ctcLink Learning Opportunities & Support Roundup: May 21, 2025

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). 

 

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

 

ctcLink, HCX and OAAP to be Offline  Briefly on May 31 for Server Maintenance

Saturday, May 31, 2025, 7 to 9 a.m.

The entire ctcLink production environment will be offline during the maintenance window, while SBCTC installs important Oracle PeopleSoft patches.

The following sites will be unavailable:

• All ctcLink pillars (CS, FA, SF, FIN, HCM)
• HighPoint Campus Experience (HCX) mobile site and app
• Online Admissions Application Portal (OAAP)
• The integration between CampusCE and ctcLink. Following completion of maintenance activities, colleges will need to resubmit any unprocessed orders received during the downtime.

Canvas will not be impacted. Users logging into ctcLink will be directed to an offline notice with links to college Canvas sites.

Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA) Up and Running

The first cohort to go live with the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA) includes seven colleges.

Kudos to Bellevue College, Centralia College, Clover Park Technical College, Highline College, and South Puget Sound Community College and for taking the plunge first!

The shared sentiment across all participating colleges is that the enhancement is performing as expected.

Since May 5, more than 24,000 students have successfully agreed to the SFRA. Each live college has developed local webpages to explain the agreement and has implemented internal communications using both ctcLink 3Cs and external tools such as third-party email and text messaging platforms.

Staff have reported success with batch uploading BFC service indicators, and student negative response has been minimal, with no significant concerns raised to date.

Seventeen other colleges are already queued up to go live with the SFRA during summer or fall quarter 2025.

The following colleges will complete the SFRA Survey for winter/spring 2026 SFRA go-live availability: Bates Technical, Bellingham Technical, Cascadia, Pierce, Skagit Valley, Spokane, Spokane Falls, Walla Walla, and Wenatchee Valley.

SFRA Resources

Templates, forms, and background information is available at the ctcLink Reference Center, Student Financials section: Student Financial Responsibility Agreement

Mailman Lists (aka Listservs) Bug

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.

Please see the SERVICE NOTICE: Mailman Bug Troubleshooting for tips to subscribe.

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 task force members, key subject matter experts, IT, Help Desk, and PIO.

Your Input Needed for the Next ctcLink Process Alignment: Due June 9

The Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW) has reached a major milestone with the Travel & Expense process and is getting ready to move forward with the next topic, but not without your input!

This college-driven effort, empowered by WACTC presidents and chancellors and supported by SBCTC, seeks your ideas for the next ctcLink process alignment focus area.

What Should Be Aligned Next?

Which business process do YOU think could benefit from systemwide alignment?

Is there something you do on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis that makes you think, “There HAS to be a better way to do this! How could we ALL do it better?”

Complete the Process Alignment Nomination Form to share your recommendation by no later than Monday, June 9, 5 p.m.

Thank you for taking the time to share your ideas for making a better system. Your voice matters!

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. 

• Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW) Project 
• Process Alignment Task Forces

Travel & Expense Process Alignment Task Force Releases its Recommendations

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

The Travel & Expense (T&E) Task Force—the first PAW pilot— completed its review of all related modules and presented its recommendations for process alignment during the May 14 ctcLink College Collaboration Group Meeting.

Designated Travel Administrators and subject matter experts (SMEs) across the college system attended to hear about the Task Force findings, understand the recommended changes in business practices, global configuration, and desired enhancements.

There are a couple of items to be settled, but the Task Force and PAW are ready to move ahead.

Jason Hetterle, PAW Team Lead, Director of Technology & Enterprise Solutions at Wenatchee Valley College, acknowledged the instrumental efforts of the Travel & Expense Task Force Members and the Process Alignment Workgroup.

Lia Homeister, Travel & Expense PAW Task force Lead (Director of Institutional Research & Effectiveness and ctcLink College Leader at Renton Technical College), and Miranda Brown, Travel & Accounts Payable Specialist at Skagit Valley College, presented findings and recommendations.

See more details

• Travel & Expense Process Alignment Task Force Final Recommendations Presentation
• Travel and Expense Process Step Checklist with Task Force Recommendations
• Travel & Expense Process Alignment Dashboard

Next Steps

Now that the T&E Task Force has completed its task, ctcLink College Leaders and travel admins are asked to take the findings and recommendations back to their colleges for review. The SBCTC support teams will begin work to establish a test environment for colleges to kick the tires.

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

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

Gratitude

Travel & Expense Task Force Members

• Lia Homeister, Renton Technical College, Travel & Expense PAW Task Force Lead
• Heather Emlund, Seattle Colleges
• Christopher Pitman, Olympic College
• Jennifer Warden, Green River College
• Arega Tesfaye, Everett Community College
• Teri Sexton, SBCTC
• Miranda Brown, Skagit Valley College
• Angela Garza, Yakima Valley College
• Jessica Briggs, Renton Technical College
• Becky Cox, Bellingham Technical College

Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW)

• Anastasia Lebedinski, Spokane Colleges
• Andy Duckworth, SBCTC
• Beth Farley, Edmonds College
• Carmen McKenzie, SBCTC
• Carrie Powell, SBCTC
• Christyanna Dawson, SBCTC
• Dani Rider, SBCTC
• Dave Ortega, Bellevue College
• Grant Rodeheaver, SBCTC
• Gretchen Fulmer, SBCTC
• Ivy Brent, SBCTC
• Jason Hetterle, Wenatchee Valley College
• Jo Munroe, SBCTC
• Kara Mathers, Lower Columbia College
• Kevin Bouwman, SBCTC
• Lia Homeister, Renton Technical College
• Pat Daniels, Highline College
• Pauline Marvin-Smith, Peninsula College
• Roger Curry, SBCTC
• Rosemary Darrough, Highline College
• Saravanan Mylsamy, SBCTC
• Sherry Nelson, SBCTC
• Sindie Howland, Everett Community College
• Tara Keen, SBCTC
• Tysha Tolefree, South Puget Sound Community College

Contact

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

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

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 Support Updates

Campus Solutions (CS) Core Pillar Support Web Page

Visit the newly revised Campus Solutions (CS) Core pillar support web page at ctcLink Support for all things CS Core-related:

• ctcLink Reference Center Quick Links
• ctcLink Onboarding Training Manual
• Learning Opportunities & Training
• Lists and groups
• Pillar newsletter
• Oracle and PeopleSoft resources

Opting Out

You may occasionally have a student who requests to stop receiving communications from your college. PeopleSoft currently does not have delivered functionality that allows students to opt out of 3C communications automatically. For this reason, we created the SOO service indicator. Your college can use this service indicator to identify students who no longer want to receive communications from your college.

Using the SOO service indicator means that the student's email address can remain in the system. This is good because:

1. There are often communications that the student will need to receive whether they like it or not – like financial and student financial communications.
2. While the student may not want to receive communications from your college, they may want to receive communications from other colleges. This is why SOO is not copied across institutions like other "global" service indicators.

Some caveats

For SOO to work as expected (meaning, the student does not receive communications from your college), the population selection query that you're using to assign those communications must contain criteria that exclude students with your college's SOO service indicator. Work with your local query developer to identify queries that have this criterion and to update existing queries to include this criterion.

System-generated notifications (e.g. OAAP notifications, emails sent with "Notify All" or similar functionality) do not factor in whether a student has an SOO service indicator. Students will continue to receive these notifications if they have an email address on file.

2026 CS Core Work Sessions Need You!

CS Core is starting to plan for 2026. We want to offer more sessions like the one Bates Technical College did recently on Student Alert. To do that, we need you!

We want colleges to have opportunities to learn not only from us but also from each other. We think it’s important for colleges to showcase significant projects and to be acknowledged and recognized for their hard work.

Consider what projects and initiatives your campus is currently working on that could be a good presentation in the coming year. What’s also fair game? nominate anything you hear your colleagues are working on that you want to know about!

Send information about what you’d like to contribute (or voluntold) to Michelle Kuwasaki, Campus Solutions Functional Analyst. If you have a preferred presentation month in mind, let her know!

Graduation Season

• On the Student Program/Plan, you must effective-date COMP (completion) rows the last day of the student’s graduation term. This supports your NSC reporting.
• When your graduation credential evaluators COMP a student who has future term-activation, they will receive a warning. If your campus does not have a local business process for managing these term activations, consider adopting one.
• For most colleges, term activation for Summer AND Fall has long since occurred. This means you will have students term activated to plan stacks that may have been viable at the time of term activation but have since been COMPed or DISCed. You need to manage those stacks manually! We’ve said it before and often: Running QCS_SR_TERM_ACT_INACTIVESTACK and fixing the returned plan stacks will prevent future tuition calculation issues, NSC reporting errors, and various QARS and reporting-related errors.
• You can greatly reduce the number of students activated for terms beyond completion by using a Global Exclusion Rule to ignore students with an expected graduation term earlier than the activation term when running Batch Term Activations (see the 1/5/2023 Work Session on Batch Term Activation for more details).
• We also want to bring this to your attention! We've noticed degree completions recorded in future terms. Some of these may be accurate but others, well, it’s worth a peek. We encourage you to run QCS_SR_DEGREE_BY_TERM, using parameters of 2253 and 9999.

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.

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

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

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 Training: Selective Admissions

Wednesday, June 18, 2025, 8:30 - 9:45 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Whether you are new to the process or looking to refine your approach, this session offers actionable steps to support both staff and student success. Join us for a practical and focused session designed for college staff managing selective admission programs. While these programs vary by institution, they often require supplemental materials such as essays, recommendations, and test scores. This presentation will equip you with the tools and strategies to track applicant progress and submitted materials, streamlining your workflow and ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.

We will also walk through how to configure the Fluid Applicant Self-Service setup so that students can easily accept or decline their admission offers online. Please note: this session is centered on admission tracking and configuration, not federal definitions of selective admissions (such as SULA for financial aid).

• Module(s): Admissions
• Primary Audience: Admissions Staff
• Related QRG: Admissions Chapter

CS Core Training: Veterans Reporting

Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 8:30 - 10 a.m., Learn more and join the session

This session provides an overview of the Veterans Reporting functionality in PeopleSoft. It covers how to track, report, and manage data related to veterans. Using the provided tools, you will learn how institutions can maintain accurate records that help meet federal reporting obligations. We also invite current users of this functionality to join the session and share their best practices with the group.

• Module(s): Student Records
• Primary Audience: Staff Responsible for Veterans Reporting
• Related QRG: Veteran Benefit Reporting Chapter

Enrollment Cancellation

Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 8:30 - 10 a.m., Learn more and join the session

If students fail to pay their tuition and fees in full or make appropriate payment arrangements by the established final deadline, their classes may be subject to cancellation. Through the Enrollment Cancellation process, the system identifies past-due students, removes their enrolled courses, and simultaneously eliminates any associated waitlist positions.

This session will provide a comprehensive overview of the ctcLink Enrollment Cancellation functionality, detailing class-by-class and term-level cancellation procedures. The discussion will address critical timeline considerations, re-enrollment eligibility procedures, and the calculation methods employed after an enrollment cancellation takes effect. We will also cover strategies for effective communication with students affected by this process.

• Module(s): Student Records and Student Financials
• Primary Audience: Staff Responsible for Enrollment Cancellation
• Related QRG: Enrollment Chapter

Key topics include:

• Important dates to remember
• Adjustment calendars, billing and due calendars, academic calendar
• Class-by-class cancellation within a term
• Re-establishing student enrollment eligibility after cancellation
• Post-cancellation calculation methods
• Effective communication protocols

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.

CS Core Work Sessions features

• 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 to p.m.) 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 p.m.)

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: A Treasury of Tiny Topics on Thursday, June 5.

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.

Presenter/Facilitator: Hillary Raj, SBCTC (with jokes provided by Izzy)

Questions? Contact CS Core Support.

Finance Support Updates

Finance Pillar Support Web Page

Visit the newly revised Finance (FIN) pillar support web page at ctcLink Support for all things FIN-related:

• ctcLink Reference Center Quick Links
• ctcLink Onboarding Training Manual
• Learning Opportunities & Training
• Lists and groups
• Oracle and PeopleSoft resources

FIN Year-End Support

So many opportunities to get one-on-one support as you put a bow on yet another fiscal year.

All FIN Modules ctcLink Customer Support Year-End Open Q&A

FYE25 GL Journal Drop-In Support

FYE25 Purchasing Support Open Webex

 

FIN Learning Opportunities

FY26 Capital Projects Creation to Finalization and Maintenance

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

July is the beginning of a new biennium (two-year period),which may include adding new Capital Projects to ctcLink PeopleSoft. Let's walk through the creation to activation process for a Capital Project. We will also review the basics on maintaining a Capital Project plus tips and tricks throughout the setup process.

• Create a Capital Project
• Create and Finalize a Capital Project Budget
• Maintaining Capital Projects
• Time for Q&A 

FY26 Grant Awards Creation to Activation (CRC & FPC)

Wednesday, June 4, 2-4 p.m., Learn more and join the session

July is the beginning of a new fiscal year [FY26] and includes new Grant Awards.

Two back-to-back sessions will be presented. Both sessions will be recorded and added to the GR100 Grants & Contracts Canvas Course. 

• 2-3 p.m., we will walk through the creation to activation process for a Cost Reimbursable Contract (CRC) Award. Open Q&A for the last 15 minutes.
• 3-4 p.m. we will walk through the creation and activation of a Fixed Price Contract (FPC) Award. Open Q&A for the last 15 minutes.

We will follow the basic steps for each Grant Type: 

• Award Prep: Gather your info
• Create and Submit a Proposal
• Generate an Award
• Manage the Award: Adding Terms, Project Type, and Finalize the Budget
• Finalize and Activate the Award
• Communicate valid ChartStrings for Payroll Combo Codes & Tuition-related Item Types 

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

Asset Management (AM) ctcLink Customer Support Year-End Open Q&A

Wednesday, June 18, by appointment: Asset Management (AM) ctcLink Customer Support Year-End Open Q&A

Email Jane Wiseman, Functional Analyst – Finance, to make an individual appointment for your college.

How to find materials

• Year-end recordings and background information are located in the ctcLink Pillar Work Session Informationcourse in Canvas.
• Within the course, select the Modules link. Year-end content is in the Finance Work Sessions (2025) section with a subsection of FYE25: Fiscal Year End 2024-2025. If you do not yet have access to the course, you can register through the ctcLink Training Registration Form. 
• Please refer to the Finance ctcLink Customer Support Year-End Information and Sessions document for additional information.
• Module(s): Asset Management
• Primary Audience: Asset Management Staff
• Related QRGs:  Checklist & Process Steps Guide and Close Depreciation at Month and Year End

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.

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.

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.

FA Support Updates

Financial Aid (FA) Pillar Support Web Page

Visit the newly revised Financial Aid (FA) pillar support web page at ctcLink Support for all things FA-related:

• ctcLink Reference Center Quick Links
• ctcLink Onboarding Training Manual
• Learning Opportunities & Training
• Lists and groups
• Pillar newsletter
• Oracle and PeopleSoft resources

Query for Processing Multi-Year Entrance Counseling:

CTC_FA_EC_LOAN_CNSL_ISSUES – Run this query to find students whose Entrance Counseling acknowledgments are not matching up to the Initiated checklist, leaving the checklist in an Initiated status when it should be set to Completed when the Process Loan Counseling Data step and Run 3C Engine steps are run.

ACTION REQUIRED: Follow the steps in the Loan Processing Business Processing Guide on or around pg. 120 to get these records loaded to complete the Entrance Counseling Checklist

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

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

Human Capital Management (HCM) Pillar Support Web Page

Visit the newly revised Human Capital Management (HCM) pillar support web page at ctcLink Support for all things HCM-related:

• ctcLink Reference Center Quick Links
• ctcLink Onboarding Training Manual
• Learning Opportunities & Training
• Lists and groups
• Pillar newsletter
• Oracle and PeopleSoft resources

HCM Monthly Newsletter

Subscribe to the ctcLinkSME-HCM list to receive the latest edition of the HCM Monthly Roundup, featuring HCM hot topics, training, and how-to tips.

To subscribe

• Send an email to ctcLinkSME-HCM@lists.ctc.edu
• The Subject should be "Subscribe"
• Once you receive a confirmation email, open it and click the link to confirm.
• The list admin may need to approve you at this point, but once they do, you'll be subscribed

HR Core

Workforce Administration (WFA) has been following up on the Data Governance Committee’s DemoCom review and recommendation(s) and is in the process of implementing updates to the language used within ctcLink related to SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity).

These updates are being delivered in coordination with the Campus Solutions systems pillar.

With support of the Application Services team, we are in the process of updating missing combo code values for history rows in ctcLink. Watch for communication and request for approvals coming soon.

The team is assessing the possibility of expanding Person Profile system functionality within ctcLink.

Benefits & Faculty Workload (FWL)

Faculty Workload

• REMINDER: HR Department changes made in part-time and/or moonlight job data records used in calculations of faculty contracts in Faculty Workload should be made during quarter breaks and applied to contract data processing for a new quarter. Doing so during any other timeframe will lead to payroll processing errors.
• FW100 Canvas Course Updates continue and are expected to be completed this month!

Benefits

• Auto Enrollment - Auto enrollment process update results are accessible to colleges via QHC_BA_E188_AUTOENR_ERROR_LOG
• New Query - QHC_BA_EMPL_SB1_MULT_INST has been developed to help colleges identify employees who are concurrently enrolled in SB1 benefit program at multiple institutions. Please run this query twice a month at payroll processing time. For additional timing details, please refer to Payroll Processing Timeline.
  • An employee can be enrolled in SB1 benefit program only one institution. If you come across employees enrolled in SB1 benefit program at multiple ctcLink institutions, please review your college’s data setup for that employee. If the employee has been enrolled in SB1 benefit program at your institution in error, be sure to correct SB1 benefit program to SB0 or SB2 and terminate HCA Average Cost deduction. If no results populate for your institution when running this query, that’s a happy result!

Payroll

Payroll Confirmation Timeline Review

The HCM Support Team asks that the colleges get into the practice of reviewing the Payroll Processing Timeline document each and every payroll period for updates and additions.

Paycheck Modeler

This function in ESS remains disabled for the time being. A solution is actively being planned with results possible in late June.

HCM Learning Opportunities

Fiscal Year Comp Time Payoff: Self-Paced Asynchronous Training 

This refresher is to be used as a reference for how to enter the Comp Time hours to be paid out at the end of the fiscal year in ctcLink. This process is typically done on the 06B payroll processing period.

In the Asynchronous Work Session Approach, the HCM Support Team is using resources already captured to provide refresher style reminders for you when time-sensitive processes/procedures are approaching their deadline for processing in ctcLink.

We believe these will work well for those annual processes where the procedure has not changed from last year, but a refresher is needed to bring to your attention that now is time to refamiliarize yourself with the steps and timing.

The self-paced topics to review include:

• Viewing the employee’s compensatory plan and balances
• Reviewing the process to pay off compensatory time balances at the end of the Fiscal Year

ctcLink Pillar Work Session Information Canvas Course Module now available

Navigate to the ctcLink Pillar Work Session Asynchronous Training Material Canvas course

• Module(s): Payroll, Time & Labor
• Primary Audience: Payroll Administrators, Time Administrators
• Related QRG: Compensatory Time Payoff - End of Fiscal Year

Contact: HCM Customer Support

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.

SF Support Team Updates

Student Financials (SF) Pillar Support Web Page

Visit the newly revised Student Financials (SF) pillar support web page at ctcLink Support for all things SF-related:

• ctcLink Reference Center Quick Links
• ctcLink Onboarding Training Manual
• Learning Opportunities & Training
• Lists and groups
• Pillar newsletter
• Oracle and PeopleSoft resources

Applying Credits to Charges

This session (held April 24, 2025) covered some of the most pertinent components of Student Financials ctcLink configuration and is a must-watch if you need a reminder on the following topics: item type classification, item type trees, charge priority list basics & resources, SF Term Default, payment overall priority and common application issues. 

Visit the Canvas course to watch: Canvas Pillar Work Sessions (in the Student Financials 2025) 

Pay Plans & Third-Party Contracts

Please take care and pay attention when rolling plans/contracts to new terms and to consider the following points & fields: 

• Do the plan/contract descriptions accurately reflect the term and/or external orgs? 
• Were all the fields associated with the term properly updated? 
• For payment plans active in self-service, were the start and end dates commensurate with the other pertinent dates within the set-up tabs 1 & 2?

Nelnet

• It’s about time to update the interface (connector) between Nelnet & ctcLink. 
• We’ve successfully worked with Nelnet on testing the latest version of their connector which will include new features like service indicators for terminated agreements, past due balance payment plans, and international student payment plans. 
• Due to the timing of current image updates along with finding that sweet spot between terms, the upgrade is estimated to be in production in June 2025. For more details, contact your Nelnet account manager in preparation for the June deployment.
• Nelnet - set up new payment plans - in the past we accepted emails but now we have a SW request type of “Nelnet”. Please submit a ticket so we can track this important work. ctcLink Support > Student Financials > SF: NELNET 
• Nelnet experienced a disruption of connectivity this past week and we’re pleased to announce that all services appear to be working properly again. Thank you to the members of the State Board & Nelnet Teams that stayed on late to resolve the issue. 

Collections

• How well are you working past due student account balances? 
  • The ctcLink collections processes will help to bring in past due monies. Please submit a ticket (ctcLink Support > Student Financials > SF: Collections and we can assist with either setting you up or reviewing your processing. 
• We can work with you to establish a job recurrence that will look for null/blank due date values (01/01/2500 is the null date) and update the due date to match the effective date (including refund lines). This helps to make sure all charges are included in those important past due notifications. If you’re interested, check out/test in PCD the query QCS_SF_ITEM_CHARGE_NO_DUE_DATE (SF charges without a due date).
• Submit a ticket and we’ll help/answer any questions on this task. 
• 1% past due interest 
  • The functionality and configuration have not yet been finalized, and we’ll be gathering additional input from both colleges and State Board business operations before moving forward.

Item Type Request Note/Reminder

Make the best use of the item type spreadsheet available in SolarWinds. If you have a large number of item types that need to be created or updated, please submit one ticket with one spreadsheet containing all requested updates. 

If you have any questions or unique circumstances, please reach out to the SF Team to discuss your needs. This will help us support your college while maximizing the use of systematic updates in ctcLink.

Ticket Punch Down Meetings

The SF Team invites colleges to work with us on stubborn tickets and processes in ctcLink. Please send a message to SFSupport@sbctc.edu and we’ll find time to give you undivided attention to venture through any stubborn problems in ctcLink.

College Contacts

Please take a moment to review whether recent staff turnover has affected your college’s contacts for the following key responsibilities. If there have been any changes, kindly send updated contact information to SFSupport@sbctc.edu: 

• Item type approvers (Finance and Financial Aid) 
• Duplicate ID resolution 
• Cybersource payment platform 
• Nelnet payment plan coordination 

SF Learning Opportunities

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

• The Student Financials Learning Opportunities Recordings QRG is a comprehensive list of all previous SF-related recordings.
• Previous SF DL Blasts can be found within Student Financials Resources.

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

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.

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.

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.

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
• Everett budget data completed and sent to ctcLink for PBCS
• FA PRP 2.2 System Integration Testing
• Format and Post FA PRP 2.2 Overview Document
• May month end data loaded into PBCS
• Patch testing in test environment

In Progress

• In Development, SIT, UAT, and Completed
• ER-266 Student Financial Responsibility Agreement College User Review
• Exploring Fusion EPM transition
• FA PRP 2.2 Project & Sanity Testing
• Investigated and provided findings for SDT 216375 - OAAP submission error
• LegacyLink 4.2.0 Release Testing
• Nelnet Connector Upgrade
• New college deployment group
• Offboarding Phase 2 Items Testing
• Oracle April CPUs
• OS/OSD Update
• Research on alerts and performance tracking for Integration Broker
• Review Nelnet Upgrade connector deployment plan and testing
• Support testing of Bug fixes reported on tickets 199915 and 198623
• Support tickets related to integrations.
• Test OAAP submitted Applications page changes for SDT 213040.
• Work on SDT 215204 - PCI 4.0 requirement Payment flow question
• Work with Bhuvana and Sheila on Okta/PTF issue
• Yakima PBCS budget query

Upcoming

• FA PRP 2.2 Project PRD Deployment, May 22
• CS Image 35 / HCX
• FA PRP 2.2 Q & A Go Live and Confidence Testing
• FA PRP 2.2 Q & A Sessions
• Fusion EPM transition
• HC Image 52
• Nelnet Connector Testing with PT 8.61
• Nelnet PeopleSoft Connector Upgrade Project Go-Live - scheduled for June 17
• Patch testing in PROD
• Retest IB proxy issue with new CPUs in PDV
• Review and revise Nelnet test cases for future deployments
• Support and monitor 3rd party integrations
• 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.

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, June 10, 2025, at 11 a.m. All are welcome to attend via Zoom.

Zoom meeting link: ctcLink Accessibility Open Forum 2025 and beyond

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