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Division of Personnel Security
and Access Control

Helpdesk: 301-402-9755
e-QIP: 301-402-9735
Appointment Line: 301-496-0051
Email: orspersonnelsecurity@mail.nih.gov

This is the March 11, 2009 issue of the DPSAC NEWS

New for NED Users: “Job Aids” that Help Illustrate Common NED Procedures

Acting DPSAC Director Richie Taffet recently sent out a notice to the administrative community acknowledging the need for additional NED training and tutorials beyond the basics offered in the “hands on” training sessions. Feedback from AOs and ATs underscored the need for more advanced learning tools to facilitate the transition to NED 2.0, to help AOs and ATs work with more complex NED functions, and to stay current with NED revisions as they become available.

In response to this feedback, the HSPD-12 Program Office, together with the NED team have released the first in a series of “job aids” to assist AOs, ATs and other NED users with certain common (though not necessarily simple) NED applications. The aids consist of screen shots supplemented with detailed instructions to guide users through the steps necessary to accomplish a particular function or task.

The first three “job aids” – (1) Setting Primary SAC Coverage; (2) Using the NED ‘Update’ & ‘Modify’ Functions; and, (3) Renewing an ID Badge -- will soon be posted under “Job Aids” on the NED Training web page (www.idbadge.nih.gov/training/nedweb.asp). 

You can also preview them by clicking on the links below: 

• Setting Primary SAC Coverage
• Using the NED ‘Update’ & ‘Modify’ Functions
• Renewing an ID Badge

Understanding how to Set Primary SAC Coverage is critical in using the NED system since this controls the tasks that will appear in the user’s NED inbox.

Likewise, understanding the distinction between the Update and Modify functions in NED are also critical since one (Update) is used to change information about the person while the other (Modify) is used to request or revoke various NIH services.

Renewing an ID Badge offers instructions for AOs and separate instructions for ATs and other administrative support staff responsible for inputting information into NED.

In addition to developing new job aids and posting them on the http://idbadge.nih.gov website, the online 'Help' function in NED is being updated as a convenient reference for users who may need help while logged on to NED. Also, as new job aids become available they will be included in the training folders provided for the NED Hands-On classes.

DPSAC News will alert its readers when new 'aids' become available online.

Badge Deactivation – Some Clarification

As a result of the February 20, 2009 NIH Record article -- “Some 2,300 NIH’ers May Lose Access to Workplace” -- DPSAC has received a handful of letters from readers who expressed some concern that they may be one of the 2,300 who are at risk of having their badges deactivated. To help the administrative community respond to questions about badge deactivation, DPSAC News offers the following additional explanation of the e-QIP process and how ID Badges eventually get deactivated.

To date, only a fraction of the entire NIH population has received an e-mail notification to complete the appropriate investigation forms (e-QIP). DPSAC is still in the process of reaching out to the rest of the NIH community to begin the investigation process.

As to whether an individual should be worried that his or her badge will be deactivated without warning, the answer is NO. Individuals do not need to complete the e-QIP forms until instructed to do so by DPSAC. Also, prior to deactivating an ID badge, DPSAC will send several direct messages to an individual warning them that their badge is subject to deactivation.

DPSAC has created a thorough and deliberate process to follow before an individual’s ID badge is deactivated. Individuals will be notified by DPSAC when they need to complete their background investigation forms and they will also receive several warning messages if they are in danger of having their ID badge deactivated. For those who have not received any direct e-mails from DPSAC about deactivating their badge, they are not in danger of having their ID badge privileges revoked. If you are a Sponsor you should be aware that you will be copied on the third and final e-mail warning that is sent to the individual.

DPSAC understands that most of those who receive notification to complete e-QIP respond quickly and appropriately. One purpose of the NIH Record article was to call people’s attention to this issue and to underscore the serious consequences of not complying with NIH security procedures. 

Individuals whose ID Badge will be expiring in 44 days or less and who have not received a renewal notification should contact the DPSAC Helpdesk at 301-402-9755 or orspersonnelsecurity@mail.nih.gov for assistance.
 

Helpful Tips - Security Awareness Training Update • NED Classes • PIV Sponsor Training

• Security Awareness Training
You may begin seeing NED-generated e-mails routed through you that request individuals starting work at your IC to complete their Security Awareness Training before they arrive. This e-mail is part of a new feature in NED that helps individuals get a head start on completing their required Security Awareness Training.

AOs creating a new NED record for an individual who will need IT access should try to include the individual’s personal e-mail account. That way, NED can send an e-mail notification directly to that person instructing them to complete the required Security Awareness Training (SAT) BEFORE they arrive at NIH. A link to the SAT module will be included in the e-mail. Since the individual is not yet at NIH, NED will NOT send the e-mail to the person’s NIH e-mail account. Rather, NED will look for a personal e-mail account (e.g. johndoe@yahoo.com). If the individual does not have a personal e-mail account, the NED message will be sent to the AO sponsoring that person.

• Take Advantage of Upcoming Free “Hands On” NED Classes
It only takes a moment to register and reserve a space for a NED ‘hands on’ training class. Click here to view the schedule of available classes. The earlier you register, the more likely you will have your choice of dates. Please e-mail Dan Shumate in the HSPD-12 Program Office and let him know which session you would like to attend. The courses are free and handout materials will be provided. You are encouraged to share this information with other NED users in your IC.

• AOs in the Role of PIV Sponsor Must Complete HHS PIV Sponsor Training
AOs who will be sponsoring individuals for the HHS ID Badge (PIV Card) and have not completed the mandatory HHS PIV Sponsor training should complete the Sponsor Training. To do this, click on the following link: http://intranet.hhs.gov/pivcard/training/sponsor/.

Once you have completed the training module, please fax or mail the signed and dated training certificate to:

      HSPD-12 Program Office
      31 Center Drive
      Room B1A26
      Bethesda, MD 20892-2143
      Fax number: 301-480-1119 

News Briefs

• The Enrollment/Badging Center in Building 31, Room 1B03 on the main NIH campus will be closed for one hour on Friday, March 27 between 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

• NED Speed: Over the weekend (March 7/8) the NED team applied a vendor-supplied hot-fix to NED to speed up queries to the NED database. Before applying the hot-fix it was taking around 20 seconds to display the list of tasks in the NED Inbox; it now takes around five seconds to display the same list. Performance may vary depending on the speed of your computer and network traffic, but hopefully you’ll notice a marked improvement.
 

FAQs: Fourteen NTE Q's & A's • Summer Student Enrollment

Q.  What is an 'NTE date' and what is the relationship between the NTE date and the ID Badge Expiration Date?

A.  The NTE (Not To Exceed) date is an expiration date on the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED) record itself. Note: The NTE date and the ID badge expiration date are separate and not related unless you establish a relationship between them. They can be completely different. A record could have an NTE date that expires tomorrow and a badge expiration date four years in the future.

Q.  What happens when the NTE date passes?

A. What happens when an NTE date passes depends on whether the record is linked to an authoritative source. For those records linked to an authoritative source (e.g., FTE records linked to HRDB, Fellow records linked to FPS2, foreign national records linked to fsaAtlas), NED does nothing based on the NTE date. Rather, it relies on the authoritative source to do whatever its business rules say to do. If the authoritative source drops the person, NED will deactivate the corresponding NED record. If not, NED won’t do anything. For records that are not linked to an authoritative source (e.g., Contractors), NED will deactivate the record the day after the NTE date passes.

The bottom line is that you should expect that if the NTE date passes, the NED record will probably be deactivated (either by NED or because it dropped out of an authoritative source). As you know, deactivating a NED record revokes the ID badge, disables the Active Directory account and mailbox, etc., so it’s a serious matter.

The only way to recover from a deactivation is to reactivate the record. This is a lot of work that you probably want to avoid if you can. It is highly recommended that you avoid allowing NED records to auto-deactivate except in the case of individuals who are separating from NIH and will no longer require access to NIH facilities or computer systems. For FTEs with term appointments, this means updating Capital HR before the term expires. For Fellows, this means updating FPS2 before the NTE date passes. For Contractors, this means either updating or removing the NTE date in NED before it arrives.

Q.  Does NED do anything to help AOs and ATs keep track of and manage NTE dates?

A.  Yes. NED provides two features to help you manage NTE dates and the risks associated with inadvertent deactivations.
 1. An email notification sent to the individual with BCC to an IC distribution list.
 2. A report that lists all NTE dates in your IC.

Q.  What is the 'NED NTE Date Notification?'

A.  NED sends e-mail notifications to everyone with an NTE date in NED.

Q.  When does NED send the 'NTE Date Notification?'

A.  NED sends the e-mail notification about an upcoming NTE date two months before the NTE date for US citizens and four months before the NTE date for foreign nationals.

Q.  Who is the 'NED NTE Date Notification' sent to?

A.  The message is sent to the individual’s work e-mail address in NED. A BCC is sent to a distribution list in the IC that owns the NED record.
 

Q.  Who manages the distribution list that gets BCC’d on 'NED NTE Date Notifications?'

A.  Each IC is responsible for the management of its distribution list. If your IC puts 20 people in the distribution list, 20 people will receive copies of the NTE date notifications. If your IC puts no names in the distribution list, no one will be copied on these messages.

Q.  How can I receive 'NED NTE Date Notifications?' 

A.  Submit a ticket to the NIH Help Desk and ask to have your name added to your IC’s NED ADMIN Notifications distribution list.

Q.  Will I only get 'NED NTE Date Notifications' for people in my SAC coverage, or for everyone in my IC?

A.  All NTE Date Notifications for your IC go to everyone on the distribution list. In other words, if you’re on this distribution list you will receive NED NTE Date Notifications for everyone in your IC who has an NTE date in their NED record, not just for the people in your SAC coverage. To help with this, we have written instructions that guide you through creating an Outlook rule to automatically delete all NTE Date Notifications for people assigned to SACs you don’t cover. In other words, if you create this rule you will only see the NTE Date Notifications for people you want to see.

Q.  How can I filter the 'NED NTE Date Notifications' so I only see messages for the records in my SAC coverage?

A.  You can create an Outlook rule that will automatically delete all NED NTE Date Notifications you don’t care about. (see the related question above). 
    

Q. How do I update the NTE date?

A. For FTE term appointments:
  o The NTE date cannot be updated in NED.
  o It comes to NED from CapitalHR by way of HRDB.
  o You must update the date in CapitalHR.

A. For Fellows:
  o The NTE date cannot be updated in NED.
  o It comes to NED from FPS2.
  o You must update the date in FPS2.

A. For Foreign Nationals sponsored by NIH and processed by the ORS Division of International Services (DIS):
  o The NTE date cannot be updated in NED.
  o It comes to NED from fsaATLAS (the system used by the DIS).
  o You must contact DIS to get the date updated.

A.  For NED records not linked to an authoritative source (e.g. Contractors, Tenants):
  o The NTE date *can* be updated or cleared in NED.
  o Login to NED (https://ned.nih.gov/ned).
  o Click on Update in the NED menu.
  o Find the record you want to update.
  o Click on the Edit button in the Work Information section.
  o Change or delete the NTE Date.
  o Click on the Save Changes button to return to the Update – Overall Summary screen.
  o Scroll down and click on the Update Record button.

Q. How do I run the 'List NTE Dates' report? 

A. Follow these steps:

   1. Log on to NED (https://ned.nih.gov/ned).
   2. Click on Legacy NED in the NED menu.
   3. Place your mouse pointer over Reports.
   4. Click on List NTE Dates in the popup menu.

Tips:
   • Click on an underlined column heading to sort the list by that column.
   • Click on the Export to Excel link to create an Excel spreadsheet version of the report.
   • The Source column in the List NTE Dates report shows the system that provided the date to NED and indicates where the date needs to be updated.

Q. Does the NED automatically set a “not to exceed” (NTE) date for Summer Students?

A. No, the sponsoring AO is responsible for ensuring that the Summer Students they enter into NED have an NTE date of September 30.

Q. I would like to know if the students that are chosen to participate in the Summer Internship Program (2009) that are also out-of-state students would be able to have fingerprinting done by their local police stations, and if so, would they need to take a NIH form with them for processing? I didn't see any forms for this on your website.

A. Thank you for your question. We’ve discouraged Summer students from getting fingerprinted by their local police for a number of reasons, including:

• OPM has stated that they will only accept electronic submissions of fingerprint and not the SF-87 Fingerprint Card;

• The fingerprints that are sent to OPM only have a life of so many days, so doing them too far in advance will be a waste, and the fingerprints may need to be taken again at their Enter on Duty (EOD) date; and,

• Despite what we see on TV, local police are not always the best source of hard-copy fingerprinting.

Most Summer students will not need any fingerprinting at all. We are doing name checks against the NCIC database for their clearances for a badge. If you anticipate a Summer student working in a restricted area (Eg., Building 33), then fingerprinting and a background investigation will be required. The e-QIP forms can be sent ahead of time to the Summer student so that they are completed and submitted on their Entry On Duty day, (EOD) and they will be fingerprinted on their EOD as well. 

A biweekly e-newsletter from the Office of Research Services, Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (ORS/DPSAC) to keep you informed as NIH rolls out "Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12" (HSPD-12) establishing a common identification standard to better safeguard NIH and its workforce.