ctcLink Learning Opportunities & Support Roundup: Aug. 6, 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

 

PAW Travel & Expenses Proof of Concept Testing is Underway

The Process Alignment Workgroup’s inaugural effort — Travel & Expense Process Task Force — is now in the proof-of-concept phase.

Proof-of-concept is similar to “user acceptance testing.” These best practices were reviewed and agreed-upon by the colleges’ systemwide Travel & Expense (T&E) Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW) Taskforce.

All college and SBCTC Travel & Expense staff have been invited to “kick the tires” and try out the best practices for requesting travel authorizations, cash advances, and expense reimbursements for travel during the Proof-of-Concept phase, July 14 through August 29.

Colleges are not in this alone

It's a very busy time for the finance offices right now, so the PAW team extended the testing phase for as long a duration as possible (six weeks versus the usual two or three weeks).  

The testing process itself is straightforward and not overly time-consuming, roughly an hour per scenario, so depending on their level of experience, staff can plan on about four to six hours total (about one hour per week over the next six weeks).

PAW and SBCTC are there to help! The ctcLink Support team has set up weekly drop-in office hours through August to help college subject matter experts as they go through the tire-kicking.

The Proof-of-Concept Overview for Travel & Expenses quick reference guide has all the tools they need to succeed:

• Background on Travel & Expenses Task Force Efforts
• Travel & Expenses Proof-of-Concept Kick-Off Session recordings
• T&E Proof-of-Concept Open Q&A Follow-up Sessions
• Proof-of-Concept Test Details
• How to Execute Travel & Expense Test Scenarios
• Links to T&E Reference Center Resources

Miss the kickoff?

The July 14 kick-off sessions were very well-attended, with nearly all colleges present.

Kickoff presentations were recorded and uploaded to the Proof of Concept Overview for Travel & Expenses QRG for users to review.  If you missed a session, watch the recording before diving in.

PAW Travel & Expense Proof-of-Concept Testing Open Q & A Office Hours

Stop by for help every Tuesday, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., July 15 through Aug. 26, 2025.

Audience

Individuals involved in trying out the recommended business practices for requesting travel authorizations, cash advances, and requesting expense reimbursements for travel.

What YOU Need to Do

All Proof of Concept (PoC) activities will take place in the PCP Environment, a safe and stress-free (data-scrubbed) environment, from July 14 through August 29.

POC/testing activities will end August 29, 2025, and any concerns or issues found need to be reported to SBCTC by that date.

The Service Desk ticketing system has been updated to ensure any issues discovered during testing can be reported under the Request Type: ctcLink Support > Special Project Activities > T&E Proof of Concept

Proof of Concept Materials

The Proof of Concept Overview for Travel & Expenses QRG includes everything you need:

• Background on Travel & Expenses Task Force Efforts
• T&E Proof-of-Concept Testing Kick-Off - Meeting Information
• Proof-of-Concept Test Details
• Access to the PCP Environment
• START TESTING: How to Execute Travel & Expense Test Scenarios
• Links to T&E Reference Center Resources

Questions About Recommendations or Process?

Please reach out to Lia Homeister, Travel & Expense PAW Task Force Lead, Director of Institutional Research & Effectiveness, ctcLink College Leader, Renton Technical College

Questions About Proof-of-Concept Online Materials?

Please reach out to the PMO Team at SBCTC, or submit a service request using the Service Desk ticketing system using the Request Type: ctcLink Support > Special Project Activities > T&E Proof of Concept.

Next Up for Process Alignment

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

Nearly 50 ctcLink pillar and cross-pillar ideas were submitted for consideration for the next Process Alignment task force in response to the survey.

The Process Alignment Workgroup, PA leadership, and SBCTC ctcLink Support teams have reviewed the items, removed duplicates, and refined choices to a consolidated list to those that meet the criteria for process alignment.

During its August 13 meeting, the ctcLink College Collaboration Group — comprised of systemwide ctcLink College Leaders, subject matter experts, and business analysts — will be presented with the results for consideration and discussion.  A recommendation of the top five priority process topics will be communicated to the PAW leadership.

From there, PAW leadership, including SBCTC ctcLink and functional staff, will review to select the next process to align.

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. 

Simply put: 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?”

Contact

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

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

ctcLink Production Environment – HCM Image 52 Update

Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, 7 a.m. – 1 p.m.

SBCTC will be performing maintenance on ctcLink to deploy HCM Image 52.

• The Human Capital Management (HCM) pillar will be unavailable during the maintenance period.
• The Portal, Campus Solutions (CS), and Finance (FSCM) pillars will remain online during the maintenance period.
• Admissions (OAAP) and HighPoint HCX mobile pages will remain online during the maintenance period.
• Integration between CampusCE and ctcLink will remain online during maintenance period.
• Canvas will not be impacted.

New to ctcLink or Ready to Upskill? Make a ctcLink Training Plan

The ctcLink Customer Support Training team developed tools to assist colleges with employee onboarding in response to recommendations and requests.

Although learning a new software system can be challenging, these documents provide new staff with the information needed to locate, understand, and participate in the various training and learning opportunities available from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC). 

• The Staff Training Participation (STP) application helps supervisors track ctcLink Canvas course training progress for staff and assign ctcLink Canvas courses for staff enrollment. Learn more about the Staff Training Participation Application
• Onboarding Training Manuals assist new college staff in their training journey through ctcLink (PeopleSoft). Learn more about the ctcLink Onboarding Training Manuals

About the Onboarding Training Manuals 

Onboarding Training Manuals can be found in the ctcLink Reference Center “Welcome to ctcLink – Start Here” section. Manuals are available for users in all PeopleSoft pillars, as well as for general staff:

• General Staff Onboarding Training Manual
• Campus Solutions Core Onboarding Training Manual
• Finance Onboarding Training Manual
• Financial Aid Onboarding Training Manual
• Human Capital Management Onboarding Training Manual
• Student Financials Onboarding Training Manual

Each manual is divided into sections highlighting specific topics and information necessary to become more comfortable with our ctcLink system. Section topics may include: 

• Onboarding checklist 
• Welcome to ctcLink Training 
• Each pillar’s place in ctcLink 
• Prerequisite ctcLink courses 
• Role-based training content and requirements (i.e., required and recommended ctcLink self-paced training courses) 
• Additional onboarding resources

How to use the onboarding manuals

The intent is for supervisors to work with staff to provide clarity around staff roles and functions of their job based on the onboarding manual. 

Each ctcLink module lists required and recommended self-paced ctcLink Canvas training courses which directly align to roles and functions performed at the colleges. For example, each staff member is required to complete general prerequisite courses to introduce them to the ctcLink system.

The checklist included allows supervisors to identify which required and recommended courses should be completed by each staff member. Additional training resources are provided to assist new staff in their onboarding activities. 

The ctcLink Training and Support teams look forward to partnering with the colleges and SBCTC agency staff to provide enhanced onboarding and training experiences for new and current employees. 

Please reach out to ctcLink Training Management if you have questions or concerns. 

Stressed? Overloaded? Replenish Your Resiliency Toolkit this Summer

Take a moment to take care of yourself! Professional and Personal Development Suite workshops are open to all Washington state community and technical college employees, whether faculty, staff, or exempt.

This series of soft-skill workshops was initially developed to support SBCTC IT staff. Once the workshops were discovered on the agency calendar by other SBCTC and college employees, they asked if they, too, might participate on a case-by-case basis. 

Learn more about how to register, badging opportunities, college requests for group training, and more at the Professional & Personal Development Workshops page.

The workshops are cross-linked from the SBCTC Professional Development page and the ctcLink Training & Learning Opportunities page.

Questions? Reach out to Corinne Taylor, Professional/Personal Development Trainer.

Upcoming offerings

 

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.

Campus Solutions (CS) Core Pillar Support Web Page

Visit the 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

CS Core Learning Opportunities

CS Core Training

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

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 having a formal, predetermined college panel). When 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: Managing Enrollment with a Side of Search/Match on Thursday, Aug. 7.

While it’s true the needs of our students vary widely, they all 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.

Questions? Contact CS Core Support.

FIN Updates

FIN ERP Support Year-End Support Feedback Survey Reminder

The ctcLink Finance and Accounting support teams would appreciate your feedback. This is your opportunity to provide feedback or suggestions on how we can improve to better support you during year-end activities. If your feedback pertains to Accounting support, please make sure you note “accounting” in your comments.

Complete the ctcLink FIN ERP Year End Support Feedback Survey.

Questions?  Contact Jennifer Smith, Finance Functional Analyst 

Planning Budgeting Cloud Service (PBCS) Update

Due to a substantial PBCS cost increase, SBCTC leadership negotiated with Oracle to replace PBCS with Oracle Cloud Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) to offset higher subscription costs.

Understanding EPM Enterprise and PBCS

Oracle EPM Enterprise and PBCS are both enterprise performance management solutions offered by Oracle. While PBCS is designed as a more streamlined and cost-effective option suited for smaller organizations, EPM Enterprise provides a broader set of advanced features and capabilities tailored for larger and more complex institutions.

The systemwide contract has been changed to EPM, which has the same look and feel as PBCS, and migration to the new EPM enterprise platform was completed July 28, 2025.

Bates Technical College, Columbia Basin College, Renton Technical College, and Whatcom Community College are currently involved in configuration activities and will go through User Acceptance Testing (UAT) this fall, with an estimated go-live completion by January 2026.

PBCS training for all colleges currently using PBCS will kick off in early January to get the budget planning process off to a good start.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Christyanna Dawson, ctcLink Project Manager.

Insights Dashboards for Finance Pillar - Phase 2

The SBCTC ctcLink Reporting Team is pleased to announce Insights Phase 2 Dashboards for the Finance ctcLink pillar are now available to FSCM (FIN) users.

Background

Insights is PeopleSoft’s brand for visualizations and analytics in the form of dashboards. Previously known as Kibana, Insights has been part of PeopleSoft since PeopleTools 8.57 and was implemented into ctcLink in August 2020.

In July 2023, SBCTC began a proof-of-concept project to determine the feasibility of using Insights. Implementation was approved in April of 2024.

Five custom dashboards were developed for phase 2.

• General Ledger (two)
• Grants (one)
• Purchasing (two)

What do you need to do?

1. Familiarize yourself with accessing and navigating Insights Dashboards by taking the Insights training course available through Canvas. 
   • This course is approximately 30 minutes long and will show you how to add the dashboard tiles to your ctcLink homepage and how to navigate the dashboard.
2. Review the Dashboard Companion document to see which dashboards are available and to help understand how data is displayed within each dashboard.
3. Follow your campus ctcLink security protocol to request access to the desired dashboards. Once approval has been obtained, your local security administrator (LSA) can assign the approved role to your ctcLink FSCM user profile.
4. Follow the steps outlined in the Insights Canvas training course to add the dashboard tile to your homepage and then access the dashboard.

Insight Dashboard Resources

Canvas Training

• Training Registration: See the ctcLink Insights Dashboards course in the End-User Reporting section.
• How-to log in to Canvas
• Videos: Getting Started with Canvas as a Student

For Canvas issues related to this course, contact: Doug Zeno or Paula McDaniel

Dashboard Companion Document

Insights Dashboards - Financial Supply Chain Management (FSCM)

Security Roles

New ctcLink security roles are required for users to access the FSCM phase 2 dashboards.  There is one role per product area which gives access to all dashboards developed for that product area.

• ZD Insights GL View Privilege
• ZD Insights GM View Privilege
• ZD Insights PO View Privilege

Please note: Some of these dashboards include links to ctcLink pages. Users must already have appropriate access to these ctcLink pages for the links to function properly. Access to dashboards does not grant access to ctcLink pages.

Reach out to Ivy Brent, SBCTC Associate Director ctcLink Business Intelligence, if you have any questions.

PAW Travel & Expenses Proof of Concept Testing is Underway

The Process Alignment Workgroup’s inaugural effort — Travel & Expense Process Task Force — is now in the proof-of-concept phase.

Proof-of-concept is similar to “user acceptance testing.” These best practices were reviewed and agreed-upon by the colleges’ systemwide Travel & Expense (T&E) Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW) Taskforce.

All college and SBCTC Travel & Expense staff have been invited to “kick the tires” and try out the best practices for requesting travel authorizations, cash advances, and expense reimbursements for travel during the Proof-of-Concept phase, July 14 through August 29.

Colleges are not in this alone

It's a very busy time for the finance offices right now, so the PAW team extended the testing phase for as long a duration as possible (six weeks versus the usual two or three weeks).  

The testing process itself is straightforward and not overly time-consuming, roughly an hour per scenario, so depending on their level of experience, staff can plan on about four to six hours total (about one hour per week over the next six weeks).

PAW and SBCTC are there to help! The ctcLink Support team has set up weekly drop-in office hours through August to help college subject matter experts as they go through the tire-kicking.

The Proof-of-Concept Overview for Travel & Expenses quick reference guide has all the tools they need to succeed:

• Background on Travel & Expenses Task Force Efforts
• Travel & Expenses Proof-of-Concept Kick-Off Session recordings
• T&E Proof-of-Concept Open Q&A Follow-up Sessions
• Proof-of-Concept Test Details
• How to Execute Travel & Expense Test Scenarios
• Links to T&E Reference Center Resources

Miss the kickoff?

The July 14 kick-off sessions were very well-attended, with nearly all colleges present.

Kickoff presentations were recorded and uploaded to the Proof of Concept Overview for Travel & Expenses QRG for users to review.  If you missed a session, watch the recording before diving in.

PAW Travel & Expense Proof-of-Concept Testing Open Q & A Office Hours

Stop by for help every Tuesday, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., July 15 through Aug. 26, 2025.

Audience

Individuals involved in trying out the recommended business practices for requesting travel authorizations, cash advances, and requesting expense reimbursements for travel.

What YOU Need to Do

All Proof of Concept (PoC) activities will take place in the PCP Environment, a safe and stress-free (data-scrubbed) environment, from July 14 through August 29.

POC/testing activities will end August 29, 2025, and any concerns or issues found need to be reported to SBCTC by that date.

The Service Desk ticketing system has been updated to ensure any issues discovered during testing can be reported under the Request Type: ctcLink Support > Special Project Activities > T&E Proof of Concept

Proof of Concept Materials

The Proof of Concept Overview for Travel & Expenses QRG includes everything you need:

• Background on Travel & Expenses Task Force Efforts
• T&E Proof-of-Concept Testing Kick-Off - Meeting Information
• Proof-of-Concept Test Details
• Access to the PCP Environment
• START TESTING: How to Execute Travel & Expense Test Scenarios
• Links to T&E Reference Center Resources

Questions About Recommendations or Process?

Please reach out to Lia Homeister, Travel & Expense PAW Task Force Lead, Director of Institutional Research & Effectiveness, ctcLink College Leader, Renton Technical College

Questions About Proof-of-Concept Online Materials?

Please reach out to the PMO Team at SBCTC, or submit a service request using the Service Desk ticketing system using the Request Type: ctcLink Support > Special Project Activities > T&E Proof of Concept.

Finance Pillar Support Web Page

Visit the 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 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.

Travel and Expenses Q&A & Mini Training

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 may be partially recorded.

• 11 – 11:30 a.m. Training: The first half of the meeting is typically a short training focused on a particular topic/process in Travel and Expenses. This portion of the meeting is usually recorded. The recording and associated QRGs are posted to the ctcLink Pillar Work Session Information Canvas Course. End-users are welcome to listen in and learn something new.
• 11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., Q&A: Second half of the meeting will not be recorded. Please come with your questions or issues and be ready to share your screen.

This open time is for college end users to collaborate with functional support and other Travel and Expense staff/supervisors to troubleshoot issues, discuss workflow or process questions, and/or even share your screen. Some examples of topics:

• Canceling EX Payments
• Initial Setup and the Importance of updating Expenses Profiles
• Applying Cash Advances to an Expense Report
• Cash Advance Reconciliation
• On & Off-boarding Employees for Expenses
• Why your Approved Expense Report Won't Stage for Payment

Module: Expenses / Travel & Expense

Primary Audience: Staff, Travelers, Travel Admins/Staff

Related QRGs: FIN - Expenses section of the ctcLink Reference Center

Prerequisite Courses: EX100, EX101 and/or EX102

Contact Alec Risk, ctcLink Functional Trainer.

FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Mini Training and Open Q&A

NEW! Recurring every SECOND Monday of the month at 11 a.m. join the ctcLink Finance Customer Support team for a collaborative, interactive, training and troubleshooting drop-in session on everything Grants/Projects.

• 11 – 11:15 a.m., Training: First part of the meeting will be a Mini Training and will be recorded. End users are welcome to listen in and learn something new. 
• 11:15 a.m. – 12 p.m., Q&A- Second half of the meeting will not be recorded. This open time is for college end users to collaborate with Functional Support and other Grant/Project Staff to troubleshoot issues, discuss workflow or process questions, and/or ready to share your screen. Some examples of topics:
  • Grant Billing
  • Modify Grant Award or Capital Project Budgets
  • Amending Awards
  • Project-related Budget/Commitment Control Errors
  • Grant-related Combo Codes
  • Grant-related Item Types

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

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

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

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 Financials/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 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

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

Gear up for a fresh batch of financial aiding training and work sessions this summer and fall. Contact Kelly Forsberg, ctcLink Functional Trainer (Financial Aid), if you have any questions.

Fin Aid Training: Pell Processing Fundamentals

Tuesday, August 19, 2025 , 9-10:30 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Primary Audience: New FA Staff and staff needing a refresher on Pell Processing in ctcLink

This session will help you understand:

• How to originate Pell records in ctclink
• How to read the Manage Pell Payment page
• The steps to outbound and inbound Pell records to Common Origination and Disbursement (COD)
• The available queries used to track inbound/outbound files that may be missing from ctclink
• The reports used to track Pell originations and disbursements
• The general timeline of when to inbound and outbound Pell records to COD

Prerequisite Canvas Course: FA104 Processing Pell Payments and Direct Loans Canvas Course

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

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Learn more and join the session

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

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 Fall Term.

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 2026 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 2026 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

This session will be recorded.  There will be no slide deck, as we will be working hands-on in the PRD environment.

Fin Aid Work Session: Exploring ctcLink Onboarding Resources for New Financial Aid Staff - NEW!

Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Audience: New Financial Aid staff and staff supervisors

Welcome aboard! Ready to level up your new staff onboarding resource toolkit? In this session, your tour guide Kelly Forsberg, SBCTC’s ctcLink Financial Aid Functional Trainer, will take you through the recently re-vamped Financial Aid section of the ctcLink Reference Center, your new best friend for all things ctcLink.

Whether you’re trying to find out where the guides are, find a quick process video tutorial, or troubleshoot a mystery task, this session will get you there.

We’ll review the ctcLink Onboarding Manual for Financial Aid staff and cover how to:

• Quickly find what you need in the ctclink Reference Center (without a search spiral)
• Use the Reference Center to become a go-to resource for your team
• Register for the available online Financial Aid Canvas Training Courses
• Track your Canvas training course progress using the Staff Participation Application platform
• Stay in the know by signing up for the FA-related listservs

Fin Aid Training: FLF Enrollment Hold & Authorization Processes Refresher - NEW!

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, 9-10:30 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Primary Audience: New FA Staff and staff needing a refresher on the Financial Aid Less Than Full-Time (FLF) Enrollment Hold and Authorization process in ctcLink

This session will help you understand how to

• Populate packaging variables
• Assign the FLF service indicator with the FAEI reason code
• Run the service indicator list query to track where FLF service indicators have been assigned
• Review/adjust aid and update packaging variables
• And when to run authorization
• Know which query to run to track FLF students in authorization failure

Prerequisite Canvas Course: FA103 Authorizing and Disbursing Financial Aid

Fin Aid Training:  Loan Processing Fundamentals - NEW!

Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, 9-10:30 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Audience: New FA Staff and staff needing a refresher on Loan Processing in ctcLink

This session will help participants understand:

• Steps in the loan origination process
• How to read the manage direct loan application page in ctclink
• Steps to outbound loan records to Common Origination and Disbursement (COD)
• Steps in inbound loan records to COD
• Available queries used to track inbound/outbound files that may be missing from ctclink
• Reports used to track loan originations and disbursements
• The general timeline of when to inbound and outbound loan records to COD

Prerequisite Canvas Course: FA104 Processing Pell Payments and Direct Loans

Fin Aid Training: Pell MRR Processing Refresher - NEW!

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, 9-10:30 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Audience: New FA Staff and staff needing a refresher on Pell MRR processing in ctcLink

This session will help participants understand:

• The steps in the Pell Multiple Record Reporting (MRR) process
• How to read the MRR report
• How to find students from the MRR report

Prerequisite Canvas Course: FA104 Processing Pell Payments and Direct Loans

Fin Aid Training: Pell Reconciliation Refresher - NEW!

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, 9-10:30 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Audience: New FA staff and staff needing a refresher on reconciling Pell in ctcLink

This session will cover the steps to:

• Run the Pell Reconciliation report
• Process the Pell Statement of Accounts File (PGAS)
• Process the Pell School Account Statement (SAS) Files (PGSM)

Prerequisite Canvas Course: FA104 Processing Pell Payments and Direct Loans

Fin Aid Training:  Loan Reconciliation Refresher - NEW!

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 , 9-10:30 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Primary Audience: New FA Staff and staff needing a refresher on reconciling loans in ctcLink

This session will cover:

• Understand the steps to produce the Direct Loan Reconciliation report in ctcLink
• Upload/Download File Process
• Import Federal Data Files
• Running SBCTC DL Recon Reports
• Understand how to view and work the DL Recon reports

Prerequisite Canvas Course: FA104 Processing Pell Payments and Direct Loans

HCM Users Group Monthly Meet-Up

Thursday, August 11, 2025, 9-11 a.m. Attend Zoom meeting

Join this open-format, virtual meeting to discuss HCM processing, changes, and more. Watch for future meet-ups on the HCM Users Group page calendar.

Questions? Contact Annie Butler, HCM Users Group Chair.

HCM Image 52 Q&A Sessions

The Human Capital Management Image 52 upgrade will be implemented in ctcLink production on Saturday, Aug. 9. Attend one of two sessions to get answers to any questions you might have. The Q&A sessions are optional; however, users affected by these changes are encouraged to attend.

HCM Image 52 Q&A Session Two

Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, 2 – 3:30 p.m., Join Session

Overview documents outlining changes users will experience after the upgrade are available:

• HCM Image 52 Overview – August 2025
• HCM Image 52 Accessibility Supplemental – August 2025

Please feel free to reach out to Sean Cardoza, Senior Test Coordinator/Automation Engineer, if you have any questions.

ctcLink Production Environment – HCM Image 52 Update

Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, 7:00 am – 1:00 pm

SBCTC will be performing maintenance on ctcLink to deploy HCM Image 52.

• The Human Capital Management (HCM) pillar will be unavailable during the maintenance period.
• The Portal, Campus Solutions (CS), and Finance (FSCM) pillars will remain online during the maintenance period.
• Admissions (OAAP) and HighPoint HCX mobile pages will remain online during the maintenance period.
• Integration between CampusCE and ctcLink will remain online during maintenance period.
• Canvas will not be impacted.

HCM Support Updates

Human Capital Management (HCM) Pillar Support Web Page

Visit the 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: Visit ctcLinkSME-HCM – Human Capital Management (HCM) and follow the screen prompts.

Contact: HCM Customer Support

Call for HCM Work Session Ideas

The HCM Support Team wants to hear from you! Which topics and information you like to have featured in the Work Sessions?

The team is scheduling the HCM Work Sessions through Summer 2025 and beyond. Please, let us know your ideas and suggestions!

Keep in mind, this is YOUR forum for the exchange of ideas, processes and transactions related to the HCM Module of ctcLink. So, if you have found a way of solving or improving a process or transaction, others would be very interested also.

Sessions can also be presented by anyone in the HCM Community, just let us know and let’s work out the details!!

Contact HCM Customer Support.

1098-T 2025 Hot Topics Work Session Just Around the Corner

Monday, Aug. 11, 1 p.m., Learn more and join the session

This year, the SF Support Team is kicking off the 2025 1098T processing cycle with an introduction to new SBCTC processing tasks.

Join us to explore Prior Year Processing & Citizenship Impacts in-depth, the approach to ongoing cleanup, as well as discuss the tentative time frames for related processing.

The following areas of processing will be new State Board tasks that will support the c­olleges in accurate 1098T reporting:

Prior Year Adjustments made during the 2025 Year

1098T Prior Year adjustment issues - When activity to a prior calendar year takes place, and a prior year 1098T has not already been generated, it causes an inaccurate current year 1098T. 

• The SF Support Team will generate 1098Ts with all Validation Override Checkboxes checked for 2024 and then set the newly generated sequence’s Validation Status to ‘Do Not Report’.
• This will create 2024 1098Ts with the data necessary to account for accurate 1098Ts/adjustments made during the 2025 year for accurate 2025 1098T reporting.
• Production processing will occur in September 2025, with test data available to review in PCD during this month (August.)

Citizenship Override

Citizenship Status and ER-999 - Questions related to citizenship have been removed from the Admissions Application. The 1098T delivered process looks for a “USA” Country row and at least one valid (not blank) citizenship status you have listed on your 1098T TIN Table Citizenship tab. Students do not have an opportunity to report their USA Citizenship status on the application and therefore would not have a 1098T generated.

• To ensure all potentially eligible transactions are considered for 1098T reporting, colleges must run the batch generation process with the Override Citizenship Validation flag enabled. This will produce a larger population of
• 1098T statements, including any that are non-reportable due to factors such as international student status.
• To manage this expanded data set effectively, the State Board will run a batch process to update the Validation Status of excess (non-reportable) 1098T records to Do Not Report (DNR). This will occur in January 2026, after all colleges have mass generated in PRD.

SF Support Team Updates

Student Financials (SF) Pillar Support Web Page

Visit the 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
• SF DL Blast Pillar newsletter
• Oracle and PeopleSoft resources
• Student Financials (SF) Resources QRGincluding:
  • Resources that fall outside of other SF QRG main categories 
  • ctcLink Training Recordings Archives

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.

SF Training: Tuition Due Reminder Notice

Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, 1 – 2 p.m., Learn more and join the session

In this session we will cover the tuition reminder notice. May include its connection to the enrollment cancellation process and the use of service indicators. 

Primary Audience: Any staff involved in student payments and communications.

Related QRGs:

• Message Center - Tuition Due Reminder Notice
• SF Collections End-to-End Checklist

Contact: Alec Risk, SBCTC Functional Trainer

SF Training: 2025 Fall Welcome Back to Basics: Cashiering, Refunds, and Payment Plans

Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, 1–3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join us as we kick off the season with a refresher on the essentials! Whether you’re brand new or just brushing up, this session is your chance to recharge your skills and dive into fall with confidence. It’s all about getting back to basics—together. We’re excited to see you there!

Primary Audience: New Student Financials employees or those seeking to refresh their SF skills.

Related QRGs: SF Cashiering, SF Refunds, SF Payment Plans

Contact: Pauline Smith, SBCTC Student Financials Functional Trainer; Alec Risk, SBCTC Finance Functional Trainer

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 Financials/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.

ADA Title II Web & Mobile App Accessibility Update

The ADA Title II Work Group has been up and running since fall 2024 and is getting our college system ready for the work ahead.

Canvas administrators at Cascadia College and Spokane Colleges tested the persistence of Alt Text (entered through the Ally tool) during the course export/import process. Only under certain circumstances will the alt text transfer with the course. A series of support sessions have been scheduled with Anthology for all colleges to address ongoing concerns with Ally functionality.

Monica Olsson and Vicki Walton are working with Big Bend Community College and Renton Technical College to test an automated tool developed by Arizona State University that uses AI to remediate PDF files. The AI-powered tool can quickly identify incorrect header formatting and missing Alt Text for images. Pilot testing underway.

Up Next

The Ally contract expires June 2028. This fall, SBCTC will be conducting a Request for Information (RFI) for identifying a more effective system-wide accessibility tool for Canvas. In the meantime, some colleges are actively exploring alternatives to the Ally tool; Whatcom College is currently piloting a product called Panorama. Other colleges (Everett and Tacoma) have already switched to a tool called UDOIT.

Questions?

Reach out to one of the SBCTC ADA Title II Work Group Work Group members:

• Monica Olsson, Policy Associate - IT Accessibility Coordinator
• Andy Duckworth, Technology Innovation Officer
• Carrie Powell, PMO Team Project Manager
• Kevin Bouwman, PMO Team Project Manager

ctcLink Accessibility Monthly Open Forum

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.

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

Please join us for the next ctcLink Accessibility Open Forum on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 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

Keeping the Lights On For You

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.