By MARTY LEVINE
A backlog in user access to PantherExpress has been eliminated and a travel services improvement project launched last fall is still underway, Maureen Beal, associate vice chancellor for financial operations, told staff members at the latest Staff Council Spotlight on July 11.
A travel advisory group of 20, selected from staff and faculty departments using travel most extensively, is overseeing the travel services improvement project, she said. They have instituted quarterly audits of everything from booking to rates paid by Pitt in air travel versus what is offered by such services as Expedia and what is offered by the airlines themselves. The group is examining best practices “not just in higher education but the industry in general,” Beal said.
“We feel that the price audits are very important in increasing your confidence” when dealing with travel, she said, reporting that use of Pitt’s airline travel services has increased from 61 percent in fiscal year 2019 to 94 percent currently.
More than a year ago, complaints were aired at the University Senate about issues with Pitt’s current Concur Travel software and with the pandemic-based requirement to use Anthony Travel, with which Pitt still maintains a contract as its preferred travel agency.
The travel advisory group is undertaking a market survey of software alternatives to Concur, she said, although she noted that “Concur is one of the few packages that is a complete solution” from booking to expense processing. She said her office has passed on to Concur complaints about its performance and that Concur has made upgrades to its hotel and car rental processes, which are being tested in Europe now. “We’re hoping to see those in the second half of the calendar year” 2023 added to the U.S. version of the software, with “airline schedules expected to follow,” Beal said.
Concerning the travel agency, Beal added that the countrywide restart of travel last year “was quite a rough patch” but was “was an industry-wide problem” due to earlier layoffs at travel agencies and airlines and to car rental agencies selling off idle vehicles during the pandemic. A request for proposals will be sent out from the travel advisory group in August to solicit new bids for Pitt’s preferred travel agency. “I assume Anthony Travel will bid again,” Beal noted. A decision will be made by January 2024, to be implemented by fall 2024, she said.
Beal also reported that the backlog in user access to PantherExpress (Pitt’s preferred purchasing tool) was due partly to turnover among Pitt employees handling the process but also to the presence of two extra levels of administrative review that were eliminated in May. The system now allows new users quick access as purchasers or buyers — generally in one business day — as long as they have taken the requisite training beforehand.
Jamie Craig, Pitt IT’s associate director of enterprise applications, reported that the University is implementing a new University Data Management process, designed to create “a golden record” — a master personnel record consolidating disparate records throughout Pitt — by the end of September or beginning of October, to ease access to various University systems. His office is also aiming for an Identity Access Management system that should allow easier access to Pitt information to those who have authorization for its viewing and use.
Beal also reported that Pitt’s Vincent Research Participant Payment and Accounting System is no longer supported by its manufacturer but the University procured a copy of the source code and uploaded it to the University servers earlier this year. New staff were hired to help oversee its use so that it can be maintained, she explained.
Teaming with UPMC, which also uses Vincent, Pitt did a market survey of possible replacement products and a request for proposals but found “those third-party commercial solutions only handle part of the capabilities of Vincent,” she said. Thus, the University will continue to use Vincent “but we always keep our eyes on the market.”
Marty Levine is a staff writer for the University Times. Reach him at martyl@pitt.edu or 412-758-4859.
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