DPSAC News A bi-weekly newsletter from the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control Providing timely information to help keep NIH safe and secure.

June 2, 2021 Issue of DPSAC News In this issue: NED Records Disappearing During Registration  Guidance for Reclassifying a Non-FTE (Except Fellow) to FTE and Reclassifying a Fellow to FTE FAQs - Does an applicant who is switching from a visiting fellow to a contractor in the same Institute need to be re-issued a new badge? Badge Processing Times Helpful Tips: Avoiding Additional Delays in Processing New Hires AOs Who Wish to Obtain Sponsor Authority

NED Records Disappearing During Registration

The NED team is receiving support requests for NED records which disappear during the registration process. The problem seems to occur when a user inadvertently terminates the task (and deletes gathered information) by clicking on the “Cancel Task” button at the bottom left of the Activate-Register screen.

Cancel Task:  Allows you to end the Activate-Register task without submitting or saving any information. The system will display a warning message to ensure you want to cancel the task (below). Clicking “OK” in the warning window will terminate the task. Clicking “Cancel” in the warning window will return you to the Activate-Register task in progress.

Please note that closing your browser or navigating away from an Activate-Register task that is in progress could also terminate the task. Make sure to click on “Save For Later” button at the bottom right of the Activate-Register screen to save your work and pick up where you left off later. The NED team plans to change the name of the “Cancel Task” action button to “Terminate Task” and clarify the language of the warning message in an upcoming release in order to prevent further confusion. Please contact the NED team at nedteam@mail.nih.gov if you have questions.

Guidance for Reclassifying a Non-FTE (Except Fellow) to FTE and Reclassifying a Fellow to FTE

AOs or ATs updating an individual’s classification from non-FTE to FTE in NED should first check whether the person’s Position Sensitivity Level (PSL) has been elevated to a higher tier. Changes in classification should be entered into NED before the person is approved for Entrance on Duty (EOD). This will ensure that the individual will receive the appropriate background investigation for the new position.   Reclassifying a Non-FTE (Except Fellow) to FTE Update the person’s classification from non-NIH FTE to NIH FTE using the Update function in NED. This step will notify DPSAC of the change so they can initiate a background investigation for the NIH FTE position if needed. Please do not modify the person’s EOD date during the reclassification process as NED will revoke the person’s current badge. The official FTE EOD will be provided by HR once DPSAC has approved badge issuance for the new FTE position.   Reclassifying a Fellow to FTE When changing a fellow’s classification from fellow to NIH FTE, the Fellowship Payment System (FPS) will prevent the Fellow’s IC from creating, renewing, transferring, or activating any type of award, as the person is no longer identified as a fellow. However, the person will continue to receive all their stipend payments for any awards activated prior to the change in classification.   ICs are encouraged to create and approve award renewals to extend a fellow’s duration prior to changing the individual’s classification in NED. If the renewal is not needed, it can then be cancelled. Awards of any type will not activate automatically; nor can they be activated manually after the classification has changed.   If the classification has been changed to NIH FTE in NED, the IC needs to enter an NIH Business System (NBS) FPS help desk ticket to create, extend, or activate an award in FPS. The IC must include the fellow’s name and HHS ID, award number, and details regarding the required actions. The NBS FPS team will coordinate with the IC and Office of Management (OFM) to manually process the action. Please enter “Assistance with Fellow to FTE” in the short description of the ticket and include instructions to triage to the NBS FPS team directly.   Please contact: the NED team at nedteam@mail.nih.gov for questions about entering or updating information in NED DPSAC Team at orspersonnelsecurity@mail.nih.gov for questions about background investigations FPS Team for questions about FPS, by opening a help desk ticket for NBS FPS team

Q. An applicant recently switched from a visiting fellow position to a contractor in the same institute. Do they need to be re-issued a new badge, and if yes, how does one initiate that process? A. ​​No. The applicant's badge will continue to be valid as a contractor, whether the applicant has changed institutes or not. However, if the applicant were to have switched to federal employee (FTE) status, then the applicant would have had to switch their HHS ID Badge (from green stripe to white stripe).

Badge Processing Times For the MAR/APR/MAY time frame, the average processing time for issuing an ID badge is 21.3 calendar days.

Avoiding Additional Delays in Processing New Hires Processing times are often delayed due to reasons outside of DPSAC control, which include, but are not limited to: Incomplete or not submitted OF-306 Candidate response time Issues requiring clarification by the candidate Untimely submission of initial e-QIP or corrected e-QIP How the AO and HR communities can assist: By ensuring all required documents have been uploaded into HR's 'Onboarding Manager' prior to establishing a NED account By entering candidates as early as possible but no later than 8 weeks prior to their Entry on Duty (EOD) date By working with DPSAC to ensure candidates respond in a timely manner to inquiries ALT cards -- should be returned to the IC ALT card coordinator - NOT to DPSAC.

Administrative Officers (AOs) who wish to obtain sponsor authority must complete the sponsor training. To access the training module, click on: Sponsor. Upon completion, the AO should sign and email a copy of the certificate found at the end of the training module to Alex Salah at: salaha@ors.od.nih.gov. Upon receipt of the certificate, Mr. Salah will authorize the AO as a Sponsor.  Note: ONLY individuals with an Administrative Officer role in NED are eligible to be HHS ID Badge/PIV Card Sponsors.

Are there topics you would like to read more about in future issues of DPSAC News? Please send your suggestions to: Judie.Kuo@nih.gov. Your input is greatly appreciated.

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A biweekly e-newsletter from the National Institutes of Health, Office of Research Services, Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (ORS/DPSAC) to keep its readers informed of personnel security and access control policies and practices designed to safeguard the NIH and its workforce. DPSAC is responsible for verifying personal identity, validating suitability, reviewing background checks, authorizing facility access and issuing ID badges for NIH personnel.  Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health Office of Management Office of Research Services Division of Personnel Security and Access Control

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