Absence Management
Employee Guide
The University of Houston System (UHS) is excited to present our new
Time Reporting & Absence Management (TRAM) process. We will be
going from our old paper process to a new online electronic process
to help be more efficient and effective. This training will walk
employees through the process of submitting an absence request.
University of Houston System HR
ABSENCE MANAGEMENT
EMPLOYEE GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introducing TRAM
2
TRAM Concepts & Terms
2
Information Needed
4
Computer Log In
4
AccessUH
5
P.A.S.S. Log in
7
Time Reporting
9
Absence Request
9
Absence Request History
10
Monthly Schedule
10
Filter by Type
12
Absence Name
13
Absence Request Form
14
Partial Days
16
Partial Day Hours
17
Completing & Submitting
18
Confirmation
19
Processes
20
Contact Information
20
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ABSENCE MANAGEMENT
EMPLOYEE GUIDE
Introducing TRAM
The University of Houston System (UHS) is excited to introduce the new TRAM (Time Reporting and Absence
Management) system. TRAM is an automated and updated application for capturing and processing time and
leave. This new system will take our paper process to an electronic system for the time reporting process to be
more efficient and effective.
Benefits of TRAM include:

Decreases paper flow

Elimination of paper timesheets

Ability for timekeepers to directly enter information from timecards and leave forms into Time and
Labor (rather than sending them to the Payroll department for input)

Decreased chances of time-reporting errors

Online Leave Validation

Limited availability of Time Reporting Codes based on employee eligibility

Employees paid for every minute they work
TRAM Terms and Concepts
In PeopleSoft Time and Labor we use the following terms:

Time Reporter

Time Approver

Payroll Approver

Reported Time

Payable Time

Workgroup

Dynamic Group

Absence Management
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
A Time Reporter (an hourly employee) enters his or her time into PeopleSoft on a daily basis.

A Time Approver (TA) signs off on the time for an employee or group of employees. They are
responsible for reviewing and cleaning up exceptions as well as enrolling employees in the system.
Time Approvers reviews, corrects and approves reported time in PeopleSoft on a weekly basis.

A Payroll Approver (PA) reviews, corrects and approves payable time. They are responsible for
reviewing time and absence requests before they are submitted to Payroll. Payroll Approvers are
responsible for making sure that employees are in the system under the correct Workgroups.

Reported Time is the time entered by time reporters and managers. No rules have been applied and
no processing done on the time data as yet.

Payable Time is the term used once the time administration process has been run against the
reported time. This process is run nightly. Time administration calculates rules such as overtime and
generates exceptions if errors are found.

A Workgroup is a set of time reporters who share compensation requirements such as pay frequency,
union, work location. Examples are:
o
Police
o
Federal work study students
o
Salary exempt employees
When an employee’s HR data changes for reasons such as promotions, demotions, or transfers, their
characteristics for Workgroup membership may change, requiring an update in the Time and Labor
Workgroup enrollment. When an employee is terminated, their Workgroup enrollment in Time and
Labor must be inactivated.

A Dynamic Group of time reporters is set up for reporting or processing purposes for example, a
group of employees in the same department or who have the same supervisor. The members of a
dynamic group may belong to different workgroups. As an example, a dynamic group for a facilities
department might include an administrative associate, an engineer and a painter.

Absence Management is the process for managing absences. Absence Management is the process
for employees to request leave via P.A.S.S.
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UHS is implementing a complete online system for Time Reporting and Absence Management
(TRAM). This guide will walk you through the steps to request leave.
Note: UH HR will no longer require the paper form in addition to the online reporting.
Information Needed:
You will need the following information to log in:
Computer:
CougarNet ID & CougarNet Password
Computer ID & Password
AccessUH:
CougarNet ID & CougarNet Password
P.A.S.S.
Employee ID
PeopleSoft Password
Computer Log In

Log into your computer or department assigned computer. Talk to your supervisor regarding available
computers. You may request leave from any computer, including your home computer.

To unlock the computer, use the function Control/ Alt/ Delete and then enter your CougarNet ID and
CougarNet Password. If the computer is locked and this is not your computer, contact the department
administrator for the computer ID and password.

Click on an internet browser such as Internet Explorer or Moxzilla.

Enter the address: https://uh.edu to access AccessUH
or
Enter the address: https://my.uh.edu to access P.A.S.S.
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To Begin:
Log into P.A.S.S. You can do this directly or by utilizing AccessUH.
AccessUH can be found on the upper right hand corner of the HR website: www.uh.edu.
AccessUH
AccessUH allows the employee to log in once and have access to all their sites.
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Logging Into AccessUH
To log in, enter your CougarNet ID and CougarNet Password.
AccessUH
Depending on your access and position at UH, you may see various icons to all of the systems in
which you have access. For TRAM purposes, click onto the P.A.S.S. account:
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P.A.S.S. Log In:
Log onto your PASS account directly via https://my.uh.edu and enter your Employee ID and Password:
P.A.S.S.
Select P.A.S.S. Employee Self-Service
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Time Reporting
From the Self Service Menu, there are multiple options. Select the “Time Reporting” menu.
Time Reporting will allow you to:

Create your Absence Request

View your timesheet, absence request history, absence balances and your monthly schedule.
Click on Absence Request to start your request.

With the new system, there will no longer be a need to complete the paper form.

The online version is the only required document needed for an employee leave request.
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Once you click into Absence Request

Select the date you will start your absence.

Type in the date in MO/DY/YEAR format or click on the calendar icon to select the specific date.

In the absence request form, you can also view your absence request history at the bottom of the page or
view your monthly schedule at the top of the page.
Employee Name
Job Title
Absence Request History





Click onto the View Absence Request History at the bottom of the Request Absence Page or from the
main menu.
Click to absence request history to view your past leave requests.
Select the specific dates to search.
Click refresh to provide the results.
You are able to edit your requests through the history. If the leave has already been approved, please
contact your manager if changes need to be made.
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Employee Name
Job Title
Monthly Schedule


This calendar will shows:
o The hours you are scheduled to work
o Holidays
o Requested days off
To move back and forward in time, click on previous month or next month, or enter the month which
you wish to review.
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Filter by Type
Through this system, you can filter the types of absences by the drop down menu to "Filter by Type."

This will only show the absence types associated with this type of leave in the Absence Name Field

Select the absence in the Absence Name
Employee Name
Job Title
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Absence Name
Or you can simply select the type of leave you wish to request by selecting from the "Absence Name" drop down
menu. This menu will include all absence types.
Employee Name
Job Title
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When you select the type of absence, multiple fields will open up on the form.

Complete the required fields that include the end date of your absence.

To complete the end date, you can enter the last day of your leave in the field with the MO/DY/YEAR
format or you may click on the calendar icon and select the date.
Employee Name
Job Title
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Multiple absence types will require an additional reason.

As an example, for sick days, you will need to indicate if it is for you, a spouse, a child, or a parent.

If there is additional information needed, you can add it to the comments field.

After you complete the information requested, you can save for later or submit it to the next approver.
Comments/Attachments


You can add comments in the requestor comments
You can also add attachments such as a jury notice. ***Please do not attach any medical or sensitive
information.***
Employee Name
Job Title
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Partial Days

If you take partial days, you will need to indicate what days will be partial days and enter the hours that
you will be missing in the duration field.

You can view your current balance on the right hand side. If you do not have enough hours for your
request, the system will not allow you to complete the request.
Employee Name
Job Title
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Partial Day Hours
After you indicate that you will be taking partial days for your leave request, the field for the hours will appear.
Enter the requested leave hours for the partial days in the new field.
Employee Name
Job Title
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Complete & Submit
When you click on calculate duration, it will calculate the hours for the partial days in the duration field.
When you complete the Absence Request, you can save for later or submit the form to the next approver.
Employee Name
Job Title
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Confirmation
After you complete your Absence Request, When you submit the form, you will receive a confirmation. Click
"ok."
After you click “OK,” you will be able to view the status.

Notice that the status is pending approval once you submit the request.

The request will be sent to your department approvers for authorization.
Employee Name & Title
Employee Name
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Processes





Once an absence request is approved, denied, or pushed back, the employee will be notified via email.
The employee can also go to Pass and look under the absence request history to review the status of a
request.
It is important to enter your request as soon as possible.
If you have a future leave request, you have up to 120 days in the future to enter your leave request.
If you find that there is a mistake with an entry, talk to your supervisor or manager. The Absence
Request will have to be pushed back. Once it is pushed back, you will be able to log into pass and edit
the request through Absence Request History. If the time has already been approved, your manager
will have to go into the system and manually adjust your time.
UH is currently reviewing and revising system wide policies regarding TRAM. Updates will be available
on the TRAM Website.
Contact Information
For updates regarding the rollout and information regarding TRAM, visit our TRAM website:
http://www.uh.edu/TRAM
If you have questions or concerns, email us at TRAM@uh.edu.
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