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Appointments & Contracts Glossary


A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | W
A
A&P Administrative and Professional (an employment plan for the SUS)
Academic Rank A state-wide categorization of faculty positions. Categories include but are not limited to; Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and Instructor. 
Academic Year Typically, this term refers to the fall and spring semesters.
Action Dt Action Date field in GEMS. The date on which an action is entered into GEMS, not necessarily the effective date.
Action/Reasons In GEMS, Action is used to describe what data is changed on an employee’s record and linked to an effective date.  Each action has associated valid values that describe the reason why data is changed.
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act
AFSCME American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees [Represents USPS Administrative & Clerical, Operational Services, Human Services and Professional employees].
Annual Benefits Base Rate In GEMS, the annualized pay amount used to calculate premiums for specific benefit plans, i.e., LTD (Long Term Disability) and Life.
Annual Salary The salary to be paid a position on an annualized basis.
Appointment The act of putting a person into a job or position.
Authorized Position A position included in an approved budget. In counting the number of authorized positions, part-time positions shall be converted to full-time equivalents (FTE).
Auto Populate In GEMS, when specific values are entered into a field, it causes other fields to fill without requiring specific data input. This helps reduce the amount of inputting and the chance of erroneous data being input, although, in some instances, the data may be over-ridden.
Auxiliary Enterprise A budget entity which is comprised of ancillary support units on each university campus. The major activities are student housing, food service, bookstores, central stores, facilities maintenance, and computer support.
B
Bargaining Unit In GEMS, indicates an employee's eligibility to be in a bargaining unit (i.e., covered by a collective bargaining agreement) based on his/her job/appointment and assignment.
Benefit Program Participation In GEMS, each employee type is assigned a benefit program that represents the eligible benefits and deductions into which that employee type may enroll. It is assigned based on the employee's job/appointment.
Benefit-Related Deduction Deductions which are driven through the benefit eligibility process. Examples include health, life, disability, etc.
BOT Board of Trustees
Bud Ent In GEMS, the Budget Entity associated with the budgeted account. 
Budget Entity The lowest unit to which funds are specifically appropriated in the appropriations act.
Budget Entity Values 

 

Reflects the type of budgeted account (Budgeted Position Detail).

1 – E&G
2 – 
Auxiliary
3 – 
Grant
4 – USF HealthE&G

Budgeting/Position Management GEMS offers the advantage of using position management to budget for positions in a department.Each department can now forecast expenses and liabilities associated with each position.GEMS displays the budget (account data and rate) for filled or vacant positions in a department.
C
CAFA Council for Administrative and Financial Affairs [Administrative Vice Presidents]
CBA Collective Bargaining Agreement
CBU Collective Bargaining Unit.  The unit, if any, that represents the employee in collective bargaining.
CIP Classification of Instructional Programs or Capital Improvement Plan
Citizenship Status Indicates the status of U.S. citizenship (i.e., native, naturalized, permanent alien, temporary alien). Required at the time of hire, the citizenship status is captured during the employee signup process.
Collective Bargaining The performance of the mutual obligations of the public employer and the bargaining agent of the employee organization (union) to meet at reasonable times, to negotiate in good faith, and to execute a written contract with respect to agreements reached concerning the terms and conditions of employment, except that neither party shall be compelled to agree to a proposal or be required to make a concession unless otherwise provided in this part.
Compensation Frequency Defines the time period on which compensation is based and corresponds to the work period.   Depending on the employee status, the compensation frequency may be hourly, bi-weekly, 12-month, 9-month, Semester 1, Semester 2, Summer A, Summer B, or Summer C.
Compensation Rate In GEMS, the amount of wages an employee is paid each pay period. The compensation rates for USF Employees are biweekly or hourly rate.
Competitive Area Differential Some USPS job codes have a pay additive to increase the biweekly salary in recognition of variations in local markets throughout Florida and outside of Florida.  CADs are assigned to positions in those job codes in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties and Region 1, which includes, Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties.  Although not considered a part of the employee's base pay, in general, CADs are included in the base pay when calculating salary increases.
Component of Pay An individual type of pay for an employee.  Each employee (except Courtesy faculty) has a base pay (NAANNL, BIWK, or NAHRLY) and may have additional types of pay, such as SPIA (stipend) or CAD (Competitive Area Differential).  These components are listed on the Compensation Page in Job Data.
Concessions The generated resources from various vending machines located about the campuses. Since the methods of operation vary among the campuses, one should not attempt to correlate the level of revenue with the student population. For example, a larger campus might have fewer vending machines because strategically located food service units serve most of its need. Universities operate such locations as extensions of its food services operation, which is accounted for within the auxiliary enterprises budget entity.
Concurrent Job An employee is considered to have concurrent jobs when he or she has multiple jobs at USF.GEMS uses Employment Record Numbers to track data separately for each concurrent job.This allows for separate benefit and payroll processing.
Contract Period

 

In GEMS, reflects the period for which pay is established.

E - Bi-Weekly Commitment Period
I - 
12 Month Contract Period
M - 
9 Month Contract Period
U1 - 
Semester 1 Contract Period
U2 - 
Semester 2 Contract Period
UA - 
Summer A Contract Period
UB 
- Summer B Contract Period
UC 
– Summer C Contract Period

Contracts and Grants A budget entity which contains activities in support of research, public service, and training. These activities are funded with awards from federal, state, local and private sources.
CUPA-HR College and University Professional Association (for Human Resources)
D
Department  A ten-character identifier which uniquely identifies organizational units. It does not represent a funding source but, rather, the name of the unit. See “GEMS Department ID.”
DROP Deferred Retirement Option Program
DSO Direct Support Organization [an organization authorized by statute to "support" activities of the universities. Examples of DSO's are foundations, alumni associations, and athletic associations].
E
E&G Educational and General, an entity of the SUS operating budget.
Educational and General A budget entity. Appropriations by the Legislature are used to support instructional and non-instructional activities, research, public service, academic administration, and Type I Centers. The funds received are transferred into the traditional categories of Salaries and Benefits, Other Personal Services, Expenses, Operating Capital Outlay, and Electronic Data Processing.
Effective Date In GEMS, the first date the action applies. If an employee is appointed with the first day being 8-7-1999, then the effective date is 8-7-1999.
Effective dating GEMS allows you to maintain, analyze and report on past, current and future information.GEMS uses effective dates on panels to show different data changes and the action and reason for that data change.Not all tables/panels have effective dates (i.e., personal data).If more than one action occurs on the same day, GEMS will use an effective date sequence code.
Effective Sequence Signifies that multiple actions have been entered into GEMS with the same effective date. Each action is then uniquely identified with a sequence.
EmplID One ID per employee, auto-assigned by GEMS.Used instead of Social Security Number.
Employment Record Numbers The Employment Record Number (Empl Rcd) designates a specific and unique appointment for an employee.  While the employee has only one EmplID, he/she can have multiple Empl Rcds.  Before upgrading to GEMS Version 8, the Empl Rcds were assigned depending upon the type of appointment ( 0 – 4: Positioned Employee Appointments; 5 – 8: OPS Employee; 600 Series: 9 Month Faculty Summer Appointments; and 900 Series: Leave from home position).  In the current version of GEMS, there is no need to assign Empl Rcd numbers and so, except for the 9 Month Faculty Summer Appointments and the leave from home position, any type of appointment will appear on any Empl Rcd number.  We have retained the 600 and 900 series for ease in reporting.
Established Position An authorized position which has been classified in terms of its job and duties and pay plan.
Expenditure Transfer The process used to move expenditures (payroll charges) from one account to another.
Expense An expenditure category that covers such items as contractual services, commodities, and supplies of a consumable nature, current obligations, and fixed charges. Payments to other funds or local, state, or federal agencies are included in this budget classification of expenditures.
F
FAC Florida Administrative Code
Faculty Practice Plan A budget entity which contains data related to the activities for the University of South Florida Health Science Center. It is designed to display the financial level of clinical activity in training of students, post- graduate health professionals, and medical faculty.
Faculty Rank A state-wide categorization of faculty positions. Categories include, but are not limited to, Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and Instructor.
FAST!! The PeopleSoft Financials system.
FBOE Florida Board of Education
FICA Status Defines whether the employee’s job requires the payment of OASDI and Medicare Tax = FICA. The values are:

N – Subject to having FICA withheld
E – Exempt from having FICA withheld
M- Subject to Medicare Tax only

Fiscal Year The period of time beginning July 1 and ending on the following June 30, both dates inclusive.
Fixed Capital Outlay A budget entity and expenditure category which includes the resources related to real property (land, buildings, including appurtenances, fixtures and fixed equipment, structures, etc.), including additions, replacements, major repairs, and renovations to real property which materially extend its useful life or materially improve or change its functional use and including furniture and equipment necessary to furnish and operate a new or improved facility, when appropriated by the Legislature in the fixed capital outlay appropriation category.
Florida Institute of Phosphate Research An institute created to conduct studies related to phosphate mining and reclamation on the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the state. It is housed at USF and located in Bartow.
FLSA Status  Indicates whether the employee is covered by the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. "Non-exempt" means the employee is covered by the FLSA overtime provisions and must be compensated for overtime hours actually worked in excess of 40 by either payment at the rate of 1.5 times the employee's hourly rate or earning overtime compensatory leave credits at 1.5 times the number of overtime hours. All other values indicate the type of exemption, e.g., Administrative, Professional, etc. In GEMS, the field auto-populates based on the job code. This field is located on the Job Information page.
FRS Florida Retirement System
FTE Full Time Equivalent.  The percentage of a full time (40 hour/week) job, expressed in a percentage.  1.0 = 40 hours/week.  .50 = 20 hours/week.  Calculated by dividing the number of hours per week by 40.
FY Fiscal Year.  USF's fiscal year is July 1 - June 30.
G
GAU Graduate Assistants United [represents graduate students at FAMU, UF, and USF].
GEMS Biweekly Processing Cycle http://www.usf.edu/hris GEMS Biweekly Processing Schedule is available and can be downloaded from the web. The schedule incorporates the deadline dates for various processes including appointments, certifications, pay distribution, and posting to SAMAS.
GEMS Department ID 10 characters, including dashes.Example ID:0-0320-000
1st Character
Represents the campus that the unit reports to and not the location.

0 = Tampa
3 = St Petersburg
4 = Sarasota
7 = Sarasota/Manatee Campus
8 = Lakeland 

Middle 4 Characters
Usually linked to first four digits used for SAMAS accounts.SAMAS (State Automated Management Accounting System).

Last 3 Characters
May be used to further define organization units (example 0-0320-001 represents a subordinate department).

General Deduction Deductions from an employee’s pay which are not benefit related. Examples include credit unions, parking, unions, etc.
Grade The pay grade to which A&P and USPS positions are assigned.
H
Highest Education Level The highest degree that has been awarded to an employee.
HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act
Hourly Employees An employee who is hired on an hourly basis and quoted an hourly compensation rate. The employee is paid for hours worked only and is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
HS1 or HS2 Represents the holiday schedule assigned to the employee Pay GroupHS1 is for USPS, A&P, Faculty, and all salaried OPS employees. HS2 is for hourly OPS employees.
I
Instruction and Research A program component which contains the objective of transmitting knowledge, skills and competencies which allow eligible individuals to become practicing professionals or to pursue further academic endeavors, and to enhance the store of knowledge and technology. This program component when viewed in the legislative budget, includes those activities previously referred to as Institutes and Research Centers which provides for organized programs of research, public service, library support, and development which enhance the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge and technology in all disciplines and are known as Type I Centers.
Instruction and Research Data File (IRDF) Consists of data related to the instruction and research activities for each institution.
J
Job Code 4-digit code that indicates the job title for a position or appointment.
Job Data
The module in GEMS that houses and displays the appointment data for individual employees.
L
LTD Long Term Disability Insurance [the SUS has an employee pay program].
Local Funds Budget entities for the universities which contain operating resources for Student Activity, Intercollegiate Athletics, Concessions. Student Financial Aid, and Self-Insurance Programs.
Location A field in GEMS (Job Data>Work Location) that indicates the campus of employment.
M
MAN YEAR See Person Year
N
Non-Tenure Earning Non-tenured faculty whose position does not provide for the possibility of attaining tenure.
O
OCO See Operating Capital Outlay
“On-Line Certs” See “Web-Based Certifications (Certs).”
Operating Capital Outlay The expenditure category which includes equipment, fixtures, and other tangible personal property of a non-consumable and nonexpendable nature, the value or cost of which is $1,000 or more.
OPS See Other Personnel Services. 
ORP Optional Retirement Program (for the State University System)
Other Personnel Services An expenditure category which includes the compensation for services rendered by a person who is not a regular or full-time employee filling an established position. This definition includes, but is not limited to, services or temporary employees, student or graduate assistants, persons on fellowships, part-time academic employees, board members, and consultants and other services specifically budgeted by each agency, or by the judicial branch, in this category.
Overtime Hours (OT Hours on Web-based Certs) Only employees that are eligible for overtime should have hours entered in this field.Enter hours in this field when an employee is hourly or exceptional hourly and they have worked more than their standard/authorized hours in a workweek. The overtime hour’s field should only report hours for the current pay period.
P
Paper Certification Forms There are times when you must complete and submit a paper certification form to Payroll. The type of form required depends on the situation and type of payment to be made. The paper certification forms are:
  •  Payroll Certification Adjustment Form (PCAF) This form is used for changes that have occurred that did not appear on the web-based Certs for the current pay period (Job Data changes made after the Mini-Certs process that apply to the current pay period), PPH (Prior Period Hours) hours from more than 5 pay periods ago, overtime or regular time that didn’t get included in your Certs before the Wednesday 5pm certification deadline, annual leave payouts, and special compensatory cash-outs in the current pay period. 
  • Retroactive Rate Increase/Decrease Form 
  • Certification of Payment of Sick Leave 
  • Overtime-Compensatory Leave Cash Out Report 
  • Log of On-Call Assignments 
Pay Component An individual type of pay for an employee.  Each employee (except Courtesy faculty) has a base pay (NAANNL, BIWK, or NAHRLY) and may have additional types of pay, such as SPIA (stipend) or CAD (Competitive Area Differential).  These components are listed on the Compensation Page in Job Data.
Pay Distribution Process of distributing payroll expenditures for employees to specific GEMS account numbers.  GEMS pay distribution displays the percentage of pay expenditures to be posted to an account(s).  The total distribution percentage must always equal 100%.  The GEMS pay distribution is executed once for each biweekly pay period
  •  Department Level: Each active department has a department level pay distribution that identifies the default SAMAS account. 
  •  Position Level: Pay Distribution for positioned employees with multiple funding sources allowed. 
  •  Appointment Level: Pay Distribution for OPS employees with multiple funding sources allowed. 
Pay Group Employees grouped for payroll processing.PEU (Exceptional hourly USPS), PSU (Exempt USPS), POH (hourly OPS), POS (salaried OPS), PSF (12 month Faculty), PS9 (9 month Faculty), PS3 (3 month Faculty), PNP (Non-compensated employees), PSA (A&P).
Pay Hours  The hours for which an employee is to be paid for a particular biweekly pay period cycle.
PBA Police Benevolent Association (represents law enforcement employees)].
PECO Public Education Capital Outlay
PEORP Public Employment Optional Retirement Program
PEP Professorial Excellence Program
PERSON YEAR Applies to faculty and staff resources, represents segments of a twelve-month equivalent position.  In GEMS, (Position Data), represents person years available to be committed or expended.This is a calculated field based on SUS formula (FTE*Weeks Budgeted for the Position/Weeks Budgeted in the fiscal year).
Pos Type Reflects the Position Status (Budgeted Position Detail).

E – Filled
V – 
Vacant
O – 
Reserved

Positions GEMS structures non-OPS human resource data by position instead of by employee.If you imagine the USF organization chart, each box in the chart represents a position.Information relating to the position such as Position Title, Job Code and Department are assigned to it, regardless if an employee is currently in the position.When an employee is hired to fill the position, he or she inherits the position’s data.
Position # GEMS assigns a new position number when created.Each position is mapped to a GEMS Department.A crosswalk for “pre-GEMS” positions numbers is available on the GEMS web site.
PPH (Prior Period Hours)  Hours worked from a prior pay period not yet paid. The Pay rate must equal the current pay rate. An explanation is required for PPH certifications greater than 99.99 hours. PPH Certifications beyond 5 prior pay periods (10 weeks) require a PCAF.
PRP Phased Retirement Program
R
Regular Hours (Reg Hours) The authorized or standard hours of an employee’s appointment.
Retro Pay Payment equals the difference of the actual amount paid to an employee and the retroactive amount of the employee’s increased salary.
S
SACS Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Salary Administration Plan Represents Pay Plans. Employees are eligible for benefits and deductions based on the salary administration plan. More than one salary administration plan may be reflected in a Pay Group. For example, Pay Group POP (Salaried and Hourly OPS) contains salary admin plans of 00, 02, 05, 06, and 09.
Salary Category Detail File (SCDF):

 
 

 

The SCDF is used to generate salary budgets .BPA will use the information from the updated Budgeted Position tables in GEMS to produce the Salary Category Detail File (SCDF).BPA will add to the SCDF all the new positions and the annual salary increase rate allocated to USF in the legislative budget process. 
Search Dialog Box After navigating menu items or business process maps, a box appears where at least one field of information must be entered to find data in GEMS. Examples of search criteria are Name, Employee ID, Department, Position Number, etc.
Standard Hours
 
The number of hours the employee is expected to work each week, not per pay period. Divide the weekly Standard Hours by 40 to determine FTE. When FTE is known, multiple FTE times 40 to determine the weekly standard hours. Pay is driven by standard hours, not by FTE. Standard Hours and FTE are on the Job Data 2 panel.
Step The step of the pay grade to which employees in the PBA bargaining unit are assigned. Step also is used with House Staff/Medical Residents to indicate which ones have "chief" rank. Step is located on the Salary Plan page in Job Data.
Student Status Indicates whether the student is appointed hourly or salaried and whether the student is an Undergraduate, Graduate, or employed under the Federal Work Study Program (FWSP).
T
Tenure A condition attained by a faculty member through highly competent scholarly activities which assures the faculty member security of employment and immunity from reprisals or threats due to an intellectual position or belief which may be unpopular and which guarantees annual reappointment for the faculty member until voluntary resignation, retirement, or removal for adequate cause.
Tenure-earning Non-tenured faculty who are in a position which allows them the possibility of attaining tenure.
TIP Teaching Incentive Program
U
UBOTs University Boards of Trustees
UFF United Faculty of Florida (represents most faculty members at USF)].
Union Code In GEMS, indicates to which bargaining unit the employee is assigned.
USDOE United States Department of Education
USF University of South Florida
USPS University Support Personnel System [an employment plan for support employees of the SUS].
W
Web-Based Certifications (Certs) USF Payroll Certification is entered into a web-based application at USF.A two-step process, first with preparers entering/verifying hours worked from timesheets against account data for expenditure for pay, and second with certifiers approving and submitting using a digital signature for security. http://hercules.www.usf.edu/certs/
  •  Preparer The Preparer is responsible for providing correctly entered hours to the Certifier for approval. This consists of confirming that the default hours displayed in Certs are correct, adjusting hours and entering overtime hours as needed, and entering prior period hours (PPH) that were previously not paid.  
    Certifier The Certifier is responsible for reviewing and approving hours entered in the GEMS web-based Payroll Certifications.Certifiers are not allowed to input hours worked on the GEMS web-based Certifications.