM - Data Conversion Teleconference
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
UAT Testing - Recruiter/TAM
LaGuardia Community College
Tue, Mar 1 to Thu, Mar 12
Wave 2 Student Records - CRP Session
Joseph S. Murphy Institute/ CUNY - 25 W 43rd Street - 19th Floor
Tue, Mar 10 9:15 AM – 4:00 PM
Financial Aid CRP - Vanguards and Wave Two Colleges Only
230 W. 41st - 10th Floor Conference Room
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
HCM - Data Conversion Teleconference
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Wave 2 Student Records - CRP Session
Joseph S. Murphy Institute/ CUNY - 25 W 43rd Street - 19th Floor
Wed, Mar 11 9:15 AM – 4:00 PM
Financial Aid – FACTS Demonstration for Vanguard & FACTS Testing Team
230 W. 41st - 10th Floor Conference Room
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Training Liaisons Conference Call
Fri, Mar 13 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
]]>
Users Acceptance Testing began Tuesday February 24 at Hostos Community College as an eager group of professionals from around CUNY got their first opportunity to test the new CUNYfirst system for Human Capital Management. After a successful orientation session Tuesday morning, those in attendance executed test scripts for User ID validation and Position Management. These testing activities were part of Cycle-1 of UAT. Some testers were able to complete their scripts successfully while others had difficulties due to Identity Management component of the system. Testing was paused Wednesday afternoon after several testers were unable to perform their scripts because the system would not grant them access. Right now, technicians are focused on fixing that so that Cycle One testing can resume next week.
It is important to note that this is why we test the system. We must make sure it meets CUNY’s requirements. It would be unrealistic that the system, in testing, will work all of the time, but our hope is that it will. Every Friday morning there will be a conference call to update each week’s UAT efforts.
Attendance at the sessions were larger than expected, as we believe people wanted to get their hands on the new HR system they been hearing about for some time. It is important that anyone who is planning to come to testing confirm their attendance through their HR Liaisons. We are planning to limit the attendance to 20 per day so we will be asking HR Liaisons to recommend one person per day per campus to attend testing for two consecutive days (for example Monday & Tuesday and another Wednesday & Thursday). In all cases, space is limited and there are only so many computers to go around. Please make sure we know you are coming.
Train the Trainer sessions continue as we work toward Go-Live. Final preparations are being made and marketing material will be distributed next week prior to the March Orientation to Training sessions. At those sessions, HR professionals will learn how to access their training schedule and classes through the Enterprise Learning Management (ELM) system.
Project and Organizational Readiness Liaisons took part in a webinar focused on the current and future tasks needed to make sure our offices and campuses are ready for the launch of the new HR and Recruitment systems in the coming months. They were walked through the various tasks associated with data preparation, shadow system and reports, technical readiness (both campus wide and desktop), and an update on UAT and Training.
We had a successful Student Records (SR) rollout 1 UAT session on February 24. 9
Nine testers/users attended the morning's training session and later the free format testing. Gartner, training team, and SR team sat with the users in groups to facilitate the testing and answer their questions.
Several sessions were held this week to begin the work needed to bring the Wave Two colleges (City College, John Jay, Lehman and York Colleges, CUNY Law, the Graduate Center and BMCC and Hostos Community College) into CUNYfirst. For Registrars focused on Student Records and Bursars working with Student Financials, our student team walked them through what the implementation would look like for the Vanguard Colleges (Queens and Queensborough) when they go live this year.
For the Financial Aid officers, their work is different. A new CUNYfirst Financial Aid system will go into effect during Wave Two.
In addition to UAT and Train the Trainer sessions for our HR pillar, the follow meetings are scheduled.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Time: 9:15 AM – 4:00 PM
Subject: Wave 2 Student Records - CRP Session
Location: Joseph S. Murphy Institute/ CUNY - 25 W 43rd Street-19th Floor
Time:10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Subject: Financial Aid CRP - Vanguard and Wave Two Colleges Only
Location: 230 W. 41st Street - 10th Floor Conference Room
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Time: 9:15 AM – 4:15 PM
Subject: Wave 2 Student Records - CRP Session
Location: Joseph S. Murphy Institute/ CUNY - 25 W 43rd Street-18th Floor
Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Subject: Financial Aid CRP - Vanguard and Wave Two Colleges Only
Location: 230 W. 41st Street - 10th Floor Conference Room
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Subject: HR Communications Update
Location: Phone/Webconference
For the first time next week, CUNY professionals will have access to the new CUNYfirst HR system. Starting Tuesday, Users Acceptance begins the first of its five cycles of tests. The focus next week is Position Management and Create Job Openings in the new Recruiting module – Talent Acquisition Management (TAM). The expectation is this cycle will be completed Friday, February 27.
Each Friday, the testing and HR CUNYfirst Teams will have a conference call to update and explain what we learned in testing and what will be the next steps. Communication about the call – time and access – will come from this office early next week.
The schedule for UAT:
Who will attend? Participants are requested for two consecutive days within a cycle of testing and all campuses may be represented in each cycle. Campuses are not having UAT for their individual campus, but centralized testing for all.
Train the Trainer sessions continued this week, with training on processes for Workforce and Labor Administration and TAM. Next week, trainers will learn how to teach the following: TAM, Position Management, Workforce Administration, Manager Self-Service and Introduction to Base HR. About 60 professionals from around CUNY are learning from the CUNYfirst Training Team how to teach the intricate step-by-step process for working in the new system. A Training Orientation session is being planned for users on March 5. Participation and location will be announced soon.
The first official meeting of Super Users for the HR rollout occurred Thursday with an orientation phone call. HCM Super Users are those designated by leadership at each campus to be the “go to” individuals for the HCM rollout. Super Users are typically those who are technologically advanced, know the legacy system and processes well, and are participating now as either train-the-trainer candidates or members of the team that will test the system in User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
The orientation call covered the basics of what it means to be a super user, how that is different than a member of the peer network, and explained some tools and techniques they will use to help CUNYfirst users – and each other. Once the system is live, there will be an opportunity for interested HR CUNYfirst users to join an informal “peer network” to get more information and to be more involved.
Meanwhile, the next HCM Super Users orientation call will take place next week. The group will begin meeting on a every-other-week basis. For information about this, contact Glenn Small at glenn.small@bearingpoint.com
On Thursday Feb.19, Ron Knight (process owner designee for HCM) and Jim Russell (Academic Integration Manager) hosted a conference call to help colleges identify needs associated with data and reports in the CUNYfirst environment. Members of I.T. and Human Resources offices from almost every college participated on the call. Campus team members had the opportunity to ask question covering a wide range of topics including data cleansing and the need to address certain campus data requirements such as date of birth or historical data on recently separated employees. Especially useful on this call was the identification of an additional data element in one of the already developed reports that will allow that single report to now replace several additional legacy reports. Participants indicated that they found the session useful and a second session is being developed for next week.
Vice Chancellor Gloriana Waters is sending an email letter to every CUNY employee about the upcoming HR launch, explaining the changes in general; writing about training and explaining how it will be introduced.
An excerpt:
What impact will the new HR system have on me?
The new HR module is going live this spring. It will affect our CUNY community in four ways:
How will it be introduced?
Our plan is to implement our core functions this spring and give our HR professionals a few months to get comfortable utilizing their new tools. Then, CUNYfirst will go live to the faculty and staff of the entire University and all employees will have the opportunity to review their own employee information and contact their HR office if it needs editing or updating.
A copy of the letter can be read on the front page of the Project website – http://first.cuny.edu
Scheduled to go live at the same time as the new HR and Recruiting systems is the new Course Catalog module for our Vanguard Colleges, Queens and Queensborough. This system is the key building block for making class schedules, faculty and adjunct assignments, along with rooms and laboratories. At the outset, they will build a catalog from their own college offering, then later in the spring, they will add catalogs from all CUNY colleges, as students in CUNYfirst will get to view all course offerings around the university. Users Acceptance Testing continues next Tuesday, February 24, following two successful testing sessions. After testing is completed, the nearly three dozen professionals who will need access to the Course Catalog at Queens and Queensborough will go through training so they can begin their new work when the system goes live.
Communication Liaisons began a series of weekly meetings, focused on the HR implementation. The team is focused on communication surrounding training, to make sure those scheduled for classes sign up. A new series of material is being created to help spread that message. The focus remains: Introduction, Access and Support.
Student fit/gap sessions, known as Conference Room Pilots (CRP) begin Tuesday February 24 for Wave Two Colleges – specifically, sessions on Student Records, Financial Aid and Student Financials. Sessions will run through the late winter and spring for all three areas.
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Users Acceptance Testing - Campus Solutions - Vanguard Rollout 1 |
Tue, Feb 24 |
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM |
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Financial Aid CRP - For Vanguard and Wave Two Colleges Only |
9:15 AM – 3:15 PM |
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Wave 2 Student Records - CRP Session |
9:15 AM – 4:00 PM |
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Student Financials - Wave Two Bursars CRP Kickoff |
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM |
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Wave 2 Student Records - CRP Session |
Wed, Feb 25 |
9:15 AM – 4:00 PM |
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Student Financials - Wave Two Bursars CRP |
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM |
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Financial Aid CRP - For Vanguard and Wave Two Colleges Only |
Thu, Feb 26 |
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM |
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Every day is one day closer to the spring launch of the new CUNYfirst Human Resources and recruiting processes. Today, HR Liaisons met to get an update on testing, training, reports needed after go-live, shadow system identification, the conversion of current employee data to be usable in CUNYfirst and the validation process, how HR information works with the new Chart of Accounts, and the next steps to take place on our campuses.
The CUNYfirst Testing Team will begin work next with Core HR Team members to begin the Users Acceptance Testing (UAT) phase of the Core HR and Talent Acquisition Management (TAM) implementation. They will be validating the testing environment and setting up the parameters for the process of conducting UAT when actual users are on the configured system a few weeks later.
Campus teams were also reviewing and resubmitting lists of staff based on the roles they will have in CUNYfirst. Those lists will determine who will receive training and what courses they will be assigned to take.
They were also given a list of standard reports that will come when CUNYfirst goes live – either reports required by CUNY or needed by college staff. The listing of those reports will assist in the identification of shadow or supplementary systems and the determination if they will be needed, especially if they duplicate CUNYfirst processes.
Training the Trainers resumes next week. CUNYfirst Training Manager Adante Harvey released an updated training calendar for the Human Resources launch and shared it with the Training and Communication Liaisons. Beginning Wednesday February 4, Trainers will be placed into four groups focused on the following areas of the HR Module – Position Management, Talent Acquisition Management (TAM), Workforce Administration, Labor Administration and Manager and Employee Self-Service. The TAM Trainers team will kick things off on Wednesday the 4th. The updated calendar is on the CUNYfirst Project site – http://first.cuny.edu
As a result of feedback from the campuses, the new Chart of Account’s Department ChartField was analyzed to determine if those Departments are not used or if there were duplications. After review, approximately Department codes were inactivated, renumbered (i.e. given a more appropriate value), or renamed to provide greater clarity in their meaning. These changes will be apparent in CUNYfirst in the near future.
Colleges should take some time to review the Department to ensure that any mapping uses a valid code and that they update their trees to reflect the new values (if applicable). It should be noted that this sort of maintenance will occur somewhat regularly but not of the magnitude of this change, so colleges should identify staff to perform these tasks when ChartField changes are communicated and make it part of their job functions.
The CUNYfirst Procurement Team and Liaisons have been working very hard over the past two months to clarify and define the CUNY business processes that we need the new system to address. This involves accommodating policies of the City, the State, and all the CUNY related entities which have been operating independently. University Office Process Owners Barry Kaufman, and Sharon Russell, along with Sarah Wilkins, Lynne Hung, and members of the OUC Tech team under Ray Tam have been faced with decisions on everything from 1099 filings to complex interface mapping to the possibilities for internal CUNY Procurement catalogs and Vendor File Clean-Up.
There have been some snags as well. For instance--we discovered that while the City has been using one standard for commodity codes, the State will soon be using an entirely different system; and while CUNY has its own coding system to determine the general category of offerings of each of our vendors, PeopleSoft uses its system. Our leadership wants to be sure to capture all the functionality that is required to meet our myriad of policies procedures, and legal requirements. We also want to quickly move into new, more efficient processes being developed in private, government, and academic procurement nationwide.
As we did in last week’s edition, we’re listing a number of common questions we’ve received from college Town Hall meetings or from emails that have been sent to the Core Team (cunyfirst@mail.cuny.edu). We encourage any question, any time.
The current hiring process is time consuming. Will CUNYfirst help?
Yes. With the new Talent Acquisition Management (TAM) tools, the entire process will occur on-line. Managers and supervisors will work with HR to create the opening and post it electronically. Applicants will apply via email and their information will be routed to the search committee. No more large paper files and multiple copies of packets. Once a hire is made, the new employee’s information is loaded into their personnel data file, speeding up that process as well. Currently it takes, on average, about 100 days to hire a new employee. We hope TAM will cut that in half.
There’s been much talk about shadow systems. How do I know if I need to shut a system down?
Throughout the project, we’ve been focusing on systems that will not be needed once CUNYfirst is fully functional. The concern on campuses is these systems were designed not only for their functions, but also their reports. The goal in sunsetting shadow systems is to eliminate systems that perform the same functions available in CUNYfirst in our Finance, HR and Student Service areas. Part of the configuration process is to help identify the reports needed in our offices and create a process for getting them in CUNYfirst.
The I in first stands for Integration. Explain how.
There are hundreds of administrative systems that drive the business of the City University of New York. Most of them don’t interact with each other and that does not promote good service. With CUNYfirst, our systems will be integrated so, for example, there are finance functions needed when a student pays tuition, and HR functions when he/she is working in a college office. All of the data about that person is in one record, in one system. There will be no need to have several systems operating to track that individual as we have now.
Coming up next week, Vanguard College admissions professionals will meet Wednesday to review admissions configuration. Wave Two schools have also been invited to begin participating. CUNYfirst Admissions module is scheduled to be implemented alongside the Wave Three launch.
On Thursday, February 5, Campus Executives will attend a meeting focused on the upcoming Human Resource module launch. The tasks that are required by the Core Team and Campus Teams are many, so it’ll be a session focused on turning things up a notch. I’ll report on that next Friday.
Tomorrow, Marketing and Advertising students from Baruch and York Colleges will present plans that will lead to the creation of marketing materials and strategies for reaching our student population, first at the Vanguard Colleges (Queens College and Queensborough Community College), then the rest of our campuses. They will present to a group of judges consisting of students from those two schools and myself. The teams will compete with one another, but also see the event as a great networking opportunity. In essence, these students will rightly tell us how to connect with fellow students. We’ll share some of their work next week.
]]>Our Student team began the New Year focused on its work to bring the Vanguard Colleges (Queens College and Queensborough Community College) into CUNYfirst. Specifically, they are finalizing the data conversions that will ensure that SIMS (CUNY’s current Student Information Management System) data transfers correctly and becomes CUNYfirst data. Work is also in progress from creating course catalogs for all our colleges for use by the Vanguard students.
We are beginning our work with the Wave Two colleges (The City College, Hostos CC, John Jay College, Lehman College and York College) to begin data conversion for their students, the strategy and responsibilities for Admissions and Registration, and the implementation of CUNYfirst Financial Aid, which will go live during Wave Two.
The Human Resources implementation remains in high gear. Systems Integration Testing (SIT) is currently underway. When it is completed, HR professionals will test the system during Users Acceptance Testing (UAT). Next Tuesday, a selected group will take part in UAT preparation. This is where they will create the various scenarios to put the HR system through its paces to ensure that it meets CUNY’s requirements.
On the campus level, an inventory of “shadows systems” that create reports for HR professionals are being evaluated to see what will be replaced by CUNYfirst and those that will need to be maintained by the colleges. This has involved the HR Directors, IT professionals working with the CUNYfirst team. Work is also continuing as the CUNYfirst team has asked the colleges to document their Faculty Workload processes. Colleges have been invited to attend CRPII for Faculty Workload scheduled for January 21 at the Graduate Center.
Currently, the General Ledger is live and receiving tuition data. This year we will grow our Finance processes to add Procurement (Purchasing, Accounts Payable and Expenses), and Finance and Budgeting modules. Our teams configuring those modules are actively reviewing material and requirements to configure their CUNYfirst systems.
During the 2009 calendar year, the CUNYfirst Training Team will train in the following areas: Human Resources, Recruiting, Planning and Budgeting, Procurement, and Student Services. In December, Trainers for HR processes took part in a two day session to learn presentation skills. Their next step will be learning the specific processes so they can train our HR professionals and managers and supervisors.
It is important that everyone be on the same page when it comes to understanding some of the basics of CUNYfirst. The following lists a number of common questions we’ve received from college Town Hall meetings or from emails that have been sent to the Core Team (cunyfirst@mail.cuny.edu). We encourage any question, any time.
Will CUNYfirst affect me?
Yes. By the time all modules and applications are fully implemented every one of our students, faculty and staff will have access to CUNYfirst. All employees will have access via self-service when the Human Resources modules go live in a few months. They’ll be able to view their personal information (address, phone number, etc.) and current listing of benefits and report to their local HR office if their data is incorrect.
What is the biggest difference between current systems and CUNYfirst?
The answer is right there - systems vs. system. Our current systems, which are numerous, operate to conduct all our business at CUNY. Very few of them interact with each other. CUNYfirst will integrate all our financial, HR and student processes so that data can be used instantaneous across departments and across the university.
Will we have both systems (old and new) up and running at the same time?
When we retire systems like CUPS (City University Personnel System) or SIMS (Student Information Management System), we will no longer be using both processes. The systems may be up for data reasons only until CUNYfirst stabilizes. But once we launch new CUNYfirst processes for Finance, HR and Student, there will be no need to do processes twice. Some systems will remain, as they perform functions that CUNYfirst will not (example: printing theater tickets), but there will interfaces if their data is required for university or campus reporting.
Will I receive training on all CUNYfirst Processes?
No. In CUNYfirst everyone is assigned roles based on the work they do. Those are determined by managers and supervisors who are translating current work into CUNYfirst functions. When that has been determined, you will receive training to perform the exact tasks you need to do your job. No more, no less. If it is determined you need training on functions outside your role, your bosses will make sure you get it.
Can I have more than one role in CUNYfirst?
Yes. For example, let’s say you are faculty chairperson. You will have access to CUNYfirst Student processes needed to do your job in your department. You may also have access to Human Resources processes in your role as someone who manages people or can hire new employees. You may also have access to Finance processes for purchasing material for your office or getting expenses reimbursed. Access to all functions with one sign-on in one integrated system.
How will I have access to CUNYfirst?
Everyone (faculty, staff and students) will be given an ID and an initial password to sign into the system. At the first sign on, you will be required to change your password to something familiar to you. You will then be asked to give answers to three security questions of your choice so you can get help if you forget your password. You will change your password many times in a given year to ensure the security requirement needed to protect this system.
I work in a job that doesn’t require a computer. Does that mean I won’t have access to CUNYfirst?
No. CUNYfirst can be accessed from anywhere via your favorite internet browser. There are specific requirements for which browsers can be used, but if you have a computer at home, you can sign on to look at your personnel information or, in the future, fill out a time sheet. Campus IT teams are making available computers at various locations at the colleges for those who don’t use a computer in their day to day work.
I’m a student who is used to dealing with the bursar, financial aid and registrars offices. Will they all have access to my information?
Anyone who is given security access to assist students in their careers will be able to refer to a student’s record and look at the same information. They could even look at the data at the same time, but only one person can update a student’s record at a time. This will improve service as everyone will be on the same page – no more “he told me that and she told me this.”
How will I be trained to use the system?
In a number of ways. If you have a job that will require you to have everyday access to the system, you will be trained in a classroom setting by your peers. CUNYfirst Training is based on a model called “Train the Trainer”. Professionals from throughout CUNY learn how processes work, and train individuals how to do their work. Training occurs at five Borough Training Centers at The City College, Hostos CC, Queens College, Brooklyn College and the College of Staten Island. This allows training close to your campus or your home. If you don’t use CUNYfirst every day, training for processes you need will come from Web Conferences, Computer Based Training, and at the One Stop kiosks (for students).
If I am a student at the Graduate Center, but teach as an adjunct at Queens College, does that mean I will have two ID’s and have to remember two passwords?
Every person in the CUNYfirst system has one record. That means you will be identified in the system for all that you are to CUNY. This allows for your information to follow you wherever you go and should speed up new employee procedures if you move to a new job at another campus.
Submit your questions to cunyfirst@mail.cuny.edu
Next week – The Procurement team meets Monday and Wednesday to review fit/gap material captured at configuration sessions. Project and Change Management Liaisons meet Wednesday to update tasks for the HR implementation. The Planning and Budgeting Subject Matter Experts have a session on Thursday. The Queensborough CC CUNYfirst Team will hold a Town Hall meeting about the project on Wednesday.
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This past Tuesday and Wednesday, nearly 70 people from around CUNY took part in a two-day presentation skills workshop taught at Baruch College by the CUNYfirst Training Team. These people will be the trainers for the new CUNYfirst Human Resources processes. Next month, they will learn the system so they can teach the courses necessary for their “students” to learn their new functions. Training for users will begin in February.
CUNYfirst team members met Wednesday December 18 with college faculty workload coordinators, teaching load coordinators and additional representatives from colleges and University Offices to begin the conference room pilot phase of the CUNYfirst Faculty Workload module. In addition to a basic overview of how the PeopleSoft product manages work load tracking and reporting, the college representatives elaborated on many of the needs previously determined through both the original scope of work and earlier sessions with either the human resources community or the academic. Participants were given additional assignment to provide further data to Oracle. The next round of CRP sessions will be scheduled for January.
University Controller Barry Kaufman hosted a meeting of Finance Liaisons Tuesday with the purpose of updating them on work that is currently underway to assess possible changes in the new Chart of Account structure and to talk about current General Ledger and Project issues. Liaisons stressed the need to understand integrated processes, specifically how information from other pillars populate chart fields. The Core Team took away a number of tasks on these and other issues.
Arriving just ahead of the snowfall, CUNYfirst Campus Executives met with Project leadership for a status report and an update on upcoming implementations. Also on the agenda was an update on Project communications, and a call to action by Project Direct Suman Taneja on tasks needed for the implementation of the HR module, including taking inventory of current, promised and needed reports, once CUNYfirst goes live, and an update on the Faculty Workload module.
The Graduate Center’s HR Team hosted a large town hall meeting Wednesday December 17, focusing on upcoming HR and Recruitment processes. After the presentation, many questions were asked ranging from how current processes like mass reappointment and hiring of adjuncts will be handled in the new system to how people who won’t need day-to-day access to CUNYfirst will learn how to log on and use self-service screens to see their personal information.
Many campuses have held town halls (in some cases, multiple meetings with different constituents) and some are planned for the New Year.
Communication liaisons met Wednesday to get an update on current opportunities to increase the knowledge about CUNYfirst throughout the university. Liaisons were asked to encourage their community to go to the Project website – http://first.cuny.edu – where visitors can read up on the various aspects of the Project, or watch the CUNYfirst tour. Liaisons were given marketing materials to post around their campus aimed at driving people to get information. They were also given an overview of the upcoming plans for supporting the rollout of the HR module, which will be available to everyone who works at CUNY. The goal is to introduce users to CUNYfirst, explain how to access the system when it is time, and support users with FAQ’s, web information, access to peer leaders and SuperUsers, and how to get support from their local Help Desk.
From our Leadership
As we close out 2008 and head into a busy new year, we asked our Project leaders to share some thoughts about where we’ve been and where we are going.
Brian Cohen – CUNYfirst Leader – CUNY Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer
In 2009, CUNYfirst will embark on several significant implementations - new University-wide processes in Human Resources and Finance and new student services at Queens College and Queensborough Community College. We have very talented people from around the university who are supportive and involved in making the key decisions to get us there.
As we move toward the full implementation of CUNYfirst, we’re going to see technology playing even greater roles in improving the CUNY experience. Technology will "support" our programs on the administrative and academic side. It will “enable” the university to become a more efficient organization. Technology will “enhance” the experiences of students in the classroom and the experiences of the faculty delivering their curriculum, and it will help us "deliver" better services. Supporting, Enabling, Enhancing, and Delivering - that's how technology is helping SEED our future.
Ron Spalter – CUNYfirst Leader – CUNY Deputy Chief Operating Officer
CUNYfirst has proven to be a remarkable opportunity for all of us at the university to validate the promise of an integrated university. Opportunities for participation and shared ownership of processes and solutions have engaged our community is ways that few of us would have imagined possible.
As we look forward to 2009, we need to focus more thought on our need to provide “post-deployment” support for our colleagues as they adjust to their new assignments and work tasks. As always, working together, this is nothing we cannot achieve for ourselves and for CUNY.
Suman Taneja – CUNYfirst Project Director
We are fortunate to have a very talented and dedicated team working on the CUNYfirst project. Our success in 2008 and the success we will see in the future is all due to this great team - which includes the subject matter experts from campuses and the central office, the CUNY core project team and our partners from Oracle, Exeter and Gartner. Over 2,000 subject matter experts from the colleges and the central office have been actively involved in helping us build the new processes that will last the University – its students, faculty and staff – for more than a generation. Our subject matter experts truly care about what happens on the project. You can see it in our meetings and you can feel it in the passion they have for their colleagues and constituents.
2009 will be an exciting year of change for CUNY. With the upcoming implementation of Human Resources, Procurement, Budgeting and Campus Solutions, we have a lot to look forward to. On behalf of the project team, I want to thank all our colleagues who are working tirelessly along side us to make this project successful.
Fridays @ first will resume January 2.
]]>Over 60 CUNY finance professionals attended the Fourth Annual Tuition and Fees Training seminar conducted by the University Controllers office on Wednesday July 30. The objective was to familiarize colleges on CUNYfirst processes in this area and to make sure the reporting is accurate using the new Chart of Accounts structure. Out of the session came the need to increase training and knowledge in the areas of spreadsheet upload and reporting – two items that will be the subject of the second phase of General Ledger training beginning in mid-August.
CUNYfirst General Ledger users are reminded that they are required to contact their local help desk professionals whenever a technical issue arises – when they cannot do something within the system. This will ensure that we can troubleshoot our issues accurately and to spot trends. If a user has a question “how do I do this”, we suggest they work within their peer network, although our help desks are equipped to answer many questions. But again, please log a help desk ticket if you are having technical issues trying to do your work in the General Ledger.
CUNYfirst Student Financials and Financial Aid teams will meet Tuesday August 5 and Wednesday August 6 in a joint sessions with Financial Aid professionals and CUNY Bursars to update business process changes as both groups begin working in CUNYfirst. The morning session on Tuesday will cover all campuses with the afternoon devoted to issues directly affecting our Vanguard Colleges – Queens College and Queensborough Community College – and the issues that they will face when they go live in the Spring of 2009.
The Wednesday session will cover how Return to Title IV will be handled in the second wave of the student implementations. Financial Aid is the driver for this session but R2T4 definitely affects Bursars and R2T4 Coordinators.
The PowerPoint presentations from the July 15 – 16 “Sneak Preview” sessions have been added to the CUNYfirst Project website (http://first.cuny.edu – middle of the front page), along with an FAQ document which has 79 questions and answers to subjects ranging from recruitment, the process when a staff member changes his/her home address within CUNYfirst, adding new degrees and educational advancement to a personnel file and many more.
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On Monday, June 23, CUNYfirst Campus Executives and Project Liaisons met with the Core Team to confirm General Ledger Go-Live readiness. Oracle and CUNY team leaders confirmed that the following were in ready mode to go live or have plans in place to bring them to readiness by June 30: System Hosting, Performance, Configuration, Testing, Security, Data Readiness/Conversion, Training, Organizational Change Management, Post Go-Live Support and Contingency Planning. Then our Campus Executives confirmed that for the activities assigned to them were complete and they too were ready to begin. The plans are being tracked on a daily basis and if there is a change in status we will notify all parties.
A final round of Users Acceptance Testing in a remote sandbox setting was completed Wednesday, June 25. The testing again confirmed what final steps are needed to move toward a live working environment. Currently, we are performing the scheduled final tests and activities that will take us into a new live General Ledger.
End users who have taken all three training courses – Introduction to CUNYfirst Financials, Chart of Account Structure and Introduction to General Ledger – will receive their new CUNYfirst User ID and Password to access the system from their campus Application Security Liaisons prior to July 1. Once it is communicated that the General Ledger is live, they will sign in. A memo explaining the steps for signing in will be issued on Monday directly to the end users.
There is one more training session before Go-Live this coming Monday, Introduction to CUNYfirst Financials. Most of the attendees will be our Help Desk analysts from around the University. General Ledger Training will resume July 8 and every Tuesday in the month. During that day, all three General Ledger courses will be offered at the four Borough Training Centers at Brooklyn College, City College (Manhattan), Hostos Community College (Bronx) and Queens College. The Introduction to CUNYfirst Financials will be held from 9:30 – 11am, Chart Field will be held from 1 – 2:30pm and Introduction to General Ledger course will be held from 3 – 4:30pm.
Once the CUNYfirst General Ledger is functioning, our local campus Help Desks will be available to provide support for end users. End users have been given that information via their campus teams. They have also received information about the current internet browsers from their Technical Readiness Liaisons to connect with CUNYfirst and the settings needed to work within the General Ledger. Any changes that need to be made will follow these standards.
All users and campus teams will be notified that the system is operational. On Monday, users will be given the URL to access the system and the specific information they need to begin working in the General Ledger.
When users sign in for the first time, they will be required to change their password as per CUNY standards. Each password must contain at least 8 characters and contain a capital letter and a number or a symbol.
Users will log into the Enterprise Learning Management (ELM) system to access templates and the General Ledger Spreadsheet uploads.
On the cusp of going live, we must thank the hundreds of professionals who have gotten us to this point. From the university and campus leadership, to our subject matter experts and finance professionals who have given dozens of hours of time and advice, to our campus teams and liaisons who have helped manage the project, and to the CUNY Core Team and our implementation partner Oracle and consultants who have worked tirelessly for the success of this project. This is the first step, and we want to make sure to recognize a truly team effort.
To paraphrase Project Director Suman Taneja, the General Ledger is like moving into a new house that has the foundation formed and the bare walls and roof in place. Now we’ll add detail work as we continue to build CUNYfirst.
In addition to the General Ledger, our Human Resources (Human Capital Management – HCM) team will hold sessions on Salary Administration and Labor Management issues – understanding how currently configured CUNYfirst Processes fit with how our HR professionals currently work.
]]>Starting Monday, June 16, users from around the university (16 campuses and the Central Office) conducted important testing of the General Ledger in a “sandbox” setting – meaning they accessed the system on line from their offices or other remote locations (as they will when the processes are live) to see how the General Ledger performs in real work settings. Their experiences are essential to helping us evaluate the status of the system. Two sandbox sessions were completed this week with a third involving professionals from six other campuses will take place Wednesday, June 25.
Very positive news to report. From a grand total of 509 sessions completed by individuals, 187 finance professionals from around CUNY took class #1 – Introduction to CUNYfirst Financials, 167 took class #2 – Chart of Accounts Structure, and 155 completed class #3 – CUNYfirst General Ledger introduction.
The final week of General Ledger Training prior to Go-Live will take place the week of June 23 – 25. To work in the CUNYfirst General Ledger, an end user must have taken the three training classes that were offered. Classroom space is available for those who must take the three classes, or those who need to complete one or two remaining classes.
This is a reminder to our General Ledger end user community that after Go-Live, college Help Desk locations will begin their support of CUNYfirst for end users. On Thursday, June 26, University Help Desk Manager Anna Finn will discuss escalation and distribute collateral to the college Help Desk managers.
In addition, we will make available to our General Ledger end users the email address and phone number for their local help test team.
CUNYfirst Campus Executives and Key Stakeholders from around the University will meet Monday, June 23. The key focus of this meeting is to provide a go/no-go decision based upon the Cutover checklist of activities. All colleges have completed their General Ledger Readiness tasks and will be asked for their vote at this meeting.
Security Liaisons trained on PeopleSoft functionality June 17 at Oracle University. Security Lead Mark Manis will be providing security processes and procedures to the Application Security Liaisons for General Ledger Go-Live. Those liaisons will receive additional training on June 30 which will include how to add new users to the General Ledger. They will also learn about the Customer Relations Management (CRM) tool from their Help Desk Managers.
This coming week, we have another round of Student Record sessions where student administration professionals will continue to evaluate the configured systems to understand work and process flows.
The first round of meetings on Position Management and Talent Acquisition Management (Recruitment) began this week. At our sessions, key members of our HR community began evaluating configured HR processes to validate the design of the system for developing future procedures. An important item of discussion was the significance of the recruiter role within CUNYfirst TAM. Those assembled see the recruiter role as essential in helping reduce the amount of time it takes to hire a new CUNY employee.
HR sessions continue the next two week for other processes. Next week the focus for the HCM Team is Workforce Administration
On Thursday, those were invited to participate in the 2008 CUNYfirst Community Survey – over 6,000 people, received a summary of results. One of the recommendations that came from the survey was to share the findings. Campus teams were given the results for the survey as a whole and for their college. They are working to share those findings within their campus community. Those results will help shape an increase and improvement in communication and campus community involvement. That summary will be posted Monday on the CUNYfirst website – http://first.cuny.edu
The CUNYfirst Steering Committee met on June 18, and was given a status report on the Project. In addition to seeing a demonstration of the CUNYfirst General Ledger, they also continued discussion on Faculty Work Load.
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