FACT

New student employees (hourly and graduate assistants) must complete the electronic onboarding new hire documents (including the I-9) on or before the first date of employment.

How to hire:

1. Hiring Department requests Background Check
2. Once Background Check is cleared, the hiring paperwork will be emailed to student’s email listed on the Background Check request
3. The Hiring Department receives an email approving the creation of the EPAF
   • Student EPAFs are created through ESC
   • Graduate Assistant EPAFs are created by the Hiring Department
4. Student completes and submits the Hiring Paperwork Electronically
5. Student visits Hiring Department or Human Resources (HR) with *I-9 and supporting documents to complete
6. HR approves EPAF (All new hiring documents, including I-9, must be received before or on the first date of employment)
7. Student begins working

Federal law requires the employee to complete section 1 of the I-9 by the first day of employment, and section 2 within three business days of starting work for pay. Please coordinate the completion of the I-9 with the student employee any time between accepting the job offer and their first day of employment. A delay in submitting hiring paperwork could result in a delay of paycheck.

For questions, contact HR at (936) 294-1070.

More about Hiring

Sent June 7, 2022

International travel is now allowed to countries with Level 4 travel advisory due only to COVID-19 related restrictions. Travel advisory levels can be checked at travel.state.gov.

New Requirement for Pre-Approval Report:

If faculty or staff members are planning to travel to a country with a level 4 travel advisory due only to COVID-19-related restrictions, a new waiver is now required to be attached to the Pre-Approval Report. (This applies to level 4 travel advisories only, and only applies to those that are in place due to COVID-19 restrictions.)

International Travel Approval Process within Chrome River:

If you are planning to travel internationally, please be sure to include the appropriate waiver, emergency contact (within the US), and a tentative itinerary (please include, if available, flight and lodging information).

If traveling to a country with a level 4 advisory due only to COVID-19-related restrictions, the faculty/staff member will follow all U.S. and country-specific travel requirements. Please make sure to monitor travel advisories up to the time of travel, as they can change at any moment.

Students traveling to a foreign location with a level 3 or level 4 advisory will only be approved if circumstances are prevalent to COVID-19. A waiver of liability, assumption of risk and hold harmless form must be signed and attached to Pre-Approval.

More about Foreign Travel

For questions, contact the Travel Office at travel@shsu.edu or Justin Ball with the Office of International Programs

Sent May 31, 2022

What is the difference between a Market Review and Reclassification Action for a position?

Market Review:

• Requested by employee’s supervisor or department administrator.
• To review the employee’s current salary as compared to the market rate for similar positions.
• Supervisor sends email request to Andrea Umlang in Human Resources (HR) with the employee’s name and title.
• HR conducts market study to collect salary information for similar positions both internally and externally.
• These requests are processed in order of receipt and can take up to 2 weeks to complete.
• When the study is complete, the supervisor will receive the data collected with the option of submitting a salary increase request for their employee.

Reclassification Action:

• Requested by employee’s supervisor or department administrator.
• When a position’s primary duties have significantly changed and warrant a change to the classification.
• Reclassifications can be for vacant or filled positions.
• Supervisor submits an action in the PeopleAdmin system including details of the changes in the primary duties of the position. HR will conduct a review of the revised job description provided in the action, a desk audit questionnaire completed by the employee (if position is currently filled), and the market data for the revised position. These requests are processed in order of receipt and can take up to 60 days to complete (for filled positions). Once the review is complete, the supervisor will receive notice of completion with instructions on how to proceed.

For questions, contact Andrea Umlang at 936.294.1824.

Human Resources Department

Sent May 24, 2022

The BearKat Wheels program provides rental cars for in-state University business travel.

Requirements. All drivers must have a campus driving permit, valid driver’s license, and Sam ID.

Rental Includes. Rental pricing includes up to 200 miles per day, a fuel card, and rental packet. If you exceed the included mileage, each additional mile cost 35 cents.

Vehicle Selection. We have a variety of vehicles to choose from, which include cars, crossovers, SUVs, trucks, vans, and a bus. You’ll be able to select any available vehicle in our rental fleet.

Reserve Your Vehicle

For questions, contact Facilities Customer Service at 4-3663.

Sent Dec 17, 2021

The Travel Refresher Training, Tuesday, July 13th at 9:00 – 10:30 via LSC 241 will help provide the individual preparing travel reports to complete the task with confidence.

Travel is starting to open up and individuals are ready to get moving and plan business travel; but what are the rules? This training will provide an overall refresher of the policies and procedures for travel. You can register for the course through Talent Management. We will have additional sessions through the end of July, if 7/13/21 does not work for your schedule, please review Talent Management for more options.

For questions, contact the Travel Office

travel@shsu.edu

Sent July 2, 2021

Retirement eligibility is determined by your age and years of creditable service with either the Teachers Retirement System of Texas (TRS) or Optional Retirement Program (ORP).

What is creditable service credit?

• An intact TRS account is one that has not been withdrawn.
• An intact ORP account is a 403(b) account containing funds that can be tied to your Texas ORP account at SHSU

Visit the following links for additional information.

Retirement Information on HR website

TRS Retirement Eligibility Requirements

Planning for Retirement

TRS Benefits Handbook

ERS Tiered Retiree Health Insurance Rates

For questions, contact Christina Munoz at 936.294.2331.

Sent June 4, 2021

The travel industry is prioritizing your well-being and is ready for you when you are approved to travel for SHSU.

Southwest Airlines is now servicing out of George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), with direct flights to major cities in the US. United Airlines is adding more flights daily to accommodate the increase in travel needs for individuals who are returning to travel.

Use the links below to view the CDC guidance and care each provider is taking to ensure your safety is a top priority.

Southwest Airline Cleaning & Social Distance

United Clean Plus

CDC Guidance

For questions, contact the Travel Office

travel@shsu.edu

Sent May 21, 2021

A final itemized invoice will be provided at the completion of a facilities small project.

Once a small project has been completed and the work order closed, a final itemized invoice will be sent to the original requestor with the actual final cost of the project.

A facilities small project is a request fulfilled by the Facilities Services department and may vary in cost, timeline, and service. Facilities small projects do not include requests fulfilled by third-party contractors.

Upon receiving the final itemized invoice, requestor should receipt invoice in BearkatBuy. Before receipting, a Change Order Request (POCN) must be submitted if the final invoice charges is different than the Estimate (PO). The remaining funds will be released upon completion of POCN.

To adjust or release unused funds with a Purchase Order Change Request (POCN),

• Log in to BearkatBuy
• Click Change Order Request Form under Forms Our Organization Uses
• Enter the details and submit the form

For questions about facilities small projects, contact Facilities Customer Service

4-3663

facilitiescustomerservice@shsu.edu

Sent May 14, 2021

The Human Resources (HR) Fiscal Year End Deadline for Reclassification, Career Path Advancement, and Market Review Requests is July 15, 2021.

Reclassification, career path advancement, and market review requests received after July 15th, will be processed for effective dates after September 1st. Submit reclassification and career path advancement requests through the PeopleAdmin position management system. Send market review requests by email to Joelle Olmstead, Human Resources Specialist.

For questions, contact Joelle Olmstead at 936‐294‐1824

Sent Apr 16, 2021

If you need a recycling bin or want to schedule a large recycling pickup, please submit a work request.

Items that are being collected for recycling include:

• Office paper
• Cardboard
• Aluminum
• Plastics (numbers 1-7)

These materials should be placed in a recycling bin. Items that are too large should be placed near the recycling bin with a note to recycle.

SHSU Facilities Management is committed to providing recycling solutions for the campus community. There is no charge for recycling on campus. Recycling bins are emptied into separate bags daily by our Custodial Staff and set in designated locations for Landscape & Campus Services (L&CS) employees to pick up. The L&CS staff will sort through the recycling materials and send to the appropriate facility.

For questions, contact Facilities Customer Service

4-3663

Email

Sent Mar 26, 2021

Any university sponsored travel itinerary not requiring a common carrier will follow the standard (Pre-COVID) approval process. All travel via common carrier requires additional pre-approval and coordinated arrangements upon return.

As a traveler you are responsible for monitoring potential symptoms or exposures and must follow all University COVID19 protocols.

If you are traveling for university business on a common carrier (plane, train, bus, taxi/;Uber, or shared shuttle/van) the travel itinerary will only be approved if the travel is deemed essential by the VP of the division in which the traveler works, and the nature of employment or educational program accommodates telecommuting for 14 days upon return.

If you are traveling for personal pleasure on a common carrier, the traveler must receive approval prior to any scheduled travel arrangements and coordinate a return to campus post travel plan in advance. Return to campus post travel plans may include telecommute if approved by the divisional VP, use of accrued vacation, or leave without pay.

For travel procedures, visit the Travel website.

For travel questions, contact Travel.

Email

Sent Mar 12, 2021

Upon confirmation of a comprised area due to COVID19, your department should contact Facilities Management, secure the area & put away personal items.

Upon receiving notice of compromised area Facilities Management will:

1. Wait until the infected individual no longer occupies the space, in accordance with CDC guidelines, usually 24 hours.
2. Mobilize for cleaning & disinfecting.
3. A disinfectant will be applied with an electrostatic sprayer that disperses an aerosolized liquid product that settles on all surfaces and exposed material. The application must incubate for 30 minutes.
4. After the 30-minute incubation period, a Comprehensive Cleaning Crew from Facilities Management performs a complete wipe down of everything in the secured space spray a second application of disinfectant and allow the space to incubate for an additional 30 minutes.
5. After the final incubation period, Facilities Management will release the disinfected space for occupancy.

Custodial personnel clean commonly used areas and restrooms a minimum of three times per day. Aerosolized disinfectant is applied to all occupied building spaces as frequently as possible, but not less than every 30 days. Some areas may receive more frequent applications due to high volume of usage.

For questions or to report a comprised area, contact Facilities Management

4-1869

Sent Feb 12, 2021

Campus users now have the ability to unencumber approved Pre-Approval Reports through an Expire button, if a travel is cancelled or no expenses are claimed.

Campus users now have the ability to unencumber approved Pre-Approval Reports through an Expire button, if a travel is cancelled or no expenses are claimed. The Expire button is available to select when there are no expense transactions requiring reconciliation or no reimbursement owed, due to travel being canceled. The unused/expire status will also release the unused remaining balance in Banner that is present after a reimbursement is processed. The new process will alleviate the need to submit the Release Encumbrance Request Form.

For questions, contact the Travel Office

travel@shsu.edu

Sent Jan 15, 2021

While there is no sole provider for SHSU-branded apparel and other merchandise, there are university and athletic branding guidelines for logos, departmental marks and design elements which are under the oversight of Bearkat Athletics – Licensing Office and University MarCom.

All vendors who provide branded apparel and merchandise (including promotional items) must be licensed through CLC. This program ensures the quality, content, production and distribution of products meet university standards and registered trademark specifications. Both Barnes and Noble Bookstore and the Raven Nest Golf Course offer approved SHSU branded apparel. Departments can also outsource office apparel and other merchandise with vendors who are an approved licensee of the university. As part of the brand review process, licensed vendors will submit all designs for approval prior to production.

Approved Vendors

University Branding

Athletic Branding

Sent Dec 18, 2020

When you send an EPAF form to the Business Services Center (BSC), you can access the completed EPAF once you receive an automated email stating the EPAF was submitted through Banner.

To view, use the following steps. Screens are attached.

1. From your MySam page, go to Banner Employee Profile.
2. From the Employee Dashboard, choose Electronic Personnel Action Forms.
3. Choose EPAF Approver Summary.

After clicking EPAF Approver Summary, you will see a list of all the EPAFs you have requested. Your EPAFs will remain in this list until they are “Acknowledged.” To view prior “Acknowledged” EPAFs select the “History” tab in the Approver Summary.

Questions?

Contact Business Services Center

Email

4-4040

Sent Oct 9, 2020

You only need to request a new position number from Human Resources when your department does not have a vacant position number for a faculty position.

Departments should keep track of their position numbers. When filling any replacement position, departments need to use the vacant position number and, if necessary, update the title with Human Resources. If a vacant position number is deactivated, contact HR to reactivate it.

HR will reach out to your department to provide new staff position numbers. You can expect a new position number when your department creates a new position, or an existing position is reclassified into a different occupational category.

Questions?

Contact Joelle Olmstead, HR Specialist

Email

4-1824

Sent Oct 2, 2020

Online budget changes will be reopened for entry online in Finance Self-Service beginning 9/1/2020.

The same rules and securities are in place as they have been in the past. Only Non-grant funds, Org codes you have access to, and only moves between budget pools (such as O&M 720 to Travel 710) will be allowed. All change of budget that contain salary-related account codes, revenue codes, and fund-balance will remain on paper forms.

Questions?

Financial Planning & Budget

Email

Sent Aug 28, 2020

International Employee EPAFs require additional approvals.

All electronic Personnel Action Forms (EPAFs) for international hourly student assistant employees and graduate assistant employees need to include Justin Ball in the International Programs queue and Jeffrey Crenshaw in the Tax Specialist Approval queue.

All EPAFs for international staff and faculty employees need to include Jeffrey Crenshaw in the Tax Specialist Approval queue. EPAFs for international staff and faculty employees no longer need to include Justin Ball in the International Programs queue.

Questions?

Human Resources

Email

Sent Aug 21, 2020

COVID19 essential supplies are available for departmental purchase from Facilities Management Central Stores.

Available Supplies Include:

• Anti-Bacterial Wet Wipes
• Disposable, KN95, & Cloth Masks
• Face Shields
• Hand Sanitizer
• Nitrile & Latex Gloves
• Paper Towels
• Pre-Mix Disinfectant Spray

Order Now

Questions?

Facilites Central Stores Supervisor, Sadakat

Email

Call 4-1955

Sent Aug 14, 2020

The Institutional Fee (Fund 150101) replaced the following fees beginning in Fiscal Year 2021.

• Advisement Fee
• International Educational Fee
• Library Fee
• One Card Fee
• Records Fee
• Technology Fee

The Institutional Fee will follow the same guidelines as Educational and General (110100) and Designated Tuition (140100). Like E&G and Designated funds, fringe benefits and longevity will be budgeted on a central organization rather than budgeting on each department organization. Departments will not be responsible for budgeting fringe benefits or longevity. Also, a paper Change of Budget will need to be processed to use salary savings to fund salary line items (e.g. Exempt 701001, Non-Exempt 701501, Faculty 700801).

Questions?

Financial Planning & Budget

Email

Sent July 24, 2020

The approximate processing time for an electronic personnel action form (EPAF), from department origination to entry into the payroll system, is 10 days.

In order to allow processing times, Human Resources and Payroll have published the following deadlines for submitting EPAFs.

See Deadlines

The ePAFs must be received in the Payroll Office by 5:00 PM of the second working day after the end of the pay period to be activated for the next payroll date. ePAFs received after this date will be processed in the subsequent payroll period.

Questions?

Payroll Office

Email

Sent June 5, 2020

Selecting the correct address to use for a vendor with multiple ID’s in BearKatBuy.

Instructions Example

Choose the vendor that you are doing business with.

• If the vendor has a note stating Do Not Use, do not select that vendor.
• If the vendor does not appear, an invitation may need to be sent through PaymentWorks inviting the vendor to be set up to do business with SHSU.
• If the address does not match the address that the payment should go to, then you will select a different fulfillment center.
• Example: The Remit To address is PO BOX 650016 Dallas, TX 75265. We will select the address that matches the remit to address.
• After selecting the correct address, the Fulfillment Address will change to match the correct Remit To address.

Questions?

Procurement

Email

Sent January 24, 2020

You can post a position specifically for internal candidates, also known as: University-wide recruiting.

Choose the vendor that you are doing business with.

• University-wide recruiting may be utilized to consider current University employees for posted positions.
• Specifics for this type of recruiting are included in the Staffing Policy (E-1) listed in the Hiring Procedures section of the policy (Section 1).
• The department can indicate “internal applicants only” preference on the electronic posting action.
• A justification for this must be included and the action must go through the automated workflow channels for approval.
• Routine recruitment efforts for university-wide recruiting include posting on the SHSU Human Resources employment website.

Questions?

Human Resources

Email

Sent December 10, 2020

Knowing the difference and the process

Potential Fraud. Transaction that has not yet appeared on the card.

• Potential for fraud is determined based on an algorithm report related to merchants that have been affected by a security breach.
• WEX Bank notifies the Travel Office when potential fraud is detected.
• The travel card remains active and WEX automatically sends a new card to SHSU as a precaution.
• The Travel office has internal procedures in place to ensure that the cardholder receiving a replacement card is not currently in travel status prior to activation of the new card.
• When the new card arrives and is activated, the old card is automatically cancelled.
• It is important that Traveler’s pay close attention to correspondence fromtravel@shsu.edu, to prevent any traveler from experiencing any interruption in cardholder services with the WEX Travel card.
• If fraudulent charges do post to the Travel Card, these charges/credits must be reconciled via an Expense Report in Chrome River by the individual cardholder or the administrative staff assigned as their delegate.
• The Expense Report should only contain the fraudulent transactions and the corresponding credits.
• The fraud tile should be used for both the charge(s) and the credit(s).

Fraudulent Activity. Unusual transaction that appears on the card

• The Travel Office will send an email to the traveler and administrative staff (if known) to verify activity on the card.
• If the activity is VALID, then the suspension is lifted by WEX, upon notification from the SHSU cardholder or Travel staff.
• If the activity is determined to be FRAUD, the card is cancelled immediately by WEX and a new card is sent either through regular mail, (2 weeks to receive), or via FEDEX (next day delivery) with a $25.00 charge for expediting. *The department determines the means of delivery, and will be charged for the FEDEX fee if the card is required to be expedited.
• In the event fraudulent activity occurs during travel status, and the traveler does not have a personal card to use for the duration of the trip, the Travel Office can have the card overnighted directly from WEX to the traveler at the hotel. Once the traveler obtains the card, then they can contact the Travel Office for activation of the new card.

Questions?

Travel Services

Email

Sent September 27, 2020

How the FAMIS Work Order billing process works, accessing documents and charges file.

Understanding the Billing Process

• All billable work orders are extracted for billing weekly.
• The billing cycle is weekly (Saturday – Friday).
• Billable charges are submitted to the Comptroller’s Office via a FUPLOAD to Banner

Accessing Invoice Details

• Details of charges (Invoice) can be accessed via Banner, FGIDOCR.
• Type in the DL# in the “Document” box (e.g. DL007XXX) & click “Retrieve”. You must click the “Retrieve” button and a new tab will open with the pdf data and its accompanying backup.

Charges File

• All charges are reported on a excel file and sent via email to the campus users.
• Anyone can request to receive this file via email for their designated area by emailing (Sadak) Sadhakathulla Inayathhullah.
• This file represents the work order #, nature of work performed, amount with assigned FOAP details etc.

Questions?

Facilities Business Services

Email

Call 4-1955

Sent September 13, 2020

Posted transactions in Banner can be corrected with the completion of a form.

The Transaction Correction Form is available on the Controller’s Office website. This form can be used to correct the FOAP on transactions that have posted.

Instructions for completing the form are available under the “Resources” heading:https://www.shsu.edu/dept/controller/resources.html. The completed form can be sent to interdepartmental@shsu.edu.

Sent August 2, 2020

SHSU is exempt from Alcohol Tax.

SHSU is ALWAYS exempt from paying the Mixed Beverage Sales Tax (8.25%) and ONLY pays the Mixed Beverage Gross Receipts Tax (6.25%) when the selling permit is in our name.

Example: if Aramark is the vendor, they are the permit holder, not SHSU

Provide the vendor with the Tax Exempt Form to ensure taxes are not charged. Anyone employee can download, fill out, and sign this form.

Alcohol taxes are enforced the same as sales and use taxes, therefore the same form is utilized.

Pay close attention to what is being charged to you on your invoice to avoid paying taxed.Mixed Beverage Gross Receipts Tax CANNOT be passed off to the customer.

Tax Form

Sent June 7, 2020