When to Enter or Update an Appointment using the Online Payroll Update System (OPUS)
Levels of Approval
New appointment paperwork for any academic position will originate in an academic department and is then routed through several administrative units for review of an approval. In order, these are the Dean's Office, Academic Human Resources, and, occasionally, the Board of Regents.
Knowing when to enter an appointment into the Online Payroll Update System (OPUS) requires some familiarity with the level of approval that will be required for a specific appointment type. Depending upon the type of appointment under review, approval to enter the appointment will require approval by:
- The Dean's Office
- Academic Human Resources, or
- The Board of Regents
Once you have received the level of approval required for your appointment type, you may enter the appointment into OPUS.
How can I find out what degree of approval will be required for a new appointment?
Knowing what degree of approval is required for a specific appointment will help you understand how long you may have to wait before you are granted permission to enter an appointment into OPUS. Appointments that require only Dean's-office approval prior to entry can take as little as 24 hours to process, (and even less time in emergency situations).
Appointments that require the approval of Academic Human Resources should be submitted at least 2 weeks in advance of the payroll cut-off date for the given appointment to allow sufficient processing time.
Appointments that require the approval of the Board of Regents require considerable processing lead time. The deadline by which the materials requiring the Board of Regent's approval should be submitted to Academic Human Resources is typically 2 weeks prior to the meeting date. See Board of Regents Meeting Information for meeting dates.
Two notes of caution regarding submitting materials to the Board of Regents are worth mentioning here. First, appointments that require review by the Board of Regents, require additional processing time in the Dean's Office and an additional review by the Equal Opportunity Office. You are strongly encouraged to allow one to two weeks for these extra steps. Second, it's important to remember that April, August and September meetings of the Board of Regents are occasionally cancelled.
The office of Academic Human Resources has prepared an on-line resource for understanding the requirements of a given appointment type, organized by title. This resource is called the Requirements Matrix.
How will I be notified that a new appointment has been approved?
A representative of the College of Engineering office of Human Resources will send an email to the contact listed on the appointment cover sheet (or to the Department Chair's Assistant and Administrator if no cover sheet was used) notifying him/her that an appointment has received Dean's-Level approval. This email will also include information regarding whether he/she is approved to enter an appointment or whether he/she must wait for additional approval from the office of Academic Human Resources or the Board of Regents.
If your appointment requires the approval of Academic Human Resources or the Board of Regents, you will receive a second email from Academic Human Resources the moment your appointment is approved for entry into OPUS.
OPUS Update Approvals for Updates Other than New Appointments
Updates to OPUS other than entry of new appointments also require some form of approval. In many cases, this approval does not come as an email; rather, approval is understood to be granted upon receipt of some form of documentation, or once some pre-established criteria have been met. These criteria are described on the Academic Human Resources page OPUS Entry Guidelines.
Community of Innovators
Nominate a student, faculty or staff member who makes exceptional and meaningful contributions to the College.
Nominations due 5 p.m. March 1.
Nominees and awardees will be honored at the Community of Innovators Awards reception.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
Paul G. Allen Center,
Microsoft Atrium.
