Dear Faculty & Academics,
Now that the campus has passed the 'go-live' stage of new Impact23 systems, including Oracle, Kuali, and phase II of Concur Travel and Expense, the program team aims to provide you with an update on the transition’s progress. As anticipated in a significant financial system implementation, some transitional issues arose. The program team remains fully committed to resolving these issues.
A specific purpose of this communication is to:
- Identify major ‘in-process’ issues that have a significant impact for our faculty and those working on contracts and grants, and
- Provide you with a high-level update on the current status and scheduled projection for these issues and their resolution.
Along with changes in how the university records and performs transactions, some points referenced below may impact the expected turnaround time of certain transactions as the campus adapts to new systems, reports, and performance of financial duties. Key issues for faculty awareness:
- Salary and wages paid to employees have NOT been impacted: However, payroll-related costs may not be fully reflected on contracts, grants, and other sources of financial activity. The majority of issues involving the display of benefit costs were corrected on 9/29. Other salary related posting corrections are in progress with expired and expiring contracts and grants receiving the highest priority. See the supplemental material attachment for details.
- Student Aid payments have not been substantially impacted: There have been some delays in the set-up of new departmental grants in aid codes under the new Chart of Accounts.
- Procurement: Initial workflow and contract and grant coding issues have been resolved. However, there continue to be issues with issue resolution adjusting purchase order quantity and pricing after receiving the supplier invoice. Units continue to be encouraged to utilize the Procurement Card for allowable orders less than $10K. To request a one-time transaction limit increase or other exceptions to pay a supplier, contact pcard@ucr.edu.
- Suppliers (Vendors) / Payees: The process to establish new suppliers and other payees was overly complicated. The registration process delayed the issuance of certain POs and/or other non-employee payments. A more streamlined process was implemented on 9/29.
- Contract and Grant Reporting Delays: Contract and Grant reporting has experienced significant delays due to a number of issues related to the complexity of configuration within the Oracle system, and the sheer volume of systems deployed. These issues have mostly been resolved. Extramural Funds Accounting is working with departments to clear the backlog in order of urgency with grants that are closing out or have closed out, being prioritized to meet federal requirements. See the supplemental material attachment for details.
- Kuali Research Modules: Learn about the transition from paper-based IACUC and IRB processes to Kuali Research's IACUC and IRB Protocols modules, addressing system implementation limitations, their impact on approved studies, and the resources available to faculty. See the supplemental material attachment for details.
- Concierge Support: As of this week, 80% (1488 of 1844 total) of tickets received from faculty and staff have been resolved. Since launch, the average ticket closure time has decreased from 11 business days to under 4 business days despite a steady increase in ticket volume. Supplier/Payee onboarding currently represents the largest percentage of tickets, and additional concierge resources are devoted to resolving these tickets quickly.
For additional details, view the supplemental material here.
Key Resources for Faculty: In addition to your department's administrative staff, the following resources are available to faculty.
- Web-based Training: Courses are in the Learning Management System (LMS) for Faculty, Researcher, & PD/PI.
- Live Training: A set of instructor-led workshops has been released in the UC Learning Center, aimed at familiarizing academics with the features and functionalities of new systems. To register for live training, the web-based prerequisites in the Faculty, Researcher, & PD/PI learning path are required to ensure a productive session.
- Upcoming Town Hall: Join us for a Town Hall session on Tuesday, October 31, from 10:30-11:30 am. The program team will update faculty and staff on stabilization efforts, address the mentioned issues, and provide resolution timelines, along with answering audience questions. Click here to register.
- Concierge: For questions about Impact23 systems, faculty are welcome to call the Concierge Helpline at (951) 827-9990 or submit a service ticket at ucrsupport.service-now.com/finadmin_portal.
The project team continues to work toward system stabilization as quickly as possible to minimize the impact on UCR’s mission of teaching, research, and public service. Thank you for your ongoing support. If you have questions or comments please contact Impact23@ucr.edu.
Sincerely,
Gerry Bomotti on behalf of the Impact23 Executive Steering Committee
Vice Chancellor & Chief Financial Officer