The Reporting function has been updated with the following new features:

• The ability to drill down from category totals to a transaction list.
• The ability to drill down from the transaction list to a document.
• The ability to sort by column headers in the Budget Category Review and Detail of Cost reports.

Please refer to the attached release notes for further details.

If you have any questions, please contact Maile Brooks at [email protected] or (808) 988-8340.

We would appreciate your feedback on RCUH in general and a few recently launched new initiatives. Please complete a brief survey, which will take only about 5 minutes to complete. Your responses will be confidential and it will not be possible to link responses to specific individuals.

Your input will assist us in continuing to improve RCUH services. Thank you very much for your assistance. Please complete the survey by May 15, 2018.

Click here to access survey.

The fiscal year-end cut-off for RCUH online payment transactions is 12:00 noon on Friday, June 29, 2018.   All online payment transactions processed after Friday, June 29 through Friday, August 31, will require service dates.  The service date format is MM/DD/YY.

For payments that will be processed or approved after Friday, August 3, 2018, are $100,000 or greater, and have service dates of June 30, 2018 or earlier, please complete the attached RCUH AP Worksheet.  Please include estimates or projections for invoices that have not been received as of August 3.  Please email your worksheet to Maile Brooks at [email protected] by Monday, August 6.   If there are no payments to report, please email Maile to report that there are no items by Monday, August 6.

A service date field is provided on all payment forms and is identified with the heading “S/D”.  The service date is the date goods are received or services are performed.  For certain types of payments including travel completions, petty cash reimbursements, extended services, etc., the service date entered should be the last day of the period covered by the payment.  However, if the service period covers multiple fiscal years, allocate costs in each fiscal year incurred (i.e., if the service period is from June 1, 2018 to July 31, 2018, record costs incurred from June 1 to June 30 with a 06/30/18 service date and costs incurred from July 1 to July 31 with a 07/31/18 service date).

This information is needed to ensure that liabilities of RCUH are properly reported as of June 30, 2018.  Our auditors, Accuity LLP, will be reviewing selected documents processed during this period as part of their audit procedures.  Accordingly, please be advised that we may be requesting copies of payment documents for review.

Please contact Maile Brooks at 988-8340 or [email protected] if you have any questions.  Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Important Dates:

June 29	Last Check Run for FY 2018 (Payments must be approved by 12 noon)
July 5	RCUH Financial System scheduled to reopen
July 5	First Check Run for FY 2019 (4:00 PM)

On-line payment and purchasing transactions must be approved by Fiscal Administrators by 12:00 noon on Friday, June 29 to be included in FY 2018.  The last check run for the fiscal year will be on Friday, June 29, 2018.  Pending transactions will be saved, and will not be automatically deleted or disapproved in the RCUH financial system.

During the period July 1 through July 4, on-line payment and purchasing transactions can be initiated, but Fiscal Administrators will not have the ability to approve transactions.  Transactions will not be posted to project accounts until the financial system is reopened for FY 2019.  The RCUH financial system is scheduled to reopen on Thursday, July 5.  The first check run for FY 2019 is scheduled for Thursday, July 5 at 4:00 PM.

On an emergency basis only, manual checks can be issued during this period. Fiscal Administrators should contact RCUH Disbursing at [email protected].

Project reports will be accessible on the RCUH website.  However, until processing resumes on July 5, report balances will reflect transactions posted through June 29 only.

Please contact Maile Brooks at 988-8340 or [email protected] if you have any questions.

NOMINATE YOUR PROJECT STAFF FOR THE 2018 RCUH OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEES OF THE YEAR:

RECOGNITIONS

Three award categories are available:
1. Researcher/Project Manager/Professional (exempt status position)
2. Project Support Staff (non-exempt status position)
3. Team (2-5 staff in exempt and/or non-exempt Regular-status positions)

The awards encourage, recognize, and reward RCUH employees who have made demonstrable, significant, and exemplary contributions to their project during the past fiscal year (July 2017–June 2018) or years.

AWARDS

• $1,000 to the first place awardee in each category
• $500 to the second place awardee in each category

All nominees will be recognized at the RCUH Awards Luncheon at the Waialae Country Club on Monday, November 5, 2018, where the awardees will be announced.

NOMINATIONS

A Principal Investigator may submit one nomination. Nomination of an employee who did not place first or second in a previous year is also acceptable. Team nominations are limited to no more than five individuals. First 20 nominations will be accepted.

DEADLINE

The deadline to submit a nomination is June 25, 2018. Email all nominations to RCUH Corporate Services at [email protected]. Click here for the nomination form.

For more information, please refer to policy 3.450 Outstanding Employees of the Year Awards or contact RCUH Corporate Services at [email protected] or 808-988-8314/8315.

*New* Policy 2.111 Purchases Over $250,000 Using Federal Funds – Effective July 1, 2018

It was previously announced that the Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (“Uniform Guidance”) would begin imposing new requirements for purchases above $150,000.  The threshold was since increased to $250,000 and, following several initial grace periods, the new requirements will be effective on July 1, 2018.

Effective July 1, 2018, all purchases over $250,000 made using federal funds will be subject to Policy 2.111 Purchases Over $250,000 Using Federal Funds, which will require the following:

1. An independent cost/price estimate for all purchases above $250,000 obtained via any procurement method (e.g., RFQ, RFP, IFB, exempt, sole source), must be completed before receiving proposals, bids, or quotes.
2. For purchases above $250,000 obtained via RFQ or IFB, the solicitation must be publicly advertised. For this purpose, RCUH collaborated with CommercePoint, Inc. to provide a new RCUH Buyer account on SuperQUOTE.  Alternatively, you may advertise in a publication of regular and widespread circulation, such as the Honolulu Star Advertiser.

a. If SuperQUOTE is utilized, the “Sealed Bid (IFB/RFQ)” option must be selected (this will conceal all information submitted by the bidder, with the exception of the bidder’s name). A list of each bidder and their bid amount will be available for public viewing on the SuperQUOTE website at the time of bid closure.

b. If the IFB/RFQ is advertised in a publication of regular and widespread circulation, each quote/bid must be sealed and stored in a secure place until the quotes/bids are publicly opened by the project at the time, date, and place designated in the IFB/RFQ.

NOTE:  If it is unknown at the time of solicitation whether the purchase price will be above or below $250,000, projects should follow the above requirements when soliciting for quotes/bids as a safety precaution.  If projects choose not to follow the above requirements, and the low bid amount is over $250,000, the IFB/RFQ will need to be cancelled and resolicited following the above requirements.

SuperQUOTE

RCUH collaborated with SuperQUOTE to create a new account for users to register as “RCUH Buyers”.  Buyers under the RCUH account will have the ability to select a new solicitation type called “Sealed Bid (IFB/RFQ)”.  When “Sealed Bid (IFB/RFQ)” is selected, all bid amounts submitted will not be viewable by anyone (i.e., buyer, bidders, public), until the solicitation closes, at which time the bidders’ names and amounts will be publicly posted on the SuperQUOTE webpage.  Click here for a user guide on the new features.

Both new users, and users who already have an existing UH Buyer account, can sign up for an RCUH Buyer account. Click here for registration instructions.

Although the “Sealed Bid (IFB/RFQ)” process is not required until July 1, 2018, we encourage users who make purchases through RCUH to start registering now under the RCUH account, to become familiar with the system.

For UH users who make purchases through RCUH, we also encourage you to make your other “non-sealed bid” SuperQUOTE purchases using the RCUH account, as links to RCUH’s terms and conditions will be on the RCUH account, and RCUH is currently in the process of developing a direct feed from SuperQUOTE to the RCUH Financial Portal.  Details on the feed will be announced later in the year.

Questions may be directed to Erin Yoda, RCUH Procurement and Disbursing Manager, at 808-956-3969 or [email protected].

Licensed attorneys who wish to provide specialized legal services to the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai‘i (RCUH) for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2018, are invited to submit a Statement of Qualifications and Expression of Interest (SOQ) to RCUH pursuant to HRS § 103D-304.

RCUH is currently looking to contract for legal services in the following areas:

1. Employment Law (employment, employee benefits, disciplinary, termination, and discrimination/retaliation issues).  Services shall include but not be limited to:

a.  Drafting, reviewing, and providing advice and recommendations relating thereto
b. Providing advice and recommendations regarding responses to claims asserted by current and former employees;
c. Participating in negotiations regarding items (a) and (b); and
d. Providing guidance on applicable statutes, regulations, and other legal requirements.

Previous experience advising employers is essential, and previous experience advising government agencies is preferred.

2. Immigration Law (temporary visas and permanent residency applications; experience in only one of these two (2) areas is acceptable).  Services shall include but not be limited to:

a. Drafting, reviewing, and providing advice and recommendations relating thereto;
b. Completing and filing permanent residency applications (previous experience representing both employers and employees in the permanent residency application process is essential);
c. Completing and filing temporary visa applications and related documentation; and
d. Providing guidance on applicable statutes, regulations, and other legal requirements.

3. Payroll & Taxes (IRS compliance, tax guidance, foreign payroll, contractor payments).  Services shall include, but not be limited to, providing guidance on applicable statutes, regulations, and other legal requirements.

Please email your SOQ to: [email protected], or deliver your SOQ to: Research Corporation of the University of Hawai‘i, Attn:  Erin H. Yoda, 1601 East-West Road, #4020, Honolulu, HI 96848.

SOQs must be postmarked or received by Wednesday, May 9, 2018, to be eligible for consideration.  An SOQ received after May 9, 2018 will be considered a “late submittal” for the balance of the fiscal year as follows: a late submittal received between May 10, 2018 and June 11, 2018, will be considered beginning October 1, 2018.

SOQ forms are available here, or may be requested by telephone at (808) 956-3969.

The RCUH Financial Portal will be down from Friday, March 9, 2018, 4:00 pm to Monday, March 12, 2018, 7:00 am for system maintenance.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

RCUH welcomes you to Litmos, its new training platform. Litmos brings online learning to you when you want it and where you want it.  A Litmos account is required to participate in any training—online or in-person—offered by RCUH.

For those who enrolled in Litmos by January 31, 2018, your access is ready. Please check your email for a message from “RCUH <[email protected]>” for your login. Your email address will also serve as your username. The system is easy to navigate, but this user guide will get you started. The user guide is also available as a course, “*Introduction to Litmos,” found in the Course Library. To download the guide, click on “Additional References.”

For those who have not yet enrolled in Litmos, sign up here today.

Should you have any questions, please contact RCUH Corporate Services at [email protected] or call 808-988-8314 or 808-988-8315.