Spotlight on UCPath: Progress reported on program’s December launch
August 18, 2014 •
UCOP is ramping up for its December launch of UCPath. Earlier this month the UCPath team hosted a “spotlight” meeting, the first of several forums where staff who will work directly with the new system can get updates and ask questions about how UCPath will affect their work.
“UCPath is not just about new technology,” said Peggy Arrivas, associate vice president–systemwide controller and UCOP sponsor of UCPath. “It will be a transformation of the way UCOP does business.” In addition to the IT infrastructure, UCPath will simplify, standardize and centralize HR and financial processes, she said, using the metaphor of building a house to describe how the IT framework will support the entire project.
About 65 staff from HR, benefits, payroll, general accounting and the budget office were in attendance to hear about how they will be working with the new system and the UCPath Center in Riverside to provide support for routine transactions in those areas.
The presentation (see the UCPath website for a copy) included a high-level overview of how the system will function. A panel of UCPath project team members and UCPath Center staff then answered a wide range of questions from the audience.
The UCPath IT system is now in its building phase, which is scheduled to wrap up in September. That will be followed by testing and readiness assessment, then training of administrative users and, finally, training of end-users so that all OP staff can use the system.
Beginning in late December, UCOP staff will use UCPath Online to handle routine transactions like getting paycheck information, address changes and setting up direct deposit for paychecks.
President Napolitano in February announced that UCOP would be the first UC location to go live with UCPath, emphasizing the importance of the project and an accelerated timeline as key to UC’s goal of increasing operational efficiency.
Other UC locations will follow in waves until the new system is fully operational for UC staff and faculty at all campuses and medical centers. The next locations to implement UCPath following OP will be UC Santa Cruz in October 2015 and UCLA, UC Merced and ASUCLA in February 2016.
