ctcLink Learning Opportunities & Support Roundup: Sept. 10, 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
• The SBCTC meetings and events calendar (apply ctcLink Learning Opportunities 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

Vote to Adopt PAW Travel & Expenses Processes Underway

During the Sept. 10 ctcLink College Collaboration Group (cCCG) meeting, ctcLink College Leaders received a link to vote on behalf of their college or district, with votes due Sept. 22.

• Agree to the process changes as presented in the Proof of Concept environment
• Indicate they want SBCTC resources to be spent on this solution
• Will adopt the recommended process at their college
• Will commit to initiating and participating in Change Management activities to help your college align (time, training, policy review, etc)

A "no" will require additional information. All colleges/district are required to vote and results will be shared with WACTC presidents.

Any items proposed by the PAW Travel & Expenses task force, but not included in the Proof of Concept environment will be evaluated and submitted separately via the existing Enhancement Request process.

Pat Daniels, cCCG co-chair, will send a  follow-up communication to the ctcLink College Leaders to ensure they have the link and instructions.

Be Part of the “Employee Onboarding & Offboarding” PAW Task Force

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

“Employee Onboarding & Offboarding” has been announced as the next topic for systemwide ctcLink process alignment during last week’s ctcLink College Collaboration Group meeting.

The next step is to identify nominees for the systemwide task force dedicated to this process.

Task Force Composition

The task force will be comprised of a small group of 8 to 12 members working on behalf of all 34 colleges. PAW aims to ensure the following characteristics are represented: 

• HR staff involved in general employee onboarding 
• Non-HR staff involved in employee and faculty onboarding 
• ctcLink Local Security Administrators (LSAs) 
• Colleges of varying sizes and types (technical, community)
• Colleges incorporating ctcLink training as an expectation of onboarding

Task force lead

Sindie Howland, Associate Director for Change Management & Process Improvement at Everett Community College, will lead the Employee Onboarding & Offboarding Process Alignment task force.

Howland brings extensive experience within our college system, having acted as EvCC's project manager during the ctcLink implementation and holding key enrollment services positions at Skagit Valley College and Spokane Falls Community College.

What’s expected? 

• Task force kickoff meeting and orientations will be held in October 2025, allowing colleges to ease into fall quarter. The task force members will agree on a weekly meeting schedule. 
• During the discovery phase, the task force will conduct a process review to define the scope of the work, then proceed through an analysis phase before offering their "best practice" recommendations. 
• Task force members can expect a time commitment of one to three hours per week over approximately two quarters to fully participate in the review activity.  

Interested?

If you would like to be formally nominated:

• Discuss with your supervisor and seek their support.
• Reach out to your designated ctcLink College Leader right away, so they can submit your name using the official online nomination form.

All nominations are due from the ctcLink College Leader by Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.

Task force membership will be announced the first week of October with an initial orientation/kickoff meeting set for mid-October. 

Get involved!

Even if you are not part of the official taskforce, PAW will engage with all subject matter experts in a variety of activities in the months ahead including gathering your bright ideas, user feedback, proof of concept, and more.

Everyone is encouraged to get involved however they can.

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 in ctcLink! How could we ALL do it better?”

Learn more about the Process Alignment Shared Vision and Project Overview at the ctcLink Reference Center.

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

Gear Up for Fall: Replenish Your Resiliency Toolkit

Take some time 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

Are You Receiving ctcLinkAlerts?

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

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

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

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

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. 

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 Updates

Automated Jobs Synchronize Universal Fraud-Related Service Indicators

The fraud service indicator synchronization job includes the three universal fraud-related service indicators: SXI, SXF and SVR.  Your local service indicators are not copied across colleges.

Which service indicators are included?

SXI: Under Investigation for Fraud

The SI alerts the system that one or more colleges suspect fraudulent activity; this SI has no service impacts.

SXF: Fraudulent Account

This SI documents that one or more colleges have confirmed fraudulent activity has taken place; this SI prevents enrollment, financial and financial aid activity.

SVR: SBCTC Use Only: Stdnt Verified

This SI is assigned by SBCTC CS Support when a college reports that they have verified the identity of the individual in question and has confirmed that no fraudulent activity has occurred by or with that EMPLID.  This SI is only replicated across institutions when assigned by CS Support.  Assignment by CS Support also releases any existing SXF and SXI Service Indicators.  This SI has no service impacts.

What does this automated job do?

1. If an SXI exists at any college, the nightly job will assign an SXI at every other college.
2. If an SXF exists at any college, the nightly job will assign an SXF at every other college and remove any SXI Service Indicators from the student’s record.
3. If SBCTC CS Core staff assign an SVR, the nightly job will assign an SVR for every college as well as remove any SXIs and SXFs assigned at any colleges before the SVR was added.

When does the automated job run?

Refer to the list of scheduled Campus Solutions processes for all jobs.

When to assign what

• When a college is investigating potential fraud, the college should assign an SXI indicator to that record.  A nightly job will add an SXI indicator to that record at all other colleges.
• When a college confirms an account is fraudulent, the college should assign an SXF indicator to that record.  A nightly job will add the SXF indicator to that record for all other colleges.  Do not forget to submit a ticket to report the fraudulent activity to ensure the account is properly secured.
• When a college confirms an attempt at stolen identity, report the situation with a ticket.  Your CS Support team will create new records as appropriate and add an SXF to the record involved in the attempted identity theft. 
• When a college BOTH 1) verifies BOTH the identity of someone with an SXF or SXI on their account AND 2) confirms no evidence of fraudulent activity or identity theft, the college submits a ticket reporting that the student’s identity has been verified.  Your CS Support team will add an SVR indicator.  A nightly job will 1) add an SVR indicator on that record at all other colleges and 2) remove any previously placed SXI and/or SXF indicators.

Will the service impacts of an SXF indicator affect all colleges?

Yes, since SXF indicators are copied to all colleges, the service impacts will apply to all colleges.  Only add the SXF indicator to a student account when you are certain it is fraudulent.

How do I remove an SXI or SXF service indicator?

To remove an SXI or SXF indicator, submit a Student Verified ticket. 

If you release an SXI or SXF at your college, it will be copied back in the nightly job.  College users should NOT remove SXI or SXF indicators (and we prevent you from doing this: the jobset reassigns anything that is removed by a college user).  Similarly, college users should NOT add an SVR.  For this reason, SVRs assigned by college users are not copied to other colleges and do not remove SXI or SXF service indicators.   

How can I tell the difference between an indicator placed by my college, and one copied from a different college?

• Navigate to Campus Community > Service Indicators > Person > Manage Service Indicators, search for the student, and click on the link for the service indicator you are reviewing.
• Toward the bottom of this Service Indicator Data page, you will find a Comments section and the User ID that placed the indicator.  For indicators copied from another college, the comment will indicate it was assigned by the nightly job and the User ID will be JOBS_CS_CORE. 

Where can I find more information about these service indicators and handling potentially fraudulent accounts?

• Reporting Fraudulent Applications/Accounts to SBCTC Updates were made in August 2025 to incorporate ARC’s (Admission and Registration Council) fraudulent business process. 
• Reporting Verified Students to SBCTC QRG
• Reporting Fraud SBCTC Webpage

Are any other Service Indicators copied like this?

Just SDI, but that’s another job and another bulletin!

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.

NEW! CS Core Training: Ready, Set, Merge: Update Your Communication Templates

Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, 8:30 – 10 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Join us for a walk-through of how to update and manage letter templates using BI Publisher and PeopleSoft Communication Data Sources. In this session, we'll review:

• What a Communication Data Source is and how it works in PeopleSoft
• How BI Publisher connects templates with your data to generate letters or emails

Module: Campus Community

Primary Audience: Staff responsible for Communications

Related QRG: Communications - Updating a Letter Template with and without Merge Fields

NEW! CS Core Training: Preventing NSC Errors: Using Queries to Validate Student Data

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, 8:30 – 10 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Avoid mistakes before they occur! Join us for a targeted training session on how to use critical PeopleSoft queries to identify and fix data issues that can affect National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) reporting. These proactive measures are vital to ensure accurate and timely reporting.

In this session, we'll review the following topics:

• Run and interpret NSC error-prevention queries
• Fix student record errors that could cause reporting issues
• Incorporate query checks into your standard NSC reporting process

Module(s): Student Records

Primary Audience: Staff responsible for Student Records and NSC Reporting

Related QRGs: Reducing Errors Before Generating the NSC Report

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: CTRL+You: Manual Conversion Tips and Tricks on Thursday, Sept. 11.

Rebuilding a student's record from Legacy into ctcLink can feel like a daunting task-especially when the process is manual and some records include a dozen terms of enrollment history or multiple repeats! In this session, we will guide you through the steps outlined in the Manual Conversion QRG, including key pages like Quick Admit, Search/Match, Student Program/Plan, Term Activate a Student, External Education, and Course Credits-Automated. Whether you're building a record completely from scratch or just adding a few courses to an existing record, we'll offer some practical tips and examples to make the process more manageable. 

We’ll share tips and tricks as well as explore some common questions that often come up about Manual Conversion, such as:

• Should the student apply for admission before I convert their Legacy records?
• I sent the Legacy transcript to ctcLink, why are the courses not showing on the External Education page?
• What effective dates should I use on the Student Program/Plan page?
• Why does the course name appear differently on the transcript after posting?
• What do I do when I get an error message? 

Questions? Contact CS Core Support.

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

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

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.

Finance College Users Production Support Meetings

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

These sessions are open to ALL Finance (FIN) 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.

Accounts Receivable (AR) and Billing (BI) Open Q&A

Every other Thursday, these recurring Accounts Receivable and Billing work sessions aim to provide accounting support and guidance regarding, but not limited to, the various reconciliation topics and processes.

Bring your AR and BI questions and get functional support or listen-in and collaborate with your community college peers.

Module(s): FIN [AR and BI]

Primary Audience: Accounts Receivable and Billing Staff

Related QRG: FIN - Accounts Receivable, FIN - Billing

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.

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

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 – NEW!

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

Fin Aid Training: FLF Enrollment Hold & Authorization Processes Refresher

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

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

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

Cross-Pillar FA-SF Training: Customer Account Review Basics

Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, 1-2 p.m., Learn more and join the session

This Cross-Pillar Training Session is a back-to-basics review on the Customer Accounts page and its features in ctcLink for newer FA Staff and SF Staff responsible for reviewing and adjusting Customer Accounts

Understand how to

• Review the Account Summary in Student Center
• Review the View Customer Accounts page
• Define Debits and Credits in View Customer Accounts
• Define Charges and Payments in View Customer Accounts
• Review Account Details in the View Customer Accounts page
• View FA Refund Adjustments in View Customer Accounts
• View Payment Line Details in the View Customer Accounts page
• Review Additional Details in the View Customer Accounts page
• Extrapolate charge details in Item Summaries from the View Customer Accounts page
• View Anticipated Aid in the View Customer Accounts page

Related QRG: View Customer Accounts

Prerequisite Course(s): FA103 Authorizing and Disbursing Financial Aid, SF100 Tuition Calculation, SF101 Cashiering

Fin Aid Training: Pell Reconciliation Refresher

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

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 Support Updates

HCM Users Group Fall 2025 Quarter Meeting

Hosted by the Seattle Colleges Oct. 9-10, 2025, with in-person and virtual options. Location to be announced.

Watch your HCM lists and the HCM Users Group web page for registration details.

Questions? Contact Annie Butler, HCM Users Group Chair.

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

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 Image 53 and TAX Update 25-D

These two HCM updates are soon to be headed our way. Although we have not received the implementation plan and kickoff date yet, it won’t be long until the planning turns into testing then into roll-out! Implementation for HC Image 53 is Nov. 22, 2025, and the Tax Update 25-D is for Dec. 11, 2025. We will keep you abreast of the activities in the upcoming months.

HR Core

Workforce Administration (WFA)

Currently in the process of providing our college HR team members “Correct History” access to their college specific ctcLink Department records. This will give colleges the opportunity to update department descriptions,  and other details as needed and or update incorrect creation dates, when in error.

Also in the final stages of testing is an update to the process (Integration Broker Messaging) that shares/writes departmental level data from Finance to HCM.

This update will copy forward departments created in Finance to HCM, but will not blank out the location, company and other details in an existing HCM department and or input a department manager in HCM departments, as has been happening in certain instances where we have data syncs between our various pillars. This will also eliminate any possibility of an incorrect workflow routing happening due to the department manager overwriting the supervisor ID in job data.

Colleges have been provided security access to the DEPT_SECURITY tree, to view and submit for updates as, and when, department orgs happen, so that the college level org charts are up to date and accurate.

Absence Management / Time & Labor

The HCM Customer Support team has implemented important updates to the leave rules for classified employees under the WFSE and WPEA unions. Summary of changes:

WFSE Union Changes

• Removed the waiting period for Personal Leave (PRL) accrual.
• Increased leave accrual from 16 hours to 24 hours.

WPEA Union Changes

• Removed the waiting period for Personal Leave (PRL) accrual.
• Updated Vacation (VAC) accrual rate for employees with 1 to 4 years of service to 11.33 hours per month.

New Exchange Time Leave Codes

Following the recent WFSE/WPEA changes, the HCM Customer Support team has implemented new Exchange Time leave codes specifically for overtime-exempt classified employees. Please review the updated procedures below:

Reporting Overtime Hours

• Employees must report overtime hours via the Time Tile: Time > CTC Time > Overtime Request.
• The system will automatically route the request to the employee’s supervisor for approval.
• Administrators can use the query QHC_TL_OT_REQUEST_STATUS to view requested overtime hours.

Accrual Process

• Absence administrators are currently required to enter accrual hours as adjustments on the Adjust Absence Balance page.
• The SBCTC HCM Customer Support Team is actively working on automating the accrual process. Once development is complete, we will provide an update via the HCM listserv.

New Leave Codes

• Absence Entitlement Leave Code: XCE E XXX
• Absence Take Leave Code: XCE T XXX

Benefits / Faculty Workload (FWL)

Benefits

The BN100 Benefits Canvas Course is the last in the series of the HCM Level 100 Canvas courses to be updated. This effort will begin later this month.

Faculty Workload

• Remember, if you have placed your full-time faculty on short work break at the beginning of summer, you must bring them back from short work break as well.
  QRG = Job Effective Dated Row Insert (JEDI Process)
• The FW100 Faculty Workload Canvas Course is in the review process with the Functional Analysts.

Payroll

IMPORTANT!  Pay Calendar Creation and Validation for your college needs to be completed for the 2026 calendar year in time for the 09A payroll processing if your faculty are due back with the effective date of 9/1/2025; 09B payroll processing if your faculty returns with the effective date of 9/16/2025.

See Creating Pay Calendars Quick Reference Guide.

Talent Acquisition Management (TAM)

TM100 Canvas Course updates continue to improve course content.

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.

Cross-Pillar FA-SF Training: Customer Account Review Basics

Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, 1-2 p.m., Learn more and join the session

This Cross-Pillar Training Session is a back-to-basics review on the Customer Accounts page and its features in ctcLink for newer FA Staff and SF Staff responsible for reviewing and adjusting Customer Accounts

Understand how to

• Review the Account Summary in Student Center
• Review the View Customer Accounts page
• Define Debits and Credits in View Customer Accounts
• Define Charges and Payments in View Customer Accounts
• Review Account Details in the View Customer Accounts page
• View FA Refund Adjustments in View Customer Accounts
• View Payment Line Details in the View Customer Accounts page
• Review Additional Details in the View Customer Accounts page
• Extrapolate charge details in Item Summaries from the View Customer Accounts page
• View Anticipated Aid in the View Customer Accounts page

Related QRG: View Customer Accounts

Prerequisite Course(s): FA103 Authorizing and Disbursing Financial Aid, SF100 Tuition Calculation, SF101 Cashiering

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

ctcLink PeopleSoft Query 302 Migrations Course

The PeopleSoft Query 302 Migrations course is now available for on-demand training through Canvas.

This course provides query developers with the comprehensive knowledge and practical skills needed to successfully migrate queries in the ctcLink PeopleSoft environment. Participants will learn the standards, conventions, and best practices required for query development and migration from Production College Development (PCD) to Production (PRD).

How to register

• Visit the ctcLink Training Registration Pageand click on the hyperlink for the ctcLink Training Registration Form.
• Enter your college and email address and click “Verify My Account”
• Scroll to the section “Designated Query Developer Training” and select the box(es) next to the class(es) for which you would like to register.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Sign me up” button.

If you have any questions, reach out to Paula McDaniel, SBCTC Data Analytics Learning and Education Instructor.

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.

ctcLink Accessibility Improvement Highlights

Each monthly ctcLink Accessibility Open Forum focuses on accessibility enhancements and collaborative efforts to improve user experience in ctcLink.

In case you missed a meeting, please see Materials and recordings from past ctcLink Accessibility Forums.

The Accessibility and ctcLink Open Forum meets regularly, with the next meeting scheduled for Oct. 12, 2025. Participants are encouraged to submit ideas for future meetings via an online form.

Below is a summary of highlights from the Accessibility & ctcLink Forum Presentation, Sept. 9, 2025 session.

Accessibility Issues and Service Requests in ctcLink

Several accessibility issues are being addressed across ctcLink modules including W-2 PDF Box 13 screen reader problems, Campus Solutions payment page updates, academic advisement PDF tagging, and Human Capital Management focus and header issues.

Oracle acknowledges some bugs and is working on fixes, with some updates scheduled for mid-2025. Finance module issues include inaccessible checkboxes and screen reading order problems, with fixes planned. Combo box dropdown display issues remain under Oracle review with no ETA.

Accessibility Testing and Documentation

Testing plans include Campus Solutions accessibility image overview and Okta dashboard widget verification. The ctcLink Accessibility web page provides reviews, image overview documents, Oracle and third-party VPATs, and a glossary.

Testing involves system integration testing (SIT) by SBCTC staff and user acceptance testing (UAT) by college users, coordinated by testing and functional teams.

Service Desk Tickets/Oracle Service Requests

The presentation concludes with a status update on open accessibility issues being worked on with vendors, emphasizing ongoing collaboration to resolve these challenges.

• CS Academic Advisement Report – incorrect PDF tags: Fix was supposed to be delivered in CS Image 26.  There was a duplicate CSS declaration on the HTML academic progress fluid page and that was corrected.  They did not make any updates to the PDF though, so we pushed back and asked that to be done. 
• Mark-up for 'Add' button incorrect creating WCAG violation Oracle has accepted this as a bug and development is working on it now.

Human Capital Management

• HCM Enter Time Page: For the focus issue when switching between elapsed time and punch time, Oracle has agreed this is a bug. Resolved as of August 2025.

Finance

• Express Bill Entry Template page: The screen reader user cannot access any of the checkboxes on the Charge Details tab of the Configure Bill Line Grid Area. On the other tabs in the Configure Bill Line Grid Area, the checkboxes are accessed by the screen reader, but the labels are not read by the screen reader, so the user does not know what to check.  Oracle is developing a fix that is planned to be delivered in Finance Image 48.
• Cash Advance Screen Reading Order is Incorrect: The reading order has been corrected, but User Default, Import ATM Advances, View Printable Version, Notes, and Attachment items are read twice by the screen reader. Service Request (SR) is open for this issue.

All Pillars

Combo Box dropdown displays one blank row and list items order is not top to bottom: The developers at Oracle are still reviewing. No ETA for this. SR 3-27290185731/Doc ID 2922397.

Third-Party Vendors

OAAP SSN entry requires clear format instructions for accessibility. Dashes in SSN format cause rejection, but numeric input without dashes is accepted.

For example, asking for date of birth is formatted as MM/DD/YYYY. In the case of SSN format, it should be “###-##-####” but if applicant includes the dashes, the SSN gets rejected. The OAAP only accepts SSN without dashes. This issue is being addressed with Kastech, the third-party provider of OAAP integrated with ctcLink.

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, Oct. 14, 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

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.