3/19 email; attachments not included

To the Campus Community,

In an effort to keep everyone current on changes occurring within the Business Office and provide basic information to assist with your planning, we are making changes to the Business Office website pages. In the meantime, I wanted to provide some updates, reminders and recommendations in support of social distancing to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Hours of operation The Business Office will maintain normal hours of operation, Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. However, we anticipate possible delays in service as our team continues to adapt to new operating procedures to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Part-time employee timesheet processing As the College transitions to distant learning and telecommuting, we are adjusting payroll processes and policies to accommodate these new business practices. During the week of 3/16/2020, we have implemented electronic submissions for all timesheets relating to Part-Time employees. Please refer to the attached document for further guidance on this new procedure. COVID-19 expense tracking Campuses are required to ensure accurate tracking of expenditures related to the preparation and response to COVID-19. To assist with this new requirement, a new Program Code has been established in CUNYfirst. Please refer to the attached document for further guidance on this new procedure.

Following up on vendor deliveries Departments are encouraged to follow up with vendors on delivery of purchased goods, especially for COVID-19 items. We have been experiencing many vendors not being able to manage the current demand, resulting in increased backorders for daily commodities.

Budget/Spending efficiencies

Purchase orders Departments are encouraged to review existing purchase orders and pending requests with the Purchasing department in order to determine if these orders are still needed and whether they can be repurposed to support your operations in a social distancing environment.

Energy Savings Savings derived from energy consumption practices have historically provided a source of funding for campus operations. Electricity is the largest energy source from which we derive these savings. During this period of social distancing, we can achieve greater savings by simply turning off lights and computers for spaces not being utilized. However, if you are remotely accessing your campus machine do not shut it down.

We welcome all suggestions on how we can better support your team and will be adding this information and other updates continuously on our website. Regards, Carlos A. Serrano AVP Finance & Budget / CFO College of Staten Island City University of New York (718) 982-2460