ctcLink Learning Opportunities & Support Roundup: May 8, 2024

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 page or on the SBCTC meetings and events calendar (apply filters).

 

All-Pillar Learning Opportunity: End of Fiscal Year Prep

Monday, May 20, 2024, 9 to 11 a.m. [RESCHEDULED EVENT]

Join Webex | Meeting number (access code): 2663 924 7352 | Password: wGTNeUTZ233

In this session, SBCTC will present a high-level view of how all ctcLink pillars interconnect, with an emphasis on Fiscal Year End (FYE) preparation.

FYE prep includes

• Human Capital Management Transactions
• Campus Solutions Core Student Services
• Financial Aid Review
• Student Financials Reconciliation and Spring Cleaning
• Finance Tasks/Checklists and General Ledger

Learning objectives

• A high-level overview of how information flows within ctcLink pillars
• A high-level overview of each pillar and the resources and tools available for end of year cleanup, including queries, documents, reference guides, and process guides
• Where to access links to previous/upcoming trainings regarding reconciliation/end of fiscal year prep

Details

• Modules: All Pillars
• Primary Audience: ctcLink system processing staff
• Related QRGs: Intro to ctcLink and FIN - Closing Periods and Years Procedures
• Prerequisite Course(s): ctcLink Training Registration. It is recommended you review and complete your pillar-related courses.
• Contact Name: SBCTC Training Team
• Contact Email: ctcLinkTrainingManagement@sbctc.edu

Registration & Recording

This session will be recorded and added to the ctcLink Work Session Information Canvas Course under the Cross-Pillar Work Sessions 2024.

Please note, while you can attend the session just by clicking the Webex link, to access Training Recordings in the future, the specific Canvas Course needs to be added to your courses.

You can register for SBCTC Canvas Courses through the Accessing ctcLink Courses on Canvas Training Registration Form page.

ctcLink Enhancement Request Prioritization Underway

Since the ctcLink deployment was completed in May 2022, the task of considering and prioritizing Enhancement Requests (ERs) has faced competing priorities, resource fatigue, and unclear expectations for the ctcLink Production Support teams responsible for implementing approved ERs.

In response, a team comprised of members of the ctcLink College Collaboration Group (cCCG), the Strategic Technology Advisory Committee (STAC), and ctcLink Support team members proposed a prioritization process for ctcLink Enhancements that aims to be transparent, inclusive, streamlined, and effective.

STAC voted Feb. 16, 2024 to recommend approval of the ctcLink Prioritization proposal to the WACTC Technology Committee (WACTC-Tech). WACTC-Tech approved STAC’s recommendation during its Feb. 29 meeting.

What's happening now?

Since the move was approved, the cCCG has met to develop a prioritization rubric and is reviewing the outstanding ERs.

cCCG formalized the voting and prioritization process to go through the ERs already in the queue and is solidifying the group’s process moving forward as new ERs come in.

A brief “ER Pause” is currently underway (through May 31) to allow cCCG to prioritize the 69 outstanding ERs already submitted.

Highlights of objectives

• Gave cCCG official standing in the ctcLink governance structure.
• It is crucial to recognize the importance of having the colleges' voices at the table when shaping priorities for the ctcLink system. The established cCCG has representation from each college and broad expertise across functional areas.
• Established three Production Support prioritization queues: In-Flight, Next Up, Future Work
• Easily accessible notes on priority decisions
• Colleges will have access to view prioritization queues

See the ctcLink Prioritization Proposal one-pager for more details.

Additional supporting documentation

• ctcLink Prioritization Process
• Simplified Process Flow
• ctcLink Prioritization Proposal One-Pager

What is the ctcLink College Collaboration Group?

• cCCG was established to ensure colleges have a voice in ctcLink decisions and to help prioritize requests for ctcLink systemwide changes. Each district president or chancellor has named a ctcLink College Leader(Point of Contact) for this important role in representing the system.
• cCCG consists of the primary ctcLink College Leaders approved by each college’s president/chancellor as well as college business analysts (or similar representatives). Each ctcLink College Leader is allocated one vote in the cCCG.

Shared Course Tool Update

SBCTC is committed to leveraging systemwide tools to increase student success. As the landscape for learning continues to evolve and online learning is on the rise, our colleges have an opportunity to coordinate resources to support student enrollment through Shared Course initiatives.

SBCTC Educational Technology and Open Education has been partnering with several programs over the years to offer shared courses, including:

• Early Childhood Education
• Homeland Security
• Emergency Management

We are committed to expanding shared course opportunities for our community and technical colleges and will soon implement an RFP taskforce for a Shared Course Tool with two-way ctcLink integration.

We look forward to providing more information on this soon. In the meantime, we have collaborated with SBCTC’s Information Technology Division to identify fit-gap measures colleges can currently leverage to help streamline Shared Course initiatives in ctcLink and Canvas systems.

What does “Shared Courses” mean?

Shared Course

A method of coding equivalent classes in ctcLink to allow students from multiple institutions to be taught by one instructor. Students will enroll in the shared class at their institution, although another institution may employ the instructor.

Enrolling College

Institution that schedules/offers a shared class but does not employ the instructor.

Teaching College (Instructing College)

Institution where the instructor is employed. The Teaching College's shared class may also have enrolled students.

ctcLink Shared Courses Highlights

The SBCTC Student Course Coding Manual has been updated with Shared Course coding guidelines. Colleges will use new Course Attributes to designate whether the college is an enrolling college or teaching college, as well as a Course Attribute to designate the Shared Course program. The new Course Attributes will be configured and available for college use by end of business Friday, May 10, for Summer 2024 and future terms.

Enrolling Colleges have the option to allow the Teaching College instructor to enter final grades on the Grade Roster. Class setup information can be found in the new Shared Courses in ctcLink QRG, including guidance around FWL calculations.

FTEs are generated at the college the student is enrolled at, regardless of whether it is a Teaching College or Enrolling College.

New queries are available for colleges to manage their class setup and enrollments.

• QCS_CM_SHARED_COURSES_CLASSES
• QCS_SR_SHARED_COURSES_ENROLLED

While this solution does require coordination efforts amongst college staff, the student experience will remain unchanged and offers a seamless way for students to continue enrolling at their home institution. This will reduce the need for students to complete additional steps, such as admission applications, transcript request and transfer credit evaluation, and Financial Aid award coordination across multiple institutions.

Shared Course Resources

• SBCTC Student and Course Coding Manual
• Shared Courses in ctcLink QRG
• SBCTC Course Sharing Webpage (updates coming soon!)

Questions about Shared Courses?

• Shared Course initiatives: email Michael Brown, Director of Educational Resources & Innovation
• Canvas: email Paul Kreemer, Senior Application Developer
• Shared Course coding or queries: email Carmen McKenzie, Director of Data Services
• Shared Course ctcLink functionality: email Dani Bundy, Director of ctcLink PeopleSoft Customer Support, and Kyrsten Catlin, Associate Director of Campus Solutions (Core)

Enhancement Requests (ER) Deployed

The Finance pillar and application support teams have been busy implementing some much-needed enhancement requests in the Finance pillar to maintain alignment with state and federal mandates.

• ER 214 – Okta portal link in the ctcLink Gateway - Deployed May 8, 2024
• ER 258 - Make BU a Required Field on Billing Interface Screens - Deployed April 30, 2024
• ER 268 - (FYI) New Test ID for Math Placement Grant - Deployed April 25, 2024
• ER 197 - New Hire Onboarding Improvement – Deployed April 5, 2024

ER Work Underway

• ER 244 – LegacyLink Access Query – Ready for deployment on May 13, 2024
• Campus Solutions OAAP ERs 178, 184,169, 183, 212, and 237 - approved by ctcLink Working Group. Work is underway for Priority 1 (Residency & Citizenship) which includes some crossover between ERs 169, 184, and 237.
• Finance ER 189 - Stale Dating Checks - In progress – Working with Accounting and Business Services
• HCM Faculty Workload ER 154 - Future Effective Dated Hire Row currently in system integration testing

ERs Currently in Testing

• ER 166 - CampusCE Search/Match Parameter
• ER 204 – Modifications to WAPAY

Fabulous CS Fixes You May Have Missed

The SBCTC Application Services team is always busy.  Here are just a few recently completed projects that make ctcLink better for both college and SBCTC agency users.

• The Database Audit Report (DDDAUDIT) Cleanup in Campus Solutions and Finance pillars was completed.  DDDAUDIT finds inconsistencies between PeopleTools record and index definitions and the database objects. Unused tables and views have been dropped.  
• The Activate Your Account process was not working after the recent PeopleTools upgrade. The issue was identified and resolved, so students and staff can continue to activate their ctcLink accounts.  
• An update to the custom Batch Discontinuation Process that includes using a discontinuation effective date instead of entering a batch discontinuation term went live on May 2. Program/ plan stacks included in the process will be discontinued as of the effective date.  Navigation: Records and Enrollment > Career and Program Information > CTC Custom > Extension > Auto Discontinuation Process. 
• Audit records were created for Student Financials and Student Administration for Launchpad and went live on May 2.
• A fix for an outbound transcript process went live on May 7. There was a problem with the outbound transcript process such that when a student transcript was sent on the same date from more than one college the CTC DAT file contained duplicate rows of data. Because the DAT file was duplicating or triplicating the courses (depending on how many institutions sent the transcripts for the student on the same date) the inbound process read this combined data and the TS130 record for each institution has every class. And that, of course, is what ended up on the External Ed pages for those institutions for that student. It gave the appearance that the student took the full set of coursework at each institution. This caused additional work for the college staff as they needed to weed out which classes belong to which institution or some student receiving transfer credits from institution where they did not receive that credits.
• A fix for the inbound transcript process went live on May 7. The inbound transcript process (INB_TRAN) was sorting terms (quarters) in random order when it was previously sorting in chronological. This was loading courses to the PeopleSoft External Ed page out of order which adds extra work to articulating transfer credit.

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 trainings. You can find details about upcoming meetings on the SBCTC Calendar, CS Core Weeklyish CORErespondence, and CS Core listserv. Please visit the QRG Campus Solutions Learning Opportunities Recordings for a list of previous recordings.

CS Core Training: Graduation Tracking

Wednesday, June 5, 2024, 8:30 – 10 a.m., Read more and join the session

We invite you to join us in reviewing the Graduation Processing process, with a focus on Graduation Tracking and Search functionality. Suppose your college allows students to apply for graduation online through ctcLink. In that case, the Graduation Tracking Search page will be the first resource credential evaluators access when looking for new graduation applications to review. Once accessed, evaluators can use the Graduation Tracking page to update statuses and add Graduation Notes.

Contact Tanjagay Martin, SBCTC Functional CS Core Trainer, with questions.

Behind the Integration Broker (IB): Data Synchronization between HCM and CS Pillars

Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Read more and join the session

Seeking clarity about what data moves from HCM to Campus Solutions? And how?  We hope to not only satisfy your curiosity but also make it easier for your Student Records and HR offices to stay in sync and achieve your intended outcomes. 

This session will be an introduction to what Integration Broker (IB) is, how it works and what it does.  We’ll discuss some of the basic consideration points and tips about managing biodemo data, particularly those nuances of being in a multi-pillar, global environment. 

Questions? Contact CS Core Support.

CS Core Work Sessions

Campus Solutions (CS) Core Work Sessions, open to ALL end users, are held the first Thursday of each month, from 1 to 3 p.m. 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.

Find details on the SBCTC Calendar and in the CS Core Weeklyish COREspondence (sent on Fridays to the CSSupport listserv).

Core Sessions: College System & SBCTC Calendar

CS COREterly Open Q&A Sessions

CS Core invites you to attend its quarterly Open Q&A sessions! While these sessions are for learning and problem-solving, we want to emphasize that these are also part of our efforts to support community building. 

• Thursday, May 16, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session
• Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session
• Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

We want these sessions to provide an opportunity for college users to:

• Get assistance with any functionality they want to better understand or situation they are struggling to make work.
• Seek advice on anything they are trying to solve.
• Share best practices and lessons learned.
• Develop networks and build community.

To support the varied work areas of our users, each session will have a breakout room for each of the following modules:

• Records & Enrollment, which includes Student Program/Plan, Term Activation, Enrollment Appointments, Enrollment, Transfer-In Credit, Transcripts, Graduation and so on.
• Campus Community, which includes 3Cs, BioDemo, Service Indicators and so on.
• Curriculum Management, which includes class building, course catalog management, enrollment requirements and so on

Along with your colleagues who can share their real-life experiences and the solutions they have employed; CS Core team experts will be present in each room. We encourage you to submit your questions before the session (but doing so isn’t required). Enter your questions on the CS COREterly Question Submissions tab. Knowing your questions ahead of time just helps us to be prepared and allows us to help as many people as possible.

We hope you’ll join us even if you don’t have specific questions! We look forward to connecting with you and for you to connect with each other.

Stacking the Deck: Student Program/Plans

Thursday, June 6, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Based on college feedback, this year we are creating more spaces for sharing lived experience.  I’m looking for a couple of colleges to join the party. Before you tell me you can’t because you’re still working things out, that’s fine! We just need folks willing to share what they are doing and how it’s going. If you’re up for it, please contact Michelle Kuwasaki.

Module/s: Records and Enrollment

Primary Audience: Admissions, Student Records

Related QRGs: Student Program and Information Chapter

Because the impact of the Student Program/Plan is wide, it is important to get them right! We’ll warm up with a quick review of the building blocks involved: effective-dating, adding rows, action reasons, and attributes. Then, make connections with term activation, tuition calculation, FA, the AAR and the transcript. Of course, we need to save time for common conundrums like when to start a NEW stack vs adding a change row not to mention everyone’s favorite, those certificates earned “along the way.”

Student Program/Plans also matter to QARS and NSC Reporting. We will cover general best practices for ensuring data accuracy which also conveniently reduces NSC and QARS errors. And we’ll close by strongly advocating for various maintenance activities such as keeping term activation tidy and minimizing the number of open Student Program/Plans.

Hodgepodge: A Treasury of Tiny Topics

Thursday, July 18, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

So many topics deserve a spotlight but don’t quite merit an entire session by themselves.  So, what to do?  We are bundling them up for you in a Very Special Hodgepodge Session!

While we plan to cover some fundamentals, such as understanding effective-dating and best practices in testing, much of this session will be a speed-review of reminders and suggestions about fix-it processes like Synchronize Enrollment Totals and workarounds like Bypassing Clean Address. 

Designed to prompt many “Ohhh, RIGHT!” responses and build your muscle memory, this session should be a fun one. 

Modules: All

Questions? Contact CS Core Support.

Fabulous FIN Fixes You May Have Missed

Below are a few recent projects the SBCTC Application Services team completed to help make ctcLink better for both college and SBCTC agency users.

• The Database Audit Report (DDDAUDIT) Cleanup in Campus Solutions and Finance pillars was completed.  DDDAUDIT finds inconsistencies between PeopleTools record and index definitions and the database objects. Unused tables and views have been dropped.  
• Completed a SQL data fix for Bellingham Technical College to update payment status so it could be processed. 
• Completed a SQL data fix so in FIN and HCM elevated security roles from former employees were removed.

On May 7, several new behind-the-scenes scripts to address issues went live:

• Reset a voucher for Whatcom Community College so it can be processed.
• Delete an ACH prenote for Wenatchee Valley College so a new one could be correctly issued.
• Reset a commitment control flag so it could be reprocessed.
• Reset a purchase order in-process flag for Pierce College so it can be processed.
• PBCS enhancement to allow technical colleges to include additional salary plans.

New Tools for FIN Users

Since the ctcLink Improvement Plan kicked off last fall, new elements and activities continue to roll out.

Controller Handbook

In the community and technical college system, a controller may go by various titles including Director of Finance, Fiscal Director, or Accounting Manager, but the duties are usually similar with variation from college to college. The SBCTC Business Operations team released a new ctcLink Controller Handbook to help get everyone on the same page.

FIN & HCM training onboarding manuals

These tools are currently being piloted by Wenatchee Valley College and Peninsula College. The original goal was to release these new resources by July 1, but they will likely be ready ahead of schedule with a June release. Stay tuned!

FIN Learning Opportunities

FIN Training: Budget Overview

Thursday, May 9, 2024, Read more and join the session

Whether you are familiar with the Budget Overview function and want learn more or it's brand new to you, please join us for a session on using the Budget Overview functionality in ctcLink PeopleSoft. This session is geared toward new and/or experienced end-users that need a refresher, but all end-users are welcome.

Topics to be covered include

• Creating multiple Budget Overview Run Controls: frequently used or tracked Budgets
• Customizing the Budget Overview search criteria: like override the max rows limitation
• Explore the Type of Calendar options: Detail Budget Period vs. Summary 
• Scenarios who would benefit using CC_ORG or PROJECT_KK Ledgers
• Find out how to dive into the details with Inquiry Budget Overview & Budget Details

FIN Work Sessions

FIN Work Sessions: FY24 Grants & Projects

Please join the ctcLink Finance Customer Support team for two collaborative support sessions to help troubleshoot, clear-out errors, and reconcile prior Fiscal Year End 2023-2024. This includes ALL Grants, Program Projects, and Capital Projects.

• Session 1: FY24 Grants & Projects - BEFORE 6/30: Thursday, June 27, 2 –3pm, Read more and join the session
• Session 2: FY24 Grants & Projects - AFTER GL Close & BEFORE OBIS Billing Deadline of 7/15: Thursday, July 11, 2 - 3 p.m., Read more and join the session

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

ctcLink Accounting Team Presents: Chartstring Clean-Up & Special Topics

Join the SBCTC Business Operations ctcLink Accounting team every Thursday from 10 to 11 a.m. for special topics and ChartString clean-up working sessions.

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

As of June 17, sessions will be scheduled DAILY to support colleges in their year-end activities.

FIN Daily Fiscal Year-end (FYE) Work Sessions

Join the SBCTC Business Operations ctcLink Accounting team for Fiscal Year-end 2023-2024 accounting support and guidance. Topics include, but are not limited to, FYE preparation, reconciliation, and processes.

These focused work sessions will run daily, Monday through Friday (except holidays), 10 to 11 a.m., July 1 through August 2, 2024.

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

FIN Work Session: Grants/Projects Q&A Drop-In

Every second Monday of the month at 11 a.m. join the ctcLink Finance Customer Support team for a collaborative, interactive and troubleshooting drop-in session on everything Grants/Projects.

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

Finance (FSCM) College Users Production Support Meetings

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

These sessions are open to ALL Finance (FSCM) end users. The ctcLink Finance Customer Support team provides updates on Service Tickets, PeopleSoft enhancements, and open forum time to ask questions or request future topics.

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 Finance/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.

Alternate Stage is Set for Financial Aid Awarding to Begin

The ctcLink Financial Aid Support and Application Services teams have completed testing of the ISIRs and colleges may begin loading their ISIRs into Production College Development (PCD) on Thursday, May 9, if they choose to take advantage of this alternate environment to begin the aid awarding process.

Considering the team didn’t think it would have testing and documentation ready until early next week, this is a win!

An extra-large thank you to Ana Ybarra, Associate Director Campus Solutions - Financial Aid, and hats off to the entire ctcLink Financial Aid Support team for getting this ready for the colleges to be able to move forward with serving our students.

This morning, the college financial aid community received several reference materials to support their local efforts. The documents were released in advance to allow colleges some time to bump around in PCD and get comfortable with the look and feel of the new ISIR.

• Comprehensive document to assist in viewing ISIRs in PCD and getting file review and awarding at the ready in PROD if a college so chooses.
• FAQ Technical document from ED which colleges are strongly advised to read and take note of outstanding issues from the Department of Education, in tandem with the SBCTC Contingency document, while they embark on file review and awarding.
• “PCD remaining ISIR view bugs” spreadsheet, a list of four items from Oracle that are still “buggy,” with additional notes/explanation for assistance.

Logging into PCD

College financial aid staff that have either never logged into PCD, or for whom it’s been a long while, will need to connect with their local security administrator (LSA) to get their password reset OR select “Reset Password” option once they log in. Those having difficulties which with their LSA cannot assist, should submit a SolarWinds ticket to Security with the following subject line: “PCD ISIR View security access.”

Walkthrough Sessions

The ctcLink Financial Aid Support team will walk colleges through the documents and ISIR pages in PCD in two repeating sessions on May 14 and 15.

Calendar invites with Webex login information have been sent to the ctcLink Financial Aid Support listserv.  

• Tuesday, May 14, and Wednesday, May 15: Morning Session, 9 – 11 a.m.
  • Overview of Alternative Environment (PCD) Purpose (ISIR only) and Security Expectations
  • Q&A docs Walkthrough
  • 24/25 Contingency Awarding Guide Walkthrough on
  • Demo on how to use VLOOKUP Spreadsheet
  • Open hour for Q & A
• Tuesday, May 14, and Wednesday, May 15: Afternoon Session, 1 – 3 p.m.
  • Q & A Support Time

Hey, At Least We Are Not Alone!

Nationwide, there are not a lot of public two-year colleges out there that are packaging and awarding aid yet.

A recent NASFAA Snap Survey found that 84% of public community colleges have not yet begun packaging aid offers.

Question: Has your institution already started packaging aid?

Survey methodology

On Monday, April 29, 2024, NASFAA distributed an online poll to its membership via Today’s News. The poll was open until 12:00 a.m. PT on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. There were 255 responses submitted. The Community Colleges category includes public 2-year and public less-than-2-year and comprised 20% of respondents.

FAFSA Update Q&A Session

Nearly 300 people from across the system joined last Wednesday’s FAFSA Q&A session to go over the latest update. 

Meeting recording

Zoom recording:  FAFSA Q&A May 1, 2024 | SBCTC, Passcode: D!qQ5xT&

• Feel free to share the recording and resources with anyone at your college. In the upper right, you have the option to download six files: Shared screen with speaker view, Shared screen with gallery view, Audio only, Audio transcript, Chat file, Closed Caption transcript.

Resources mentioned or shared in chat during Q&A session

FAFSA for Applicants without SSN

• ED Closes In on Reprocessed FAFSAs, Provides Temporary Filing Fix for Mixed-Status Families
• Update on Access to the 2024-25 FAFSA Form for Individuals Without a Social Security Number | Knowledge Center

SBCTC Resources

• FAFSA Q&A Session Presentation slides, May 1, 2024 (download)
• FAFSA Simplification Q&A Center:  Colleges can submit questions and share ideas about the FAFSA Simplification efforts with the FAFSA Response Team at SBCTC Responses will be shared out as FAQs and resources as appropriate.
• 2024-25 FAFSA Resources: web page for our college system
• Financial Aid Processing Recommendations and Guidance for 2024-2025 (one-pager)
• Census Date Requirements and Local Flexibility (one-pager)

WSAC Resources

• 12th Year Campaign: Includes the College Application Campaign, College Goal Washington, and the FAFSA Completion Initiative.
• 12th Year Campaign Key to Success Financial Aid Resources
• The Financial Aid Toolkit: Resources supporting the Washington College Grant and the financial aid application process.
• Aim Higher: Initiative to increase equity through support for financial aid application completion in Washington.
• Otterbot: A free 24/7 messaging service providing financial aid support to College Bound seniors.

Local events

Students can get support from colleges and educational organizations at community-based local events. Most events offer Spanish language versions or translation services.

• Seattle: Seattle Colleges/ Futures NW 
• Spokane/Eastern Washington: Launch NW
• Tacoma/Pierce County: Graduate Tacoma
• Yakima/Tri-Cities: Yakima Valley College

Gov. Inslee touts Washington College Grant and urges families to complete the FAFSA

File your FAFSA. For those who do, Washington's nation-leading student aid brightens futures.

For tens of thousands of students across the state, the Washington College Grant (WA Grant) is helping those dreams come true. It's Washington's generous, nation-leading student aid program that supports students through all sorts of career pathways.

The WA Grant is not just for low-income families; about half of Washington families are eligible. It’s not just for college; it covers career training and apprenticeships, too. It goes further than federal aid; students from undocumented families can benefit. It’s not just for tuition; the WA Grant stacks with scholarships to help cover books, housing, and other costs.

The WA Grant is the most generous student financial aid program in the nation, and it changes lives for the better. But many families miss out by not completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Read more about the WA Grant.

SBCTC FAFSA Resources Webpage

SBCTC has launched 2024-25 FAFSA Resources web page geared toward our college system. The page includes regularly updated information for college employees and includes updated FAQ templates.

FAFSA in the News

• Keep up with the latest news from the NASFAA FAFSA Simplification Web Center

Fabulous FA Fixes You May Have Missed

The SBCTC Application Services team is always busy, but their work often flies under the radar. This recently completed project makes ctcLink better for both college and SBCTC agency users.

• The ISIR jobset optimization was deployed to ctcLink CS production on April 30.  This has been in the making for two years and it’s exciting to finally have it done.  This will allow colleges to schedule ISIR jobsets concurrently and not have to worry about interfering with each other’s jobsets. The CTC_FABUD process used to only be able to be run one at a time, but now it can be run concurrently with other colleges’ ISIR jobsets.  

FA Learning Opportunities

Financial Aid (FA) Work Sessions

Financial Aid (FA) Work Session meetings are on the fourth Thursdays, from 1 to 3 p.m.

The FA Functional Support team facilitates alternating between functional team delivered content and college user delivered content with the support of the FA functional team. The end of each meeting is open for colleges to ask questions about the topic presented. These sessions are open to ALL end users.

Find the latest information, including notices of cancellation or schedule changes, on the ctcLink Training page or on the SBCTC meetings and events calendar (apply filters).

Fabulous HCM Fixes You May Have Missed

The SBCTC Application Services team is always busy. Here are a couple of recently completed projects that make ctcLink better for both college and SBCTC agency users.

• E-188 Benefit Auto Enrollment CEMLI bug fixes went live May 7. Use termination date instead of effective date of termination when processing termination transactions. Update full-time employee′s secondary job data records in addition to primary job data records when this process updates employee’s Annual Benefits Base Rates (ABBRs).
• Developed a script to delete roles from former employees in FIN and HCM went live May 7.

HCM Learning Opportunities

Behind the Integration Broker (IB): Data Synchronization between HCM and CS Pillars

Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Read more and join the session

Seeking clarity about what data moves from HCM to Campus Solutions? And how?  We hope to not only satisfy your curiosity but also make it easier for your Student Records and HR offices to stay in sync and achieve your intended outcomes. 

This session will be an introduction to what Integration Broker (IB) is, how it works and what it does.  We’ll discuss some of the basic consideration points and tips about managing biodemo data, particularly those nuances of being in a multi-pillar, global environment. 

Questions? Contact CS Core Support.

HCM Work Session Meetings

Human Capital Management (HCM) meetings are held every other Wednesday, from 1 to 3 p.m. The HCM Functional team along with the training team offers Work Sessions and Training Sessions around the different functionality in HCM.

Turning on Tuition Calculation

When ready, please submit a ticket to turn on Summer & Fall nightly tuition calculation jobs. This should be prior to your registration opening for the term(s). Contact SFSupport@sbctc.edu if you have any questions or need further clarification.

Keywords: Item Type Field Configuration Update

The SF and FA support teams are collaborating to update item type descriptions and functionality using the Keyword fields. These updates aim to enhance clarity and consistency for students and staff alike.

Please confirm your institution has reviewed and submitted the requested homework. Contact SFSupport@sbctc.edu if you have any questions or need further clarification.

SF Learning Opportunities

Please feel free to reach out to SFSupport@sbctc.edu if you have any questions or need further clarification.

SF Work Session: SF Reconciliation

Monday, May 20, 2024, 9-11 a.m., Learn more and join the session

In this session, we will cover Student Financials reconciliation tips which may include:

• Third Party
• Outstanding Credits
• Second Journal Set
• Item Types
• Over/Shorts
• And more...

SF Work Session: Write-Off Updates

Thursday, May 23, 2024, 1 p.m., Learn more and join the session

During this session, the SF Team will provide insights into the necessary considerations and actions required for confidently writing off student account balances. Additionally, we will discuss the (new) proper item type to use for this crucial step in the bad debt allowance process, a decision reached in collaboration with the Business Operations division.

Enhance your understanding and proficiency in managing bad debt write-offs in this comprehensive training session. Join us to ensure your institution is well-equipped to handle these important financial processes in ctcLink:

• Review how past due student account balances end up being written off and explore all the standard ctcLink functional processes that occur before the Write-Off stage
• Get insights into the necessary considerations and actions required for confidently writing off student account balances
• Discuss the proper item type to use for this crucial step in the bad debt allowance process, a decision reached in collaboration with the Business Operations division
• Learn possible clean-up and validation practices from the Business Operation team to ensure your General Ledger bad debt allowances remain up to date

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 Finance/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.

Legacy Apps Enhancements to go Live Next Week

We are excited to inform you about upcoming enhancements to the Legacy Transcript and LegacyLink applications. These updates are scheduled for implementation on the evening of Monday, May 13. Details and instructions were sent to the ctcLink College Leaders and college ctcLink Local Security Administrators.

What’s changing in Legacy Transcript?

Student Date of Birth Requirement

Going forward, the student date of birth will be a required field in the transcript submission process. This mandatory requirement is being introduced to ensure the accuracy of student records and to prevent any potential issues with invalid dates of birth. With this validation in place, the inbound transcript process will proceed smoothly without encountering errors related to incorrect or missing birth dates.

Transparent Background for Official Transcript

The official transcript format has been enhanced to feature a transparent background. This modification ensures that any background images incorporated into the transcript will not obscure or interfere with the visibility of essential transcript information. By making the entire page background transparent, we aim to optimize the readability and clarity of the transcript content.

Legacy Transcripts User Report (ER 244):

A new User Report was developed to track access assigned to Legacy Transcript users.  This report can be used to verify Legacy Transcript Link user access during onboarding and offboarding activities.  The report is viewable only to users with the Administrator role selected in their Legacy Transcripts user profile. 

What’s changing in LegacyLink?

LegacyLink User Report (ER 244)

A new User Report has been developed to track which page and report access has been assigned to LegacyLink users. This report can be used to verify LegacyLink user access and during onboarding and offboarding activities.  The report is viewable only to users with the College Administrator setting in their LegacyLink user profile.

Please reach out to Dani Bundy, ctcLink Customer Support Director, if you have any questions.

Query Developer Learning Opportunities

Step Up your Query Game

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!

Upcoming courses include:

• Tuesday, May 21, 9 a.m., PS Query Training 301 Advanced - Part 1
• Wednesday, May 22, 9 a.m., PS Query Training 301 Advanced - Part 2
• Tuesday, June 11, 9 a.m., PS Query Training 401 Expert- Part 1
• Wednesday, Juen 12, 9 a.m., PS Query Training 401 Expert- Part 2

Plan ahead for 2024

The ctcLink Training Calendar has been updated with 2024 instructor-led query-related training. To clear filter settings, select None. Then select ctcLink Learning Opportunities > Reporting Training.

How to  for Query Developer Courses

The process to enroll in Query Developer Canvas courses has been streamlined. Now, instead of emailing Data Services, simply:

• Visit the ctcLink Training Registration page,
• 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 Security Update

The ctcLink Security team continues working on the Security Administration System Improvement [SASI] project. The SASI College Advisory Group works with the SASI Project Leadership Team to provide feedback on business practices, design options, and current security management challenges. Learn more about the SASI Project.

The team continues to update security administration Workcenters in all three pillars with new queries/reports. They are also working on a procedures document for service accounts and cleaned up terminated user access in Finance and HCM.  

The team is also providing support to the Financial Aid Support team as it continues testing the FAFASA Simplification changes in the PeopleSoft Release Patchset (PRP) from Oracle. And is working to update the Security Audit QRG with more information and tools for colleges.

ctcLink Accessibility Monthly Open Forum

Join us! 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.

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

The next ctcLink Accessibility Open Forum will be Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at 11 a.m. All are welcome to attend via Zoom.

In case you missed a meeting, please see materials from past Open Forums.