September


In This Issue:

Travel project makes headway

The effort to modernize the MIT travel system is slated to take a major step forward in October, with the launching of a pilot program. Under the pilot, approximately 50 travelers from across campus will use the new Travel Credit Card and Online Travel Booking and Expense Reporting System, laying the groundwork for a school-by-school rollout of the system beginning this winter.
The suite of travel tools being piloted stands to greatly enhance the experience for MIT travelers, facilitating booking and expense reporting and eliminating the need to pay for travel expenses out of pocket and to hand carry travel vouchers to VPF Travel.

More >>

VPF positioning itself to better serve MIT community
As an outgrowth of the work of the Institute-wide Planning Task Force, the VPF is embarking on new efforts to modernize processes, position itself to better serve our customers across the Institute, and build productive partnerships within the MIT community and with vendors.

Over the past several months, the VPF has moved to leverage our service capabilities and the MIT buying power in the areas of travel and procurement with the creation of a Sourcing area within the VPF. Led by Leo McInerney, hired last spring as Director of Sourcing, this new area encompasses all MIT procurement activities, including travel. This new area — Sourcing, Travel and Procurement Services — will work to yield significant savings to MIT, develop more efficient methods of buying products and services, and to achieve a greater level of service and support to the community.

The VPF is also continuing efforts to improve the effectiveness of Payroll processes and services. Under the leadership of Director Gerard (Gerry) O'Toole, HR/Payroll has unified the technical and business teams related to those processes and is taking a highly collaborative approach to providing the highest quality service to our faculty, staff, and students. These developments in HR/Payroll are aimed at delivering superior results and building upon process redesign and automation efforts already underway, such as the ongoing redesign of HR/Payroll appointment transaction processing.

Buyer's market: MIT Provider Fair, Sept. 24

Please join the VPF at the MIT Provider Fair, Thursday, September 24, and visit with more than 130 providers of goods and services to the MIT community. The fair will take place under a tent on McDermott Court (outside building 54 and building 18) from 9 am-2 pm, rain or shine. For the first time, the fair this year will encompass products and services related to both procurement and travel, which in previous years was showcased at a separate MIT Travel Fair. We hope you will take this opportunity to catch up with your current providers, meet new providers, and learn how you can benefit from both MIT's buying power and the guidance available from VPF staff concerning your procurement and travel needs.

View the Provider Fair flier >> (PDF)

Open procedure for policy rewrites

The VPF is beginning to rewrite its policies and procedures not only to assure compliance with government regulations but also to make sure they are consistent with new process tools and accurately reflect current practice. Critical to this rewrite process is a community comment period that we are implementing prior to adoption of a rewritten policy.

We are in the process of presenting the rewritten Gifts and Gratuities Policies to the MIT leadership for consideration. Among the policies slated to be rewritten in the coming months are those related to Accounts Payable, Travel, and Treasury functions. We will announce the opening of comment periods related to those policies in the VPF Monthly Statement and on the VPF web site, and we very much encourage you to provide input. Your perspective is vital to our making the policies practical.


See the final draft of the Gifts and Gratuities Policy >>

VPF Point Person: Doug Le Vie, Sponsored Projects Accounting

MIT is in Doug Le Vie's lineage. His father, Ken, spent 30 years at the Institute in a variety roles, most notably managing the MIT Credit Union. Doug himself has worked here since 1988, and his brothers Darren and Ken are MIT employees. It seems appropriate then that MIT played a role in fostering the next generation of the Le Vie family. Doug and his wife met in the late 1980s while he was working for MIT Card Services and she for ARA Food Services. They now have three children, ages 9, 14, and 17.
You could also say it is fitting that after serving in a variety of capacities at MIT for 20 years Doug now manages accounting functions related to sponsored projects. Such projects form the lifeblood of the Institute and are at once the heart of MIT's vibrant present, a legacy of its innovative past, and a precursor of its lustrous future. As Senior Accounting Officer in VPF Sponsored Projects Accounting (SPA), Doug and his staff of accounting customer service representatives work to keep that lifeblood flowing.

More >>

Please remember to ...

Use the most current version of the Travel Expense Voucher form. Even though this Excel-based form will soon be replaced with our new online Expense Reporting System, it is important in the meantime that you use the most current version of this form. This version includes new fields that are necessary to processing your voucher.

Download the most current version >>

Blue skies ahead: New partnership with Jet Blue yields 8% discount

As part of ongoing efforts by the VPF to leverage MIT's buying power, MIT business travelers booking with Jet Blue will now receive an 8% discount on standard fares. Make sure to obtain that discount by booking directly through Jet Blue's online booking system, CompanyBlue.

Learn more about these savings >>

Process redesign updates

VPF staff members are busy working to redesign key processes, with a goal of enhancing the user experience and achieving greater efficiencies and accuracy.

  • Request for Payment (RFP) Tool: Development of an online RFP tool is progressing, and the project schedule calls for the tool to be piloted next spring and made available for use across the Institute in May.
  • Appointment Process Redesign: New processes for appointment terminations, leaves, and supplements are currently being piloted. The process for appointment changes is scheduled to be piloted next spring, and the process for new hires next summer. The complete appointment system is slated to be available to the entire MIT community by the summer of 2010.
  • Vacation Tracker for Sponsored Research: The online Vacation Tracker is now in place for all Sponsored Research staff and administrators across the Institute.
  • Electronic Pay Stubs: In response to work by the Institute-wide Planning Task Force and in the spirit of reducing paper consumption, the VPF is working to develop the capability for employees to receive electronic pay stubs. HR/Payroll anticipates making this option available to employees sometime during the first quarter of calendar year 2010 and is also working to provide the option for receiving an electronic W2 by the end of 2010.

Serve Yourself: SAPweb, Employee Self Service

Employee Self Service and SAPweb offer an array of on-demand capabilities to MIT employees and administrators. SAPweb makes it easy for you to purchase products and services and perform many accounting and payroll tasks. Through Employee Self Service, you can update your personal information, manage your benefits and related financial matters, register for training, and more. We encourage you to take advantage of both these tools.

Employee Self Service | SAPweb

Please plan ahead: VPF service areas to be closed

VPF service areas will be closed from 12:45 to 2:45 pm on Thursday, September 17, for our quarterly staff meeting. Please make a note of this time and plan any visits to our offices in NE49 accordingly.

Events and Schedules

  • Introduction to Sourcing, Travel and Procurement Services, 10/6
    • Session1: Procurement, 9-10:30 am
    • Session 2: Travel, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
  • Introduction to Accounts Payable, 10/07, 9:30-11 am
  • Introduction to Journal Vouchers, 10/07, 11 am - 12:30 pm
  • Introduction to Financial Review & Control, 10/08, 10:30 am - 12 pm
  • Accounting Fundamentals, 10/22
  • Fundamentals of Budgeting at MIT, 11/24
  • Fundamentals of Financial Management, 11/30-12/3

Sign up for training >>

More events and schedules >>

At your service: Financial and administrative service areas within the VPF