Employee resources organized by task
This page consists of a list of "How do I ..." questions and their answers. Scan or search this page for answers to questions that you and your colleagues have about finding or doing things at AMBS.
Pro tips:
Press Ctrl-F to do a keyword search on this page.
Different people use different verbs to describe what they are looking for. For example, one person might want to find a document; another might want to locate it; and a third might want to obtain it. If you can't obtain/locate/find the thing you are seeking/hunting/pursuing/looking for, try another verb!
Still can't find what you need even after trying all sorts of verbs? Ask your question!
Ultra-pro tip: many of the questions submitted have to do with finding things that are in a shared drive in Google. Especially the business office shared drive. See? You didn't even need to pore through the questions below!
How do I ...
... find committee assignments of faculty, staff and students?
A list of committee assignments is kept in the President's Office.
... know which employee group email lists we have?
Visit Google Groups and search for all AMBS groups.
... know which email list to use?
Here are some best practices for sending email to groups at AMBS. As a general rule, send either (a) to as few people as necessary, or (b) to the AMBS announcements list. If your message does not pertain to everyone, indicate the preferred audience in the subject line. For example, "[EMPLOYEES] virtual training for sending email to groups of people."
... know who is on each employee email list?
You can learn who is part of an email group if you type the name of the list in the To, Cc, or Bcc field of an email message and hover over it.
... find all of the policies easily, especially discerning what is general vs HR vs employee, etc?
Sign in to your AMBS Google account and look for shared drives that have super-clear names that tell you precisely what they contain.
... find the process and forms for event planning?
Event planning forms are on this site under "forms employees need!" (Look for "Event setup request," then do what it says.)
... know WHAT policies we have?
Sign in to your AMBS Google account and for a shared drive that looks like it might contain policies and procedures.
... know when is a policy different from a procedure or process?
Don't overworry about the distinction between policies and procedures. They both tell us things we need to pay attention to.
... search effectively in Google Drive?
There is to much to address here, but a coupla three quick tips for effective searching in Google Drive:
Use the search options to refine your search by document type, document creator, document creation time, etc.
Start with broader terms and work toward more specific terms.
Do not rely solely on the auto-suggested results--type your term and press Enter instead.
... keep track of the current version of a document in Google Drive?
Use version history. Open the file with your web browser, then click File > Version history. (You're not making copies and calling them DRAFT.docx, DRAFT FINAL.docx, DRAFT FINAL FINAL.docx, and DRAFT FINAL FINAL FINAL I MEAN IT FINAL.docx, are you? Stop that.)
... locate a policy document?
Sign in to your AMBS Google account and find a shared drive with an excruciatingly clear name that mentions policies.
... adjust the volume on a Zoom meeting?
In addition to adjusting your volume in a Zoom meeting, you might also want to test your settings and set some defaults in the Zoom app on your computer. Preferably not when you're desperate to use Zoom.
... locate a phone number or apartment number for a student?
The AMBS directory is stored in Google Drive. Search Google Drive. (You might also be able to find some directory information in Populi.)
... make an adjustment to this document since I cannot locate the icon I used when I worked with Word documents?
Ummm ... are you asking for brief instructions on how to use Google Docs?
... Moodle?
There is so much Moodle.
... get the course as it shows up on the Moodle dashboard to have a picture in it?
In your course settings, find the section called "Course Image" and upload an image.
... find how much we reimburse guest speakers?
Sign in to your AMBS Google account and look in shared drives for a list of rates and fees. Maybe the business office has created one just for this purpose.
... find what student assistants should be paid?
Sign in to your AMBS Google account and look in the appropriate shared drive for the current AMBS rates and fees. I'm typing all these help answers at the same time, so it seems like I'm repeating it frequently. Can you find them all?
... find relevant budget line items (like continuing ed funds)?
Your department chair should have this information. Oh, you are the deparment chair? Ask the business office.
... find the catering request form?
You will get a link to this when your event is approved. But the catering request form might also be listed on the "Forms employes need" page of this site.
... find when a course is meeting?
Subscribe to the AMBS courses calendar in Google.
... find a person's phone number?
The campus directory is in Google Drive. Search there. (You might also be able to find this on the Contacts tab in Populi.)
... set up a Zoom meeting?
Do you have a Zoom account? Just sign in and start a meeting.
... find the student timecard template?
The student timecard template is stored in ... Google Drive. Search for "new student time card template" (all lowercase).
... find out the contact info for Ad Cabinet members?
The campus directory is in Google Drive. Search there. The AMBS website is also a magical place that has a lot of contact information for a lot of people at AMBS.
... make sure to pay my bill on time?
"Making sure" means using Google Calendar. Are you an employee taking classes? In that case, your bill is probably in Populi.
... get a library card?
Ask a librarian! (I hear they're super-helpful.)
... get reimbursed for an expense?
There are SOPs in shared drives that the business office created. Sign in to your AMBS Google account and have a look around.
... pay a guest speaker?
You might find suggested processes for paying guest speakers in a shared drive. Sign in to your AMBS Google account and go browsing. (It shouldn't take you a long time.)
... submit receipts for purchases I made with seminary funds?
Sign in to your AMBS Google account and look in a Business Office shared drive. You'll almost certainly find something the business office provided for you. (The seminary uses Expensify for reporting credit card purchases.)
... plan an event?
Use the event planning form linked on the "Forms employees need" page of this site.
... find the campus directory?
Search Google Drive for the campus directory. It's there.
... know how much I should pay my student workers or guest speakers?
The business office has created a standard set of rates and fees that live in a shared drive. Sign in to your AMBS Google account and look for them in shared drives.
... learn how much it costs to take a class?
The business office standard set of rates and fees are in a shared drive. Sign in to your AMBS Google account and look for them in shared drives.
... find policies that I need to follow?
You know what? We have these. AMBS policies are in a shared drive. Sign in to your AMBS Google account to find them.
... waive my tuition when taking a class under my employee benefit if I am a currently enrolled student and employee or employee's spouse?
Of course there's a form (you can find a link to the tuition waiver for current employees enrolled as students on the "Forms employees need" page on this site).
... waive my tuition when taking a class under my employee benefit if I am an employee or employee's spouse but not currently enrolled as an AMBS student?
You mean like a tuition waiver form for employees not enrolled as students? You'll find that on the "Forms employees need" page on this site.
... find the deadline for adding/dropping classes (or find other key academic dates)?
Subsribe to the relevant calendars in Google. Or check the "Calendars" page on this site.
... request mutual aid for an unexpected expense?
There are lots of useful items in shared drives, including materials from HR that document things like requesting mutual aid. Sign in to your AMBS Google account and look in shared drives to find this form also.
... add people to a shared drive?
Google provides excellent and up-to-date instructions about managing shared drives.
... remove someone from an AMBS email list/google group?
If you are a group owner or manager, Google provides instructions for managing group members. If you aren't the group owner or manager, you shouldn't be removing people from email lists!
... add someone to an AMBS email list/google group?
Google provides excellent instructions for adding people to groups.
... find the link to our online payroll system so I can view my paystub?
Truly? I search my email because I don't delete anything. But here is the payroll system website login page. (There's another link to the AMBS payroll system on the "Forms Employees Need" page of this website.)
... record my vacation days?
Submit the PTO form as you go along.
... course schedule?
Subscribe to the AMBS courses calendar in Google. Or on the course list page on the AMBS website. Of course, this assumes that the person who submitted this question means something like "Where is the course schedule?" or "How do I find a course schedule?" and not "How do I schedule courses," which would be a question that's really only the registrar's to need to know.
... register my vehicle with the maintenance department or get a parking pass?
Complete the vehicle registration form. (That's it; AMBS does not issue parking passes.)
... get Google Drive to come back? (Or, "My Google Drive has disappeared!")
Short version: click ⊞ > All Apps > Google Drive. Didn't work? Fully restart Google Drive.
What happened to the nifty app? Turns out, Google lets you prototype for up to 10 users per month. But this page is too popular for that, and I wasn't convinced it was worth $60/user/year to us. So: Plan B.