DFL Weekly Update - December 13, 2024

Upcoming Deadlines

  • Friday, 12/13 - Submit SSGPDP fee proposals for 2025-26
  • Friday, 12/20 - Ensure schedulers check final fall CSIR data
  • Thursday, 1/9 - Submit donations over curtailment for Gift Services
  • Friday, 1/17 - Submit completed and approved Org Tree change requests
  • Friday, 1/17 - Review and submit the BEAR grant report updates
  • Friday, 1/17 - Submit recharge self-certification forms for FY2025-26
  • Tuesday, 1/28 - Complete Q2 Key Controls

Action Items

Submit SSGPDP fee proposals for 2025-26 by Friday, December 13

UCOP has released the call for SSGPDP fee proposals for the 2025-26 academic year. All new and existing approved SSGPDPs are required to submit an annual fee proposal for review and approval by the UC President. Note that UCOP has requested some campus submissions a month earlier than in prior years, so proposals are due to Financial Planning & Analysis by Friday, December 13. The call for proposals, submission documents, and instructions are available on the Make Annual Fee Submission for Existing SSGPDP web page. Beginning this year, programs are required to complete Tables 4A_2025-26_Program Description and Summary and 4B_2025-26_Current and Proposed Student Charges directly. Please email questions to studentfees@berkeley.edu as early as possible prior to the submission deadline.

Ensure schedulers check final fall CSIR data by Friday, December 20

The last day for schedulers to make changes to the Fall 2024 semester is Friday, December 20. This is a hard deadline, meaning schedulers will not be able to make any edits, including error corrections, after this date. Schedulers can review their courses and check for errors in the CSIR reports. These reports are sent out twice each semester: once on the 6th week of instruction and again on the 15th week just before the deadline. Schedulers can also pull these reports themselves throughout the semester. Instructions on how to pull the CSIR reports, along with other scheduling tips/tricks, can be found on the OPA CSIR slide deck (slide 24). Additionally, schedulers are encouraged to reach out to the OPA-CSIR at opa-csir@berkeley.edu if they have any questions or need help correcting any errors.

Gift Services deadline Thursday, January 9, 2025

The deadline for submitting gifts to Gift Services during curtailment is Thursday, January 9, 2025. For giving instructions, visit Give.Berkeley.edu/faq or Eureka (Berkeley’s advancement intranet). Key reminders:

  • Online giving is best! Encourage donors to use Give.Berkeley.edu for the fastest processing and immediate gift receipts!
  • Retain and deliver postmarked envelopes and FedEx/UPS mailing envelopes to Gift Services along with the enclosed checks.
  • Please contact the Gift Services Securities Desk at givesecurities@berkeley.edu before a stock transfer happens to ensure the gift is identified and credited to the donor in a timely manner.
  • Do not accept credit card information by phone with intent to transmit to Gift Services for charging. Please have donors call (510) 643-9789 to give by phone.

Questions may be addressed to Gift Services at (510) 643-9789 or gifthelp@berkeley.edu.

Review and submit the BEAR grant report updates by Friday, January 17, 2025

The Berkeley Excellence Accounts for Research Grants (or BEAR Grants) support Berkeley's ladder faculty as they advance their research, scholarship, and creative accomplishments. The Budget and Financial Operations team sent out to the academic divisions the eligibility and separation list prepared by the Academic Personnel Office (APO) for the FY24-25 BEAR Grant program and the BEAR Grant carry-forward balances report. Please review and send it back to us before Friday, January 17, 2025. Please note that the appeal deadline to APO is January 15, 2025. The BEAR Grant program fact sheet and frequently asked questions are available on the BEAR website for your reference. If you have questions regarding using BEAR funds, please contact the Budget and Financial Operations team at: centralresourcemanagement@berkeley.edu. For questions regarding eligibility, please contact the APO office at appolicy@berkeley.edu.

Submit completed and approved org tree change requests by Friday, January 17

If you would like to submit changes to the Org Tree, please submit your completed, Budget and Financial Operations (BFO) Committee approved request by Friday, January 17, 2025. We recommend that you submit your change request form for review as soon as possible to allow time for the BFO team to review your request, follow up with you for any necessary clarification, approve your request, and allow you time to obtain all required signatures before the submission deadline.

The time needed to review change requests will vary, depending on the complexity of the request. For more information:

  • A high-level summary of the process to approve org tree changes is available on the DFL concierge webpage.
  • An overview of the org tree change submission deadlines is available in the Org Tree Submission and Processing Timeline. Important: Please review the update on the estimated processing time for journal source configuration of new L4 org node codes. As a reminder, journal source configuration for new L4's is required if there is a need to prepare and approve journals.
  • Please review the Org Tree Calendar for the timeline of allowable org tree changes throughout the year.
  • Please review the new Org Tree Lookup Tool This new tool replaces the monthly manually produced Master Org Tree and will provide the most current org tree data as of one business day before. Training materials and Job Aids are located on the CFO website.
  • There are updates coming soon to the Department Prefixes, and How to Create Visio files job aids located in the Tools and job aids section of the Organizational Tree web page.
  • Please submit questions and requests for changes to the Org Tree to dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu. Note: If you plan to request an Org Node change or Entity Hierarchy redesign, please contact dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu and explain what you would like to change before completing the request form because these changes are typically more complex and involve longer consultations.

Submit Recharge self-certification forms by Friday, January 17

Self-certification recharge forms are due on Friday, January 17. Divisions will need to submit a recharge self-certification form if they support a recharge unit and the unit charges Contracts and Grants or if the unit plans for a recharge income greater than $500,000 a year. The self-certification form is posted on the Recharge section of the CFO website. Forms should be emailed to recharge_certification@berkeley.edu.

Complete Q2 Key Controls by Tuesday, January 28

Please complete and submit both the Financial Reporting Review and System Access Review by Tuesday, January 28. Please visit the Division Key Controls page for instructions and more information. Email questions about the financial reporting review controls to the Financial Accounting and Controls team at gao@berkeley.edu and questions about the system access review controls to the BFS Security team at secbfs@berkeley.edu.

Informational Updates

New Reimbursement Expense Module Initiative

The Accounts Payable Team is launching a project to replace the legacy expense reimbursement system to streamline processes and reduce administrative burden, to be implemented in November 2025. Key stakeholders will be invited to provide input, and there will be testing and a pilot group before the campus rollout. To receive updates and engage, join the Involved email list for monthly updates and bi-monthly Zoom sessions with the project team.

Partial Sales Tax R&D exemption annual limit reached

California's partial sales and use tax exemption on purchases of qualified R&D tangible personal property has a limit of $200 million in qualifying purchases per calendar year made by a single taxpayer or reporting unit. As such, a single $200 million annual limit applies to the entire University of California system. At this time, the UC system has reached its annual limit for the 2024 calendar year. Therefore, effective immediately, any claims submitted for a partial sales tax reduction will be denied through the end of the calendar year. It is our understanding that the basis for qualification is the purchase date, not the payment date. We will resume reviewing new claims based on a purchase date that falls within the 2025 calendar year. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. If you have questions, please reach out to the UCOP Tax Team at Tax_Support@ucop.edu.

Preliminary 2025-26 Tuition and Fee Schedule is now available

The preliminary 2025-26 fee schedule is posted on the UCOP Fee/Enrollment web page. The link to “2025-26 Systemwide Tuition and Fee Levels” includes 2025-26 levels for Tuition, the Student Services Fee, and NRST. It also has the 2025 per-unit summer session level, 2025-26 in absentia rates, and the 2025-26 per-unit rates for DoD Tuition Assistance (TA) students (as well as an updated footnote on supplement guidance on the return of unearned TA funds). PDST levels for 2025-26 will be updated after approvals by the Regents and the President are in place; typically the final fee schedule is posted in late May or June. Please email studentfees@berkeley.edu with questions.

CalTime Timekeeping Replacement Project

We are excited to announce that we are working to replace our current timekeeping system, CalTime. We expect to kick off the project in early 2025 and roll out the new system by the fall of 2026. Your feedback on the current CalTime system is crucial. Please take a few minutes to complete this short Customer Feedback Survey. Your insights will help shape the new timekeeping experience. We will provide further updates and information about ways to participate in the transition as we move forward. For now, please review our FAQ for more information

Reserve Analysis Updates and Workshops on December 18 and January 10

The FY25 Reserve Analysis templates will be available in the divisional folders by early December 2024. To assist divisions with this annual exercise, please review the FY2025-26 Reserve Analysis guidelines located on the Reserve Analysis web page. Completed templates are due back to the budget office on February 7th, 2025. The Budget and Financial Operations team is offering two workshops for new DFLs via Zoom to introduce the Reserve Analysis exercise.

To sign up, please sign up on the Reserve Analysis Workshops form for either of these dates:

  • Wednesday, December 18, 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
  • Friday, January 10, 11:00 AM to 12:00 AM

Cal Answers training

The Cal Answers website hosts self-service learning resources including a complete course in basic navigation as well as short videos, job aids, wiki documentation, and a list of Frequently Asked Questions. We also offer a two-hour instructor-led class that builds on the basic navigation skills covered in the self-study. There are separate courses focusing on financial dashboards and student data dashboards. In the class, a subject matter expert guides a deep dive into the reports and data available in the dashboards and answers specific questions.

CalPlanning training

Enrollment is now open for Smart View Ad Hoc training, which has two class meetings on October 23 and November 1.

Instructor-led classes will resume in January; please check back for dates. The curriculum uses a blended learning model. Courses begin with self-study using online books divided into chapters supplemented with practice exercises and short videos. Courses culminate with a group session using Zoom in which participants work on case studies in small teams to apply the material covered in the self-study. The self-study materials are available on the website for everyone to use; they can be a helpful resource for those who have already completed the training and are looking for a refresher. Review the CalPlanning training page for schedules, links to enroll, and to access the self-study materials.

Changes to the DFL in your division?

If the DFL role in your division is changing, email fpa@berkeley.edu to ensure our website, communications, and training plans are updated.

DFL Weekly Updates Page

As a reminder, these updates are regularly posted to the DFL Weekly Updates page so you can reference past updates at any time. Additionally, the Operational Deadlines page provides an overview of deliverables by quarter.

Thank you,

Office of the Vice Chancellor of Finance