A weekly round-up of ctcLink learning opportunities, ctcLink support updates, and news for Washington state community and technical college ctcLink users.

If you have questions or suggestions for future editions, contact ctcLink News or slnelson@sbctc.edu.

What ctcLink learning opportunities are available?

ctcLink Support eLists

ctcLink Customer Support teams send notifications of learning opportunities (including trainings, work sessions, user acceptance testing, and more), as well as global and cross-pillar system communications to the applicable ctcLink Support eLists (aka listservs) on a regular basis.

If you are a ctcLink end-user, and not already hearing about learning opportunities firsthand, join one or more support lists today: ctcLink Support eLists 

Training calendar

Find the latest learning opportunities, including notices of cancellation or schedule changes, on the ctcLink Training & Learning Opportunities Registration page or on the SBCTC meetings and events calendar (apply filters).

Take a training tour

View the ctcLink Training Overview video for a quick online tour of resources. To view it in full screen, select box icon in the upper right corner.

Learning Opportunities & Work Sessions Ahead

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
May 1 10am ctcLink Accounting Team: SBCTC Finance - Topic TBD
May 1 1pm CS Core Work Session: Caring for Your Service Indicators
May 5 1pm FA/SF/FIN Cross-Pillar Training: End to End Reconciliation
May 6 8:30am Pivot Grid Wizard - Part 1
May 7 8:30am Pivot Grid Wizard - Part 2
May 7 1pm HCM Work Session: Process Prepayments
May 8 11am FIN Work Session: Asset Mgmt. Workshop and Q&A *DATE CHANGE*
May 12 11am FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Mini Training and Open Q&A
May 13 9am PS Query Training 101 Basics - Part 1
May 13 2pm FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting [DYK: FYE 2025]
May 14 9am PS Query Training 101 Basics - Part 2
May 14 1pm ASYNCHRONOUS HCM Work Session: Balloon Payments and JEDI/Short Work Break
May 14 2pm ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting
May 15 10am ctcLink Accounting Team: SBCTC Finance - Topic TBD
May 21 9am Running Start Series
May 21 1pm HCM Work Session: NRA Setup and Paycheck Modeler
May 22 1pm SF Work Session: The Great Ledger Migration - Student Financials to the General Ledger
May 27 11am *DATE CHANGE* FIN Work Session: Travel and Expenses Mini Training & Workshop
May 28 8:30am **Dz*Rescheduled CS Core Training: Processing Deceased Students
Jun 2 1pm CANCELED - SF Training: Course List/Course List Fees/Tuition Groups
Jun 2 1pm SF Work Session: Washington Waives - Updating your Athletic, Apprenticeship, State Employee, and Senior Tuition Waivers
Jun 2 2pm FIN Training: FY26 Capital Projects Creation to Finalization and Maintenance
Jun 4 2pm FIN Training: FY26 Grant Awards Creation to Activation [CRC & FPC]
Jun 5 10am ctcLink Accounting Team: SBCTC Finance - Topic TBD
Jun 5 1pm CS Core Work Session: A Treasury of Tiny Topics
Jun 5 1pm Cross-Pillar Work Session (FA/SF/FIN): Reconciliation Show & Tell
Jun 9 11am FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Mini Training and Open Q&A
Jun 10 9am *RESCHEDULED* Fin Aid Training: (Header Colleges Only) Loan Set Up for Schema 5.0c and 2025/2026 Loan Processing
Jun 10 9am PS Query Training 102 - Query Security
Jun 10 2pm FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting [DYK: FYE 2025]
Jun 11 1pm HCM Work Session: "SAVE THE DATE" Topic TBD
Jun 11 2pm ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting
Jun 17 11am FIN Work Session: Asset Mgmt. Workshop and Q&A *DATE CHANGE*
Jun 18 8:30am CS Core Training: Save the Date! (Topic TBD)
Jun 18 9am Running Start Series
Jun 24 9am PS Query Training 201 Intermediate - Part 1
Jun 24 2pm FIN Work Session: FSCM Prod Support Meeting [DYK: FYE 2025]
Jun 25 9am PS Query Training 201 Intermediate - Part 2
Jun 25 1pm HCM Work Session: "SAVE THE DATE" Topic TBD
Jun 26 8:45am FIN Work Session: FYE25 Purchasing Support Open WebEx
Jun 30 8am FIN Work Session: FYE25 GL Journal Drop-In Support
Jun 30 8am FIN Work Session: FYE25 Purchasing Support Open WebEx
Jun 30 11am FIN Work Session: Travel and Expenses Mini Training & Workshop

 

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.

 

ctcLink News

Mailman Lists (aka Listservs) Bug Notice

While not a ctcLink issue, you may have noticed the main Mailman List (listserv) page has a bug.

The following service notice has been added to the list info page with a link to instructions for alternative ways to access, subscribe, unsubscribe, and manage lists:

  • SERVICE NOTICE: Direct links to the Mailman list information pages are experiencing an issue. If you are a list-owner, administrator, or user who wishes to subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit the URL below for troubleshooting instructions: https://www.sbctc.edu/colleges-staff/it-support/mailman-lists

The Mailman eList Manager page SERVICE NOTICE: Mailman Bug Troubleshooting provides the following instructions:

  • To subscribe
  • To unsubscribe
  • For list members to update options (including subscription options such as Digest Mode, changing your password)
  • For list owners/admins only

Join a ctcLink Support eList (aka LISTSERVs)

Any Washington state community and technical college ctcLink PeopleSoft users — including SBCTC staff, ctcLink, and IT teams — are encouraged to join one or more ctcLink-related Mailman eLists (aka LISTSERVs).

Find a list — or two or three or four — and join today at ctcLink Support eLists.

See the note above about bugs, but please sign up!

Connect with your ctcLink peers and colleagues

  • ctcLink Customer Support sends updates, outage notices, changes to configuration, training and workshop opportunities, global and cross-pillar communications to colleges.
  • College subject matter experts (SMEs), PeopleSoft users/stakeholders can use the lists to ask  their college peers questions about how they do things in ctcLink, best practices, local training plans, and more. 

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.

Onboarding Training Manuals & Staff Training Participation App Available

Whether for yourself or for your staff, the ctcLink Staff Training Participation Application (STP) application and ctcLink Onboarding Training Manuals are available for college and SBCTC staff.

ctcLink Staff Training Participation Application Features

  • Users can view their own course completion information, as well as course completion information for any staff within their chain of supervision. 
  • Includes integrated checklists for supervisors to assign required and recommended ctcLink Canvas course training.
  • Displays training course completion information extracted from Canvas so supervisors can track online training course completion and progress for their staff.
  • Security roles are dynamically assigned to all active users in the system to access their own training data, and the training data of any staff in the user’s supervisory hierarchy. Depending on the security role, staff can search for active or inactive employees training data by a variety of means including employee ID, supervisor’s name, employee first or last name, department, or training course title. 
  • An elevated ctcLink security role provides users with college-level training data, and is assigned to college designated Points of Contact (ctcLink College Leaders). For ongoing role-level access, the individual local security administrators (LSAs) have the ability to update access for maintenance purposes.

Please see the ctcLink Staff Training Participation Application quick reference guide (QRG) for step-by-step user instructions.

Need help?

Any supervisors having issues accessing staff records, please submit a ctcLink Service Ticket to: ctcLink Support > Training > Staff Training Participation application.

Onboarding Training Manuals

The Onboarding Training Manuals, a companion to STP, help new college staff in their training journey through ctcLink (PeopleSoft). Although learning a new software system can be challenging, so these documents provide new staff with information to locate, understand, and participate in the various ctcLink training and learning opportunities available.

The Onboarding Training Manuals can be found in the ctcLink Reference Center “Intro to ctcLink” section. Onboarding manuals are available for each ctcLink pillar, as well as general staff.

The ctcLink Training and Support teams look forward to a continued partnership with the colleges and SBCTC agency staff to enhance onboarding and training experiences for new employees. 

Reach out to Gretchen Fulmer, Associate Director of Training, if you have any questions.

ctcLink Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW) Update

Process Alignment: College-Driven | Agency-Supported | Leadership-Endorsed

What Is Process Alignment?

Process alignment involves creating common, agreed-upon business processes that align with our system's goals and strategies. It ensures that ctcLink system processes are consistent and efficient. 

Travel & Expense Pilot: Nearing Completion

The Travel & Expense taskforce—the first PAW pilot—has completed its review of all related modules. Final recommendations will be presented at the upcoming May 14 ctcLink College Collaboration Group Meeting.

Designated travel administrators and subject matter experts across the college system will be invited and are encouraged to attend and join the conversation.

How We're Supporting Alignment

The PAW team is developing tools and strategies to guide colleges through the alignment process:

Self-Assessment Tools

A survey and checklist will help colleges determine how closely they align with the recommended processes.

Utilization Metrics

A new dashboard will track usage and system configurations to provide real-time insights into alignment progress.

Organizational Change Management (OCM)

Colleges will receive support in building Change Action Plans using the ADKAR model, which focuses on Awareness | Desire | Knowledge | Ability | Reinforcement,

This approach empowers individuals and teams to adopt and sustain change with confidence.

What Happens After the Taskforce?

To support long-term success, PAW will offer resources designed to help colleges adapt smoothly to new processes and configurations, including:

  • Customized training materials
  • Targeted implementation support
  • Collaborative working sessions

What Should Be Aligned Next?

Your voice matters! PAW is moving forward, but not without your input.

Submit your ideas

Have a business process you think could benefit from alignment?
Complete the Process Alignment Nomination Form to share your recommendation.

Learn More About PAW

Visit the Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW) Project  and Travel & Expense Process Alignment Dashboard at the ctcLink Reference Center to explore:

  • Shared Vision & Guiding Principles
  • Alignment Methodology
  • PAW Membership & Representation
  • Process Alignment Plans & Structure

Contact

Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns about the Process Alignment Workgroup activities:

  • Lia Homeister, Travel & Expense PAW Taskforce Lead, Director of Institutional Research & Effectiveness, ctcLink College Leader, Renton Technical College
  • Jason Hetterle, PAW Team Lead, Wenatchee, Valley College Director of Technology & Enterprise Solutions

How to Check the Status of an Enhancement Request

The ctcLink Customer Services Teams have documented all Enhancement Request (ER) forms submitted.

The ctcLink Enhancement Request Status lists are updated the first and third Wednesday of each month to align with the ctcLink Working Group calendar.

You can see where each Enhancement Request is in the governance review process, approval status, and/or any other actions taken in a couple of different views.

High-Level Summary At-a-Glance

The Full Enhancement Request List is sorted by status.

CS Core Learning Opportunities

Running Start Series

SBCTC Dual Credit presents monthly virtual sessions for college Running Start staff. Each session includes SBCTC/OSPI updates and time for Running Start college staff to come together and connect. Participants cover a wide range of topics, including Campus Solutions - Student Financials.

The presentation portion is recorded and posted to the SBCTC Dual Credit YouTube playlist.

Date Time Event
Wednesday, May 21 9 a.m. Running Start Series
Wednesday, June 18 9 a.m. Running Start Series

Feel free to contact Stephanie Rock, SBCTC Student Services & K12 Alignment Policy Associate, with any questions.

FA/SF/FIN Cross-Pillar Training: End-to-End Reconciliation

Monday, May 5, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join functional trainers from the SBCTC Financial Aid, Student Financials, and Finance teams in this knowledge-sharing session and gain valuable reconciliation resources and tips.

Presenters: Kelly Forsberg, Financial Aid; Alec Risk, Student Financials; Karen Ebert, Finance.

Pillar Objectives
FA/SF/FIN Understand the high-level flow of the cross-pillar (FA/SF/FIN) end-to-end reconciliation process
FA Demonstrate a sample interdepartmental reconciliation worksheet college users can use/build from to track expenses, revenue, and variances
FA Understand the available reports and queries in the Fund Management Guide that should be run on a weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly basis
FA Understand the high-level process in FA concerning what queries and reports to run for varying funding sources
FA Understand the timing in which SAS files are available to use for FA/COD reconciliation
SF Understand how the GL is sent to FIN via SF/SFC journals
SF Understand the available SF queries and how to reconcile them
FIN Review of GL Account Guidance / Resources
FIN Understand How SF Data Processes into Finance
FIN Review SF/GL Reconciliation Queries
FIN Reimbursement/Drawdown Best Practices

Questions? Contact Alec Risk

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 training courses. 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 Opportunities Recordings for a list of previous recordings.

CS Core Training: Processing Deceased Students

NEW DATE: Wednesday, May 28, 2025, 8:30 - 9:45 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Join us for a thoughtful and informative training session designed to guide you through the sensitive process of managing records for deceased students with professionalism, empathy, and adherence to institutional policies.

Topics:

  • Systematic steps to handle deceased students' records respectfully.
  • Best practices for institutional compliance.

This training aims to equip you with the knowledge and tools to navigate this responsibility with care and confidence.

Module(s): Student Records

Primary Audience: Records Staff

Related QRGs: Processing a Deceased Student Record, Entering Decedent Data

CS Core Work Sessions

Campus Solutions (CS) Core Work Sessions, open to ALL end users, are generally held the first Thursday of each month, from 1 to 3 p.m., but may be offered on an alternative schedule (e.g., to accommodate holidays).

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.

In 2025, CS Core Work Sessions will:

  • Include community engagement within each session (rather than have a formal, predetermined college panel).  As possible, we will post the anticipated questions ahead of time so that you can be prepared.
  • Dedicate at least the last half hour (2:30-3:00 pm) to Open Q&A. 
  • If the scheduled session ends early and all related questions have been answered, Open Q&A will begin (i.e., it may begin earlier than 2:30 but will begin no later than 2:30)

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

Coming up next!

Join us for  CS Core Work Session: Caring for Your Service Indicators on Thursday, May 1.

Please encourage anyone who builds and/or maintains Service Indicators on your campus to attend. While SF and FA staff are welcome to attend, this session will be targeted toward CS Core staff and will not go over SF/FA module-specific guidance or requirements

Changing a Service Indicator is not as easy as you think and merits a detailed review along with a debate about when it makes more sense to modify and when it makes more sense to make a new one.

In this session, we’re going to cover as much information about Service Indicators (SI) as possible, including:

  • What is your local business process for creating a new service indicator?  Do requests go to a particular person?  What is the review process? 
  • When do you use a service indicator (as opposed to a student group, or something else)?
  • When (and how) do you retire a service indicator?
  • What’s involved in configuring an SI, including how to use Reason Codes efficiently and what to consider when adding Service Impacts.
  • How to assign and release, both individually and by using processes to do so in mass.
  • Required SACR security.
  • For colleges that were not part of DG5 or DG6, we will remind you about the option for term-and-date based Service Indicators.

Audience: While SF and FA staff are more than welcome to attend, this session will be targeted toward CS Core staff and will not go over any SF/FA module specific guidance or requirements.

Questions? Contact CS Core Support.

NEW Sessions announced: read up and plan ahead

CS Core Work Session:  Managing Enrollment with a Side of Search/Match

Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

It’s true that the needs of our students vary widely but they do have one thing in common:  Enrollment!  We’ll warm up with a quick review of the functional options before diving a little deeper to explore the building blocks of enrollment and how they intersect with other system processes.  While it may seem like enrollment is a straightforward function MOST of the time, that’s not always the case.  Join us as we talk about what tools exist to troubleshoot and find solutions for those times when things don’t quite work as expected.

Facilitator: Ryan Jackson, SBCTC

CS Core Work Session: Hodgepodge: A Treasury of Tiny Topics

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

There are so many topics that deserve a spotlight but don’t quite merit an entire session by themselves.  So what to do?  We bundle them up!  We present to you:  A Very Special Hodgepodge Session!  Along with a speedy review of fundamentals, reminders and suggestions we’ll cover a selection of current topics of interest.  Designed to prompt many OH RIGHT responses and build your muscle memory, this session should be a fun one.   Note, this session will cover different content than the June 5, 2025, version of Hodgepodge/Treasury.

Facilitated by Lilly Oh, SBCTC.

CS Core Work Session: 3C Troubleshooting Session

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Is your 3C causing you difficulty? Do you have a communication, comment, or checklist not working quite as you’d like? Then this session is for you! Please join us as our panel helps to problem solve your issue. With many eyes looking and minds working together, we’re more likely to put a finger on the hiccups and to identify a solution.

This session requires YOU to bring the content. While there will be no prepared presentation, we have a panel prepared to help! If everyone comes with the intention of just listening to OTHER people’s questions it will be a very quiet, short session. While SF and FA staff are welcome to attend, this session will be targeted toward CS Core staff and will not go over any SF/FA module specific guidance or requirements.

Facilitators:  Jill Hammit, Highline; with Jessyka Bridges, Bates; Kael Godwin, Highline; and Michael Taing, Shoreline.

FIN Learning Opportunities

ctcLink Accounting Team Presents

Every first and third Thursday, these recurring work sessions aim to provide accounting support and guidance regarding, but not limited to, the various reconciliation topics and processes. Each session covers a specific topic(s) and then moves to open Q&A.

DATE/TIME EVENT/TOPIC
Thursday, May 1, 10 a.m. ctcLink Accounting Team: SBCTC Finance - Topic TBD
Thursday, May 15, 10 a.m. ctcLink Accounting Team: SBCTC Finance - Topic TBD

FA/SF/FIN Cross-Pillar Training: End-to-End Reconciliation

Monday, May 5, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join functional trainers from the SBCTC Financial Aid, Student Financials, and Finance teams in this knowledge-sharing session and gain valuable reconciliation resources and tips.

Presenters: Kelly Forsberg, Financial Aid; Alec Risk, Student Financials; Karen Ebert, Finance.

Pillar Objectives
FA/SF/FIN Understand the high-level flow of the cross-pillar (FA/SF/FIN) end-to-end reconciliation process
FA Demonstrate a sample interdepartmental reconciliation worksheet college users can use/build from to track expenses, revenue, and variances
FA Understand the available reports and queries in the Fund Management Guide that should be run on a weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly basis
FA Understand the high-level process in FA concerning what queries and reports to run for varying funding sources
FA Understand the timing in which SAS files are available to use for FA/COD reconciliation
SF Understand how the GL is sent to FIN via SF/SFC journals
SF Understand the available SF queries and how to reconcile them
FIN Review of GL Account Guidance / Resources
FIN Understand How SF Data Processes into Finance
FIN Review SF/GL Reconciliation Queries
FIN Reimbursement/Drawdown Best Practices

Questions? Contact Alec Risk

Travel and Expenses Q&A Drop-In

Recurring every LAST Monday of the month, 11 a.m. to noon, join us for a collaborative, interactive and troubleshooting drop-in support session on everything Travel and Expenses. This session is not recorded, unless otherwise noted.

  • 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.

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

NEW! Recurring 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, May 12, 11 a.m. FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Q&A Drop-In
Monday,  June 9, 11 a.m. FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Mini Training and Open Q&A

FIN Work Session: Asset Management Q&A

Every second Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon (except where noted) 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

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.

The ctcLink Finance Subject Matter Experts list received a calendar invitation to Upcoming Finance Users Production Support meetings.

Didn’t get the invitation? Reach out to Shon Dicks-Schlesinger, Associate Director of Finance Functional Support.

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, May 14, 2 p.m. ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting
Wednesday, June 11, 2 p.m. ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting
Wednesday, July 9, 2 p.m. ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting

FA Support Updates

FA Weeklyish Bulletin

Trying to recall that important thing you read in the ctcLink Financial Aid listserv FA Weeklyish Bulletin? Don’t miss a thing! Revisit past editions in the FA Weeklyish Bulletin Archive at the ctcLink Reference Center.

FA Learning Opportunities

Financial Aid Training

NEW DATE: Fin Aid Training for Header Colleges Only: Loan Set Up for Schema 5.0c and 25/26 Loan Processing

Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join this hands-on workshop to set up/adjust your Run Controls for the 2025-2026 AY in preparation for sending out your Direct Loan files for the Summer Term. 

Audience:  Header College Financial Aid Staff responsible for Direct Loan Origination and Outbounding

Agenda

  • Updating/checking Loan Fee Set Up
  • Updating/checking Loan Fee in Item Types Set Up
  • Updating/checking the Loan Fee in Create Loan Types pg
  • Updating the Process Loans Run Control ID parameters to 2025 AY
  • 10:30 to 10:45 a.m.: Break
  • Updating the EY Summer Include & Summer Exclude Run Control ID parameters to 2025/2026 dates and AY.
  • Updating the EY Process Loan Dates Run Control ID to 2025 AY.
  • Updating the Schema to 5.0b on the EY Generate Direct Loan Data pg.
  • Updating and/or creating EY Run Control IDs for your Direct Loan Reports

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

Financial Aid Work Sessions

FA/SF/FIN Cross-Pillar Work Session Reconciliation Show & Tell

Thursday, June 5, 2025, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join us for a cross-pillar work session as SBCTC hosts esteemed colleagues from Bellevue College in a Webex on the hot topic of reconciliation!

Guest speakers Christine Taylor, Financial Aid Director; Jennifer Fetters, Associate Director of Student Center-Financial Aid; and Jennifer McMillan, Finance Manager, will walk through their local business process on reconciliation for Pell, Direct Loan, and state funds. 

This session emphasizes the importance of interdepartmental communication during monthly reconciliation processes and reviews key steps unique to Bellevue College in their local reconciliation business process.

Audience:  FA, SF and FIN staff responsible for reconciling federal and state funding

HCM Support Updates

HCM Users Group Spring 2025 Quarter Meeting

Thursday, May 8, and Friday, May 9 (half day), 2025, at Yakima Valley College. Virtual option will be available.

Watch for details on the HCM Users Group web page and the HCM support eList: ctcLinkSME-HCM.

Questions? Contact Annie Butler, HCM Users Group Chair.

HCM Learning Opportunities

HCM Work Sessions

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.

Questions? Contact HCM Customer Support.

DATE/TIME EVENT/TOPIC
Wednesday, May 7, 1 p.m. HCM Work Session: Process Prepayments
Wednesday, May 21, 1 p.m. HCM Work Session: NRA Setup & Paycheck ModelerBN100 Benefits Overview, originally planned for May 21, will be rescheduled to July.
Wednesday, June 11, 1 p.m. HCM Work Session: "SAVE THE DATE" Topic TBD
Wednesday, June 25, 1 p.m. HCM Work Session: TM100 Talent Acquisition Manager "SAVE THE DATE"
Wednesday, July 9, 1 p.m. HCM Work Session: "SAVE THE DATE" Topic TBD
Wednesday, July 23, 1 p.m. HCM Work Session: "SAVE THE DATE" Topic TBD

SF Learning Opportunities

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

FA/SF/FIN Cross-Pillar Training: End-to-End Reconciliation

Monday, May 5, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join functional trainers from the SBCTC Financial Aid, Student Financials, and Finance teams in this knowledge-sharing session and gain valuable reconciliation resources and tips.

Presenters: Kelly Forsberg, Financial Aid; Alec Risk, Student Financials; Karen Ebert, Finance.

Pillar Objectives
FA/SF/FIN Understand the high-level flow of the cross-pillar (FA/SF/FIN) end-to-end reconciliation process
FA Demonstrate a sample interdepartmental reconciliation worksheet college users can use/build from to track expenses, revenue, and variances
FA Understand the available reports and queries in the Fund Management Guide that should be run on a weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly basis
FA Understand the high-level process in FA concerning what queries and reports to run for varying funding sources
FA Understand the timing in which SAS files are available to use for FA/COD reconciliation
SF Understand how the GL is sent to FIN via SF/SFC journals
SF Understand the available SF queries and how to reconcile them
FIN Review of GL Account Guidance / Resources
FIN Understand How SF Data Processes into Finance
FIN Review SF/GL Reconciliation Queries
FIN Reimbursement/Drawdown Best Practices

Questions? Contact Alec Risk

Running Start Series

SBCTC Dual Credit presents monthly virtual sessions for college Running Start staff. Each session includes SBCTC/OSPI updates and time for Running Start college staff to come together and connect. Participants cover a wide range of topics, including Campus Solutions - Student Financials.

The presentation portion is recorded and posted to the SBCTC Dual Credit YouTube playlist.

Date Time Event
Wednesday, May 21 9 a.m. Running Start Series

Feel free to contact Stephanie Rock, SBCTC Student Services & K12 Alignment Policy Associate, with any questions.

SF Work Sessions

The Great Ledger Migration: Student Financials to the General Ledger

Thursday, May 22, 1 p.m.,  Learn more and join the session 

Join us to learn more on the following: a general overview on how SF transactions jump over the fence into the Finance pillar/General Ledger, focus on specific SF-related fiscal year end considerations, and review how Second Journal Set item types may be updated locally instead of via State Board ticket. 

Washington Waives: Updating your Athletic, Apprenticeship, State Employee, and Senior Tuition Waivers

Monday, June 2, 1 p.m., Learn more and join the session 

Join us to learn more on the following: Reviewing specific updates to the named waivers, learning more about waiver reporting, and State Board resource updates. 

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, May 14, 2 p.m. ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting
Wednesday, June 11, 2 p.m. ctcLink Accounting Team: SF/GL Open Forum Meeting

Query Developer Learning Opportunities

Instructor-Led Query Development Training

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

How to Enroll in Self-Paced Query Developer Courses

It’s easy to enroll in Query Developer Courses.

  • 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.

Security Updates

The ctcLink Security team provided valuable support for the PeopleTools 8.61 upgrade from planning to implementation.

Most colleges now have a “jobs” account for Financial Aid. These service accounts are set up centrally and configured for the college to use to process financial aid transactions and processes. This eliminates some of the issues encountered with staff turnover when these jobs are configured under an employee’s user ID. In that case, the entire job set would have to be reconfigured on the new hire. With this new service account, the account/job isn't affected; therefore, processing can continue.

The team is keeping busy with Offboarding Automation Phase 2 changes, SASI Work Package 2 reporting changes, internal job account audits, data masking, and data scrubbing.

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.

Please join us for the next ctcLink Accessibility Open Forum on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at 11 a.m. All are welcome to attend via Zoom.

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

Keeping the Lights On

In a ctcLink world populated with acronyms and mysterious jargon, the Application Services teams are the “pillar behind the pillars” for Washington’s community and technical colleges 24/7 by supporting ctcLink pillars, systemwide IT applications, environments, accessibility improvements, testing, and managing the network data load behind-the-scenes.

While you may never meet them directly or understand what they do, they support you every single day.

Completed/Wins

  • Development deployed to production this week
  • Code Freeze Lifted
  • Data fixes and bug fixes in HCM, CS, and FSCM
  • Deployed 8.61 to production!
  • ER 999 - OAAP Work Package 1 - Residency and Citizenship deployed to production.
  • ER 999 - OAAP Work Package 1 - Residency and Citizenship UAT Completion and Go Live
  • PeopleTools 8.61 PRD Deployment, April 26
  • PT 8.61 Go Live & Confidence Testing

In Progress

  • In Development, SIT, UAT, and Completed
  • Accessibility testing for OAAP residency page.
  • Add new leave codes to CTC_ABSBL_AE and Crosswalk. Ticket 193709. HCM-1538. Development complete.
  • App Engine for Yearly Updates to CS and ST Salary Plans. Ticket 207571. We are developing an app engine to automate a complex process that the HCM functional has had to do manually every year with Excel to CI. Development is complete.
  • On 3/5/25, Testing with archiving HR_ACCTG_LINE. Working with Data Services team on testing query performance after archiving and running stats in PCD.
  • Attended SBCTC Degree program Mapping using AI meeting.
  • Automatically Resubmit Asynchronous IB Errors. Ticket 200430. On hold.
  • CampusCE NOR response Bug Fix. CS-2338. Ticket 199915. Currently in SIT.
  • CampusCE Search/Match results transaction suspend. CS-2343. Ticket 198623. Currently in SIT.
  • Configurable search issue in 8.61. Ticket 214405 the ID Field not auto-filling like it should.
  • ctcLink Pages Display Information for Other Business Units in Finance. Ticket 210359. Development is in progress for securing these pages by BU.
  • Enhancement FWL Employee Record Look Up. Ticket 148615. Back to redev.
  • Enter time, report time, and other time pages working on implementing new functionality with configurable headers. We are working on a customization to replace the drop zone and use the now accessible configurable headers to display information about the job the person is entering time for. The HCM functional team requested the salary rate be effective dated, so we can no longer only use Oracle's delivered functionality for configurable headers. Ticket 124980. Was in SIT and went back to redev. There was a new issue delivered with 8.61 that we need to work through.
  • ER 219 - Automation of adjustments to vacation / sick time donations for Shared Leave. Ticket 168718. Currently in development.
  • ER 232 - Adding Custom Self-Service Questions in Campus Solutions. Bhuvana and Neel are working on development.
  • ER 253 - Make a Payment Page Classic to Fluid. Development is complete. Ticket 181828.
  • ER 285 - Purchase of EPM tool from Oracle for use to do Book to Bank reconciliation. Waiting on new ER and requirements.
  • ER-171 TAM Enhancements. Ticket 163606 and HCM-1292. Development complete.
  • ER-266 Student Financial Responsibility Agreement College User Review - scheduled to end 4/30
  • GL_EXCL_BATC in FSPRD. Ticket 204146. Budget checking is failing on batch uploads. Working with Oracle in a service request. Ticket 214412 created to hide the budget checking option on the run control page while we work with Oracle on a resolution.
  • I-088 Interface Processing Update. Ticket 213443. HCM-1570. Development complete.
  • Institution Set Override Problem. Ticket 190595. Josh is investigating.
  • Investigate missing services in PQA.
  • New Leave Liability Report. Ticket 212415. Development complete.
  • Offboarding phase 2 - ticket 212741.  Development is in progress as the developer gets the updated requirements.
  • OFM App Engine Updates to include SP Salary Plan. Ticket 209524. HCM-1578. Development complete.
  • Ticket 206057 - New table for 'transaction log' to see person/date/ whether or not integration to okta successful. Ticket 206055 - Dynamic Role integration with Okta Fix. Development is complete.
  • Override institution set issues in ticket 190595. Investigating.
  • Participated in planning meeting for SFRA compliance in CampusCE.
  • Portal homepage logos keep disappearing. SR open with Oracle. Ticket 215079.
  • Prep Testlink for FA PRP 2.2 System Integration Testing
  • Prepare for production release of PeopleTools Upgrade project and ER999 in OAAP.
  • PT 8.61 User can access other institutions pages. Ticket 211483. Oracle asked Mark to submit an individual SR for every navigation that has an issue. He will work through that.
  • Refresh Week
  • SDT 214144: Working with Kastech to investigate Citizenship issue for State Attorney General's office requirement to exclude all citizenship data from OAAP for ER 999
  • Support CampusCE test site connections with PQA for PeopleTools Upgrade project.
  • Support PeopleTools Upgrade project.
  • Support testing of Bug fixes reported on tickets 199915 and 198623.
  • Support tickets related to integrations.
  • Updating the logos in HCX and the portal page for Bates. Tickets 199604 and 203618.
  • WA200 Positve Pay Update for Umpqua Bank. Ticket 214746. FS-1958. In SIT.
  • WAPAY Load to AP Voucher Staging. Ticket 211114. Development complete.
  • Work with Bhuvana on Okta/PTF issue
  • Working with Nelnet, the CS SF team, and Managed Services for the Nelnet SBCTC Campus Solution Connector Install upgrade project. Ticket 195128. CS-2181 and CS-2182. It was in UAT, but it will trail 8.61.

Upcoming

  • Enhancement_FWL_Employee Record Look Up - Ticket 148615
  • ER 245 - Extension for Student Group Mass Assign. Ticket 178457. Development will begin once PSG gets it to in-flight status.
  • ER 289 Security Account Reset Capabilities.
  • FA PRP 2.2 PDV Install, May 5
  • FA PRP 2.2 Q & A Sessions
  • FA PRP 2.2 retrofit development.
  • FA PRP 2.2 System Integration Testing
  • Format and Post FA PRP 2.2 Overview Document
  • I-021 Cemli Update/Bug Fix. Ticket 213369.
  • Investigate PTUN_LANDING_PAGE errors on Integration Broker.
  • Nelnet PeopleSoft Connector Upgrade Project Go-Live - scheduled for 6/17
  • Support and monitor 3rd party integrations.
  • Support integration setup post refresh on non-Production environments.
  • Support OAAP, CampusCE, HCX and OKTA integration enhancements, bug fixes.
  • Support tickets related to PS integrations
  • Work on SDT 213040 - Timeout error in Submitted Applications page for Admins. Waiting for functional testing to be done.
  • Work with Oracle on SR 3-40147231641 : PTUN_LANDING_PAGE service operation resulting in error on CS.