June 24, 2004
Direct deposit, computer access now easier for new UW employees
Attention new employees and those who help them get started at the University: Signing up for direct deposit just got a whole lot easier.
On their first day of work — or even before that — new employees now can get an interim UW private access code (PAC), enabling them to connect with campus computing services right away. With that, they can settle payroll questions, get an all-important NET-ID password and even sign up for direct paycheck deposit in just moments over the Web, said Pat Bonner, a project manager with the USER Project, the interdepartmental group helping bring about these updates.
The USER (short for University Services Renewal) Project is an interdepartmental UW group formed in 1997 with the mission of making various University services more efficient and effective. The Project operates under a forward-thinking, even scrappy set of guiding principles, the first being: We are not bound by the way we have always done things.
“At the USER Project, we are trying to make things just more convenient for employees and trying to get information across to them when and where they need it,” Bonner said.
Bonner said the private access code can do in moments what used to take days to do. She said in the past, new employees had to give their birthdate and generally wait a week or so before the UW computing system was ready for them. Now, payroll coordinators across the UW can give newcomers the personal access code and get them started right away.
For several years employees have been able to add or update personal address and directory information in a flash through the Employee Self-Service function of the MyUW Web site (http://www.myuw.org). These new additions only make the system more complete.
She said the USER Project’s HR and Payroll Initiative plans to roll out more time-saving updates later in the year. These include an online W-4 form for tax purposes, expected to be available this summer, and an online time sheet that could be available for use later this year or early next year.
