ctcLink Learning Opportunities & Support Roundup: April 16, 2025

To plan further ahead or find the latest learning opportunities, as well as notices of cancellation or schedule changes, see the complete calendar at the ctcLink Training & Learning Opportunities Registration page or on the SBCTC meetings and events calendar (apply 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

 

Downtime Notice for All ctcLink Pillars: PeopleTools 8.61 Upgrade on April 26

The ctcLink production site (live environment for all users) will be offline on Saturday, April 26, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., for PeopleTools 8.61 upgrade activities.

Please note the additional impacts during the PeopleTools upgrade maintenance window:

• The HighPoint Campus Experience (HCX) mobile site and app will be unavailable.
• The Online Admissions Application Portal (OAAP) will be unavailable.
• The integration between CampusCE and ctcLink will be unavailable. Following the completion of the upgrade activities, colleges will need to resubmit any unprocessed orders received during the downtime.
• Users can expect to receive additional communication soon regarding shutdown procedures for recurring processes and jobs that are scheduled on Saturday, April 26.
• Canvas will remain available, but users will need to login directly instead of through the ctcLink shortcut.

Full Build of Fluid Class Search and Enroll, April 26-27

As part of the PeopleTools upgrade, CS Core Support will run a Full Build of Fluid Class Search and Enroll. This process is expected to be completed by Sunday evening, April 27. While the Full Build is running:

• ctcLink Fluid Class Search and Enroll will be unavailable to staff and students.
• Students will be able to enroll using HighPoint HCX (Mobile) after it comes back online following PeopleTools upgrade activities.

PeopleTools Upgrade Q & A Sessions

The PeopleTools 8.61.08 upgrade will be implemented in production on the evening of April 26, 2025. Oracle delivers PeopleTools releases every 12-18 months. PeopleTools provides the underlying technology for PeopleSoft applications, including CS, HCM, and FIN. PeopleSoft applications are built, deployed, and maintained using PeopleTools. 

To learn more about the changes, attend one of two Q&A sessions to answer any questions users might have. The Q&A sessions are optional, but users affected by these changes are encouraged to attend.

• Q&A Session 1: Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 2 – 3 p.m.: Join Session
• Q&A Session 2: Thursday, April 24, 2025, 10 – 11 a.m., Join Session

Supporting documents

Refer to the following documents for details about changes users will experience once the upgrade is implemented.

• PeopleTools 8.61.08 Update Overview – April 2025 includes functional changes for the following areas:
  • Homepage
  • NavBar Display Order
  • Search Functionality
  • Process Monitor
  • Distributed User Profile
  • Button Changes
• PeopleTools 8.61.08 Accessibility Update Overview - April 2025 ncludes new functional and accessibility fixes for the following areas:
  • New Functionality
    • Skip to the Main Content Link
    • Accessibility Button on the Fluid Homepage Banner
  • Fixes
    • Fixed: Keyboard shortcuts menu, indention reads as greater than
    • Fixed: Data table shows instead of Layout table around “New Window” and “Help” links
    • Fixed: JAWS hot key combination doesn’t read Modal Page Title
    • Fixed: Insufficient Color Contrast between Primary button and focus indicator

Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA) Update

On April 4, 2025, the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges (WACTC) Board of Presidents officially approved the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA) policy and configuration recommendations:

“In order to meet state and federal compliance requirements, WACTC adopts the 'Key SFRA Process Attributes' as presented by the Education Services committee to define the ctcLink configuration parameters, with the expectation that SBCTC and system colleges will continue developing alternative means for compliance where necessary.”

You’re Invited! SFRA Update and Q&A Session

Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 1-2:30 p.m., Learn more and attend the Webex session

• Join the SBCTC Student Financials Support team for an SFRA update discussion, learn about new communications templates, and ask questions.
• Related quick reference guide: Student Financial Responsibility Agreement

Next Steps and Support

SBCTC recognizes the challenges colleges may encounter when adapting to current business processes. To support institutions and minimize impacts on students and staff, SBCTC is committed to the following approaches:

• Phased Implementation: The SFRA will be introduced gradually, allowing colleges ample time to update business practices and accommodate unique needs. Full compliance is expected by spring 2026.
• Annual Review: SBCTC will conduct yearly evaluations of the SFRA structure and exclusion list to ensure alignment with evolving policies, regulations, and system changes.
• Ongoing Support: SBCTC staff will continue providing training, guidance, and support, while documenting feedback and addressing concerns where applicable and feasible.

For questions or clarifications

• Policy Guidance: Christine McMullin, SBCTC Student Services Policy Associate, or Jamie Traugott, SBCTC Director of Student Services & K12 Alignment
• ctcLink Implementation: Brandon Reed, Associate Director of Student Financials, or Dani Bundy, ctcLink Customer Support Director

Onboarding Training Manuals & Staff Training Participation App Available

Whether for yourself or for your staff, the ctcLink Staff Training Participation Application (STP) application and ctcLink Onboarding Training Manuals are available for college and SBCTC staff.

ctcLink Staff Training Participation Application Features

• Users can view their own course completion information, as well as course completion information for any staff within their chain of supervision. 
• Includes integrated checklists for supervisors to assign required and recommended ctcLink Canvas course training.
• Displays training course completion information extracted from Canvas so supervisors can track online training course completion and progress for their staff.
• Security roles are dynamically assigned to all active users in the system to access their own training data, and the training data of any staff in the user’s supervisory hierarchy. Depending on the security role, staff can search for active or inactive employees training data by a variety of means including employee ID, supervisor’s name, employee first or last name, department, or training course title. 
• An elevated ctcLink security role provides users with college-level training data, and is assigned to college designated Points of Contact (ctcLink College Leaders). For ongoing role-level access, the individual local security administrators (LSAs) have the ability to update access for maintenance purposes.

Please see the ctcLink Staff Training Participation Application quick reference guide (QRG) for step-by-step user instructions.

Need help?

Any supervisors having issues accessing staff records, please submit a ctcLink Service Ticket to: ctcLink Support > Training > Staff Training Participation application.

Onboarding Training Manuals

The Onboarding Training Manuals, a companion to STP, help new college staff in their training journey through ctcLink (PeopleSoft). Although learning a new software system can be challenging, so these documents provide new staff with information to locate, understand, and participate in the various ctcLink training and learning opportunities available.

The Onboarding Training Manuals can be found in the ctcLink Reference Center “Intro to ctcLink” section. Onboarding manuals are available for each ctcLink pillar, as well as 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

The ctcLink Training and Support teams look forward to a continued partnership with the colleges and SBCTC agency staff to enhance onboarding and training experiences for new employees. 

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

Join a ctcLink Support eList (aka LISTSERVs)

Any Washington state community and technical college ctcLink PeopleSoft users — including SBCTC staff, ctcLink, and IT teams — are encouraged to join one or more ctcLink-related Mailman eLists (aka LISTSERVs).

Find a list — or two or three or four — and join today at ctcLink Support eLists.

Connect with your ctcLink peers and colleagues

• ctcLink Customer Support sends updates, outage notices, changes to configuration, training and workshop opportunities, global and cross-pillar communications to colleges.
• 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. 

Are You Receiving ctcLinkAlerts?

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

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

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

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

How to Check the Status of an Enhancement Request

The ctcLink Customer Services Teams have documented all Enhancement Request (ER) forms submitted.

The ctcLink Enhancement Request Status lists are updated the first and third Wednesday of each month to align with the ctcLink Working Group calendar.

You can see where each Enhancement Request is in the governance review process, approval status, and/or any other actions taken in a couple of different views.

High-Level Summary At-a-Glance

The Full Enhancement Request List is sorted by status.

Downtime Notice for All ctcLink Pillars: PeopleTools 8.61 Upgrade on April 26

See important information for all pillars in the Cross-Pillar News section about the PeopleTools 8.61 upgrade on April 26 and the CS Full Build of Fluid Class Search and Enroll, April 26-27.

Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA) Update

On April 4, 2025, the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges (WACTC) Board of Presidents officially approved the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA) policy and configuration recommendations:

“In order to meet state and federal compliance requirements, WACTC adopts the 'Key SFRA Process Attributes' as presented by the Education Services committee to define the ctcLink configuration parameters, with the expectation that SBCTC and system colleges will continue developing alternative means for compliance where necessary.”

You’re Invited! SFRA Update and Q&A Session

Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 1-2:30 p.m., Learn more and attend the Webex session

• Join the SBCTC Student Financials Support team for an SFRA update discussion, learn about new communications templates, and ask questions.
• Related quick reference guide: Student Financial Responsibility Agreement

Next Steps and Support

SBCTC recognizes the challenges colleges may encounter when adapting to current business processes. To support institutions and minimize impacts on students and staff, SBCTC is committed to the following approaches:

• Phased Implementation: The SFRA will be introduced gradually, allowing colleges ample time to update business practices and accommodate unique needs. Full compliance is expected by spring 2026.
• Annual Review: SBCTC will conduct yearly evaluations of the SFRA structure and exclusion list to ensure alignment with evolving policies, regulations, and system changes.
• Ongoing Support: SBCTC staff will continue providing training, guidance, and support, while documenting feedback and addressing concerns where applicable and feasible.

For questions or clarifications

• Policy Guidance: Christine McMullin, SBCTC Student Services Policy Associate, or Jamie Traugott, SBCTC Director of Student Services & K12 Alignment
• ctcLink Implementation: Brandon Reed, Associate Director of Student Financials, or Dani Bundy, ctcLink Customer Support Director

CS Core Learning Opportunities

Running Start Series

SBCTC Dual Credit presents monthly virtual sessions for college Running Start staff. Each session includes SBCTC/OSPI updates and time for Running Start college staff to come together and connect. Participants cover a wide range of topics, including Campus Solutions - Student Financials.

The presentation portion is recorded and posted to the SBCTC Dual Credit YouTube playlist.

Feel free to contact Stephanie Rock, SBCTC Student Services & K12 Alignment Policy Associate, with any questions.

FA/SF/FIN Cross-Pillar Training: End-to-End Reconciliation

Monday, May 5, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join functional trainers from the SBCTC Financial Aid, Student Financials, and Finance teams in this knowledge-sharing session and gain valuable reconciliation resources and tips.

Presenters: Kelly Forsberg, Financial Aid; Alec Risk, Student Financials; Karen Ebert, Finance.

Questions? Contact Alec Risk

CS Core Training

CS Core Trainings, a valuable learning opportunity, are held on the third Wednesday of every month from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. The dates may change, and notifications will be sent in advance. The CS Core training alternates between refreshers and different process approaches. We highly value your participation and welcome all end-users to attend these training courses. You can find details about upcoming meetings on the SBCTC Calendar, CS Core Weeklyish CORErespondence, and CS Core listserv. Please visit the QRG Campus Solutions Learning Opportunities Recordings for a list of previous recordings.

CS Core Training: Processing Deceased Students

NEW DATE: Wednesday, May 28, 2025, 8:30 - 9:45 a.m., Learn more and join the session

Join us for a thoughtful and informative training session designed to guide you through the sensitive process of managing records for deceased students with professionalism, empathy, and adherence to institutional policies.

Topics:

• Systematic steps to handle deceased students' records respectfully.
• Best practices for institutional compliance.

This training aims to equip you with the knowledge and tools to navigate this responsibility with care and confidence.

Module(s): Student Records

Primary Audience: Records Staff

Related QRGs: Processing a Deceased Student Record, Entering Decedent Data

CS Core Work Sessions

Campus Solutions (CS) Core Work Sessions, open to ALL end users, are generally held the first Thursday of each month, from 1 to 3 p.m., but may be offered on an alternative schedule (e.g., to accommodate holidays).

The CS Functional Support team facilitates, alternating between functional team delivered content and college user delivered content with functional team support. Each meeting includes time for colleges to ask questions about other topics or service tickets.

In 2025, CS Core Work Sessions will:

• Include community engagement within each session (rather than have a formal, predetermined college panel).  As possible, we will post the anticipated questions ahead of time so that you can be prepared.
• Dedicate at least the last half hour (2:30-3:00 pm) to Open Q&A. 
• If the scheduled session ends early and all related questions have been answered, Open Q&A will begin (i.e., it may begin earlier than 2:30 but will begin no later than 2:30)

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

Core Sessions: College System & SBCTC Calendar

Coming up next!

Join us for  CS Core Work Session: Caring for Your Service Indicators on Thursday, May 1.

Changing a Service Indicator is not as easy as you think and merits a detailed review along with a debate about when it makes more sense to modify and when it makes more sense to make a new one.

In this session, we’re going to cover as much information about Service Indicators (SI) as possible, including:

• What’s involved in configuring an SI, including how to use Reason Codes efficiently and what to consider when adding Service Impacts.
• How to assign and release, both individually and by using processes to do so in mass.
• Required SACR security.
• For colleges that were not part of DG5 or DG6, we will remind you about the option for term-and-date based Service Indicators.
• How to retire them honorably when their time comes.

Audience: While SF and FA staff are more than welcome to attend, this session will be targeted toward CS Core staff and will not go over any SF/FA module specific guidance or requirements.

Questions? Contact CS Core Support.

Downtime Notice for All ctcLink Pillars: PeopleTools 8.61 Upgrade on April 26

See important information for all pillars in the Cross-Pillar News section about the PeopleTools 8.61 upgrade on April 26 and the CS Full Build of Fluid Class Search and Enroll, April 26-27.

Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA) Update

On April 4, 2025, the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges (WACTC) Board of Presidents officially approved the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA) policy and configuration recommendations:

“In order to meet state and federal compliance requirements, WACTC adopts the 'Key SFRA Process Attributes' as presented by the Education Services committee to define the ctcLink configuration parameters, with the expectation that SBCTC and system colleges will continue developing alternative means for compliance where necessary.”

You’re Invited! SFRA Update and Q&A Session

Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 1-2:30 p.m., Learn more and attend the Webex session

• Join the SBCTC Student Financials Support team for an SFRA update discussion, learn about new communications templates, and ask questions.
• Related quick reference guide: Student Financial Responsibility Agreement

Next Steps and Support

SBCTC recognizes the challenges colleges may encounter when adapting to current business processes. To support institutions and minimize impacts on students and staff, SBCTC is committed to the following approaches:

• Phased Implementation: The SFRA will be introduced gradually, allowing colleges ample time to update business practices and accommodate unique needs. Full compliance is expected by spring 2026.
• Annual Review: SBCTC will conduct yearly evaluations of the SFRA structure and exclusion list to ensure alignment with evolving policies, regulations, and system changes.
• Ongoing Support: SBCTC staff will continue providing training, guidance, and support, while documenting feedback and addressing concerns where applicable and feasible.

For questions or clarifications

• Policy Guidance: Christine McMullin, SBCTC Student Services Policy Associate, or Jamie Traugott, SBCTC Director of Student Services & K12 Alignment
• ctcLink Implementation: Brandon Reed, Associate Director of Student Financials, or Dani Bundy, ctcLink Customer Support Director

FIN Learning Opportunities

ctcLink Accounting Team Presents

Every first and third Thursday, these recurring work sessions aim to provide accounting support and guidance regarding, but not limited to, the various reconciliation topics and processes. Each session covers a specific topic(s) and then moves to open Q&A.

FA/SF/FIN Cross-Pillar Training: End-to-End Reconciliation

Monday, May 5, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join functional trainers from the SBCTC Financial Aid, Student Financials, and Finance teams in this knowledge-sharing session and gain valuable reconciliation resources and tips.

Presenters: Kelly Forsberg, Financial Aid; Alec Risk, Student Financials; Karen Ebert, Finance.

Questions? Contact Alec Risk

Travel and Expenses Q&A Drop-In

Recurring every SECOND 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 is not recorded, unless otherwise noted.

• 11 – 11:30 a.m., Training: Come learn or share something new.
• 11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., Q&A: Please come with your questions or issues and be ready to share your screen.

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

NEW! Recurring 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 listings below.

Need help with setting up FY25 grants? Feel free to reach out to Michele Rockwell, MSML, ctcLink Finance Functional Analyst.

You are invited to drop in with any questions related to grants and projects at the open Q&A sessions.

FIN Work Session: Asset Management Q&A

Every third Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon, join the ctcLink Finance Customer Support team for a collaborative, interactive and troubleshooting drop-in session on all things Asset Management.

• 11 – 11:30 a.m., Training: Come learn or share something new.
• 11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., Q&A: Please come with your questions or issues and be ready to share your screen.

Some examples of topics:

• Tagging Active Assets
• Excel to CI Asset Upload
• Processing issues
• General questions

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.

The ctcLink Finance Subject Matter Experts list received a calendar invitation to Upcoming Finance Users Production Support meetings.

Didn’t get the invitation? Reach out to Shon Dicks-Schlesinger, Associate Director of Finance Functional Support.

Monthly Student Finance/General Ledger SF/GL Open Forum

Every second Wednesday, 2 to 3 p.m., the SBCTC Business Operations Accounting team invites you to bring your questions (and solutions) to share during this open forum meeting space for all things Student 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.

Downtime Notice for All ctcLink Pillars: PeopleTools 8.61 Upgrade on April 26

See important information for all pillars in the Cross-Pillar News section about the PeopleTools 8.61 upgrade on April 26 and the CS Full Build of Fluid Class Search and Enroll, April 26-27.

FA Support Updates

FA Weeklyish Bulletin

Trying to recall that important thing you read in the ctcLink Financial Aid listserv FA Weeklyish Bulletin? Don’t miss a thing! Revisit past editions in the FA Weeklyish Bulletin Archive at the ctcLink Reference Center.

Webinar: Financial Aid Questions with the Business Office

Collaboration between financial aid and business office professionals is essential for providing students with seamless financial support.

Whatever you call your FA-SF dynamic duo at your institution (e.g., Joined at the Hip, Married Forever, Ride or Die Besties, Mutt and Jeff, Amos and Andy, Frick and Frack, Yin and Yang, Arm & Hammer), FA and SF are in it to win it together! 

Whether new to the field or a seasoned professional, make time for this helpful recorded session for ideas on how to strengthen the partnership between your offices on campus, all in the spirit of excellent service to students.

Campus Partners: Addressing Financial Aid Questions with the Business Office
NASFAA Webinar, recorded April 8, 2025, 90 minutes

Free for NASFAA members

Differences in workflows and priorities can often create confusion or challenges.  This webinar addresses common questions that financial aid professionals have for their business office counterparts. In this free-for-NASFAA-members recorded webinar, college leaders from across the country discuss their processes for building interdepartmental relationships between FA, SF, and the Business Office.

Topics include:

• Interpreting account balance discrepancies
• Timing and coordination of fund disbursements
• Best practices for handling refunds and overpayments
• Navigating compliance and audit requirements collaboratively

FA Learning Opportunities

Financial Aid Training

Fin Aid Training: Intermediate WCG Interim Error Report Review

Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 9 to 11 a.m., Learn more and join the session

This Fin Aid Training Session is an intermediate review on the Washington College Grant (WCG) Interim Error Report, from examples found in the FA206 Intermediate FA Reporting Canvas course and the Troubleshooting section in the WCG Interim Business Processing Guide.

Objectives: Understand how to work error examples in the WCG Interim Error Report

Audience:   FA Staff responsible for account WCG Reporting and reconciliation.

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

Fin Aid Training for Header Colleges Only: Loan Set Up for Schema 5.0c and 25/26 Loan Processing

Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join this hands-on workshop to set up/adjust your Run Controls for the 2025-2026 AY in preparation for sending out your Direct Loan files for the Summer Term. 

Audience:  Header College Financial Aid Staff responsible for Direct Loan Origination and Outbounding

Agenda

• Updating/checking Loan Fee Set Up
• Updating/checking Loan Fee in Item Types Set Up
• Updating/checking the Loan Fee in Create Loan Types pg
• Updating the Process Loans Run Control ID parameters to 2025 AY
• 10:30 to 10:45 a.m.: Break
• Updating the EY Summer Include & Summer Exclude Run Control ID parameters to 2025/2026 dates and AY.
• Updating the EY Process Loan Dates Run Control ID to 2025 AY.
• Updating the Schema to 5.0b on the EY Generate Direct Loan Data pg.
• Updating and/or creating EY Run Control IDs for your Direct Loan Reports

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

Financial Aid Work Sessions

FA/SF/FIN Cross-Pillar Work Session Reconciliation Show & Tell

Thursday, June 5, 2025, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join us for a cross-pillar work session as SBCTC hosts esteemed colleagues from Bellevue College in a Webex on the hot topic of reconciliation!

Guest speakers Christine Taylor, Financial Aid Director; Jennifer Fetters, Associate Director of Student Center-Financial Aid; and Jennifer McMillan, Finance Manager, will walk through their local business process on reconciliation for Pell, Direct Loan, and state funds. 

This session emphasizes the importance of interdepartmental communication during monthly reconciliation processes and reviews key steps unique to Bellevue College in their local reconciliation business process.

Audience:  FA, SF and FIN staff responsible for reconciling federal and state funding.

Downtime Notice for All ctcLink Pillars: PeopleTools 8.61 Upgrade on April 26

See important information for all pillars in the Cross-Pillar News section about the PeopleTools 8.61 upgrade on April 26 and the CS Full Build of Fluid Class Search and Enroll, April 26-27.

Call For Nominations: College Advisory Group for ePerformance & Profile Management Project, due April 23

Attention, ctcLink HR subject matter experts!

Do you or someone you know have an interest in the ePerformance & Profile Management Project (eP&PM) to improve our ability to track employee education, training, certifications, responsibilities and empower managers to provide performance reviews integrated in ctcLink?

Why not nominate yourself or someone else at your college to participate in the College Advisory Group for this project?

The ePerformance & Profile Management College Advisory Group is a team of college subject matter experts (SMEs) that will be an available resource pool representing a broad range of backgrounds, expertise, and experiences to help:

• Quickly answer questions.
• Vet approaches to configuring ctcLink to enable these existing features.
• Act as a liaison to ensure all activities within the project are being broadly communicated and benefit from a wide range of college SME voices and experiences.

The group will meet regularly on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, 3 to 4 p.m.

If selected, participants will need to be available for that regularly scheduled meeting period.

Call for Nominees

We are seeking nominations from the college systemwide community.  You may nominate yourself or others with the support of supervisors/college leadership.

A college may nominate multiple individuals; however, the college advisory group will include 7 members, with no college having more than one representative.

Unsure if this is something you’re interested in, can commit to, or whether to nominate someone else to be a member? Review the link to the ePerformance & Profile Management Project Information Guide (eP&PM).

Nomination Period

• Opens: Wednesday, April 9, 2025
• Closes: Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 5 p.m.

Other Important Dates

• Selected participants will be notified no later than Monday, April 28, 2025.
• Advisory Group member Kick-Off meeting will be held Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
• Regularly scheduled meetings will begin on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.

Interested?

Follow the Nomination Form link in the College Involvement section of the ePerformance & Profile Management Project Information Guide.

Nominations close Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at 5 p.m.

Questions?

Reach out to the ctcLink Project Management Team.

HCM Professional Development Opportunities

HCM Users Group Spring 2025 Quarter Meeting

Thursday, May 8, and Friday, May 9 (half day), 2025, at Yakima Valley College. Virtual option will be available.

Watch for details on the HCM Users Group web page and the HCM support eList: ctcLinkSME-HCM.

Questions? Contact Annie Butler, HCM Users Group Chair.

HCM Learning Opportunities

HCM Work Sessions

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.

For calendar details, search the ctcLink Learning Opportunities calendar at SBCTC meetings and events and apply Human Capital Management filter.

Questions? Contact HCM Customer Support.

Downtime Notice for All ctcLink Pillars: PeopleTools 8.61 Upgrade on April 26

See important information for all pillars in the Cross-Pillar News section about the PeopleTools 8.61 upgrade on April 26 and the CS Full Build of Fluid Class Search and Enroll, April 26-27.

Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA) Update

On April 4, 2025, the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges (WACTC) Board of Presidents officially approved the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA) policy and configuration recommendations:

“In order to meet state and federal compliance requirements, WACTC adopts the 'Key SFRA Process Attributes' as presented by the Education Services committee to define the ctcLink configuration parameters, with the expectation that SBCTC and system colleges will continue developing alternative means for compliance where necessary.”

You’re Invited! SFRA Update and Q&A Session

Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 1-2:30 p.m., Learn more and attend the Webex session

• Join the SBCTC Student Financials Support team for an SFRA update discussion, learn about new communications templates, and ask questions.
• Related quick reference guide: Student Financial Responsibility Agreement

Next Steps and Support

SBCTC recognizes the challenges colleges may encounter when adapting to current business processes. To support institutions and minimize impacts on students and staff, SBCTC is committed to the following approaches:

• Phased Implementation: The SFRA will be introduced gradually, allowing colleges ample time to update business practices and accommodate unique needs. Full compliance is expected by spring 2026.
• Annual Review: SBCTC will conduct yearly evaluations of the SFRA structure and exclusion list to ensure alignment with evolving policies, regulations, and system changes.
• Ongoing Support: SBCTC staff will continue providing training, guidance, and support, while documenting feedback and addressing concerns where applicable and feasible.

For questions or clarifications

• Policy Guidance: Christine McMullin, SBCTC Student Services Policy Associate, or Jamie Traugott, SBCTC Director of Student Services & K12 Alignment
• ctcLink Implementation: Brandon Reed, Associate Director of Student Financials, or Dani Bundy, ctcLink Customer Support Director

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.

FA/SF/FIN Cross-Pillar Training: End-to-End Reconciliation

Monday, May 5, 1-3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

Join functional trainers from the SBCTC Financial Aid, Student Financials, and Finance teams in this knowledge-sharing session and gain valuable reconciliation resources and tips.

Presenters: Kelly Forsberg, Financial Aid; Alec Risk, Student Financials; Karen Ebert, Finance.

Questions? Contact Alec Risk

Running Start Series

SBCTC Dual Credit presents monthly virtual sessions for college Running Start staff. Each session includes SBCTC/OSPI updates and time for Running Start college staff to come together and connect. Participants cover a wide range of topics, including Campus Solutions - Student Financials.

The presentation portion is recorded and posted to the SBCTC Dual Credit YouTube playlist.

Feel free to contact Stephanie Rock, SBCTC Student Services & K12 Alignment Policy Associate, with any questions.

SF Training

SF Training: Item Types 101

Monday, April 14, 2025, 1 to 3 p.m., Learn more and join the session

This is an introduction-level class to Item Types and Student Financials Configuration. This training is designed for new employees and individuals who would like a refresher on Item Type basics. We will discuss the foundational aspects of Item Types including configuration and flow.

In this session, we may cover:

• Item Type Numbering and Configuration
• Refund Indicators
• Priority - Charge Priority List/Payment Priorities/ Overall Priority
• How to create new Item Types

Primary Audience: College staff who deal with Student accounts and want a better understanding of how Item Types work.

Related QRG: Understanding Item Types

Prerequisite Course: SF100 - Student Financials Fundamentals

SF Training: Item Types 102

Monday, April 21, 2025, 1 to 3 p.m., Learn more and join session

This is a moderate-level class for Item Types and Student Financials Configuration. This training is designed for new employees and individuals who would like a refresher on Item Type basics. We will discuss the practical application of Item Types.

In this session, we may cover:

• Understanding View Customer Accounts
• Tuition Calculation
• Term Fees
• Posting a Charge

Primary Audience: College Staff who deal with Student accounts and want a better understanding of how Item Types work.

Related QRG: Understanding Item Types

Prerequisite Course: SF100 - Student Financials Fundamentals

Presenter/Facilitator: Alec Risk, SBCTC Student Financials Functional Trainer

SF Work Sessions

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.

 

Downtime Notice for All ctcLink Pillars: PeopleTools 8.61 Upgrade on April 26

See important information for all pillars in the Cross-Pillar News section about the PeopleTools 8.61 upgrade on April 26 and the CS Full Build of Fluid Class Search and Enroll, April 26-27.

Query Developer Learning Opportunities

How to Enroll in Query Developer Courses

It’s easy to enroll in Query Developer Courses.

• Visit the ctcLink Training Registrationpage,
• Select the class(es) from the Designated Query Developer Training section,
• Follow the sign-up process.

More for PeopleSoft Query Developers

Find more ctcLink PeopleSoft Query Development resources including forms, documentation, and tools at the ctcLink PeopleSoft Reporting web page.

ctcLink Accessibility Monthly Open Forum

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.

Please join us for the next ctcLink Accessibility Open Forum on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at 11 a.m. All are welcome to attend via Zoom.

• Zoom meeting link: ctcLink Accessibility Open Forum 2025 and beyond

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

Security Updates

The ctcLink Security team is fully engaged with multiple efforts, including the PeopleTools 8.61 upgrade, Offboarding Automation phase 2, FIN data masking, data scrubbing in lower environments, cleanup of internal Jobs Accounts, Item Type audit, and setting up FA Service Accounts.

The team is gearing up for SASI Work Package 2 and work on ER 289 Reset User Account Changes.

Working Miracles, Saving Lives

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.

Completed/Wins

• Development deployed to production this week
• Data fixes and bug fixes in HCM, CS, and FIN
• ER 999 - OAAP Work Package 1 UAT Kickoff
• PT 8.61 System Integration Testing
• Test Coordinator Training

In Progress

• In Development, SIT, UAT, and Completed
• Add new leave codes to CTC_ABSBL_AE and Crosswalk. Ticket 193709. HCM-1538. Development complete. Waiting on code freeze.
• App Engine for Yearly Updates to CS and ST Salary Plans. Ticket 207571. We are developing an app engine to automate a complex process that the HCM functional has had to do manually every year with Excel to CI. Development is complete. Waiting on code freeze.
• On 3/5/25, Robert completed archiving HR_ACCTG_LINE through Pay End Date 12/31/2018. This archived 9,240,416 rows. The rows in HR_ACCTG_LINE are down from 119,810,348 to 110,569,932. Working with Data Services team on testing query performance after archiving and running stats in PCD.
• Automatically Resubmit Asynchronous IB Errors. Ticket 200430. In progress. Interrupted by PeopleTools SIT tickets, so there will be some delay on this.
• Build Confidence Test Plan in Testlink
• CampusCE NOR response Bug Fix. CS-2338. Ticket 199915. Currently in SIT.
• CampusCE Search/Match results transaction suspend. CS-2343. Ticket 198623. Currently in SIT.
• Code Freeze
• CS-2367. Ticket 199673. ER 999 - (1 of 7) OAAP Work Package 1 - Residency and Citizenship. It's in UAT.
• Enhancement FWL Employee Record Look Up. Ticket 148615. Back to redev.
• Enter time, report time, and other time pages working on implementing new functionality with configurable headers. We are working on a customization to replace the drop zone and use the now accessible configurable headers to display information about the job the person is entering time for. The HCM functional team requested the salary rate be effective dated, so we can no longer only use Oracle's delivered functionality for configurable headers. Ticket 124980. Was in SIT and went back to redev.
• ER 219 - Automation of adjustments to vacation / sick time donations for Shared Leave. Ticket 168718. Currently in development.
• ER 232 - Adding Custom Self-Service Questions in Campus Solutions. Bhuvana is working on development while Neel is out.
• ER 253 - Make a Payment Page Classic to Fluid. Development is complete. Ticket 181828. Waiting on code freeze.
• ER 285 - Purchase of EPM tool from Oracle for use to do Book to Bank reconciliation. Waiting on new ER and requirements.
• ER 999 - OAAP Work Package 1 - Residency and Citizenship UAT
• ER-171 TAM Enhancements. Ticket 163606 and HCM-1292. Waiting for the code freeze.
• ER-266 Student Financial Responsibility Agreement College User Review
• GL_EXCL_BATC in FSPRD. Ticket 204146. New SR opened. The problem can be replicated in SUP and we're working with Oracle to determine if there is a bug. Budget checking is failing on batch uploads. Ticket 214412 created to hide the budget checking option on the run control page while we work with Oracle on a resolution.
• I-088 Interface Processing Update. Ticket 213443. HCM-1570. Development complete. Waiting on code freeze.
• Institution Set Override Problem. Ticket 190595. Josh is investigating.
• New Leave Liability Report. Ticket 212415. Development complete.
• OAAP - Project CTC_OAA_KT_INTEGRATION_I1168, query, and config migrated to PTS. CS-2367, ticket 199673. Currently in UAT.
• Ticket 206057 - New table for 'transaction log' to see person/date/ whether or not integration to okta successful. Ticket 206055 - Dynamic Role integration with Okta Fix. Development is complete. Can't move to SIT until the PT 8.61 Portal retrofit is closed, as it has a lock on a component PeopleCode object in this project. Will be in SIT after PeopleTools 8.61 passes confidence testing.
• PeopleTools 8.61 Sanity Testing
• PeopleTools 8.61. Technical validation in PQA has been completed. Sanity testing is going well.
• Portal homepage logos keep disappearing in production every 2-4 weeks. Josh manually fixes them as we investigate the root cause. It cannot be replicated in any other environment except production.
• Prepare for prod release of PeopleTools Upgrade project and ER999 in OAAP.
• PT 8.61 Sanity Testing
• PT 8.61 User can access other institutions pages. Mark is working on securing 10 pages by institution. He ran into issues and had to open an SR with Oracle. This is in progress. Ticket 211483.
• SDT 214144: Investigate Citizenship issue for State Attorney General's office requirement to exclude all citizenship data from OAAP for ER 999
• Support campusCE test site connections with PQA for Ptools Upgrade project.
• Support PeopleTools Upgrade project.
• Support tickets related to integrations.
• Work on SDT 213040 - Timeout error in Submitted Applications page for Admins.
• Work with Oracle on SR 3-40147231641 : PTUN_LANDING_PAGE service operation resulting in error on CS.
• Working with Nelnet, the CS SF team, and Managed Services for the Nelnet SBCTC Campus Solution Connector Install upgrade project. Ticket 195128. CS-2181 and CS-2182. It was in UAT, but it will trail 8.61 upgrade.

Upcoming

• ER 245 - Extension for Student Group Mass Assign. Ticket 178457. Carmen would like development to begin in April 2025.
• ER 289 Security Account Reset Capabilities.
• Enhancement_FWL_Employee Record Look Up - Ticket 148615
• I-021 Cemli Update/Bug Fix. Ticket 213369.
• Continue working on redesign of OAAP submitted applications API to improve performance.
• Support PeopleTools 8.61 upgrade effort.
• Support OAAP, CampusCE, HCX and OKTA integration enhancements, bug fixes.
• Support tickets related to PS integrations
• Investigate PTUN_LANDING_PAGE errors on Integration Broker.
• Support and monitor 3rd party integrations.
• PT 8.61 Go Live & Confidence Testing
• Nelnet PeopleSoft Connector Upgrade Project Go-Live - scheduled for 6/17
• 4/26 - PeopleTools 8.61 PRD Deployment