ADMINISTRATORS GROUP MINUTES
May 7, 2015 Meeting
NEXT MEETING:
Please Note !!
The next Administrators Group meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 4, 2015. The room is to
be determined and the agenda will be sent at a later date.
JODIE BILLINGSLEY - HUMAN RESOURCES
I-9 Training
The next I-9 training will be held on Thursday, May 21, 2015 from 8:30 am to 10:00 am in Doak
Conference Center, Training Room 155.
Holiday Schedule During Legislative Year
We have had several inquiries about the Holiday schedule for FY 2015-2016. The holiday
benefit for State of Texas institutions of higher education and state agencies is established by
the Texas Legislature in the Texas Government Code, Chapter 662, during each legislative
session. The 2015 – 2016 Holiday Schedule will be voted on during the May 2015 Board of
Regents meeting.
Memorial Day Holiday
University offices will be closed to observe the Memorial Day Holiday on Monday, May 25,
2015.
SIMONE HASIE - OFFICE OF RESEARCH ACCOUNTING
Integration of Research Accounting and Financial Services & Tax
The offices of Research Accounting and Financial Services & Tax have been combined and
renamed to Accounting Services. At the current time, none of the contacts, functions, or email
boxes have changed. The website pages for both offices are currently being evaluated and will
be combined at some point in the future.
LADONNA JOHNSON - HR EMPLOYEE SERVICES CENTER
Annual Enrollment Dates
The time to make changes to your benefits is almost upon us. This year, Texas Tech’s Annual
Enrollment Insurance dates are from July 10 – July 24, 2015. Employees will have a two-week
period to make their benefit elections.
There will be several ways to make benefit changes:
 signing into their online account on the ERS website,
 contacting their HR representative, or
 by calling ERS.
Employees will get their Summer Enrollment packet in the mail about a week or so before the
Texas Tech phase begins. It will include their Personal Benefits Enrollment Statement – with
information on their benefits, enrollment choices, enrollment dates, and information on
premium or benefit changes.
Don’t forget
 Employees need to update their contact information by 5 p.m. CT on May 29, 2015 by
signing into their online account if they have moved in the past year.
 They should be prepared to submit their dependent’s proof of age documents showing
eligibility, before they enroll someone new.
TexFlex Changes
What is TexFlex?
TexFlex is a tax-saving flexible spending account (FSA) program that lets participants contribute
pre-tax money for eligible out-of-pocket expenses. Rules for FSAs are set by the U.S. Internal
Revenue Service. TexFlex offers two types of accounts:
Health care accounts allow participants to pay for eligible medical, dental, vision, hearing, and
prescription drug expenses not covered by insurance. Currently, there is a $2,500 maximum
annual contribution, but the IRS is increasing this to $2,550 for Plan Year 2016 (September 1,
2015 – August 31, 2016).
Dependent care accounts let participants pay for day care expenses, including childcare and
adult care programs. The maximum annual contribution is $5,000 per plan year.
Participation is voluntary. In Plan Year 2014, there were 50,023 TexFlex accounts with $80.3
million pledged, resulting in tax savings of about $115.3 million for plan participants.
TexFlex has a new administrator beginning September 1, 2015. The ERS Board of Trustees
awarded the third-party administrator contract for the TexFlex program to ADP, LLC. The
contract will cover a four-year term that begins September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2019.
When and how to contact
ADP will provide more information about its administration of the TexFlex program this
summer. ADP will work with ERS to:
 attend Summer Enrollment fairs from June 22 through July 31, 2015;
 create a new TexFlex website, which will be available beginning June 22, 2015;
 provide a customer call center in June
ERS will also provide updates during Summer Enrollment on the administrator transition, the
website, and ADP’s call center.
Qualified Transportation and Fringe Benefit plan coming to TexFlex
The ERS Board of Trustees approved a Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits (QTFB) plan,
also referred to as a “Transit and Parking plan.” ERS tentatively plans to launch the program in
calendar year 2016 and will provide additional information as it is available.
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Lubbock Summer Enrollment Fair
ERS and its program partners are traveling around the state this summer, hosting events to help
employees make informed decisions when it comes to choosing their benefits. The events are
free and open to all employees and for retirees who are under age 65.
No registration is necessary. The Lubbock Fair will be held on July 1, 2015 at 9:00 a.m., at the
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), 135 Slaton Road, Lubbock, Texas 79404. There
will not be one at the Health Sciences Center this year.
If you require accommodations due to a disability in order to participate, please email
reservations@ers.state.tx.us at least 72 hours in advance of the event.
If employees are unable to attend the Enrollment Fair, webinars will be available for employees
to view on 6/23, 7/2, 7/15, or 7/29/2015 on the ERS website. The calendar can be viewed at
http://www.ers.state.tx.us/Event-Calendars/ and employees must register to view.
TODD PHILLIPS – HR TALENT MANAGEMENT
Performance Evaluations
This year’s Performance Evaluation process has concluded. Todd thanked the departments for
their cooperation and timeliness in getting the evaluations submitted through the electronic
PerformanceManagement (ePM) system.
Talent Management recognizes that there are still some issues with the ePM system and some
enhancements and changes have been requested. The goal is to have them completed by the
next performance evaluation cycle.
STEPHANIE WEST – HR TALENT DEVELOPMENT
Distinguished Staff Awards (DSA)
The Distinguished Staff Awards is a broad-based staff recognition program rewarding staff for
their excellence, leadership, and exemplary service to Texas Tech. This award program is
designed to be highly competitive and serves to promote greater individual staff recognition.
Human Resources Talent Development, with the support of the Office of the Chancellor, the
Office of the President, and Human Resources, invites you to recognize an outstanding staff
member by nominating them for one of the following awards:
Matador Award
For significant contributions and shared innovative ideas ($250)
Masked Rider
For contributions to the success of Texas Tech through accomplishments at work ($500)
Guns Up
For fostering cooperation with employees internal and/or external to increase productivity and
efficiency in the organization ($2,500 per team)
President’s Award
For demonstrating strong leadership skills throughout the year ($1,000)
Chancellor’s Award
For demonstrating commitment to Texas Tech and significantly increasing productivity and
efficiency ($1,500)
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To learn more about the Distinguished Staff Awards (DSA), to review eligibility criteria, or to
nominate an employee or team, visit the Human Resources main page at
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/hr/ and look for the DSA icon on the lower right side. Nominations
will be open from Wednesday, April 15, 2015 through Monday, June 15, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.
Please contact Talent Development (806-742-0530) or e-mail awards.recognition@ttu.edu with
any questions.
JEFF DEITIKER – PAYROLL SERVICES
Summer Appointments
• The May / June 2015 Payroll Newsletter is heavily focused on Summer Appointments.
The newsletter can be found at
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/payroll/newsletters/2015/2015-May-Jun.pdf or on the TTU
Employee tab under 2015 Payroll Newsletters
o Summary
 Run HR121 or HR145 reports to verify appointments
 Run HR005 for each payroll cycle
 Detailed instructions are in the newsletter
Deferred Pay (12 Month Spread)
• This year we are going to re-certify all faculty who are on Deferred Pay. Each faculty
member who is on Deferred Pay will receive an email with an attachment for
recertification.
o All faculty who wish to continue to have their 9 month pay spread over 12
months will need to recertify
o Forms will be due to Payroll Services no later than September 15, 2015
o More detailed timeline will be announced in the coming months
o HR121 displays an indicator for faculty who are on Deferred Pay
BYRON ANDERSON – Admin & Finance Info Systems Mgmt(AFISM)
Budget Prep Refresher
Byron conducted a mini Budget Prep Refresher training session. The training materials are
located at:
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/afism/trainingv2/trainingMaterials.asp?tabid=contentTab6.
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