Finance and Administration

• Manage the day-to-day finance and administrative duties
• Respond to routine inquiries related to personnel, financial and operations for the college
• Process and approve monthly reconciliation reports
• Review expenses and revenues on a monthly basis
• Review student enrollment every semester for budget planning
• Prepare annual CHHS expense budget aligned with the central budget office every fall
• Respond to and fulfill data requests regarding student enrollment, faculty data, salary data, unit budgets, and forecasting, for accreditation reports and monthly updates as necessary
• Review and approve (and/or correct) hiring assignments in BANNER
• Resolve personnel matters and serve as human resources liaison for college
• Oversee faculty and staff recruitments in collaboration with the Office of Faculty Affairs and the specific academic unit to ensure successful diverse recruits
• Process full-time faculty and classified hiring documentation
• Manage personnel documentations and records, retain copies and submit the originals to the Office of Human Resources
• Oversee faculty appointments concerning tenure-track and term reappointments in collaboration with the Office of Faculty Affairs and the specific academic unit.
• Work with senior leadership and facilities to ensure College space in Peterson Hall including the Population Health Center is cost effective and returning highest ROI 
• Oversee office equipment: liaison with Fiscal Services by ensuring each item has a bar code and by completing annual inventory checks; work with college’s IT team to review requests for upgrading computer equipment for faculty and staff
• Review and approve procurement to ensure compliance with the state’s and university’s procurement policies and procedures
• Oversee office supplies for Dean’s Suite: ordering, inventory
• Review and approve trip authorization and expense requests and submissions for completeness, accuracy, and allowability
• Liaison between college and Offices of Key Control, Telecom, Parking and CASO (Swipe access) for faculty, staff, and students as necessary

Academic units are allocated an expense budget at the beginning of each fiscal year.  Each unit is responsible for the financial transactions (to include posting expenses and completing reconciliations) for daily operations.  The Office of Finance and Administration (OFA) is responsible for allocating these funds and overseeing its usage by the units.  The OFA generates reports on student enrollment credit hours every semester in order to calculate the revenue generated, per unit, for forecasting purposes.  The OFA is also responsible for allocating the course fee revenue that has been collected and distributing it to the units for utilization as noted in the College of Health and Human Services CourseFees schedule.
We review and approve procurement to ensure compliance with the state’s and university’s procurement policy and to ensure correct procedures are followed.  Our office also responds to and fulfills data requests regarding student enrollment, faculty data, salary data, unit budgets, and forecasting, for accreditation reports and monthly updates as necessary.

The Office of Finance and Administration works closely with the Office of Faculty Affairs in overseeing faculty and staff recruitments.  For example, we manage the recruitment process, hiring documentation, onboarding, and faculty appointment tracking as well as handle general human resource and payroll inquiries.

The office administers the nomination and peer-review selection process for annual staff awards given by the college in the spring.  Find faculty and staff award descriptions here.
 

University Personnel Policy Highlights

Timesheets
Administrative, instructional, and research faculty on 12-month appointments, as well as classified staff exempt from overtime, must submit semi-monthly electronic time sheets to report their leave hours, even if no hours have been used. Nine-month faculty members do not submit electronic timesheets but must notify their immediate supervisor of all sick days used. Non-exempt classified staff record hours worked in the “Regular Earnings” section of the electronic timesheet. Wage staff must submit hours worked on semi-monthly time sheets for payroll processing. Late submissions must be completed manually and faxed to Payroll at 3-2601. Download the applicable paper timesheet form. (Scroll to "Payroll Forms.")

Snow Policy
The Provost and/or the Senior Vice President decide whether to cancel classes or close administrative offices. Decisions on whether to close the university or to alter its schedule due to weather are based on the condition of campus roads, parking lots, and surrounding roads. Closings, delayed openings, or early closings are announced on the university website and through the Mason Alert System. Closings and delays can also be verified by calling 703-993-1000. Every attempt will be made to announce all decisions regarding closings or late openings no later than 5 a.m. The College of Health and Human Services adheres to university decisions regarding the cancellation of classes due to snow or bad weather. However, in the event there has been no official university cancellation of classes, faculty are expected to use good judgment in deciding whether or not to report to field or clinical assignments. If the faculty member believes that it is unsafe to proceed, the appropriate program administrator should be notified. The agencies are to be notified as soon as a decision is made. Cancellation of the field or clinical experience precludes the students from going to the agency during that day. Any missed time must be made up.

Employee Benefits
Consult the Human Resources website under Benefits for more details about employee benefit options. Materials about benefits are provided on the first day of employment by Human Resources and discussed during faculty and classified staff orientations.

Retirement
The Commonwealth of Virginia provides a retirement plan through Virginia Retirement Services (VRS) for all full-time faculty, full-time classified staff, and part-time classified staff, effective on the employment date. VRS is a defined benefit plan with vesting at five years of service. Full-time faculty can choose between VRS and one of two vendors from the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP). The ORP has a defined contribution with immediate vesting. New faculty who do not select a retirement plan within 60 days will be irrevocably enrolled in VRS. Supplemental Retirement Plans are available to all faculty (including adjunct faculty), staff, and non-student wage employees. The university provides a cash match of a portion of the contribution made by eligible salaried faculty and staff participating in a supplemental plan.

Leave Programs
The university observes 12 paid holidays each year: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, two days for Thanksgiving, and 5 days included in the winter holiday period (including Christmas and New Year’s Day). Faculty and staff also may take approved time off from their positions with leave programs that include sick leave, annual leave, family and personal leave, and school assistance and volunteer leave, as well as applicable military leave. This leave must be earned before an employee may use it and may not be used in advance. Short- and long-term disability leave are offered through Virginia Sickness and Disability Program (VSDP). A waiting period is required before becoming eligible for benefits. New 12-month classified staff are automatically enrolled in VSDP, and new faculty who enroll in the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) may choose to enroll in VSDP. An additional, optional long-term disability plan is available for all faculty and staff. Consult the Human Resources website for additional details.

Insurance
Life Insurance: The Virginia Retirement System provides life insurance equal to twice the gross annual salary for natural death. This is an automatic benefit that begins at employment for full-time faculty, full-time classified, and part-time classified staff. The university pays the entire premium.

Health Insurance: The Commonwealth of Virginia provides health insurance coverage to full-time employees and part-time faculty and classified staff who work at least 32 hours a week, as well as their eligible dependents. Premiums are shared between the employee and the University and are payroll-deducted on a pre-tax basis through premium conversion. Classified employees who work a minimum of 20 hours but less than 32 hours per week also are eligible for health insurance but pay the total premium (both employer and employee portions), payroll-deducted on a pre-tax basis. All eligible employees must enroll within 30 days of employment. Employees who waive health insurance when first hired can only elect coverage under a qualifying event or during the annual open enrollment.

Employee Tuition Waiver Program
Tuition can be waived for classes taken by full-time employees, who may take up to 12 semester hours in any combination during the academic year but may not exceed 6 credit hours per semester. Check with program departments for any special restrictions on use of a tuition waiver for courses in a program. Dependents are not eligible. Part-time employees may receive a tuition waiver for up to 4 credit hours a semester during their contracted term and no more than 8 credit hours per academic year. Hourly employees are eligible for a waiver of up to 4 credit hours a semester after every 500 hours of service and may not waive more than 8 credit hours per academic year.

The Office of Finance and Administration holds the delegation rights of office space assignments to its faculty and staff within Peterson Health Hall.  We work with senior leadership and facilities to ensure that our college space in Peterson Health Hall, including the Population Health Center, is cost effective and returning the highest ROI.  Decisions on office assignments are based on the university’s space guidelines.

The OFA also liaisons on behalf of the college with the Offices of Key Control, Telecom, and CASO (Swipe access) for faculty, staff, and students as necessary.

Faculty or Staff Resignations
When departments are notified that an employee intends to resign,  the employee should be directed to complete the Employee Resignation form from central Human Resources.   The employee should enter his/her supervisor's name and enter Lisa Joyner as H/R Liaison.  Completion of the form is necessary for the resignation to be processed and finalized.  [8/2020]