Conference Materials

The Bringing Administrators Together Conference was held on April 11th, 2012. Click to open the conference brochure .

Please contact the conference planning team at uicadconf9@uillinois.edu if you have any questions about the conference.

Campus Update - Provost

Using Our Budget To Accomplish UIC's Agenda

Workshops

Accounting FUNdamentals: Do More With Fewer Mistakes
Demystifying the Vendor Payment Process
Departmental Planning for Upcoming Retirements: What Should You Think Through?
Effective Administration to Support Commercialization of Research Discoveries
iBuy and Related Procurement Issues
Linking Planning and Budgeting Under UIC’s Modified Responsibility Centered Management (RCM) Budget Model
New Federal Financial Conflict of Interest Regulations
Pre-Award Administration: What Departmental Administrators Ought to Know
Proactive, Preventative Employee Relations: Avoiding the Courthouse
Reporting and Analysis Highlights
Successfully Managing Self-Supporting Funds
“The Chosen One”: Your Grant Has Been Selected For Audit
To Infinity and Beyond: Space Economy Year One
Travel Expense Management System
UIC’s Diversity Strategic Plan
You Manage Academic Professional and Civil Service Employees Differently? Really?

Accounting FUNdamentals: Do More With Fewer Mistakes

Let’s have fun with Accounting! Join University Accounting and Financial Reporting in a fast-paced presentation of tips and tools aimed to increase efficiency by providing the resources your office needs to resolve common problems. Topics will include encumbrances, account codes, and many more.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objectives:

- Identify the impact these common problems have upon your business operations.
- Locate the resources to avoid these common problems.

Presenters:

- Sherri Faith, Assistant Director of Accounting Information Management, OBFS University Accounting and Financial Reporting
- Jason Bane, Business and Financial Coordinator, OBFS University Accounting and Financial Reporting
- Timisha Luster, Resource and Policy Analyst, OBFS University Accounting and Financial Reporting
- Mark McClellan, Financial Accounting and Reporting Analyst, OBFS University Accounting and Financial Reporting
- Amy Pendle, Business and Financial Specialist, OBFS University Accounting and Financial Reporting

Demystifying the Vendor Payment Process

Do you struggle with knowing when to use a purchase requisition and when to use an invoice voucher? Do you understand when to use the Special Payment Form? Do you know why sometimes your payment requests don’t get paid quickly? This workshop will provide guidelines for avoiding payment issues and will enable you to apply the proper rules and steps for payments.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objectives:

- Differentiate when to use a purchase order requisition and when to use an invoice voucher.
- Avoid payment snafus so that transactions can get paid on a timely basis.
- Identify payment methods and forms related to payments.

Presenters:

- Sandy Ehler, Executive Director, OBFS University Payables
- Jim Martinie, Director, OBFS University Payables

Departmental Planning for Upcoming Retirements: What Should You Think Through?

This workshop will offer a multi-point perspective on college/unit retirement planning for continued effective operations. Topics will include information about agreements, legal concerns, knowledge transfer and budget considerations.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objective:

- Review information to help colleges/units plan proactively for potential retirements.

Presenters:

- Maureen Parks, Executive Director and Associate Vice President, University Human Resources
- Jami Painter, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources, University Human Resources
- Jack McEnery, Director, HR Shared Services, UIC Human Resources
- Rich Alpern, Associate Dean, Liberal Arts and Sciences Administration
- Margaret Woulfe, Associate University Counsel, University Counsel
- Angela Yudt, Director, Faculty Affairs Human Resources

Effective Administration to Support Commercialization of Research Discoveries

This workshop will provide an overview of relevant University policies and practices to be effective in supporting research faculty and research programs. It will focus on research and commercialization and provides a review of key policies and practices, an examination of tools and forms, and information about activities that support effective administration to support commercialization of research discoveries.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objectives:

- Review University General Rules regarding research gifts, grants and contracts, technical tests, and preferential treatment of sponsors.
- Relate the processes supporting Material Transfer Agreements.
- Cite the importance of the Disclosure of IP and Publication Rights form.
- Review the invention disclosure process with the UIC Office of Technology Management.
- Relate the importance of planning for successful protection of intellectual property.
- Define the process of technology licensing and commercialization.

Presenters:

- Brenda Barrie, Grants and Contracts Coordinator, OVCR Office of Research Services
- Jeremy Hollis, Assistant Director of Business Development, Office of Technology Management

iBuy and Related Procurement Issues

This workshop will discuss the strategic plan to grant “Shopper” role access within iBuy to the UIC campus. Based on information received from service desk tickets for iBuy, we will review a case study addressing the frequently asked questions and complaints. Also, we will discuss current and pending procurement topics and how to best work with the UIC Purchasing Department on the corresponding issues.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objectives:

- Review the strategic plan to roll-out iBuy “Shopper” access to employees at UIC.
- Receive an update on new and pending procurement policies and issues.

Presenters:

- John Meehan, Assistant Director, OBFS Purchasing
- Julia Kilgore, iBuy Trainer, OBFS Purchasing

Linking Planning and Budgeting Under UIC’s Modified Responsibility Centered Management (RCM) Budget Model

If plans are not meaningful without resources to back them, how can UIC implement campus-wide plans and priorities under a budget model that pushes resources and operational decision-making to the individual colleges? This workshop will provide a broad overview of UIC’s budget model and discuss the principles under which the campus and the individual colleges work to achieve UIC’s mission, goals, and plans.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objectives:

- Describe basic concepts of responsibility-centered management and how UIC’s model is similar and different.
- Recognize campus and College/Vice Chancellor roles and responsibilities in both the planning and budgeting processes.
- Describe the interrelationship between autonomy and accountability.

Presenter:

- Frank Goldberg, Vice Provost for Resource Planning and Management

New Federal Financial Conflict of Interest Regulations

The workshop will provide an update on the 2011 Public Health Services (PHS) Regulation changes for Conflict of Interest on PHS/HHS sponsored research. Highlights of the changes include definition of significant financial interest, extent of investigators’ disclosure of information to institutions regarding their significant financial interests, institution’s management of identified FCOIs, information reported to the PHS funding component, information available to the public, and investigator training requirements. PHS requires that the University comply with the regulation by August 24, 2012.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objectives:

- Review the new Conflict of Interest requirements.
- Identify how OVCR will implement process changes for PHS/HHS investigators with non-University financial relationships.

Presenter:

- Jacquelyn Jancius, Conflict of Interest Director, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research

Pre-Award Administration: What Departmental Administrators Ought to Know

Business managers are responsible for the day-to-day oversight and management of the administrative aspects of sponsored program activities within the units/departments. This includes budget oversight and adherence to University, State, Federal and individual agency requirements. Other units/departments such as the Office of Research Services (ORS), the Office of Grants and Contracts (GCO) and regulatory offices support in that effort. Facilitation of that effort begins at the proposal stage. This workshop is focused on the key aspects of pre-award activities which departmental administrators ought to know.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objectives:

- Review the role of the department research administrator.
- Explain knowledge of and adherence to federal regulations (OMB Circulars A-21, A-110, and A-133).
- List submission requirements – internal and external.
- Review receipt and acceptance of awards including bilateral contractual agreements and unilateral grant agreements.
- Identify available tools for successful departmental research administration.

Presenters:

- Amneh Kiswani, Interim Associate Director, OVCR Office of Research Services
- Mike Anderson, Senior Research eRA Coordinator, OVCR Office of Research Services
- Brenda Barrie, Grants and Contracts Coordinator, OVCR Office of Research Services
- Megan Konley, OVCR Research Coordinator, OVCR Office of Research Services

Proactive, Preventative Employee Relations: Avoiding the Courthouse

This workshop will provide information to assist supervisors with avoiding pitfalls, recognizing “red flags”, and identifying available resources for issue avoidance. Participants will be presented with strategies to proactively handle difficult employee relations matters.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objective:

- Recognize employee relations situations which require careful attention.

Presenters:

- Tom Riley, Director, Labor and Employee Relations, UIC Human Resources
- Margaret Woulfe, Associate University Counsel, University Counsel

Reporting and Analysis Highlights

This workshop will review reports created in partnership with the OBFS Advisory Committee’s Reporting Sub-Committee. These reports include the College and Department Multifund reports and the Single Grant Overview (for a PI or Sponsored Research Administrator). Also, there will be an introduction to Excel-based analysis tools: Expense Trends (multi-year expenditure analysis) and FTE Headcount (multi-year employee headcount or FTE analysis).

PDF Presentation

Learning Objectives:

- Receive an overview of reports for managing funds at a summary level in the department/college.
- Review newest grant management report for a PI or research manager.
- Review Excel-based tools for performing analysis of personnel and non-personnel expenditures as well as associated employee FTE and headcounts.
- Identify appropriate reporting and analysis tools based on needs.

Presenters:

- Beth Ladd, Assistant Director, AITS Decision Support
- Mandy Bodine, Functional Area Coordinator, AITS Decision Support
- Mark Pollard, Functional Area Coordinator, AITS Decision Support

Successfully Managing Self-Supporting Funds

Managing self-supporting funds presents many challenges for busy administrators. Learn the results of the FY11 financial audit and state compliance audit and how to remain compliant. Best practices for year-end reporting and use of self-supporting funds will be discussed.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objectives:

- Recognize the impact that year-end reporting has on self-supporting funds.
- Describe how to complete the year-end Fact Sheet properly.
- Locate resources available for self-supporting funds.

Presenters:

- Sherri Faith, Assistant Director of Accounting Information Management, OBFS University Accounting and Financial Reporting
- Jason Bane, Business and Financial Coordinator, OBFS University Accounting and Financial Reporting
- Nick Deitch, Financial Accounting and Reporting Specialist, OBFS University Accounting and Financial Reporting

“The Chosen One”: Your Grant Has Been Selected For Audit

Your immediate response to this topic is a good indication of how prepared you are to effectively respond to the potential call you may receive indicating your award has been selected for audit. As a recipient of sponsored funds, how vulnerable is your department during audits? This workshop is designed to help you evaluate your level of preparedness and discuss the information and documentation that allow us to successfully respond to audit inquiries. We will look at operational practices that enable you to maintain supportable and well-documented processes as well as specific challenges we have encountered during recent audits that may directly impact you. The material will be based on specific UIC examples or experiences. However, the identities have been changed to protect the unknowing.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objectives:

- Assess departmental policies and procedures that will lead to better audit results.
- Identify opportunities for improvement.

Presenters:

- Vanessa Peoples, Executive Director and Assistant Chief Business Officer, OBFS Grants and Contracts Office and Team

To Infinity and Beyond: Space Economy Year One

In FY 2013, the campus is implementing a new model for distributing space cost to units. This will be a short presentation providing the rationale for the policy and a general overview of it. The majority of time will be used for detailed questions from participants about how it will work and the potential impact on their units.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objective:

- Attain an overview of UIC’s space economy and its implementation.

Presenters:

- Fernando Howell, Assistant Director, Facilities and Space Planning
- Jerry Lockwood, Assistant Director, Facilities and Space Planning
- Dale Rush, Assistant Director, Budgeting and Program Analysis

Travel Expense Management System

This workshop will provide information on the University’s new travel and expense management system. Included will be details regarding system set up, roles within the system, the approval processes, system functionality and processes, and the travel card. If your unit has not deployed the system, come to see what is in store. If your unit has deployed, please come with questions.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objective:

- Gain an understanding of the new electronic system replacing paper voucher processing.

Presenters:

- Steve Wiggs, Director, OBFS University Payables
- Darren Strater, Assistant Director, OBFS University Payables

UIC’s Diversity Strategic Plan

The UIC Diversity Strategic Plan marks a pivotal point in UIC’s history, designed with the intention of guiding UIC towards achieving diversity and equity in all levels of our campus community and activities. It unifies the past work of many who often toiled in isolation to advance principles of inclusion, access and equity at UIC with the present activities of each student, staff or faculty member who shares the responsibility of realizing the UIC vision for diversity. During this workshop, you will hear how the Plan lays out an effective strategy execution for realizing the University’s priorities in this area as well as UIC’s preeminent vision of access to excellence and success.

A Mosaic for UIC Transformation
Through the Lens of Diversity

Learning Objectives:

- Define the goals formulated to integrate diversity into our University and campus mission.
- Describe the responsibilities of college and major administrative units for diversity commitments.

Presenter:

- William Walden, Special Assistant to the Provost for Diversity

You Manage Academic Professional and Civil Service Employees Differently? Really?

This workshop will highlight best management practices that apply equally to Academic Professional (AP) and Civil Service (CS) employees. We will examine different processes for APs and CSs to be used when disciplinary action becomes necessary.

PDF Presentation

Learning Objective:

- Describe standard policies and procedures for managing Academic Professional and Civil Service employees.

Presenters:

- Marilyn LaBlaiks, Assistant Director, Labor and Employee Relations and HR Compliance, UIC Human Resources
- Stephen Katz, Associate Director, Labor and Employee Relations, UIC Human Resources
- Taycine McInnis, HR Assistant Manager, Labor and Employee Relations, UIC Human Resources
- Elise Williams, Employee Relations Specialist, Labor and Employee Relations, UIC Human Resources