Internal Organization Name Data Standard

Intended Audience and Contact Information

Contact Chief Data Officer, Office of the CIO
UDM Domain Organization
Intended Audience Internal UBC
Data Standard ID DG0033

Change Log

Standard Version Date Change Log
2024-04-09

The following updates were made to the Academic Unit section:

1.0 Addition of Academic Unit Hierarchy

2.0 Addition of Credit Basis attribute and definition

3.0 Addition of Non-Credit Academic Unit sub-types

2022-12-12

Mapping of Invalid values From Systems(s) of Record (SoR) to Common Services sub-section of Compliance section added

2022-10-17 Addition of Graduate Supervisory Committee Standard section
2022-06-01 Addition of the definition of an Academic Unit in the Academic Unit section.
2022-03-09 Reference Data Compliance for Data Integration sub-section of Compliance section added
2021-08-03 Addition of Academic Unit section.
2020-04-24 Data standard published

Purpose

This standard aims to achieve consistency around the way internal organizations are named across the University.

This standard applies to all UBC applications collecting and creating organization names.Exceptions are listed in the Dispensation section.

Standard

Organization Name

A UBC organization instance must adhere to the following:

  1. Must be unique within the specific organization structure1.
  2. Cannot contain special characters with the exception of "|" (pipes), unless they are part of the distinctive name e.g. entrepreneurship@UBC.
  3. Cannot contain any embedded information if not part of the name e.g. inactive flag or status.
  4. Cannot be concatenated with the organization code in the distinctive name field.
  5. Single word names (such as Kinesiology) are not sufficiently distinct from other names containing the same word and hence, are not allowed.
  6. Numerals may only be used in an Organization's name if it is part of the distinctive element. For example, CUPE Local 2950.
  7. An individual's full name will be considered to be sufficiently distinctive and therefore acceptable in an Organization's name. For example, E.g. Sauder School of Business, Robert H. Lee Graduate School.
  8. An inactive organization must be flagged as such, and must include the effective date.

See Supervisory Organization standard and Matrix Organization Standard below for naming conventions of supervisory and matrix organizations.

Follow the Data Entry in Free-Form Text Fields Guideline when entering organization names in an application.

1 Organization structure refers to a grouping of organizational units such as supervisory, matrix or functional organizations.

Restrictions on Organization Names

Certain words and characters are not permitted in a name. Some of these depend on the type of business structure. Restrictions include:

  • Obscene words or wording
  • Any wording that might be confused with a government organization, or example, RCMP.
Organization Codes

Organization codes, where applicable, must adhere to the following:

  1. Must be unique for each distinctive name.
  2. Cannot contain all digits.
  3. Cannot contain any special characters
  4. Functional organizational unit codes must consist of 4 alpha-characters.

    For example:

    Organization Code Functional Organizational Unit Name
    PROF Office of the President
  5. Other organizational codes must consist of a 2 alpha prefix followed by a numeric sequence. The number of digits within the numeric sequence must remain consistent within the business object, and must be sustainable.

The table below provides examples for demonstration purposes:

Business Object Organization Code Functional Organizational Unit Name Number of digits in numeric sequence
Cost Centre CC00001 Allard School of Law | Academic and Student Services | Academic Services 5
Cost Centre CC01054 VP Research and Innovation | VP Research | Research Facilities | UBC Press | Pacific Educational Press (PEP) 5
Cost Centre CC01426 Faculty of Medicine | Departments and Schools | Pediatrics | Education | Neonatal Perinatal Medicine 5
Fund FD000 General Purpose Operating 3
Fund FD103 Athletics and Recreation 3
Fund FD102 Parking Services 3
Project PJ000100 Faculty Scholar Award 6
Project PJ000018 Assistance Program for Student 6
Project PJ000121 Huawei Program Outreach 6
Supervisory Organization

Supervisory organizations group workers that belong to the same business unit, department, group, or project, into a management hierarchy that supports assigned business processes that relate to approvals and checklists.

Supervisory Organization Hierarchy

Each supervisory organization has roles that represent the support group assigned to it that have responsibilities within a functional area. Each organization hierarchy has one leadership role. The assignee of the leadership role is the manager of the supervisory organization.

Supervisory Organization Naming Convention

A supervisory organization will adopt the format below in its naming convention. Use of the "|" (pipe) symbol is permissible to separate the function name from the department name(s).

Format structure:
Supervisory Organization Name | Manager's position functional organization unit name | *roll-up hierarchy for parent functional organizational units

For example:
Facilities and Technical Management | Department of Computer Science | Faculty of Science Research Assistants | Department of Mathematics | Faculty of Science

*For Okanagan, the structure will be as follows:
UBCO | Supervisory Organization Name | Manager's position functional organization unit name | roll-up hierarchy for parent functional organizational units

For example:
UBCO | Facilities and Technical Management | Department of Computer Science | Faculty of Science Research Assistants | Department of Mathematics | Faculty of Science

For additional standards on naming convention, refer to the section above on Organization Name.

Supervisory Organization Attributes

The following supervisory organization attributes must be captured in the following manner:

Attribute Accepted Value
Availability Date Defaults as Reorganization Event date when an organization is created; can be updated to an earlier date.
Type Defaults to "Supervisory"
Subtype "Unit"
Code Refer to Organization Codes section above.
Visibility Defaults to "Everyone"
Top Level Defaults to Top Level value
Superior Defaults to Superior value
Subordinates Defaults to Subordinates value
Primary Location Assign the location based on the Manager's Position Building Location
Effective Date Date when an Organization is Used in Business Transactions
Matrix Organization

Matrix Organization Naming Convention

A matrix organization will adopt the format below in its naming convention. Use of the "|" (pipe) symbol is permissible to separate the function name from the department name(s).

Format structure:
Matrix Manager's Position Functional Organization Unit Name | roll-up hierarchy for parent functional organizational units

Example:

Chemistry | Faculty of Science

For matrix organizations, do not use Joint Appointment in the name.

For additional standards on naming convention, refer to the section above on Organization Name.

Matrix Organization Attributes

The following matrix organization attributes must be captured in the following manner:

Attribute Accepted Value
Type Defaults to "Matrix"
Subtype "Matrix"
Code Refer to Organization Codes section above.
Visibility Defaults to "Everyone"
Functional Organization

A functional organization is defined as the unit that workers consider themselves to belong to.

The purpose of the functional organization is not to define a reporting structure (who reports to who), and/or what cost centers cover their position. The functional organization structure will be used in reporting that will allow visibility into employee data including job data, positions and compensation.

Functional Organization Hierarchy

Each functional organization will be assigned to one of the following Function Organization Hierarchy levels:

Level Level Instance Value
01 Company
02 Campus
03 Deputy Vice Chancellor
04 Vice President
05 Associate Vice President
06 Faculty
07 Department
08 Sub Department
09 Sub Location
10 Sub Unit
11 Other
12 Sub Other

Functional Organization Naming Convention

Refer to the Organization Name section above for naming convention of functional organization units.

Functional Organization Attributes

The following functional organization attributes must be captured in the following manner:

Attribute Accepted Value
Availability Date Defaults as Reorganization Event date when an organization is created; can be updated to an earlier date
Type Defaults to "Functional Unit Hierarchy"
Subtype This represents the hierarchy levels in the functional organization structure.
Assign <level associated with the Unit Lead>.
For a list of values accepted in the hierarchy, refer to Functional Organization Hierarchy.
Code Must be unique and consist of 4 alpha-characters. For more information, refer to the Organization Codes section above.
Subordinates Defaults to <functional organizational units that are considered part of that unit and are not associated with a further subordinate unit>.
Unit Lead Assign <the most senior Worker associated with the node's functional organizational unit>
Members Defaults to <all positions considered part of the functional organizational unit>
Inactive Indicates whether the FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION is active or not.
Effective Date Date when an organization is used in business transactions
Academic Unit

An Academic Unit is an organization type that represents a school, college, university, or other units within the institution. These units can recruit and admit learners, offer programs of study or courses, or administer financial aid. An Academic Unit is also used with academic appointments.

Academic Units that offer Credit-based Learning Opportunities to Students are Senate approved and defined in the Senate Policy.

Academic Unit Hierarchy

Academic Units are assigned to one of the following levels based on their sub-type.

Level Level Instance Value
01 Institution
02 Senate
03 Faculty (Credit) Or Program Office (Non-Credit)
04 School, Department, Institute, College, Centre, or Program Unit

Academic Unit Naming Convention

Refer to the Organization Name Standard section for naming convention of academic units.

Academic Unit Attributes

The following are Academic Unit attributes:

Attribute Accepted Value
Effective Date The date the ACADEMIC UNIT version exists.
Name Official name of the ACADEMIC UNIT (Senate-approved version).
Institution Only the top level "University of British Columbia" should be checked.
Code Abbreviation for the ACADEMIC UNIT.
Refer to the Organization Code section for more information.
Include Code in Name Indicates whether to include the Code in the name of the unit for display purposes.
Include Subtype in Name Default to "N".
Inactive Indicates whether the ACADEMIC UNIT is active or not.
Organization Subtype Indicates the subtype that can be defined. See the Academic Unit Subtypes section for more information.
Related Supervisory Organization The link to the related unit in the Supervisory Org structure on the HCM side
Credit Basis

Indicates if the Academic Unit is Credit or Non-Credit.

Note: This is derived from the System of Record. Should this rule become insufficient to define the credit basis for an Academic Unit, contact Enterprise Data Governance.

Academic Unit Subtypes

Subtypes That Require Senate Approval

The following are Credit Academic Unit sub-types that require Senate approval:

Academic Unit Subtype Usage
Faculty

These Academic Unit Subtypes:

  • are defined by and bound by Senate policies on both campuses
  • should not be used by units that do not meet the above criteria
School
College
Department
Institute
Centre

Subtypes That Do Not Require Senate Approval

The following are Academic Unit sub-types that do not require Senate approval. These sub-types cannot offer academic programs and courses.

Academic Unit Subtype Usage
Senate This subtype applies different policies at the two campuses/Senates.
Library This subtype facilitates HR processes around academic appointments.
Program Unit [Credit] or Academic Administration1 This subtype is for academic units that are needed to facilitate Student processes.

The following are Non-Credit Academic Unit sub-types that may or may not be approved by Senate.

Academic Unit Subtype Usage
Program Office This subtype can recruit and admit learners, and offer or administer non-credit programs of study or courses.
Program Unit [Non-Credit] This subtype is for academic units that are needed to facilitate course and program administration and learner processes.
Graduate Supervisory Commitee

This standard applies to a Graduate Supervisory Committee in Workday Student only.

A Supervisory Committee is responsible for guiding the program of study and the research of graduate students. There are Senate regulations regarding membership on committees, and committees must be approved by the respective graduate schools, either the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at UBCV or the College of Graduate Studies at UBCO.

All graduate students in thesis-based masters and doctoral programs must have a Graduate Supervisory Committee.

Graduate Supervisory Committee Naming Convention

A Graduate Supervisory Committee will adopt the format below in its naming convention. Use of the "|" (pipe) symbol is permissible to separate the components of the name.

<Student ID>1 | <GivenName> <FamilyName>2 | <YYYY3> [Graduate Supervisory Committee Type Name]4

Examples:

1111111 | Doe, John | 2012 Master's Committee

1111111 | Doe, John | 2015 Doctoral Committee

1 Manual entry of the unique student number issued to the student.
2 Manual entry of the student’s preferred given name and family name. If the preferred name is not available, use the legal name.
3Manual entry of the year the graduate student started their graduate program at UBC. If students transfer degree programs, the year is kept as the start year of the degree they transferred from.
4 Automatically appended value of the denoted name that is indicated as the Graduate Supervisory Committee Type. Users have to tick the box “Include type in name” for this to work.

For additional standards on naming convention, refer to the section Organization Name Standard.

Graduate Supervisory Committee Attributes

The following Graduate Supervisory Committee attributes must be captured in the following manner:

Attribute

Accepted Values

Effective Date (Required) Enter the date the Graduate Supervisory Committee is created in Workday.
Code Leave the field blank
Committee Name (Required) See Graduate Supervisory Committee Naming Convention for name format.
Type (Required) Specify if a committee is a for a master's program or a doctoral program. See the Graduate Supervisory Committee Type section for accepted values.
Include Type in Name Always check this box to append type to the end of committee name.
Committee Sub-type (Required) Specify a status for the committee. See the Graduate Supervisory Committee Subtype section for accepted values.
Include Subtype in Name Do not check box .
Sponsoring Organization Enter the Academic Unit that owns the graduate degree program the student is enrolled in.

The following table describes attributes related to committee membership.

Attribute Accepted Values
Effective Date (Required) Enter the date the Committee Membership is created in Workday.
Reason Enter "Committee Member Service > New Members > New Committee Member".
Membership Type (Required) Select one of the membership types based on the person being added to the committee. See the Graduate Supervisory Committee Membership Type section for accepted values.

Graduate Supervisory Committee Type

The following are the accepted values for Graduate Supervisory Committee type:

Accepted Value Name

Accepted Value Acronym

Definition

Master's Committee

M

Denotes a committee for a student enrolled in a Master's program.

Doctoral Committee

D

Denotes a committee for a student enrolled in a doctoral program.

Expenses

N/A

Do not use; values are not applicable to the creation of a Graduate Supervisory Committee

Recruiting Committee (Search)

N/A

External System

N/A

Graduate Supervisory Committee Subtype

Graduate Supervisory Committee Subtype is used to denote a status associated with a committee. This field in Workday does not behave like a status field, however, it is sufficiently flexible enough to have committee statuses configured and retained.

The following are the accepted values for Graduate Supervisory Committee subtype:

Accepted Value Definition
Approved Denotes a committee in an approved state. This value is used when the committee and its membership have been reviewed by G+PS or CoGS and is deemed to meet graduate studies' requirements.
Not Approved Denotes a committee in a not approved state. This value is used when a committee is created but has not yet been reviewed by G+PS or CoGS. Default state at time of creation
Ready for Review Denotes a committee that has been entered into Workday and is awaiting approval by G+PS or CoGS.
Waiting for Information from Program Denotes a committee has been reviewed by G+PS or CoGS, but requires additional information from the graduate program to complete review.
06 Faculty Do not use; values are not applicable to the creation of a Graduate Supervisory Committee
Students – Non-Workers

Graduate Supervisory Committee Member Type

The following are the accepted values for Graduate Supervisory Committee Member type:

Accepted Value Definition
Graduate Student Denotes the graduate student for whom the committee is created. There must only be one graduate student per committee.
Supervisor Assigned as the graduate student's supervisor.
Co-Supervisor Assigned as the co-supervisor(s) that a student may have.
Committee Member Assigned as any member(s) that are part of the committee.
Chairperson Do not use; values are not applicable to the creation of a Graduate Supervisory Committee
Expenses
External
Faculty
Member
Staff
Student

Compliance

This standard about Organization Name must be complied with through every stage of the data lifecycle with the exception of any dispensations (see Dispensation section):

  • All applications must collect Organization Name as recommended in this standard.
  • Enterprise Data Integration must adopt this standard.

Reference Data Compliance for Data Integration

The use of accepted reference data values in this standard for data integration among applications must comply with the enterprise integration pattern of leveraging the reference data common service API (Application Programming Interface) published in UBC MuleSoft Exchange.

Any application that intends to access real-time, case-level reference data should have the application owner or manager complete and submit a Request API Access form.

MAPPING OF INVALID VALUES FROM SYSTEM(S) OF RECORD (SOR) TO COMMON SERVICES

A common service can only accommodate standard reference data enumerations that are available in the SoR as approved by the Data Governance Steering Committee or Data Trustee.

A reference data value that does not match any of the standard reference data value enumerations is considered ‘invalid’. Any records from a SoR containing an invalid reference data value for a given data element or attribute must be mapped as an ‘empty’ value in common service(s). Where a reference data value may potentially have the same meaning as a standard enumeration but named differently in the system of record can be corrected to match the appropriate standard enumeration. Please consult with the EDG team in such cases.

Additional Reference Data values in a SoR that are not part of the standard reference data enumerations are to be omitted in the common service.

Dispensation

Legacy systems are exempt from this data standard. Examples of legacy systems are:

  • Student Information System (SIS)

As existing systems change to adopt this standard, the Enterprise Data Governance team needs to be informed.

For any compliance questions or requests for a temporary dispensation, please contact the Enterprise Data Governance Team.

Related Documents

  1. Companies Office, Manitoba
  2. BC Registry Services
  3. Naming a corporation, Government of Canada
  4. Choosing a Name in New Brunswick
  5. Filling Out the T4A Slip
  6. How to Name a Business or Organization: Naming Rules