Graduate Assistant Hire/Rehire/Additional Assignment/Reappointment

Selecting the Employee

From Actions, choose HR Forms: Pay & Cost Actions. From Select Employee Process, choose Create a New Appointment/Assignment. From This employee will be, choose Graduate Assistant. Click Start Employee Process. 

When processing a graduate assistant you must use the student’s APID. The system verifies hiring eligibility against student information.

For people with existing appointments, it shows information on those appointments grouped by PERNR and sorted with the most recent appointments first, including those in workflow, so you don’t over-allocate someone. Items in workflow have a status of WF In-progress and the employee name in all capital letters for easy identification. Termination records are also included. If the appointment dates entered fall after all current appointments, only termination records appear.

When someone has existing appointments, a Yes/No question appears asking if you wish to edit an existing appointment. 

If you select Yes, the system displays a link to the graduate assistant change of status form. Changes to existing appointments are still made through this form.

• If you select No, the system displays a table showing employment percent options per period available within the selected semester. If no entry appears for a given date range, the person is fully allocated for that period.      

In the above example, the employee is available at 25% and 50%. This is because the employee has an existing 25%  assignment from 5/16/2016-8/15/2016 for the entire semester. 

If you over allocate someone during the period, an error appears, and you will need to start over with a new date range.

1. When the graduate assistant has met the maximum employment percent allocation for the entire semester, a hard stop will occurs and to proceed adjustments will need to be made. 
2. If the dates need to be adjusted to meet the percentage allocation selected in the employment percent drop-down, a hard stop will occurs and to proceed adjustments will need to be made.  

To select the employee

1. Click on Create a New Appointment/Assignment.
2. Enter the APID.
3. Enter the Start Date and End Date for the assignment.
4. Click the Search Employee button.
5. If prompted, select No to indicate that you do not wish to edit an existing assignment. A table showing available employment percent options by period appears.
6. Select an Employment Percent from the drop-down list. Click the Min/Max Stipends link for stipend information if necessary.
7. Click the Create Position button.

Creating the Position

The next phase is to create the position into which the graduate assistant will be employed.

Enterprise Structure

Select the Enterprise Structure for this position and click the Next Step button. This indicates whether the graduate assistant will be a teaching assistant or research assistant, and if a teaching assistant, whether or not they are union. This selection drives options available in subsequent screens.

 

Position Header Information

This step provides information specific to this position. Fields on this screen change based on selections, and Grad Qualifications and Experience populates based on system information. Press Enter after entering the organizational unit to ensure all information is populated.

To enter position information

1. Search for and select or enter the Organizational Unit of the position. Press Enter.
2. Select the Job Title.
3. Select the TE Exclusion Code if applicable. (The TE Exclusion Code field appears and is required for non-union teaching assistants)
4. Enter Relevant Experience if applicable.
   1. The Relevant Experience field appears and is required when selecting a Job Title higher than the calculated level. This allows you to enter justification for appointing the graduate assistant at a higher level, such as previous experience at another institution.
5. Change Comp Exam to Yes if applicable.
6. Change Speak to Yes if applicable.
7. Click the Next Step Supervisor button.
8. Overall Appointments by Function shows the graduate assistant’s history across all colleges and departments. Overall Appointments by University Level Org & Function Used to Determine Grad Level shows the total counts for the organizational unit and function that the graduate assistant is being appointed into for the requested semester.      

Supervisor

Search for and select the Supervisor Position number. If there is more than one entry for the person, choose the entry whose dates correspond to the hiring dates. Click the Position Overview button when finished.

Position Overview

The last step in creating the position is the Position Overview. Review the position information for accuracy, clicking the tabs to view each subject. You may change editable fields as needed. Once you have determined the position is correct, click the button to proceed to the next stage. The button name displays the appropriate process based on the person’s status with the university:

• Hire Employee, if the person is new to the university.
• Re-Hire Employee, if the person was previously employed by the university but has had a break in service.
• Add Assignment, if the person is currently employed by the university.
• Reappointment, if the person has a current assignment being extended into a subsequent semester.

The new form opens in a separate window. The form title reflects the process, for example Hire. Once this window is open, the position window may be closed at any time.

Fill out the Form

Saving the Form

If at any point you wish to save the form and finish it later, click the Save Draft button at the top of the window. The system saves a draft of the form to your HR/Payroll Inbox. You can open the draft from your HR/Payroll Inbox to complete it. 

Placing the Employee in the Position

You move through the steps in the process using the buttons on the screen.

• Click the Next button to validate the information on the screen and advance to the next step. Any errors must be corrected before moving forward. Because options presented are based on information previously entered, you are less likely to encounter errors.
• Click the Previous button to go back to the previous screen. 

You can also:

• Click any step in the Navigation Bar to go directly to that section of the form. 

• Go directly to the final summary step and enter all the information on one screen.

However, these options bypass the validation that occurs when clicking the Next button. All validation occurs after you click the Check button and you receive all error messages in one long list.

• Here are some additional tips for completing the form:
• Use the Tab key on the keyboard to move from field to field.
• Where you see a search  button, you can click in the field and the press the F4 key to open the search window, rather than clicking on the button.

Personal Details

Data is populated here from SAP for students who have been previously employed by the University, or from the Student Information System for students who have not previously been employed. Some fields can be edited. Verify that the name matches the name on the Social Security Number card. For international students who do not have an SSN, an SSN is generated by replacing the A in their APID with two zeros (00) and removing the last digit from the APID. All graduate assistants who have never been employed by the University or have had a break in service of more than one year, regardless of citizenship, must have a completed Form I-9 on file. The Form I-9 must be completed within three days of the hire date and the hard copy sent to central HR. Central HR will not approve the form until they receive the hard copy of the I-9. The form will display whether a valid I-9 is currently on file for the student being processed.

To enter Personal Details

1. Complete the Personal Details for the employee.
2. Click the Next button.

Organizational Assignment

The position information shown here cannot be edited. If any information listed here is incorrect, you must start again from the beginning. Click the Next button when you are ready to continue.

Pay and Cost Distribution

For pay and cost distribution, you enter the Pay Period Salary amount (the amount the graduate assistant will be paid each biweekly period), the different funding lines, and the dates for each funding source. The system then helps you compute the amounts to fund from each source based on either amount or percent.

When employed within the same organization unit and function (RA/TA/TE) as a previous year, graduate assistants shall not be paid less than they received in any prior year. If the graduate assistant had a previous appointment with these same attributes relative to the semester of this appointment, the previous stipend information will display to the right.

To calculate stipend

1. Enter the Pay Period Salary in the box provided.
2. Press Enter. The system calculates the Total Stipend.

To enter funding lines

1. Enter a Start Date and End Date in the boxes provided.
2. Search for and select a Fund. If you have created a Personal Value List, you may have to press F4 to override your personal values. If you type the account number, press Enter after typing it to default the other required accounting information.
3. If necessary, search for and select other funding elements. If a WBS Element (sub- account) does not appear in a row after the account number is entered this means that there is more than one option for that account. If no sub-account is entered, WBS Element defaults to “No_Sub-Account.”
4. Repeat the above steps for each additional funding line. To add more rows, click the Add Row  button and repeat the above steps.

To remove a row, click the Remove Row  button.

To validate cost distribution

1. Click the Compute Cost Distribution button. The system creates the correct funding lines for each funding period. If only a single fund and period is selected, it populates the Amount and Pct.
2. Do any combination of the following to edit each line until you reach full funding for each period:
   1. To enter an Amount, click Edit Amount if necessary and enter an amount.
   2. To enter a Pct. (percent), click Edit Percent if necessary and enter a percent.
   3. To calculate an amount based on a percent, click the Calculate Amount button.
   4. To calculate a percent based on an amount, click the Calculate Percent button.

Green or red indicators appear in the second column indicating whether or not the person is fully funded for that period. 

A subtotal is included for each funding period. Ignore any total lines, which simply add up the funding period subtotals. The red circle below indicates the person is not fully funded for that period. 

 The buttons visible above the table change depending on what you are currently doing. If you are editing amounts, you see buttons that allow you to calculate or edit percents. If you are editing percents, the reverse is true. You can switch back and forth as many times as you wish.

The image above shows editing percents.

If you need to add accounts once you’ve started computing the cost distribution or you need to change the pay period salary, click the Change/Edit Cost Distribution button. This cancels your entries and returns you to the opening list so that you can add additional funding lines or change the pay period salary. To start again from the beginning, click the Reset Cost Distribution to remove all data.

Additional Information

Depending on the answers to Additional Information questions, additional detail may be required.

To enter Additional Information

1. Answer each question.
2. If prompted, provide any requested additional detail.
3. Click the Next button.

Attachments and Comments

Required attachments are listed at the top with a checkbox next to each item required. Criminal background checks are completed for all graduate assistants who have not held a graduate assistantship position within the six month period prior to the appointment start date; please attach the disclosure and consent form for efficient processing. Important Links at the bottom of the screen provide links to policies and procedures that may apply, and to forms that can be attached and submitted. Review this information as needed.

To enter comments and attach documents

1. Upload the required attachments indicated.
2. Enter any comments in the New Comments field.
3. Click the Next button.

To upload an attachment

1. Select the attachment being uploaded from the Attachment Type drop-down list.
2. Click the Browse button to locate and select the attachment.
3. Click the Upload button to attach the file.
4. If desired, check the box for the attachment.

Repeat this process for each additional attachment.

Summary Form

A summary of all information is displayed for final review and error checking. Review the completed form, making any needed changes to the information. 

Click the Check button to have the system perform a final check of the information. Correct any remaining errors. 

At this point you can generate a PDF by clicking the Generate PDF button. The PDF version of the form opens in a new window, and can be saved or printed. 

As the form routes for approvals, approvers are able to view the form as a PDF by clicking the Generate PDF button.

Review Form and Confirmation

You are now ready to send the form for approval. 

Click the Send button to route the completed form for approval. Upon successful submission, the HR/payroll system displays a process reference number.      

The form then enters workflow. The form routes for all unit approvals, then goes to central HR. Central HR reviews the form, verifies receipt of the hard copy Form I-9, conducts the background check, then approves the form to update the HR/Payroll system.

As the form routes for approvals, approvers are able to view the form via the Summary Screen or as a PDF by clicking the Generate PDF button. 

Attachments are an important part of the appointment process. To ensure that all appropriate attachments are available to all approvers, approvers cannot add or remove attachments. If attachments must be changed, the approver should reject the form back to the initiator