Starting this academic year, all students will keep track of their campus employment pay online. Timesheets for campus employment and work-study will be handled through the Lawrence Voyager information system. Supervisors can also verify the hours through Voyager. Until this year, all time sheets for student employees were calculated on paper. Each time sheet had to be signed by the employee’s supervisor and then delivered to the payroll office by the deadline in order for students to get paid. The new online system was developed in hopes of simplifying the process.
According to Lisa Hurst, administrative assistant in payroll, the flaws of the old system have been eliminated by the change. The old method involved “a lot of paperwork, students chasing down their supervisors, supervisors having to keeping track of time sheets, and [the payroll office] having to keep track of time sheets, and manual enter of time sheets,” said Hurst. She also commented that, “except for a few minor bugs in the beginning,” there had been no problems with the new system. It is viewed as an easier system with less work for everyone.
However, not all are as satisfied with the new system. Sophomore Eric Garbacik, who works as a lunch host to prospective students, preferred last year’s system. “It was easier to remember to fill out time sheets,” he said. “It’s a little confusing this year.” While Garbacik may not appreciate the new system, he agrees that there are no major problems with it and cited an attempt to “make everything electronic to minimize paper use” as the most likely reason for the change.
Garbacik’s reasoning was confirmed by Hurst, who claimed that “less paper and less paperwork” and a “more timely and more streamlined” process were major reasons for switching over. Most students acknowledge that it is something that will take awhile to get used to, but that it does have several advantages.
One problem with the new system
is that not everyone knows how to use it. “I still haven’t recorded any of my hours. I don’t know how to do it,” said Dustin Lee, an intramural flag football referee. But the learning curve is not so steep for others. “It only took a couple seconds for someone to show me how to use it,” said freshman Karen Oliver.
Freshmen and transfer students, who have never experienced the previous paper system, find completing time sheets through Voyager to be extremely simple. “I like it,” remarked Oliver. “It’s really easy and pretty straightforward,” remarked Oliver. This seems to be the prevailing opinion around campus. “I can do it at work, so it’s not that bad,” added Oliver.
With a click of the mouse, the new payroll system has simplified the process and reduced paper use. It has been largely viewed as a success with no real problems. “It’s going very well,” said Hurst. With the streamlined process, reduced paperwork, and less work for students, supervisors, and the payroll staff, the new system has been fairly well received.
Online payroll system streamlines process
