Planning for campus budget reductions

In March 2009 the deans, vice chancellors, vice provosts, and university librarian were asked to provide a plan to the campus for meeting budget reduction targets for 2009-2010, with a submission due on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. IET approached this request as a collaborative effort among the IET leadership to methodically review every IET program and activity and to identify every possible reduction – regardless of unit affiliation - to determine the combination that best protects the critical interests of the campus. These reductions are differential and based on programs, rather than prorated assessments based on administrative unit boundaries. Many of the proposed reductions will require additional discussion and analysis to determine the most effective way to implement while protecting valuable resources. In addition to the budget reductions, IET is actively pursuing a number of strategic programs that will provide long-term efficiencies and cost savings. These programs are: consolidation of various units in the areas of business services, project management, application development, desktop support, and communications; development of a sustainable funding model for telecommunications; outsourcing options for the management of SmartSite; realignment of the UCDNet3 telecommunications upgrade project’s goals and timeline; and development of a funding model for key infrastructure and security programs beyond 2009-10. Contact Dave Shelby, drshelby@ucdavis.edu

Campus Council for Information Technology (CCFIT)

The Campus Council for Information Technology (CCFIT) is a campus committee led by Chair François Gygi, to provide advice and recommendations to the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, and to the Vice Provost for IET, on educational and information technology and its use at UC Davis in support of instruction, research, administration, and public service. During winter and spring quarters, the council sponsored two public sessions to discuss key initiatives with interested campus constituents and gather feedback that could be used to inform strategic direction and recommendations. The first public session was held on January 29, and provided a brief overview of the new campus approach to administrative IT systems and investments. CCFIT offered this public session in response to interest from the campus administrative management group (ADMAN), and to engage others on campus interested on the subject. The second public session was held on April 28, 2009 to provide open discussions on wireless networking, network connectivity, and the telecommunications rate model (See the slides from the presentation and the TechNews article, April 23, 2009, “A Dialogue with the Community: Wireless expansion, network connectivity, and rate model”). This event was offered in the context of recommendations being developed by the CCFIT Telecommunications Advisory Board and as a way to engage interested members of the community in a discussion of needs and options for telecommunications on campus. Contact: council-support@ucdavis.edu. See slides, agendas, and notes from past open forums at ccfit.ucdavis.edu/open_forums.cfm.

Data Center planning update

In 2007, the Provost established the Strategic Approach to Investments in Computing Facilities (SAICF) committee to address the growing need for data center space. The committee has actively met throughout the last year to discuss managing the campus’ investments in computing facilities as well as the overall management of the effective use of campus resources.

During this reporting period, the group oversaw the work of the Server Room Space Evaluation Committee (SRSEC) subcommittee as they investigated available spaces for suitability as prospective consolidated collocation locations. The group also utilized information gained from the previously established “early warning system” from the Office of Research and the Provost’s Office to identify new needs associated with extramural funding proposals and recruitment of new faculty. The group utilized the previously developed phased strategy to address near-term and long-term needs, established a liaisons list of contacts, and interviewed the contacts as well as researchers in an effort to better predict the appetite for data center type facilities to house their computing resources. The workgroup’s analysis revealed that at least 10,000 square feet of data center space will be needed by 2012.

System-wide efforts have also begun to address – through collaboration and shared investments – data center needs throughout the UC system. Two facilities, the Oakland Scientific Facility (OSF) and the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) have availed themselves to collocation considerations for the UC system in the future. The Office of the President is in strong support of the SDSC as an option for a collocation facility to be used by the entire UC system. Contact: Morna Mellor, director, IET –Data Center & Client Services, mwmellor@ucdavis.edu

Administrative Computing Policy

Since the UC Davis Administrative Computing Policy (PPM 200-45) was adopted in September 2007, eighteen administrative IT projects have been reviewed with the most recent being Kuali Rice, NetID Replacement, Kerberos KDC Replacement, Department Listings for Online Directory, and IET’s Virtualization Service. Planned
reviews include UC Ready, Identity Management, and Kuali Research Administration. To see the latest project review status visit: admincomputing.ucdavis.edu/projects.

In February of 2009, PPM 200-45 was revised based on feedback from participating project sponsors and reviewers. Key changes included the addition of conceptual reviews earlier in the process to help inform sponsors before projects are fully defined; clarification and streamlining of the review process; and improved integration with the Administrative IT Roadmap. These changes were broadly endorsed by the campus community. Contact: Jeff Barrett, jtbarrett@ucdavis.edu; Web site: admincomputing.ucdavis.edu

IT Roadmap

In early winter 2009, the campus Council of Deans and Vice Chancellors (CODVC) designated individual conveners for each of the nine administrative “domains” identified by the IT Administrative Services Roadmap. Vice Provost Pete Siegel and the Roadmap Steering Committee held an orientation meeting for the conveners in February 2009. The domain conveners have two distinct roles: the management and organization of their domains; and, participating together, as members of a campus “Coordinating Council.” The governance structure for the Coordinating Council is to receive input and guidance from the domains, various campus committees and constituent groups, with oversight provided by the CODVC. The Coordinating Council is meeting on a monthly basis to build a framework that will ensure campus IT investments add to the campus community, establish and leverage common architectural components and balance both local and central IT innovation. Contact: Dave Shelby, drshelby@ucdavis.edu. Web site: vpiet.ucdavis.edu/itroadmap.cfm

Finance domain

Kuali Financial System (KFS) ramps up for release 3.0

The Kuali Foundation is developing a modular financial accounting system using the Community Source development model and includes others investing partners like Colorado State University, Cornell University, Indiana University, Michigan State University, San Joaquin Delta Community College, University of Arizona, University of California (UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara), University of Hawaii, University of Maryland, University of Southern California, and other commercial affiliates. KFS Release 3.0 is expected for June 2009 and will include Chart of Accounts, Contracts & Grants (Postaward), Financial Transactions, General Ledger, Labor Distribution, Accounts Receivable, Purchasing, Accounts Payable and Capital Asset. UC functional and technical resources are currently devoted towards meeting the Release 3.0 milestone. KFS brings all the advantages of a Web-based system built on J2EE architecture without any vendor or licensing fee and provides the opportunity for collaboration with other higher education institutions. Local implementation efforts are gearing up for UC Davis specific configuration and enhancements after Release 3.0. Web site: accounting.ucdavis.edu/projects/UCDKuali

Collaboration on the next generation UCDBuy continues

Kuali Stores will be the “Next Generation” UCDBuy with shopping cart functionality. The Kuali Stores application is under development in a partnership between UC Davis and Michigan State University to provide storehouse inventory and ordering functionality. The Kuali Stores application is modeled after the UC Davis Storehouse Inventory System, which UCDBuy is a component of. Upon Michigan State’s review of UCDBuy, the partnership agreed to include the UCDBuy shopping cart in the Kuali Stores application with additional enhancements. Kuali Stores is expected to have a two year development effort. The Kuali Foundation is in full support of this development effort as the first application to be built outside of the Kuali Foundation umbrella. The Foundation is supporting this project by providing tools, such as Confluence and Jira, and database and configuration management support. Contact: Karl Reinking, business administrator, Materiel Management, kwreinking@ucdavis.edu

New UC Travel Booking Portal to be rolled out at UC Davis

The University of California Travel Council has created a new online portal, Connexxus, for booking UC travel through a one-stop shop that includes airfare, lodging and rental cars. Travel may be booked online or by phone through full service agents that include BCD Travel, Orbitz for Connexxus, and UCLA’s Travel Center. When booking travel through Connexxus, UC travelers automatically receive the University’s negotiated discounted rates for airfare, hotel and car rentals. The system accepts payments through CTS accounts, corporate cards and personal credit cards. Although the requirement to go through one of a few University-selected agencies for CTS booking has previously been in place, the selected agencies and the ability to book CTS flights online are new features. The new portal will be available to employees in May 2009 through UC Davis’s travel and entertainment expense reporting system, MyTravel. Web site: accounting.ucdavis.edu/projects/connexxus/

Student Accounting, Environment Health and Safety Services, and UCDMC Finance switch to document imaging

UC Davis Office of Administration in partnership with the UC Davis Health System, is deploying an Electronic Document Management System at several of its units as part of a five phase implementation plan. The system is comprised of hardware and software which allows for the capture, retrieval, modification, and storage of all forms of paper and electronic documents and includes workflow and Web services integration into DaFIS Decision Support. The system was previously deployed in the Accounts Payable and Payroll offices of the Davis and Sacramento campuses. The imaging system was recently configured for Student Accounting, Environment Health and Safety as well as UCDMC Finance units to streamline their processes and better manage official records. In addition, the project has submitted an EDMS rate that would allow new units to leverage the system for their business operations. Web site: accounting.ucdavis.edu/projects/edms

Payroll/Human Resource Domain

Temporary Employment Services project

Human Resources launched a project to update and automate the Temporary Employment Services (TES) timekeeping, recharge and payroll functions. TES places employees with clerical/administrative, service, and other specialized skills at the UC Davis campus and Health System departments that need temporary staff support. This project is intended to automate numerous manual processes, simplify and streamline the time and attendance process for departments, TES employees, and administrative staff. HR will be evaluating existing time and attendance applications such as the L&S Online Timesheet System for adaptability. Phase I requirements gathering is underway with an implementation date scheduled for late summer.

Web New Hire Screens Project aims at providing intuitive interface to PPS

UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, and the Office of the President are jointly undertaking a new project to provide a Web-based realtime interface to the Payroll Personnel System (PPS). The Web screens will be a significant improvement to the current PPS new hire bundle and will include several timesaving features like embedded drop-down screens, guided screen flow, saving partially-completed transactions and template capability for common transactions. The Web screens are being designed to be intuitive, easy to use and will provide several levels of help displays. The new screens will save users a significant amount of time and improve the accuracy of data. The new interface is expected to be rolled out at UC Davis in late fall 2009. Contact: Cindy Jones, manager, Accounting & Financial Services – Payroll, cynjones@ucdavis.edu

Kuali HR/Payroll project initiated

Human Resources joined Payroll staff as part of a Pre-Project Working Team evaluating the potential initiation
of a Kuali HR/Payroll project. UC Davis staff joined with staff from UCOP, UCLA, Indiana University, Penn State University, University of Chicago and the University of Southern California along with Kuali Foundation staff. The Pre-Project working team met four times in two-hour blocks via telephone conference and has drafted a report to be finalized and submitted to the Strategic Planning team by mid-May.

PeopleAdmin implementation update

The position management/applicant tracking application, PeopleAdmin, was successfully implemented December 15, 2008. HR has one additional training session scheduled for May 27. The next phase of this project is the development and release of various standard reports. A six-month Post-Implementation Review will be conducted and the findings
and revision recommendations will be released in late summer.

Tax reporting system for international employees is fully operational

Since November 2008, UC Davis has successfully processed tax information for approximately 2000 international faculty, staff and student employees using Glacier, a secure Web-based tax reporting and compliance system. Glacier determines tax residency and withholding rates as well as any income tax treaty eligibility by using an individual’s immigration and tax residency status. The system also manages paperwork, data, and file reporting statements with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). As part of a future phase, the system will be incorporated into the new hire process. Contact: glacier-help@ucdavis.edu; Web site: accounting.ucdavis.edu/glacier

Academic Personnel Administration Domain

MyInfoVault upgrades continue

IET and Academic Personnel continue to enhance MyInfoVault (MIV), the system that creates electronic dossiers for faculty academic promotion and merit actions. The newest version became available in December and offers users the ability to upload letters and documents from departments and deans’ offices. This new feature makes it easy to add documentation in support of personnel actions while still maintaining the data repository for dossier data. The design phase for the workflow and role management upgrade continues; the anticipated release of Version 3.0 in October 2009 will eliminate the last of the legacy code and provide for online reviews at the Office of the Vice Provost and CAP. Improved features will include more refined roles and permissions, improved dossier routing, notifications, and tracking information. Schools and colleges representing over 125 departments and 3,200 accounts use MIV and have provided important feedback as the MIV group develops each upgrade. Contact: Joyce Johnstone, project manager, jmjohnstone@ucdavis.edu. Web site: myinfovault.ucdavis.edu

Academic Personnel forms go online

Academic Personnel is developing a Web interface for several administrative processes such as the Category I Pre-approval, Annual Report of Professional Activities, and Leave Forms. Faculty and department administrators will be able to enter information electronically using this Web format and a workflow routing component will provide deans and the vice provost with online review capability. Currently the Category I and Annual Report forms are in Beta test and the Leave Form should be released for Beta test this summer. Contact: Everett Wilson, ewilson@ucdavis.edu

UC Systemwide IT Summit for Academic Personnel

UC San Francisco will host the fourth annual Systemwide Academic Personnel IT summit on May 11 in San Francisco. Academic Personnel directors and IT representatives from each campus will convene to share information about the status of their IT systems (online personnel reviews, academic recruitment and voting modules, etc.) and about how they collaborate to leverage investments, such as hosting applications at one campus to serve multiple campuses, and using open source products to enhance application developments.

Research administration domain

Collaboration continues on new research administration & compliance system, Kuali Coeus (KC)

The Office of Research and Office of Administration (OOA) are co-sponsoring and partnering with the Kuali Foundation on the planning and development of the Kuali Coeus system. At present, the UC Davis team is collaborating and coordinating with four other UC campuses on the implementation of the KC product releases. The UC Davis team is also collaborating with IET and A&FS on the enterprise implementation of the Kuali middleware system known as Kuali Rice. The team is working on the implementation of KC Release 1 which includes proposal development, budget development, and grants.gov integration. UC Davis plans to pilot the Kuali Proposal Development system by summer 2010. The Kuali research administration system will provide principal investigators with an electronic workflow for routing of research proposals, seamless integration for submitting grants.gov proposals, a tool to build multiple budgets and,
integration within the Kuali Financial System. Contact: Safa Hussain, project manager, Safety Services, smhussain@ucdavis.edu; Web site: kuali.ucdavis.edu

Alumni & University Relations Domain

Advancement Services department upgrades AIS

In March 2009, Advancement Services, lead by Director Karen Latora, upgraded the AIS (SunGard Advance) database from version 8.2 to 9.3. This upgrade was managed by Project Manager, John Finazzo. Other team members included: Robert Ware, Ron Purnell, Joe Hurley, Dale Hurt, Ralph Castaneda, John Lovell, Donna Pingrey, Vivian Lam, Teri Robinson and Melissa Ivanusich from Advancement Services with Bill Wagman serving as DBA from IET. This upgrade delivered many enhancements centrally for our Gift Processing team as well as enhancements enjoyed by all users to the ID and clipboard features. In addition, this version provided many vendor bug fixes and aligns AIS (Advance) as current with the most recent release of the Advance Windows software. For more information and or training, please contact the AIS Help Desk at aishelpdesk@ucdavis.edu or 530-754-1106.

Advancement Services meets with its customers on a monthly basis at the AIS Customer Advisory Committee meeting. This meeting is held on the 1st Tuesday of each month from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in 1460 Drew Avenue Suite 100 Conference room. This meeting is open to all customers of AIS to discuss customer system needs, enhancements, reporting, training and future opportunities with SunGard.