New Director for the Office for Purchasing Services Tom Hogan outlines Purchasing's strategy behind Supplier Diversity, which will boost participation by diverse vendors in the competition for Cornell's business.

DFA and the Office of Workforce Diversity, Equity and Life Quality (WDELQ) partnered to organize January's kick-off event of the program that will be headed by Purchasing Team Leader Eric Ludewig.

To learn more about this developing venture, and follow the program's progress, visit the Supplier Diversity Web site at www.purchasing.cornell.edu .

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Bursar Part of New Student System Development
In December 2005, Cornell launched a multi-year project to implement Oracle/PeopleSoft's student data management system, which will revolutionize the way Cornell manages its student information. The “System for Tracking Administrative Records for Students” (STARS) will permit better management of academic special programs; provide more robust, self-service applications to students; and give secure access to more reliable student data for more campus departments. STARS comprises several component systems for Admissions, Student Records, Financial Aid, and Student Financials, all of which will work together to support data-sharing across the university.

Student Financials will replace the current Bursar system, which handles student billing and financial services for tuition and other fees, as well as CornellCard charges. In January, University Bursar Peter Olcott assigned Assistant Bursar for Systems Jim Rohan full-time to the Student Financials development team. For the life of the project, Jim has been replaced by Bursar Systems Coordinator Ben Stein.

Even though some staff have been reassigned to the project, Peter says support and maintenance services for the current system should not suffer. He says, “My team intends to maintain their earlier response rates to troubleshooting as closely as possible.”

The Student Financials team is working closely with an advisory group made up of staff from key areas, such as Gannett Health Services, endowed and contract colleges, professional schools, and campus life, to develop a well-scrutinized, well-built system that meets the needs for those billing students for goods and services. Similar teams have been formed to advise other STARS component developers.

Any unit with questions about maintenance or troubleshooting for the current Bursar system should contact Ben Stein at bas23@cornell.edu or 5-5980. To find out more about the STARS project, visit the official Web site at stars.sas.cornell.edu .

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New System Lets Units Sell Assets Online
Thanks to the new Cornell Asset Transfer System (CATS) released in February, units now can use the Web to make excess capital and non-capital assets available to other university departments. The new system has had great success, with over 52 items posted within the first week of release. CATS will help units avoid disposal costs while supporting the university’s sustainability goals through the recycling of discarded equipment and furnishings.

When using CATS, units no longer need to submit the surplus or scrap request, because the request will be routed automatically to the Capital Assets department to verify there are no federal, state-mandated, or other disposition restrictions before posting the asset. If there are any issues, Capital Assets will contact the unit.

Remember that units disposing of a capital asset must update inventory records by submitting a disposition form to Capital Assets. However, when capital items are transferred to another unit, a transfer form must be submitted.

To access the CATS system, visit cats.dfa.cornell.edu . Direct comments, questions, and suggestions about the new system to CATS-feedback@cornell.edu . For more information about capital assets, inventory, and associated policies and procedures, visit the Capital Assets Web site.

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New Reports Allow Easier Viewing of Labor Data
Newly created labor data reports in Brio/Hyperion (“Brio”) provide salary and wage information more efficiently to Accounting Data Warehouse (ADW) users. Brio is an online application that provides access and customized accounting worksheets containing data from ADW, the electronic storehouse for Cornell’s accounting information. With these new tools, authorized users can now view Cornell salary and wage information based on a number of different attributes, such as date, account, employee, and job criteria.

The Office of University Payroll will continue to offer the old Report 189 through June 30, 2006, so that there is no inconvenience to users during fiscal year end. The report will no longer be printed when the new fiscal year begins this July. For the immediate future, the data presented on the old report will still be available via Actuate, the university's online financial statement repository.

Direct questions on the content and use of the new labor reports to University Payroll staff members Bob Emborski at rae28@cornell.edu or Ken Ceurter at kjc4@cornell.edu . For questions about ADW, contact DFA Financial Reporting at uco-acctrpt@cornell.edu . For technical questions about Brio/Hyperion reporting tools and training, contact Judy Kany of Cornell Information Technologies at jmk53@cornell.edu .

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One-Stop Access to Administrative and Financial Services

Users of Cornell's many online administrative and financial tools can now move effortlessly from one tool to the other through a new tab in the uPortal released in early February. The uPortal is a customizable Web site, accessible from any computer, which provides authorized users with access to Cornell services and information through a series of “tabs” and “channels.” The administrative (“Admin”) tab provides staff, faculty, and university affiliates with convenient access to forms, reports, transaction-processing systems, and more, from the Finance, Sponsored Research, Payroll, Human Resources, and Budget areas.

Also, a new tool is under evaluation that will enhance the workflow process. Workflow tools move information about transactions and documents through the creation, review, and distribution process. As one participant completes a stage, the next participant receives an electronic notice to take the appropriate action. All applications that deliver documents through the workflowtool will deliver participant notifications through the uPortal, so that users can manage their notices in one place.

Released in February, the administrative ("Admin") tab of the uPortal (above) brings tools from Finance, Sponsored Research, Payroll, Human Resources, and Budget, together in one convenient place.

Wire Transfers Made Easier with Form Updates
Units can pay vendors for goods and services more easily now that DFA's Disbursement Review and Tax (DR&T) has improved the university's Wire Transfer form. Units requesting these payments can put the transaction's business purpose and purchase order number, the unit's return address, and any international banking information right on the form. Receiving these details up front makes the transaction approval process smoother than in the past when DR&T might have had to call units for this information. Units should begin using the new Wire Transfer form immediately. To make paying vendors even easier, DR&T will soon develop a web-based system to handle wire transactions.

Also, DR&T reminds units to provide the following crucial information to expedite the transfer:

• Attach to the completed form all documentation to support the payment (original receipts, invoice, etc.).
• Include bank information for all wire transfers, except bank drafts or ACH payments.
• Use a separate form when paying vendors for both a reimbursement and a taxable payment, such as an Honorarium. Multiple taxable payments may appear on one form.
• Record account charges in the Accounting Distribution line(s) in the same currency as that of the supporting documentation. Note: Cash Management will convert the recorded amount to U.S. dollars as of the date of the transfer.
• Send the completed form and supporting documentation to DR&T.

Send completed forms and required documentation to DR&T at East Hill Plaza, 341 Pine Tree Road. Direct questions about using the new form, as well as ideas for improving it, to DR&T at dfa-disbursement-review@cornell.edu or (607) 255-6240.

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Blanket Order Review Process Gets an Overhaul
Beginning March 1, 2006 , units no longer have to wait for the Office for Purchasing Services (OPS) to send monthly paper reminders to review expiring blanket orders. OPS has stopped sending these notices because units can get the same information any time through the Automated Procurement Payables System (APPS). A blanket order is a form of agreement that records multiple transactions over a specified period. As these agreements expire, they must be reviewed and either renewed or cancelled as the unit's needs dictate. By using APPS to extract needed reports by date range, units can plan ahead for order renewal or cancellation and maintain better control of their order inventory. Also, because OPS discontinued sending manual paper reminders, everyone will benefit from reduced paper usage and retention.

In addition to the elimination of monthly blanket renewal notices, effective July 1, 2006 , the lifespan of blanket orders will shorten from an unlimited period to five years because of changes to record retention policies for such orders. This adjustment will allow units and OPS to review vendor contract terms more frequently. Within the next few months, OPS will provide each unit with its list of open blanket orders, so that the units can terminate and replace current orders that are five years and older.

For detailed assistance in processing, renewing, and reviewing blanket orders, contact the Office for Purchasing Services Help Line at 254-5300, or visit their Web site at www.purchasing.cornell.edu .

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