Overview
When a department is requesting approval to create a new EPA non-faculty position, the "Create Position" function within EPAWeb is used. This function is used for entirely new positions or those requested for conversion from an existing vacant or filled SPA (Subject to Personnel Act) position. This on-line function replaces previously paper forms that have been used for this purpose at the University for many years (Forms NF-001 and NF-002).
To initiate a new position request, navigate within EPAWeb to the "Position Mgmt" selection on the main menu bar (accessible anywhere within EPAWeb) and select the "Create Position" option. This option will appear in orange when selected by your mouse at which point a click will start the Create Position function.
Create Position Screen
Once the "Create Position" option is selected, EPAWeb displays a screen with this same title. This is a data entry screen used to enter all relevant information for the requested position. You may use the TAB key on your keyboard to move from field to field on the screen or use your mouse to directly select a field for data entry.
Effective Date and the Red Asterik Indicating a Required Field
The first field to be completed for the Create Position action is Effective Date. As with all fields in EPAWeb, the prescence of a red asterik at the start of a field title means the field is required for completion of the screen. If you fail to enter a valid entry for any field marked as required, the system will display an error and not permit you to continue with whatever action you are attempting to submit in the system.
In position management, the effective date is a reference field only. As position management does not directly interface with the University Payroll System, unlike EPAWeb employee actions, this date in no way effects payroll action processing or payment of employees. Although it bears remdining that you will be unable to assign an employee to a primary EPA non-faculty appointment without an associated EPA non-faculty position having been requested and fully approved. So departments need to plan accordingly as far as ensuring all position management steps are completed for creating a new position well in advance of needing to initiate a new employment or job change action in EPAWeb which includes a primary EPA non-faculty rank. This requirement is not relevant to secondary ranks nor primary student, faculty, or post-doctoral ranks.
You should enter your best estimate of the date (dd/mm/yyyy format, such as 07/01/2007) that the hiring supervisor needs the position available for recruitment. As the central offices process a large volume of EPAWeb transactions each month, please be realistic in providing a date that truly reflects the operational needs of your unit. This date helps us priortize which position requests are more time sensitive or have some other related deadline attached to them.
Standard Action Buttons: Pause, Cancel, Clear, Submit
Similar to the rest of the EPAWeb System, each action creation screen in position management including Create Position has a series of buttons at the very top and bottom of the data entry screen. Each are selected by a mouse click and perform the following functions:
(1) Pause: Saves the current action being prepared and any entered data to the "Paused, Retracted, and Disapproved" Section of the HR Central Inbox. This action can later be selected from the your inbox and you may start where you last left off in completing data entry and submitting the action. This is helpful when you start working on preparing a new action and then are interrupted and must finish this task later.
(2) Cancel: Cancels the action being prepared on your screen. No data is saved nor may any entered data be later retrieved. Use the Pause function if you think you may later return to the action and not have to re-enter data already entered on screen.
(3) Clear: Clears any entered data on your screen and restores the rescreen to how it appeared when the screen was first presented to you after selecting the action from the menu.
(4) Submit: Once you have completed data entry, submits the entered data to the system. Once submitted, the system validates all of your entires against system business rules and any identified errors are displayed back to you with explanations in red. If there are no errors, the action is successfully submitted to the system and a confirmation screen displaying all entered data will be displayed.
More detailed information on the function of individual buttons in the EPAWeb System can be found in the following document using your web browser:
http://hrisguide.unc.edu/epaweb/features-preparing-action.htm
Copy from Position
There are occasions where a department may be creating a new position which is identical to or at least very similar to a position that has already been requested and approved. When this occurs, the "Copy from Position #" field is a convenient way to pre-fill the newly proposed position action with all of the data from one of your existing positions. An example may be that your department already has an Academic Advisor position that has been fully approved and wishes to request five more identical positions.
To use this function, enter the position # of the currently active position that you wish to copy data from. If you don't know the position # of that position, you can click the magnifying class icon to the right of the data entry field (highlighted here by the red arrow) to display all of your current active positions. Either way, once a position # has been entered, click the Go button and the data from the entered position # will be copied to all of the fields on your screen. You may then modify any of this data as needed prior to submitting the action since there may be slight changes between the position you are copying from and the one being submitted on your screen.
Important Note: The "Copy from ..." function only copies from existing active positions that have already been approved. You may not copy from other positions that have been requested but not yet approved. This is to ensure that a department does not replicate multiple position requests only to have the first request disapproved and then the added work of having the identical positions also being disapproved and then resubmitted.
Position Data Entry: Selecting a Request Type
Once an effective date is entered, entry of the remaining position details is required which begins with the selection of the "Position Request Type". The request type code may be entered directly (1, 2, or 3) or you can click the magnifying glass icon to the right of the request type field for a table of valid entries. When the hourglass is clicked, a table pops up with the valid codes. You can either click on the desired code to select it or close the pop-up table and return to entering the code directly by clicking the CLOSE(X) label in the upper right of the pop-up. The valid position request types are as follows:
1 - Entirely New Position: The position being proposed is entirely new in that it either never existed before or existed previously as an EPA position and was abolished and must be newly created.
2 - Convert Filled SPA to EPA: The position being proposed EPA is presently an SPA position and is occupied by an existing employee.
3- Convert Vacant SPA to EPA: The position being proposed EPA is presently a vacant SPA position. In this instance, if the position is approved EPA, the SPA position would typically be abolished.
If options 2 or 3 are selected, then the "Name of Current/Last SPA Position Incumbent" will also be required and this is described below along with the remaining data entry fields.
Completing Remaining Position Data Fields
The data entry screen includes additional fields, many of which are required, to process the "Create Position" request. As a reminder, any field in EPAWeb which is immediately preceded by a red asterk (*) on the screen is a required field and must be entered to successfully submit the action.
Note the following field descriptions as you move through the data entry screen:
Position Status: Displays the current status of the position. New positions are always "Vacant" and this field is not updateable in the "Create Position" action.
Position Working Title: A free form working title to identify the position. This is the title which is used to advertise the position for any recruitment. Since this will be verified by the EEO Office at the time of a requested recruitment, the department should use care in entering the title exactly as it is proposed to appear in the job posting and any employment advertising. The position title can be different than the working title of the employee, especially in instances when the employee holds one or more secondary ranks and their employee working title needs to reflect duties across the multiple assigned ranks.
Position Type: This field defaults to "Non-Faculty" and is not updateable by the department.
Base Department: The department number of the unit which serves as the administrative base for and is considered the administrative "owner" of the position. The department number can be directly entered or the magnifying glass icon can be clicked to display a look-up table.
EPA Non-Faculty Category: Using the published EPA non-faculty position classification guidelines as a reference, the department should select the non-faculty category it believes most closely fits the the proposed position. The available choices are Instructional, Research, Senior Officer Tier I, and Senior Officer Tier II. Human Resources staff will make a final determination of the non-faculty category based on thier position review. But the submitting department is asked to make its best judgement as to the most appropriate category both to assist in a review of the position and to encourage the department to first consult the EPA guidelines in advance of submitting a new position request. The detailed EPA position classification guidelines are available at: http://hr.unc.edu/EPA/epa-nf/class_postmgmt/epanfclassguide.
Perm/Temp: Enter a "P" or "T" to indicate if the position is proposed for temporary or permanent status. Temporary positions are those less than .50 FTE or planned for a duration of one year or less without benefits. Permanent positions are those at .50 FTE or greater with a planned duration of one year or greater.
EPA Non-Faculty Subcategory (used for for Research and Instructional positions only, Senior Officers have this subcategory entered as NA for not applicable): Using the EPA non-faculty position classification guidelines as a reference, the department should select the non-faculty subcategory that most closely fits the proposed position. There are specific subbcategories available for Research positions and a separate set of subcategories for Instructional positions. The available subcategories for Research are: R-1 Academic Research, R-2 Research Administration, R-3 Institutional Research, R-4 Academic Computing, R-5 Community Service, and R-6 Technology Transfer. The Instructional subcategories are I-1 Instructing, I-2 Academic Advising, I-3 Academic Preparation and Enhancement, I-4 Co-Operative Education, I-5 Laboratory Management, I-6 Instructional Consulting, I-7 Instructional Technology, I-8 Continuing Education, I-9 Coaching, I-10 Academic Standards, I-11 Student Support Services, I-12 Professional Librarians, and I-13 Counselors. The Code NA is used for Senior Officer (Tier I or II) positions or if the department is unable to determine the most appropriate subcategory at the time of the position request. A complete description of the subcategories and the related job duties for each is described in the EPA position classification guidelines which are available at: http://hr.unc.edu/EPA/epa-nf/class_postmgmt/epanfclassguide. Human Resources staff will make a final determination of the most appropriate EPA non-faculty subcategory at the time your position request is reviewed. Department's are asked to make a good faith selection of what they believe is the most relevant subcategory to better inform the position review process.
Name of Current/Last SPA Position Incumbent: When the position request type is indicated as converting an existing filled or vacant SPA position, the system requires entry of the name of the current/last SPA employee occupying that position. This field is not used when the position request is for an entirely new EPA position.
FTE: The proposed position full-time equivlent (FTE). The position automatically classifies FTEs of 1.0 or greater as full-time and any lesser FTE amounts as part-time. Entered FTE amounts must be greater than zero. The system does permit an FTE amount of greater than 1.0 when the department wishes to propose a multiple incumbent position which is identical in terms of duties, educational and professional requirements and will be filled with multiple employees. For example, 10 academic advisors, all with identicial position attributes may be handled through a single position with multiple FTE or multiple positions with 1.0 FTE. Individual Dean's/Division Offices should be consulted for specific guidance on how they may prefer such situations handled within your specific administrative area.
Supervisor/PID Name: The PID of the position supervisor. The PID may be entered directly or a look-up performed against the master employee file for any active SPA or EPA employee by clicking the magnifying glass to the right of the field. If the supervisor of the proposed position is currently a vacant position, then this field may be left blank.
Supervisor Title: If a valid PID was entered in the Supervisor/PID name field, the supervisor's working title is automatically supplied from either EPAWeb or the SPA HRIS System. The supplied title may be edited if incorrect. If the supervisor of the proposed position is currently vacant and the Supervisor PID/Name field is left blank, the title of the position supervisor MUST be entered.
Position Summary: This is a free form text field. A brief summary of the overall position purpose and responsibilities should be entered along with a brief description of the organization within which this position reports. This summary should be kept brief with the understanding that the individual principal functions of the position will be entered as well (below).
Principal Functions (required field)
The position request must document the principal job functions or duties that comprise the responsibilities of the position. The system provides space for the entry of up to five individual principal functions along with an estimated percentage effort associated with each function. The department should identify the principal functions representing the majority of effort performed by the position.
The position management request process does not require every single job duty to be documented, but instead, the department is advised to focus on the major high-level functions which comprise the position. Functions representing less than 5% effort are not recommended to be documented as individual principal funcrions but instead should be consolidated with other related functions. The total percentage effort for all of the principal functions must equal 100%. The system will display an error message if the percentages do not total 100%.
Note: The text entered into the principal functions boxes may be "cut and pasted" from a Microsoft Word document or any other text format that can be copied to your computers clipboard and then pasted within your web browser.
Adding Space for Additional Principal Functions
As noted, space is provided for entering up to five principal functions on the initial data entry screen. However, the system supports the entry of an unlimited number of principal functions. If you require space for additional principal functions, click the "Add more functions" button and additional principal function text boxes will be provided for data entry.
Educational Requirements (required field)
Appearing below the principal functions are text boxes for the entry of educational and experience requirements.
For educational requirements, please enter the minimum degree requirements as well as any preferences for specific degree types. For example: A masters degree in the sciences is required with a strong preference for a degree in chemistry. The specific educational requirements and preferences must be entered in this text box. Please do not enter "See attached" referencing an attached document. Also, there are very specific minimum educational requirements for EPA non-faculty positions. Before finalizing specific educational requirements for your deoartment's proposed position, you are strongly encouraged to consider the minimum educational requirements for EPA non-faculty positions which reads as follows which can be viewed at: http://hr.unc.edu/EPA/epa-nf/class_postmgmt/epanfclassguide#sub2.
Professional Qualification and Experience Requirements (required field)
Immediately below the text box for educational requirements is an identical text box for qualification and experience requirements. This box should be used to enter specific professional experience requirements and preferences for the position including any required or desired professional certifications. As an example:
This position requires 5 to 7 years of experience managing a scientific laboratory in an academic or research setting. A certified laboratory manager certification is required and a strong preference will be given for candidates who have experience with Level 3 or higher bio-containment lab protocols and procedures.
Note in the example the specificity of the qualification and experience requirements. The more specific you are in your requirements, the better equipped candidates are to determine if they have the necessary professional credentials you are seeking. This will also prove helpful in effeciently screening candidates when you have large candidate pools.
Text entered in this text box may be cut and pasted from Microsoft Word or any other text format supported by your computer and web browser.
Salary and Expected Source of Funds (required fields)
The salary fields require the entry of whole dollars (e.g., 50000) without commas or other formatting representing the proposed from and to salary range of your position. Please consider carefully the salary range to be entered as the EEO Office will require exceptional approval of any final salary offer that falls outside of this range. While you are required to note a specific salary range in the position request, it is still permissable to post positions with a salary range to be determined based on qualifications and experience.
There is also a free form text field requiring you to enter the expected source of funds for this proposed position. Example entries might include: NIH grant # XYZ123, State Funds, Permanent Trust Funds, and so forth. If you have not yet identified a specific source of funds, enter whatever is known at the time you are creating the position request or if no funding arrangements are yet known, enter "To be determined".
Organization Chart (required) and Additional Document Attachment (optional)
Each new position request requires the attachment of a current organizational chart or charts which show the up and down reporting relationships of the position (e.g., who supervises the position and any positions the proposed position will supervise). The charts may be provided in whatever format the department desires but should be attached as either a scanned image (e.g., TIF or GIF file) or in PDF format. Please do not attach organization charts directly in Powerpoint, Word, or Excel format. On the organization chart, please highlight the proposed position box either in a different color or with an arrow. The title and type of all positions on the chart should be identified (e.g., SPA, EPA non-faculty, faculty).
There is an on-screen reminder to attach an organization chart to the position request and you must check the check-box to the right of this reminder to acknowledge you have attached the required chart(s). Attachment of the chart(s) are done by clicking one of the "Browse..." buttons on the screen and then pointing and selecting the location and file name of the chart on your computer. This functions similar to the typical browse function for Windows and Mac computers used in the vast majority of software programs. NOTE: NEW POSITION REQUEST ACTIONS SUBMITTED WITHOUT THE REQUIRED ORGANIZATION CHARTS WILL BE RETURNED DISAPPROVED.
In addition to the required organization chart(s), the system permits the attachment of any other relevant supporting documents related to your position request. This may include memos or other supporting information. Documents may be attached after being scanned (e.g., TIF, GIF files) or directly in PDF, Word, Excel, or other widely recognized formats. The data entry screen has buttons to attach up to 3 attached documents. To add more documents, click the "Add more attachments" button.
Comments/Justification (optional field)
At the very bottom of the position request screen is an optional text box for entry of any miscellaneous comments or other justification to support the request. This field, like the other text boxes on this data entry screen, supports cut and pasting from Microsoft Word or other document formats on your computer.
Submitting Your Action
Once you have completed all of the necessary position details and are satisifed with your entries, you should click the "Submit" button (located both at the very top and bottom of the data entry screen) with your mouse. Once you do so, the system validates all entered data and if there are any errors present, provides you informative error messages and leaves you in data entry mode so that you can correct the indicated errors. Once you have corrected errors, you should again click the "Submit" button. You would continue this process until no errors are indicated and the system accepts your action for submission.
Sucessfully Submitted Action (Review Screen)
Once you have successfully submitted your action, the system displays a confirmation/review screen. This screen displays all of your entered information highlighted in yellow. The yellow highlight denotes change items, but since you are entering information for a totally new position, all of the fields are highlighted yellow. Your action has also been assigned a position action serial number which is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen and the "Current Status" of the action is displayed as "In Progress".
Successfully submitted actions route for approval to a series of pre-defined approval stops based on routing established within the EPAWeb System for your department and school/division. The very bottom of the submitted action review screen displays the routing stops that will be taken by your action in order to receive full approval.
There are four specific buttons of note on the review screen. They include the Printer View, Delete, Retract, and Done buttons. The Done button returns to you the position management home page when you are finished working with this action. The functions of the remaining buttons are described below.
Printer View Button
The Printer View button may be clicked with your mouse to obtain a formatted printed copy of your action. If you select the Printer View button, a seperate browser window will pop-up apart from the displayed position management screen with a view of your action specially formatted for printing. Once this pop-up window is displayed, use your web browsers normal print function (e.g., File | Print menu selections in many browsers) to send this output to your printer. This action may be retrieved in EPAWeb at any time using the Action Search function, so while you may find a printed copy for your files to be helpful, it is not necessary or required.
Delete, Retract, and Done Buttons for Submitted "In Progress" Actions
When reviewing a successfully submitted (e.g., In Progress) action, either immediately after submiting it or later when retrieved through the Action Search function, the Delete, Retract, and Done buttons appear at the very top and bottom of the action display screen. The Delete and Retract buttons are present from the time an action is successfully submitted until the time it receives its final approval but only for the individual who initially originated the action in the EPAWeb System. Once an action is fully approved, the delete and retract functions are no longer available for that action. Even if another individual in the department shares the same EPAWeb role and access as the person who originated an action, only the originator is able to delete or retract their action.
The Delete button will delete the action and stop it from routing for further approvals. The deleted action is recorded in the position's action history and an FYI notification of the deletion is sent to all approvers to whom the action has routed. This function is used when the originator changes their mind and for whatever reason no longer wishes the action to be processed.
The Retract button stops the action from further routing and returns it to the originator's inbox so that changes can be made to the action and then it can be later resubmitted. An FYI notification is sent to all approvers to whom the action has routed prior to being retracted. This function is isued when the originator discovers an error in the original action or submission or otherwise needs to change one or more position details since the action was first originated.
