Best Practices
- Best Practices Committee
- Collaboration Policy
- L3 Workshops
- Resources
Lean, Lunch & Learn (L3) Workshops featuring a discussion on a best practice in Academic Affairs. The Best Practices group, composed of Academic Affairs Assistant Deans, will prioritize topics for the L3. The goal is to come up with a best practice by the end of each L3 workshop.
Submit your idea for an L3 Workshop - send us an email.
Mark your calendar and register for this special two-part workshop, hosted by COE L3 and BECOP, with our guest presenters from Lucid for Education.
Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Event Format: Zoom, Part 1 - Registration Required
Presenter: Drea Stringer, Customer Success Manager, Lucid for Education
BECOP is partnering with the Center for Operational Excellence: Lean, Lunch and Learn (L3) Workshops to bring you this two part series. Registration is separate with no requirement to attend both. This session will be recorded.
In this session, we'll guide you through the essentials of creating and maintaining effective organizational charts. Whether you're just getting started or looking to enhance your skills, we’ll cover:
Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Event Format: Zoom, UCSD Part 2 - Registration Required
Presenter: Drea Stringer, Customer Success Manager, Lucid for Education
BECOP is partnering with the Center for Operational Excellence: Lean, Lunch and Learn (L3) Workshops to bring you this two part series. Registration is separate with no requirement to attend both. This session will record the recap portion and will not record the Q&A portion.
After giving you some time to explore on your own since the first session in January, this session will focus on helping you finalize and launch your organizational charts. It will be an open workshop where you can:
Part 2 Registration
Job Description Helper (TritonGPT)
November 14, 2024
With: Tony Nava (OSI) and Steven Savini (OSI)
Unlock the power of JD Helper and TritonGPT. Discover how these AI tools can revolutionize your work at UC San Diego. Learn how to create tailored job descriptions and access a suite of AI assistants that can help with tasks such as content generation, document summarization, and more.
Links & Resources:
TritonGPT Summary of the Recorded Session
Today's session focused on using AI tools to enhance the hiring and reclassification processes. The presenters, Steven Savini and Tony Nava, demonstrated how to use the Job Description Helper and General AI Assistant within Triton GPT, a UCSD-specific AI tool. They walked through examples of creating a new job card and reclassifying an existing position, highlighting the benefits of using AI to streamline the process.
Key Takeaways:
Project Detour: Navigating the Default Route
September 26, 2024
With: Heather Sears (BFS), Jen Louie (AAFA-Finance), Crystal Liu (QI)
Academic Affairs currently has $10M+ of costs on departmental "default" projects. Learn about the default project and what causes payroll costs to land there rather than on department or faculty projects. Discover how departments can prevent payroll from posting to the default project and learn how to fix payroll that has landed there.
Links and Resources:
Timekeeping Best Practices
August 2, 2024
With: George Gomez (Human Resources), Tara Mallis (APS), and Jamie High (Labor Relations)
Learn some tips and tricks that can help you to encourage your employees to complete their timesheets as well as how timekeepers can audit to support success.
Presentation recording (video) and slides (pdf)
Links and Resources:
The Write Direction - Navigating Job Description Best Practices
July 10, 2024
With: Mila Goff, Director of Compensation, UC San Diego Human Resources
Hear about the nuances for Job Description updates – when they are necessary and when they are not. All are welcome, especially Supervisors and HR Contacts involved in the JD update process.
Presentation recording (video) and slides (pdf)
Links and Resources:
Gen Inquiry: compensation@ucsd.edu
UCOP PPSM-30: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010400/PPSM-30
Learn more about Career Tracks: https://blink.ucsd.edu/HR/comp-class/classification/careertracks/index.html
Want to try out the JD helper on TritonGPT? Get more info here: https://blink.ucsd.edu/technology/ai/tritongpt/index.html
Reclassification overview: https://blink.ucsd.edu/HR/comp-class/classification/reclass/index.html
Staff Promotion Program: https://blink.ucsd.edu/HR/employment/promotion.html
The Triton Travel Program & Concur Updates
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
With: Heather Vinograd, Executive Director, Integrated Procure-to-Pay Solutions
Alison Koshi, Assistant Director, Travel and Expense
Kelsey Moon, Travel Program Manager
Join us to learn more about the comprehensive suite of services and solutions to help you travel for business on behalf of UC San Diego, including payment solutions designed to reduce out-of-pocket expenses, mobile app receipt management that is now available for delegates, and the benefits that come with booking through Concur. IPPS will also talk about the updates that were made to the Concur platform.
All are welcome, especially if you are involved in booking and/or reconciling business travel on behalf of UC San Diego for yourself or others.
Presentation recording (video) and slides (pdf)
Links and Resources:
Academic Affairs AI Brainstorming
April 2, 2024
Facilitation by Ahren Crickard (COE) & Guest Presenter, Tony Nava (OSI)
The Academic Affairs Center for Operational Excellence (COE) will host a special session to explore ideas in AI. All faculty and staff in Academic Affairs are invited to join this brainstorming session on potential ideas for leveraging Artificial Intelligence in our work in Academic Affairs. You may also submit ideas for AI in this form (form available until further notice).
Presentation recording (video) and slides (pdf)
Links and Resources:
March 21, 2024
Join us with our special HR leadership guests from VC Academic Affairs and VC Student Affairs to hear about some helpful process strategies for organizing interviews to reduce timelines, prepare interviewees, design purposeful questions, and more! You’ll have the opportunity to share your unit’s best practice for interview organizing and why it’s been an improvement for your team. All are welcome, especially if you are involved in the employment interview process.
Guest Panel:
Rexanne Bonilla-Dayes, Academic Personnel Manager, Physical Sciences Dean’s Office
Renaudo Robinson, Senior Human Resources Analyst, Office of VC Student Affairs & Campus Life
Gilda Smith, Human Resources Manager, Academic Affairs Business Office
Sally Morgan, Principal Human Resources Analyst, AA Finance & Administration and AA HR Advocacy Group
Presentation recording (video) and slides (pdf)
Links and Resources from L3 Workshop:
September 7, 2023
Discover a few best practices from our UC San Diego University Communications team. In addition to providing an overview of the campus brand, they'll highlight some of the available tools and resources, such as Canva and PowerPoint templates. All are welcome!
Presentation recording* (video) and slides (pdf)
Links from L3 Workshop:
* does not work well on Microsoft Edge browser. Firefox and Chrome work well.
June 20, 2023
The High-Risk Ledger Review provides a mechanism for departments to select transactions for periodic review. This is an acceptable alternative to reviewing 100% of transactions, but how should you be documenting your review? Join us for this workshop where we will be discussing what your review documentation should include for the various types of high-risk transactions. This workshop is open to all.
Presentation recording* (video) and slides (pdf)
Links from L3 Workshop:
* does not work well on Microsoft Edge browser; Firefox and Chrome are good.
Exit Interview Process & Data
May 23, 2023
Join us for this workshop to discuss improvements to the staff exit survey, a standardized process for feedback, and protocol for the data collected. This workshop is applicable to HR Contacts and staff employees - all are welcome!
If your unit has an established process or checklist on this topic, contact COE to share it or chat about your process.
Presentation recording* (video) and slides (pdf)
Blink: Request an Exit Survey (HR)
* does not work well on Microsoft Edge browser
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Join us for a collaborative workshop that will share insight into what guides the requirements leading up to fiscal close, tips and tricks to successfully plan for close, and help identify areas where you still may need help. Although the focus of the material will be for fiscal contacts and similar roles, everyone is encouraged to participate for a variety of input from all perspectives.
If your unit has an established process or checklist on this topic, contact COE to share it or chat about your process.
Presentation recording* (video), workshop links (doc), and slides (pdf)
* does not work well on Microsoft Edge browser
Monday, February 27, 2023
A collaborative workshop to build a timeline of milestones for a well-prepared and well-informed SPA season. Although the focus is for HR contacts and similar roles, everyone is encouraged to participate for a variety of input from all perspectives.
Presentation recording (video, avoid Microsoft Edge) and slides (pdf)
SPA Timeline (checklist)
Performance Evaluations Tracking Template (sheet)
Collecting New Hire Personal Data
January 24, 2023
Join us to share and discuss your AA Business Office foundational best practice for gathering the ‘key personal data’ early in the student employment* hiring process: Personal Email, Phone, Mailing Address, Concurrent Hire.
*Although the discussion will focus on student employment, the staff employment process may also benefit from this workshop.
Foundational Practices in Academic Affairs IT Groups
December 8, 2022
This workshop will discuss foundational best practices for Academic Affairs IT groups to include topics of organizational unit (OU), active directory (AD), ittools, mailupd, and followup communication.
Presentation recording (video) and slides (coming soon).
Campus Documentation
October 14, 2022
Various changes have brought about the need to produce and locate instructions FAQs KBAs tips and policies. Session provided the latest guidance from Campus Platform Technologies and shared best practices in deciding when to use Blink Collab ServiceNow KBAs or other sources. What goes where?
Staff Team Building
September 15, 2022
During the EVCRA-hosted Listening Sessions in May 2022 one of the frequently mentioned topics was staff retention and morale. Many units have come forward with requests for information about team building activities and how to boost morale. This was a discussion on your team building list - What are you doing in your areas?
View the session recording or PDF of slides.
Also, view the 'Academic Affairs Staff Team Building Resourses" list.
Instructions to edit your Calendar Default Meeting settings here.
Fiscal Reporting - Overview & Updates
August 30, 2022
An overview of fiscal reporting strategy for fund managers and fiscal managers – what is in production now and what is coming. View the session recording or PDF of slides.
Resources to Train HR Contacts
July 28, 2022
The Academic Affairs Center for Operational Excellence (COE) will host this Lean, Lunch and Learn (L3) Workshop: “HR Contact Training Resources” with special panelists from the VCAA HR Advocates Group. Although this session is designed for those supervisors and units who hire and onboard ‘HR Contacts’ or similar positions, all are welcome!
The resource list is intended for supervisors/HR colleagues to help train new HR Contacts on the most important and commonly visited topics within HR Contact responsibilities.
See the list on the EVC Human Resources page.