Frequently Asked Questions

Here are frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the ctcLink project:

ctcLink is set to go live at Green River College on October 11, 2021.

  • Financial Aid System (FAS/FAM): The Financial Aid System administers and manages financial aid functions for Washington state community and technical colleges.
  • Financial Management System (FMS): The Financial Management System administers and manages financial and accounting functions for Washington state community and technical colleges.
  • Payroll/Personnel Management System (PPMS): The Payroll/Personnel Management System manages the human resources and payroll processing functions required by the colleges and collects the information necessary to manage this large group of employees.
  • Student Management System (SMS): The Student Management System is used to administer and manage all student and curriculum related business functions for Washington state community and technical colleges.

Some applications that use the data from these back-end systems will also be replaced in the process. These include, but are not limited to, Degree Audit, Instructor Briefcase and TLR (time and leave reporting).

At this point, the plan is for the ctcLink system to include all enrollment data for students who have been actively enrolled during the past three years. Personnel and payroll data will be converted for employees who have been actively employed during the past year. Financial transaction data will be converted for the current fiscal year only.

Older data will remain available in the legacy system in a read-only version, and some will be available in a data warehouse. At this point, the plan is for the ctcLink system to include all enrollment data for students from the six years prior to the time of conversion. Personnel and payroll data will be converted for the previous two years.

What tasks will I complete with ctcLink?
Students will use the system to

  • Register for classes.
  • Pay tuition and fees.
  • Access unofficial transcripts.
  • Review degree progress and more.

Faculty will use the system to

  • Enter grades.
  • View earnings information.

Staff will use the system to

  • Submit timesheets.
  • Request and report leave.
  • Approve timesheets and leave (managers/supervisors).
  • Perform a multitude of job-related duties, if applicable, such as register students, run payroll and enter financial transactions.

NOTE: Faculty, staff and students will continue to use their current Green River username and password to access all campus-based resources, including Canvas, student and employee email, desktop computers in labs and offices, and print services.

When will I get my ctcLink account information?
You will receive your ctcLink ID when you activate your account. Most faculty and staff can begin activating their accounts on October 11. Students can begin October 25. Zoom Help sessions will be available for faculty and staff and for students.

What if I attend class or work at more than one college?
The ctcLink system will contain only one account for all of your activities, no matter how many colleges you are associated with. Once you log in, you will be presented with a way to choose which college information you wish to access at that moment.

Is training available for learning ctcLink?
Yes. For many, it will be required. Courses are available indefinitely through Canvas. Faculty and staff looing to begin online self-paced training should visit the ctcLink training page on GatorNet.

The accessibility of ctcLink and its software, PeopleSoft, is critical. While a recent software upgrade has fixed some issues, more remain. Like many colleges implementing ctcLink, Green River College is actively advocating for improvements to be made by the software vendor, Oracle. Read about ongoing work at the state level to mitigate problems by visiting the State Board’s ctcLink Accessibility page.