Frequently Asked Questions about ctcLink

The ctcLink login screen can easily be located by searching for "ctcLink login" from Google Chrome. Here is the specific link: https://ptprd.ctclink.us/psp/ptprd/?cmd=login&languageCd=ENG&.

• Students - if you want to enroll in a Canvas course about the new system, please email Wendy Hall at whall@lowercolumbia.edu with your full name and email address.
• Employees - check your email inbox for a recent "ctcLink update" from Wendy Hall for instructions on how to self-register for ctcLink Canvas courses. Having trouble self-registering or can't find the email? Please email Wendy at whall@lowercolumbia.edu.

You get your new ctcLink ID number (called EMPLID in the system) when you activate your ctcLink account. Be sure to write down your new number when you get it and keep it in a safe place.

Yes, your ctcLink ID number replaces your SID, which is sometimes referred to as a "900 number."

• EXCEPTION: students who are receiving financial aid will continue to use their SIDs ("900 numbers") to log in to their financial aid portal for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year (end of June 2020).

If you have already received a ctcLink ID number from Clark College, Tacoma Community College, or the Spokane Community College District, you do not need to activate your account or receive a new number. The ctcLink ID number you already have is what you will use at LCC.

• Students can retrieve their ctcLink ID number, just like they do their SID now, using the link from the online services page on the LCC website. Students enter their last name, date of birth, and Social Security Number to retrieve their ctcLink ID. Note: students who don't have or did not provide a Social Security Number at admission should contact the One-Stop Center for assistance with ID number retrieval.
• Employees can also retrieve their ctcLink ID number. See the Employee Training and Resources page.

Yes, global pins are going away. They will be replaced by the new ctcLink ID number (called EMPLID in the new system) AND password. Students and employees will set up their own passwords and associated security questions (for use if the password is forgotten) the first time they log in to the new system.

No, Canvas is not going away!

You will be able to login to Canvas with either your email address (students just use the first part of their email) and "900 number" OR your ctcLink ID number (as your username) and password (once you have activated your ctcLink account) through the end of spring quarter 2020.

Plan to use your ctcLink ID number (as your username) and ctcLink password to login to Canvas starting in summer quarter 2020.

LCC's tuition payment plan, through Nelnet, will be fully integrated with ctcLink by summer 2020. During spring quarter 2020, updates will be made manually so it will still be functional for students. Benefits of the integration include more flexibility with payments and an updated payment schedule (payments will shift to the 10th and 25th of the month with the new system, in order to be more closely aligned with LCC's paydates).

LCC's mobile app will be added/activated in ctcLink when we go live. The web version of the app will be automatically available at that time as well. See our mobile app webpage for more information.

No, students will have to set their own forwarding rules if they want emails sent to my.lowercolumbia.edu automatically sent to a different email address (even if it identified as the preferred email address in ctcLink). See also: "How do I set my preferred email address?"

The "tiles" you will see in your ctcLink access correspond to your roles at LCC. Important note: the contact information you enter through the "Personal Details" tile in Employee Self Service will override the contact information you enter through the "Profile" tile in Student Self Service.

Students and employees can designate their preferred email address. Students who also work on campus should enter their preferred email address through the "Personal Details" tile in Employee Service Service. Students who don't work on campus should set it in the "Profile" tile in Student Self Service.

Note: all student employees will be assigned an @lowercolumbia.edu email address for use in ctcLink at go live (student workers do not have to set this as their preferred email address).

Unofficial transcripts are available through Student Self Service under the "Academic Records" tile. For more specific information, please visit the unofficial transcript help page in the ctcLink Reference Center.

LCC employees are paid on the 10th and 25th of each month. If the 10th (or 25th) falls on a Saturday, payday is Friday. If the 10th (or 25th) falls on a Sunday, payday is Monday. With ctcLink, all employee categories are paid twice a month.

Pay periods are the 1st through 15th, and the 16th through the 31st. Deadlines for entering time and leave are as follows:

• 1st - 15th: deadline to enter time is the 16th
• 16th - 31st: deadline to enter time is the 1st

Yes, all employee categories should continue submitting paper timesheets and leave requests through the end of June or whenever the Payroll Office notifies campus that it's time to stop. This is to ensure that people are using the new system and getting paid correctly.

• FMS Query (this function will eventually be replaced by something else, but not right away)
• Advisor Data Portal/ADP Pro (Navigate and ctcLink will contain advising info)
• Academic Early Warning (you should be doing this in Navigate already)
• Instructor Briefcase (you'll be submitting grades through ctcLink)
• ByRequest (this will be replaced by QARS and other reports/queries)

Note: employees who use FMS Query will continue to have access to historical data after go-live, but new transactions won't be entered there.

ctcLink is a version of PeopleSoft that is specific to the Washington community and technical colleges. It will replace LCC's current "Legacy" systems commonly referred to as SMS (student and course information), FMS (financial management information), and PPMS (employee information).

Just like our current Legacy system, ctcLink separates the college's data into three main areas, which PeopleSoft calls 'pillars.'

1. Campus Solutions (CS) contains student and course/program information. It replaces SMS.
2. Human Capital Management (HCM) contains employee information. It replaces PPMS.
3. Finance (FIN) contains financial management information. It replaces FMS.

Although we will capture all the data from our Legacy systems before we go live, the systems will no longer be available for processing transactions as soon as we "flip the switch" for ctcLink. The exception is Financial Aid, which will run both Legacy and ctcLink through the end of the academic year. Certain subject-matter-experts (such as in enrollment services) will have ongoing access to information in SMS.

While this is a possibility for the future, right now employees should anticipate having a unique password for the ctcLink system. To login, they will use their ctcLink ID number (called EMPLID in PeopleSoft) and a password. The EMPLID will replace the 900 numbers we currently use.

Nichole Seroshek is our designated project manager for ctcLink, and Wendy Hall can also answer project questions. You can also submit questions through the link at the bottom of this page. There are many others involved in project leadership; learn more on the ctcLink Project Leadership page.

Yes, 25Live is a required element in ctcLink, so LCC will continue to use 25Live for room scheduling.

Human Resources will do most of the set-up for new employees before their first day, but employees themselves have to enter key pieces of information (including entering a password and selecting security questions) to activate their accounts. For most employees, this will occur during their first day on the job.

In Legacy, advisors in some programs (such as I-BEST) enroll students. This will not change in ctcLink, since staff with access to the enrollment pages will be able to complete enrollment transactions.

The Quick Reference Guide (QRG) for creating travel requisitions references people who are authorized to process process for others. Learn more at Creating Travel Requisitions.

(For example, if a student brings in an unofficial transcript that hasn't been evaluated yet and an instructor decided to waive something for them based on that information.)

If a student is enrolling based on an unofficial transcript, a milestone can be added for the student so that they meet enrollment requirements to enroll in the class via the online registration system. If a faculty member issues a prerequisite waiver, a permission number can be issued to allow enrollment via online the registration system or staff can perform an override based on written permission from the faculty member (using a prerequisite waiver form).

Yes, these transactions will still take place in PeopleSoft. Enrollment Services staff will be able to make these changes (they require a backdate for enrollment counting purposes, so need to be completed by staff).

If a student has had an enrollment within the last 6 years prior to the go-live term, the full student record converts to PeopleSoft (all historical records/courses from the students record will be listed on a student's LCC transcript).

Students who have had an enrollment within the last 6 years prior to the go-live term will have their full academic record converted. Students who have had an enrollment prior to the last 6 years before the go-live term will need to have their record built manually into PeopleSoft by Enrollment Services staff when they return.

According to ctcLink Connect, the SBCTC newsletter, Oracle has no plans to end its investment or support for customers in existing PeopleSoft applications, including HCM, FIN and CS.