ctcLink Change Management Book Club

Image of a Whale and Dolphin courtesy of Rick Torben

The 5-Minute Change Management Book Club is Back!

It has been a long year for many of us, with changes coming both personally and professionally. As we wrap up the academic year, we wanted to offer an opportunity for you to reflect and share your thoughts.

This time, we offer two brief (5-10 minute) articles for you to think about. One gives a high level look at change at work and the other is more personal. Choose what speaks to you. As usual, topics are not limited to ctcLink.

If you’re interested in joining the discussion, please click the “sign up” button below to choose your date or reach out at ctclink@shoreline.edu.

The ctcLink, Winter 2021 Issue

Winter 2021 Issue

Welcome to The ctcLink, Shoreline’s ctcLink newsletter!  Our goal is to keep you informed or “linked” into the project and provide resources to support you as we move from our aging HP software to the modern and more mobile-friendly statewide Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system called PeopleSoft. In addition to regular DAAG posts, we will be sharing out this newsletter quarterly to highlight things that are both fun and functional!

As always please reach out to us at ctcLink@shoreline.edu with your questions or feedback.


Where Are We Now?

Beginning the first week of March, many of our colleagues across the college will participate in multiple Business Process Fit Gap (BPFGs) sessions, following up on the Student Bio/Demographic and the Admissions and Recruiting sessions from January.

The purpose of the BPFGs is to identify the business processes our college will use in ctcLink.  The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) ctcLink project team uses the information we provide them in these sessions to convert our college’s data to its new home in ctcLink. Once converted, we can begin testing.


Video transcript available here.


Fun Facts

ctcLink is the name for the project to implement PeopleSoft, the ERP system that will be replacing the Legacy systems of SMS, FMS, PPMS, & FAM.

Aaron Parrott, an employee from Wenatchee Valley College, submitted the winning entry for the project naming contest. Aaron said it represented all the community and technical colleges (“CTCs”) linking people with services and information.

PeopleSoft is divided into three pillars: Finance (FIN), Human Capital Management (HCM), and Campus Solutions (CS). Data entered into one pillar will communicate with the other pillars.


Learn the Language

Term

Generic word used to describe a quarter or semester.

Self- Service

In ctcLink, this refers to the set of processes that allow students, employees, managers, advisors and faculty to look up, and in some cases update certain information. Examples will include student registration, submission of timecards and grade submission.

Service Indicators

Today’s unusual action codes are called service indicators in ctcLink. They are placed on an account and have a positive or negative action.

SME’s

Subject Matter Experts. SME’s are domain experts who are authorities in a particular area or topic.


Organizational Change Management (OCM)

In 2020 we asked employees to define what change management means to our campus community and to us as individual members of the Shoreline team. This is what they said:

“[OCM] Is ​a process where we (both leadership and the community) support each other through change by committing to clear communication, training, getting buy-in and managing expectations. We acknowledge that transitions are personal, people react differently to change, and that everyone will manage change on their own timeline.  Our goal is to provide a supportive environment for us to experience this transition.”

This is not just our definition, but our commitment to you. Our ctcLink Project Team is dedicated to creating a smooth implementation of ctcLink from both the software and the people side of this transition.


Get Involved

  • News & Updates
  • Resources
  • Learn more
  • Project Resources
  • SBCTC documents
  • ctcLink Connect
  • Self enroll in courses
  • Start with PS Fundamentals 9.2

We welcome your questions and concerns, and can be reached by emailing ctcLink@shoreline.edu

Upcoming Events

  • Change Management Book Club returns this spring!
  • Stay tuned for more updates about ctcLink via DAAG!

ctcLink update: Shoreline begins next phase of project implementation

Dear Colleague,

As the quarter is well underway, I again would like to thank you for helping us meet the expectations of our students in delivering the quality learning and support services that we’re known for and are so valuable to student success. Today I would like to share some good news about ctcLink as we move closer to providing both you and our students the modern software and tools we need to continue in our mission.

Shoreline will go live on ctcLink in the early part of 2022. We have completed the Initiation phase and have just kicked off the Implementation phase.  

ctcLink, the Washington State community and technical colleges version of PeopleSoft, will completely replace our Legacy system, including Instructor Briefcase. Systems such as Canvas and our email system will remain the same. I am looking forward to the many practical benefits provided by ctcLink to better serve our students and staff. These benefits include single sign-on for students with 24-hour access to their student record and self-service capabilities for employees. 

We have much to do to prepare for Go-Live on ctcLink and I’m grateful for everything you’re doing. While 2022 seems far off, there is plenty of work ahead of us. I want you to stay informed and know what to expect next. In addition to the quarterly updates you normally receive, I will share additional update emails regularly as we prepare to launch ctcLink (PeopleSoft).  

Below are the processes (with estimated timeframes) that will bring us to a successful Go-Live with ctcLink in mid-Winter to early Spring quarter of 2022:

•    PeopleSoft Fundamentals training: Our ctcLink Project Management staff, subject matter experts (SMEs) and SME teams will take this training to provide an overview of how PeopleSoft ctcLink works. This training is open to all of campus as well if you would like an early look and you are welcome to learn more by visiting the Training and Resources Page on Shoreline’s ctcLink web page. (Fall 2020)

•    Global Design Adoption (GDA): A process that provides SMEs the opportunity to understand how PeopleSoft works. (Fall 2020 and Winter 2021)

•    Business Process Fit/Gap (BPFG) sessions: SMEs and their teams will gain knowledge of the ctcLink functionality for business processes. They will use this knowledge and their current Legacy business process maps to understand the impact of the changes and document the required business processes in ctcLink. (estimated Winter and Spring 2021)

•    Data Conversion: Based on configuration homework from the BPFGs, the ctcLink Project team pushes our data into a test PeopleSoft system to assess whether our data converted correctly into the new system and, if needed, fix the errors. There are four cycles of data conversion that our college will be involved in. College SMEs and ctcLink Project management staff will be actively engaged in this work. (estimated Spring 2021 – Winter 2022)

•    Security Mapping:  Our college ctcLink project manager and SMEs will work to make sure each user of the ctcLink system has the roles and permissions they need to do their work. (estimated Summer and Fall 2021)

•    User Acceptance Testing (UAT): The SMEs and their testers will be trained in PeopleSoft ctcLink. After training, they will conduct UAT to assess and improve any data conversion or security roles, as well as learn how the ctcLink system works. (estimated Fall 2021 and Winter 2022)

•    Training: End-user ctcLink training will be available just in time for go-live. (estimated Winter 2022)

•    Go-Live: Shoreline will be live in ctcLink in mid-Winter to early Spring 2022!

I ask that we all work together to honor the tremendous work that has already occurred and is about to be undertaken by so many of you, especially in light of the multitude of stressors that 2020 has brought. 

Join me in honoring each other by supporting a culture of gratitude and compassion: offering frequent thanks to colleagues most engaged in the ctcLink transition work and patience when the ctcLink implementation workload requires delay of some day-to-day work. Please know our that our Executive Team is working with teams throughout the college to prioritize and make workloads more manageable throughout our transition to ctcLink.  

Again, for those of you who use the Legacy (HP-UX) system to do the breadth of your work, as well as those whose work touches HP in some way, I appreciate your tremendous service as we prepare to transition to ctcLink. You are vital to our success!

With gratitude,

Cheryl Roberts, Ed.D.

President

Office of the President

Join the Change Management Book Club – 5-minute edition

As a reminder, the Change Management Book Club is still going strong. We are currently finishing up our first book, “Employee’s Guide to Change” by Jeffrey M. Hiatt via Zoom and want to give EVERYBODY a chance to participate.

What if I don’t have the book?
No worries. Email us at ctcLink@shoreline.edu and we can send you a quick summary that will have you up to speed in 5 minutes.

Is this different than the previous Change Management Book Club?
Nope. It is the same opportunity to discuss what you found interesting and how it may apply to your life or your work. We just want to give everyone a chance to join in if they didn’t have a chance previously.

When is it?

Choose from one of three sessions:

    • Thursday, 5/21 2-3pm
    • Wednesday, 6/3 11am-12pm
    • Thursday 6/4, 3-4pm

How do I sign up?
If you need an invite, email us and let us know which session you wish to attend.

Any other questions?

If you have any questions, please contact Joe Chiappa, ctcLink Organizational Change and Project Manager.

Reminder: Please Complete the ctcLink Readiness Survey

As a reminder, please complete the ctcLink Readiness Survey by Thursday, May 14th.

This is our opportunity to get a sense of how aware the campus is about the ctcLink project and to directly learn your thoughts about the best ways we can support you through this transition.

If you have any questions, please contact Joe Chiappa, ctcLink Organizational Change and Project Manager.