January 24, 2019
Dear Campus Community,
As we embark on the first week of instruction this semester, I am pleased to share some exciting updates from the Division of Finance and Administration.
BOBCAT BUY: LAUNCHED
I am very happy to announce the first initiation of Bobcat Buy, a new online shopping tool which will ultimately enhance the way we procure and pay for goods and services at UC Merced. Earlier this week, Finance and Administration’s Office of Procurement and Contracting Services launched Bobcat Buy to the Administrative & Facilities units across campus. Student Affairs, Auxiliaries, and Academic departments will begin using the system in a staggered implementation in the upcoming months, with a full campus roll out by the end of March.
Within the new system you can order from anywhere, track your requests, and even use an app to approve requests from your phone.This marks an important milestone in achieving the campus’s multiyear vision of modernizing systems and processes to better enable student success, staff experiences and faculty research.
Keep an eye out for more information as we continue to roll out this exciting new system that provides simplified procurement—allowing UC Merced to focus on what it does best: educating, discovering, and inspiring. In the meantime, you can see the latest Bobcat Buy updates on their project page .
HR/PERSONNEL WORKFLOW AUTOMATION with OnBase: COMING SOON
As we continue to modernize systems and processes for the sustainability of our growing campus, we are in the process of launching Personnel Workflow (via OnBase). This new system automates and streamlines the way we manage the employee lifecycle, from hiring to separation, and everything in between. Within the system, managers are able to initiate personnel data changes and actions such as appointment position and funding management, hiring, promotion, salary increases and payroll processing—all in one place.
As of last semester, the Personnel Workflow project team launched beta testing to our Division and the Division of Physical Operations, Planning and Development (POPD) for tier 1 forms (Activate, Recruit, and Hire). The project team is currently testing the new system to ensure it is working as intended. For more project news and updates for their campus go live this May, you can see their Personnel Workflow Project page here .
CAMPUS-WIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES: LAUNCHED
As we continue to streamline our systems and processes, we are actively seeking ways to develop our talented staff and faculty. To that end, I am excited to share with you that we have reaffirmed our partnership with Lynda.com, an online professional development training library. Here you can find unlimited access to professional development courses that teach the latest software, creative and business skills through high-quality instructional videos taught by recognized industry experts. The service is available to all UC Merced faculty, staff and student-employees. More information and how to use the service is coming soon.
DIVISION WEBSITE: LAUNCHED
Earlier in January I had the opportunity to present with De Acker, Director of Campus Climate, at the Chancellor’s Annual Staff Meeting, on the recent Campus Climate Survey and the Division’s response . As part of our response, Finance and Administration launched a new division website that is both user-friendly and service-oriented.
This site is available to provide project updates and information as we continue to modernize systems and processes.
We know that with new systems come new challenges so we are working to provide the UC Merced community information in a structured way that you can count on. On our website you can find information about our departments and service offerings, as well as our special projects including timelines and what you can expect from system changes.
With the start of this new year, I want to take a moment to personally recognize our well-deserving students, dedicated staff and talented faculty. Everyone plays a critical role in fulfilling our university’s mission of teaching, research and public service and it is our privilege to partner with our campus colleagues to deliver the work of the Division.
Sincerely,
Mike Riley
Interim Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer
