Dear Campus Partners,

To assist your department with planning for the month ahead, the Office of the Provost Shared Services Center (OPSSC) has compiled a summary of key deadlines for March 2026. Below are the critical dates to keep on your radar:

HR & Payroll Deadlines

Timely submissions are essential to ensure all employees receive their pay on time.

• Pay Authorizations: Required via RT Ticket by March 6, 2026 (for Payroll ID 2026-019) and March 24, 2026 (for Payroll ID 2026-020).

• Timesheet Approvals: Electronic timesheets must be approved in PSHR by March 12, 2026, and March 26, 2026.

• Hiring Requests: * For an April 6, 2026 start date: RT Ticket due by March 23, 2026. For an April 20, 2026 start date: RT Ticket due by March 31, 2026.

Accounting & Finance Guidelines

Help us keep your unit's financial operations moving smoothly by observing these monthly benchmarks:

• Restricted Journal Entries: Please submit RT tickets by EOD on March 17th.

• Unrestricted Journal Entries & Budget Amendments: Submit by EOD on March 23rd.

• Purchase Orders: Ensure RT tickets are submitted at least 10 business days before the PO is needed by your vendor.

• Invoices & Payment Requests: Submit to the OPSSC via RT ticket immediately upon receipt (no later than 21 days prior to the invoice due date).

• Stipends & Honorariums: Submit requests within 7 days of the conclusion of work or the event.

Full Calendars & Resources

For your convenience, you can access our complete FY26 schedules and detailed guidelines here:

• HR Paperwork Calendar

• Pay Authorization Calendar

• Timesheet Calendar

• Accounting & Finance Guidelines

Thank you for your continued partnership and for all you do for the UMBC community. If you have any questions regarding these dates, please don't hesitate to reach out to us via an RT ticket.

Best regards,

The OPSSC Team

Dear colleagues, 

As you might already know, UMBC is in the process of updating the faculty handbook. This process is part of a broader initiative by the Office of the Provost and General Counsel to ensure UMBC has up-to-date policies and procedures to support the work of faculty, staff, and students. 

Currently, the Faculty Handbook Revision Committee is focusing on making the UMBC Faculty Handbook more accessible and useful (for more information, see here). The Faculty Handbook Revision Committee is not making any substantive changes during this review period. 

Feedback
The Faculty Handbook Revision Committee welcomes your feedback and/or comments here as it continues its work. 

Faculty Handbook Revision Committee
Members of the Faculty Handbook Revision Committee include: 

• Lynda Aldana (Librarian IV)

• Keith Bowman (Mechanical Engineering, Professor –  Co-chair of committee)

• Lindsay DiCuirci (English, Associate Professor)

• Stephen Freeland (Biology, Professor)

• Ana Oskoz (Faculty Affairs, Vice Provost  –  Co-chair of committee)

• Patrick Sheridan (Senior Associate General Counsel, Labor & Employment, in an advisory capacity)

• Donald Snyder (Media Communication Studies, Teaching Professor, Chair of Faculty Affairs)

Process and timeline

At the last Faculty Senate meeting, we presented the process that the committee has followed, including discussion of the current faculty handbook organization, selection of criteria for revision of content, and potential reorganization of the faculty handbook. 

The Faculty Handbook Revision Committee will be updating the Faculty Senate every other meeting (February, April, September, November, and December). We aim to share a full set of proposed changes by December 2026. 

Sincerely, 

Keith J. Bowman
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Ana Oskoz
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs