ctcLink Learning Opportunities & Support Roundup: Jan. 7, 2026

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

PAW Travel & Expense (T&E) Enhancement Requests (ERs) Update

Pat Daniels, Highline College Deputy CIO & Director/Business & Data Analysis and ctcLink College Collaboration Group (cCCG) Co-Chair, recently shared a status update regarding the PAW T&E ERs presented to cCCG in November.

This update was shared with primary ctcLink College Leaders, PAW roster members, and the PAW Travel Coordinator Contact List.

Pat said all colleges did vote, though a few ERs were missing one vote.

Seven of the eight ERs passed with over 80%; one ER (PAW T&E ER 2.1 - Over Per Diem Functionality) did not pass, as it only had a 61% approval.

Considering they were prioritized differently across the votes, PAW applied some simple weighting to more accurately reflect the overall priority of each ER.  

List of approved ERs and overall priority

Next steps

All ERs that passed the approval threshold now will be assigned an ER number and move through the standard governance process to move toward a work queue.

Process Alignment Workgroup seeks Employee Onboarding & Offboarding “Bright Spots”

Process Alignment Workgroup: College-driven, Agency-supported, Leadership-endorsed

The Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW) Employee Onboarding & Offboarding (EO&O) Task Force members has begun its work toward aligning our system’s 34 colleges in common employee onboarding and offboarding practices.

To help inform their efforts as they review processes in the weeks ahead, the PAW EO&O task force welcomes input from:

• College staff involved in employee onboarding and offboarding activities on their campuses — including HR team members, other HCM users, such as supervisors, instruction office staff, training personnel, ctcLink security, and others involved in these processes.
• All employeeswho have recently gone through the onboarding process.

What’s good?

"Bright Spots" highlight the good stuff: the things that made your initial experience joining your college positive, welcoming, and successful. Sharing your successes allows others to learn from them and helps the Task Force identify processes that are truly working well.

We want to hear about your personal experience!

Please focus on any aspects of your college's ctcLink Employee Onboarding & Offboarding processes that work well and could be adopted by other colleges.

Submit your thoughts at the Bright Spots Survey: Employee Onboarding & Offboarding today!

Your perspective is vital as we work to improve the experience for everyone.

Get Involved in PAW

The task force aims to engage with all relevant subject matter experts (SMEs) for input and review. They encourage everyone to get involved however they can.

A systemwide EO&O subject matter expert (SME) list is being compiled to encourage collaborative communication and participation systemwide.

cCCG Co-chair Pat Daniels sent the PAW: Employee Onboarding Offboarding College SME Contact List - Google Sheet to the ctcLink College Collaboration group to gather this information.

What is PAW?

The Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW) is a systemwide, college-led volunteer effort formed at the behest of WACTC presidents to create common ctcLink business processes in the three ctcLink pillars (Campus Solutions, Human Capital Management, and Finance). 

PAW efforts are supported by SBCTC project management office and ctcLink team members, but no additional state or college funds or resources are available to offset these efforts. 

Learn more about PAW Activities

• Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW) Project Overview
• Process Alignment Task Forces
• Employee Onboarding/Offboarding Task Force Resources

Contact

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

• Please reach out to Sindie Howland, Associate Director for Change Management & Process Improvement at Everett Community College, if you have any questions about the Employee Onboarding & Offboarding Process Alignment Task Force.
• Contact Jason Hetterle, PAW Team Lead, Director of Technology & Enterprise Solutions, Wenatchee Valley College, if you have any questions or concerns about the Process Alignment Workgroup activities in general.

Travel & Expense Process Alignment: Tools and Training Ready to Use

The systemwide Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW) has concluded its inaugural travel and expense process alignment task force and passed the baton to the ctcLink Support and Training teams.

Recommendations and best practices for alignment are regularly updated and incorporated into ctcLink reference and training materials.

Colleges and SBCTC staff are encouraged to dive in to explore and take advantage of Travel and Expenses Training Resources, including:

• Self-Paced Travel & Expense Training Courses
• Travel & Expense Learning Opportunities - Instructor-led sessions designed for staff who have successfully completed the self-paced Travel & Expense Canvas course trainings. Sessions are delivered on a cyclical basis — monthly, quarterly, or yearly — with the goal of strengthening participant skillsets.
• Recurring FIN Work Session: Travel and Expenses Mini Training & Workshop
• Fluid vs Classic: The Travel & Expense Task Force has recommended using the Fluid interface going forward, as Oracle is no longer providing updates to “Classic” pages. Training materials are being updated to reflect Fluid pages, while maintaining the instructions for “Classic” to allow colleges time to make the transition. Also, Fluid better meets accessibility requirements and is responsive to device size.
• Reference Center Resources: detailed user guides and step-by-step instructions for creating, submitting, approval, and managing travel authorizations, cash advances, and expense reports, as well as delegation workflows, troubleshooting errors, budget exceptions, and administrative maintenance tasks.

T&E OCM Support on the Horizon

Next week, the PAW Organizational Change Management (OCM) volunteer subgroup will launch additional resources to help colleges manage the internal and interpersonal processes required to help staff and leadership transition to new ways of doing business.

Feel free to reach out to Gretchen Fulmer, Associate Director of Training, if you have any questions.

Staff Training Participation Application Phase 3 is LIVE

Phase 3 of the ctcLink Staff Training Participation (STP) application is now live.

This new functionality provides information regarding staff attendance participation reports and engagement with our many instructor-led learning opportunities. See details below.

Initial STP Launch (Phase 1)

The colleges experienced an increased need to track online training course completion and progress for members of their staff, so SBCTC created a web-based ctcLink Staff Training Participation (STP) application which displays training course completion information extracted from Canvas.

Users can view their own course completion information, as well as course completion information for any staff within their chain of supervision. 

Security roles are dynamically assigned to all active users in the system to access their own training data, and the training data of any staff in the user’s supervisory hierarchy. Depending on the security role, staff can search for active or inactive employees training data by a variety of means including employee ID, supervisor’s name, employee first or last name, department, or training course title. 

An elevated ctcLink security role provides users with college-level training data and is assigned to college designated Points of Contact (ctcLink College Leaders). For ongoing role-level access, the individual local security administrators (LSAs) have the ability to update access for maintenance purposes.

Phase 1 of the ctcLink Staff Training Participation Application went live Monday, June 10, 2024.  

Checklist Implementation (Phase 2)

The integration of checklists to assign required and recommended ctcLink Canvas course training went live Monday, March 24, 2025.  

The Onboarding Checklist available in the Onboarding Training Manuals was replaced with a built-in, automated version. Supervisors now have access to assign and track ctcLink course completions through the checklist feature of the application. 

Instructor-Led Training (ILT) Learning Opportunities Attendance Tracking (Phase 3)

The ability to track staff participation in Instructor-Led Training (ILT) learning opportunity sessions is now available.

Users can view attendance records and engagement information for delivered ctcLink learning opportunity sessions for themselves and any staff within their chain of supervision. Learning opportunity sessions are listed by title and session date. Attendance participation is calculated by dividing the participant’s attendance time by the total session time to assign a participation level to each participant.

The same security roles initially assigned for the Canvas course completion tracking remain active for the latest addition to the application.

Please see the ctcLink Staff Training Participation Application Quick Reference Guide (QRG) for step-by-step user instructions.

More information

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 employees. Learn more about the many available ctcLink learning opportunities.

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

Are You Receiving ctcLinkAlerts?

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

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

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

Each college chooses 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.

Restock Your Resiliency Toolkit

Take a moment to take care of yourself in 2026! 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

AI Essentials in Education (AI-Ed) Course for Everyone

SBCTC has launched AI Essentials in Education (AI-Ed), an asynchronous, self-paced, online Canvas micro-course designed to equip faculty, staff, and administrators across all 34 Washington community and technical colleges with the knowledge and skills to integrate AI responsibly into teaching, learning, and campus services.

This is not a ctcLink offering, but no matter your role with the colleges, this course offers practical, ethical, and actionable ways to engage with AI today.

Built by and for our system

AI-Ed is the result of collaboration between:

• Authors and co-chairs of the eLearning Council (eLC) AI Task Force: Joni Gutierrez, PhD, Tacoma Community College Accessible Technology Specialist and Founder of CHAIRES, and Ronald (Ron) Lethcoe, MEd, Clover Park Technical College Curriculum and Instructional Design Specialist,
• The eLearning Council (ELC) AI Task Force, and
• Contributors from the Instruction Commission, Strategic Technology Advisory Council, and SBCTC.

Their collective feedback and support ensured the course aligns with statewide needs and practices.

What you’ll learn

AI‑Ed builds foundational AI literacy with a strong emphasis on ethics, human‑centered practice, and practical application in teaching, learning, and day‑to‑day work. In this course, participants will develop skills to evaluate AI outputs critically, use tools responsibly, and contribute confidently to systemwide AI conversations. The course features five focused, one‑hour modules:

• Defining AI – Core concepts and common myths
• The Ethics of AI – Bias, fairness, and responsible decision‑making
• AI in Action – Tools, prompts, and practical applications
• Redefining Work – Human–AI collaboration and emerging skillsets
• Navigating Change – Adapting and leading with AI literacy

How the course works

• Format: Asynchronous, online, and self-paced in Canvas
• Enrollment: Open, year-round enrollment
• Audience: Faculty, staff, and administrators seeking responsible, practical ways to use AI in higher education
• Time Commitment: Approximately five hours to complete all modules
• Recognition: Earn SBCTC-issued badges for each module, plus the SBCTC AI Essentials in Education (AI-Ed) pathway badge for completing the course

Enroll now!

• Visit the SBCTC eLearning Training Registration page to enroll.
• Follow Canvas login guidance to access the course.
  • SBCTC Agency staff log in with SBCTC credentials; college faculty and staff log in via your home college Canvas.

Questions?

Reach out to Guava Jordan, SBCTC Policy Faculty Development and Ensured Learning.

ctcLink Enhancement Request Update

Dani Rider, SBCTC Assistant CIO for ctcLink, provided the following updateas of Jan. 5, 2026.

• 328 Enhancement Requests Submitted 
  • 276 Enhancements (84%) - 240 Deployed, 36 Canceled
  • Enhancement Requests (ERs) are canceled if they are no longer needed or if they pertain to local configuration rather than system-wide implementation.
• In-Flight – 19; Next Up – 12; Future Work – 21

ER Progress History

A fall-to-fall comparison shows healthy progress in total ER completion rate, from 63% to 84% over three years.

How to Check the Status of an Enhancement Request

The ctcLink Customer Services Teams documente 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

Updates for ER 27 (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity (SOGI), and Pronouns) Went Live Dec. 19

The Data Governance Committee is pleased to announce that Enhancement Request 27 Work Packages 4 and 5 — focused on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity (SOGI), and Pronouns — have gone live in ctcLink.

This Enhancement Request (ER) was previously approved by the Data Governance Committee and the ctcLink Working Group.  For further information, please see the Data Governance Committee proposal.

The following components of this ER are now available:

• Pronoun Collection in Campus Solutions (CS): Implementation of functionality to collect student pronouns
• Configuration Updates: Pronouns, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity configuration updates in both HCM and CS
• Security Enhancements: Updates in CS to restrict access to SOGI fields to designated SOGI security roles
• Updated SOGI Data Dictionary: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Data Dictionary
• Updates to ctcLink Reference Center Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) that reference Sexual Orientation, Gender Identify and Pronouns:

• Added information on pronoun functionality
• Updated security role details

The following components of ER 27 Work Packages 4 and 5 are still in progress and will be completed based on the ctcLink College Collaboration Group (cCCG) prioritization:

• Implementation of long descriptions for Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity (SOGI) and Pronouns in CS
• Tile and heading updates in HCM
  • Replace the Employee Self-Service tile of “Gender Identity” with “Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation”
  • Within the tile, replace the heading of “Gender Details” with “Details”

HEUG (Higher Education User Group) Conversations

Keep in mind that HEUG is a collection of PeopleSoft users from around the globe who work in similar but different systems.  While it can be interesting or inspiring to see what others are doing and thinking we ask that you keep in mind that what works in one system may not work in or apply to another.  

In response to demand, two more conversations have been scheduled. 

• February 11, 2026, 9 a.m. Pacific time: Round 2: Ghost & Fraudulent Applications Community Discussion
• April 17, 2026, 11 a.m. Pacific: Round 3: Ghost & Fraudulent Applications Community Discussion, This discussion will focus on what to do after the application, and what happens if there's enrollment or aid awarded.  If you were unable to join the first discussion, there is a recording.

Join HEUG

Washington community and technical college system employees using ctcLink PeopleSoft products are welcome to join. 

Learn more about signing up for HEUG Membership.

A Specific Type of Fraud: Identity Theft

All of us are on high alert and increasingly wary of fraudulent activity.  There are many interrelated issues around fraud that add to the complexity of being able to respond in the most responsible manner possible.  A growing issue is identity theft.  Applications are being submitted using stolen identities, and sometimes these applications are Search/Matched to existing students whose identities have been stolen.

In the case of identity theft that impacts a “real” student, it is imperative that your ticket notes that the fraudulent activity is suspected identity theft and indicates which activity is fraudulent.  Doing so:

• Allows the Support team to separate the fraudulent activity from the student’s valid record and issue the student a new EMPLID. 
• Prevents the creation of duplicate “non-fraudulent” EMPLIDs for the student and ensures that the student’s activities are consolidated under a single EMPLID.
• It avoids obscuring or hiding the “real” student within an EMPLID marked as fraudulent

What are two giant red flags that indicate that an existing student might be victim of identity theft?

A student tells you that they did not submit a specific application or says they don’t know why they’ve suddenly started receiving communications from another college.

Before reporting any EMPLID as fraudulent, survey for historical, converted or employment data that predates the fraudulent application activity.  This data may exist on any EMPLID and is even more likely to exist on EMPLIDs that are “early” numbers and/or begin with 1.  The presence of this data suggests that the original record is likely for a legitimate student or former employee, and the recent suspicious application may be an attempt at identity theft.   

Of course, there are other red flags that point to potentially fraudulent activity, but these two require very little sleuthing to spot!

Please do not include reported cases of identity theft in batch fraud reports.  Batch fraud reports should only include EMPLIDs in which all activity on the entire EMPLID is fraudulent.  Submit a separate ticket to report a case of identity theft.  The CS Core Support Team will separate the fraudulent information and the valid student record. 

A stolen identity might be re-used for future fraudulent purposes; keep an eye out for applications Search/Matched to previous victims of identity theft.

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

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 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.

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).

Coming up next!

Save the date for Thursday, Feb. 25, 2026, and watch the Core Sessions: College System & SBCTC Calendar for work sessions in the new year.

Questions? Contact CS Core Support.

FIN Updates

Travel and Expenses (T&E) QRG Updated

The Travel Administrator – Maintenance section of the Reference Center has been revised to help make the information easier to understand.

All the previous stand-alone Employee Expenses Profile Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) have been combined into one QRG Maintaining Employee Travel Profiles.

Please note, a new section Corporate Card Information has been added to this QRG.

Even though we do not yet have Travel Cards configured in Expenses, Pcard card holder information is flowing to the Expenses profiles for card holders. This is informational only and cannot be used to pay for Expenses transactions. As note in the QRG, you cannot delete the information from the Expenses profiles, or it will disconnect the link between the card information and the transactions, rendering them invisible to users.

Travel & Expense Process Alignment: Tools and Training Ready for Use

The systemwide Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW) has concluded its inaugural travel and expense process alignment task force and passed the baton to the ctcLink Support and Training teams.

Recommendations and best practices for alignment are regularly updated and incorporated into ctcLink reference and training materials.

Colleges and SBCTC staff are encouraged to dive in to explore and take advantage of Travel and Expenses Training Resources, including:

• Self-Paced Travel & Expense Training Courses
• Travel & Expense Learning Opportunities - Instructor-led sessions designed for staff who have successfully completed the self-paced Travel & Expense Canvas course trainings. Sessions are delivered on a cyclical basis — monthly, quarterly, or yearly — with the goal of strengthening participant skillsets.
• Recurring FIN Work Session: Travel and Expenses Mini Training & Workshop
• Fluid vs Classic: The Travel & Expense Task Force has recommended using the Fluid interface going forward, as Oracle is no longer providing updates to “Classic” pages. Training materials are being updated to reflect Fluid pages, while maintaining the instructions for “Classic” to allow colleges time to make the transition. Also, Fluid better meets accessibility requirements and is responsive to device size.
• Reference Center Resources: detailed user guides and step-by-step instructions for creating, submitting, approval, and managing travel authorizations, cash advances, and expense reports, as well as delegation workflows, troubleshooting errors, budget exceptions, and administrative maintenance tasks.

Feel free to reach out to Gretchen Fulmer, Associate Director of Training, if you have any questions.

T&E Change Management Support on the Horizon

Next week, the PAW Organizational Change Management (OCM) volunteer subgroup will launch additional resources to help colleges manage the internal and interpersonal processes required to help staff and leadership transition to new ways of doing business.

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

FIN Work Session: AP 1099 FY2025 Processing Drop-in Sessions

Bring your 1099 questions and receive functional support or listen-in and collaborate with your college peers!

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.

Michele Rockwell, MSML, ctcLink Finance Functional Analyst, facilitates.

• 11 – 11:30 a.m., Training: First half of the meeting will typically be a short training focused on a particular topic/process in Grants and Projects. This portion of the meeting is usually recorded. The recording will be posted to the ctcLink Learning Opportunities Information Canvas Course.
• 11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., Q&A: Second half of the meeting will not be recorded. You are invited to drop in with any questions related to grants and projects at the open Q&A sessions. This open time is for college end-users to collaborate with functional support and other Grants and Projects staff/supervisors to troubleshoot issues, discuss workflow or process questions, and/or even 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

Related QRG: FIN - Grants/Contracts section of the ctcLink Reference Center

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

Finance College Users Production Support Meetings

Meetings are held every other 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.

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.

Sessions will resume later this month.

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

The recorded sessions will be posted to the ctcLink Learning Opportunities Information Canvas Course located under Modules > Finance Learning Opportunities > Accounts Receivable and Billing Work Sessions.

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 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

FA PeopleSoft Release Patchset (PRP ) 3.3 is now available in Production

The following QRGs can help you track what the current known issues are in ctcLink, and which have been resolved:

• Financial Aid Known Issues in ctcLink | FA - Financial Aid Resources | ctcLink Reference Center
• Financial Aid Known Issues in ctcLink ARCHIVED | FA - Financial Aid Resources | ctcLink Reference Center

V4/V5 Verification Report Processing Guide

The V4 V5 Verification Report Processing Business Processing Guide is updated and available at the ctcLink Reference Center.

These updates are in response to changes the Department of Education (ED) announced in June.

Direct Loan Troubleshooting Guide now at the ctcLink Reference Center

This new resource is a first steps guide to the most common troubleshooting Direct Loan Validation Errors as they display in the Message Text when you run DLOUT. From the basic FA pages, to configuration, this guide will show you where to look when you are hunting for reasons why your Direct Loan record failed Validation.

The Direct Loan Troubleshooting Guide will be helpful to newer and advanced ctcLink users responsible for managing the Direct Loan program.

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.

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 Learning Opportunities

NEW! R2T4 Micro-Training

Something new, just in time for working your fall-term R2T4s: a short, sweet Micro-Training video in follow up to the recent R2T4 Worksheet Overview Training.

Why you’ll love it:

• Quick & Easy: Just a quick four-minute video
• On Your Schedule: Review whenever you need it without going all the way into Canvas for review
• Real Impact: Tips you can use in real-time as you process

Give it a try whenever you are ready  Reviewing a R2T4 Calculation Example in ctcLink Video | 9.2 FA - Return to Title IV | ctcLink Reference Center

2026-27 Aid Year Rollover (AYRO) Activities

As explained during the 2026/2027 Aid Year Rollover Prep FA Work Session on Nov. 6, 2025, all colleges are expected to complete AYRO Part 1 on their own. All the detailed documentation and “how to” was included in your meeting invite for AYRO.

Should you have any questions while completing AYRO Part 1, please submit a ticket under ctcLink Support > Financial Aid > FA AYRO.

The goal is for each college to complete AYRO Part 1 before attending the AYRO Part 2 Work Session. Please be sure to submit tickets related to AYRO Part 1 no later than one week before your scheduled AYRO Part 2 Work Session.

Aid Year Rollover Financial Aid Support Sessions

HCM Support Updates

HCM Users Group Monthly Meet-Up: DRS & 2026 IRS Rules Updates

Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, 9-11 a.m., Attend Zoom meeting

Join us for a special topic! The Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) will give a presentation regarding the required updates colleges will need to make due to the 2026 IRS rules for highly compensated employees and their pretax deferrals to the Deferred Compensation Program.

Anyone from the colleges who handles ERA reporting and entries on the Savings Plan pages in HCM is highly encouraged to attend.

Watch for future meet-ups on the HCM Users Group page calendar.

Questions? Contact Annie Butler, HCM Users Group Chair.

Refresh your HCMemory

HCM Work Sessions are recorded and stored in the ctcLink Learning Opportunities Information Canvas course (formerly Pillar Work Session Info) for future reference.

More about how to access the Training Recordings Archive.

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 Learning Opportunities

HCM Work Session - Sick Leave Buyout

Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, 2:30 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join Dhilip Muthusamy, HCM Senior Functional Analyst T&L/Absence Management, for this presentation about the timing, steps and all the specifics to complete this process in a timely manner.

All HCM Learning Opportunity recordings are located in the ctcLink Learning Opportunities Information Canvas course (formerly Pillar Work Session Information course) for future reference

UPDATED! HCM: FW100 Faculty Workload (FWL Payroll, HCM)

The Faculty Workload Level 100 Canvas Course (FW100) has been restructured and updated to provide FWL contract builders with additional details/content going over faculty work assignment, contract calculation, generation, approval, acceptance, and pay line extraction at payroll processing time. The assessment exercises have also been redesigned.

Faculty Workload users, brand new and those who have completed this course in the past, are strongly encouraged to go through this revised course version to get the up-to-date information.

You can use this link to get to the Canvas sign on page, then to the HCM: FW100 Faculty Workload (FWL Payroll, HCM ) course: https://sbctc.instructure.com/courses/1830361

New users working with Faculty Workload: You must self-register for this course, if you have not already done so via the ctcLink Training & Learning Opportunities Registration Page

SF Updates

SF Work Session Volunteers Wanted!

Have you mastered a global process that could benefit your fellow SF counterparts?

Do you have a Student Finance topic you're passionate about? We'd love for you to share your insights with your peers and showcase your expertise! Partner with the SF team (don’t worry—you won’t be presenting alone!) to lead a work session and share your favorite tips and tricks with fellow SF users.

Interested? Please reach out to Pauline Smith, SBCTC Student Financials Functional Trainer, or Brandon Reed, Associate Director of Student Financials, with your topic ideas.

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 DL Blast Newsletter

See previous editions of the Student Financials Distribution List Blast: SF DL Blasts.

Subscribe to the ctcLinkSME_StuFin list to receive the latest editions of the SF DL (Student Financials Distribution List) Blast featuring SF hot topics, training tips, and tricks.

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.

CS Core & SF Cross-Pillar Training: Connecting Residency Data, Tuition Residency Exceptions, and Tuition Calculation

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 8:30 am, Learn more and join the session

This session explores how residency data entered in ctcLink influences tuition calculation and how Tuition Residency Exceptions can adjust a student's tuition to the resident rate. The Student Records and Student Financials staff will demonstrate how updates made in the Additional Residency Data section affect tuition charges, clarify exception categories, and highlight the importance of cross-departmental collaboration to ensure accuracy, compliance, and consistency in tuition assessment.

Objectives

• Understand how the Additional Residency Data section functions in ctcLink
• Identify how Residency and Tuition Residency Exceptions affect tuition calculation
• Strengthen collaboration between Records and Student Financials staff.

Module(s): Student Records and Student Financials
Primary Audience: Staff Responsible for Residency and Tuition Calculation
Presenter/Facilitators: Pauline Smith & Tanjagay Martin, SBCTC

2025 1098-T Processing Updates

Sign Up for the New ctcLink 1098-T eList

You are invited to join a new eList focused on student 1098-T Tax Statements.

During a recent internal SF 1098-T meeting, we reflected on how far the colleges have come with 1098-T processing and how a dedicated community space for conversation and shared learning could further support that progress.

The new “ctcLink 1098T” eList will be used to:

• Share important 1098-T updates from the State Board SF Team
• Provide a topic-specific space for peer-to-peer questions and discussion. Topics may include ctcLink functionality as well as policy-related news, considerations, and questions

Please note this eList is not a platform for exchanging sensitive information and, like all agency eLists, is subject to public records requests.

The SBCTC SF Team will continue to use both the ctcLinkSME_StuFin and BAR eLists for outgoing State Board communications in addition to this new list.

Sign up

We encourage any college staff directly involved in annual 1098-T statement generation, communications, corrections, or policy work to sign up: ctcLink1098T eList sign-up link

1098-T Security Lockout

Colleges may now generate 2025 1098-Ts in Production. Access to processing in PRD was restricted during the month of December as an added precaution.

This security lockout was removed on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026.

1098-T Resources

Below is a list of training, resource links, and special considerations for this year's 1098-T processing. As in previous years, SBCTC will offer both in-depth training and drop-in sessions, and will continue to update and use the Business Processing Guide.

You can also find the below sessions and links in the 2025 1098-T Business Processing Guide QRG.

2025 1098-T Business Processing Guide

The 2025 1098-T Business Processing Guide QRG has been updated since last year to include special considerations for this year and edits to help process through this difficult task

2025 Special Considerations

Please see Appendix 1 in the guide for additional detail.

Issue - ER999 and Citizenship Status

Beginning with calendar year 2025, SBCTC recommends selecting the Override Citizenship validation within college batch processing. See the Generate 1098-T QRG for details and options for processing.

Issue - Prior Year 1098-Ts

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

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

Query Fundamentals Lab

Every Monday effective Jan. 5, 2026, 10-11 a.m., Join the Webex session

Query fundamentals labs are held weekly giving all Query Developers the chance to practice their query development skills. Different topics/skills are covered each week. Past lab exercises and recordings are available in Canvas.

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 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, Jan. 13, 2026, at 11 a.m. All are welcome to attend via Zoom.

• Participants are encouraged to submit ideas for future meetings via an online form.
• 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.