The University of Tennessee, IRIS Administrative Support

News & Announcements

Requesting IRIS Access for Applicant Tracking System (1/20/2012)

Those of you who have attended training sessions for the new applicant tracking system may have heard that IRIS access is required for anyone who needs to be a hiring manager or hiring manager assistant. This is correct. A special IRIS role has been created for persons who do not already have IRIS access. This role provides only minimal access to IRIS information, and excludes all financial and employee related data.

To begin the process, an existing IRIS user should access IRIS transaction ZSECAMPAUTH000, which is available at this menu path: IRIS User Tools >> User Access >> ZSECAMPAUTH000 – Campus-Level User Request

Directions for using this transaction are available by clicking Help >> IRIS Help from within the transaction. To request access for the applicant tracking system, select the entry “UT Jobs User – Not an IRIS User” as shown in the screen below.

Click the green check and then select “UT Jobs” again to confirm the request.

After the request has been approved, it will be an overnight process before the user will be active in the applicant tracking system.

New TN Sales Tax Exemption Certificate (7/1/11)

The Tennessee Department of Revenue has completed a periodic review of all registered non-profit organizations eligible to purchase tangible personal property and taxable services tax-free. Non-profit entities eligible to make tax-free purchases have been issued a new exemption certificate with an effective date of July 1, 2011.

University as Purchaser

To make University purchases of tangible personal property and taxable services free of Tennessee state sales tax, the new exemption certificate can be found at the following addresses:

http://treasurer.tennessee.edu/forms/ - click S – Sales Tax Exemption Certificate

http://controller.tennessee.edu/ - click Tax Section

https://my.tennessee.edu/portal/page?_pageid=34,140536&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&p_policy=FI0410 – click Forms

In order to access the certificate, you will now be required to sign on using your university NetID and password.

University as Seller

Effective July 1, 2011, University departments making sales of tangible personal property and taxable services must ensure that all non-profit exempt purchasers furnish a copy of their new exemption certificate in order for sales tax to be exempted. Departments should retain these certificates at least three years for audit purposes.

Out-of-state organizations that have received tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service under a Section 501(c)(3) exemption are no longer being registered for issuance of a tax-exempt certificate for purchases of tangible personal property or taxable services within Tennessee. Under T.C.A. 67-6-322(18)(e), these organizations need only present a copy of their 501(c)(3) exemption to purchase goods and services tax-free. In-state 501(c)(3) organizations must present a Tennessee non-profit exemption certificate when making purchases.

Please note: Exemption certificates with an effective date prior to July 1, 2011 are no longer acceptable as documentation of tax-exempt purchases.

Printing Online Pay Statement with Adobe 10 (Adobe X) (4/19/2011)

Several people have reported issues with printing their Online Pay Statement after having upgraded to Adobe 10 (Adobe X). With Adobe X, Adobe has changed the way the Adobe Reader toolbar functions within the web browser so that it defaults to be a “hovering” toolbar within the document rather than appearing at the top of the pay statement. When viewing the Online Pay Statement, you have to scroll down before the hovering tool bar will appear.

For instructions on (1) showing the hovering tool bar for the Online Pay Statement and (2) changing your Adobe Reader settings to have the normal toolbar, see: Printing Online Pay Statement With Adobe X

Revision of University Fiscal Policy - Travel Policy (4/4/2011)

Treasurer Charles (Butch) Peccolo has announced that the following fiscal policy has been posted. The policy is effective April 1, 2011, and is now on the policy web site.

FI0705 – Travel

Several travel policy changes have been made in an effort to streamline the reimbursement process and provide clarification in certain areas. Some of the more significant changes include:

When a stay at a business location is extended either prior to or after the business mission for personal reasons, the entire airfare is now reimbursable. Other expenses incurred during the personal portion such as meals or lodging are not reimbursable. Currently the traveler is required to document the cost of the airfare for just the business portion of the trip and the trip is treated as an exception, thereby requiring additional approvals. We have found the difference between these airfares to be negligible and have therefore removed this requirement.

For flights outside of North America the University will reimburse coach upgrade charges for seats that provide additional leg room. The upgrade can’t include first or business class, which is still prohibited by State statute. This change was made to accommodate travelers on long flights.

Guidance is provided for obtaining quotes that will be used in determining the amount of reimbursement for instances when a traveler leaves from a destination other than their official station or combines personal travel with business travel and includes additional destinations, or the traveler wishes to purchase a first or business class ticket. In these instances the traveler will be reimbursed the cost of the lowest discounted coach ticket for the business portion of the flight originated from their official station. If the comparable quote is obtained in accordance with these changes, the reimbursement request will not be treated as an exception. Currently, policy doesn’t address these situations and trips of this nature are treated as an exception requiring additional approvals.

Clarification is provided for airline code share with respect to the Fly America Act.

Clarification is provided regarding the reimbursement of local mileage. It specifically prohibits the reimbursement of commuting miles from the traveler’s home to their official work station. The requirement to claim the lesser of miles from their official station to the business meeting or the traveler’s home to the business meeting was removed from policy.

Clarification was provided that ATM fees are not reimbursable.

Clarifies that if a traveler elects not to eat a conference provided meal, the deduction for the meal should still be taken. Otherwise, the University is purchasing the same meal twice.

All university business managers whose faculty and staff travel should read and understand the guidelines provided in this policy.