In the Spotlight

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We realize how busy everyone is, but the Spotlight is CEHS’s mechanism to alert all CEHS employees (faculty and staff) to changes in business procedures. Please look at all the headings below and read those that impact your area. There are many things changing at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, so this is important to ensure you are in compliance. Thank you!

Dori Smidt
Chief Business Officer/Assistant Dean for Business Operations

 

Contracts and legal assistance

UNL defines a contract as anything that requires a UNL signature and has language we are agreeing to abide by. Quotes are not contracts unless legal language is included. Contracts can be for a revenue, expense, or $0. We encourage when working with vendors on a purchase to ask if a Purchase Order can be used rather than an actual contract. If the vendor requires a contract, the contract must be sent to Jenny Gilmore (jgilmore@unl.edu) and Dori Smidt (dsmidt2@unl.edu) for review. If you have any questions or need a copy of a standard UNL agreement, please let them know as well.

Colleges at UNL are not allowed to contact the NU legal offices directly. If you have a legal issue, please send it to Dori Smidt (dsmidt2@unl.edu).

 

Non-travel related meals and receptions

Whether the university is paying for food directly or as a reimbursement the following is required.

• Business purpose and a list of attendees
• Name, UNL affiliation (student, faculty, staff, etc)

If state funds are to be used and only faculty and staff are present, pre-approval is required from the vice chancellor. Please contact Dori Smidt (dsmidt2@unl.edu or 472-5401) to obtain this approval.

 

Cash handling

If you ever take any payments, cash, credit card or checks for the university, you must plan to attend either the CEHS training from 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Sept. 26 in 228 HECO on East Campus or from 1:30-3 p.m. on Sept. 27 in 249 Teachers College Hall on City Campus. Please RSVP to Ben Lennander at ben@unl.edu. If you are unable to attend one of the sessions, please let Ben know so other arrangements can be made.

If you do not normally receive payments and happen to get a check in the mail, please turn it over to the business team within 24 hours.

 

Supervisors/ESS time approvers

If you are hiring, please work with the Business Team before you offer a position. For temp/student employees please complete the Temporary Employment Request Form. The form can be submitted electronically to the email address listed on the form; however, it must contain an approval signature, not just a typed name. Also, to allow the necessary processing time at several levels, please submit the form at least 10 days prior to the start date of the employee.

Permanent staff hires please work with Tammie Herrington for all steps of the process.

 

Off boarding checklist

If you or someone you supervise will be leaving the university or transferring to a new position within the university, please complete the offboarding checklists. These forms must be completed and turned in to the Business Center. It is up to the supervisor to ensure CEHS IT and the Business Team are notified and receive the proper information well ahead of these separations, if possible.

 

Purchasing

Purchasing in CEHS should be done by P-Card, eSHOP or direct purchase order. Please work with your department office to purchase items you need. Currently reimbursements can also be done but should be a last resort after other options have been determined to not work. If this method is used, receipts are to be turned in to Nell Inselman within 30 days, to ensure reimbursement.

Purchases made with UNL funds should be sent to a UNL address and not to an individual’s home. This helps prevent theft/fraud or the perception of such.

Amazon Prime can only be purchased or reimbursed by UNL if approval is received ahead of time. Contact Dori Smidt at dsmidt2@unl.edu to discuss the need for a UNL only Amazon Prime account.

We would like to remind everyone who has a UNL P-Card to submit the Purchasing Card Transaction Form and back-up documentation in a timely manner. Our bank gives us a limited amount of time to question fraudulent charges. Also, if P-Card charges are delayed in being posted, budget reports are not accurate which can cause unexpected overages or other problems. Delayed paperwork also increases the amount of time it takes staff to process the transaction. Continued submission of late paperwork may result in a P-Card being revoked. We appreciate your help!

 

Conflict of interest

Please remember that as an employee of the University of Nebraska, you are required to disclose any conflict of interest you may have with a vendor that is being used by the University. If you have immediate family that own or participate in a company that is often used at UNL, please contact the Business Team to ensure the relationship is properly disclosed. The BOR policy can be found at http://www.nebraska.edu/docs/board/RegentPolicies.pdf. For your convenience, below is the portion of the policy pertaining to this issue. Thank you for your help.

Per the BOR section 3.2.8:
Personnel Affected by Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment Policy

Covered Person shall mean:
1) University administrative officers and employees, specifically including any University
employees with delegated signature, purchasing or contracting authority on behalf of the
University;
2) University employees and faculty engaged in outside employment or other activities specified
in this policy (tech transfer/use of University facilities or equipment) that may create a Conflict
of Interest; and
3) Sponsored Research investigators, including University employees, faculty, staff and support personnel (managerial/professional and office/service positions), volunteers, trainees, students, contractors and other persons under the direct control of the University of Nebraska, whether paid by the University of Nebraska or not, who participate in Sponsored Research as defined in Section 6 of this policy 3.2.8.4

Conflict of Interest shall mean situations when a Covered Person’s direct or indirect personal financial interests may compromise, or have the appearance of compromising, the Covered Person’s professional judgment or behavior in carrying out his or her obligations to the University of Nebraska. This includes indirect personal financial interests of a Covered Person that may be obtained through third parties such as a Covered Person’s Immediate Family, business relationships, fiduciary relationships, or investments.

Immediate family shall mean an individual who is the spouse, child, parent, brother, sister, grandchild, or grandparent, by blood, marriage, or adoption of the Covered Person.

 

Benefits

The University of Nebraska Human Resources Benefits Office will be hosting several “Open Enrollment Open Houses” this fall. All sessions will be held in the Canfield Administration Training Room (room 316).

Available times include:
• November 2, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. and 1 p.m.–4 p.m.
• November 10, 8 a.m.–11 a.m.
• November 13, 9 a.m.–12 p.m.

Our Firefly enrollment module has changed. If you need help completing your enrollment through Firefly, we will be able to assist you. We also encourage employees to come and discuss their unique needs and benefit coverage concerns with our Benefits Office representatives. As always, the Benefits Office is here to help you through the NUFlex Benefits enrollment process. If you are not able to attend the open house or you have any benefits questions, please call the Benefits Office at 402-472-2600.

As the fall season approaches, so does the annual enrollment period for NUFlex Benefits. In anticipation for annual enrollment, you can view the benefits you are currently enrolled in at the University by clicking on the Employee Self Service tile, then Benefits Participation: Current & Not Enrolled.

 
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Click on a plan to view the corresponding information and links. You can also view your current Confirmation Statement by clicking on at the bottom left of the screen.

 
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To view the benefits you are eligible for, but not currently enrolled in, click on the tab. Select a plan to view the corresponding information and links. This is informational only. You can only enroll in these plans during the annual enrollment period.

 
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Originally published September 25, 2017 - Submit an Item