# Presentation: 021585

## ARC BriefingApril 2005

- Presented by the
- DCP ARC

**National Institutes of Health**

**DHHS**

## AGENDA

_**Welcome**_
_**Travel**_
- COMP Time
- Mandatory Use of Omega
- Applying Conference Allowance
- NFT Issues
- Common Errors on Travel Auths
- No Leave Allowed on HHS-348 Travel
_**Procurement Issues**_
- Updating ACH Information
- Separate the Requests for Travel Auths & Reg. Forms
_**Information for Employees**_
- Benefits Calendar of Events
- myPay Update
_**IT Hints**_
- Accessing your H Drive and L Drives from home
- Delaying the Time Limit on the Locking Screen Saver

## The DCP ARC welcomes two new staff members:
Sheila Wellington — Admin Tech for the Organ Systems Groups.
Andrea Richards — Administrative Career Development Intern with NCI;  Andrea will be assisting Mary Lou Carter.

- Sheila Wellington — Admin Tech for the Organ Systems Groups.
- Andrea Richards — Administrative Career Development Intern with NCI;  Andrea will be assisting Mary Lou Carter.

- Welcome!

**Notes:**
Welcome visitors.  Just to avoid confusion, the discussion points from the DCP ARC are specific to our Division.  Your Divisions may have different procedures.  At the end of our presentation Felicia will have some DEAS information. 

## Travel Issues

## Travel COMP Time

- NCI is working with NIH to develop agency wide standards for manual tracking.
- Until these are issued, travelers will keep track of potential travel comp time.
- Recommendations:  tracking will remain with the traveler, their leave approving official, and their timekeeper.

## Travel COMP Time (continued)

- How this affects Travel Planners:
- Effective immediately:  All travel authorizations for eligible employees must have the following language entered into the REMARKS section of the Travel Authorization:
- “Comp time may be earned by the traveler for this trip.”
- In DCP, the only staff members not able to earn Travel Comp Time are those paid under title 38. [Diane Solomon, Jason Vourlekis].

## Mandatory Use of Omega for Hotel Reservations

- It is especially critical to use Omega for hotel reservations when a traveler requests a conference rate or AEA.
- The ARC cannot approve travel orders or accept hotel receipts from a third party (i.e. Travelocity, Hotels.com, Expedia, etc.)
- Use of a travel credit card to make reservations with a third party constitutes misuse of the travel credit card.

## Conference Allowance

- When selecting the Conference Allowance on a Travel Authorization, please be sure to override the Actual Lodging amount.
- This way the Travel Authorization is a closer estimate of final costs.

## NFT Issues 

- The following is a list of common problems with the NFT form.  Please make an effort to follow the guidelines below when entering NFTs:
- The block asking, ‘Has the Country Clearance Cable Been Prepared’ must have a YES or NO answer.
- In the International Emergency Contact Information Block, you must enter the following information in this order for each destination: Meeting Name, Contact (name, address, phone), Hotel (name, address, phone), US Embassy (address and phone).
- If the trip is sponsored, the name of the sponsor(s) must be entered into the Funding Details Block.

## NFT Issues (continued)

- The purpose explanation must have the name of the meeting, title of the presentation and who the traveler is meeting with.
- NEW REQUIREMENT:  The Per Diem block next to the City/Country block must be completed.  Add the lodging and M&IE rate together for one day and enter this amount in the block.
- Any travel time that is not business-related must be accounted for on the NFT.  Enter the explanation in the Purpose Explanation block.  This includes weekends, annual leave (NTE 2 days per fiscal year), etc.

## NFT Issues

- A Notification of Foreign Travel (NFT) training class will be held on Wednesday April 27th at the Parklawn Bldg 5600 Fishers Lane Room 4-35 from 9:00am – 11:45am.
- To reserve your seat, send an email to *aaliyev@osophs.dhhs.gov*
- The availability of the computer lab is limited, so book in advance.
- The NFT form, samples and instructions are available at *http://ogha.psc.gov/ogha/*

## Common Errors on Travel Authorizations

- Per Anne Rogerson’s April 8th email, here are some recurring problems with Travel Authorizations:
- If the traveler is presenting a speech, talk, poster, abstract, etc., the title must be in the Purpose Description block.
- Justifications for Non-Contract Carriers, Cash Tickets, and Premium Class Tickets must be entered in the Comments Block.
- When a registration fee is being paid and meals are zeroed out and/or lodging is zeroed out, be sure to indicate in the Comments Block whether the meals and lodging are covered by the registration fee.

## Sponsored Travel & Leave

- It is HHS Policy that employees shall not be permitted to take annual leave in conjunction with any trips that are sponsored, in whole or in part, by non-Federal sources, whether for-profit or non-profit.  This includes domestic and foreign travel.
- This is a change from the current policy which used to allow leave on domestic sponsored travel.
- Clarification:  NO LEAVE is allowed on any sponsored trip.

## Procurement Issues

## Updating ACH

- When you submit a PSO and attach the Vendor Alpha Search (VAS) page from DELPRO, please make sure the ACH STATUS says, “ACH DATA EXISTS” and that the address is current.  If the address is different, most likely they also need to update their banking information.
- Just because your search says, “ACH Data Exists,” this doesn’t necessarily mean all the information is current.

## Separate Requests

- Please be sure to submit _Travel Authorizations_ and _Tuition/Registration Fee Request Forms_ as separate items.
- When you submit these two separate items to the ARC stapled together, it’s not clear if the registration needs to be paid, or if you’re submitting proof that is has already been paid.
- If the registration fee has already been paid, we don’t need a copy of the purchase request.  Just notate this information in the comments section of the Travel Auth.

## Information for Employees

## FY 06 Performance Plans

- Beginning Oct 1, 2005 performance plans will be on a fiscal year basis, not a calendar year basis (current plans will end Sept 30.)
- DHHS will move from a pass/fail evaluation system to a multi-level evaluation system (Exceptional, Fully Successful, Minimally Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory); each goal in the plan will be rated under the multi-level system.

## Benefits Calendar of Events

| Date | Event | Time | Location | Comments |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |
| 4/21/2005 | Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Service Day** | 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Bldg 31/C Wing/6th Floor - Rm 8 | Blue Cross/Blue Shield |
|  |  |  |  | MD IPA |
|  |  |  |  | Kaiser |
| 5/19/2005 | Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Service Day** | 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Bldg 31/C Wing/ 6th Floor – Rm 8 | Blue Cross/Blue Shield |
|  |   |  |  | MD IPA |
|  |   |  |  | Kaiser |
|  |   |  |  |   |
| 6/16/2005 | Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Service Day** | 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Bldg 31/C Wing/ 6th Floor – Rm 8 | Blue Cross/Blue Shield |
|  |  |  |  | GEHA |
|  |  |  |  |   |

- **The Service Days are for the benefit of FEHB enrollees of the respective plans above who have questions or problems with their enrollments or claims. These are one-on-one meetings with the plan representative. No appointment is necessary. You will be seen on a first come, first served basis.

## myPay Update

- UPDATE:  New Payroll System DFAS
- Roll out on schedule for pay period starting on 4/17/05.
- Employee Express is longer accessible as of 4/13/05.
- DFAS will begin mailing letters with PIN numbers to access myPay 4/21/05.
- MyPay will be available starting 4/25/05.
- First pay slip available through DFAS on 5/6/05 for PPE 4/30/05.
- Recommend that you review your first few pay slips carefully.
- Additional information available at ***http://intranet.hhs.gov/epay/***
- ITAS will remain as our Timekeeping System

## IT HINTS

## Access Work Folders From Home

- Did you know you can access your H and L drives at home via *http://remote.nci.nih.gov* ?
- Just go to the URL above, log in using your regular user name and password (the one you use in the morning) and you’ll see the folders on the shared drive.

## Delaying the Locking Screen Saver

- Tired of being forced to keeping logging into your computer because the locking screen saver keeps going to the sign on screen?
- You can’t turn this function off completely, but here’s how you can delay the lock out time to 30 minutes:
- Click on Start, All Programs, Core Services Applications, Network Utilities, Password Protected Screensaver, and click on the maximum delay of 30 minutes.

## Delaying the Locking Screen Saver

- DEMONSTRATION

## OPEN DISCUSSION

- Problems?  Issues? Concerns?
- Anything you’d like to see on next month’s agenda?
- Do you have something you’d like to present?
- Just let us know!