Friday, July 22 2016

To: Campus Community 

Fr: Jim Corkill, Controller & Director, Business & Financial Services

     Cindy Doherty, Director, Academic Personnel

     Cynthia Señeriz, Director, Human Resources

Re: UCSB Timekeeping Guidelines

Timekeeping Guidelines for UC Santa Barbara are now posted on the Payroll section of the Business & Financial Services website:  http://www.bfs.ucsb.edu/payroll/time-reporting.  Timekeeping is the recording of hours worked and leave taken.

We strongly recommend initiating these changes at the beginning of the Fall Quarter, 2016.  The following points are listed as a helpful guide to think about during the transition:

Communicate detailed changes and proposed effective date to faculty/principal investigators/hiring managers and staff to solicit questions/feedback.
Strengthen funding distribution documentation.
Communicate change to employees no longer requiring a timecard.
For Exempt employees, change employees to exception pay (fixed) from positive pay (variable), if appropriate (e.g., GSRs).
Modify process for reviewing funding and communicating PPS appointment and/or distribution changes to ensure reviews are done on an ongoing basis so changes can be made in a timely manner (i.e., before payroll expenses are processed).


Context: Why New Timekeeping Guidelines

During the process of implementing electronic timekeeping we discovered timekeeping practices varied widely across campus.  We found individuals who did not need a timecard; timecards used as a management tool; and timecards containing unnecessary details.  These practices created additional work and exposed departments to greater audit risk.  The UCSB Timekeeping Guidelines identify timekeeping practices and mitigate future audit risk by including the practices the campus will be held to in an audit.

How We Developed the New Timekeeping Guidelines

The guidelines were developed in consultation with subject matter experts across many departments and units, and vetted and approved for our campus by the Electronic Timekeeping Project Executive Sponsors:  Marc Fisher, Vice Chancellor of Administrative Services; Matt Hall, Associate Vice Chancellor of Information Technology; Todd Lee, Assistant Chancellor; and David Marshall, Executive Vice Chancellor.

Final Note and Additional Support

Additional support will be provided in the form of job aids and FAQs to help clarify and identify best practices for timekeeping.  Job aids and FAQs will be available on http://www.bfs.ucsb.edu/payroll/time-reporting shortly.