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This is a live page and will be updated. Please check back on this page for updates before sending inquiries (via Google Form here). 

To “watch” this page for updates, click on the eye icon at the top right of this page, or, see the “Collab Access” section at Graduate Financial Support FAQs for more detailed instructions.

Final Date for Departments to send letters via GSR Appointment Letter Spreadsheet: 4:30pm on Thursday, July 13, 2023

The final date for departments to make changes or request letters via the GEPA Summer 2023 GSR Appointment Letter Generation process will be 4:30pm Thursday, July 13, 2023. After this date, edit access for non-GEPA staff will be removed. Thereafter, hiring departments should plan to issue appointment letters or appointment letter corrections manually and send them to the students directly.  The Google form for returning signed appointment letters will still be available.

Special instructions for departments hiring Joint Doctoral Program (JDP) students

For Summer 2023, appointment letters must not be sent to JDP students without GEPA and Labor Relations review. Hiring departments must use the GEPA process, and not create local, manually generated letters for JDP students. Note: it does not matter if the hiring department is not a JDP, the student’s major code is the determining factor here. If you have any questions about this process, please open a ticket via email to grademployment@ucsd.edu as soon as possible.

Actions & Information Requested from Hiring Departments

 Establish a single point of contact (POC) for each hiring department, and record it in the POC sheet.

Establish a single point of contact (POC) for each hiring department, and record it in the Google Sheet found here: Hiring Department POC

  • Enter the POC name/email (columns B:D), as well as the name/email of the person making the update and the date the update was made (columns E:H).

  • This single POC will be used for all appointment letters generated for the hiring department (see FAQ below).

  • The hiring department is defined by the UCPath appointment; the list contained in the POC sheet matches EAH data. It does not list all individual graduate programs.

Note: The Hiring Department POCs carried over from Spring 2023. Please review POCs for your department(s) and update for Summer 2023 as appropriate.

 Determine which departmental administrative staff will have access to the Letter Data sheet and request access.

Determine which departmental administrative staff will help to update or validate data used to generate appointment letters, and record it in the Google Sheet found here: Access to Letter Data

  • Enter the names and UCSD emails for departmental administrative staff (columns A:B), as well as the name/email of the person making the update (column C).

  • These contacts will be granted edit access to the spreadsheet that contains the data which will be used to generate appointment letters.

  • Do request access only for those who require it to complete this time-sensitive project. Do not request access for more individuals than are necessary. There is sensitive payroll data contained within this sheet; if other staff or faculty need general information, please consider the reports at bah.ucsd.edu instead.

Note: if you have already been granted access (i.e. your name is listed on the “Access to Letter Data” tab and columns D & E list “Complete”), you can access the Letter Generation spreadsheet by clicking the link in cell D2 of this tab.

 Gather information which will be used to override existing UCPath data.

Note: see detailed instructions below for the “Letter Data” tab

The EAH contains data only for existing appointments that have been entered into UCPath. We recognize that some necessary data in UCPath will not be available or updated before the generation of appointment letters.

Be prepared to enter the following information in the Letter Data spreadsheet:

  • Job Start Date

  • Job Expected End Date

  • Reports To Employee

    • Note: this must be the name of the actual supervisor of the position, not an administrative contact.

  • Reports To Work Email Address

    • Note: this must be the email of the actual supervisor of the position, not an administrative contact.

  • Identity Building Location Current

  • Job FTE

  • Salary Step Number

  • Job Code

    • Note: especially for Summer 2023, please ensure the Job Code is accurate

Note: specific instructions on how to enter data on the Letter Data spreadsheet are on the first tab of the spreadsheet titled “Instructions”. Thanks!

 Gather information for appointments which are not yet entered into UCPath.

Note: see detailed instructions below for the “New Appointment Template” tab

The EAH contains data only for existing appointments that have been entered into UCPath. We recognize that some appointments will not be entered in UCPath before the generation of appointment letters.

Be prepared to enter the following information in the Letter Data spreadsheet:

  • Employee ID

  • Employee Preferred Display Name Current

  • Employee Work Email Address Current

  • Department

  • Job Code

  • Job FTE

  • Salary Step Number

  • Job Start Date

  • Job Expected End Date

  • Reports To Employee

  • Reports To Work Email Address

  • Identity Building Location Current

Note: specific instructions on how to enter data on the Letter Data spreadsheet are on the first tab of the spreadsheet titled “Instructions”. Thanks!

 Questions? Plan to attend working sessions with GEPA FSU to edit, review, and send the letters.

After department review, the steps require action by GEPA FSU staff and cannot be completed independently by hiring department or graduate program staff.

Upcoming Sessions for Summer 2023:

Friday, June 2, 2023
9:00 am-9:50 am via Zoom <--- just added!
https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/92503099795

Wednesday, May 31, 2023
9:00 am-9:50 am via Zoom AND 2:00 pm-2:50 pm via Zoom
https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/92503099795

Past Sessions for Spring 2023:

Thursday, March 30, 2023
8:30 am-12:00p via Zoom
https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/96075202204

Wednesday, March 29, 2023
8:30 am-12:00p via Zoom
https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/96075202204

Past Sessions:
Monday, March 27, 2023
1:00 pm-2:30 pm via Zoom
https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/96075202204

Tuesday, March 28, 2023
9:00 am-10:00 am via Zoom AND 3:00 pm-4:00 pm via Zoom
https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/96075202204

The working sessions will not be recorded.

Process Details

 Process Flowchart (LucidChart)

Here is a rough overview of how the GSR appointment letters were generated for Spring 2023 and will continue to be generated for Summer 2023:

 Instructions for Google Sheet "GSR Appointment Letter Generation 2023"

Note: access to this document is tightly restricted. Please see “Actions & Information Requested from Hiring Departments” above and FAQ “I cannot access the Google document/sheet links referenced above. How can I get access?” for more information.

These instructions below are a summary of the process. Thorough processing instructions can be found on the “Instructions” tab of the “_GSR Appointment Letter Generation 2023” spreadsheet.

“Letter Data” tab: Pre-Existing Appointments in UCPath

  1. Hiring Department reviews Letter Data tab and updates data as necessary

  2. Once review is complete/updates have been made, hiring department updates the Department Review section in columns E-G

  3. FSU will review Department Review status and send letters to those with status “Ready to Send” in columns E-G regularly

    1. Note: if it has been more than 3 business days since you updated status of “Ready to Send”, please tag Kacy Cashatt in a comment

    2. Note: FSU will not take action on line items with department review status of “Pending Review” nor “DO NOT Issue Letter”

  4. Once letters are sent, a PDF of the letter will be generated in columns E-F and date the letter was sent will be reflected in column G.

“New Appointment Template” tab: Blank template for SU23 GSR appointments not on “Letter Data” tab

  1. Hiring Department completes all relevant payroll fields

    1. Note: columns S-AI and AO that are not highlighted (white) should be completed by department

  2. Hiring Department double-checks that based upon data entered, information in the orange highlighted fields (columns I-R) is accurate

  3. Once entry is complete, hiring department updates the Department Review section in columns E-G

  4. FSU will review Department Review status and send letters to those with status “Ready to Send” in columns E-G regularly

    1. Notes:

      1. If it has been more than 3 business days since you updated status of “Ready to Send”, please tag Kacy Cashatt in a comment

      2. FSU will not take action on line items with department review status of “Pending Review” nor “DO NOT Issue Letter”

      3. FSU will move these line items to the “Letter Data” tab and send out the letters.

  5. Once letters are sent, a PDF of the letter will be generated in columns E-F of the “Letter Data” tab and the date the letter was sent will be reflected in column G.

“Student Acceptance Responses” tab

  • In the Appointment Letter, students are advised to return a copy of their signed letter via Google Form. Those Google Form responses can be found on the “Student Acceptance Responses” tab for your reference.

  • Although the Google Form is available for students to submit their responses, it is not a requirement. If a student has access issues with the Google Form, they can submit the signed letter directly to the hiring department.

Note: You can see the draft instructions here for a preview of the steps in the process.

FAQ

For general contract FAQs, please see Implementation of New Labor Contracts for GSRs, ASEs and Postdocs

To submit questions specifically about the appointment letters, please use this Google Form.

 I cannot access the Google document/sheet links referenced above. How can I get access?

See the “Google Drive - Access to Shared Documents and Folders” section at Graduate Financial Support FAQs for more detailed instructions.

 Can we see the template that will be used to create individual student letters?

Yes - please click here to see the template.
The template is based on the templates issued by UCOP March 2023.

 If I just have one or two GSR appointment letters, can I send an appointment letter manually?

Although we recommend utilizing the GSR Appointment Letter Generation process for Spring 2023 and Summer 2023, you can utilize the 2022-23-GSR Appointment Letter Template to send a GSR appointment letter manually. Ensure you are updating all the required data points before sending. Please see instructions below for how to save a copy and make updates for yourself. There are 2 options: make a copy and save to your personal/departmental Google Drive or download as a word doc.

Recommended: Make a Copy

  1. Navigate to 2022-23-GSR Appointment Letter Template

  2. From the toolbar, select File > Make a Copy

  3. On the “Copy document” pop-up, rename as desired and save to the new Folder within your personal/departmental Google Drive.

    1. Note: Copies saved to the Folder it is currently saved in will not be accessible

  4. Select Make a Copy

  5. Navigate to where you saved the copy

Alternative: Download

  1. Navigate to 2022-23-GSR Appointment Letter Template

  2. From the toolbar, select File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx) or preferred format

  3. Navigate to downloads folder

 Will the IA System be updated to produce the GSR appointment letters in the future?

Yes. Work is already in progress to make these enhancements, anticipated for use beginning with Fall 2023 appointments.

 Who will determine the "Hiring Department POC" and/or "departmental administrative staff [that] will have access to the Letter Data sheet"?

As each hiring department and graduate program have unique administrative structures, this decision should be made by departmental/program leadership.

Note: all sheets require login using UCSD credentials, and change history is automatically logged.

 Can we use this process to generate letters for appointments which have not been entered in UCPath and/or are not showing on the "Letter Data" tab?

Yes. We will ask hiring departments to enter details into additional rows on the “New Appointment Template” tab that match the format of the data pulled from EAH for existing appointments.

 Can we use this process to generate letters for contract-covered Trainees and Fellows?

We recognize the appointment letter process for trainees/fellows has been pending review in anticipation of additional guidance from UCOP since Spring. We appreciate your continued patience and hope to have an update soon.

 Are we able to update salary points and job FTE (percent effort) before the letters are generated?

Yes. We will ask hiring departments to validate or overwrite data, pulled from EAH for existing appointments, on the “Letter Data” tab.

 There are students who have/will be completing their degree Spring quarter 2023 and should not receive a 7/1/23 appointment letter. How should we provide this information to you?

We will ask hiring departments to confirm which employees will receive letters, and indicate those who should not, on the “Letter Data” spreadsheet. If a student is included on this tab but should not be employed for Summer 2023, please select “DO NOT Issue Letter” in the Department Review columns (E-G).

 We have already distributed Summer 2023 appointment letters to students. MUST we now use this process instead?

No. If the information in the letter you’ve already sent to the GSR was accurate and contained all contract-required information, you do not need to resend letters using this process.

 We have already distributed Summer 2023 appointment letters to students. CAN we now use this process to issue an updated letter?

Yes.

 What happens if a new appointment is offered by a faculty or PI after 7/1/23? Can we still use this process to issue the letter?

Yes - use the “New Appointment Template” (see Process Details > Instructions for Google Sheet "GSR Appointment Letter Generation 2023” above), and use the comments within the spreadsheet to tag Kacy Cashatt

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