AESOP Manual

1. AESOPManual Pearland Independent School District _AESOP@pearlandisd.org October 12, 2009

2. Introduction to the AESOP Manual The purpose of this manual is to provide principals/directors and secretaries with a ready resource that contains pertinent information regarding procedures for using the Aesop system. It is essential that you are thoroughly acquainted with the Aesop Manual and refer to it frequently. The AESOP Team and each individual administering Aesop functions are part of a team serving the best interest of employees, district programs, and substitutes. Contents of this manual is subject to change as the district implements new processes or adds new functions to the Aesop system. The Aesop Team is the first line of communication for addressing absence reporting processes or issues with the system. Suggestions for improvements and revisions to this manual are encouraged and may be sent to the Aesop Team email address. _AESOP@pearlandisd.org We’re here to serve and help you! Aesop Team Greg Bartay, Coordinator of Internal Controls Bob Crager, Executive Director of Human Resource Services Susan Felts, Payroll Supervisor Keream Simons, Support Services Specialist Leslie Skweres, System Analyst E-Mail: _AESOP@pearlandisd.org

3. Table of Contents Absence Reason Descriptions Page 1 Employee Procedures for Non-Discretionary Absences Page 4 Employee Procedures for Discretionary Absences Requiring Approval Page 5 Absence Reasons Requiring Registration in Eduphoria Page 6 Minimum Time Required for Registration Page 7 Employee Procedures for Classes/Workshops Requiring Approval Page 8 Absence Reasons – Department Approval – Workflow Page 10 Special Programs Approval Path – Workflow Page 14 Intervention Workshop Approval Path – Workflow Page 18 Absence Reasons Needing Only Campus Approval – Workflow Page 22 Special Absence Codes Page 26 Absence Codes for HR Use Only Page 28 Absence Log – Audit Trail Page 32 Approval Log – Audit Trail Page 33 How to Cancel/Correct an Absence Reason Page 34 Payroll Information Page 36 Payroll Information – Approval Absences Page 37 Payroll Information – Absence Interactive Report Page 38 Payroll Information – Tutoring Page 39 Payroll Information – FAQ’s and Scenarios Page 40 Eduphoria – Entering a Class/Workshop Page 43 Eduphoria – Entering Attendees Page 45 AESOP Contact Information Page 48

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7. Employee Procedures for Non-Discretionary Absences NO APPROVAL REQUIRED Employee Enters Absence into Aesop All Employees Can See the Following Absence Codes DeathImFam – local DeathImFam – new state DeathImFamily – old state Family Ill – local Family Ill – new state Family Ill – old state Personal Ill – local Personal Ill – new state Personal Ill – other local Jury Duty / Subpoena These are Non-Discretionary Days and Do Not Require Prior Approval Page 4

8. Employee Procedures for Discretionary Absences REQUIRES APPROVAL Discretionary – Local Discretionary – NewState Compensatory Leave Flex Time NonDuty Days Vacation Employee Enters Absence into Aesop Supervisor/Prin. Reviews Absence Deny Approve Campus/Dept Sect. Reviews Absence Deny Approve Employee Notified by E-mail Page 5

9. THE FOLLOWING AESOP ABSENCE REASONS REQUIRE REGISTRATION IN EDUPHORIA Prof C&I Prof CTE Prof GT/Advanced Academics Prof Sp Programs Prof Bilingual Intervention Workshop DEPARTMENT SECRETARIES MUST INDICATE IN EDUPHORIA WHICH ABSENCE REASON EMPLOYEES SHOULD SELECT IN AESOP Create absence in AESOP and select Prof C&I for your AESOP absence reason Page 6

10. Minimum Time Required for Registration These dates apply to both EDUPHORIA and AESOP • Prof C&I Requires 10 Business Days in Advance of the Training • Prof Bilingual Requires 10 Business Days in Advance of the Training • Prof Sp Programs Requires 5 Business Days in Advance of the Training • Prof GT/Adv Academ Requires 5 Business Days in Advance of the Training • Prof Athletics Requires 3 Business days in Advance of the Event • Prof Athletics Requires 3 Business days in Advance of the Event Page 7

11. Employee Procedures for Classes/Workshops REQUIRES APPROVAL Prof C&I Prof CTE Prof GT/Adv Academ Prof Sp Programs Prof Bilingual Intervention Workshp Employee registers for the class or workshop/event in Eduphoria Employee enters absence into Aesop – selecting the correct absence reason as indicated in Eduphoria Absence in Aesop follows approval paths as outlined in this manual Employee notified by E-mail after final approval or denial Page 8

12. Notes: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13. Absence Reasons - Department Approval Employee Enters Absence into Aesop Prof Athletics Prof Bilingual Prof Fine Arts Prof C&I Prof CTE Prof GT/Advanced Academics Department Reviews Absence Deny Approve Campus Admin Reviews Absence Approve Deny Campus Secretary Reviews Absence Approve Deny Employee Notified by E-mail Page 10

14. Absence Reasons - Department Approval Step 1 – Employee submits absence in Aesop under the correct absence reason. Absence request is forwarded to the appropriate department for review. Step 2 – Department reviews the request and approves or denies the request. Departments requiring Eduphoria registration will compare the AESOP request with the Eduphoria registration. If the employee is not registered, their request will be denied. Step 3 – Department approves or denies request: 1 - if the absence request is approved, it is forwarded to the employee’s campus administrator for review 2 - if the absence request is denied, department should enter a note explaining the reason for the denial. An email is then sent to the employee notifying them their request has been denied. ~ The denial notification only goes to the employee. The campus secretaries or administrators can run a report of denied requests at any time using the approved absences screen. Page 11

15. Absence Reasons - Department Approval Step 4 – The campus administrator then reviews the approved request. The request will be either approved or denied: 1 - if the request is approved, it is forwarded to the campus secretary for review and the input of any special substitute requests. This does not apply to PHS, DHS, PACE, SNGC 2 - if the absence request is denied, department should enter a note explaining the reason for the denial. An email is then sent to the employee notifying them their request has been denied. Step 5 – The campus secretary then reviews the approved request. (This step does not apply to PHS, DHS, PACE, SNGC) The request will be either approved or denied: 1 - Once the request has been reviewed and approved by all approvers, an absence will be created in Aesop and a substitute can be assigned. At this time an email is sent to the requesting employee. 2 - if the absence request is denied an email is sent to the employee notifying them that their request has been denied. ~ Please note that a request must be submitted in time for it to move through the approval process. Submission the evening before or the morning of an event or training will not allow for enough time and therefore the system will not create an absence. Resulting in there not being a substitute available for the requesting employee Page 12

16. Notes: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

17. Special Programs Approval Path Employee Enters Absence into Aesop Campus Admin Reviews Absence Deny Approve Department Reviews Absence Approve Deny Campus Secretary Reviews Absence Approve Deny Employee Notified by E-mail Page 14

18. Special Programs Approval Path Step 1 – Employee submits absence in Aesop under the correct absence reason. Request is forwarded to the campus administrator. Step 2 – The campus administrator then reviews the approved request. The request will be either approved or denied: 1 - if the request is approved, it is forwarded to the special programs department for review 2 - if the absence request is denied, department should enter a note explaining the reason for the denial.An email is sent to the employee telling them that their request has been denied Step 3 – Department reviews the request and approves or denies the request. This is where the departments requiring Eduphoria registration will compare the Aesop request with their Eduphoria registration. If the employee is not registered, their request will be denied.The department should enter a note on the absence explaining the reason for the denial. Page 15

19. Special Programs Approval Path Step 4 – Department approves or denies request: 1 - if the request is approved, it is forwarded to the campus secretary for review and the input of any special substitute requests (this does not apply to PHS, DHS, PACE, SNGC). 2 - if the absence request is denied,department should add a note explaining the denial. An email will be sent to the employee telling them that their request has been denied. Step 5 – The campus secretary then reviews the approved request. (This step does not apply to PHS, DHS, PACE, SNGC) The request will be either approved or denied: 1 - once the request has been reviewed and approved by all approvers, an absence will be created in Aesop and a substitute can be assigned. At this time an email is sent to the requesting employee. 2 - if the absence request is denied an email is sent to the employee notifying them that their request has been denied. ~ Please note that a request must be submitted in time for it to move through the approval process. Failure to submit requests in accordance with the schedule below could result in a substitute not being available for the requesting employee. Page 16

20. Notes: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

21. Intervention Workshop Approval Path Employee Enters Absence into Aesop Special Programs Reviews Absence Deny Approve C&I Reviews Absence Deny Approve Campus Admin Reviews Absence Deny Approve Campus Secretary Reviews Absence Approve Deny Employee Notified by E-mail Page 18

22. Intervention Workshop Approval Path Step 1 – Employee submits absence in Aesop under the correct absence reason Step 2 – Request is sent to the special programs department. Request will be approved or denied: 1 - if the request is approved, it is forwarded to C&I 2 - if the absence request is denied, department should add a note explaining the denial. An email will be sent to the employee telling them that their request has been denied. Step 3 – Request is sent to C&I where it is reviewed for registration in Eduphoria and funding requirements. If the employee is not registered in Eduphoria, their request will be denied. 1 - if the absence request is approved it is forwarded to the employee’s campus administrator or review. 2 - if the absence request is denied, department should add a note explaining the denial. An email will be sent to the employee telling them that their request has been denied. Page 19

23. Intervention Workshop Approval Path Step 4 – Request is reviewed by the appropriate campus administrator to be approved or denied: 1 - if the request is approved it is forwarded to the campus secretary for review and the input of any special substitute requests (this does not apply to PHS, DHS, PACE, SNGC). 2 - if the absence request is denied, department should a note explaining the denial. An email is sent to the employee telling them that their request has been denied. Step 5 – The campus secretary then reviews the approved request. (This step does not apply to PHS, DHS, PACE, SNGC) The request will be either approved or denied: 1 - once the request has been reviewed and approved by all approvers, an absence will be created in Aesop and a substitute can be assigned. At this time an email is sent to the requesting employee. 2 - if the absence request is denied an email is sent to the employee notifying them that their request has been denied. ~ The campus secretaries or administrators can run a report of denied requests at any time. Remember to set your dates that you would like to review for denied requests. Page 20

24. Notes: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

25. Absence Reasons Needing Only Campus Level Approval Absence without pay/dock Compensatory Leave Discretionary Day Discretionary Day-Local Flex Time Non-Duty Days Prof. Mtg./Convention Vacation Employee Enters Absence into Aesop Campus Admin Reviews Absence Approve Deny Campus Secretary Reviews Absence Approve Deny Employee Notified by E-mail Page 22

26. Absence Reasons Needing Only Campus Level Approval Step 1 – Employee submits absence in Aesop under one of the listed absence codes: absence without pay/dock compensatory leave discretionary day discretionary day-local field trips flex time non-duty days prof. mtg./convention vacation Step 2 – Request is reviewed by the appropriate campus administrator who will approve or deny the request. 1 - if the request is approved it is forwarded to the campus secretary for review and the input of any special substitute requests (this does not apply to PHS, DHS, PACE, SNGC). 2 - if the absence request is denied, department should add a note explaining the denial. An email will be to the employee telling them that their request has been denied. Page 23

27. Absence Reasons Needing Only Campus Level Approval Step 3 – The campus secretary then reviews the approved request. (This step does not apply to PHS, DHS, PACE, SNGC) The request will be either approved or denied: 1 - once the request has been reviewed and approved by all approvers, an absence will be created in Aesop and a substitute can be assigned. At this time an email is sent to the requesting employee. 2 - if the absence request is denied an email is sent to the employee notifying them that their request has been denied. ~ The campus secretaries or administrators can run a report of denied requests at any time. Remember to set your dates that you would like to review for denied requests. Page 24

28. Notes: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

29. Special Absence Codes Release Days: These can only be assigned by the appropriate department or each campus can assign their own allocated days at their discretion. These will be sent to HR and will be monitored by that department to ensure the departments and campuses do not exceed their allotment. A request to use these days can only be made by the department or campus Aesop administrators not individual employees. Tutoring C&I: Must be coordinated with C&I department. C&I has final authority over the use of this absence code. Failure to coordinate with the department could result in a negative impact on you campus budget. Tutoring Sp Programs: Must be coordinated with Special Programs. Special programs has final authority over the use of this absence code. Failure to coordinate with the department could result in a negative impact on you campus budget. Page 26

30. Special Absence Codes Other: This can only be used by the Department or Campus level Administrator. Prior approval is required before using. Field Trips: This can only be used by the Campus level Administrator. Prof Athletics: Can only be used by Coaches, Teacher Coaches, Trainers, and the Athletics Department. This code is for when employees are out with our student athletics on UIL competitions. Prof Fine Arts: Can only be used by Fine Arts Teachers/Sponsors and the Fine Arts Department. This code is for when employees are out with our students on district approved Fine Arts events. For questions about which events are approved please contact the Fine Arts Department Jury Duty/Subpoena: Does not require approval, however, district policy governing this absence still applies. Page 27

31. The Following Absence Codes are for HR use ONLY Admin Leave – with Pay Admin Leave – No Pay Assault Leave Release Day Admin FMLA – Other Local (Personal Only) FLMA – Local FMLA – New State FMLA – Old State Military Leave Natural Catastrophe Non-Duty Hours Temp Disability Vacant Positions Work Comp – Local Work Comp – Other Local Work Comp – New State Work Comp – Old State Only HR may use these codes! Page 28

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33. Before You Do The Following Page 30

34. STOP - before you do the following … DO NOT change an absence code reason in AESOP for any absence that has gone through the approval process without approval from appropriate department. Failure to do this, will result in all costs associated with the absence being charged back to the campus budget. Page 31

35. Absence Log – Audit Trail Page 32

36. Approval Log – Audit Trail Page 33

37. How to Cancel/Correct an Absence Reason • Determine if the correction is before or after the date of the absence • If the correction is before the date of the Requested Absence: • The absence request must be cancelled by the employee and then resubmitted under the correct absence code. This will allow for the absence request to follow the correct approval path. • Do not change the absence reason for a future absence that follows an approval path. If these absences need to be corrected, you must first cancel the incorrect absence, and re-create the absence with the correct absence reason. This will allow for the absence to follow the correct approval path. (ex. Prof Meeting to Prof C&I) • If the correction is after the date of the Requested Absence: • The only restriction is: Do not change the absence code to a department level absence code without first obtaining approval from the appropriate approving department. (ex. Prof. Campus Budget to Prof C&I) Page 34

38. Notes: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

39. Payroll Information • All absences are to be recorded in Aesop. This data flows into each employees leave master data in the Payroll software. No paper absence from duty forms should be submitted. • Any absence that is recorded in Aesop and is not taken will need to be cancelled by the Employee or Secretary before being reported to payroll. • Aesop data from the previous week is loaded into TCP every Monday at 10:00 am. Any changes or cancellations to an absence after this time must be recorded in both Aesop and TCP. • All absences requiring approval must be completely approved before submitting to Payroll. • Absence Interactive Report needs to be emailed to payroll@pearlandisd.org on the payroll due date as outlined on the payroll calendar. • After the Absence Interactive Report has been submitted to payroll, contact HR / Payroll to make any corrections. • Aesop data will be locked at 4:30 pm on the payroll due date (per the payroll calendar). • All Prof. Campus Budget absences will be paid from the campus budget. Page 36

40. Payroll Information – Approve Absences Check Your Date Range Click Submit Select appropriate boxes Verify that the Status is Approved or Denied ONLY. NO Partially Approved or Unapproved Page 37

41. Payroll Information – Absence Interactive Report Select date range to match payroll calendar Click Submit Click this link, save file in your payroll folder, email file to payroll@pearlandisd.org Page 38

42. Payroll Information - Tutoring • Daily Rate • Absences for Tutoring C&I and Tutoring Spec Programs need to be submitted through Aesop. • Secretary creates absence in Aesop for the employee and assigns the Substitute using the absence reason of Tutoring C&I or Tutoring Spec Programs. • If paying for tutoring from campus budget, select the absence reason Prof Campus Budget. • Hourly Rate • Any substitutes paid an hourly rate of $25 must complete a paper timesheet to be submitted with the supplemental pay form. • Prior approval must be obtained from the appropriate department. Page 39

43. Payroll FAQ’s and Scenarios • Q) Samantha Pineapple (Middletown School) registered to attend the First Year Teacher Academy but did not attend. Her absence and substitute was charged to Prof C&I. C&I will not cover these expenses. Will Payroll contact this campus? • No, payroll will not be aware of the absence until the AESOP data has been pulled for the payroll period. If this is discovered during the verification of Eduphoria to AESOP, the department should communicate with the campus secretary. • Courtney Cox (Upper Middletown High) did not attend the Literacy Course. Her substitute request was unfilled. Does it matter that Aesop shows a half day absence for her charged to Prof C&I? • Yes, the correct absence reason should be used. If the absence was created in AESOP and approved by the department, then the department will need to communicate to the campus that the employee did not attend the Literacy Course. The campus should research the absence and communicate with HR to have the absence reason corrected. • Q)Terrie Smith (Middletown Jr. High) and Terrie Jones (Upper Middletown Jr. High) attended a UH mentor meeting. They charged the absence to Prof C&I. Is this the correct absence code? • A) No, the correct code would be Prof. Meeting/Conf. • Q) What does C&I do if a teacher has requested a full day absence using Prof C&I, but the workshop was only ½ day? • C&I should edit the absence to ½ day and communicate to the campus the change. • Q) How do I handle the payment of a substitute who is working on a campus while various teachers tutor students? The substitute moves from classroom to classroom. Do you want me to fill out a supplemental sheet in this case? • This should be reported in AESOP, if the substitute is being paid a daily rate. If the substitute is being paid by the hour ($25.00) then the time is reported on a timesheet and then submitted on a supplemental pay form. • Betty Davis recorded an absence in AESOP for 1/1/2010 and a substitute (Joan Hart) was assigned.  Ms. Davis had a change in plans and did not take off on that day.   She was on campus & Joan Hart also was on campus.  Ms. Hart then was asked to sub for the nurse who was out on that day.  What do I need to do to fix the problem? • AESOP should be corrected as soon as possible.  If not corrected, Ms. Davis will be recorded with an incorrect absence for the day entered into AESOP.  When these types of situations occur, the incorrect absence should be cancelled and the substitute should be assigned to the correct absence.  If you have trouble with this procedure, you should contact Keream Simon. • Why did my employees time in AESOP move over to TCP as an 8.5 hour day instead of 7.5 hours? • When an Employee enters an Absence in AESOP, if Custom is selected, they need to make sure the start time and end time total to 7.5 hours. AESOP does not subtract the lunch hour when you select Custom. (Ex. 7:00 am – 2:30pm = 7.5 hrs) • We hope to have an AESOP upgrade to fix this in January 2010. Page 40

44. Notes: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

45. Eduphoria Pearland Independent School District

46. Entering Staff Development Workshops In Eduphoria Page 43

47. Entering Staff Development Workshops In Eduphoria Page 44

48. Enrolling Attendees in an Eduphoria Workshop Page 45

49. Enrolling Attendees in an Eduphoria Workshop Page 46

50. Notes: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________