ctcLink Learning Opportunities & Support Roundup: Oct. 2, 2024

To plan further ahead or find the latest learning opportunities, as well as notices of cancellation or schedule changes, see the complete calendar at the ctcLink Training & Learning Opportunities Registration page or on the SBCTC meetings and events calendar (apply filters). 

Date	Time	Event
Oct 3	10am	ctcLink recon Team: Recon Meeting Topic on T&E Related Accounts & Open Q&A
Oct 3	1pm	CS Core Work Session: Caring for Your Core Processes
Oct 3	2pm	FIN Training: Intermediate General Ledger - Journals (Part 1of2)
Oct 8	9am	*NEW SESSION* Advanced Fin Aid Training: Reviewing the View COD Data page
Oct 8	2pm	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting
Oct 9	2pm	ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting
Oct 10	9am	SF Training: Intermediate Refunds
Oct 10	10am	ctcLink Accounting Team: Recon Meeting Topic on Student Related Liabilities & Open Q&A
Oct 14	11am	FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Q&A Drop-In
Oct 14	1pm	SF Work Session: Refunding Part 2
Oct 15	9am	PS Query Training 101 Basics - Part 1Sign Up
Oct 15	11am	FIN Work Session: Asset Mgmt Q&A Drop-In
Oct 15	2pm	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting
Oct 16	9am	PS Query Training 101 Basics - Part 2Sign Up
Oct 16	1pm	HCM Work Session: HR Core - Overview
Oct 22	2pm	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting (DYK on PU & AP)
Oct 23	8:30am	CS Core Training: Post Enrollment Requirement Checking (PERC) Process
Oct 23	1pm	HCM Training: Manager Self Service (MSS)
Oct 24	1pm	SAVE THE DATE! Fin Aid Work Session: 2025/2026 Aid Year Rollover Prep
Oct 24	2pm	FIN Training: Intermediate General Ledger - Importing Journals (Part 2of2)
Oct 28	1pm	SF Work Session: 2024 1098-T Processing (1 of 5)
Oct 29	9am	PS Query Training 102 - Query SecuritySign Up
Oct 29	2pm	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting (DYK on GL & GR)
Oct 30	1pm	HCM Work Session: HR Core - HR Administration
Nov 5	9am	*NEW SESSION* Advanced Fin Aid Training: Pell & Loan Message Log Review
Nov 5	2pm	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting (DYK on AM)
Nov 7	9am	SF Training: Intermediate Third-Party Contracts
Nov 7	1pm	CS Core Work Session: [Students] Got Bills; They’re Multiplying!
Nov 12	9am	PS Query Training 201 Intermediate - Part 1Sign Up
Nov 12	2pm	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting *CANCELED*
Nov 13	9am	Save the Date! CS Core AAR Workshop 9 AM - 12 PM & 1 - 4 PM
Nov 13	9am	PS Query Training 201 Intermediate - Part 2Sign Up
Nov 13	1pm	HCM Work Session: End of Year W-2 Preparation - Part 2
Nov 13	2pm	ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting
Nov 14	9am	Save the Date! CS Core AAR Workshop 9 AM - 12 PM & 1 - 4 PM
Nov 14	1pm	SF Work Session: SF Communications
Nov 18	11am	FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Q&A Drop-In *DATE CHANGE*
Nov 18	1pm	SF Work Session: 2024 1098-T Processing (2 of 5)
Nov 19	9am	Fin Aid Training: Intermediate Pell - Multiple Pell Record Reporting (MRR) Process Refresher
Nov 19	11am	FIN Work Session: Asset Mgmt Q&A Drop-In
Nov 19	2pm	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting
Nov 21	9am	SF/FIN BAR Follow-Up: SMARTER Reports Q&A
Nov 21	1pm	CS Core Work Session: Open Q&A Session
Nov 21	2pm	FIN Training: AM Back to Basics
Nov 26	2pm	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting *CANCELED*

Resource	Description
ctcLink Training Quick Reference Guides	The ctcLink Training Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) in the ctcLink Reference Center lists and links to recordings of sessions delivered by the Training Team.
Work Sessions in Canvas	The Work Session Canvas Course lists and links to recordings of sessions, including CS Core-offered Work Sessions. Register for the course(s) at ctcLink Training & Learning Opportunities Registration.
ctcLink Security Documentation & Training	Find ctcLink Security-related training materials, documentation, Quick Reference Guides (QRGs), useful queries, and more on the ctcLink Security Documentation & Training page.
Accessibility and ctcLink Open Forums	SBCTC hosts monthly Accessibility and ctcLink Open Forums to engage Washington's community and technical college system in discussions around ctcLink accessibility and technology. Find materials and recordings from past ctcLink Accessibility Forums on the website.

 

Learn about how to register, badging opportunities, and more at the Professional & Personal Development Workshops page.

Registering for the workshops is easy!

1. Visit the SBCTC meetings and events calendar
2. Filter by "CTC Professional Development » Personal & Professional Development Suite"
3. Click "Sign up" button to enroll

 

Date	Time	Event
Oct 9	1pm	Effective Communication Strategies Professional Development Workshop
Oct 16	1pm	Psychological Safety in the Workplace Professional Development Workshop
Oct 21	10am	EQ (Emotional Quotient) Professional Development Workshop
Oct 30	1pm	Time Management Professional Development Workshop
Nov 5	1pm	Psychological Safety in the Workplace Professional Development Workshop
Nov 13	1pm	Managing Stress Part 1 Professional Development Workshop
Nov 14	1pm	Managing Stress Part 2 Professional Development Workshop
Nov 19	1pm	Time Management Professional Development Workshop
Dec 4	1pm	Time Management Professional Development Workshop
Dec 9	10am	Top Tier Customer Experience Professional Development Workshop
Dec 12	1pm	Psychological Safety in the Workplace Professional Development Workshop

System Environment Updates & Outages

Stay up to date on planned maintenance and service outages for ctcLink and related systems: ctcLink Support Page (includes Planned Service Outages)

PCD Refresh and Your Queries: Get Ready!

The PCD (Production College Development) environment will be refreshed from PRD on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Beginning Friday, Oct. 4, at noon, PCD will not be available for query development until after the PCD is refreshed.

What you need to do

Make sure any PCD queries you want to keep begin with the prefix DEV_ unless you have submitted a ticket requesting backup of queries that will be used for BI Publisher, Pivot Grid, or nVision reports.

Standard Queries

Any queries in PCD that do not begin with DEV_ will be deleted.

• This applies to all standard Public and Private queries. SBCTC will perform a query backup for in-progress queries (private and public) that meet the DEV_ naming convention.
• This backup will NOT be done by folder. This means if a query is in the DEVELOPMENT folder but doesn’t begin with DEV_ it will be overwritten and lost.

BI Publisher, Pivot Grid, and nVision Queries

Any query used in a BI Publisher, Pivot Grid, or nVision report DOES NOT have to follow the DEV_ protocol as it is very time-consuming to change them back when they are ready to migrate.

Instead, please submit a Service Desk ticket under Data Services – Reporting – Other with the title “PCD Refresh Backup Request.”  Provide the name of the query being developed for use in one of the advanced reporting tools in the request.  These queries will be individually backed up on an as-needed basis.

What to expect

• The queries in the backup will be imported back to PCD after the refresh is complete and a notice is received from Application Services.
• Data Services will send a message to you once our work is complete.
• Please do not log back into PCD after Friday, Sept. 6, at noon but wait until you receive a notification from Data Services.
• Queries that do not follow these naming conventions will be lost

Remember! Naming convention for queries

• Being developed in PCD: MUST begin with the prefix DEV_
• Used for training in PCD: MUST begin with QXX_TRAIN
• Being developed for use in BI Publisher, Pivot Grid, or nVision reports in PCD: MUST begin with the appropriate convention based on the reporting tool being used. Do not follow the DEV_ convention. Request must be sent to Data Services via Service Desk ticket.

Why you need to do it

Queries that do not follow this convention will not be backed up and will be lost.

Contact Emily Mullins, Reporting and BI Solutions Analyst for ctcLink, if you have any questions.

Are You Receiving ctcLinkAlerts?

SBCTC uses the ctcLinkAlerts eList to send notices about planned downtime for system updates, production alerts, urgent issues, and any unplanned downtime.

Each college maintains a local ctcLinkAlerts email distribution list (e.g., ctclinkalerts@columbiabasin.edu, ctcLinkAlerts@spscc.edu) which your ctcLink College Leader maintains as needed.

These college lists, not individuals, are subscribed to ctcLinkAlerts@lists.ctc.edu.

It’s each college’s choice who to include, but typically colleges include their local ctcLink leadership, local ctcLink committee or taskforce members, key subject matter experts, IT, Help Desk, and PIO.

CS Core Learning Opportunities

CS Core Training

CS Core Trainings, a valuable learning opportunity, are held on the third Wednesday of every month from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. The dates may change, and notifications will be sent in advance. The CS Core training alternates between refreshers and different process approaches. We highly value your participation and welcome all end-users to attend these trainings. You can find details about upcoming meetings on the SBCTC Calendar, CS Core Weeklyish CORErespondence, and CS Core listserv. Please visit the QRG Campus Solutions Learning OpportunitiesRecordings for a list of previous recordings.

NEW! CS Core Refresher: Enrollment Appointments

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, 8:30 – 9:45 a.m., Read more and join the session.

Introducing PERC (Post Enrollment Requirement Checking), the innovative PeopleSoft process/solution that efficiently compares a class's enrollment requirements to an enrolled student's completed classes. With PERC, you can effortlessly determine if students have satisfied the enrollment requirements for their upcoming classes.

The PERC process creates the Enrollment Requirement Roster page in PeopleSoft, offering the Post-Enrollment Requirement Status for each enrolled student. This allows staff to make well-informed decisions about the next steps. When manually dropping students from the Enrollment Requirement Roster or processing drop requests in batches, sending a 3C or Message Center message may be necessary.

Save the Date! CS Core AAR Workshops

• Wednesday, Nov. 13, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., 1-4 p.m. , Watch for more details
• Thursday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., 1-4 p.m., Watch for more details

CS Core Work Sessions

Campus Solutions (CS) Core Work Sessions, open to ALL end users, are held the first Thursday of each month, from 1 to 3 p.m. The CS Functional Support team facilitates, alternating between functional team delivered content and college user delivered content with functional team support. Each meeting includes time for colleges to ask questions about other topics or service tickets.

Find details on the SBCTC Calendar and in the CS Core Weeklyish COREspondence (sent on Fridays to the CSSupport listserv).

Core Sessions: College System & SBCTC Calendar

CS COREterly Open Q&A Sessions

CS Core invites you to attend its quarterly Open Q&A sessions! While these sessions are for learning and problem-solving, and community building.

• Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

We want these sessions to provide an opportunity for college users to:

• Get assistance with any functionality they want to better understand or situation they are struggling to make work.
• Seek advice on anything they are trying to solve.
• Share best practices and lessons learned.
• Develop networks and build community.

To support the varied work areas of our users, each session includes breakout room for each of the following modules:

• Records & Enrollment, which includes Student Program/Plan, Term Activation, Enrollment Appointments, Enrollment, Transfer-In Credit, Transcripts, Graduation and so on.
• Campus Community, which includes 3Cs, BioDemo, Service Indicators and so on.
• Curriculum Management, which includes class building, course catalog management, enrollment requirements and so on

We encourage you to submit your questions before the session (but doing so isn’t required). Enter your questions on the CS COREterly Question Submissions tab. Knowing your questions ahead of time just helps us to be prepared and allows us to help as many people as possible.

We hope you’ll join us even if you don’t have specific questions! We look forward to connecting with you and for you to connect with each other.

Questions? Contact CS Core Support.

Caring for Your Core Processes

Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Read more and join the session

Come learn about the best practices, common issues and frequently asked questions related to scheduling and job sets! We’ll talk about run controls and process recurrences as we demonstrate how to use the process monitor and how to review resulting success/error files. Shelia will join us to explain the purpose of the college jobs account and related expectations and responsibilities. Note, this content will be specific to CS Core modules (admissions, advisement, enrollment, curriculum management, etc.).

Module: PeopleTools

Primary Audience: Process Schedulers

Facilitator/s: Maria Sultan and Marissa Baker, with Shelia Sloan

Reference materials: Process Scheduler/Process Monitor

CS Core Work Session: [Students] Got Bills; They’re Multiplying!

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Read more and join the session

Does looking at the student account make you feel like you’re loooooosing control? Well, you better shape up, to help you better understand (la la la), that this session is for you. This is the-one-you-want (do-do-do). This session is for those of you who work outside of Student Financials who may need to view the student account and understand what you are seeing. Today we’ll get you a few key words and concepts that will help you better navigate, translate and make sense of Student Financials.

We’ll start with a high-level overview of different tuition groups and tuition calculation. Then, a basic understanding of how to read the student account and where to find information about payments, refunds and more. We will also review the account from the student’s perspective so you can help your students navigate what they see in Self-Service. GREASE up those minds, this session will be ELECTRIFYING.

Module: Student Financials

Primary Audience: Student Financials-Adjacent staff

Facilitator: Jill Hammitt, Highline College

Reference materials

• What I Owe (HCX) QRG
• Highline Canvas: Tuition/Fees Account Balances (Student Homepage)
• Highline Canvas: Tuition/Fees and Account Balances (Mobile)

NEW! CS Core Work Session: Get on the sCOREboard

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Read more and join the session

As the year ends, it’s once again time to celebrate the progress we've made as a system in ctcLink! All that hard work deserves a break so let’s take some time for some fun and games! Your CS Core team will host this light-hearted trivia-esque experience. The winning college not only gets bragging rights but ALSO gets to work with us to ensure that one of their most desired topics is addressed in a 2025 work session. This is your opportunity for you to show off that you’ve been scouring your bulletins, attending our work sessions, and bookmarking your QRGs/Canvas courses.

We may even throw in some random college and Washington state facts just to keep everyone on their toes and even the playing field!

FIN Learning Opportunities

FIN Training: Intermediate General Ledger - Journals (Part 1 of 2)

Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, 2 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Ready for a deeper dive into General Ledger Journals? Join us for Part 1 of 2 sessions on GL Journals.

This intermediate training will cover more complex journal processes such as reversals and unposting Journals in the General Ledger. Don't forget to save the date for Part 2 on Oct 24 that is all about the Journal Import Processes. All end users at any level are welcome to join in and gain perspective. Some of the topics that will be covered are:

• Creating and submitting Journal Reversals
• Unposting Journal Process
• Correcting Complex Journal Errors
• and more TBD!

Primary Audience: Finance/Admin/Staff Managers

Related QRGs: General Ledger section of the ctcLink Reference Center

Prerequisite Course(s): GL100 General Ledger Basics, GL200 Intermediate General Ledger

Presenter/Facilitators: Karen Ebert, SBCTC Functional Finance Trainer, and Brandy Eismon, SBCTC Functional Analyst

Questions? Contact Karen Ebert for more information.

FIN Training: Intermediate General Ledger - Importing Journals (Part 2 of 2)

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2 p.m., Read more and join the session

Ready for a deeper dive into the GL Import Journal Processes? Join us for Part 2 of 2 sessions on GL Journals.

This intermediate training will cover more complex journal processes such as the processes of importing and uploading Excel journal spreadsheets into the General Ledger. Spreadsheet Journal Import uses a front-end interface that provides you with an easy-to-follow menu for entering data, specifying defaults, and importing journals. All end users are welcome to join in and gain perspective. Some of the topics that will be covered are:

• Excel Spreadsheet Import Process: JRNL1_WS
• Customizing a Journal Spreadsheet Template
• Import a Journal Spreadsheet (Import Now) Process
• Uploading a Journal Spreadsheet as a Text File (Write to File) Process.

Module(s): General Ledger

Primary Audience: Finance/Admin/Staff Managers

Related QRGs: Journals: Create & Import

Prerequisite Course(s)  GL100 General Ledger Basics, GL200 Intermediate General Ledger

Presenters: Karen Ebert, SBCTC Functional Finance Trainer, and Brandy Eismon, SBCTC Functional Analyst

Contact: Karen Ebert - SBCTC Functional Finance Trainer

FIN Training: Asset Management (AM) Back to Basics

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, 2 p.m., Read more and join the session

Brand new to Asset Management (AM) or need a refresher on the basics?

Join us for an overview and live demos of the basic concepts and processes within Asset Management. This basic level training aims to provide some of the foundational knowledge of the AM Module within ctcLink PeopleSoft. All end users are welcome to join in and gain perspective. Some of the topics that will be covered:

• Common Asset Management Functions
• Search for An Asset
• Adding Assets and Locations
• How to Process AM Transactions
• How Depreciation Works

Module(s): Asset Management

Primary Audience: Financial Asset Staff/Manager or Facilities Asset Manager

Related QRGs: Adding Assets section of the ctcLink Reference Center and QRG Asset Management Checklist & Process Steps Guide

Prerequisite Course(s): AM100 Asset Management

Presenter/Facilitator: Karen Ebert, SBCTC Functional Finance Trainer, and Jane Wiseman, SBCTC Functional Analyst

Contact: Karen Ebert - SBCTC Functional Finance Trainer

FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Q&A Drop-In Sessions

Every second Monday of the month at 11 a.m. join the ctcLink Finance Customer Support team for a collaborative, interactive and troubleshooting drop-in session on everything Grants/Projects.

Questions? See the contact information listed in the event calendar listings below.

Need help with setting up FY25 grants? Feel free to reach out to Michele Rockwell, MSML, ctcLink Finance Functional Analyst.

You are invited to drop in with any questions related to grants and projects at the open Q&A sessions.

DATE/TIME	EVENT/TOPIC
Monday, Oct. 14, 11 a.m.	FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Q&A Drop-In
Monday, Nov. 18, 11 a.m.	FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Q&A Drop-In *DATE CHANGE due to Veterans Day holiday*
Monday, Dec. 9, 11 a.m.	FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Q&A Drop-In

FIN Work Session: Asset Management Q&A

Every third Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon, join the ctcLink Finance Customer Support team for a collaborative, interactive and troubleshooting drop-in session on all things Asset Management.

• 11 – 11:30 a.m., Training: Come learn or share something new.
• 11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., Q&A: Please come with your questions or issues and be ready to share your screen.

Some examples of topics:

• Tagging Active Assets
• Excel to CI Asset Upload
• Processing issues
• General questions

DATE/TIME	EVENT/TOPIC
Tuesday, Oct. 15, 11 a.m.	FIN Work Session: Asset Management Q&A Drop-In
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 11 a.m.	FIN Work Session: Asset Management Q&A Drop-In
Tuesday, Dec. 17, 11 a.m.	FIN Work Session: Asset Management Q&A Drop-In

Finance (FSCM) College Users Production Support Meetings

Meetings are held every Tuesday, from 2 to 3 p.m.

These sessions are open to ALL Finance (FSCM) end users. The ctcLink Finance Customer Support team provides updates on Service Tickets, PeopleSoft enhancements, and open forum time to ask questions or request future topics.

DATE/TIME	EVENT/TOPIC
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2 p.m.	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting
Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2 p.m.	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting
Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2 p.m.	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting
Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2 p.m.	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting
Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2 p.m.	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting (DYK on AM)
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2 p.m.	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting *CANCELED*
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2 p.m.	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting
Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2 p.m.	FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting *CANCELED*

Monthly Student Finance/General Ledger SF/GL Open Forum

Every second  Wednesday, 2 to 3 p.m., the SBCTC Business Operations Accounting team invites you to bring your questions (and solutions) to share during this open forum meeting space for all things Student Finance/General Ledger (SF/GL) related.

There is no formal agenda as we welcome all questions about everything from item types and second journal sets to waivers, queries, or internal cash reconciliation.

See the SBCTC meetings and events calendar and look for ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting.

DATE/TIME	EVENT/TOPIC
Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2 p.m.	ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting
Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2 p.m.	Canceled due to Veterans Day holiday
Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2 p.m.	ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting

ctcLink Accounting Team: Weekly Reconciliation Meeting

The SBCTC Business Operations Accounting team invites you to weekly work sessions to provide accounting support and guidance regarding, but not limited to, various reconciliation topics and processes. We will cover a specific topic(s) then move to open Q&A.

DATE/TIME	EVENT/TOPIC
Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, 10 a.m.	ctcLink Accounting Team: Recon Meeting Topic on T&E Related Accounts & Open Q&A
Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, 10 a.m.	ctcLink Accounting Team: Recon Meeting Topic on Student Related Liabilities & Open Q&A

Financial Aid Award Processing Update

Overall Numbers as of Monday, Sept. 30, 2024

Hats off to our college financial aid professionals for getting through the most challenging FAFSA aid year launch ever.

As of Monday, 14,719 students have been awarded for the summer term, and 49,481 students have been awarded for the fall term of the 2024-2025 academic year.

In comparison, as of this date last year, 12,373 students were awarded for the summer term (up by 2,346), and 38,632 students were awarded for the fall term of the 2023-2024 academic year (up by 10,849).

Also, as of Sept. 30, colleges have loaded 5,573 WASFA applications into the system to date, compared to 4,580 last year (up by 993).

SBCTC FAFSA Resources Webpage

Visit the 2024-25 FAFSA Resources web page for regularly updated information for college employees and includes updated FAQ templates including a Q&A center.

FAFSA Simplification Q&A center (for colleges)

Submit questions and ideas about FAFSA simplification efforts to the SBCTC FAFSA Response Team 

FAFSA in the News

• Keep up with the latest news from the NASFAA FAFSA Simplification Web Center

FA Learning Opportunities

Financial Aid Training

NEW! Advanced FA Training: Reviewing the View COD Data page

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, 9 - 10:30 a.m., Learn more and join the session

This Fin Aid Session is an advanced training on one of the ctcLink Fin Aid pages that will aid you in your direct loan troubleshooting and reconciliation needs.

Objectives:

• Understand how to do in-depth reading and interpreting the values on the View COD Data page
• Understand how to search for Entrance Counseling and MPN info by SSN
• Understand how to troubleshoot Direct Loan errors using the View COD Data page
• Understand where the link to the Doc ID lives on the Manage Pell Payment page and how that can be found/used in View COD Data
• Understand how to read the Doc ID on a raw CRAA and CRDL file

Audience: Financial Aid staff responsible for Direct Loan processing and troubleshooting

NEW! Advanced FA Training: Pell & Loan Message Log Review

Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, 9 – 10 a.m., Learn more and join the session

This session will cover:

• Understand how to download the Message Log detail
• Understand how to search in the Message Log detail
• Understand how to determine what needs further review in the MDLA and Manage Pell Payment pages

Module(s): Canvas Course: FA104 Processing Pell Payments and Direct Loans

Primary Audience: Financial Aid staff responsible for Direct Loan processing and troubleshooting

Related QRGs: Loan Processing Business Process Guide | 9.2 FA - Loans | ctcLink Reference Center (Note this guide has not been updated to 2024/2025 AY as of yet. Updates are forthcoming.)

Contact Kelly Forsberg, ctcLink Functional Trainer (Financial Aid).

Fin Aid Training: Intermediate Pell - Multiple Pell Record Reporting (MRR) Process Refresher

Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, 9 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Understand and work the steps in the Pell MRR Process:

• Upload/Download Files
• Import Federal Data Files
• Import Pell Phase-In Data
• Run Pell MRR Batch Report

Module(s): Financial Aid

Primary Audience: New Financial Aid Staff (and staff needing a refresher) who are responsible for managing Pell payment

Related QRGs: Pell Processing Business Process Guide | 9.2 FA - Financial Aid Business Process Guide

Prerequisite Course: FA104 Processing Pell Payments and Direct Loans

Contact Kelly Forsberg, ctcLink Functional Trainer (Financial Aid).

Financial Aid (FA) Work Sessions

Only one FA Work Session remains for 2024!

Save the date for Thursday, Oct. 24, 1-3 p.m. for an Aid Year Rollover Prep session.

Stay tuned to the ctcLink Financial Aid Support listserv for details and calendar invite with Webex login information.

HCM Learning Opportunities

HCM Training

NEW! HCM Training: Manager Self-Service

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, 1 – 3pm, Learn more and join the session

This work training covers the Manage Self-Service (MSS) homepage and all the transactions available to managers. More details will be available soon.

HCM Work Session Meetings

Human Capital Management (HCM) meetings are held every other Wednesday, from 1 to 3 p.m. The HCM Functional team along with the training team offers Work Sessions and Training Sessions around the different functionality in HCM.

For calendar details, search the ctcLink Learning Opportunities calendar at SBCTC meetings and events and apply Human Capital Management filter.

• Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m., HCM Work Session: HR Core - Overview
• Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m., HCM Work Session: HR Core - HR Administration
• Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m., Data Prep for Year-End Reporting W-2 Forms - Part 2

SF Learning Opportunities

Please feel free to reach out to SFSupport@sbctc.edu if you have any questions or need further clarification.

SF Training: Intermediate Refunds

Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, 9-11 a.m., Learn more and join the session

In this session, we may cover:

• Reversals
• Service Indicators
• Sponsor Refunds

Primary Audience: Student Financials and Financial Aid Refund Processors

Related QRG: SF - Refunds

Prerequisite Courses: SF101 – Cashiering, SF102 - Refunds

Contact Alec Risk, SBCTC Student Financials Functional Trainer, with any questions.

SF Work Session: Refunding Part 2

Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

In this session, we may cover FARP/FARC Processing and Financial Aid Reconciliation.

Primary Audience: Student Financials and Financial Aid Refund Processors

Related QRGs: SF - Refunds

Contact Email: SFSupport@sbctc.edu

SF Work Session: 2024 1098-T Processing (1 of 5)

Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Primary Audience: Student Financials staff

Related QRGs: 1098-T Guide

Contact Email: SFSupport@sbctc.edu

SF Training: Intermediate Third-Party Contracts

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, 9-11 a.m., Read more and join the session

In this session, we may cover:

• Reconciliation
• Payments
• Payment Reversals

Module(s): Student Financials

Primary Audience: Student Financials Third-Party Contract Processors

Related QRGs: SF - Third Party Contracts

Prerequisite Course(s)  SF101 – Cashiering, SF102 – Refunds, SF104 - Third Party Contracts

Contact Alec Risk, SBCTC Student Financials Functional Trainer, with any questions.

SF Work Session: SF Work Session: SF Communications

Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Primary Audience: Student Financials staff

Contact Email: SFSupport@sbctc.edu

SF Work Session: 2024 1098-T Processing (2 of 5)

Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Primary Audience: Student Financials staff

Related QRGs: 1098-T Guide

Contact Email: SFSupport@sbctc.edu

Monthly Student Finance/General Ledger SF/GL Open Forum

Every second Wednesday, 2 to 3 p.m., the SBCTC Business Operations Accounting team invites you to bring your questions (and solutions) to share during this open forum meeting space for all things Student Finance/General Ledger (SF/GL) related.

There is no formal agenda as we welcome all questions about everything from item types and second journal sets to waivers, queries, or internal cash reconciliation.

See the SBCTC meetings and events calendar and look for ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting.

DATE/TIME	EVENT/TOPIC
Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2 p.m.	ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2 p.m.	ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting
Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2 p.m.	ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting

PCD Refresh and Your Queries: Get Ready!

The PCD (Production College Development) environment will be refreshed from PRD on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Beginning Friday, Oct. 4, at noon, PCD will not be available for query development until after the PCD is refreshed.

What you need to do

Make sure any PCD queries you want to keep begin with the prefix DEV_ unless you have submitted a ticket requesting backup of queries that will be used for BI Publisher, Pivot Grid, or nVision reports.

Standard Queries

Any queries in PCD that do not begin with DEV_ will be deleted.

• This applies to all standard Public and Private queries. SBCTC will perform a query backup for in-progress queries (private and public) that meet the DEV_ naming convention.
• This backup will NOT be done by folder. This means if a query is in the DEVELOPMENT folder but doesn’t begin with DEV_ it will be overwritten and lost.

BI Publisher, Pivot Grid, and nVision Queries

Any query used in a BI Publisher, Pivot Grid, or nVision report DOES NOT have to follow the DEV_ protocol as it is very time-consuming to change them back when they are ready to migrate.

Instead, please submit a Service Desk ticket under Data Services – Reporting – Other with the title “PCD Refresh Backup Request.”  Provide the name of the query being developed for use in one of the advanced reporting tools in the request.  These queries will be individually backed up on an as-needed basis.

What to expect

• The queries in the backup will be imported back to PCD after the refresh is complete and a notice is received from Application Services.
• Data Services will send a message to you once our work is complete.
• Please do not log back into PCD after Friday, Sept. 6, at noon but wait until you receive a notification from Data Services.
• Queries that do not follow these naming conventions will be lost

Remember! Naming convention for queries

• Being developed in PCD: MUST begin with the prefix DEV_
• Used for training in PCD: MUST begin with QXX_TRAIN
• Being developed for use in BI Publisher, Pivot Grid, or nVision reports in PCD: MUST begin with the appropriate convention based on the reporting tool being used. Do not follow the DEV_ convention. Request must be sent to Data Services via Service Desk ticket.

Why you need to do it

Queries that do not follow this convention will not be backed up and will be lost.

Contact Emily Mullins, Reporting and BI Solutions Analyst for ctcLink, if you have any questions.

Query Developer Learning Opportunities

Instructor-Led Query Development Training

The ctcLink Training Calendar has been updated with instructor-led query-related training for the remainder of 2024. To clear filter settings, select None. Then select ctcLink Learning Opportunities > Reporting Training.

Date	Time	Event
Oct 15	9am	PS Query Training 101 Basics - Part 1
Oct 16	9am	PS Query Training 101 Basics - Part 2
Oct 29	9am	PS Query Training 102 - Query Security
Nov 12	9am	PS Query Training 201 Intermediate - Part 1
Nov 13	9am	PS Query Training 201 Intermediate - Part 2
Dec 3	9am	PS Query Training 301 Advanced - Part 1
Dec 4	9am	PS Query Training 301 Advanced - Part 2
Dec 10	9am	PS Query Training 401 Expert- Part 1
Dec 11	9am	PS Query Training 401 Expert- Part 2)

How to for Query Developer Courses

The process to enroll in Query Developer Canvas courses has been streamlined. Now, instead of emailing Data Services, simply:

Plan ahead for 2024

The ctcLink Training Calendar has been updated with 2024 instructor-led query-related training. To clear filter settings, select None. Then select ctcLink Learning Opportunities > Reporting Training.

How to for Query Developer Courses

The process to enroll in Query Developer Canvas courses has been streamlined. Now, instead of emailing Data Services, simply:

• Visit the ctcLink Training Registrationpage,
• Select the class(es) from the Designated Query Developer Training section,
• Follow the sign-up process.

More for PeopleSoft Query Developers

Find more ctcLink PeopleSoft Query Development resources including forms, documentation, and tools at the ctcLink PeopleSoft Reporting web page.

ctcLink Accessibility Monthly Open Forum

Join us! The ctcLink Accessibility monthly forums engage Washington's community and technical college system in discussions around ctcLink accessibility and technology. We aim to improve communication and transparency while providing space for productive and solution-focused dialog. Our main objective is to deliver accessible technology for all our students, staff, and the larger community.

Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month, 11 a.m. to noon.

• The October 8, 2024 ctcLink Accessibility Open Forum has been cancelled. Please join us for the next meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 21, at 11 a.m. All are welcome to attend via Zoom.
• Zoom meeting link: ctcLink Accessibility Open Forum 2024 and beyond

In case you missed a meeting, please see materials from past Open Forums.