This is the HTML version of the Human Capital Management glossary (last updated 1/29/20). The Excel version is here

Element Name BW Element Type Description
Accreditation Class Characteristic This is the accreditation institute’s classification grouping.
Accreditation Code Characteristic This is the accreditation institute’s code for their specialties.
Accreditation Institute Characteristic This is the acronym used for the Accreditation Institute
Accreditation Specialty Characteristic This is the accreditation institute’s text for their specialties.
Action Changed On Characteristic The date the action was changed on. This may be different than Action Start Date for retroactive or future changes.
Action End Date Characteristic This date is the delimited end date of the action if there is a subsequent action, otherwise it will contain 12/31/9999.
Action Reason Characteristic The action reason defines the circumstances which have initiated a personnel action. This information can, for example, be used to evaluate the reasons for employees leaving or being transferred within the company.
Action Start Date Characteristic This date is the effective date of the action.
Action Type Characteristic Action type specifies the type of personnel action initiated. For example: HIre, Transfer, Termination, etc.
Action Type and Reason Characteristic & Variable This is a concatenation of both the Action Type and Action Reason fields. This allows for filtering based on a specific Action Type/Reason combination, such as 03/04 (Position Change – Move to Non-Comp Terminated).
Additional Payment Amt Key Figure An Additional Payment is a one-time payment or deduction to an employee with only a BEGDA. These payments are each associated with a specific wage type such as 2002 Severance Pay, or 2075 Moving/Relocation Expenses, which can be selected by the department or user who is submitting the Additional Payment form. Additional Payments are restricted on the form to Wage Types 2002 to 2117 on the form, but back-end users are able to submit additional wage types such as parking adjustments or advance salary payments.
Addl Paymt/Deduction Ind Characteristic This field displays “Payment” if the employee has an additional payment, or “Deduction” if the amount is a deduction. To be used in conjunction with the key figure Additional Payment Amt.
All Reasons and Types for Change Characteristic
Amount Key Figure Amount of wage type. Wage Type will reflect one of the following: Basic Pay (IT 08), Recurring Payments (IT 14), or Additional Payments (IT 15).
Annual Salary Key Figure Annual salary is shown on InfoType 0008 and represents the employee’s annualized salary.
Avg annual Salary as of (Organizational Key Date 2) Key Figure Average annual salary from IT 8 for selected records for Key Date 2 selected.
Avg base Salary as of (Organizational Key Date) Key Figure Average budgeted 100% Base Salary Amount for the position. It represents the average salary for the incumbents (or budgeted amount if a position is open) brought up to 100 percent time/full-time equivalent (FTE).
Base Rate Amount Key Figure This field represents the 100% equivalent of the current position incumbent’s annual salary, at the incumbent’s assignment duration. For instance, if a faculty member’s assignment duration is 4.5, the base rate amount will be half of what it would be if the person’s assignment duration was 9.0. The base rate may be higher than the position recurring budget if incumbent is less than 100%. If the position is open, this amount is equal to the 100% equivalent of the Position Recurring Budget. This data is maintained by the Budget Office and is stored on IT9100 (Position Budget).
Basic Pay per Period Key Figure The base amount paid per pay period for an employee. For weekly employees, this would be the hourly rate times the hours per week. For monthly employees, this would be the annual amount divided by the months paid.
Branch of Study 1 Characteristic An academic discipline, field of study or branch of knowledge that is taught and researched as part of a higher education degree. This could a major, minor, or concentration.
Branch of Study 2 Characteristic An additional academic discipline, field of study or branch of knowledge that is taught and researched as part of a higher education degree. This could a major, minor, or concentration.
BU Sch/Col Abbrev Characteristic This is the acronym used for the BU School/College
BU School/College Cd Characteristic This is the 3 digit code for a BU School/College
BU School/College Name Characteristic This is the full name of the BU School/College
Calendar Month/Year Variable Calendar Month and Year of selection.
Calendar YTD Overtime Amount Key Figure The dollar amount of overtime payments the employee has received year to date.
Calendar YTD Overtime Hour Key Figure The number of overtime hours the employee has worked year to date.
CIP Cd Family – (Primary & Secondary) Characteristic CIPCode Value: This is the parent level description of the CIPCode. This 2 digit series (XX) represent the most general groupings of related programs.
CIP Group – (Primary & Secondary) Characteristic CIPCode Value: This 4 digit series (XX.XX) represent the intermediate groupings of programs that have comparable content and objectives.
CIP Sub Group (Primary & Secondary) Characteristic CIPCode Value: This 6 digit series (XX.XXX) is the most granular level description for the representation of specific instructional programs.
Company Code Characteristic The Company Code is the highest organizational unit in Financial Accounting that represents a business organization. The Trustees of Boston University is considered one legal entity and will require only one Company Code – TRBU.
Controlling Area of Master Cost Center Characteristic Organizational unit in an organization that represents a closed system used for cost accounting purposes. A controlling area may contain one or more company codes, which can operate in different currencies, if required. The company codes within a controlling area must all use the same operational chart of accounts. For BU this field will always be coded with TRBU. (CO Only)
Covered By Code Characteristic Indicates the path/track that a faculty employee is on.
Current Active Count Key Figure Number of employees with Active (3) status. Note: Employees on Leave are coded as active (3).
Current Overtime Amount Key Figure The dollar amount that the employee has been paid for overtime work in the current payroll period.
Current Overtime Hour Key Figure The number of overtime hours the employee has worked in the current payroll period.
Date Deceased (UB) Characteristic The date of the employee’s death (UB).
Date for IT 08, 14, 15 Variable The date entered in this field will display Basic Pay, Recurring and Additional Payments (IT 08, 14, and 15) records in effect as of said date.
Date Last Worked (U4) Characteristic The last day an employee has reported to work.
Date of Adjusted Service (U0) Characteristic This date is used for calculation of length of service only. It will be the same as the UC Employment Date, unless the employee has a break in service. Adjusted Service Date is the date that reflects the full term of an individual’s employment, factoring any breaks in time. If a person started in 01/01/2000, left in 12/31/2000, then returned in 01/01/2013, their Adjusted Service Date would be 01/01/2012. This date reflects the previous year of service before their rehire. Service for temporary, non-compensated, and student employment should not count towards prior service, and this field is not applicable for these employees.
Date of Current Position Start Characteristic The date the employee started his/her current position.
Date of Employment (UC) Characteristic The most recent employment date. This date changes if employee transfers to or from non-comp or staff temporary employee.
Date of I9 Completion Characteristic Date the employee provided I9 employment eligibility documentation and was approved by HR.
Date of Last Overtime Pay Characteristic This field displays the most recent date an employee has received overtime pay.
Date of Last Regular Pay (U3) Characteristic The last date that a terminated employee is paid.
Date of Layoff Notification (U8) Characteristic Date employee is notified of a pending lay-off.
Date of Orientation (U5) Characteristic The date that the employee has attended Orientation.
Date of SAP Hire (U2) Characteristic Employee’s first hire date from any New Hire action post BUworks go-live. If employed at go-live, date was the employee’s most recent hire date from legacy.
Date of Service (UA) Characteristic Service Date is used by time management to determine the number of quota hours to award based on an employee’s employment duration.
Date of Union Entry (U7) Characteristic Date on which an employee enters into a union position. This date changes if employee transfers between unions but does not change if position changes within the same union.
Date Pre SAP Hire (U6) Characteristic For former employees, terminated prior to 2011 then rehired post go-live, the employee’s previous BU hire date.
Degree Date Obtained Characteristic Date that the degree was obtained by the employee. Information for All Degrees, Including Highest.
Degree Educational Institution Characteristic Institution where the employee earned the degree. Information for All Degrees, Including Highest.
Degree Highest Date Obtained Characteristic This field contains the date that the employee was awarded the highest degree or certificate. It is derived from all of the employee’s degree records.
Degree Highest Degree/Certificate Characteristic This field contains the highest degree or certificate an employee was awarded, dependent on their field. It is derived from all of the employee’s degree records.
Degree Highest Educational Inst Characteristic This field contains the institution that awarded the employee’s highest degree or certificate. It is derived from all of the employee’s degree records.
Degree Highest Institutional Key Characteristic CEEB code of the highest degree.
Degree Highest Terminal Category Characteristic Indicates the category of the highest degree, specifically noting if it is a terminal degree. Note the key is available to help sort values.
Degree Highest Year Obtained Characteristic This field contains the year that the employee was awarded the highest degree or certificate. It is derived from all of the employee’s degree records.
Degree Institutional Key Characteristic CEEB code of the Degree Educational Institution.
Degree Terminal Category Characteristic Indicates the category of the individual degree, specifically noting if it is a terminal degree.  Note the key is available to help sort values.
Degree/Certificate Characteristic Degree earned by the employee. Information for All Degrees, Including Highest.
Educational Institut Characteristic Institution(s) from which the employee received his/her degree(s).

This field displays the institution name for each individual degree. If you are looking for solely the highest degree, see Degree Highest Educational Inst.
Emp Assignment Duration Characteristic Assignment Duration is the months/weeks an employee is scheduled to work.
Emp BU ID Characteristic & Variable Specifies a unique alphanumerical key that identifies a person in the SAP system. Also known as External Person ID. For concurrently employed persons, several personnel assignments are assigned to an external person ID. Note: This is the BUID assigned through the ID System.
Emp Business Area Characteristic An organizational unit of Financial Accounting, which corresponds to a separate operational or responsibility area in the organization. Boston University has identified three primary Business Areas: Charles River campus (1CRC), Medical Research campus (2MED), and NEIDL (3NBL).

The Business Area can be translated based on the first character of the employee’s Master Cost Center. For example, Cost Center 2442430000 is in Business Area 2MED. Cost Center 1267100000 is in 1CRC.
Emp Campus Characteristic Campus associated with employee’s master cost center. If first character of MCC is 1=CRC; 2=MED; 3=NEIDL
Emp Cell Number Characteristic The employee’s cell phone number.
Emp Change from Date Characteristic The start date for this entry in the employee’s SAP record.
Emp Change to Date Characteristic The end date for this entry in the employee’s SAP record.
Emp E-Mail Address Characteristic BU Email Address
Emp Ethnicity Characteristic This indicates whether the employee has identified him or herself as of Hispanic origin.
Emp Ethnicity / Affirmat Characteristic This is a combination of the Emp Ethnicity and Racial Category codes. If the ethnicity field is E1, this will display “Hispanic/Latino,” otherwise, if there is one race code, this will display the race category. If there are multiple race codes, it will display “Multiple.” If the ethnicity field is unknown, or no race is selected, it will display “Unknown.” See attached image for more details.
Emp Gender Characteristic The gender of the employee.
Emp IPEDS Race Category Characteristic IPEDS race category according to the following logic:
First, an employee has to be evaluated and determined if they belong to the following categories in this order:
• Nonresident aliens
• Race/ethnicity unknown
• Hispanics of any race
Non-Hispanics only are categorized into the following categories:
• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Asian
• Black or African American
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
• White
• Two or more races
Data from PA0094 will be used to determine if a person is international, US citizen or a permanent resident.
Emp Job Characteristic Job is a type of object managed in SAP HCM Organizational Management module and is assigned to a position. Job classifies positions and allows standardized attributes to inherit to the position, such as qualifications, descriptions, US job attribute codes, and planned compensation. The validity date of each attribute defines whether data is current, historical or future.

HR Compensation Management currently manages job information. When jobs are created, they are listed in a job index (a list of jobs maintained for BU).
Emp Mail Code Characteristic For Faculty and Staff, the mail code is used by mail services for internal deliveries. It is unofficially used to identify the department, when, for example, students are paid from work study.
Emp Master Cost Center Characteristic & Variable Master Cost Center is the finance cost object that is maintained on the position and syncs to the employee from the position. It is required for successful payroll processing and is used to pay the employee if there is an error with pay distribution (infotype 0027). It represents the department for the employee’s position.
Emp Military Status Characteristic This field displays the employee’s Military Status. This information is not currently being captured in SAP.
Emp Name (Last, First M) Characteristic Employee’s Name – sortable by Last Name, First Name
Emp Organizational Key Characteristic Combination of Personnel Area and Master Cost Center
Emp Pay Grade Level Characteristic Emp Pay Grade Level indicates the salary range for the associated pay grade.
Emp Pay Scale Area Characteristic The Pay Scale Area specifies the location of the pay structure. For Boston University, the Pay Scale Area is Boston.
Emp Pay Scale Level Characteristic Pay Scale Level influences the salary range for the associated pay grade. This field populates for Weekly paid employees and Students, which have varying Pay Scale Levels.
Emp Pay Scale Type Characteristic The grouping of employment types, unions, faculty, non-exempt, exempt employees, etc.
Emp Payroll Area Characteristic & Variable The Payroll Area indicates the how an employee is paid.
Emp Percent Time Characteristic The percentage of time an employee works. This is populated from the first three characters of Employment Percent (for example, 050.9% would display 50).
Emp Position Long Name Characteristic This is the longest version of the position name available, up to 158 characters
Emp Position Name Characteristic This field displays the position title of an employee. It has been separated from Emp Position Number as it is possible for the Name to change without the Number changing.

There are no attributes on this characteristic, and the key and text are identical.
Emp Position Number Characteristic This field displays the position number of an employee.

A position is assigned the characteristics and attributes of a job. Positions are assigned to organizational units and are linked one to the other.

You may need to bring in the Emp Position Name – NOT the text of this characteristic – to see the Position Name properly as it is possible for the name to change without the number changing.
Emp Salary Grade Characteristic This is a criterion used for grading job evaluation. It is divided up into several pay scale levels. Also known as Salary Grade
Emp Termination Date Characteristic Termination date logic is derived from termination action codes
Action Type Description Action Reason Description
3 Position Change 4 Move to Non-Compensated
3 Position Change 9 Move to Casual Position
9 Position Revision 6 Move to Non-Comp – Terminated
20 Termination 1 Abandoned Job
20 Termination 5 Appointment Expired
20 Termination 10 Job Dissatisfaction
20 Termination 15 Leaving Job Market
20 Termination 20 Not Returning from LOA
20 Termination 25 Other Job
20 Termination 30 Relocation
20 Termination 35 Return to School
20 Termination 40 Salary Dissatisfaction
20 Termination 45 ADA essential functions
20 Termination 50 Changing to Adjunct Vol/Non-Co
20 Termination 55 Deceased
20 Termination 60 Funding Expired
20 Termination 61 Layoff
20 Termination 65 Misconduct
20 Termination 70 Negative Tenure Decision
20 Termination 75 Not Funded
20 Termination 80 Not Re-Appointed
20 Termination 85 Poor Performance
20 Termination 86 Retiree Term-Involuntary
20 Termination 87 Retiree Term-Voluntary
20 Termination 90 Unsatisfactory Attendance
20 Termination 95 Unsatisfactory Skills
24 Long Term Disability 1 Long Term Disability
30 Transfer 6 Move to Non-Comp Terminated
30 Transfer 7 Move to Casual
32 Retirement 1 Retirement
32 Retirement 2 Retirement Agreement
Z2 Termination – Conversion 1 Abandoned Job
Z2 Termination – Conversion 5 Appointment Expired (Vol)
Z2 Termination – Conversion 10 Job Dissatisfaction (Vol)
Z2 Termination – Conversion 15 Leaving Job Market (Vol)
Z2 Termination – Conversion 20 Not Returning from LOA (Vol)
Z2 Termination – Conversion 25 Other Job (Vol)
Z2 Termination – Conversion 30 Relocation (Vol)
Z2 Termination – Conversion 35 Return to School (Vol)
Z2 Termination – Conversion 40 Salary Dissatisfaction (Vol)
Z2 Termination – Conversion 45 ADA essential functions
Z2 Termination – Conversion 50 Changing to Adjunct Vol/Non-Co
Z2 Termination – Conversion 55 Deceased
Z2 Termination – Conversion 60 Funding Expired
Z2 Termination – Conversion 65 Misconduct
Z2 Termination – Conversion 70 Negative Tenure Decision
Z2 Termination – Conversion 75 Not Funded
Z2 Termination – Conversion 80 Not Re-Appointed
Z2 Termination – Conversion 85 Poor Performance
Z2 Termination – Conversion 90 Unsatisfactory Attendance
Z2 Termination – Conversion 95 Unsatisfactory Skills
Z4 Retirement – Conversion 1 Retirement
Emp Unit Characteristic The name of the unit that contains the master cost center of the employee. Note that this is the full name of the unit.
Emp Unit Abbr Characteristic The abbreviation of the name of the unit that contains the master cost center of the employee. It is derived from the part of the Emp Unit name that is in parenthesis. Many units do not have an abbreviation. In order to add an abbreviation to a unit, a request should be submitted to the budget department.
Emp Wage Type Characteristic Wage type code for Basic Pay – identifies whether an employee is paid as faculty vs. staff, hourly vs. salary, accrual/non-accrual, etc.
Emp Years in Service Characteristic This field is the calculated number of years the employee has worked at Boston University.  It takes into consideration prior service dates. It is only based upon the current date, not snapshot date.
Employee Characteristic & Variable Employee / PERNR- An employee’s name and personnel number (pernr), which is a unique identification number for personnel assigned by the system.
Employee User Name Characteristic BU Login Name
Employee Count Key Figure Count of employees in current selection and row.
Employee Count (Organizational Key Date 2) Key Figure Number of active employees (by PERNR) at the second selected date.
Employee Count (Organizational Key Date) Key Figure Number of active employees (by PERNR) at the selected date.
Employee Group Characteristic & Variable Employee group is used to perform Payroll, Time and Benefits decisions.
Employee Group/Subgroup Characteristic & Variable This is a combination of Employee Group and Employee Subgroup.
Employee Subgroup Characteristic & Variable A subdivision of an Employee Group which is used to complete the BU personnel structure maintained within SAP.
Employment Percent Key Figure This field indicates the employment percentage according to the work schedule. This is the actual percent time, and is used to calculate annual salary for weekly paid employees.
Employment Status Characteristic & Variable Employment Status indicator describes the status of the employee at BU- associated with actions.
End Date Characteristic End date of wage type. Wage Type will reflect one of the following: Basic Pay (IT 08), Recurring Payments (IT 14), or Additional Payments (IT 15).
Ending Balance Key Figure Available Entitlement of a Personnel Time Quota, expressed in hours. Currently, only reflected for non-exempt employees.
ES Grouping for CAP Characteristic An Employee Subgroup grouping for Collective Agreement Provisions combines subgroups which are governed by the same valid collective agreement provisions.
A provision is a specific labor law regulation within the collective agreement.
Fac Academic Rank & Category Characteristic Usually the faculty member’s 6-character rank abbreviation. Since it is taken from the short text of the employee’s job, when the job is not a rank the results could show as “chair” or “actdir”. Note that this is populated for all employees, not just faculty.
Fac Accrual Indicator Characteristic Indicates whether a faculty member is on accrual.
Accrual means that the employee’s salary is paid out over 12 months even though he is paid for 9 months. The 3 months of salary are accrued over the 12 months, so that during the 3 month of non-work, they can be paid from the accrued funds.
Fac Affiliate Characteristic The name of the institute with which the employee has an affiliation.
Fac Appointment Level Characteristic Identifies the primary or secondary appointment.
Fac Appointment Type Characteristic Identifies if the appointment is academic or administrative.
Fac Contract End Date Characteristic Date that the contract is effective through.
Fac Contract Length Characteristic The length of the contract (yy.mm) If 2 years 6 months would be 02.06
Fac Contract Start Date Characteristic Start Date of the Contract.
Fac Contract Status Code Characteristic Active Status is a code that indicates whether a faculty contract is Active (1) or Inactive (2).
Fac Contract Type Characteristic Contract Type correlates to ‘Covered By’ for the type of contract
Fac Coterminous Characteristic Indicator that the secondary appointment is coterminous with the primary appointment. All FPP appointments (primary and secondary) are coterminous with their employment at BU.
Fac Decision Characteristic Outcome of appointment decision. This gets updated through the forms.
Fac Decision Date Characteristic Date of the final approval for the appointment or status change.
Fac Emeritus Effective Date Characteristic This is the date that the Emeritus rank became effective.
Fac Emeritus Indicator Characteristic For retired faculty who retired with the distinction Emeritus, this indicator is set to indicate that he/she has emeritus status. It is important to note that some faculty return to teach part-time with the Emeritus rank.
Fac Emeritus Title Characteristic For Retirees with Emeritus appointments, this is a place to capture their ranks of Emeritus titles. If corporate function falls between 975 and 996, this will be populated.
Fac Full Time Hire Date Characteristic Date that the employee became full time faculty member. This should not be blanked out if employee goes from FT to PT.
Fac Initial Acad Appt Dt Characteristic The date of the very first approved faculty appointment at BU
Fac Joint Appointment Ind Characteristic Indicates if the faculty has a true approved joint appointment with another school/unit/department.
Fac Major Affiliate Flag Characteristic Indicates if the faculty has an affiliation at an outside institution.
Fac Position/Rank Effective Date Characteristic The date that the rank became effective. Also referred to as the Appointment Begin Date.
Fac Position/Rank End Date Characteristic Date that an appointment officially ends.
Fac Professorial Indicator Characteristic Indicates if the faculty member has one of the types of jobs that indicate they are a Professor, instead of a Lecturer, etc.
Fac Rank Classification Characteristic Allows grouping by “Rank Classification” to identify Professors, etc with slightly different specific job titles.
Fac Rank Modifier Characteristic Indicates if the faculty member has a modified rank, and if so, what type of modification.
Fac Tenure Date Characteristic Effective date of when tenure was approved.
Fac Termination Date Characteristic Indicates the date a faculty employee stopped being a faculty employee. If this happens more than once, the most recent date will be shown. Active faculty have no faculty termination date.
Fac Termination Reason Characteristic Reason that a faculty member was terminated. Identical to the action reason for the action that caused the termination.
Fac Years Between Tenure And Professor Key Figure The time between Position Rank Effective Date and Fac Date of Tenure, expressed in decimal years. Only valid and populated when the job held is PROF. (It is blank where any input fields are blank.)
Fac Years in Current Rank Key Figure Snapshot Date – Position Rank Effective Date, expressed in decimal years.
Fac Years to Tenure Key Figure The time between Fac Date of Tenure and Fac Full Time Hire Date, expressed in decimal years (It is blank where any input fields are blank.)
Forfeit Key Figure (Used in the context of time quotas) Hours awarded after termination; not earned
FTE Count Key Figure The FTE relates the planned working time of a position to the standard working time of the organizational unit to which the position is assigned (including the inheritance logic of the general working time of the organizational unit).

Please note: This Key Figure should only be used on Snapshot Date based reports. Results in the History based reports have no value.
Functional area Characteristic Functional Area is the structure criterion for Boston University based on functional aspects. For example: Instruction and Research, Educational Support, Auxiliary.
Highest Degree Indicator Characteristic Indicates which degree is the highest.
History Date Variable Looking at 7 infotypes (01, 07, 08, 41, 77, 94, 712)- if any of these 7 infotypes has a record that has end-date that falls within history date interval (time range specified by this variable), then that record is shown on the report.
Home Address Line 1 Characteristic Number and Street of Home Address
Home Address Line 2 Characteristic Additional address information, such as apartment number or unit number.
Home City Characteristic The city of the employee’s home address.
Home Country Characteristic The country of the employee’s home address.
Home Phone Number Characteristic The employee’s home telephone number.
Home Postal Code Characteristic The Postal Code / ZIP Code of the employee’s home address.
Home State Characteristic State of Home Address
Home State Characteristic The state of the employee’s home address.
Hourly Rate Key Figure This field displays the hourly rate as seen on basic pay (truncated to 2 digits after the decimal). For example, all exempt employees will have 0.00 for their hourly rate, since they do not have one on IT08/Basic Pay.
Hourly Rate (Calculated) Key Figure This field displays the hourly rate for all employees, including exempt employees. For exempt employees, this field calculates what their hourly rate would be. For non-exempt employees, this field displays what is on their basic pay record.
Institution Country Characteristic This is the country of the Institution where the degree/certificate was obtained.
Institution State Characteristic If the Institution where the degree/certificate was obtained was within the United States, the state will be identified in this field. Otherwise it will be blank.
IT 9001 Valid From Characteristic Start date of the IT9001 record
IT 9001 Valid To Characteristic End date of the IT9001 record
IT9001 End Date Characteristic The ENDDA of the appointment infotype record.
IT9001 Start Date Characteristic The BEGDA of the appointment infotype record, used in displaying relevant employee information in the Faculty Appointment SAP History Reports.
Job Family Characteristic Job Families are groupings of jobs related by common vocations/professions. For example, Human Resources is a job family. As a result, they have many similarities, such as requiring similar competencies and career paths.
Job sub Family Characteristic The sub-section of a Job Family. For example, Compensation is a sub family of HR.
Last Check Date Characteristic Date of last payment.
Last Paid Amount Key Figure The most recent amount an employee has been paid.
Leave Pay Status Characteristic This field indicates what type of leave of absence the employee is on, or if they have most recently returned from LOA.
LOA Action Reason Characteristic The reason for which the employee is on a Leave of Absence.
LOA Begin Date Characteristic This field populates if the employee is on Leave of Absence. The populated date indicates the day that the employee’s LOA began.
LOA End Date Characteristic This field populates if the employee has returned from a Leave of Absence. The populated date indicates the day that the employee’s LOA ended.
LOA Expected Return Date Characteristic This is the date that an employee is expected to return from their Leave of Absence. This is not the definitve date that an employee will return. If you are looking for the date that someone has returned from leave, please see the LOA End Date.
LOA Flag Characteristic This indicates whether an employee is on leave, has returned from leave, or if there is no record of an LOA on SAP.
LOA Type Characteristic This describes how an employee is paid while on Leave of Absence.
MA County Characteristic County of Home Postal Code, if this postal code is in Boston, Metro Boston, or Brookline.
MA Region Characteristic Region of Home Postal Code, which describes whether the postal code is in Boston, Brookline, Metro Boston, Massachusetts, or outside Massachusetts.
Main Assignment Indicator Characteristic & Variable An indicator of “X” indicates that this position is the main assignment for the employee. This is important to use for faculty selections, to eliminate duplicate employees counts. All salary and budget information should be connected to this assignment/position.
Note: 1) currently, only faculty should have concurrent employment, but students who need security roles are set up with Non-Comp and student positions.
2) Currently this is usually the primary academic assignment. For a handful of faculty (executives and center directors) this will reflect their primary administrative assignment.
Main Employee Pernr Characteristic The pernr of the employee’s main assignment.
Main Position Characteristic The position of the employee’s main assignment.
Manager Characteristic This field displays the name of an employee’s manager. Manager is the direct manager. Manager 1 – 9 shows the next levels up from the direct manager.
Member of Characteristic This is to track memberships within Centers, Institutes, programs or clubs at Boston University.  [Note: External memberships will continue to be captured through the EAR System (External Activity Reporting System).

May also be known as Membership.
Name First Characteristic The first name of the employee.
Name Last Characteristic The last name of the employee.
Name Middle Characteristic Employee’s middle name
Name Nickname Characteristic Employee’s Nickname, also known as preferred name
Name Suffix Characteristic The suffix of the employee’s name.
No. of Pers. Assign Key Figure This key figure specifies how many personnel assignments an employee has.
Number of Appointments Key Figure A count of number of appointments.
Number of months Key Figure Displays the number of months an employee works. Note: This field is used primarily for Exempt employees.
Number of Records Key Figure Number of records indicated by the available free characteristics. Useful for identifying number of historical changes on a record over time.
Number of weeks Key Figure Displays the number of weeks an employee works. Note: This field is used primarily for Non-Exempt employees.
Org Unit – Directory Display (A) Characteristic Found only in the Faculty and Staff Directory Report, this characteristic displays the 5th level org unit down towards the employees org unit.
Org Unit – Directory Display (B) Characteristic Synonym for Org Unit. Changed name only in the Faculty and Staff Directory.
Organizational Key Date Variable For a historical or current report of employees, the report reflects the data as of this date. Input by the user on the variable screen. On comparison reports data will be compared to data as of the Organizational Key Date 2.
Organizational Key Date 2 Variable When running a report, the information contained in the query will be effective as of this date. For example, running a report with a key date = 01/01/2012 would return data as of that date. This is a second date used for comparison to Organizational Key Date.
Organizational Unit Characteristic & Variable Unit of an enterprise that has managerial potential, such as department, group, subgroup, or project.
Paid Out (Term, Workers Comp) Key Figure Compensated time quota payout, expressed in hours. For exempt employees, see Additional Payment (Wage Type 0267). Upon termination of employment, non-exempt employees are paid out their remaining vacation hours.
Percent or Amount Fl Characteristic Indicator utilized on the position budget planning (IT9100) to identify a stipend payment as percent-based or fixed.
Personnel Area Characteristic & Variable The Personnel Area is the first grouping in the enterprise structure. For Boston University, it represents the various campuses and limited affiliates. Once defined for a position (IT1008) /employee (IT0001) – the personnel area is used to filter fields such as personnel sub-areas and building list available for the primary work address.
Personnel Subarea Characteristic & Variable The Personnel Subarea is the second grouping in the enterprise structure. For Boston University, it defines whether a position (IT1008)/employee (IT0001) is represented or non-represented by a union. Personnel subarea options are dependent on the personnel area selected and drive which employee groups are available, workschedules/quotas are allowed, and affect benefit program grouping.
Pos Cur Yr Budget Key Figure This field represents the annual salary of the current position incumbent, and may be prorated based on the hire date of the incumbent. This data is maintained by the Budget Office and is stored on IT9100 (Position Budget). For instance, if the person was hired six months into the fiscal year, the amount would be half of the annual salary.
Pos Recur Budget Key Figure This field represents the maximum budget amount available for the position on a recurring basis. It may be a higher amount than the annual salary of the current position incumbent. This data is maintained by the Budget Office and is stored on IT9100 (Position Budget).
Position Vacant Characteristic The vacancy flag identifies whether a position is open for hire or Filled/Not open for hire.
Position Valid From Characteristic Start date of the position.
Position Valid To Characteristic End date of the position.
Post Probation Characteristic Employee has met the Probationary requirement set by the union
Post Probation End Date Characteristic Date their Post Probationary Status ended (i.e.: if they terminated). Note, if the employee is active, this will be 12/31/9999 in most cases.
Post Probation Start Date Characteristic Date their Post Probationary became effective.
Prev Academic Rank and Category Characteristic For faculty only, this is the prior rank held by the faculty member.
Previous Action Reason Characteristic The reason associated with the employee’s prior Action.
Previous Action Type Characteristic Specifies the type of personnel action initiated prior to the most recent one.
Previous BU Job Code (AAP) Characteristic Previous AAP Category.
Previous Employee Group Characteristic The employee’s prior Employee Group.
Previous Employee Subgroup Characteristic The employee’s prior Employee Subgroup.
Previous Employment Status Characteristic Previous Employment Status
Previous Job Characteristic The employee’s prior Emp Job.
Previous Master Cost Center Characteristic Previous master cost center assigned to an organizational unit/position/employee.
Previous Organizational Unit Characteristic The previous organizational unit assigned to a position/employee.
Previous Payroll Area Characteristic Previous Payroll Area reflects what an employee’s Payroll Area was for their Previous Position.
Previous Personnel Area Characteristic & Variable The employee’s prior Personnel Area.
Previous Personnel Subarea Characteristic The employee’s prior Personnel Subarea.
Previous Position Characteristic The employee’s prior Position.
Previous SAP Last SAB End Characteristic The end date of the last sabbatical taken by a faculty member, if the sabbatical was taken before SAP went live.
Primary Valid From Characteristic Date at which the employee began working at the Primary Work Location.
Primary Academic Job Title Characteristic Primary Academic Job Title is the Job (rank short desc) that correlates to ‘Primary’ and ‘Academic’ selections identified on IT9001 (Faculty Data)
Primary Academic Position Characteristic Primary Academic Position is normally the MAIN assignment which is the Primary Academic Appointment that a faculty employee holds.
Primary Administrative Job Title Characteristic Primary Administrative Job Title is the position (rank) that is associated with the Primary Administrative selections from IT9001 (Faculty Data)
Primary Administrative Position Characteristic Primary Administrative Position that a faculty employee holds.
Primary House Number Characteristic The street number of the employee’s primary work location.
Primary Reason for Change Characteristic
Primary Valid To Characteristic Date at which the employee stopped working at the Primary Work Location.
Quota Accrual Key Figure Amount of time accrued for the month. Sick and vacation time is awarded on the last day of the month, personal time is accrued annually. Note that accruals will not show up until the first of the following month.
Quota Type Characteristic This indicates the type of absence corresponding to the hours displayed in the Absence Quota Balance, Absence Quota Accrual and Absence Quota Used fields. Types of absences include: Sick, Personal, Vacation etc.
Quota Used Key Figure Number of hours used by the employee against absence quota for a day.
Racial Category 1 Characteristic This contains one of the employee’s race categories.
Racial Category 2 Characteristic This contains one of the employee’s race categories.
Racial Category 3 Characteristic This contains one of the employee’s race categories.
Racial Category 4 Characteristic This contains one of the employee’s race categories.
Racial Category 5 Characteristic This contains one of the employee’s race categories.
Racial Category( RAC01 – RAC05) Characteristic & Variable All five Racial Categories concatenated into one field.
Reasonable Assurance Characteristic Reasonable Assurance refers to whether or not a seasonal position will or will not return in the following season. It is used in positions, such as Security Attendant, that are used during the school year, but not during the summer.
Recur. Payments/Deductions Key Figure Amount of recurring payment or deduction.
Salary Change % Key Figure Percentage change since the last non-zero annual salary.
Salary Change Amount Key Figure Amount of change from the previous non-zero salary.
Salary Change from Date Characteristic The effective date of the most recent change to Infotype 08.
Salary Change From Date Characteristic This is similar to the BEGDA and ENDDA, but are specific to employee and not person changes. It needs to be used when using the salary change key figures to display salary changes properly in the Employee History report.
Salary Change Reason Characteristic
Salary Change To Date Characteristic This is similar to the BEGDA and ENDDA, but are specific to employee and not person changes. It needs to be used when using the salary change key figures to display salary changes properly in the Employee History report.
Salary Change to Date Characteristic End of salary change record. (IT 0008)
Secondary Valid From Characteristic Date at which the employee began working at the Secondary Work Location.
Secondary Valid To Characteristic Date at which the employee stopped working at the Secondary Work Location.
Secondary House Number Characteristic The street number of the employee’s secondary work location.
Senior Manager Characteristic This field displays the name of an employee’s senior (VP level)manager. Senior Manager Level 1 is the highest level up, followed by Levels 2 and 3.
Span of Control of a Position Characteristic This characteristic represents the number of (whole number) positions headed by a position. This includes the number of positions in a manager’s direct org unit, and all that fall below the position.
Start Date Characteristic Start date of wage type. Wage Type will reflect one of the following: Basic Pay (IT 08), Recurring Payments (IT 14), or Additional Payments (IT 15).
Union Status Characteristic Indicator identifying if the employee is represented by a Union (1) or not represented by a Union (2). If the personnel subarea is 0100 (BUPPA), 0110 (L2324), 0120 (L888), 0130 (BUSOA) or 0140 (L615) then union status is 1.
Unit Characteristic This is the second and third digit of the Master Cost Center. It corresponds to the legacy Unit.
Wage Type Characteristic Wage type for a payment or deduction.
Weekly Working Hours Key Figure Planned work hours for each week.
Work Hours/Period Key Figure Number of planned work hours for each pay period, weekly or monthly.
Work Loc Primary Address Full Characteristic The full address of an employee’s Primary Work Location, includes building, name, office number, street address, city, state or region, postal code, and country.
Work Loc Primary City Name Characteristic The city of the employee’s primary work location.
Work Loc Primary Country Characteristic The country of the employee’s primary work location.
Work Loc Primary Name 1 Characteristic The name of the employee’s primary Work Location building.
Work Loc Primary Name 2 Characteristic The second line of the name of an employee’s primary Work Location building. For almost all employees, this is Boston University.
Work Loc Primary Postal Code Characteristic The Postal Code/ZIP Code for an employee’s Primary Work Location.
Work Loc Primary Region Characteristic The state (or region, for non-U.S. employees) of the employee’s Primary Work Location.
Work Loc Primary Street Address Characteristic The street address of an employee’s Primary Work Location.
Work Loc Primary Telephone Number Characteristic The telephone number for an employee’s Primary Work Location.
Work Loc Secondary Name 1 Characteristic The name of the employee’s secondary Work Location building.
Work Loc Secondary Address Full Characteristic The full address of an employee’s Secondary Work Location, includes building, name, office number, street address, city, state or region, postal code, and country.
Work Loc Secondary City Name Characteristic The city of the employee’s secondary work location.
Work Loc Secondary Country Characteristic The country of the employee’s secondary work location.
Work Loc Secondary Name 2 Characteristic The second line of the name of an employee’s secondary Work Location building. For almost all employees, this is Boston University.
Work Loc Secondary Postal Code Characteristic The Postal Code/ZIP Code for an employee’s Secondary Work Location.
Work Loc Secondary Region Characteristic The state (or region, for non-U.S. employees) of the employee’s Secondary Work Location.
Work Loc Secondary Street Address Characteristic The street address of an employee’s Secondary Work Location.
Work Loc Secondary Telephone Number Characteristic The telephone number for an employee’s Secondary Work Location.
Work Schedule Rule Characteristic The work schedule rule [WSR] details the employee’s planned work schedule. It utilizes the period work schedule which indicates what days are worked and the number of hours per day.