A biweekly publication for faculty and staff

Business and Financial Services News

September 25, 2012

New UCPATH Website Launched

The University of California UCPath project launched a new website on Sept. 18 that provides information to UC employees about upcoming career opportunities at the UCPath Center in Riverside. The site also contains important announcements and progress updates concerning the UCPath project.

The UCPath project will deploy a single system for payroll, personnel and human resources across all ten campuses and five medical centers of the UC system that meet the core needs of each location while capturing the efficiencies, improved data and cost-savings associated with unified systems.

Five UC locations — UC Merced, UCLA, UCLA Medical Center, UC Santa Cruz and the Office of the President (UCOP)  — will begin transitioning to UCPath in 2013 as part of Wave 1. All other locations will transition to UCPath in two subsequent waves. By October 2014, all UC locations and all UC employees will be using the services of UCPath.

The UCPath Center website features:

  • Information about the UCPath Center, jobs descriptions and timelines
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Descriptions for UCPath project elements
  • Information about the IT and communications personnel throughout UC working on the UCPath project

Central to the UCPath project is a systemwide shared service center, called the UCPath Center, which will open for business on July 1 to serve the Wave 1 locations. The UCPath Center will be located in Riverside, near the UC Riverside campus. When it is fully operational, the UCPath Center is expected to employ up to 500 people who will serve 190,000 UC faculty and staff systemwide.

The new UCPath website features links to 50 job descriptions for the UCPath Center. These positions will be open for recruitment beginning Nov. 1. UC employees will have priority for these new positions and employees from any UC location may apply at anytime; you do not need to wait until your location transitions to UCPath. A new UCPath Center page that will feature UCPath Center jobs has been created on the UC Systemwide Job Board. That site can be found here. Email UC Merced’s UCPath Project Team with any questions.

Risk Checklist Assists in Special Event Planning

Planning a special event involves preparation and planning, and one of the first steps in the preparation process is to identify and assess the risks associated with a particular event. To help with the process, Risk Services has assembled a checklist of potential risks and the departments that can offer advice and provide assistance. Any event that occurs outside of the day-to-day operations of the University is considered a special event such as: fundraisers, graduations, concerts, festivals, carnivals, sporting/athletic events, political events, conferences, camps and film/TV productions.

Money-saving Tip for Employees Traveling on University Business

In a limited number of California cities and counties, University employees traveling on official business are granted an exemption from paying occupancy taxes imposed by cities or counties on the transient room rentals. The cities provide exemptions based on whether payment is made by the traveler or billed to the University. 

The cities of Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Irvine, Newport Beach, Del Mar, Riverside, Coronado and Oakland provide an exemption to University travelers who pay hotel room charges directly, upon completion of a city form or a certificate of exemption for governmental agencies.  The cities of San Francisco and San Diego grant a transient occupancy tax exemption only if hotel room charges are billed directly to the University.

To claim the exemption, University travelers must provide proof that they are University of California employees or representatives traveling on official business. Proof may include an employee identification card, business card or corporate travel card.  When checking in, travelers must request a copy of the city or county taxing authority’s Transient Occupancy Tax Exemption Certificate, or use the University's certificate, which is available for download from campus’ tax website. For more information on this topic, contact Tax Services at tax@ucmerced.edu, or visit their website.  

Upcoming Training and Meetings

  • Anyone handling cash for a University job is required to take cash handling training. Sign up now for a one hour training session on Oct. 1, 3, or 9.  
  • Attend the campus purchasing meeting on October 3rd from 1:30 to 3 p.m.  KL 232 for vendor information, procedure updates and useful advice.