ctcLink Learning Opportunities & Support Roundup: May 20, 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

Your Invitation to Join the Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW)

Are you a ctcLink user or subject matter expert who's passionate about improving business processes across Washington's community and technical colleges?  

PAW wants you to bring your college voice to the table. 

Formed in 2022 and endorsed by WACTC, the Process Alignment Workgroup brings together college volunteers to develop common ctcLink business processes — reducing redundancy, improving consistency, and building a stronger system for students and staff.  

What PAW Does 

PAW works for, and collaborates closely, with the ctcLink College Collaboration Group (cCCG), which is comprised of ctcLink College Leaders and Subject Matter Experts. PAW supports each Task Force as they bring forward recommendations for system-wide adoption.  

PAW identifies, prioritizes, and acts on ctcLink process alignment opportunities. A core PAW Team member may serve as a Task Force Lead.  

Current active task forces are focused on: 

• Employee Onboarding & Offboarding — organizing key processes and resources in order of execution
• Travel & Expense — helping colleges align to the standards set for creating, managing, and approving travel transactions per their recommendations

What's the Difference Between PAW and PAW Task Forces? 

When we recruit college staff to the Process Alignment Workgroup (PAW), we seek individuals to contribute to the core PAW Team who plan and execute the overall process alignment effort.  

Each process will have a defined PAW Task Force, and core PAW Team members can participate in a lead or support capacity for those temporary task forces during their engagement, but core PAW Team members are the guiding force making the work happen.  

PAW Task Force(s) are formed to work on a specific process needing alignment. They gather college data, evaluate best practices, and bring recommendations to the ctcLink College Collaboration Group (cCCG) for formal adoption.  

Participating in a PAW Task Force as a Subject Matter Expert does not require you to become a core PAW Team member. 

Who Should Participate? 

PAW seeks ctcLink users and subject matter experts (SMEs) systemwide for cross-functional representation in Campus Solutions (CS) Core, Financial Aid (FA), Finance (FIN), Human Capital Management (HCM), Student Financials (SF), and ctcLink Security. 

• Collaborative individuals with strong communication skills and an interest in process improvement to improve team performance
• Representatives from different departments to ensure cross-functional alignment
• SMEs who can provide input on business objectives
• Process-driven employees skilled at developing frameworks

Benefits of Your Participation in Alignment Work 

• Elevate Your Voice: PAW members share their knowledge and their college’s unique perspective.
• Systemwide Collaboration:Active participation in PAW is a great way to build cross-functional and peer-to-peer community relationships that last long after your engagement in PAW. 
• Increase Your Impact: Help shape systemwide decisions by using your local knowledge to improve outcomes for staff and campuses across the state.
• Grow Your Leadership and Organizational Change Management Skills:PAW provides hands-on experience guiding and leading others through beneficial changes in a high-visibility initiative.  

Time Commitment 

PAW meets virtually biweekly on Mondays, 10 to 10:50 a.m. In addition, several PAW interest area subgroups comprised of PAW members meet regularly: 

• Data– Focused on Utilization Data Tracking 
• Organizational Change Management (OCM)– Prepare and Guide Colleges through Change 
• Communications & Accessibility– Draft College Communication Materials & Accessibility 
• Structure– Helps PAW Use Technology Tools to Deliver Successfully 

Interested? Get in Touch! 

Your voice and expertise can help shape the systems that serve students and staff across Washington state. We hope you’ll join us.

Reach out to any of the following PAW and cCCG leaders to learn more: 

• Jason Hetterle, PAW Team Lead, Wenatchee Valley College Director of Technology & Enterprise Solutions 
• Sindie Howland, PAW Employee Onboarding & Offboarding Process Alignment Task Force Lead, Everett Community College Associate Director for Change Management & Process Improvement 
• Pat Daniels, ctcLink College Collaboration Group co-chair, Highline College Deputy Chief Information Officer & ctcLink Director regular job/college 
• Beth Farley, ctcLink College Collaboration Group co-chair, Edmonds College ctcLink Project Manager 

Travel & Expense (T&E) Organizational Change Management (OCM) Tools & Alignment Support Activities

The SBCTC Project Management Office (PMO) and PAW are working together in many ways to help colleges move toward alignment in T&E processes:

• Building and maintaining Change Assessment Worksheetsfor colleges to evaluate their progress toward alignment
• Offering individual work sessions for college Points of Contact and Travel & Expense administrators to "jump start" their change assessment analysis
• Partnering with SBCTC Training and Support teams to hold Mini-Training Workshopson Travel & Expense alignment topics every two weeks through May 2026
• Providing template slide decks for colleges to modify for their own local use
• Compiling/updating Travel & Expense Training Resourcesand T&E Organizational Change Management Resources

Where to Learn More

Travel and Expenses Q&A & Mini Trainings and OCM T&E sessions

Join the Process Alignment Workgroup – Organizational Change Management (OCM) Subgroup for focused discussions on completing the Change Assessment Worksheet and developing Change Action Plans to integrate the Travel & Expense Task Force recommendations into your college’s regular business practices.

Colleges who have already implemented some of these changes are encouraged to participate and share their experiences supporting travelers and travel administrators in adopting the new processes.

ctcLink College Collaboration Group (cCCG)

The PAW OCM subgroup will continue to check in on this process during the biweekly ctcLink College Collaboration Group meetings to help ctcLink College Leaders stay on goal.

Regular meetings are held on the second and fourth Wednesdays at 10 a.m. unless otherwise noted.

Questions?

If you need clarification, please reach out to the Project Management Office (PMO) team at PMOteam@sbctc.edu and they will guide your question to the right party for response.

2026 Data Summit - Save the Date and Share Your Ideas

Save the date: Monday, August 10, 2026, Centralia College

Planning is underway for the 2026 Data Summit, co-sponsored by the DataLink Steering Committee, IT Commission (ITC), Research & Planning Commission (RPC), and the ctcLink College Collaboration Group.

The committee is in early stages of planning and still building the agenda, but plans include:

• Conversation around AI and data 
• Data Visualization tools 
• Hands-on opportunity to work with the data
• Data Governance/Data Security
• Opportunities for collaboration 
• Deep dives on Hot Topics

Got an idea or want to get involved? Let us hear from you

• Have a topic you would like to hear more about?
• Want to share your expertise?
• Willing to help facilitate a conversation?
• Would you like to help shape the event?

Please take a moment to fill out the 2026 Data Summit Ideas survey.

Keep an eye out for the 2026 Data Summit Registration form.

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. 

Get Connected: Join ctcLink Support eLists

ctcLink Customer Support sends updates, outage notices, changes to configuration, training and workshop opportunities, global and cross-pillar communications to colleges via Mailman eLists (often referred to as listservs, which is a registered trademark).

College subject matter experts (SMEs), PeopleSoft users/stakeholders can use the lists to ask their college peers questions about how they do things in ctcLink, best practices, local training plans, and more. 

When you join, do NOT select the Digest option or you might miss out on time-sensitive messages.

Find your lists

• ctcLink Support eLists – Lists geared toward ctcLink end-users, including reporting, queries, and dataLink.
• In addition, each ctcLink pillar area suggests related lists to join under their “Get Connected to” menus.
  • Campus Solutions (CS) Core
  • Financial Aid (FA)
  • Finance (FIN)
  • Human Capital Management (HCM)
  • Student Financials (SF)
• Mailman eLists – See the complete list of Mailman lists available to the community and technical colleges.

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 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.

Since piloting outside participation and receiving positive feedback and requests, we sought agency leadership and support to work across SBCTC departments to present to a systemwide audience. 

2026 Offerings

Professional Development Suite

• Effective Communication Strategies 
• Generational & Learning Preferences - NEW 
• Leadership 
• Presentation Tips & Tricks - NEW 
• Teams/Team Bonding 
• Time Management 
• Top Tier Customer Experience 

Personal Development Suite 

• Emotional Quotient (EQ)
• Managing Stress Part 1
• Managing Stress Part 2
• Mental Health: Awareness & Support
• Mind Frame: Turn Negative Thoughts into Positive Actions
• Psychological Safety in the Workplace
• Vicarious Trauma
• Work/Life Balance 

Teaming Suite 

• Effective Communication Strategies
• Psychological Safety in the Workplace
• Teams/Team Bonding

Learn More and Sign up

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.

How to Check the Status of an Enhancement Request

The ctcLink Customer Services Teams document 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

REVISED UAT Timeline for OAAP Fraudulent Security Controls (Phase 1)

The User Acceptance Testing (UAT) activity for the Online Admissions Application Portal (OAAP) Fraudulent Security Controls Enhancement (ER 328 Phase 1) will be delayed by two weeks and will now be held June 2-9.

What changed?

During recent development, the vendor enhanced the Service Indicator assignment process to better account for suspended application processing. As a result, however, SOF Service Indicators would no longer be applied in near real time for submitted applications. These Service Indicators will include details on the suspicious flags identified for each application.

Moving forward with this approach would introduce challenges for colleges. Service Indicators would only be applied through an hourly jobset managed by CS Core, requiring ongoing monitoring and troubleshooting. Additionally, visibility and staff awareness of potentially suspicious activity could be delayed unless applications were reviewed individually within OAAP by OAAP College Admins.

Timely visibility into suspicious activity is critical for protecting your institutions. So, with that in mind, the vendor was asked to revise the solution to better support college needs by:

• Assigning the Service Indicator in real time at application submission when an EMPLID is available (i.e., non-suspended applications)
• Running hourly checks for suspended applications that are later processed and assigned an EMPLID, and then applying the Service Indicator
  • As an added safeguard, flagged applications will remain identifiable through the suspended applications query

This revised approach restores near real-time visibility while still ensuring coverage for suspended applications.

NEW DATE: OAAP Fraudulent Security Controls (Phase 1) Kickoff Session

Monday, June 1, 2026, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Join Session

SBCTC will provide testing guidance following the UAT kickoff.

Note: The presentation portion will be recorded and shared for continued reference.

Updated Testing Timeline

• June 1: UAT Kickoff
• June 2: UAT begins
• June 9: UAT ends (all issues must be submitted via self-service ticket)
• June 10–15: Bug fixes and retesting (as needed)
• June 16: Production deployment (approximately 1 hour of evening downtime)

What’s next?

If no issues are identified during UAT and bug fixes are not needed, we may be able to move production deployment up to Saturday, June 13.

We recognize that timeline adjustments require flexibility, and we appreciate your continued partnership as we take this step to deliver a more reliable and effective Phase 1 solution - one that provides timely alerts and better supports your teams in identifying and responding to potentially fraudulent activity.

Overview of Changes

Phase 1 focuses on identifying and flagging suspicious applications. Flags can be reviewed in two locations:

• The OAAP Admin site
• ctcLink, within the comments section of a new SOF Service Indicator applied to accounts in near real-time

Phase 1 requirements were determined collaboratively by SBCTC and college stakeholder representatives, with the goal of delivering timely, practical improvements to help identify and flag suspicious criteria. After implementation, there will be an assessment period to evaluate results and determine any needed adjustments for future phases.

NEW DEADLINE for College Action Needed: Submit College Tester Information –

Each college’s ctcLink College Leader has been asked to provide the names and email addresses of participating users (OAAP College Admins and/or staff involved in fraudulent account review to Sarah Whetzel, ctcLink Test Coordinator, by Wednesday, May 13.

This will help ensure that testers receive all necessary UAT information after the kickoff session. No EMPLIDs are needed for this UAT.

Required Tester Preparation

• Each tester should bring real, unique email addresses to create OAAP test accounts. Testers must be able to access these email accounts during testing. All test data will be deleted after UAT concludes.
• Each college will receive a shared test account (credentials provided after kickoff) to support the following:
  • Accessing OAAP Admin features and reviewing flagged applications
  • Viewing submitted applications and Service Indicator details in the ctcLink PQA test environment

Out of Scope

Testers will not log into the ctcLink PQA environment directly or use EMPLIDs to access OAAP during this UAT.

Questions?

Reach out to Sarah Whetzel, ctcLink Test Coordinator.

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 Wahl, SBCTC Student Services & K12 Alignment Policy Associate, with any questions.

CS Core Learning Opportunities

You can find details about upcoming CS Training and Work Sessions on the SBCTC Calendar, CS Core Weeklyish COREspondence, and CS Core eList.

For a list of previous recordings, please visit the Campus Solutions Learning Opportunities Recordings QRG.

CS Core ctcLinkUps

CS Core ctcLinkUps are planned with purpose and each session is designed to stand alone. While content is related, sessions are independent and each has a distinct scope and a different purpose. Training Sessions review functionality. These are intentionally followed by Work Sessions that explore usage. You may choose to attend either session alone or both as a set.

Space Mission PERC: Navigating Requirement Checks

This month, we turn our attention to PERC (Prerequisite Enrollment Requirement Checking). PERC depends on Enrollment Requirements and reveals how they behave in practice; however, this session focuses on PERC and does not cover Enrollment Requirement configuration.

• In the Training Session, we'll start with a pre-launch checklist, where strong requirement configuration sets the stage before lift-off. The mission begins with running the PERC process, moves through interpreting and applying results, and concludes with exploring Enrollment Requirement rosters.
• Join the Work Session for an in-flight simulation experience! Together, we'll orbit real scenarios, explore best practices, and identify strategies for determining why a student was flagged-or not flagged-as expected. Whether you're fine-tuning your controls or troubleshooting mid-flight, we'll help keep things on course.

Bring your questions, and we'll do our best to keep your launch on schedule.

FIN Fiscal Year-End 2026 Information and Resources

The time has come to prepare for Fiscal Year-End. The SBCTC Finance and Accounting teams want to ensure you have all the resources necessary to prepare for and deliver Year-End Processing.

Check it out and mark your calendar

You’ll find information about upcoming sessions and additional resources for each FIN module, as well as FIN Sessions presented by the SBCTC Accounting team at the Finance ctcLink Customer Support Year-End Information and Sessions document.

Recordings

Year-end recordings and background information will be in the ctcLink Learning Opportunities Information course in Canvas.

Within the course, select the Modules link. Year-end content is in the Finance Learning Opportunities section with a subsection of FYE26: FISCAL YEAR END. If you do not have access to the course, you can register through the ctcLink Training Registration Form.

You may also find all sessions on the College System & SBCTC Calendar.

Questions?

Reach out to Alec Risk, MBA, MSML, Functional Trainer – Finance.

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 Training: FY27 Capital Projects Creation to Finalization and Maintenance

Wednesday, June 3, 2026, 1 – 3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

July is the beginning of a new fiscal year, which may include adding new Capital Projects to ctcLink PeopleSoft.  

Finance/Grants staff and capital project budget managers are encouraged to join Alec Risk, ctcLink Functional Trainer, and Michele Rockwell, MSML, ctcLink Finance Functional Analyst, and Susan Locke, SBCTC Capital Budget Analyst, to walk through the creation to activation process for a Capital Project.

They will also review the basics on maintaining a Capital Project plus tips and tricks throughout the setup process.

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

Module: Project Costing

Related QRGs:

• Capital Projects section of the ctcLink Reference Center
• Grants and Projects Checklist & Process Steps Guide
• Create and Finalize a Capital Project

Prerequisite Course: PC100 - Project Costing

FIN Training: FY27 Grant Awards Creation to Activation [CRC & FPC]

Thursday, June 4, 2026, 1 – 3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

July is the beginning of a new fiscal year [FY27]. Finance/Grants staff and supervisors responsible for creating, maintaining, and/or monitoring grants are encouraged to join Alec Risk, ctcLink Functional Trainer, and Michele Rockwell, MSML, ctcLink Finance Functional Analyst, for this information-packed session.

• 1-2 p.m.: Cost Reimbursable Contract (CRC) Award creation to activation process
• 2-3 p.m.: Fixed Price Contract (FPC) Award creation and activation. We will follow the basic steps for each Grant Type:
  • Award Prep: Gather your info.
  • Create and Submit a Proposal.
  • Generate an Award.
  • Manage the Award: Adding Terms, Project Type, and Finalize the Budget.
  • Finalize and Activate the Award.
  • Communicate valid ChartStrings for Payroll Combo Codes & Tuition-related Item Types.

Modules: Grants and Contracts Module; Project Costing

Related QRGs:

• Grants and Projects Checklist & Process Steps Guide
• Reimbursable Grant - Creation to Activation
• Fixed Price Grant - Creation to Activation

Prerequisite Courses:          

• GR100 Grants and Contracts
• GR200 Intermediate Grants
• PC100 Project Costing
• BI100 Billing

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.

Mark your calendar for the upcoming Travel and Expenses Q&A & Mini Trainings and OCM T&E sessions! The PAW OCM subgroup will attend the FIN standing meetings (as well as the extra OCM sessions) to help guide the colleges. Travel subject matter experts and ctcLink College Leaders are encouraged to attend.

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.

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.

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 & Accounting Work Session: GL Fiscal Year-End Open Q&A

Tuesday and Thursdays, June 30 to August 4, 2026, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

These drop-in sessions are specific to help resolve General Ledger Journal troubleshooting for Fiscal Year-End 2026. This includes lifting rules, activating accounts and appropriations, and answering or assisting with journal errors.

Refer to the “SBCTC ctcLink Accounting Team Presents” Q&A sessions for general accounting questions and concerns.

FA Support Updates

FA Weeklyish Bulletin

Trying to recall that important thing you read in the ctcLink Financial Aid eList, 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

FA Work Session: Unfold the Hold - Using Item Type Disbursement Rules for Direct Loan Proration

Thursday, May 28, 2026, 1 – 2 p.m., Learn more and join the session

This session provides a walkthrough of how to add and manage holds within Direct Loan Item Type Disbursement Rules. You’ll learn when these holds are appropriate, how they impact disbursement timing, and the steps needed to configure them accurately to support the new OB3 Direct Loan proration requirements.

Audience:  Financial Aid staff responsible for managing disbursement and Direct Loans

Topics include

• How the LFTDH Service Impact will prevent disbursement of the Direct Loan Item Types for Less Than Full Time students
• Review a query to identify Item Types that need the LFTDH Service Impact added to the Item Type Disbursement Rules page
• A walk-through on adding the LFTDH Service Impact on Direct Loan Item Types that need review for proration due to OB3A
• A quick review of the FLF process identified in the FA Flow Business Processing Guide

This session will be recorded.   

2026 FA Drop-in Support Sessions

Need help troubleshooting or want to learn something new? Join these casual drop-in sessions to connect with colleagues, share insights, and solve challenges together.

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

HCM Support Updates

Updated HCM Department Quick Reference Guides (QRGs)

HCM has updated the Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) to provide clearer guidance on department management and synchronization. You can access the updated documentation via the links below:

• Creating New Departments and Updating Department Name(s)
• Maintain College HCM Organizational Trees and Inactivating Departments

Important Technical Note

Please be aware that new departments created in Finance for use in faculty job data records *do not* automatically sync to the CS pillar.

These must be manually added by SBCTC support staff.

If you need a department added to the CS pillar, please submit a SolarWinds ticket in HCM Pillar > HCM/Faculty Workload**

Questions? Reach out to Brian Lanier, Director (Human Capital Management)

HCM Users Group Monthly Virtual Meet-Up

Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 9-11 a.m., Attend the HCM Users Group Monthly Virtual meeting

Join us for an open format discussion concerning best practices and procedures for all HCM Users.

Questions? Contact Rachel Russell, 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 Sessions

Recurring every other Wednesday, 1 to 3 p.m. (except where noted), HCM Work Sessions offer deeper dives into PeopleSoft functionality, focusing on skills enhancement in specific HCM functions (e.g., payroll, benefits, manager self-service).

• Visit the Schedule of Human Capital Management pillar for the latest offerings.
• Find past trainings and sessions at ctcLink Pillar Work Session Information.

SF Support Updates

SF DL Blast is now SF Connect

Wondering what happened to your SF DL Blast? Don’t worry — it’s now SF Connect.

The SF team refreshed the name to better reflect its goals of keeping you informed, engaged, and connected. You’ll continue to find the latest updates, helpful resources, and key highlights from the SF Support and Training Teams — all designed to support your success.

See previous editions of SF Connect (formerly SF DL Blast) in the ctcLink Reference Center at SF Connect.

To subscribe

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

Visit ctcLinkSME_StuFin and follow the screen prompts.

Tuition Calculation UPDATES!

Is it Fall and/or Summer tuition calculation time yet?

• When ready, please submit a ticket to turn on 2265 and/or 2267 term nightly tuition calculation jobs. This should be prior to your registration opening for the term(s).
• Ticket request type = ctcLink Support > Student Financials > SF: Turn on Tuition Calc with the Subject: WA### Tuition Calc for 2265/2267 Summer & Fall.

Clean-up for past terms

We’re doing some system housekeeping to keep things running smoothly on the Tuition Calculation Controls page by updating the settings for older academic years. Going forward, only the current academic year plus one term (ex: term 2257 and forward) will remain checked for automatic tuition activity. 

• What’s changing
  • Auto Calculate Tuition: This will be unchecked for prior years, so the system won’t automatically recalc tuition when a student account is viewed.
  • Auto Calculate Self‑Service: This will also be unchecked, meaning students reviewing older terms in Self Service won’t trigger a tuition recalculation.
  • Auto Calculate Term Withdrawal: This will be unchecked as well, so processing a withdrawal for a past term won’t recalc tuition automatically.
  • Auto Calculate Waivers: This one will stay
• Tuition Calculation Required checkbox on student accounts will be unchecked for prior years.  This helps keep past‑term data tidy and aligned with the updated tuition calculation controls.
  • You’ll still be able to calculate tuition for any earlier term — it just won’t happen automatically in the background.

Item Type Spreadsheet in Solar Winds (NEW VERSION)

• If more than 20 item type add/update requests need to be submitted at once, you may submit more than 20 item type requests on one Item Type Request Spreadsheet in a single SolarWinds Ticket. The SF Support Team has a new mass insert process that will be used for these mass requests.
• Please continue to limit Item Type requests to under 10 item types per ticket if you do not have over 20 at one time.
• A field formatting update changed the data type in the GL columns to keep leading 0's.

1098-T Annual Survey

The survey consists of just eight questions and will help confirm each college’s primary contact for this important annual process, as well as identify opportunities for improvement.

Responses are due Friday, May 29. Take the 2025 1098-T Survey today.

SF Resource Updates  

Have a suggestion or found something that needs updating? We always appreciate your input!

Submit via: SolarWinds → ctcLink Support → Training → Reference Center → SF – Reference Center

Updated QRGs

• Student AR Health Report (Insights Dashboard) - NEW -info on the new CS dashboard
  Reverse Student Refund by Date -NEW -steps to use the Student Refunds by date process.
  SFRA 3Cs Communication - added additional security roles needed
• Daily SF Fund Balancing to the GL - updated E215 queries
• Process Running Start - updated video to include homeschool checkbox
• Mass Select Transaction End-to-End Process -updated file mapping instructions
• Mass Assign Student Waivers - updated file mapping instructions

Student Financials (SF) Pillar Support Web Page

Visit the Student Financials (SF) 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

SF eList subscriptions

Please note the ctcLink Support eList and SBCTC e-list  pages, especially these three:

• Main Student Financials eList: ctcLinkSME_StuFin
• 1098-T Statements eList: ctcLink-1098T
• BAR (Budget, Accounting, and Reporting Council) eList: BAR

Remember, besides receiving notes from our team, these resources are an easy way to ask questions of your systemwide SF colleagues.

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 Work Session: WWSFD (What Would Student Financials Do?) AR Series

Join  our three-part series and jump into Accounts Receivable with a fresh twist. Please come prepared with questions—we look forward to interactive discussions!

Primary Audience: Student Financials Staff

Related QRGs: SF - Collections

Presenter/Facilitator: Pauline Smith, ctcLink SF Functional Trainer and SF Team

SF Drop-in Session: WWSFD Live!

Monday, June 22, 1 p.m., Learn more and join the session

We’re excited to kick off a new series designed to create an open and supportive space for college Student Financials staff.

WWSFD Live! is your opportunity to:

• Ask questions
• Talk through open service tickets
• Get clarification or guidance
• Share ideas, feedback, or topics for discussion with the SF team

There is no formal agenda. Drop in for discussion or to simply to listen and learn. This session will not be recorded.

Questions? Reach out to Pauline Smith, Functional Trainer – Student Financials.

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

Step Up your Query Game

The ctcLink Training Calendar has been updated with 2025 instructor-led query-related training. To clear filter settings, select None. Then select ctcLink Learning Opportunities > Reporting Training.

Learn more about the Designated Query Developer Training series and start your journey to becoming your college’s very own query guru! Or query wizard, if you prefer. Or maestro. Maybe a goddess, crackerjack, wizard, or maven. It’s up to you!

Query Fundamentals Lab

Every Monday, 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 Forum May Meeting Highlights

This monthly open forum provided colleges and accessibility stakeholders with updates on the upcoming PeopleTools 8.61.17 upgrade, with a focus on the new accessibility fixes included in the release.

The May 2026 meeting, facilitated by Christopher Soran, Monica Olsson, and Padmaja (Padma) Villalon, offered the following updates:

PeopleTools 8.61.17 — Accessibility Fixes

Padmaja Villalon (Padma) walked through four accessibility fixes included in this tools release:

Fix 1: Screen Reader Reading Order for Banner Elements

• Previously, the ctcLink banner was being read by screen readers in the wrong order: the three navigation buttons (Recently Visited, Favorites, and Accessibility) were announced before the ctcLink logo.
• This has been corrected. The reading order now matches the visual layout: ctcLink logo first, followed by the three buttons.

Fix 2: Calendar Button Label in Firefox

• Date picker fields throughout the application include a calendar button for selecting a date. In Firefox, this button was being read by screen readers as simply “button,” with no indication of its purpose.
• After persistent advocacy by Padma (Oracle had closed the issue multiple times, attributing it to the browser), the button is now correctly labeled “calendar date button” in screen reader mode.
• This fix was the result of sustained effort by the SBCTC accessibility team over multiple submission cycles.

Fix 3: Notification Area — Screen Reader Instructions Corrected

• The bell icon notification area displayed a confusing message in screen reader mode: “When new notifications arrive, the Refresh button will show a badge.” The word “badge” refers to a graphic element with no meaningful screen reader equivalent.
• An additional redundant graphic (a dot) with no accessible label was also present.
• Both issues are resolved. The message now reads: “When new notifications arrive, an announcement will alert you and instruct you to select the Refresh Notifications button to access them.” The redundant graphic has been removed.

Fix 4: Search Pages — Enter Key No Longer Clears Criteria

• Across all search pages in the application, pressing the Enter key (the standard keyboard action for submitting a form) was wiping out the user’s entered search criteria without executing the search. No results were returned.
• This is a global issue affecting all PeopleTools search pages, not a single module. It was identified by Josh on the SBCTC team, with the original issue brought forward by Troy at Tacoma Community College.
• The fix is now in place: pressing Enter after entering search criteria correctly executes the search and displays results.
• This was described by attendees as a particularly significant fix for keyboard-only and screen reader users.
•  

Faculty Center — Class Roster Navigation Issues

Monica (State Board) shared that approximately one week prior to this forum, the SBCTC team met with two staff members from a college — one of whom is a screen reader user — to document navigation issues in the class roster page within the Faculty Center.

• Issues observed included table navigation problems and certain action elements appearing at illogical locations on the page.
• The meeting was recorded and documented, including next steps for the State Board to investigate whether each issue constitutes a reportable violation to Oracle.
• More concrete information will be brought to the forum once the investigation is further along.

SBCTC will continue investigation of Faculty Center class roster accessibility issues and determine whether items constitute reportable violations to Oracle.

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 to 11:30 a.m.

Please join us for the next ctcLink Accessibility Open Forum on Tuesday, June 9, 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.