FAQs

General Questions

Can district administrators restrict users by module?

No. This type of feature was not planned for FUSION.

Can I view and print my previous year's plans?

Yes. Historical data is available in FUSION, but it is only limited to the data in FUSION (i.e. old plans submitted 3 years ago were not converted into FUSION and therefore will not be available).

How will consultants who work with multiple districts get passwords?

Consultants will have one username and password. For each district they consult on, the individual district administrators would give them access rights to the district.

What sort of export functionality is supported by FUSION?

No export functionality was intended for FUSION. Part of the problem with the previous system was the fact that data was kept in multiple places. Export functionality only encourages storing that data in separate places, so it was decided not to add that feature. If there is an absolute need to manipulate data outside of FUSION, users can copy (select the desired data on the screen and press Ctrl + C) and paste (press Ctrl + V in the desired application, like Excel).

Will there be any method to import data from other programs?

No. Only data from the research unit will be imported (forecast data) that is still in the works.

Space Inventory

As a district administrator, can I limit campus users so they cannot even see the district information?

No. The way FUSION is designed, access at the district level is necessary to assign access at the campus level. You can restrict them to View Only rights at the district level, however.

Who can add a campus? a building?

Any user with user or administrator access at a district can add a campus or a building.

How do I view last year's inventory?

Use the change application year function in the upper right hand corner.

What inventory data is in FUSION?

The certified inventories for 01 and 02 are in the live database. The training database only has the 01 data.

Can we use special characters in the facility tree?

Special characters, such as ñ are not supported by the facilities tree at this time.

What is the "Status" column in both the Buildings and Rooms screens in the Space Inventory?

This contains status information on the space, a carryover feature from the old software. C - current, O - offline, D - deactivated.

Can we change the campus number?

No. Since the campus number is a state assigned item, it is editable at the FPU level only.

Who can view previous year’s Space Inventories?

Anyone can view previous year's inventory ... just like they would have access to the previous year's files in the old system.

Forecast

Is there a way to import the Research Unit data?

This feature is currently in the works, but for this submission of the 5YP, data will have to be entered manually.

Why is some of the forecast data (actual numbers) editable when it should not be?

Currently, the system does not import forecast data from the Research Unit. This feature will be added in the final deployment of FUSION, but in the meantime, users will have to manually enter the forecast data. That is why some of the fields are editable.

Capital Outlay 5 Year Plan

On the IPP form, where are the cap/load ratios coming from?

The first line, for the initial cap ratios, comes from the first year of funding of the project. The second line, for final cap ratios, comes from the occupy date of the project.

Why can't we have FUSION automatically restrict the addition of new space so it does not create a cap/load ratio over 110%?

This feature would be difficult to implement because the cap/load ratio is not a straightforward calculation. A number of factors can determine the cap/load ratio of a campus, many of them outside the scope of an individual project (forecast data, existing space data, pipeline projects, etc). If any of those change, they will impact the cap/load ratio of the campus, but those changes won't necessarily be pushed to the IPP form to invalidate it.

How long can the "Project Description" field be in the IPP form?

Over 1 billion characters, which translates into about 125 million words.

When do forms like the COBCP, JCAF 31, 32, and 33 become available?

They are available as soon as you create the IPP.

Who can set project priorities? add projects? exclude projects?

Any user with user or administrator access at a district can perform these transactions.

When you add a project, are the dates validated against the occupy date?

No because there is no set formula between the occupy date and the start date of the last phase.

Do the district submit the Supportability Criteria Report to the FPU?

No. This report is for informational purposes only as it gives district users a better feel as to the chances of their project being funded.

If only an administrator can submit a 5YP, why is it necessary to have signatures on the forms?

The legal ground of electronic signatures is somewhat murky, so we are still requiring ink signatures.

What is the order of submission?

Space Inventory for the previous year must be submitted and certified before the current year's 5YP can be submitted.

If an IPP is printed and signed, how does that copy tie to the live data?

The intention is that an IPP should be printed and signed upon submission of the 5YP. The district user would then be unable to edit the IPP so there would not be any changes from district users to the IPP.

Will the complete SAM documentation be available in FUSION?

No. the SAM documentation is essentially a text document and still needs to be submitted by the users, but the intention was that users would create the SAM documentation and upload it as an attachment to the project.

Why does the data in the JCAF 31 update the Distribution of Space? Shouldn't this data be saved separately?

No because the Distribution of Space represents the total change in the space of a projects. For an IPP, the Distribution of Space form is sufficient. For the FPP, you need more detailed information, thus the JCAF31. But you still want to summarize the JCAF 31 data, so it automatically updates the distribution of space.

If the JCAF 31 and the Distribution of Space are related, then why doesn't the JCAF 31 automatically populate with Distribution of Space data when first opened?

Because the Distribution of Space is generic ... although the lab types in the Distribution of Space are generic, all the other values (R100 for Lecture, R300 for office, R400 for library, R500 for AV/TV, R999 for Other) are generic space. You can't go from generic to specific and fill in the data automatically.

What safeguards (prompts) are there to warn someone they are working on the 5 Year Plan (on Inventory) for a year other than the current?

They are only able to work on the current plan (not able to change the past). Their current plan is either this year's plan or next year's plan based on whether they have had their 5YP submitted and validated by the FPU. The Facilities tree indicates which year you are in.

What is the Equipment Cost Reusable in the New Space column for (JCAF 33)?

This represents the existing equipment in the space that can be reused in the new space.

Who to contact?

Any questions you have on training issues or bugs can be answered by the representative below:

John Roach

john@foundationccc.org

Site last updated 01/22/04; page last updated 01/22/04