Perkins IV – IC Web-based Year-To-Date(YTD) Expenditure and Progress Reporting Tutorial

Perkins IV Web-based Year-To-Date Expenditure and Progress Reporting Tutorial

Perkins IV IC Web-based Year-To-Date(YTD) Expenditure and Progress Reporting TutorialPresenter:Dr. Maureen WhiteDeveloper: Dr. Chuck Wiseley12/9/10 1

Slide 1:Introductions: Welcome to the Perkins IV IC web based YTD expenditure and progress report tutorial. Im Maureen White, a Specialist in CTE at CCCCO (CA Community Colleges Chancellors Office)This is the second in a series of Career Technical Education training modules or tutorials to support you, our CTE faculty, staff and administrators in reporting Perkins 1C funding. The YTD report is your opportunity to briefly report or give us updates on all the great accomplishments, expenditures, as well as challenges, you experience each quarter. The YTD reports are also referred to as Quarterly Progress Reports. The Chancellors Office CTE staff monitor those expenditures and support you in compliance and in avoiding red flags for auditors.

So, we encourage you to K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Scholar! I will be your guide in helping you with these reports.

Although this year to date progress report tutorial is for Perkins specifically, it can be considered as a foundation for any of the Chancellors Office YTD reporting systems. This tutorial also includes notes for your reference, as you listen to the audio.

1Year-To-Date (YTD) system overviewReporting periodsIntegrated system Rules based Resources availableDistrict profile Data entry & certification Budget changes and approvalsSession Agenda2

Slide 2:This tutorial of the YTD System will provide an overview of the reporting periods, will describe how the system is integrated with the application and final reports when available, and will describe how the system is a rules based system.

This tutorial will describe the resources available such as the user guide, resource guide, and other materials.

The tutorial discusses the importance of updating your district profile. And, also covers the two passwords available for data entry and certification.

The tutorial will also cover the requirements for making budget changes and getting approvals from your monitor that meet the requirements of the legal articles associated with the funded program.

2http://misweb.cccco.eduSelect YTDSix fiscal periodsApplication budgetFour quarterly reportsFinal reportPerkins YTD Overview3

Slide 3:The Perkins YTD System, along with all other online reporting systems, can be accessed at http://misweb.CCCCO.EDU where you select the appropriate year to date (YTD) system.

The Perkins YTD System covers six fiscal periods including: the application budget, four quarterly reports, and the final report.

3Reporting due dates:Application budget: completed with application usually in MayYTDFirst Quarter: due October 25Second Quarter: due January 25Third Quarter: due April 25Fourth Quarter: due July 25YTD Final Report: Summary expenditures due August 25Final Report: Program level narrative & expenditures due August 31Perkins YTD Overview4

Slide 4:Lets look at the due dates for reporting periods:The application budgets for Title I-C and Tech Prep are automatically completed with the application, which is due in May. There is no need to also enter the application budget again in the YTD System. However, other reporting systems may require that the application budget also be filled out by the district or college in the YTD System.The first quarter report is due October 25th.The second quarter report is due January 25th.The third quarter report is due April 25th. The fourth quarter report is due July 25th.The YTD final report of expenditures is due August 25.

7. Note that the Online Perkins I-C Final Report, which includes narrative and expenditures at the program level, is due August 31. This relies on the information in the YTD final report of expenditures summary to help verify accuracy of the full final report. Because the district deals in dollars and cents, yet all of these reports accept only dollar amounts, the Chancellors Office uses the reimbursement claim that carries the least rounding error for payment which is the YTD Final Report. Rounding error is discussed in more detail in the Final Report User Guide. 4Integrated with: Online ApplicationsFinal ReportsEmail notification systemsRemindersPasswordsLate noticesInformation DistributionPerkins YTD Overview (continued)5

Slide 5:When the application or final report are available online, the YTD System automatically integrates the budget from those systems. Title I-B leadership grants managers still need to enter their application budgets in the YTD System. Title I-C and Title II and Tech-Prep all use approved application budgets that are loaded automatically when the district enters the first quarter report.

Your Chancellors Office Monitor can send you reminders for YTD deadlines, late notices and passwords upon request.

Regarding Information Distribution *Remember to update your district profile or contact information whenever there are changes for CBO (or budget office), Project Manager and others involved with YTD reporting. Your CEO information is only included in the Application and Final Report, and can only be updated when entering a new application or final report.

5Rules based systemPasswords determine authorityData entryCertificationLegal ArticlesArticle IBudget rulesReporting timelinesPerkins YTD Overview (continued)6

Slide 6:The online YTD Systems are rules based systems. The first rules get executed at logon. The system uses rules to determine whether the user is allowed to certify the report or only do data entry based on the password used for logon.

At every point in the processes of data entry, save, and certification, rules are used to enforce requirements in the legal articles associated with the funding. Most of the rules are generated from Article I, budget and reporting sections. So, for example, when the legal articles specifies that prior approval is required, the system looks at the current date and determines whether prior approval was granted based on system entries.

6User/Usage GuideApplication Legal ArticlesFiscal Year specificResource Guide (posted on CTE website)CTE Unit Project MonitorAvailable Resources7

Slide 7:The step by step process in this tutorial is provided in detail in the User or Usage Guide available on the logon screen.

The Legal Articles for each fiscal year are also available on the logon screen for the application or the Chancellors Office website when the application is not online. Note that Legal Articles are specific to the fiscal year of the grant or allocation as requirements may have changed for that year.

The Career Technical Education (CTE) unit also provides an online or electric Resource Guide that is meant to be an overview of all the systems and titles funded through the Career Technical Education (CTE) unit. It describes the processes and provides guidance when necessary. It also includes live links for specific areas. This can be found on the CTE website.

Districts or colleges are encouraged to first scan the User or Usage Guide, the application Legal Articles, any available frequently asked questions (FAQs) documents, and the CTE Resource Guide for answers and immediate guidance. However, you are encouraged to contact your CTE Unit Project Monitor for further questions and concerns. Monitor contacts can be determined from the staff directory on the Chancellors Office CTE website section.

7Logon screen

8

Slide 8: This is a screen capture of the Perkins Title I-C YTD or quarterly expenditures and progress report logon screen. Notice the Year-To-Date Expenditures and Progress Report Usage Guide link right below the logon fields. This is the first place you would look for answers to any questions about entering data into the YTD System. It is updated as your questions and concerns come to the Chancellors Office.

8Logon

9

Slide 9:After we select the appropriate District and enter the Password, we simply press the Logon button. Each district is assigned unique passwords for Project Director and Chief Business Officer (CBO) to access the YTD system. The Project Director generally inputs the program information narrative using the Project Director password. Only the CBO password allows the user to certify and submit the completed report. If you do not know or have forgotten your password, contact your CTE Monitor for assistance.

9Select Year

10

Slide 10:Once the Logon is completed, the main menu of the reporting system is displayed. The first thing we do is Select Fiscal Year and then the appropriate reporting period or quarter. Once the Fiscal Year and reporting period are selected, we can then select the next option on the left side of the screen.

10Select District Profile

11

Slide 11:The next step is to select the District Profile to make sure your information was transferred correctly from the application or the prior reporting period. To update the district profile, also select the District Profile button.

11District Profile

12

Slide 12:This screen shows the District Profile. Three contacts are listed in the District Profile: the Project Director, the Chief Business (CB) Officer, and the phone number and email address of any contact that should be copied on emails from the system. Multiple emails can be added to the e-mail address line when separated by semi-colons. After changes are completed simply press the Update button.

It is important that these e-mail addresses are kept up-to-date. Official notifications from the Chancellors Office are often sent using these e-mail addresses [along with other official e-mail groupings such as AOE-all (Association of Occupational Education) or CBO-all (Chief Budget Officers)].

12Select Budget Change

13

Slide 13:The next function is the Budget Change request. Budget Change requests are required by the Legal Articles when prior approval is necessary. With the Fiscal Year and the first quarter selected, we simply select the Budget Change button. However, the system checks the current date and only allows a budget change request for the current fiscal quarter. For example, even if 1st Quarter is selected, if the current date falls after the September 30 reporting deadline, the system will go to the 2nd quarter for the budget change. Since prior approval is required, Budget Changes must be requested prior to the end of the quarter for which expenditures will be reported.

13Prior approval is required by Legal Article IWhen a budget line (1000, 2000 etc) isOpenedGoes from zero to somethingClosedGoes from something to zeroAudit notes are maintained for out of compliance changesBudget Changes are Required14

Slide 14:Approvals for Budget Changes are necessary when prior approval is required by the Legal Articles. The most common reasons for the Budget Change requests are when a new budget line is opened, or a budget line goes from zero to something greater than zero, or when a budget line is closed, or goes from something greater than zero to zero. This includes when a budget line is zero but an expenditure is reported. Occasionally, districts must report expenditures that were out of compliance with the Legal Articles. It should be noted that out of compliance changes approved by your Monitor include notations for the auditor that show in the auditors view of the reporting system.

You do not need approval for budget changes when you move funds around budget lines that were already approved in your application. However, according to Brustein, co-author of EDGAR Education Department General Administrative Regulations, which covers Perkins and all federal education funding, to be on the conservative side, it is suggested that you do a budget change request whenever you spend more than 10% of your total budget allocation in any quarter.

When you select the Submit button, the system sends an email to your Monitor. The email notifies him or her that you have requested a Budget Change. S/he will then review your budget and rationale for the change.

14Budget Change

15

Slide 15:This Budget Change request screen provides the most recent approved budget and allows for entry of new budget line amounts for the current fiscal quarter. Again, only the current fiscal quarter can be changed. Once the Certify button is selected, an email is sent to your project monitor at the Chancellors Office notifying him or her that a budget change request has been entered.

15Select Q1

16

Slide 16:To enter data for any reporting period, select the Fiscal Year and reporting period or quarter, and then select the Enter-Edit Data button.

16Q1

17

Slide 17:This screen shows the first quarter report data entry screen. Enter the expenditures and then indicate a project progress status by selecting the appropriate button under Progress Report on lower left side of this screen or slide. Notice that the Total Expenditure at bottom of slide is compared against an expenditure scale for each quarter. As we can see on this screen, the message is displayed based on whether the Total Expenditures met the expenditure guidance amounts per quarter. The guidance amounts are designed to help districts expend funds early in the fiscal year, so that program improvements can be implemented within the current fiscal year. Note: FUNDS are regionally determined by apportionment payment schedules, and are retained due to their importance in having expenditures and program improvements occur in the current academic year. If you need to know more about how funds are apportioned, see the CTE online Resource Guide.

17Q1 -218

Slide 18:

Ok. CTE Colleagues. Time to take a deep breath! This main reporting screen is where we (monitors) receive the most concerns, questions, challenges and frustrations from you. The Chancellors Office Specialists contributed their concerns and ideas, and we agreed on overall reporting guidelines. Although I will give you some guidelines for each reporting section (I, II, III, IV), it is best to consult with your Chancellors Office Monitor on the level of detail s/he prefers.

Keep in mind that the district or colleges must keep all detailed documents for every expenditure and rationale. The Chancellors office and Monitor do not need that level of detail; we just want an overview of expenses per quarter. Monitors will be checking for activities and descriptions that indicate or may imply inappropriate use of Perkins funds.

When we scroll down below the budget & expenses on this Enter-Edit screen, we see four text boxes for the narrative portion of the Expenditure and Progress Report. Important note: character limitations are enforced in these four text boxes. Each narrative box is limited to 8000 characters. That 8000 character limit was designed for Los Angeles community college district with nine colleges and the district office reporting. If you are a district with several colleges or multi-college district, list each college and briefly identify activities and expenditures for each program. This does not apply to single college districts. You are not required to use all 8000 characters for each narrative section!

Note that the question in section I starts with the word Summary. We ask for a summary of activities conducted during the quarter and to provide about a few sentences per program or one paragraph per college, if a multi-college district. This is a summary of activities, not a detailed listing of every reported expense. You are encouraged to summarize in a Word document, then copy and paste into Section I. The more resources put towards any activity, the more you may want to be more specific. For example, $19,000 for Capital Outlay, budget line 6000. We want you to at least tell us that you spent the money on Media Arts: digital cameras. Thats all. Your summary of activities will relate to your approved program expenses from your application.

Additionally, we ask that you only report expenditures using Perkins I-C funds in the narrative. When activities are funded with other funds, either leave out the activity or be specific about that funding source when describing the activities. Perkins has specific expenditure rules under each title. Activities outside those allowable will be questioned by your monitor when other funding sources are not specified. It is better to be asked for clarification from us, than to be interviewed by an auditor!

In section II provide reasons for lack of progress to program improvements that you may be experiencing. This section is required when a progress report status activities are not conducted as planned is selected. This response could be as simple as None. Or, perhaps advisory or curriculum meetings were postponed. Or, you did not require all the supplies you requested.

Section III is used for reporting funds falling below guidelines. This section is required when expenditure guidelines are not met. This happens and we understand; we just need you to briefly explain. Perhaps equipment or materials have not yet arrived.

The last Section IV is for reporting major budget changes or expenses. Because districts can move funds from one opened budget line to another without prior approval of your Project Monitor, we ask that any major budget changes are documented here. Depending on the funding title (for example, Title I-C or Tech-Prep), allocation amount, and monitor, the same budget change may be a major change or not. We recommend that you enter reasons for any significant changes to the budget in this section to avoid having a conversation with your monitor, or an auditor.

18Q1 -3

19

Slide 19:Notice that at the bottom of this reporting page three buttons are available on the screen. Only the Save-Update, Reset, and Cancel buttons are available when the project director password was used at logon.

19Q1 -4 certify

20

Slide 20:When the CBO password was used at logon, an additional Certify button appears. Selecting the Certify button takes you to the next Certification screen.

20certify

21

Slide 21:The Certification screen contains the information from the District Profile as well as a Certification Statement. The certification statement reads: This is to certify that the Year-to-Date expenditures and progress report has been prepared in accordance with the applicable Federal and state regulations. To the best of my knowledge, the data contained in this report and declarations within the report are true and accurate. Any project results reported are supported by documented deliverables (such as student outcomes/products) on file at the district/college.

The user must check the box in front of the certification statement in order to Submit the certification.

21Submit

22

Slide 22:Once the Certification box is checked, simply select the Submit button. Once the Submit button is selected, the YTD report is locked and noted as certified.

22Certified

23

Slide 23:With the Certification Submit button selected, the system returns the user to a display of the quarterly reports up with the certification date at the top in green. Once the quarterly report is certified the report cannot be changed without intervention by the CTE Project Monitor. The Chancellors Office approval date will also display just below the certification date on the View Data screen.The automated reimbursement process uses the YTD database for distributing funds. Reports must be certified by the district on or before the due date for the system to make the reimbursement in that payment period. If you have unusual circumstances that will result in a late certification, consult with your CTE Monitor.

23Thank you for your time.

Questions: Contact your CTE Project Monitor

www.cccco.eduChancellor's Office>Divisions>Econ. Dev. & Work. Prep.>CTECTE Staff Directory

Comments on this tutorial are welcome.Questions & Comments24

Slide 24:Thank you for your time. Please feel comfortable contacting your CTE Project Monitor with any questions or comments about this tutorial. You can find your Project Monitor by going to the Chancellors office website (www.cccco.edu) selecting Chancellors Office, Divisions, then Economic Development and Workforce Prep, and then selecting Career Technical Education. The staff directory link will be on the left side of the CTE screen. Once again, thank you for your time. We appreciate this opportunity to better serve you in providing Career Technical Education that supports our students academic and career success. We really appreciate all that you do. Remember K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Scholar. And, keep up the great work, CTE Colleagues!

24